FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Okay...so I guess I've got a bit of explaining to do by this point. It's been â€" hell, I've lost count â€" a year, maybe, since I last visited what is now the ruins of Midgard, possibly more. My trip there had started off as just an ordinary search-and-rescue mission â€" a freebie, at that â€" but quickly turned into something far worse; apparently I had been an unwitting instrument in the release of a innumerable amount of unspeakably evil demons. And my mate, a young panther named Kai, was their key.

The King of Midland, who ruled from his capitol-castle in Midgard, was a puppet of the so-called Ancient Ones, who had until recently been widely regarded as beings of myth or legend; something you tell your kids to scare them shitless. And it was the King who had captured my panther and used him to force open a portal into the demon realm, unleashing these monsters. And now those evil bastards, whose numbers I can't even begin to imagine, have had at least a year to get comfortable in this mortal realm, destroying everything they touch.

And their first act as interlopers? Transforming the once fiercely powerful city of Midgard into a heaping pile of stone and shit. After cleaving that fucker-king in two, I had emerged from the castle victorious, however was witness to the city's absolute destruction; not a soul was left alive, nor even a building left standing. All I saw when I'd left the castle was an impossibly dark cloud quickly form above the city, spiralling at dizzying speeds. The cloud had quickly dropped, the black vortex tearing the city apart; the castle, too, had started crumbling, as it was the epicentre of this indescribably malevolent force of nature. My group â€" which included my mate, Kai, a Great Dane named Keefe, the lion Rit, and a former servant of the King, a young cougar named Rin â€" and I, could only stand there and watch as everything we had known was ruined in just a matter of moments, while at the same time avoiding being crushed by the broken castle.

Miraculously, however, the five of us escaped the ruins of the city mostly unscathed, with the exception of me who had to march to the closest village with broken bones and still drenched in blood â€" not my blood, mind you. Anyway, after that night not one of us, I don't think, was the same, at least not on the inside. Only one of us, truly, had lost a great deal because of the King, which was Rit.

Rit, after a somewhat brief yet very passionate relationship with me, had finally settled down and lay his sword to rest, for he had found the love of his life; another lion named Skye. Skye, as I had learned, fell hard for my friend, and apparently after a brief altercation with a few City Guards, the pair were instantly attracted. In the months following the fall of Midgard, Rit would often cry to himself at night, missing his lion, finding very little comfort in my cold, often distanced paw. It was unusual at first, hearing my friend cry â€" he had always been far stronger than anyone I'd ever met â€" but after a couple weeks it seemed almost commonplace. Eventually, like many others, he had become numb to the loss, though you could tell the pain was still there.

As for Kai and myself, well, things haven't exactly improved since he saw me emerge from the King's secret ritual chamber; he still looks at me with those amazing red eyes, except the fire's gone out. Several times, especially in the days after Midgard's ruin, I had tried to get close to my panther, but...he didn't want me anywhere near him. Although he quickly befriended the young cougar, which has definitely raised his spirits, my boy still doesn't look at me with the eyes he once had. For over a year, I think, I've had to keep my paws to myself, always watching him from afar. Can't say I blame him, anyway; I scared the living shit out of the boy, far more than I had ever anticipated.

It wasn't hard, either. You see, I have this nasty habit of going "overboard" on the battlefield, so I've been told. If things get too tight, I just sort of...lose it. They had a nice nickname for me when I was in the war, too; Nosferatu, Death on the Battlefield. Not exactly the most flattering name, but it stuck well enough. I hadn't heard that name for a long time until that day I accepted that mission to Midgard. Kai knows very well, now, not to get me pissed, or not to push me over the edge, a lesson I'd hoped he would never have to learn. Keep in mind, he never did anything to piss me off, but he's seen me time and time again "lose my mind," as Keefe would say. I suppose the only thing left to do was be patient and hope he and I could go back to the way things were, though I wasn't particularly hopeful.

Keefe... The so-called Holy Knight. Now that is a dog who's got a head on his shoulders. It always amazes me how cool and collected he seems, even in the most insane situations. I suppose he has his God to protect him, or something like that. He gets on my nerves most of the time, but he's a decent fighter and knows a lot of shit. He and that cougar kid are more or less attached, which is good because he's stopped complaining about being alone now. They're an odd couple, though, Keefe and Rin. Looking at them, you'd think nothing of them, but they'll have their moments every so often where you'd swear they'd been married for twenty years; the two, despite the age difference, truly do love each other, something I can't be certain of anymore for me and Kai.

All I am certain of is that for the past year, Midland, and possibly the rest of the world, has been under this cloud of darkness ever since the King performed his damned ritual on my boy and I hacked the ram into pieces. Now the five of us are forever haunted by the demons I helped unleash, not even Keefe knowing how to stop it. Not one of the Disciples had given me any useful information, but rather told me how indestructible they are right before I ended their lives.

I'd be lying if I said it gets easier to kill those beasts, because for one I have no idea who's going to be one and who isn't, and for another each demon seems to present me with a new problem, whether it be fire-spitting or dozens of whip-like limbs. I have, however, managed to determine somewhat of a hierarchy within this massive demon horde, with Keefe's help. It would seem, like in the mortal world, the Lesser demons possess lesser furs, like farmers or peasants, while the Higher tend to possess the upper class, like Dukes or Lords. It isn't often you see a Higher demon within the body of a farmer, though I've seen it before; as usual, I came out on top. I've lost count, at this point, just how many of those monsters I've killed, but I can tell you now it doesn't leave me with a good feeling in the end. Each time I get pushed over the edge, I feel less and less.

I had to end this, and end it fast. Not just for my sake, or Kai's sake, but quite possibly for the sake of this world. The demons' grip in this realm has become tighter and tighter, though like Keefe pointed out, despite their apparent hierarchy, they still lack order. He says this may leave us with a very small window to wipe the monsters out before they gain absolute control of our world, though there seems to be no end in sight.

Which brings myself and my small band to a large, snowy pine-forest in northern Midland, a few kilometres south of the closest town called Asgard, named after the so-called realm of the Gods; many of the furs here still believed in the old, northern gods, having mostly been detached from the rest of Midland. What annoyed me more than the cold, however, was how long it took Keefe to realize we should head up here for advice on how to deal with the damn demons, if they even had any advice to offer.

The sun had already set, however, meaning we would be camping in the forest for the night, if Rit could ever get the fire started; because of the ice and snow, we could all see easily at night, however three of the five of us had frozen steel armour to deal with. After hearing Rit curse at his flint for the hundredth time, I growled and nabbed it from him, receiving a quick counter-growl in return. Within moments, however, I managed to get the bit of dry grass we had collected weeks ago for this journey aflame, and soon we had a modest fire going.

Like Rit and Keefe, I had quickly removed my freezing cold armour and sat close to the fire, by myself of course. As was the norm now, Rin sat close to Keefe, and Kai sat close to Rin. It had occurred to me many times to try to get close to Rit, but I just couldn't. So there we sat in the cold, however shielded, forest, all of us shivering and desperately trying to keep warm.

"Whose idea was it, again, to come up here?" Rit said rhetorically. I wasn't sure what he was complaining about, though, seeing as how he was the one with the most amount of fur; what I would give for a big, thick mane sometimes.

"Will you stop complaining?" Keefe answered, holding his paws toward the flame. The orangey fire cast sort of a lovely glow against his short, blackish fur, though most of it was covered in layers upon layers of thick wool.

After destroying a Lesser in a small village south of Asgard, which was entirely inadvertent, the people rewarded us all with as much of their warm cloth as they could spare, especially considering where we'd said we were headed. The clothes, which we wore under our armour, besides Rin and Kai, did the job perfectly, and sometimes too well during the day, but at night it was far different. Especially since my armour is black, the lack of sun made it extra difficult for us to keep warm this far north. However with a fire going at night, we managed to make due.

"My feet are cold," Kai then whined, inching closer toward Rin.

I opened my maw to speak, looking at my panther, but didn't say a word. Instead I just sighed and poked at the fire, sending sparks flying into the cold night air.

"Just stick them close to the fire," Keefe replied. "They'll warm up."

Kai just smiled and did it, knocking over his sword as he did. With a giggle, the panther picked the sword up and leaned it next to the flames, warming himself again.

I had trained both Kai and Rin well in the past year, and they seemed to catch on quick, though they were both still far from slaying demons. It wasn't easy training the two, especially with Kai shying away from me more often than not, while on the move, but I was confident they could handle themselves in a regular fight, not that we encountered many of those. I trained them both in the use of a sword and with unarmed combat, which was far more difficult with Kai; I had no idea he would have had such a reaction to seeing me as he had, but it pained me deeply every time I saw him flinch. The two young furs were now fairly competent fighters, who also got a lot of help from Keefe and Rit with patching up and healing wounds; most of the time they practiced on me.

Having said that, Kai did a fine job sewing up a huge gash in the right side of my chest a while back. His capable paws had expertly sterilized and closed up the wound, the pain from which was easy to bear. Feeling his warm pawpads rubbing softly against my chest fur had set my heart aflame yet again, though I could tell by looking at him it wasn't entirely mutual. I didn't know what to do to make Kai trust me, but it killed me to see him like that. There had to be something I could do.

Just then, the five of us heard the distinctive crunch of snow from behind me, and we all stared into the pale snow and trees, seeing nothing.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Kai move his paw toward his sword, and Keefe as well. I quickly did the same.

"Is something there?" Rit whispered to me.

"How the hell should I know?" I replied bluntly.

"Coulda been the fire..." the lion suggested.

"Think it's another one'a yer demon buddies?"

‘Fuck you,' I remembered thinking, but instead kept silent.

But still all around us, not a noise could be heard nor a sight to be seen, and so eventually the five of us relaxed once again, enjoying the fire's warm embrace.

The moment I let myself relax, however, I sensed something behind me. I stood up quickly, giving everyone else barely any time to react, and turned and lifted my paws, quickly grabbing onto a falling something. Using the momentum, I swung the mysterious being around and threw it hard into the ground, straight into the fire. Sparks and embers burst into the air as a rolling ball of flame finally stopped, then bounded quickly away.

"What the fuck?" Rit shouted, standing now.

I just growled and took off after the dark stranger, catching up quickly. Just as it started to climb up a tree, I grabbed onto its tail and pulled hard, getting a bit of pine bark in my eyes. I just snarled and held the tail tighter, swinging the bastard around and into a tree. Just as I heard a distinctive thud and a groan, I gripped the beast by the neck and pinned him to that same tree, growling deeply. With its dark, burnt cloak now pulled back, I saw the face of a young arctic fox.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him in a deep, raspy voice, trying to be as scary as possible.

"I...I was just..."

I growled and squeezed his neck tighter, feeling the life slowly fade. However, I was quickly stopped by Rit.

"I think he gets it, stripes."

I just released the little thief and watched him collapse to the frosty ground, then turned back and began fixing the fire. As I gathered the spread ashes and pulled in a few more sticks, a couple of them still with flames, I heard Keefe talking to the newcomer.

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no," he rasped. "I'll be fine."

"Now tell me what you were doing way out here. And why sneak up on us?"

"We all gotta eat...you know?"

"C'mon," I heard the Great Dane say, likely bringing the thief over.

Finally I had the fire going well enough again, and together we all sat.

"Is he always so hostile?"

No one chose to answer, though it was clear what they were thinking. I hadn't always been like this, of course, and unlike many people, I'm at least aware of my hostility. It usually takes a lot to make me angry â€" and I mean really angry â€" but if I'm pushed too far, I seem to enter some sort of state. A trance, almost, if you're asking Keefe, that has gotten me out of some pretty tight spots over the years, at the cost of my sanity. Now, that isn't to say I'm some sort of psychopath, though if you look at me when I'm like that you may disagree, but every time I snap out of it, I feel a little less...alive. Like a piece of me gets left behind in the bloody mess that usually occurs. It scares me sometimes, truth be known, that maybe one of these days I won't snap out of it, that I'll lose every trace of who I was and become something worse than the demons I slay.

"So I guess that's a yes, huh?" the young fox said, interrupting my thoughts.

Finally I sighed and reached a paw forward, causing the fox to flinch. "I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to snap on you. Just...you can't sneak up on me, okay?"

Staring up at me, the arctic fox finally grabbed my paw, which was close to the fire. "No sneaking, gotcha."

I quickly retrieved my paw then sat back again, sighing loudly again. And so the six of us, now, sat in front of the modest flames, Keefe with the two boys to my right, Rit to my left, and the newcomer between Rit and Kai, closer to Kai.

"So, what's your name, thief?" I asked the kid.

"M'name's Loki," he answered, sitting up. "How ‘bout you?"

"Luca. The lion'sâ€""

"I can introduce myself," Rit said, giving me a phony frown. "I'm Rit, and I'm in charge'a this group." That was a lie.

It was Keefe's turn to speak up. "I'm Keefe McCree, a Holy Knight. And these two tired felines are Rin and Kai."

The two sorta partially smiled and did a half-assed little wave, then rested again against the Dane. They looked very warm, and kinda cozy. I had been so long since I cuddled with my panther like that, and I envied their closeness now.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," the arctic fox said, sounding quite chipper now. I didn't entirely trust him, but there was nothing here to steal but our small weapons and armour, which I was confident he couldn't carry. The kid was clearly older than I'd thought, perhaps in his late teens, but it was hard to tell from under his hood. It was clear, though, that he was mature beyond his years, and he was accustomed to living on his own. His thick wool sweater, to which the hood was attached, was sleeveless, and yet he didn't appear cold at all; only a few leather straps around his left bicep would have offered any sort of warmth. Loki was clearly in very good shape, wearing little armour, though didn't appear particularly muscular.

"So, where're you guys headed?" the young, white fox asked, seeming to fit right into our little group. He talked almost as if he hadn't even attacked at all, like he had just walked right up to us.

After a moment's hesitation, Keefe finally spoke up; he always seemed to be the big talker out of the rest of us. "We're on a journey to Asgard, for information on the Ancient Ones."

"You mean the demons?" Loki asked. How did he know about them?

"Yeah. You know about them?"

The fox smirked. "Of course I do. I mean, I know of them. Heard old stories, and stuff, about them and the old Gods. Just myths and legends, you know?"

"Aye, and I'm afraid that's all we know, too," the Dane admitted.

"So what sorta information are you looking for?"

This time no one spoke up. Just how much information should we divulge to the kid? He could be one of the Disciples, after all.

"I'm afraid some aspects of our journey must be left untold," the dog finally said. He was damn good with words, I'll give him that.

"Aw," the fox whined, flattening his ears from under his hood. "Not even one tiny speck? I promise I won't tell anyone."

I noticed Rit shaking his head out of the corner of my eye, and I just smirked. He was thinking exactly what I was thinking, and that's that we're gonna have a new traveller with us, and he'll be a big pain in the ass. Though with the trouble we tend to encounter, suppose a sneaky little fox may come in handy at some point, even an inquisitive one.

Tired of listening to the kid, and noticing the flames had mostly died down, I finally got up and put up my hood. All eyes were on me now. "I'm going to find some more dry wood."

"Yeah," Loki scoffed, "good luck with that."

I just gritted my teeth and wandered off, quickly being ignored by the others. I rather enjoyed winter and the snow, despite the freezing cold. The air always smelled so fresh and crisp, and even as a cub I've always loved the sound of crunching snow beneath my footpaws. Something about this time of year seemed almost cleansing, and relaxing. I was shivering almost constantly, yeah, but I felt so alive and energized. Of course on the battlefield, snow is not on your side, because where there's snow there's ice, and if you lose footing in a battle... Well, the outcome is rarely triumphant. I hadn't ever had much time for recreation as a kid, like for skating or sledding or anything like that, but I had always appreciated the smaller things my life had to offer, such as fresh air and crunchy snow.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by noisy, less magical-sounding footsteps coming up from behind me, and I slowly turned my head. I was then greeted by a panting lion, his hot breath seeming to billow from his maw and hang in the cold night air.

"Hey," I said somewhat unenthusiastically. In a group of five â€" six now â€" it was hard to get a moment to yourself.

"Yer not doin' a very good job lookin' for wood," my friend pointed out. "You passed a bunch'a dead trees without even lookin' at ‘em."

"So maybe I didn't really want to look for wood."

"Oh? So what're you lookin' for?"

"I'm not looking for anything, Rit. I just wanted some time alone; some time to think."

"Oh. Sorry, stripes. Didn't mean to interrupt you."

I sighed. "I know you didn't." An awkward silence managed to fill the freezing air between us, which was rare for Rit and I. Something specific must've been on his mind, but he didn't say anything. Moments later, though, I continued to stroll through the piny forest, sighing silently to myself. And, predictably, Rit followed close behind me.

"You and Kai haven't really gotten close for a while," the lion pointed out.

"You noticed, eh?" I said facetiously.

Rit just grunted and walked slowly with me, causing my heart to suddenly jump every time his paw inadvertently bumped into mine. Neither of us were walking anywhere specific, of course, but rather just enjoyed each other's company; it had been too long since I had this much time to myself, but spending it with Rit worked just as well. I noticed, however, that his paw was bumping into mine much more frequently, until finally his knuckles rested against mine and his fingers were clearly trying to link with mine, brushing gently between my digits.

Still walking, however slowly, I resisted the urge to just pull my paw away and instead embraced his gesture, slowly putting my pawpads against his and gripping paws. Together, without a word spoken between us, the lion and I strolled leisurely through the snowy forest paw-in-paw. In fact, despite the cold, holding his paw seemed to warm my whole body, and I felt kind of good inside. Just then, as he leaned a little more against me, I could have sworn I heard Rit purring quietly between crunchy footsteps, something I hadn't hear from him in years.

Although I couldn't have been certain, I think I was blushing a little at that moment, too, except I didn't mind at all. Rit was the last fur I expected to pull a move like this, but frankly, I was glad it was him. Something about this moment seemed so sweet yet so unreal, a side of Rit I'd only seen once before, when I had met his late mate, Skye. The lion, despite his often foul mouth and extremely tough personality, really was a sweetheart deep down.

Rit then stopped just as I passed a tree and turned around so he was facing me, looking at me in the eyes with barely a smile. Surprised somewhat, eyes no longer able to see our modest campfire, I just stood there as he inched his body closer to mine, backing me into the tree. Our paws now unlinked, his slid up my hips and slipped under my woolly top a little, caressing my lower back, while at the same time exposing it to the cold, brisk air. His chest was now inches from mine, and his maw even closer. I just watched as his eyes slivered, and couldn't help but turn my head. I knew for an absolute fact, now, that I was blushing. A lot.

I then raised my paws up so my forearms rested against his shoulders, and buried my blushing face into my right arm, trying not to giggle as I felt his warm breath, then his cold nose, caressing my neck. "R-Rit..." I murmured somewhat inadvertently, not really sure if he had heard me. Then he whispered quietly into my ear, causing even more blush to flow into my already hot cheeks. I didn't know what had gotten into the lion, but he was making me feel good. And warm, which was a plus.

"You're a beautiful tiger," he told me in a raspy, seductive voice, now pressing his body against mine and moving his paws further along my back. Lightly Rit kissed at my neck, pushing my hood back with his muzzle, forcing the tiniest of giggles out of my maw. My God, he was warming me up. "I wish I had done this with you sooner..."

There seemed to be no end to my blushing, and I looked over into Rit's eyes, which were still mostly closed, with a smile stretched across my face. Slowly my head turned, as if drawn by his lips, and soon our noses touched. And just as they did, a spark seemed to ignite some kind of flame inside me, for that simple touch alone filled me with so much vigour. I wasn't sure what it was about that lion, but he was the only living being who could ever best me in battle, whether it be on the field or in bed. Despite my many victories, however slim they may have been, Rit's always had some power over me that, admittedly, drove me crazy. But...I had to ask him. "Wh-what's gotten into you?"

Rit smiled and pulled his face back a little. "Nothin' at all, stripes. I just...wanted to get close to you."

I couldn't help but giggle. "Not to wreck the moment, but...why? I mean, why now?"

Rit sighed, and I feared I had wrecked the moment. "You and I've been pretty much alone since Midgard was ruined, and, well...I guess I couldn't hold back anymore. I could tell you had a lotta shit on yer mind, with Kai and all, but you know, I've always found you attractive, and though we ended things years ago, you never really left my mind. Skye... He was the best thing that's ever happened to me, believe me, and I loved him with all my heart. But you've always had a special place there, too, stripes, and I guess seein' those kids cuddle up to Keefe and all... Ah, I dunno what I'm talkin' about... I'm sorry."

I'd never seen Rit like this before, so vulnerable. He was never like this, especially around me; he was always so strong and confident, always taking what he wants. In that moment, though, he was truly speaking from his heart.

"It's okay, Rit," I said with a reassuring smile. "You don't have to be sorry. You're sweet."

The lion huffed out a puff of breath and frowned a little. "I don't like bein' sweet."

He said that, and yet was still holding onto me. After a long moment, Rit sighed and again pressed his body against mine, holding me close. Our cheeks rubbed softly together. Neither of us spoke, but simply held each other in our warm embrace.

"Guess I didn't hafta come on so strong, huh?" Rit finally said, quietly into my ear.

I sighed. Although he had thrown me off guard with these sudden gestures, I'd quickly remembered what it felt like to be held like this, or to hold one like this. This warmth that even the coldest of nights couldn't extinguish... It was exhilarating in some ways. "Yeah," I replied softly, lowering my head a bit. My arms still rested on the lion's shoulders, my fingers twitching as our heads shifted; the exciting feel of our fur meshing together like that elated me somewhat. And just as my fingers stopped twitching, his head pulled away from mine, and again our noses hung close together, just barely touching. Finally I looked up, and just as my eyes met with his, my heart skipped a beat and I couldn't help but smile and blush, trying to hide it again in my arm.

However, before I could really hide it, the lion pressed his lips firmly against mine. His smooth lips...caressing mine, sending euphoric shivers up my spine as his head started to tilt. I felt far weaker than I'd ever care to admit, even more so as both our maws opened, tongues greeting in the middle. I was trapped within Rit's arms, kissing him even more passionately, unable to free myself. Not that I would have tried. His tongue then curled around mine and I felt our bodies, mostly our lower regions, press tightly together, and following suit, I opened my maw further. I may have whimpered a little bit at that point, but with the crunching snow and heavy clothes rubbing together, that sound could've been anything.

Finally Rit pulled away, very slowly and kissing as if he didn't want to stop, and continued to hold me in his arms, just staring at me. And all I could do was stare back. "What is it?" I finally asked him.

"Nothin', stripes. Yer as good a kisser as always."

I could tell something was on his mind. "You sure it's nothing?"

Rit sighed and lowered his head, turning his head away; though I wasn't sure, it looked like he was holding back some tears. "I miss him a lot," he said at last, the pain clear in his voice. I could feel his paws trembling a bit on my back.

"I know you do, Rit." I then slowly bent my elbows, paws running across the back of his neck, and pulled the lion in close, letting him rest his head on my shoulder.

"I'd only met Skye for the briefest of moments," I said quietly into Rit's ear, "but I could feel the intense bond you two shared. I knew at that moment he was a great fur, ‘cause, well...he was with you. You've always had good judgement, especially in choosing a lover, and I truly believe Skye was the one you'd been waiting for; your kindred spirit, and your soul mate." By the end, I wasn't really sure what the hell I was talking about, though it was sincere. "I could tell he loved you very much."

Rit then sniffled â€" and I'm certain he'd argue it was from the cold â€" and gave me a big squeeze. "Thank you, stripes. Means a lot to hear you say that..."

"Sure thing, bud."

The lion then kissed me again, on the lips but not quite as passionately as before, then finally pulled away. "We should probably gather some wood for them, eh?"

"Maybe," I replied, putting my hood back up. I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the prospect of wood-finding, especially now. Besides, a full day of travelling had left me pretty tired, though at least I wasn't carrying a small panther on my shoulders the entire time. The more I pondered that thought, though, the more I realized how little I had appreciated Kai's irritating nuances.

The boy would beg me to be carried on my shoulders, and for a little while I could hold out, but eventually he got to me and in the black armour and baking heat, I'd carry the panther. His favourite activity on my shoulders used to be one of two things: either kicking my chest with the backs of his footpaws, or grabbing and pulling on my ears, both of which had always really annoyed me. And yet now, I missed it so much. I missed the way he would lean his body over my head and pull on my lip, often admiring the visible scar running up the right side of my muzzle. Before the fall of Midgard, he'd always been such a curious, inquisitive young panther, often times annoying me with his silly questions. But it would seem those times were long gone. While stripping bark off a dead cedar, I let out a long, deep sigh. Despite Rit's sweetness, the blush from which was just starting to wear off, I still deeply missed my Kai. "Will I ever get him back?" I said quietly, not intentionally saying it aloud.

"Hm?" I heard Rit say from behind me.

"Oh, nothing. I think we've got enough wood now."

"Hopefully the fire hasn't gone completely out," the lion commented with a smile, as if mocking Keefe's outdoors skills. Admittedly, though, the canine had gotten much better in the past year; he had actually caught fish for us all once, something he couldn't even begin to do when we'd first met.

"Well see, won't we."

Together, Rit and I made our way back to camp with two armfuls of dead wood, surprised to see the fire even bigger than it had been when we left. I just dropped the wood and frowned. "What's going on here?" I asked them.

Keefe turned his head. "You guys took so long getting wood, Loki and I gathered our own. Rin and Kai are sleeping now, just so you know. What took you so long, anyway?"

Rit and I shared a quick glance. "It was nothing," I answered, taking a seat beside the flames, glad Rit was sitting beside me now. I could tell Keefe didn't believe us, though, but I didn't care. It was none of his business, anyway.

"If you say so," the dog answered smartly.

Then the fox spoke up. "You two would make a pretty cute couple."

The three of us turned our heads, Rit and I especially. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about, fox," I said sharply.

"I saw you two when I was getting wood. Honestly, I wouldn't have suspected two big, strong furs like yourselves would be gay. You know, if you two ever get tired of muscles and testosterone, for just a few gold pieces my ass is all yours."

The three of us were taken aback somewhat.

"And all this time I thought you were just a thief," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I am, tiger. But I gotta do what I can to make money, right? Especially when I run into poor bastards like you. Suppose I could give you guys a freebie, since I doubt you've got enough gold between the three of you."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued, but there was no way, especially out here, that'd I'd be up for it.

"Why don'cha just put yer cock away for the night, kid, and get some rest. Either that or fuck off all together."

"Fine," the white-furred fox said, holding up his paws. It was clear he had no intention of leaving us, at least not yet, and so he lay on his side close to the fire, pulling what was left of his burnt cloak around him. "Good night."

Now starting to feel the weight of the day, I, too, lay beside the flames, tightening my clothes. Soon enough Keefe did the same, huddling close to the boys, while Rit lay close behind me. Just as I closed my eyes and started to relax, the cheeky lion put his arm around my waist, shuffling closer. I could hear his breathing, and as odd as it sounds, I could almost hear that he was smiling. I moved my arm so our paws connected, and soon the two of us drifted off to sleep, feeling surprisingly warm.

When I opened my eyes again, the forest was all foggy and I could barely see anything past the burnt out fire. I also couldn't see any of my friends, including Rit. Curious, I slowly got up and looked around the eerie forest, trying to find any sign of what happened to them. I found nothing, of course. I tried calling out to them, but found I had no voice. Now I was starting to get scared. Perhaps that bastard fox had poisoned me while I was sleeping, or something. I tried yelling again, and though I could feel air passing through my throat, not a sound was made. I growled and slammed my fist into a tree, breathing heavily. What the hell was going on here? Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"Sacrifice..." it said, then again and again. "The panther is ours... He belongs to the Crimson King..."

The Crimson King? Suddenly, all the fog surrounding me turned blood red, as well as the snow and the trees. Heart pounding, I looked around desperately for my sword, a massive slab of sharpened steel, but found nothing; not even the campfire. I called out desperately for my friends, or anyone who could hear me, but still I was without a voice. Scared out of my wits, I took off through the forest until one of the trees somehow smacked me to the snowy ground, splattering into my face. I heard a terrible howling and what sounded like twisting branches. Looking up, after wiping some of the blood-snow from my eyes, and it appeared as if the trees themselves were moving, seemingly closer toward me.

Just then, what looked like bloody roots tore from the ground and wrapped quickly and tightly around my limbs, my struggling useless. I tried calling out again, but to no avail, as more of these roots constricted my body. I could feel the surprisingly smooth roots slithering beneath my clothes, inching closer toward my crotch and tailhole.

"You must...sacrifice..." the strange voice said again. And just as it did, one of the roots, likely a thick one, penetrated my tailhole, and I cried out noiselessly in pain.

I could feel other roots sliding around my balls and sheath, now getting a tighter grip. Definitely scared now, I felt the small roots yank on my balls, pulling them as far as they'd go, while shoving the larger one into me deeper. Trying to call out for any sort of help, I instead was silenced, if you could call it that, by another root entering my maw. Despite my fright, I struggled desperately against the bloody trees, ignoring the continuous words telling me to sacrifice. I struggled, that is, until I felt a sharp pain in my lower regions, my balls specifically. As the pulling increased, all the roots around me seemed to burn into my flesh, including the ones down my throat and up my ass. Thrashing about, I screamed horrifically, despite the roots, and suddenly my balls began to tear from my body. The oddest feeling was, though, the orgasm down below that started just as my flesh began to tear. It was an intense mixture of extreme pain and pleasure, and I could feel my warm seed filling my pants. And just as the pain peaked, I heard a final call to sacrifice and suddenly I woke again, crying out loudly as I frantically rose.

Breathing heavily, I just looked around at my friends, heart pounding. "What...the fuck..?" My sudden outcry had apparently gotten Keefe's attention, as he was now wide awake.

"What's the matter?" the Great Dane asked me, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I just...I had a terrible dream, I think. Fucking homo demons..."

"Homo demons?"

"Never mind..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked me compassionately.

"No, I don't," I answered quickly. Who was the Crimson King, anyway? And...was it telling me to sacrifice Kai? The door to the demon realm had already been opened with Kai's help. Is that what they wanted? His life? But...why? To what end? What more did those bastards want from my panther? Keefe was still staring at me.

"You sure?"

"Just drop it, all right?"

"Fine," the dog replied. "The sun's just starting to come up, now, so I think we should start getting ready to go. We'll probably reach Asgard just after noon."

I just huffed and turned around, looking at Rit; he was still fast asleep. I then looked over at Kai, who was starting to stir. Shortly he opened his eyes, and I smiled at him.

Kai just stared at me for a moment, then sat up. "What is it?" he asked me.

I wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh... Did you sleep all right?" was the best I could come up with.

"Well enough," he answered.

I could see the boy was shivering, and so I got on my knees, shuffling closer toward him with my arms out. It pained me to watch him flinch and back away, though, and I couldn't do much else by sigh. I guess it really was too late for us. I then turned around and got to my footpaws, stepping over Rit to my armour, which had a small dusting of snow on it from the trees. After brushing it off, I picked up my shin armour and pressed it against my body, finding it more difficult since my clothes were a lot thicker than usual. However I managed to squeeze it on and tighten the straps around my calves, on both legs, then continued with my thigh armour, however found the higher straps more frustrating to do up; buckles and cold paws aren't a good mix. I growled a bit then just sighed, resting my head against my arm, which was resting against the tree.

"You okay, Luca?" Rit asked me from behind.

"I'm fine," I said, still resting.

"Want me to help you?" the lion suggested, now walking toward me.

"No," I replied, annoyed. "Just get ready to go."

"If you say so, stripes."

I sighed again then attempted the top strap, just under my rear, and finally got it done, after a bit of cursing. Finally I attached the thigh armour to my heavy leather belt, with protective crotch-piece, which I hadn't bothered removing. The next piece was my chest armour, which I slid easily over my head and awkwardly â€" yet successfully â€" did up the side straps, on either side, then jiggled the attached pauldrons just to see if they'd come loose at all; they were fine. My chest armour was especially tight, as it only really had one size, and all the extra clothes fit just a bit too snug. However I could still breathe, which of course was key. Finally I slid on my heavy gauntlets, in this case under my thick, woolly coat, which strapped on easily on the sides of my arms. I then heard a bit of giggling from behind me. I just growled.

"Don't you look so cute in yer armour," Rit teased, starting to put on his, too, except his seemed to allow for more space underneath. Either that or he could handle the tightness better than me. It made Loki laugh, at least. I was pretty surprised, actually, to see the crafty fox was still here. He hadn't tried to rob us. I just grumbled and threw my bag over my shoulder and pulled my sword, aptly named Kraftig, toward me, expertly attaching the destroyer to the back of my black armour.

"Woah," the arctic fox exclaimed, taking a step back. "That's your sword? Wouldn't wanna get in a fight with you, that's for sure."

"You're damn right you wouldn't, kid. What the hell're you still doing here, anyway?"

"Isn't he coming with us?" Rin then asked me. The young cougar was usually pretty quiet, and was definitely soft-spoken. I didn't mind the kid, despite him spending way more time with Kai than I ever had. They weren't so close, however, that they would be called lovers, but especially up north, they cuddle together a lot, at least to keep warm. Rin is absolutely devoted to Keefe, for whatever reason, and vice versa. Neither would ever do anything with another fur, unless of course the other didn't mind, and frankly I doubt it would ever come up. I suppose given the circumstances, I'm kinda glad Kai found such a close friend in Rin, since he hardly saw a friend in me anymore. Suppose acting on Rit's little advances wouldn't be a terrible idea; God knows I didn't hate it. It was just so sudden.

"Alright," Keefe said, pulling a couple bags around his shoulders, "we all ready to go?"

"I am," Kai replied, adjusting the sword around his back. Like me, when I was his age, he was using an adult sword, so it would ordinarily be far too big for him. But my boy could handle it just fine, which helped him build muscle mass, too; just a year ago he was almost begging me to teach how to fight and become big like me. Well, I guess I managed to at least do that for him.

"I'm ready," Rin said, smiling up at his mate. Unlike Rit, Kai and me, he wore his sword on his belt. Not surprisingly, Keefe also wore his sword like that, though his was a bit bigger.

It was already clear that I was ready, and Rit, too.

"I was born ready," Loki added, stepping forward. The only weapon the kid carried was a rather large dagger on his belt, and I could only guess what was in his bag. Either way, the six of us were ready, and just like every morning, Keefe had us look around and make sure. Christ, he acted like our mother, or something. Though having never had a mother, I wouldn't know. But I would imagine it wasn't much different.

Anyway, within moments we were off, Keefe leading the way for some reason and myself somewhat trailing behind. This time, however, Rit stuck closer to me, rather than walking somewhere in the middle, and of course Loki sorta stuck near Keefe, as he was far more sociable than I. Although I wouldn't admit it out loud, especially not to Keefe, that fight with the King had changed me somewhat.

I wasn't nearly as friendly as I once was, and I rarely felt any sort of happiness. Most would suspect it was the so-called falling out between me and Kai, but I knew it was something deeper, and I think Keefe could sense it, too. Every time I let my supposed "demons" out, as the dog liked to call it, I not only found it harder to calm down again, but of course it took something out of me when I eventually did. I think after all this time, it was finally starting to catch up to me. I missed my boy very much, yes, but I think something far more profound was happening, too. I couldn't be certain what, exactly, but Keefe's told me again and again that he's felt it, too. I guess being a Holy Knight, he sort of has a sixth-sense for these sorts of things.

"You doin' all right, stripes?" Rit asked me, putting a paw on my back. "You've been doing a lot of space-starin' lately."

I shrugged. "I'm sorta getting sick of this journey," I admitted. It was true, though, especially since half the places we visit are home to at least one Disciple. Back in the day, during the Century War, I was infamous amongst the army and citizens of Midland, as well as most in our enemy country Maldad, for being a fierce, seemingly indestructible warrior. Of course, after the war I was quickly forgotten, but the pawful who do remember are easily frightened by me, especially after killing a demon for them. Now, I'm definitely not the type who thinks he deserves to be famous and loved by all, but after ridding these towns, cities and villages of Disciples, which inevitably returns as much peace as can be found these days to them, I'm still regarded as the monster. Word is starting to spread, now, of my small band, and their "demon leader." Most who've heard of us regard me as Nosferatu, a name I hadn't been called since the War; obviously I hadn't been completely forgotten. I was hoping, though, that at least the people of Asgard didn't know who we were, being so detached from the rest of the country.

"Yeah, I sorta know what you mean," Rit replied, removing his paw. "Feels like no matter how many of those demons we kill, there's a thousand more where they came from. It's never-ending."

I just grunted my reply. Of course, I was getting tired of the battles, too, but that wasn't what I was referring to. Emotionally, I didn't know how much more I could take, or how much longer I could continue. Of course, I wanted it to end; I wanted to get rid of the demons for good. But like Rit had so aptly pointed out, they seemed never-ending. And this constant fighting and constant physical pain, coupled with Kai's avoidance of me...it was just really getting me down, almost to the point where I wanted so many times to just give up all together. And yet there seemed to be something inside me that wouldn't allow it. Something that kept my body going, kept my heart beating. Usually when something like that happened, I'm wasn't in full control of my body, either. Something darker would take the reins.

The six of us wove expertly through the somewhat thick mass of trees for what seemed like hours, though as Keefe had informed me, it had only been one. But it was enough time to notice the sun wasn't shining nearly as brightly anymore, and that the pine trees were growing more and more sinister. It could've just been my imagination, of course, but I was pretty sure they weren't the same trees we had set up camp next to before. No, these trees...they made me feel uneasy. Like something was amiss. It was the fastest way to Asgard, but I was beginning to suspect this path was not the wisest of choices. I heard a particular chuckling deep within me.

"Keefe," I called ahead, walking faster. "You sure this is the right way?"

Keefe slowed down. "Yeah, I'm positive. What's the problem?"

"You don't feel that?"

Finally the dog stopped and actually looked around him. I could tell he was starting to sense it. All around us, everywhere we went, we would find relatively small patches of seemingly random land, particularly forests, where darkness appeared almost merged with its surroundings, twisting the rocks and trees. Strange beasts lurked in these parts, each one stranger than the last. These beasts were clearly not of our world, and as the Holy Knight suggested, were likely simple-minded, demonic life forms which lived only to breed and survive. Luckily, despite their numbers and where they came from, most of these monsters had enough sense, or instinct at least, to leave us alone while we passed through, though it wasn't always a guarantee. Sometimes the so-called Alpha would be hanging around and decide we were either food, or we just had to die. These Alphas, of course, are stronger than the smaller, meeker life forms around them, and probably somewhat more intelligent, too. There was usually only one to fight, but likely a whole bunch reside in these dark pockets of land; we were yet to discover a pack of Alphas, anyway.

"We goin' through, or what?" Rit asked. He seemed eager for a fight.

"I don't see why not," Rin pointed out. He already had his paw on the hilt of his sword. "If any of those things attack, we'll get ‘em."

It hadn't occurred to me until recently just how much Rin had changed in the past year or so. When we had first met, the kid was a servant for the King of Midland, and one who was almost too old for him, at that. His jobs had included things a chambermaid would do â€" cleaning and the sort â€" rather than the tasks he had originally been brought in to do. Although the boy cougar had started off as some kind of sexual slave, once he had aged beyond a certain point, or perhaps just grown, he was of little use to the King personally. Such boys would hang around for a while longer, doing tasks one would ordinarily be paid for, before being exiled from the castle and sent to what was once Bolt, a small village built specifically for these used-up servants.

Anyway, when we had first met, the boy was extremely timid and very malleable; he would have done anything for us â€" Rit, Keefe, and I â€" no matter what it was. He was used to being told what to do and just doing it, no questions asked, and certainly no complaints. It was pathetic, really, how he would have bent to anyone's will like that, however that boy from the castle was gone now. He was now a strong, confident young fur with life in his eyes. Although I'm a very modest tiger, in terms of my fighting ability, I think a good deal of his confidence came from my training. I taught both him and Kai to be strong, powerful warriors, and though they've still got a lot to learn, they have enough to keep their heads attached; nothing a shit-load of experience couldn't teach them. Of course, Keefe and Rit helped out in their training a lot, too, but that's beside the point.

"You shouldn't go looking for fights," Keefe pointed out. "Especially if you don't know what exactly you're getting yourself into. Although, I do think we should be safe going through these woods."

"How the hell can you be so certain of that?" Rit asked, stepping forward.

"Hey, I agree with the Knight," Loki said happily. "I've been hanging around these woods most my life, and I've never come across any reason to stop travelling through."

"Are you aware of where we are?" I said to the newcomer. I didn't know what it was, but something bothered me about this fox. "We're entering into a piece of Midland inhabited by pure evil. The landscape's been transformed by the darkness, which you can see has already started. The further in we travel, the more light the beasts will swallow. There is nothing pure or good about this place."

"I think we should go through," Kai said, which sort of surprised me. He didn't speak a lot these days, especially in situations like this.

As usual, I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't about to argue with Kai, and despite what I knew about these places, it was generally safe. Though the creatures were basically the embodiment of evil, and survived primarily on basic instincts, they also weren't so stupid as to attack three skilled, well-armed adults.

It would seem, though, that my opinion didn't matter to the rest, as Keefe had already decided it'd be worth it to trek through the dark forest, despite the heavy snowfall. Everyone was now trudging along, myself trailing behind again, pushing the twisted, deadly-looking pines out of the way. Several times I barely avoided being smacked in the face with some of these wayward branches; it seemed as if they had a life of their own.

Now deeper into the forest, the snow relatively thin, our surroundings were considerably thicker, and odd noises and sights continuously appeared; they would more than spook ordinary furs. However the six of us pressed on, ignoring the impish cries of shadow-hidden monsters, trying to pull us off our path. Deep growls and hisses and barks were heard all around us, and unless you paid particular attention, it was nearly pitch blackness all around.

However, if you did pay particular attention, you would eventually see slight figures forming within the darkness. Not one of them ever represented a normal fur, and those that did were so horribly disfigured it was nearly impossible to make out. Enormous dark insect-like creatures almost constantly skittered across the rocks and trees, and sometimes across your body, which again would terrify most. Hawk-sized, ray-like beasts soared between twisted branches, with three beady eyes looking down at you. That, in fact, was the most unsettling thing about these dark sections of land; the creatures' eyes. When looking for them, you noticed them easily. Their glowing red eyes seemed to almost pierce your very soul, looking deep within you and without even making a move, can bring out your nastiest fears. And it didn't help I was afraid of the dark.

It was with that thought that I heard a particular grumbling, causing me to stop. No one else heard it, apparently, because they kept going. I, however, looked around my surroundings, under massive tree roots and through small, cavernous openings. Unfortunately there wasn't nearly enough room to use my sword, so if something out there felt like attacking me, I'd have to depend on my wits, my strength, and my dagger. I just stared into the black thickets, seemingly unable to move myself. Was it starting to happen? To me? My heart was racing and the darkness was almost suffocating, and when I turned to the only remedy I had ever found, he was gone. And so were the others. My heart started racing even faster as the black surroundings started to close in on me, choking me. Eventually I fell to my knees and clutched my head, eyes closed tight. I was crying out desperately for it to end, and yet I was all alone in this darkness.

But then a sudden force snapped me back to reality. The dark chuckling in my gut quickly grew louder, trying to claws its way out. With tears heavy in my eyes, I whipped my head to the left, just moments before being tackled by some monstrous hound. Snarling madly, the beast clawed me right across the face and bounded away, and before I could fully recover, it had already pounced on me again, this time trying to rip out my throat. I had somehow moved my paws, however, blindingly fast, and managed to keep its long, sharp teeth from digging deep into my flesh. I growled deeply as I tried to pry the jaws apart, struggling desperately. Though I couldn't open it's maw any further, I did manage to turn somewhat, rocking back and forth. Eventually I had worked enough momentum and used all my strength to force this monster's head into the rock beside me, with satisfactory results.

The black hound yelped and loosened its grip, giving me enough strength to cry out as I tore its lower jaw off. I sat up quickly and shoved the half-dead beast off me, crawling desperately away. Panting heavily, I finally got to my footpaws and took a more defensive stance, as if waiting for it to attack again. And, sure enough, I watched carefully as the demon hound started to quake, it's body thrashing about as black tentacle-like appendages burst from its cleaved jaw.

Slowly the monster stood back up, and though my sword had been knocked off my back when it had first attacked, I reached quickly for my small blade. Just as it whipped forward, I leapt to its left and ran up a grimy rock, small critters quickly skittering away. I then bounded off the rock and toward the beast, managing to stab it in the head, though not without taking a few hard strikes to the stomach. But just as I pulled the knife out, breathing heavily, I noticed a few more wicked eyes appear; I had grabbed the Alphas' attention, likely by killing one of their depraved offspring. And lucky me, I had just proved some do travel in packs.

Although I was significantly more focused than before, I wasn't quite fast enough to turn around and stab the Alpha coming from behind me, now lying face-first in the cold black earth . I could feel the large hound on my back, as well as it breathing its hot breath against the back of my neck. With one eye open, stinging from the dirt and ice, I still couldn't see my friends anywhere, the bastards. How long would it be before they noticed I wasn't following them?

As I felt the long, jagged teeth of the Alpha, however, my thoughts quickly returned. It was just gnawing at my armoured shoulder for now; obviously Alphas aren't that intelligent. Despite the painful annoyance, I quickly used one arm to push myself up, pushing the large hound over, and ran forward blindly. And just as I managed to get my bearings, another Alpha was right on my ass, snarling wildly.

I held the beast away from my face, its jaws snapping violently in front of my nose, trying desperately to push it away. Growling, I realized it's claws weren't going anywhere, and so I swung myself sideways, crushing my arm between the Alpha and a rock; I had at least hurt its ribs. Just as the hound yelped, I dropped it and punted the inky monster away, hearing the satisfying sound of bones snapping.

Just as I had kicked the Alpha, however, another was right on me, this time landing a perfect jaw-snap right on my right arm, biting through flesh and metal. I cried out loudly in pain and swung my arm around, while stumbling forward, smacking the beast against whatever I could, though it wasn't enough. Just as I fell, another had gotten a similar grip on my other arm, making me snarl wickedly, and the pair held me down, while the largest of the bunch approached me. This one...greater than an Alpha, I assumed, was clearly in charge. Despite my bleeding arms, and possibly broken bones, I looked up into the beating red eyes of the monster, waiting for my chance.

It just stood there, though, staring down at me and breathing somewhat heavily. Like myself, I could see its breath, though it appeared much hotter. The large Alpha took a few steps forward and, as odd as it sounds, began sniffing my fur, as if looking for something. Inevitably the beast growled and backed away, telling me I was about to die. Not about to let that happen, I formed my paws into tight fists and cried out as I started to lift myself.

Despite being held down by the smaller Alphas, I used all my strength and focused my pain in lifting the two. Seconds later, however, the big Alpha lunged, and seeming to summon more strength than I'd thought I possessed, I moved both arms in front of my body to brace myself, two Alpha's hanging off. I could feel more of my flesh tearing, though I hoped it was just my woollies, but pushed the pain aside as I fell onto my back, desperately trying to stay alive.

I held the big Alpha by the neck, holding it back, while the other two tried to tear my arms away. Each one was growling and snarling madly, creating a hell of a noise, which was suddenly drowned out as I felt a few jaws biting at my legs. I could feel my arms weakening, but I couldn't let it end like this. I wouldn't let it end like this.

Staring malevolently into the eyes of the large Alpha, I cried out madly as I pushed my arms inward, squeezing tighter at its neck. And just as the right Alpha began to falter, I made my move. Quickly I leaned up, wrapping my arm tightly around the big one's neck and turning onto my left side, crushed the neck of the smaller Alpha and got their leader into a tight stranglehold. Squeezing tightly, I continued to cry out hysterically while crushing the smaller one, ignoring the other few. Just as I heard the loud, distinctive snap of the bottom's neck, I kicked the other one off my legs and scrambled away, managing to get to my footpaws. That, however, caused me to drop the damn big Alpha, and as it stumbled away, I stood ready for it.

And no sooner had I gotten ready, it attacked. I frantically swung my right paw upward, smacking the beast across the face, my claws out, then booted it in the side. Though just as it skidded to a stop, the monster dashed toward me again, apparently unhindered by my attack. I leapt to the side, stumbling over a root, and just as I did it turned instantly and pounced for me, its own claws out, aiming right for my throat. However as my killer instincts kicked in, I managed to grab a hold of its upper and lower jaw, swinging the black brute around and into a twisted tree, then threw the enormous hound over my shoulder and into a large rock.

I smirked as I heard the huge Alpha yelp in pain, however it quickly ended my celebration as it jumped up and came down toward me, snarling. With only a second to react, my paw whipped out to my left and thankfully gripped onto something. However, what I had gripped onto was thoroughly attached to the ground. With no time to regret that move, the hound attacked, knocking me backwards past a couple trees and taking a powerful swipe at my face, landing a perfect blow.

I cried out as I felt its black claws sear the flesh on my face, making three diagonal lacerations up my left cheek. My left paw suddenly fell to the ground, and taking another shot, I happened to grip onto something and thankfully, it was useable. I thrust my paw upward and smashed a jagged, good-sized rock into the Alpha's face, then again as I pushed it off me. I then kneed the hound in the ribs and kicked it over, stumbling back to where I had dropped my dagger. I hadn't made it three steps, though, without the hardy Alpha taking another attack.

I turned just a little before it struck me, this time getting knocked back a fair way before stopping, somewhat surprised to see the beast not right on top of me. Just as I blinked my eyes, though, the large Alpha was gone, as well as the others. Panting heavily and in pain, I got up, teeth bared and still ready for more. I then heard a growl from behind me and instead of facing it, I simply ducked.

One of the smaller Alphas suddenly flew over my head, and just as it landed, I dove diagonally forward, just barely dodging another from my left side. I expertly rolled and got up, annoyed to find a tree in my way, but quickly pushed myself away from it. Moving backward, I somewhat gracefully spun and arched my back just as a third Alpha â€" or possibly one of the others who'd already attacked me â€" dove past. Unsure where this newfound sense of agility came from, I tried not to concentrate on that as I, still spinning, used that momentum to give another hound a hard strike across the face with the back of my left paw, which of course was armoured.

The beast fell with a satisfactory thud and just as I stopped, I began to punch behind me, turning as I put all my strength into this attack. Luckily my instincts were right, and I smashed my hard fist square into the maw of yet another Alpha, shattering its front teeth and likely breaking its muzzle. Just as it fell, I heard that different yet distinctive growl; the large Alpha was back. I turned slowly, staring the beast down through what I could only assume were eyes as wicked as its.

Wasting no time at all, I cried out loudly as I dashed forward, the Alpha doing the same. Just as it leapt up, I leaned to my right a bit and punched the beast square in the side of the jaw, causing it to snarl painfully as it struck me. Falling down beside it, I quickly propped myself up and smashed my fist down on its face, on its lower jaw again, loving the sound of its injured cries. I then felt the others approaching, and so I leaned forward and quickly put my arm around its neck, somewhat shakily getting up with the beast in yet another stranglehold.

The big Alpha was snarling and thrashing about violently as I held its neck tightly in my arm, and when I turned around I was surprised to see at least five smaller Alphas all just watching. I just stared back at them, growling spitefully; I no doubt wore a face of absolute rage. With the inner chuckling booming noiselessly, Nosferatu had obviously joined the party. Then just as another Alpha stepped forward, I whipped my head toward it and snarled, finally snapping the big one's neck. It let out a quick, high-pitched whiny yelp as its spine snapped, which pleased me to no end. When I let go of the large beast, it fell to the cold ground like a ragdoll, and the others simply stared up at me, quite possibly trembling.

Myself, I was breathing heavily as blood ran down my arms and my cheek, mostly getting soaked up by my extra clothes, making damn sure they saw the hate in my eyes, as well as my sharp teeth. I then roared loudly at the monstrous beasts, long and loud, until I was absolutely certain they were scared of me. When I was sure they wouldn't attack, I found and picked up my dagger and shoved it deep inside the dead leader's chest, cleaving open it's body and making quick work at skinning the inky monster.

I wasn't really sure what compelled me to skin the Alpha, though I found myself far more adept at it than I would have assumed. In a relatively short amount of time, I skinned as much of the large beast as I could and wrapped its warm hide around my armour, sort of like a cloak or a cape, letting its face form over mine like a mask. The dark laughter I had heard before receded calmly as I draped this hide around me. I then turned and faced the others, all of whom hadn't moved an inch. Though it was hard to tell, I was sure they were frightened of me, which suited me just fine. With a quick growl, walked past a couple and retrieved my sword, reattaching it to my armour, not one daring to make a move.

After a moment I collected my bearings and headed off again, the Alphas slowly following me from afar. A short while later, though, I eventually heard faint cries, though I could barely make it out. Listening carefully, I continued along until it was clear my friends were looking for me, or at least shouting my name. I kept silent, however, walking toward their cries, which turned out to be more difficult than I'd thought, since their voices echoed all around me. Soon enough I found them, and from the darkness I emerged, the five staring up at me.

"Wh-what the fuck?" Loki said, taking a step back. I quickly realized the Alphas were standing around me, looking down at my friends as well. They were growling until I held out a paw signalling them to stop; I didn't expect them to understand what that meant.

"Luca..?" Rit said, stepping forward. "What happened? Why're they following you?"

I just looked down at Kai, who looked both frightened and worried. Frightened I'd seen many times before, but worried not for a long time. As twisted as it may sound, I was somewhat glad to see him worried; it meant that he cared. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"Luca!" Keefe said loudly, trying to get my attention.

I just looked at the dog then jumped down from my ledge, the five backing off as I did. "I had a little run-in with their leader."

"And you're wearing its skin?" Keefe said in disgust.

I shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, the Alphas don't seem so fierce now."

The group looked up at the five Alphas, somewhat scared, but they knew they were safe.

"Man, yer a beast, stripes," Rit said, meant to be a compliment.

"Let's just go," I replied walking past the lion. What I really wanted to do was stop and give him a big hug, yet some part of me seemed to prevent that. Instead I ignored Rit and continued with the mission. I didn't mean to be so cold, and yet I was. It was frustrating, really, to be like that, but I couldn't help it. It was just...my nature, I guess. It was now, anyway, especially after a visit from Nosferatu. It didn't take long, however, for Rit to catch up to me.

"So are these guys gonna keep followin' us? ‘Cause they sorta give me the creeps..."

"I guess so," I replied quickly. I should've said something more reassuring.

Rit sighed and hesitated to speak. It was clear he wanted to say something, but possibly didn't want to say it with the others around. "D-do you think," he started quietly, "when this is all over...you'd stop fightin' all the time?"

I hadn't ever thought about ‘when this is all over', though the thought of no longer fighting just seemed so...impossible. All I had ever known was fighting. "I don't know," I replied honestly. But then curiosity got the better of me. "Why?"

"'Cause, well...I was able to lay down my sword so I could have a peaceful life with Skye. And, well..." Rit couldn't finish his sentence, but I knew what he was getting it. He was trying to tell me he'd like to have that kind of life with me; he wanted to be my mate.

It was somewhat unsettling to see Rit so weak like this, yet there was a certain sweetness to it. As usual, I didn't know how to respond to him. I just kept walking. I was surprised, actually, to see the Alphas following out of the dark part of the forest, as I'd always just assumed they didn't like normal daylight. There was more snow on the ground now, and the pine trees weren't so mashed close together; that, and they also looked progressively more normal.

"How long are these beasts going to follow us for?" Keefe asked me, somewhat concerned.

"How the hell should I know?" I replied.

"The people in Asgard aren't gonna be too impressed, you know," Loki said. "They'll probably attack us on sight."

"So what do you suggest?" I said, stopping. I could see the end of the woods by that point.

"Maybe we should go on ahead and let them know what happened, that way you don't spook the superstitious bastards too much."

"Seems like a pretty good idea to me," Keefe said. Of course he'd agree.

The Alphas just stared up at me curiously, as if wondering what I was waiting for. One of them even made kind of an adorable dog noise, showing its curiosity as well.

"What do you think?" the Dane asked me.

I shrugged and sighed. This was likely another one of those arguments I wasn't going to win. "Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."

"Indeed. When we get close, we'll go on ahead and get settled, then send someone to get you," Keefe decided.

"Or tell me to keep out," I added.

"Well, yeah, there is that possibility."

I just grunted and the six of us continued, my pack of Alphas following us out of the forest. At the base Mount Hnitbjorg lay Asgard, or the City of Ice to most Midlanders, which we could see from the forest's edge. Although we could see it, it was still a few hours walking distance.

My footpaws were colder than I thought they'd be, trudging through the knee-deep snow, and the clean, crisp air was biting at my nose. The worst part, of course, was the wind, which chilled me right to my core; Midland winters are tolerable when it's cloudy, but on clear days like today, especially up north, they're just bitter. My dark hounds, annoyingly, weren't hindered at all by the icy wind or the deep snow. In fact, a couple seemed to be playing in it â€" growling and rolling around â€" which annoyed me even more. When I got this cold, which wasn't often until taking up the quest to Asgard, I got very irritable.

It was then I noticed a cold, shivering panther huddled close to an equally freezing cougar, and like usual my thoughts went straight to my boy. I wanted to hold him so bad, close to my body so I could share what little warmth I had left with him. But no. That duty seemed to belong to Rin now, as well as comforting him when he's scared or defending him when he's hurt. Although I'm usually the one who destroys the monsters, I still can never do a proper job at protecting him, or anybody for that matter. In battle, the only one I can ever seem to protect is myself. I then let out a very big sigh.

"What's the matter?" said Rit, putting a paw on my shoulder. He always seems to interrupt my thoughts. "You've been doin' a lotta sighin'."

"I'm just thinking, that's all." This time I was ahead of the group, though not by much.

"You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"

I just ignored the lion. I knew he meant well, and it was clear he was trying to get close to me, but as I gazed through the eye holes of a dead Alpha, I wasn't really interested. Part of me was probably still back in that forest, cowering in the dark. Deep down, though, I knew I wanted the lion; his warm, strong arms holding me close, protecting me from whatever I, "Nosferatu," needed protecting from. But I couldn't. If history had taught me anything, it's that getting close to someone will only do them more harm than good. Although Rit and I hadn't really had enough time in the past to become closer than we had, I knew if I started now disaster would only follow. To counter that, of course, was Kai and me. We had only known each other for a few God damned days before all this shit happened; he barely even looks at me now.

But does he blame me for all of this? Or is he still just frightened of me? Even when I was training Kai, he seemed distant, like I was a stranger. Of course, I had been through all of this so many times in my head before, and no answers ever presented themselves, nor even speculations. Could it be as easy as just asking him?

After a long, silent march through the ice and snow, we finally came up to a small group of trees and a large rock, where Keefe decided I should stay until someone came back for me. At least it was guarded somewhat from the wind. My Alphas settled quickly enough, which of course annoyed me; how could they be so comfortable out here?

"I'm not sure how long we'll be; I can't imagine there'd be too many staying at the inn, so I doubt we'll be all day," Keefe informed me. It bothered me, especially in the cold, how calm Keefe remained even after Midgard's destruction. He'd always kept his head on straight, and despite the dark times we were facing, he still did. It was more or less his job now to come up with plans of action, or some such thing; the dog would usually combat my ideas, anyway, which I'd inevitably lose. I guess I'd eventually resigned to it, because I rarely argued with him anymore.

"Whatever," I finally replied, slumping down on a smaller chunk of the huge rock. I curled my arms around my chest in a vain attempt to keep myself warm, and my legs were mashed together as well.

"You don't have to be such a grump," Keefe told me, now walking away. I just ignored that stupid comment, watching the dog and the others walk away.

For some reason I kept expecting Kai to look back, as if to see if I was following, or to see how I was doing. But he didn't. Loki did a few times, but I think he was mostly just watching the Alphas, who were wrestling in the snow and making noise. Finally, though, I noticed Rit saying something to the lot, and it filled me with at least a little joy to see the lion turn around and slog back through the deep snow toward me. I just looked up at him with a bit of a smile.

"Thought you could use some company," the lion said, leaning back against a tree, facing me. He was smiling, too, then glanced up at the Alphas. "These guys aren't gonna kill me, are they?"

"I think if they wanted to, they'd have done it already. I guess they know you're with me."

"I guess... You know, they're not so freaky in the sunlight like this...or when they're playin' like that. Jesus..."

I just shrugged.

"So how long do you think they'll be?" Rit asked me, as if I could see into the future.

"Beats me. Keefe seemed to think they wouldn't be long, but then again he likes to talk."

"How come you agreed to let Keefe come along, anyway, if you don't like ‘im that much?"

I hadn't ever really considered that. "I dunno."

"He clearly bugs you, stripes, and he offered to go his own way after...Midgard. But you kept him on. Do you like him, or something?"

That took me aback a little, despite the slightest blush in my cheeks, which I hoped was hidden by the black Alpha-hood. He was a handsome dog, of course, but I'd never thought about him romantically. I mean...not that romantically. It's only natural for me to think about other guys, perhaps even fantasize, in a context beyond our daily lives. But no, I did not feel anything for Keefe. Maybe...at one point in time, but that was over a year ago. "No," I finally answered, "I don't."

"Sounds like you do," Rit continued, teasing me. He wasn't leaning against the tree anymore. "Someone's got a little crush, eh?"

"Shut up, Rit," I said, looking up. "You can be such a child."

"C'mon, why're you always so serious nowadays?"

"Because," I told him, standing up, "I haven't really had the luxury for goofing off like you do." I was starting to get annoyed now, and wished he had just gone with the others. The Alphas were now paying more attention, too.

"Hey, I don't goof off. I can kill those monsters, too, but I don't end up bein' an asshole afterwards."

"Rit, I swear to God, if you don't shut your maw with that bullshit, I'm gonna shut it for you."

"I'd love to see you try, stripes. Yer yet to beat me in a fight, anyway."

I couldn't help but growl at him. Although Rit could be a real sweetheart at times, he also had a very short fuse. It didn't take much to set him off sometimes, especially when a grumpy tiger's involved.

"I doubt even Nosferatu could win in a fight with me," the lion mocked, as if trying to tempt me.

This time I bared my teeth. "Shut the fuck up, Rit... You do not want to go there." The Alphas appeared more agitated now, too.

The lion scoffed.

I didn't want to get in a fight with him, and I never knew why he tried to provoke me as much as he did. Usually he would get annoyed with me when I wasn't in a particularly silly mood, like he sometimes gets into, and it would just escalate from there. I just sighed and sat back down, arms crossed again and my back to Rit. Moments later, I heard him sigh, too.

"I was just bein' silly," the lion admitted. "Thought you could use a change of tone."

I knew it.

"Let's not let this ruin our trip up here."

"I think Nature did a fine job of that already," I shivered. I then felt a couple paws on my shoulders, rubbing down along my chest armour. And before I could look back at Rit, he pulled back both my hoods slowly and murred in my ear, then kissed my cheek. I must have turned ten shades of red before he finally said something.

"Tiger, you know how I've been feelin' ‘bout you lately," he said quietly, "and I wanna show you just how much I enjoy yer company."

"Uh," was all I managed to spit out.

"You don't gotta say anything, stripes, and I'm not gonna try anything in this weather... But I'm just lettin' you know what I plan for ya."

"Excuse me?" It sounded like he was going to rape me.

The lion giggled. "I didn't mean it like that. I just...God, this is tough..."

"What?"

"When we get into town, I wanna get a room for just me and you...know what I mean?"

Yeah, I knew what he meant. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to get that involved with him. Although continuing a relationship with Kai seemed futile, something still pulled me away from my long-time friend. Was it hope? "I..." was all I could say.

"It's all right," Rit nodded, pulling himself away, "if you don't wanna. Like I said before in that forest, me an' you haven't really had much...lovin' lately. I know we've both lost loved ones...but I figure we still have each other, right?"

I just nodded slowly, then replied unenthusiastically, "Yeah."

After a long, silent moment, I watched Rit pace aimlessly away from the rocks and trees, then bend over and pick up a small pile of snow. With almost a devilish grin, he compacted the snow between his paws and glanced over at me, the ball now in one paw.

"Wh-what?" I asked, untrusting of his evil grin.

The lion then raised is paw. Was he going to-? Before I could finish that thought, I received a cold ball of snow right in the muzzle, and I growled fiercely as I wiped it away. I then stood up quickly, signalling the Alphas to back down; they seemed to be very protective of me.

"How'd you like that?" the lion mocked, grabbing another pawful of snow.

I growled again and, as I dodged the second snowball, scooped up some of my own and whipped it back, striking Rit in the cheek. "Ha!" I called out, right before a snowball hit me in the chest. Then I started to run, scooping up snow and throwing it back at the lion, missing as much as I was hitting.

It was hard running through the knee-deep snow like that, but as the two of us tore up the otherwise pristine white blanket, it slowly became easier. After long, the pair of us were tired, sweaty, and panting heavily, but we had made a good-sized circle, more or less, to run around in. Standing at one end panting, the problems of recent days seemed almost to vanish as we became kids again, and though I hardly had an ideal childhood, I had always managed to find time to play in the snow.

Just then, I ducked down quick and whipped my pre-made snowball, smacking Rit square in the jaw, then took off around the edge of our circle. Suddenly I was forced to stop, as an enormous mound of snow was hurled toward me. Unfortunately the surface provided little traction and I slid right into the mound, which effectively knocked me backwards. I shook my head, though, trying to get the snow out of my ears, and slowly lifted myself. It was then I realized Rit was standing with his sword drawn, and staring wickedly at me. So, that was his game, huh?

Regrettably, I had left Kraftig back at where I was sitting, so against this I was defenceless. I did manage, however, to dodge another pile of snow and, while keeping low and agile, dodged another. Quickly I ran toward the rock and nabbed my sword, however at the cost of a big heap of snow smashing into my back. Unharmed by this, I grinned and swung my massive blade around, digging it into the snow and heaving an even larger amount back at my friend. As the snow blew through the air, all I could hear was Rit's loud gasp and him diving away. I started to laugh gleefully, though was shut up quickly with, of course, another snowball to the muzzle. Rit was just staring at me devilishly, paw still on his sword and chunks of ice still clumped between his pawpads, not to mention his mane.

I growled and ran forward, just as he was getting up, and swung my blade again, uplifting another mass of the frozen white, only to realize Rit's sword had cut through it and was coming down at me. Acting fast, I raised both paws to my left, so my sword was pointed at a downward angle, deflecting the attack. It would seem our innocent snowball fight had turned into a sparring match. I lifted my arms to defend another attack, taking careful steps back, claws out to prevent slipping. Just as his sword came down on mine again, I used my strength to push the lion back, growling as I finally gained a little leverage. Seeing Rit's surprised face thrilled me a little, and just as I pushed him back, I swung my sword around and down toward him, creating sparks as our weapons clashed. We were both snarling madly now, but we knew it was only instinct.

Just then, to my left, another attack. I had barely any time to block it before having to lift my massive blade upward, which took a lot of muscle, then swung it down to try to get back on the offensive. It didn't last long, though, as my sword struck Rit's yet again, this time sliding down and sinking into the snow. I tried to lift it fast enough to block the attack coming toward my head, but it was too late; half a second later, I felt the slightest, yet still somewhat painful, tap of Rit's sword against the side of my head. He was smiling confidently at me, sword still against my head.

It was then I grabbed another snowball and whipped it at the lion, though he had blocked it with his arm. It was enough of a distraction, though, where I could dive forward, regretting it instantly as snow piled into the top of my armour and clothes, and throw two more balls at Rit's side, striking him in the face and shoulder. After hearing Rit snarl, I got up quickly and charged toward the lion, who had dropped his sword, and tackled the snow-covered brute.

Together the pair of us sank into the deep snow with clashing, clattering armour, beyond our little arena, myself atop the large feline. I growled playfully at him and he looked up at me, astonished. Either that, or he had gotten a shit-load of snow down his back. "No way," he said amazedly.

"Gotcha!" I exclaimed, growling in success.

"You cheated," he countered, which we both knew was bullshit. Not that Rit would have admitted it.

We were both panting pretty hard, and sweating just as much, and when I got up, I held out a paw to help my friend. As it turned out, that was a mistake; Rit had grabbed as much snow as he could before being pulled up, then shoved it in my face like some kind of old gag.

"So there," he said childishly. Moments later, though, after he helped wipe it off, I was surprised to see his face so close to mine, and although he was panting, he licked my muzzle quickly a couple times.

"Wh-what was that for?" I asked the lion. He always chose the most unexpected times to be affectionate, as if it wasn't surprising enough as it was.

"Oh nuthin," he said all innocently, now walking away from me. I just watched the lion â€" though some may say I ‘checked him out' â€" as he retrieved his sword and continued back to where we had started, big puffs of billowy breath lingering in the air as he walked. Feeling a bit of blush in my face, I shook it off and went after him.

"How long's it been?" Rit asked me as I rested my sword down.

"I dunno."

"Well, how long do you think we have?"

"Uh. I don't know. Why?"

"No reason," Rit said with a sly grin, approaching me. It was then he put his paws around me and held me close, our armour clanging together as we met. I just held my arms to my sides, uncertain of what my move should be.

"S-something on your mind?" I asked stupidly.

"Just this," the lion replied, now pressing his lips against mine.

I suddenly felt very elated as we kissed. My paws roamed up to Rit's hips and I held him back, kissing quite passionately. There was no use denying I wanted the lion probably as much as he wanted me, though still something inside me was telling me to stop, to go no further than this. I ignored that, however, and enjoyed our long, loving kiss. Gradually my paws moved further up the lion's body, and despite his thick woolly clothes and metal armour, Rit's sexy form still turned me on. I couldn't believe how long this kiss was lasting for... He pulled away a few times, though our lips were still connected, just to change positions. Our tongues danced â€" or perhaps wrestled â€" inside our maws, sensitive lips gliding across one another's. It had been far too long since I last felt like this, which made me start to think things with Kai weren't so bad after all. Before I could ponder that thought more, however, I was eventually backed into the large rock, our maws jostling together. The Alphas were just watching us now.

"Luca..." Rit said quietly, lips pulled away for just a moment. His paws slid down my sides and to my hips, now doing something at my front. Feeling the cold air more definitely on my crotch, I realized what it was.

"R-Rit...we can't," I moaned, now feeling very cold down there; I think he had my belt undone now, and was working on my pants.

"Don't be afraid," the lion reassured me, then kissed me again.

I just held myself in the kiss. For some reason, I just couldn't resist, especially not now. Part of me felt somewhat annoyed, like I was being manipulated, but the other part told me to just stand there and do what he says. Eventually the lion stopped with the kiss, and then opted to lick my muzzle several times. By the fifth lick, he had definitely gotten my pants open, as the cold air rushed in, which caused me to gasp loudly.

"F-fuck," I said, shivering a little bit now. "Y-you'd better do something about that."

Fortunately for me, he did. The brisk air against my tigermeat, which had poked out some time ago, was relieved somewhat by Rit's large paw, gently stroking it as his muzzle was still kept close to mine.

"Better?" Rit asked with a grin.

I didn't answer, but instead closed my eyes and leaned back a bit, not even bothering now to resist. Despite the lion taking more of a submissive role, I still felt under his complete command. Rit then bit my right lip, the side with the scar, and held it between his teeth, giggling devilishly as he pulled. I just groaned quietly, more so at his busy paw. Very quickly I had become erect, and the lion was making damn sure I stayed that way. Despite the freezing air, his pawpads constantly stroking my length which helped warm it up, though if my face was any indication, it probably would've been fine on its own.

"How's that feel, stripes?" the lion asked me, finally letting go of my lip. Rit seemed to like biting me, a lesson I had learned years ago when we first hooked up. I didn't mind, though; in fact, I thought it was kind of cute.

"Wonderful," I replied, which was true, too. Already I was leaking precum, which I felt against my shaft as it smeared into Rit's paw.

Rit murred loudly. "Looks like you've got a lot in there," the lion pointed out. "Don't you masturbate?"

"N-not...really." Who had time for that, anyway? Rit, apparently. It had been well over a month, in fact, since I last pleasured myself, and the last time I didn't even get to finish up.

The lion then murred even louder. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he said, pulling away.

Curious what he was doing, I finally opened my eyes, watching the lion get down on his knees. Was he going to do what I thought he was going to do? It didn't take long to get my answer, however, as his paw gripped firmly at my cock-base and his tongue slid all the way up the underside. My eyes shot open at this intense sensation, and I moaned loudly. If Rit wasn't sure how I was feeling before, he certainly knew now.

"Like that, eh?" he said with a smile, looking up at me. It was cute to see the lion down there like that, tongue still sticking out of his maw a bit. A string of precum dangled from his tongue to my cockhead, which made me smile. Again, he had chosen the submissive role, something I thought I'd never see, let alone experience, and yet he was thoroughly in charge. "You just stand there, stripes, and enjoy what I've got to offer. Got it?"

"Y-yes...sir," I answered. I felt compelled to obey the lion, despite every part of me telling him to get off and leave me alone. If he was anyone else, I'd have kicked his ass long ago, and so I stood obediently as the lion played with my length, licking and suckling on the end. I could feel the pre being sucked out, which felt amazing.

"You're tasty," Rit told me. One paw then dug back into my pants and retrieved my warm, full balls, which the lion massaged gently. It would seem he was doing everything he could to pleasure me, and it was working. He held my balls in one of his large paws, which cupped around them perfectly, fondling them expertly. At the same time, as if that wasn't enough, the lion wrapped his lips around my spiny cockhead an used his tongue to torment the underside, right at the base of the head, which sent wave after wave of intense pleasure into my body. Every time he did that with his tongue, I'd moan in varying pitches, from the deepest of growls to the highest of pathetic whines. I had no idea where Rit perfected this, but he had certainly perfected it.

And just when I thought it couldn't get better, the lion began to bob his head, taking more of my cock into his maw. My paw gripped at the cold rock behind me, claws out and digging into the stone. "F-fuck," I said aloud, loving this. Although he hadn't taken my whole cock, he was getting there, bobbing constantly now and gradually taking in more and more. Still his tongue was busy at my shaft's underside, while his lips had formed a good seal. There was definitely no turning back now; no denying him. I could hear Rit's muffled moans, which made me smile as my head mashed back into the snowy rock and consistent noise escaped my maw.

I opened my eyes for just a moment, then, as I heard footpaws in the snow, quickly discovering my Alphas circling around us, watching curiously. Some, even, had started poking around the others' nethers, nosing and licking around in a similar fashion. The inky beasts, as I quickly discovered, had canine-like cocks, larger than I'd have expected, which seemed to almost glow a crimson red. The small pack of all-males then began to play with themselves in the same way Rit was playing with me, which was kind of cute, disturbing, and arousing all at the same time.

My attention was suddenly drawn back to Rit as I felt his paw move away from my balls and enter back into my pants, stroking gently along the underside of my body, between my tailhole and my shaft. The lion applied some pressure, which forced me to tense and shoot more precum into his maw, then moved further along. The lion was still sucking on my shaft, and I was amazed he could concentrate on both that and whatever his paw was doing. With just one eye open now, I looked down as best I could to see how much progress Rit had made, and it seemed he was downing at least three-quarters of my bright pink cock. He was bobbing somewhat slowly, though, as his paw moved about, then switched to taking just half my shaft and stroking the base with his other paw. And, of course, his tongue was driving me wild, making it a little hard to stand.

Just then, I realized what he was doing with his paw; trying to locate my tailhole, which he had done successfully. I felt the pad of what I assumed was his middle finger putting pressure on my fairly tight hole, pushing it open a bit. And I knew he knew he had found it by the devilish murring noise he made. I was breathing quite heavily by this point as again and again pleasure shot through my shaft and my lower-body. Finally Rit pulled my cock right out of his maw and with his great big paw just stroked me off slowly, just barely enough to prevent me from climaxing, which was likely going to happen soon. My heart then skipped a beat when I caught Rit's eyes, which unnerved me a bit. I just stared down at him until I felt that finger press harder into my tailhole, opening it up and pushing in.

I just closed my eyes tightly as his large finger penetrated my body, pushing upward. I could hear the lion murring in delight, probably at the feel of my warm body; we had been outdoors for quite some time. And just when I thought it couldn't get any tighter up there, the lion pulled his finger out and put in two, causing a bit of pain but mostly just pleasure, really getting up there. And, of course, while he was doing all this, his other paw was still busily stroking my meat, slowly but effectively.

"You all right?" the lion asked, somewhat mockingly. He could no doubt tell by my facial expression alone how he was making my body feel, and if that didn't give it away the loud, pathetic moan as an answer certainly did. "Good," he replied, now lowering his head. His paw then moved from my shaft and worked on my balls a bit, which were currently resting on his other forearm, and within seconds, he had my cold shaft back in his warm, incredibly inviting maw.

"Rit..." I moaned, breathing heavily. I know I sounded pathetic, but I couldn't help it. With every heavy breath in, I could feel the compression on my chest from my clothes and armour; I needed to remove it. Carefully, yet shakily, I moved my paws to my sides and began to undo the straps, until finally I had them all undone; that at least relieved some of the pressure. With another noise emanating from my maw, I let my paws drop to my sides, clinging a little to the rock behind me, as Rit continued with what he was doing. A second after that thought, though, I suddenly felt something kind of unusual happening inside my body, right where the lion's digit was. It would seem each time he applied pressure, which usually followed with rapid movement, his finger caused strong waves of euphoria to fire through my body, which apparently equated to shooting off even more precum. Again, I had no idea where the lion had learned to do this stuff, but I was damn glad he had. Although it didn't quite compare to the first time we had slept together, this was high up there in my list of incredible feelings.

"Wh-what the...fuck?" I moaned, pushing myself back into the rock with my legs, trying to prevent falling over.

Rit evidently ignored me, as he didn't even open his eyes. He just continued to suck my cock, which was undeniably warmed up now. Back and forth his head bobbed, using his tongue expertly, while at the same time grinding his finger up my rear; I barely even noticed him still playing with my balls. By this point, I think I was definitely thrusting forward somewhat each time he bobbed his head forward. It felt so good, and I had no way of knowing just how much longer I'd be able to hold off. Not like I had any choice, anyway. And so I just closed my eyes and tried not to bash my head too hard in the rock behind me, moaning uninhibitedly.

Again I started hearing other noises, and of course my curiosity got the better of me. Again I opened my eyes and, as I'd suspected, the Alphas were fornicating around Rit and I, which was kind of a surprise. I, or anyone for that matter, didn't know anything about how these beasts live or how they interact with each other, so this could be perfectly normal. Either that or they were just copying their master. Whichever the case may be, they seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, though it was sort of hard to tell. Some were simply sticking with Rit's method of oral yiff, while a couple were fully engaged in ass-pounding sex. Is it strange that they kind of turned me on?

Suddenly, another sharp smack in the gut with pleasure, I think caused again by Rit's busy fingers. "Fuck!" I cried out, amazed mostly that I hadn't climaxed yet, given the amount of ecstasy the lion was putting me through. My paw then whipped down to Rit's head, a move that even surprised me, and I began to work his head faster, gripping easily onto his mane, and I think part of his ear, too. I could tell he was taken aback at little, but he just went with it. Leaning back on the rock, it seemed my simple blowjob had turned into a more thrilling muzzle-fuck, with a couple fingers up my rear. Ignoring the improbability of me dominating Rit, I continued, just beginning to feel that not-so-familiar feeling. It was hard, though, forcing the lion to suck my cock when he, for one, had already been doing it, and two, was rapturously kneading this particular part up my tailhole that drove me absolutely crazy. I managed, however, to persist, which felt amazing.

The lion, I think, was moaning a bit now, or maybe just growling, as he now had no choice but to suck my tigermeat. His tongue, though, was still doing whatever it was doing to make me shiver. I was whining like a baby at this constant attention to my privates, in amongst normal moaning, and I was sure, now, that it was coming. My eyes closed tight, ignoring the Alphas completely now, I pushed harder and faster into Rit's muzzle, until I couldn't breathe any heavier. Finally, at long last, I gave a final few thrusts and cried out without reserve as suddenly my long-awaited climax hit me like cannon-fire. My tailhole clamped tightly around Rit's fingers and I finally shot my load straight into the lion's muzzle, which by the sounds of it he enjoyed greatly.

With that enormous pulse of pure sexual bliss, I felt my cum fire into the back of the lion's throat, and continued to pour like a stream; so much so Rit couldn't even hold it all in. I heard the lion cough and quickly pull away as my hot seed poured from his maw, falling down his chin and onto the snow.

"Fuck..." Rit said after swallowing a full muzzleful, as well as retrieving his fingers.

I was panting hard now with my semi-soft cock still dangling in the freezing cold air, dripping with cum. I could still feel the lingering ecstasy in my body, and when I moved my legs it caused me to moan a bit as a second, much less intense wave blew through me, forcing out the last bit of seed in my balls. After a long moment, though, the pair of us just stayed put in the sort of afterglow of yiff, until the sharp pain of the frozen air caught my attention. I was thoroughly soft now, backed way into my sheath, and quickly I pulled up my pants and reattached all my armour and straps, now with a firm control of my breathing.

Rit finally got up off the snowy ground and with a loud murr, pressed his body against mine, holding onto me. He hadn't wiped my cum off his face yet. "Mm... You had a lot more juice inside you than I thought you would," the lion commented. "Guess you've been storin' it away, huh?" Rit smiled widely then pressed his damp lips against mine, kissing me again.

And, of course, I felt more than obliged to return the favour, tasting what I assumed was my own seed on his tongue. After our kiss, he wiped as much away as he could and we just continued to hold onto each other, our cheeks pressed together and us both purring quietly. We held each other like this for a long while until we heard pawsteps other than the Alphas, who were resting now and I could only assume they had finished up with each other.

I opened my eyes only to be greeted by a tall, handsome Great Dane, his dark fur contrasting against the white backdrop of northern Midland. He just stood there, as if waiting for us to finish. Though when it was clear that wouldn't happen for a while, he started to talk.

"I spoke with the people of Asgard and assured them there would be no trouble with the Alphas."

Rit and I ignored Keefe for a moment before finally pulling away, slowly and with a sigh.

"All right," I replied, grabbing my sword. Rit did the same and the three of us headed off toward the town.

"I heard you two, you know."

I think I started to blush. "What, all the way from Asgard?"

"I don't think so, but it's possible you two didn't start until I had already left. Sounded like you were having fun, which is surprising in this cold."

We shrugged.

"So what're the rooms like?" Rit asked quickly. He couldn't have been more obvious. "Did me and Luca get one together?" I guess I was wrong.

"I only managed to get a couple rooms, since we're sort of low on coin. If Loki's coming with us now, that's three per room. So, yeah, you two can have a room. But you're sharing it with me."

Rit sighed. He really wanted to get me alone with him. Though if I knew Rit, he was probably already trying to formulate a plan to do just that.

"I'm surprised you two hadn't hooked up like this a while ago," Keefe said, trudging through the path in the snow he'd already made.

"You can blame stripes for that," Rit pointed out thoughtlessly.

"Shut up," I grumbled. My tailhole felt a tiny bit sore still, but all the other sensations had already left my body.

The longer the three of us slogged through the deep snow, the less we focused on conversation and more on standing up. We were all panting pretty heavily by this point, our breath thick in the air; it was harder work than you'd think.

After a long, tiring hike to Asgard, the three of us made it into town, shivering but glad we had made it, especially Rit and me. We were greeted, or perhaps more specifically, I was greeted, by a short, old wolf with thick white fur.

He was smiling up at us, if not wary of my five dark followers, and held out his right paw. "So you must be the one who felled the mighty Fenrir."

"Who?" I asked, gripping his paw. I was surprised to feel it was a fake paw. Possibly wood. Pine, perhaps.

"The monstrous black wolf of those evil woods, whose skin you are wearing ," he explained, taking back his paw. "The last time I gazed upon that evil fur, the beast had bitten off my right paw."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I replied. Such a canned response that was. "So I assume you're the one in charge of this place, huh?"

The wolf nodded. "Aye, in a manner of speaking. The name's Tyr. I may look old, but I'm as strong a fighter as any who pass these parts. I fought Fenrir, you know, about a year ago today in fact."

I wasn't sure why he was telling me all this.

"And how many fighters do you get passing through here?" Rit asked him, the smartass.

Tyr ignored the question. "I just had to meet the one who slew that foul beast. You have my thanks warrior, and the thanks of Asgard. Now, your friend here tells me you are in search of information, hm?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I am. He said you guys know a lot about the Ancient Ones."

"Indeed, we do. Although the rest of Midland pray to a single god, we still appeal to the Old Gods. Come with me so we may speak in warmth."

"Mm, sounds good to me," Rit said, rubbing his paws together.

And so the four of us made our way to the Inn, some of the townspeople getting out of the way as we passed; I guess the sight of Alphas scared them. Either that, or the sight of the one who killed the biggest of the Alphas.

This was kind of a charming town, with old wood structures and frozen dirt roads. It was clear they had adapted to the cold weather here, as not one were nearly as bundled up as the rest of us were. Some of them, the ones with very thick fur, were even walking around topless. All around the buildings, on signs and signposts, were various symbols not unlike what the King had carved into the air as he performed his dark ritual. Perhaps the symbols were an alphabet of some kind, or maybe even separate words. It was a little strange to me, this town, but then again most places I went to were.

It was then I noticed an open structure that appeared to be a blacksmith, and the fur inside seemed oddly familiar. Though before I could get a good look at the guy, who was hard at work, I was drawn inside a building, along with Rit, Keefe, and Tyr; probably the Inn.

Inside the small structure, Loki, Rin, and Kai were all sitting around a stone fireplace, keeping warm, while the rest of us went upstairs to our room, in order to remove our armour.

"I'll wait for you with the others," Tyr said, leaving the three of us in our room. "Then we will discuss what you want to know."

"Thank you," said Keefe as the wolf left.

With a sigh of relief, I removed my sword and finally undid my chest armour, removing it over my head and letting it drop to the wooden floor. I then made quick work of the rest of my armour, placing it neatly in a corner, and removed my thick, woolly top, then promptly took off my leather, sleeveless shirt, which I normally just wore under my armour. With another satisfied sigh, I stretched out my arms, stretching my muscles, and turned to the others. Although they still had their tops on, they did look glad to be rid of their armour.

"Gettin' comfortable already, eh, stripes?"

I just shrugged, but after shivering, I opted to put my woolly coat back on, however left it unbuttoned. I then blushed a little as I noticed Rit touching himself while staring at me, though I think I wasn't supposed to notice. Not only had I noticed, though, so did Keefe.

"Rit, there's plenty of time for that later," the dog said.

"Hm?" he replied obliviously, as if he wasn't doing anything.

Keefe and I just rolled our eyes and left, the lion soon following behind. I took a seat in a fairly comfortable chair, next to the fire, while Keefe sat across from me, closer to the boys, and Rit beside him. Between Rit and me sat Tyr, who had brought three mugs of what I assumed was cocoa. After he sat and we all became comfortable, we got down to business.

"So, what is it you would like to know about our Gods and the Ancient Ones?"

"I'm more interested in the Ancient Ones," I replied.

The wolf looked at me inquisitively.

I wasn't really sure where to begin. "Well, what can you tell me about them?"

"A great many things, young tiger. They are opposed to our Gods in every way. While our Gods are good, they of course are evil. Where our Gods are spiritual, ethereal beings, the Dark Ones can assume physical form."

I grunted. "So from a non-believer's point of view, your Gods don't really exist, huh?"

That question made Tyr stir uncomfortably a little, but finally he answered. "Yes, I suppose that would be the case."

"Luca..." Keefe said. Just in his tone alone, he managed to somehow speak a whole lecture to me about sensitivity. "I'm not sure if you're aware," the Holy Knight continued to Tyr, "but well over a year ago, all of Midgard was destroyed."

Tyr nodded. "Indeed, these are grave times."

"So, you are aware, then, of the Ancient Ones' involvement in our world today?"

The thick-furred wolf sighed. "Yes, I am aware. It was prophesised by our ancestors that the dark masters would one day be unleashed in our mortal world."

"Where do they come from?" Keefe continued.

"Another world, parallel to our own. They are immortal beasts who rule their land absolutely, though it is a dead, desolate place. Like in our own society, they have a hierarchy. Some demons rule, and many are just peasants, or commoners. Despite their role in their own realm, even the weakest of demons is a force to be reckoned with in ours. People now do not believe in the Ancient Ones, or practice our oldest traditions. They instead believe in another god, one who truly does not exist; a being fabricated by the minds of simple creatures... No offence, Knight."

"None taken."

"Because of this, the people of Midland scare easily, and many would no doubt be unable to even handle the sight of one of these malignant beasts. There would be no defence against them, at least no natural defence. People are efficient at killing people, however against one of the dark minions of Hel...it is an entirely different story."

"Hel?" I asked.

"Yes, that is what where they come from, the name of their bleak, fiery realm. Already I have seen evidence of their involvement in our world."

"In what way?" Keefe asked calmly.

"Well, the appearance of Fenrir was the first sign something truly evil had happened to our world. I had heard by many travellers of the destruction of Midgard, and the tremendous, dark cyclone that had enveloped the Great City. That was their gateway into our world. Their realm has already begun to overlap, or merge with our own, causing those dark pockets of land throughout Midland. In time they will grow until our world has been completely transformed by these abhorrent creatures."

"It was the King," I interrupted, getting excited. "The goddamned King opened up the door to the demon realm, trying to sacrifice Kai over there, too. I'd tear him apart a thousand times more for what he did to my..." I couldn't seem to finish that sentence. I had caught Kai's attention, though.

Tyr seemed somewhat surprised. "I was impressed that you were able to destroy Fenrir on your own, young tiger, but to have killed a Disciple? Truly you are a blessed warrior."

"I've killed a lot more than just the King," I admitted, not sounding particularly happy about it either. My friends knew why I hated killing those monsters. I then noticed Tyr looking at Kai carefully, as if pondering something.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"You say it was this young panther who was branded as the sacrifice?"

"Branded?"

"Come close, son," Tyr said to Kai, holding out his paw. When Kai came close, feeling sort of embarrassed to be in the centre of us all, the wolf examined his body close. "Do you have a mark on you, perhaps something you've had since birth?"

Now Kai was really embarrassed, and I was getting annoyed.

"Back off," I said, leaning forward. I put a hint of a growl in my voice, too, to tell the old wolf I was serious. "Why do you ask?"

"My apologies," the wolf said quietly, leaning back.

Before he could continue, though, I held a paw out to Kai, offering him comfort. He just stared at me though, with cold, blank eyes. Though his eyes were still as red as always, their particular flare was gone, and that hurt so much. "You're safe with me, Kai," I said in a soft voice.

Kai just took a step back, though, then finally went with his younger friends.

I just sighed deeply, sitting back in my chair, finally taking a sip of the cocoa. This, of course, caused a long, awkward silence, until I decided to break the silence. "Why did you want to know if he had a mark on him?"

"If he does," Tyr explained, "then that is the brand. He was the one preordained by the Ancient Ones to open the vortex to their world and finally release the Crimson King, after many centuries of exile. The boy's life means only that the Crimson King has not yet been released."

I suddenly remembered that dream I had in the forest. "Who is the Crimson King?" I asked anxiously. The voices had told me to sacrifice my panther...that he belongs to the Crimson King. Things were starting to come together.

"Ah. Quite a fascinating story, really. Millennia ago, the Crimson King ruled this land, and countless others. He reigned supreme, yet his thirst for power could never be quenched. After a long, tiring battle with what is now northern Midland, the people of these lands pleaded to the Gods for some kind of divine intervention. Although brave and fearless warriors, the people could not defend long against the King's seemingly endless army, and soon retreated to their shrine and inner sanctuary deep within Mount Hnitbjorg. The warriors continued to defend their home until the end, allowing the others to escape to Hnitbjorg. Then the Gods took pity on the mortals and before taking those heroic slain in battle, they descended from their home in Asgard â€" which our humble town his named after â€" and banished the Crimson King and his mighty army into the inner depths of Hel, sealing the gate behind him. It is said the Crimson King, though banished from the mortal realm, quickly reassembled his warriors and began an epic conquest of Hel, becoming its new ruler. And there he resides until the day his Sacrifice is conceived, and used by his mortal Liaison to reopen the gates to Hel and release him from his demonic prison."

"But...Kai's not dead. The King never got that far in his ritual; I saw to that."

"Indeed, which may explain the absence of the Crimson King. It is written that by releasing the souls of six hundred, sixty-six innocents, the doors to Hel are opened and the King's disciples will pour into ours, paving the way for his eventual return. It takes only the blood of the Sacrifice to release the souls, but only his soul can release the King himself."

"So how come they aren't out looking for us?" I asked Tyr quietly. "For...Kai? I mean...if he's that important to them..."

"The Ancient Ones are great in number, but without their King to guide them, they are disorganized and stupid. Upon entering this world, they no doubt had to rely on instincts alone for survival. They are not the clever warriors they once were, before their banishment. Like Hel, they have started intertwining themselves amongst the populace, slowly taking over and simply awaiting the Crimson King's return."

"So, I guess the next question is...how do we stop them?"

"Unfortunately, it has already begun, as you well know. The Crimson King is an extremely powerful being, and no doubt his power and his rage has been growing steadily with every passing year. To stop the demonic invasion indefinitely, you must destroy the Crimson King. That will sever his link with the Ancient Ones, causing them, and likely their host bodies, to die. However, there are only two ways to get to the Crimson King; either let him enter our world, or enter his."

"How do I do that?" I asked eagerly. "How can get into Hel?"

"Don't be foolish!" the wolf barked. "Not even our wisest, mightiest warriors can compare to his power. You would be crushed before even reaching the King."

I just growled. Obviously this wolf didn't know who I was, not that he should have. "I've lost count of the number of his Disciples I've killed since the fall of Midgard. I'm nothing like your old warriors."

"Indeed," Tyr said gravely. "Unlike our ‘old warriors,' you have a great darkness within you. The fact you could kill Fenrir with the ease you did suggests just that."

I just growled quietly. He wasn't exactly wrong. "You never answered my question."

Tyr just sighed. "Our ancient texts, while expansive in the telling of our and our Gods' history, have not revealed the location of Hel's gate. That, I'm afraid, you must discover on your own."

"Surely," Keefe cut in, "you must be able to at least point us in the right direction?"

"You lot are truly intent on finding the Crimson King...aren't you."

"Well I'm not gonna let them kill my panther," I said loudly. I was feeling somewhat agitated by this point, though calmer when I noticed Kai look over at me again.

"Of course," Tyr said with a nod of his head. "I would never suggest otherwise."

"Perhaps...there is another way to sever the Crimson King's link with the Disciples?"

The white wolf was pondering that thought for a long moment. "If that is a possibility, its knowledge is far beyond my comprehension. However, I will consult with some of the others. Perhaps they will know of a way."

"Thank you," Keefe said, shaking paws with Tyr. "Thank you very much."

The old wolf smiled and got up. "We don't see many travelers this far north, and it would be a pleasure to share our culture and our history with you, whether it aids your noble quest or not. With that, I will take my leave; it has been some time since I last conferred with our ancient texts, and I may not be quite the translator I used to be. Take care, my friends."

I simply nodded in reply, then sighed deeply, sinking into my chair. Although we were a step closer to ridding Midland of those demonic interlopers, it would seem some rather enormous bounds now had to be made. My dream, or vision perhaps, had become very clear to me now; the Crimson King wanted me to sacrifice my panther in order to free him from whatever bound him to Hel. Why me, specifically, I didn't know. That, of course, was never going to happen; I wouldn't allow it. Looking at Kai, I felt confident in my ability to protect him, and keep him from coming to harm. Any creature that dared to put my panther in danger would have one pissed tiger on their hands.

It was then someone mentioned something about new swords that I remembered the modest blacksmith I saw coming into this place, and I had to check it out.

"Where're you going?" Rit asked me as I got up.

"I going to see the blacksmith," I said, heading up toward our room. Rit, of course, was following me. And just as we entered the room, I heard the door slam shut behind us and the quiet growl of a horny lion. Within moments, I felt his warm paws roll across my sides, under my woolly coat, and scritch gently at my belly, which admittedly felt kind of nice. "Rit..." I said, still not sure if I wanted to do with him what he had in mind.

"You know," he spoke in a soft voice, "you made me real wet before..."

I started to blush.

"You have a very sexy body, you know. Mm...can you feel what you're doing to me?"

Yeah, I felt it. The lion was pressing his crotch into my rear, and it was clear what was on his mind. I then felt his paws begin to work at my belt. "Rit," I giggled, "please... I want to go see the blacksmith," I said again.

The horny beast of a lion just murred loudly in my ear. "Can't you just go see him later? It's not like he's going anywhere."

Neither was Rit. I don't know why I was so resistant to the lion; perhaps because he was being so persistent, and I just wanted to prove a point. Although I wasn't exactly stopping him when he finally undid my belt and pulled my pants down. I felt his throbbing, hot lionmeat poking at my rear â€" he had apparently already undone his own pants â€" and I think I just sort of gasped. At first Rit just rubbed it between my fuzzy butt-cheeks, moaning slightly as it glided though my fur. Then he began to tease me, poking at my tailhole but not quite penetrating. Each time he did that he giggled, and I just gasped again and again like a sap.

"You have no idea how long I've waiting for this," Rit said quietly into my ear. He then bit my ear â€" my left ear â€" gently and growled playfully, pressing his body harder against mine; he was a very well-endowed lion.

I think I was blushing very intensely by this point, and I could feel the room heating up already. Not only that, but I was starting to get hard again. By that point, I think I agreed with Rit in that the blacksmith would still be there later. His hold on me was too strong, especially when he was this horny. I just moaned and pressed my rear back into the lion, which got a great reaction out of him.

Rit, with his claws out, pulled back on my body, paws at my belly still, growling bestially. Then suddenly we heard a loud knocking at the door, and for a moment we ignored it, but eventually we had to answer. "God damn it," the lion shouted as he pulled away, pulling his pants back up; I can't imagine how he was going to hide his pride.

I then sighed out of annoyance, pulling my pants back up, too, and walking toward the window; it had started snowing. I just listened to the conversation, annoyed more so at who was interrupting.

"What's going on in here?" Loki asked. "What're you two doing?"

"None of your damn business, kid, so get out," Rit answered bluntly.

"Why's it so warm in here? And...what's that smell?"

Just as he said that, I felt some dampness on my rear; the lion had been precumming, apparently. And a lot, I'd guess.

"I don't know, just go away."

Staring out the window, I could sort of see the blacksmith's place. I could see his arm and part of his leg, but not the bastard's face. Why was he so familiar? Then I noticed a fur approaching the wooden structure, which had apparently gotten the smith's attention. But still he his face was covered.

"I don't wanna go away," the white fox argued. "My stuff's in here."

"Then take your stuff and leave."

Ah, finally. The smith was leading the newcomer over to a rack of swords. Just turn around... It was when I noticed his short, half-tail when I realized why this blacksmith was so familiar; it was my good friend Wayland from years ago, when I served Midland's army. He was the one who made my armour for me, except my new armour, as well as the few different swords I've had. Excited to see him, and surprised he was so far north â€" his usual place was a small cabin in the quiet foothills of south-western Midland â€" I quickly started to button up my coat and headed toward the door, not at all surprised to see Loki still there.

"I'm taking off for a bit," I reluctantly told Rit.

"What?" he said, somewhat surprised. "Are you serious?" The lion flattened his ears, which made me feel bad.

"We'll catch up later, all right? I promise..."

"Where're you going?" that damned fox asked me.

"Fuck you," I answered plainly, then left.

"You promised!" Rit shouted after me, which made me smile.

I went down the stairs quickly and, ignoring the others, left hurriedly. When I saw my Alphas outside still, I quickly realized I didn't have the skin of their old master, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they didn't attack me. I dared to pet one on the head, which he seemed to like, then continued toward the blacksmith; most people were still afraid to approach the Inn, on account of my new-found companions outside, but a brave few still approached. I would imagine the people would eventually get used to them being there, not that I intended on staying long. Finally, after crossing the freshly-snowed thoroughfare, I threw back my hood and walked into the open, barn-like structure, finding the old German Shepherd hard at work.

"Your kid staying outta trouble?" I said to Wayland with a smirk; that was the most clever thing I could come up with.

The canine stopped hammering for a moment and finally turned around. "Well if you aren't a sight for sore, fuckin' eyes," the foul-mouthed smith said with a smile. "M'boy's not in right now, so I'd imagine he's gettin' himself into some kind of fuckin' trouble. How ya doin', kid?"

I just nodded as I replied, "Well I'd be lying if I said I was good. What the hell're you doing way up here, anyway?"

Wayland just shook his head, finally putting his tools down, then leaned back against a table full of swords and other bits of steel. "Not surprisin' that yer worse for wear. But to answer your question, tiger, after Midgard was torn to pieces, I didn't have any more god-damned cock-suckers to make my weapons for."

"So you move up north?"

"Where else was there to go? I could feel some evil shit in my bones, and the only place I could think of that was more fucking clean than the foothills was this god-forsaken shithole of a town. So I set up shop and began to make steel for the warriors here; there's more than you'd think. Apparently when your kid reaches a certain age, there's some rite of passage, or some bullshit like that. Either way, they needed a new smith, and I was probably more damn qualified than the last guy. So how's your armour holdin' up, anyway? You still swinging that old chunk'a steel around?"

I couldn't help but smile; his cursing seemed almost comic sometimes. "Yeah, I've still got all the armour you made me. Got some new pieces, too, unfortunately not from you. Finally got rid of Crusher and got some real metal gauntlets."

"It's about time," Wayland pointed out. "But I'll bet they're fucking trash."

I just shrugged. "Better than nothing."

"You know just as well as I that ain't true. Lemme see yer ‘new' armour, and I'll be the judge."

"You don't have to do that," I said. "You've done enough for me already."

Wayland just laughed. "I know I'm pretty rough around the fuckin' edges, kid, but I've only got one son, and that's all I'm ever gonna get. Now you bring me your god damn armour, and let me fix the piece of shit for you. All of it."

It was my turn to laugh, though it was more of a giggle. "If you say so," I replied. "So how's your boy doing, anyway? He must be, what...sixteen now?"

"Aye, sixteen since a month ago. He's grown up a lot you know, and will probably take over my place when I'm gone. Which won't be fucking long, lemme tell ya..."

"You've still got a lotta fight in you, old man," I said in jest, "I can feel it." Suddenly, I heard crunchy footpaws stepping in the snow behind me, then Wayland's face light up, though it was hard to notice.

"Uncle Luca?" a young voice said. And when I turned around, I was greeted warmly by a young, and admittedly handsome German Shepherd. When I knelt down, he wrapped his arms around my neck tightly, holding on close. I just giggled and hugged the boy back, lifting him up when I stood. "I haven't seen you in so long!" he said excitedly.

"Ugh...my God you've gotten heavy," I said in delight. Although it wasn't much of a problem, I put young Luke down, anyway. It felt really good to see these two again, which actually kind of surprised me. "So, sixteen, huh?"

"Yeah," he replied with a smile, scratching the back of his head. "I've been trainin' to be just like you, you know."

"Except you need a bigger fuckin' sword," Wayland cut in, now stoking the fire a little more.

"I'm working on it," the young dog replied, walking into the shop more. He then took off his coat â€" it was very warm inside from the furnace, despite the open façade â€" and leaned back on the table his father had been leaning against, picking up a sword. Luke was wearing some heavy pants and just a loose-fitting sleeveless shirt; he'd really grown up since I last saw him. "I dunno how you swing Kraftig around, Luca, but I plan on making another just like it. I've already picked out my steel, it just a matter of shaping the bastard. I dunno how dad did it..."

"It's skill, son," the old Shepherd said, now pulling out a half-made sword from the coals. It was glowing red, and sparks flew as he struck it with a hammer; reminded me of battle, actually. I always loved watching the sparks fly, dozens of them springing forth; a brilliant, sudden flash of life, then nothing but darkness after.

"I know, I know. But I'll do it, and I'll cut through enemies, just like you, Luca."

I smiled. "It's not the size of your sword," I said, realizing quickly how suggestive that sounded.

"Yeah, yeah... Christ, between you and dad... Jesus. So what brings you this far north?"

"I'm on a quest for knowledge, I guess you'd say. I'm trying to find out as much as I can about the old gods."

"Then," Wayland said, striking the sword again, "you've come to the right place."

"Yeah, I've already talked to Tyr, and he said he'll look into some other shit for me, too. So I guess in the meantime, I just gotta take in the sights."

"Well, there's snow," Luke told me. "And ice. And just when you've seen enough of both, there's more snow."

I grinned. "Just as smart as always, huh?"

The kid just smiled proudly; such a handsome young dog. He then lifted his paws high above his head, fingers clasped together, and stretched his body for a long while, giving me plenty of time to notice a fairly large scar running along his right ribs, which I could see easily through the arm-hole of his shirt.

"What's with the scar?" I asked the kid, naturally curious.

"Hm?"

"On your ribs." Although I wouldn't have admitted it, I was at least equally curious to see just how fit his body was.

"Oh," he said with a giggle. "Lemme show you." The young dog then lifted his shirt, revealing a long scar that ran across his ribs and under half his right pectoral. It was a long, clean cut, and obviously quite deep; probably even cut his bone, though probably superficially.

"Impressive," I said, regarding the scar, mostly. As I suspected, the young Shepherd had a very fit body; thin and muscular. His chest and abs, while still had a lot of growing to do, were fairly well-defined. He was going to make another fur very happy one day.

"Yeah... I got into a fight with a bunch of thieves, but I scared ‘em off. That was a while ago, though, on our way here."

The kid was a good fighter. When he was just a pup, I had showed him a thing or two.

"So where's all your armour?" Luke asked.

"I left it all back at the Inn, where I'm staying. I was gonna go get it for your dad, actually, let him take a look at it."

"I'll bet it's all scratched up," the kid said admiringly.

"Well, I suppose it could be in better shape."

"Let's see it!" Luke cried excitedly.

I just smiled and rubbed the boy's head, then turned. "All right, all right. Just gimme a minute." I then walked back quickly toward the Inn, noticing now that the Alphas were all just lazing about town. Although I had only hung around Wayland and his son a pawful of times in my life â€" perhaps a few times a year, for a few years â€" I seemed to have made quite an impression on his young canine. Finally reaching the Inn, I headed upstairs and into the room, quickly realizing Rit was gone.

Although I couldn't imagine where he had gotten off to, I simply shrugged it off and picked up my armour, slinging most of it over my shoulders, very awkwardly, with my chest piece in my left paw and Kraftig in my right. Hauling it all out, I suddenly heard a bunch of noises coming from the room across from mine; it sounded like Rit, and he was making a hell of a noise. It almost sounded like moaning... Curious, I opened the door only to see the lion sunk deep inside that bastard arctic fox, and judging by the musky aroma of the room, he was enjoying it, too.

However, as I stared at the lion, unable to take my eyes off him, my heart sank deeper than I'd ever felt before. I was petrified in that moment, watching the beast pound his flesh inside the fox, uncertain of what to do. Loki was staring back at me with eyes that said ‘I got to him first,' which filled me with rage. But what should I do? I didn't know whether to bust in and beat the shit out of him, or to run away and cry; the latter, admittedly, was the only thing I felt like doing. Suddenly, my stunned gaze caught Rit's eye, and he just stared back. I was shaking a little, I think, and I definitely felt some tears in my eyes. And still the lion stared, stunned. "Oh fuck!" I heard him say, then I backed away from the door, hurt beyond words, and heard him shout my name.

I heard the fox moan as the lion pulled his cock out quickly, and then Rit running across the room, though I was already halfway down the stairs by that point. Trying to stop myself from crying, I bolted quickly out of the Inn, past all my friends, breathing heavily with both rage and sorrow. I could feel the tears starting to stream down my face as the cold air blew against it, and I just snarled as I turned around, heading away from the blacksmith. In fact, I didn't know where I was going, but I ignored Rit's desperate cries from the Inn's doorway. I thought I heard footpaws in the snow coming after me, but ignored them, too; I knew they weren't his, because he was still naked and they were far too light. I just continued, though, growling with each heavy breath, until finally I collapsed under a couple trees and some rocks just outside of town, my armour falling all over the place.

Facedown in the snow, I lifted myself onto my paws and knees, trying desperately not to cry or to make a big scene, though I think it was too late for that. Every other breath I spat out loud, offensive phrases to both Loki and Rit, furious at them both. Though at the same time, I felt such intense melancholy and pain inside, while also annoyed at how I was being affected by this. Again and again I shouted at Rit, slamming my fist into the snowy rocks, though I knew he wasn't there, each spiteful word getting quieter. Finally I crawled toward the rock and turned onto my rear, sitting atop, breathing heavily with eyes closed tight. Still I could feel the frozen tears against my face, though the initial jolt of seeing Rit with that fucking fox was mostly over. Now all that was left was anger and pain, plus that maddening image of the pair fucking in delight.

"God damn it," I said to myself, smashing my paw into the tree this time. I sighed angrily and let my head hang low, resting it against my arms, which were resting on my knees. I didn't really know why I was taking it so hard, but something about seeing Rit, who wasn't bound to me in any way, plunged deep inside someone who wasn't me...it upset me, to say the least. Then I heard the familiar sound of snowy footpaws and through what were likely very red eyes, I glanced up, surprised to see Kei standing in front of me. "What...do you want?" I sniffled. God, I must have looked so pathetic. I certainly felt that way.

"What happened?" my panther asked in a soft, almost soothing voice; I had missed it so much.

"Forget it," I answered. I then felt his warm paws stroke over my shoulders and him press his body against the side of my face, his paws now rubbing up behind my head. I just sniffled again and raised a paw, resting it on his hip. "Fucking Rit..." I managed to say.

Kai didn't say anything, but just held onto me. I had no idea what compelled him to try to comfort me like this, but I certainly appreciated it. He just kept running his fingers through my fur, petting me gently.

"Why...did he have to go fucking do that?" I said to Kai, the pain clear in my voice even to me. What was that damned lion thinking? I had made it clear I wanted him, didn't I? Couldn't he just keep it in his pants for a little longer? Why..? Why did he have to do this to me? "God damn it all..."

And still Kai kept silent. Deafeningly silent.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, though I wasn't sure what for. I didn't have anything to apologize for; I hadn't done anything wrong. Kai wasn't responding, though, which worried me. Should I say more? Should I explain what I was apologizing for? God, his body was so warm.

"I could tell something bad happened," Kai finally said. "You're in pain, aren't you."

I just nodded. "Yeah..." I felt like a kid who had skinned his knee.

"I've...never seen you make that face before, when you ran past us."

Is that all this was? Pity?

"I miss you, Kai," I told the panther.

Finally he let go of me, picking up my chest armour. He just wanted something to fiddle with. "I...I know. But," the young feline sighed deeply, "you...scare me," he finally admitted. "A lot."

I should have been more stricken by this, or more guilt-ridden, but I had had a whole year for that. I knew why he avoided me, and why he never looked at me or talked to me. I knew I scared him. But what was I supposed to say now? Should I apologize again? No. I couldn't. I must have seemed so weak to him, that would only exacerbate things. Instead I sighed, opting to wipe the crystallized tears from my cheek fur. "Fuck..." I muttered.

I then looked up at Kai, who was still holding my armour, touching it carefully like it was some kind of artifact. He reminded me, just now, of the time he wanted to try my armour on; that was over a year ago. And I also remembered what I'd told him that day; that when all was said and done, I would get him a set of his own armour.

Right now the panther had, but rarely used, a little bit of cheap armour, none of it designed for a young child; remnants of a fallen soldier. And while much had been said and nothing had been done, I decided I would take my boy to see Wayland, anyway. It was the least I could do for the shit I put him through.

"Do you want to help me," I asked him modestly, "bring my armour to the blacksmith?"

I then noticed something I hadn't seen on Kai's face in a long, long time; a smile. Not that he never smiled, just never at me. Or with me, or any other situation involving me. But now he was. "Yes," he agreed, holding the armour closer to his body.

I tried a smile back, almost forgetting about what I had caught Rit doing, and gathered the rest of the steel. Together, however noisily, we made our way to Wayland's. I noticed Rit wasn't standing at the door anymore, and I was curious what had happened to him. But I just frowned at the thought and turned away, focusing on the sparsely-populated thoroughfare.

Finally we arrived at the smith's and the old Shepherd looked almost annoyed at me. "The fuck you get all that armour from?" Wayland barked. His boy was just putting some swords on a rack, until I dumped my gear. I guess he didn't expect me to have so much extra.

"Most of it's not yours," I pointed out.

"No fucking kidding..." He then looked into my eyes. "And what the hell's your problem?"

"Just...fucking lion trouble." I shifted nervously for a second. "I don't suppose you're taking requests, are you?" Kai deserved this new armour.

The smith just glared at me, then down at Kai. "Armour's not cheap," he said.

"I know, but I'll pay you whatever I can."

"Fuh," the dog exclaimed. "Doubt you've got a fucking penny to your name, kid."

What could I say? I wasn't about to beg him, but he had already paid the debt he owed me with my current armour.

"Fixing up your armour is one thing, tiger. But makin' a whole new set? Who's it for, anyway? Another huge cocksucker like you?"

I scoffed. "Nah, for Kai."

My boy stepped forward, a slight grin on his face. He didn't say anything, though. I could tell he felt awkward, especially now.

"I...promised him I'd get him some armour a long time ago, from you, specifically. Better than the shit he's got now."

Wayland sighed. "I don't owe you fuck," he said.

"I know."

The four of us just stood in excruciating silence for a long while, until finally the smith caved.

"Aw, for fuck's sake..." he resigned. "I'll make yer fucking armour, but now you owe me."

"Thank you a thousand times," I said to Wayland sincerely.

"Yeah yeah..."

"You need to measure him?" Luke suggested, resting the last sword down. He then reached for a long rope.

"I don't," Wayland said. "But it wouldn't hurt for you to."

Watching the young Shepherd take the rope and eagerly remove Kai's shirt, not without asking nicely, I could tell there was something unique about him, from other furs. I inched toward Wayland and spoke softly as his boy measured mine.

"Tell me I'm not the only one who notices this..."

Wayland glared up at me. "Fuck, I know... Known for a while, though sometimes I wonder if he does."

"He'll figure it out," I said reassuringly. "He'll be a fine young man..."

Wayland grunted. "I'm not exactly countin' on grand-fucking-kids. But as long as he's happy...that's fine with me." This is how the dog talked in one of his more tender moments; a rare sight indeed.

Luke finished up happily and scribbled down a few things, smiling as he said he got it all.

Kai just nodded and put his clothes back on, which I had to admit was somewhat disappointing; I always enjoyed seeing my panther unclothed. Although he had always had a very cute, smooth and slim body, it only aroused me more to see him filling out. Although I wanted to bend down and touch the boy, or hug him or something of the like, I had to resist; Keefe had always told me that if I ever hoped to mend our relationship, it was vital to take things slow. And so I simply smiled at him and leaned forward â€" no longer back on the table â€" and told him he was all right.

I didn't know what I meant by the phrase "all right," but it sounded fine and Kai seemed to react to it. Rather, he smiled back.

"So when do you plan on leaving this frozen shithole?" the old smith asked me.

I shrugged; I really wasn't sure. "I guess when we're satisfied with the information we get. So far, we got shit we don't really need."

"What exactly kinda information you lookin' for?"

"Well, about the Crimson King, specifically. How to, uh, destroy him."

"Destroy him?" the old dog laughed. "Don't tell me you believe in that shit?"

As far as stories go, it did sound pretty crazy; but I knew it was true. I knew the old gods were real, or the old demons anyway. "There's some dark shit going on in this world, Wayland," I said sombrely. "And Midgard's destruction was just the beginning."

There was a long silence until it was interrupted. "Fuh! If you say so, tiger."

Somehow, though, I knew the Shepherd believed me.

"M'boy'll get started on yer kid's armour, and I'll fix your shit up for you. Then you owe me big."

I just nodded. "Thank you, old friend."

"Yeah yeah..." he grumbled, then took my sword and armour.

"Thank you," Kai said, too, giving a little bit of a bow. The two of us then turned and meandered slowly back toward the Inn, though I felt somewhat queasy about confronting Rit again. I wasn't particularly interested in his excuses, though I did want to kick Loki's ass.

I was trying hard to resist the urge to hold Kai's paw, keeping Keefe's sage advice in mind. Don't touch him, I continuously told myself. My paws then found solace sunk deep into my pockets, arms hugging my body close. This worked, though my eyes kept darting downward to see if he was reacting. He wasn't.

I stopped outside the Inn and hesitated, stomach turning as Kai slowly pulled the door open. Together we walked in, the boy first, and my eyes quickly scanned the room for a naked lion. I couldn't see Rit anywhere. Feeling nervous, sad, angry and cautious, it was a miracle I had made it to a chair to sit down. The roar of the modest fire nearby was deafening in the silent room, all eyes upon me, most noticeably Keefe's. He was going to ask me something any moment. Just say it already!

"You okay?" he finally said.

And all I could do was sigh. Good question, though. Was I okay? On one hand, I had had my heart torn out by the lion whom I'd been denying I'd ever felt something for, for over a year, while on the other it seemed things were just starting to mend between Kai. I was going to get some well-deserved, well-needed, no-bars yiff from the polyamorous lion, but now it would seem I would have to wait much, much longer for such an opportunity to arise. So...was I okay?

"I don't know," I answered as honestly as I could.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked sympathetically.

I turned my head away.

"What did Rit do to you?"

I sighed again. He was going to force this out of me no matter what. "He...he was fucking that goddamned fox..." I glanced over at Keefe, without moving my head.

He looked surprised.

"I was getting my armour and caught him..." I could barely finish my sentence. "Fucking that piece of shit." I hated that fox so much.

"Well," I heard a voice say from behind me, coming from the stairs, "it wasn't like you were putting out..." It sounded like Rit was trying to justify himself.

I just growled quietly and looked forward. The goat at the check-in/bar was trying not to pay too much attention, though I think we were making it hard for him. "You were less than an inch from fucking my ass," I said loudly, "until we were interrupted. I told you I was coming back. I promised you I'd come back."

The lion approached slowly. He was wearing clothes this time, though appeared ashamed. "I..." he stuttered, looking around. Loki was gone now. "He's very good with words," was all the lion had to say. "I told him to back off, but... Well, I don't know. It was like he cast some sorta spell on me, or something. Next thing I knew, him and I were...well, you know."

I huffed at the lion, then turned my head, still unable to make eye contact with him. Rit was never this emotional, nor sounded so regretful. That, of course, made me think he was being sincere. How easily could I forgive the lion? I was a far cry from getting things back to normal with Kai, and though it wasn't very fair, and somewhat hypocritical, to the boy, I was easily being convinced that I owed it to myself to make up with Rit. After all, I know Rit and I know he wouldn't have been able to finish up, not in that time. There was still plenty left for me...

I shook my head.

"You all right?" Rit asked, stepping closer.

Finally my gaze met with Rit's. I noticed one thing I thought I'd never see in the lion's eyes, and those were tears. Not big tears, not even particularly visible tears, but tears nonetheless. Staring up at him, I was finding it difficult to stay pissed at him; he obviously meant every word of what he said.

"I'm sorry," Rit said, lowering his head. This seemed to be a day of firsts for him. "If I could take that moment back, believe me, I would. But...I can't. You know me, stripes. You know I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt youâ€""

"But you did hurt me," I snarled.

"I know," he said almost pathetically. Was this even Rit anymore? "And it kills me inside knowing that I did. I can't possibly forgive myself for doing this do you, but I can only pray that you can forgive me..."

It was like he was practicing that speech while I was out, though it hadn't completely fallen on deaf ears. He had clearly made one extremely bad judgement call, due mostly to Loki's apparent silver tongue. It was a little hard to swallow that he had been coerced or overpowered by the white fox in any way, though persuaded was far more conceivable. And knowing Rit, he wouldn't ever, under other circumstances, admit to being so easily influenced by another.

I was feeling very confused, to say the least. Unless the lion had suddenly learned to brilliantly act at swallowing his pride, he was being absolutely sincere in everything he'd told me. Besides which, I would have to forgive him eventually; we would be spending quite a long time more together, and there was no way I'd be able to keep it up for that long. Eventually, something would have to give. Although I felt like I could have been making a mistake in being so trusting with the horny, sorry lion, I finally decided I could cautiously forgive him for this one mistake.

I replied to him with a sigh, then stood up. Looking about, all eyes were on me, including Kai's â€" he hadn't reacted much at all to learning what Rit and I had planned to do, which surprised me somewhat. Nevertheless, I approached the sorry lion slowly, and again our eyes met. In his beautiful blue eyes I saw sincerity and regret, and I couldn't resist him for much longer. The next moment I found myself plastered against the lion, arms coiled around his neck and just holding on, trying not to look too desperate. It was a reaction that surprised even me, but it felt good to be held in his arms again. I could feel his intense warmth flowing into me.

After a long moment, though, things started to get a little more awkward. I finally pulled away, taking another long gaze into his eyes, then turned to my friends. What were they still staring at? Kai's expression hadn't changed, which I wasn't sure what to make of. Either he was happy for me, or upset. Or he thought I was too forgiving. I couldn't tell.

"So...did you go see that blacksmith of yours?" Rit asked me curiously. He had a hint of I hope it was worth it in his tone.

"Yeah, I did. He's gonna fix my armour, and make a new set for Kai," I replied, ignoring his tone. I noticed Kai smiling when I said that; I think he was excited for his armour. I then took a seat again and slouched pretty far, feeling reasonably tired. It was an emotional afternoon, and though it was still early in the evening, the weight of the day had certainly taken its toll. I closed my eyes.

"So what now?" I heard Rit say aloud, slapping his paws together. Although he had apparently been through some emotional shit, too, it hadn't bogged him down. The lion had always been like that, though. He didn't cling to emotions like some people â€" like me â€" do. I truly believed he meant what he said, though if you didn't know him his apparent change in mood would make you wonder. But, no, I knew better. It was his way, I think, of breaking the tension after a particularly poignant event. It always sort of irked me, but that's just Rit.

"What is there to do?" Rin asked, turning around. He was sitting next to Kai, close to the crackling fireplace.

Rit shrugged. I knew he wouldn't have a suggestion, but ‘So now what?' certainly managed to draw everybody's attention away from what we had just discussed. "We could drink," the lion said, already taking a step toward the bar.

I just rolled my eyes and got up, heading up the stairs. "I'm going to lie down," I told the rest, and in moments I had stripped to just my torn, loose-fitting pants and lay on the bed closest to the window, letting out a long, deep sigh as my body started to relax.

I wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but after what seemed like a long while, Rit suddenly burst in with a drink in his paw, staggering toward me. Outside the window, the sky was a little darker, but with a brilliant orange hue; the sun was going down. Although Rit hadn't said what he was doing, it was clear he had had quite a few drinks.

"Hey there, stripes," he said, standing a few feet away from me. He spoke in sort of a stupid, drunken-sexy voice that didn't quite come off as sexy. He had apparently lost his shirt, though, between here and the bar, and probably half his drink on the stairs.

"What's up?" I asked him, leaning up on one paw now.

"Nuffin'," the lion spat with a goofy smile on his face. I could smell the booze wafting from his maw. "Jus' wan'ed to see what yer up to..." I don't think Rit even realized he was rubbing his own crotch as he stood above me.

"Just resting," I told him softly. I always felt so much more sober when Rit drank.

"Mind if I rest with you?" he asked drunkenly, stumbling forward.

I quickly sat up and put out my paws, stopping the lion from falling on top of me, or rather, from spilling his drink all over myself and my bed. I then watched, with my paws on his chest, Rit down the rest of whatever it was he was drinking â€" likely mead â€" and toss the tankard aside. "Uh..." was all I managed.

The mostly-drunk lion then stood up and growled, looking down at me with a particular glint in his eyes. "You really turn me on, stripes," he informed me. The massive bulge in his pants had already told me that, though.

Even though I knew he was drunk, he still made me blush. "Where's everyone else?" I asked my friend.

"They all wen' out to wash the sunset..." he slurred, and again with that silly smile. "Means we got the room to ourselves!" Then a hiccup.

"You're drunk," I pointed out with a bit of a laugh. I knew the lion meant well, but I wasn't particularly turned on by his slurred speech and drunken stupor. Until he flashed me his bits, anyway. I just stared up at Rit, not really sure what to do.

Then the lion leaned in on me, putting his paws on the edge of the bed and pushing his face toward mine. He wore a sly grin then licked my muzzle quickly, which caught me off guard. "You're pretty," he said, making me blush. He wouldn't have said that if he wasn't drunk, but it was still cute. "I just wanna eat you up," he continued, then growled deeply as his maw opened around my shoulder.

I winced as I felt his sharp canines dig into my skin, biting perhaps harder than he'd meant to, but like usual I was taken with his gesture. I just leaned back on both paws and tried not to murr too loud.

"Tasty tiger," Rit laughed, now licking where he had bit me. He was quickly making forget what I'd caught him doing. The affectionate lion's tongue then began to moisten my neck fur, which I must admit felt very good. I leaned my head back and purred as his broad tongue glided against the grain, causing delicate tingles to rush up my back.

"Ooh Rit..." I murmured inadvertently as his tongue climbed up to my jaw. He just murr-giggled and continued licking my neck, this time the whole length of it in one stroke. The further the lion leaned in, the easier it became for his pants to fall, which eventually they did. Well, around his knees anyway. Either way, his large, throbbing pinkish lionmeat was pointed right toward me, bouncing every time he moved. I then closed my eyes, forgetting about what his length was doing in front of me, and enjoyed his sensitive, fur-dampening tongue.

"Mmm... you like that, stripes?" Rit teased, taking his tongue back.

I lowered my head just a bit and reopened my eyes. "Rit," I said, as if about to say more. However no other words formed, but instead I stared back, unable to take my eyes off his ocean-blues. Should I really be doing this with him? Before I could answer my own question, my thoughts were silenced quickly by his soft lips. It wasn't a particularly unpredictable move, but I loved it all the same. My eyes closed as we kissed, the alcohol sharp on his breath. As always, I murred louder than I wanted to, but with our lips grinding softly together it didn't matter so much. It took only moments for his tongue to push sloppily into my maw, the lion growling and grunting as he pushed me back on the bed. On my back, his maw opened wide and he turned his head, kissing overpoweringly. Like the last time, years and years ago, I was under his complete control. It seemed, despite any effort on my part, I no longer had a choice on which activities we would participate in. All I could do was kiss the powerful, drunken lion back and take whatever he gave me.

Speaking of which, his tongue finally pulled out of my maw, after feverously sloshing around, and the cat was panting fairly heavily. I was too. With my footpaws just barely brushing against the old wood floor, the heated lion wasted no time at all in cramming his large paw down my pants. And all I could do was moan.

Both my paws were lying uselessly above my head â€" implying my submission â€" as the lion feverishly tore into my pants. Panting heavily, I just lifted my head and watched, Rit growl-murring as he undid my pants and pulled them down entirely, tossing them aside carelessly. The lion just stood over me, looking down at my muscular, scarred body, making me blush.

"You...are so fucking sexy," the lion said, staring. Although Rit and I were both very muscular, my body was relatively slim by comparison. And I think the lion loved that.

I just lay on the bed, footpaws dangling off the edge, curved a bit with my paws above my head; I knew what Rit liked, and I knew how to play it up. It seemed he had a particular attraction to outstretched tigers, especially ones whose stretched sheaths cause them to poke out a little. I murred throatily at the lion, teasing him. After a move like that, it was far too late to turn back now. What was I thinking?

"Fuck, tiger," he said. Whenever Rit was particularly surprised with me, he would call me ‘tiger', rather than ‘stripes' or ‘Luca'. "You just love to tease, don't you."

I replied with a growl and snapped my teeth at him.

The lion then countered with mrowl and backed away from the bed, leaving me there. He seemed to have sobered up a little, since he didn't fall over. "I'm gonna take you to places," he went on, "that you've only dreamed of..." Which was hard to believe, since the first time we slept together he managed to slice my lip open. All in the heat of the moment, I assure you. Rit was as gentle as he was rough.

Again, I replied to Rit's remarks with a bit of a sexual growl. I just watched as my large feline made quick work of his own pants, finally kicking them aside, his fat lionmeat beaming in the musky air of our room. He was grinning down at me, all the while growling quietly. And all I could do was stare at his intensely muscular body, and of course his pride. The pink, pulsating member hung in the air dreamily, seeming like it wasn't part of my friend at all. It just floated there, this mass of sexual flesh pounding along with my heartbeat and drawing closer and closer. Finally my eyes broke from Rit's shaft and I glanced upward, past his exceptionally toned abs and muscular chest, to his eyes once more. He seemed as if he wasn't all there, though that was likely due to the alcohol.

Rit, at last, reached the bed again, leaning over me like he had before â€" paws against the bed beside my pits â€" and he bared his growly teeth. Although I wasn't sure, he may have even made me tremble. Just a little bit, though. And my eyes didn't tear away from his for a moment. But what would he do to me if I did? No, don't be silly, Luca. I had to be a good kitty. With his hot shaft so close to me now, I didn't have a choice. The lion pressed his meat between my legs, just below my white-furred balls, teasing me. And like a good kitten, I gasped â€" I swear it was intentional. Then he poked me, forcing out yet another. Damn lion.

"No more gasping," the powerful feline told me.

Yes sir.

Again the lion poked me with his thick lion-spear, this time aiming closer toward my tailhole, and like a fool I gasped. However my forgiving partner gave me another shot, this time covering my muzzle with his great big left paw. Again he thrust slowly forward, and I swear I felt my tailhole stretch just a little. And, predictably, I gasped. But Rit ensured I made nary a noise, as he forced my maw to stay shut. Instead I made some sort of strange yelping noise, which was especially strange since I was breathing in. I just frowned at the lion, and he giggled devilishly. He enjoyed these sorts of games.

"I don't want to hear another noise out of you," Rit ordered, and I was compelled to obey.

I nodded obediently, his paw still around my muzzle. Finally he let go, then pulled his cock away from my tailhole. I wanted to whimper, but I wasn't allowed.

"No no," he said with a sly grin. "You don't get some of this until you've satisfied me."

How on earth was I supposed to satisfy him? Maybe if I had been drunk, too, I'd know. But I was sober. And I couldn't read his mind. His drunk, horny mind at that. I lying on the bed under him, arms positioned uselessly... What could I do? His mouth was too far from mine to lean forward and kiss him, and my legs...hm. I lifted my left leg so my knee grazed the inside of his thigh, then bent so my shin could slightly rub the underside of his big, dangly balls. This got his attention anyway, as his eyes suddenly ripped from mine and he looked downward. Part of the lion's thick mane was brushing in my face, tickling my nose, and I tried hard not to sneeze or blow it away.

"Tricky tiger," the lion growled with a smile. "But that wasn't ‘xactly what I had in mind."

Then what the hell was he thinking? Did he want me to beg? ‘Cause if that was the case, then he'd be pushing it too far. Besides, how could I beg without making a noise? Despite his quick sobering up, it was entirely possible he was still as drunk as before, but somehow more focused. Rit had a tendency to make ridiculous requests when he's drunk, and forgets about them quickly. Besides that, he was probably burning to fuck me more than I was, so it was only a matter of time before these games stopped thrilling him and he would get down to business. Not that I didn't like them.

In fact, the first time we met, he had spent almost an hour just edging me, absolutely loving that power he held over me. When I had eventually came, the lion delighted in my painful cries, as well as the huge mess I'd left on the floor. That had to have been one of my most incredible, albeit painful, orgasms ever. Damn lion. The wolf who owned the pub wasn't too impressed with us, either. Damn wolf. Either way it was amazing, and the few times we'd been together after that, including the first time we fucked, he'd always played some sort of game with me. Though in his drunkenness, it was possible he had yet to come up with something painfully submissive he wanted me to do.

Which, of course, was plainly evidenced by his crawling up on the bed and sticking his cock close to my face. Was that it, Rit? A blowjob? Hell, he'd given me one earlier, and it wasn't that demeaning. Could there be more to this than I could see?

With a giggle, Rit promptly forced my mouth open by gouging my lips with his spiny cockhead, and like an obedient kitten, I opened. I was somewhat disappointed, and worried since I hadn't really given head before, by this game. Could you even call it that?

"No biting," the lion warned. Why would I bite?

Without protest, my lips closed around his shaft, with it only partway in my maw, and his hips began that mechanical, predictable thrusting he was likely quite used to. I used my tongue to the best of my ability, wrapping it around his cock's underside, while my wet lips did the rest. His paws were clasped tightly around my wrists now, pinning them down, and his knees just to my sides. He was precumming a lot, which was sort of fun, but this all seemed so ordinary. I didn't feel particularly ‘owned' by the lion, nor humiliated, nor whatever it was he enjoyed most about my submission to him. I just felt like I was sucking his cock. Could it be...he thought us more as lovers? Perhaps, despite his demands and overbearing way of saying them, he simply wanted to make tender love with me? I wasn't against that, of course, but the only sex I'd ever had with the lion was fast, powerful, relentless ass-pounding that, on most occasions, brought tears to my eyes. Were we even going to make it that far? Or was I just going to make love to his cock for the rest of the evening?

"Ooh God," Rit moaned, apparently loving this. As I continued to make loud sucking, gagging noises, he continued making loud moaning, growling noises. I could feel his claws digging into my wrists, in and out, in and out, in tune with his thrusts.

I guess I could enjoy this, though it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Maybe the lion was simply cooking something up, having me do this for him while he thought of it. He was starting to dig deeper into my throat, as I felt his dark-brown pubic fur tickling my nose each time he went down.

"Mm, tiger," the lion said between moans, "that feels amazing... But..."

My ears perked. There was a ‘but'?

"...you haven't satisfied me yet."

I knew it.

Finally Rit pulled out, drool and precum dripping onto my chin, and he just sat on my slim, very muscular belly, wrists still restrained. After giving me a soft kiss on the nose, the lion got off me, sliding his paws down my body as he did. On his way off me, though, he grabbed my paws and as he stood upright, he got me sitting up on the side of the bed. Rit's cock was right in my line of sight. What was he planning?

"On your knees," Rit ordered, and I did so immediately, staring up at his incredibly strong body. He just stood, paws to his sides, with his throbbing lionmeat in front of me and looking down. Was he...flexing?

For a short while we stayed like that, until finally I could resist no longer. Both my paws ran up his muscular legs, up his thighs, until they reached his crotch, where I promptly gripped firm and nuzzled the warm, pink shaft.

It was rock-hard, but also sort of moist and smelly. A good smelly, though. Fondling his cock lovingly, I nuzzled the end a few more times while stroking, murring all the while. I wasn't entirely sure what had come over me, but in the lion's domineering presence, I just couldn't help it. Something about how he stood, or how he sounded, or how he smelled, made me want to...worship him. It sounds awful, and yet this was how I wanted to show him what he meant to me. And I'm sure that's exactly what sort of game he wanted to play with me. I didn't even put the lionmeat in my mouth. I just kept stroking and nuzzling it gently, showing absolute affection for the lion's pride.

Then I heard Rit murr. I wasn't sure, though, which he was enjoying more; the cock-worship or the fondling. Probably a mix of both. Nevertheless, I continued, one paw finding its way up Rit's body and stroking the lower part of his abs, which I hadn't realized were that well defined.

Admittedly, I had always had a thing for muscular guys like Rit. And even though I was pretty well-built myself, feeling my own body could never quite cut it. I hadn't ever met too many furs, though, who were built quite like Rit, let alone having been with them. With a deep growl, both paws abandoned the lion's shaft to feel both of his strong ass muscles, which he flexed devilishly. And while my paws went in behind Rit, his cock had somehow found its way back into my maw, which suited me just fine. I suckled the lion's shaft easily, my nose continuously pressing against his fuzzy body, while my busy paws groped his rear and parts of his legs. All I could hear was Rit murring in delight, then he put a paw on my head. Just as he did, I pulled my maw away and rubbed up along his belly again, this time reaching his pecs, which were mostly mane-covered.

Still sucking away, my paws managed to locate his nipples, which I played around with momentarily before feeling his muscles suddenly harden. Oh, god, that lion knew how to tease. I groped the strong muscles erotically, and as my paws trailed downward along his bumpy ribs, RIt signalled for me to get up, and obediently I did. Leaving his rock-hardness behind, I slowly stood, my paws running back up his body and rolling over his strong shoulders, drawing myself in for a kiss.

Rit, of course, accepted my kiss readily.

I shivered slightly at the tingle of his soft lips brushing against mine, but quickly got used to it. As we kissed, my paws came back around his shoulders and rolled over his ribs again, this time pushing toward his back. Under his mane, which draped shaggily down half his back, my paws caressed every subtle bulge and curve of his muscles. I had never felt so aroused in my life... Well, that was probably an exaggeration, but the lion really turned me on. Especially when he stroked me back. Our heads tilted and the two of us kissed even deeper, our tongues seeming wrapped around each others'. And just when I thought he couldn't do any more to turn me on, Rit, the devil that he is, slowly lifted both his arms, flexing his biceps.

And, of course, like the foolish tiger I was, I had to check them out. With my eyes closed, my paws carefully navigated along Rit's furry body until the glided under his warm pits, then up around his shoulders and to his arms, taking in every inch brushing through my pawpads. Though I didn't care to admit it, I really enjoyed this more than the lion knew. Call it a fetish, I guess.

Finally Rit broke the kiss and I was left with just feeling his powerful arms. Again he flexed them, sending shivers up my spine. Damn lion knew what he was doing. Perhaps he understood me more than I thought.

Nevertheless, my paws soon drifted back toward his core, gently running over his biceps and deltoids and down his chest, groping and caressing all the way.

Rit was murring devilishly. "Good kitten," he said, stroking his shaft.

I think I was supposed to feel more humiliated by this, being ‘forced' to worship his body. But he was in excellent shape, and probably much bigger than me in muscle mass, and I loved every second of it. Soon, though, I found myself being pushed away from Rit, back onto the bed, made only to look up at the lion as he stepped close, still gently touching himself.

"You've satisfied me enough," he informed me, pretending he wasn't impressed. And maybe he wasn't. It's not like he gave me any hints. More than likely, though, the lion had just had enough, and wanted to fuck me already. It was about damn time, too. Although I enjoyed the feel of Rit's bulging muscles, the reason why I was feeling them had gotten a little old.

Suddenly, Rit lunged toward me, growling, both his paws to my sides. Still growling, he leaned his face in close to mine, then backed away only for a moment, just enough time to spread my legs for me. He then leaned back into me, and again I could feel the end of his hot, precum-leaking shaft brushing through my fur.

I was breathing heavily but calmly, staring into Rit's focused, determined eyes. This was it. After so many years, he was going to mate me again. And it was going to be rough. My body ached to feel that huge lionmeat inside me again, which was probably clear in my eyes. I could tell by the way Rit looked at me, he knew how I was feeling, and he knew it killed me to lie helplessly under him like this, begging silently for his pride. Come on already, I shouted out in my head. Fuck me!

But it was no use. He still couldn't read my mind. Rit pushed me down onto my back now and pinned my wrists â€" as if I was going to leave â€" my footpaws up in the air. I was shaking with anticipation, I think, and sweating a little. God damn you, lion... He was doing this on purpose. I recalled the first time he had fucked me, where he had made me wait so long. Even though we had both been drunk off our asses and horny as hell, he still made me wait. I could see a certain fire in the lion's eyes, one that undoubtedly had not burned for Loki. No, the lion wanted me, and wanted me bad. But more than that, he wanted me to want it. Bad. And I did. Bad. Damn it, Rit... Hurry the hell up, I said mentally.

Finally I heard Rit's feral, horny growl as he nipped at my lip. No, he couldn't just kiss me. Not when he was this horny. The closest thing to a kiss I would get now was a so-called Love Bite. I winced at his toothy kiss and made some sort of strange moaning or groaning noise, or something. Either way, the lion responded with a deeper growl and nuzzled my neck, which of course felt more like chewing. And like the sucker I was, I just moaned out, begging Rit to continue. "Oh God," I cried, trying to lift my paws to hold him. That was when I remembered I wasn't supposed to make any noise, and I was punished with a much harder chomp, which admittedly made me whine.

"No noise," Rit snarled. "Just for that," he threatened, "you have to wait five more minutes."

God damn it.

Rit just giggled, still rubbing the end of his shaft over my aching tailhole.

Apparently noises were acceptable, since my pathetic whimpers just made him laugh. Laugh wickedly, mind you. That lion really knew how to tease. And as he busied himself with nipping or biting my appetizing neck, I just kept quietly moaning and shifting as much as I could, trying to will his shaft into me. I didn't even come close.

When I mashed my head back into the bed in horny frustration, I noticed the sun had thoroughly set. The sky was now alight with stars, and the moon had just begun to rise. Still off in the horizon, it seemed to cause the snow to glow an unusual, orangey-pink hue for now. Though I couldn't fully explain it myself, I've heard it has something to do with the sun reflecting off the moon, or some such thing. It was a beautiful night, actually, and with just a few masses of that same orangey-pink clouds, the sunset would no doubt have been brilliant.

My mind was suddenly cut off from the radiance of the northern night sky when Rit poked â€" not rubbed â€" his wet cock into my tailhole. My eyes widened instantaneously.

And Rit just laughed. "Has it been five minutes?" he asked me mockingly.

I didn't know. He didn't know either. And I knew he didn't know.

After a second, though, I got a moment of tenderness from the lion. He just smiled at me, still holding my wrists, and something in his eyes just made me melt. I opened my maw slightly, half-smiling in return.

"Stripes..." he said softly, in a tone suggesting he'd continue. However the lion didn't say more, but gently rubbed his nose against mine. After a soft, tender kiss, Rit started his long, tailhole-stretching ascent up my body.

I gasped at first, instantly breaking the kiss, though our lips were still close together, but I moaned as I released my breath. "Fuck..." I whimpered as it slid through my hole. In just a second, his soft, smoothly-sliding shaft grew painful. And I knew this pain well.

Rit's lionmeat had very quickly become too thick for my body to handle, and it wouldn't be long before my feline partner was going to ram it in.

"You ready for this?" he asked me.

I nodded. I also thanked God he wasn't as drunk as when we first met, when instead of asking he had just taken it upon himself to tear me open. And tear me open he had done. But I was ready for it now, or so I thought.

Rit pushed harder, with a bit of growl, and I groaned loudly. This was going to hurt a lot. His cock wasn't quite so large in my paws, but about a sixth of the way into my tailhole it was suddenly three times bigger. But I had already nodded; there was no going back. The lion was determined as hell, with horniness to match.

If I had been on my chest â€" I was the first time â€" my claws would have been thoroughly dug into the bed. I shut my eyes tightly as the lion pushed tactlessly into my tailhole, snarling in my ear and inches from snapping his jaws on it. I cried in tandem with Rit's deep growls, my head grinding back and my arms shaking about, as if trying to escape. Escape was impossible. "Fuck!" I roared, craning my head to the left. The pain in my behind was intense, as it felt like his cock was tearing me open once again. Luckily for me, though, he was kind enough to take it slow. Although I wasn't certain, I'd have guessed he was about half way.

Despite the searing sting of my wide-open tailhole, it was also very clear I drew equally great pleasure from it. The precum starting to dampen my belly was evidence of that, as well as the fiery red blush burning my face. Within my pained cries was, of course, intense howls of powerful rapture. His rock-hard shaft grinded ceaselessly against my hot and hard prostate, causing a near-constant flow of pleasure. The room was heating up very nicely, and though I barely had time to notice, the windows may have been fogged up, too.

Rit then tired of constantly pushing forward, and soon gave into quick hard thrusts to force my insides open. Each strong buck into my rear caused sharp, painful spikes of pleasure which both annoyed and aroused me. Every time he jolted forward, the lion snarled in my face, dropping drool onto my muzzle, which in most cases went into my open, out-crying maw.

"One more," Rit suddenly huffed, and with a final forceful thrust, the lion roared and rammed the last quarter of his enormous lionmeat inside my body.

I, predictably, cried out painfully, and was breathing very heavily. Instinctively, I wanted to press a paw against my chest as I breathed so deeply, finding it impossible; Rit was still holding me down. I winced as some pain suddenly shot up my body, but soon relaxed. It was an odd feeling, that of both pain and pleasure. More odd, though, was that the pain pleasured me, rather than just feeling the two separate. Another odd feeling was this giant piece of lion stuck at least ten inches up my rear, probably more. I could feel every inch of the shaft inside me, throbbing intensely and really warming me up. Rit's cock was definitely planted deep inside, which felt agonizingly great. My tailhole was still very sore, but easily ignorable. Finally my body stopped struggling, which the lion noticed, and I began to relax.

"You're not goin' anywhere," Rit informed me. He shifted his hips teasingly, as if reminding me just who was in charge here. "How does it feel?" he then asked.

That was sort of an ambiguous question. Not that I could answer, anyway. Instead I just whined.

"Yes," he said, extending the word for effect. "You like being my stripy bitch..."

That wasn't what I was whining to, but I also wasn't about to argue. I nodded quietly, maw open, trying to hide my face. I figured since I had just admitted to being his bitch, I should probably act like one. I whimpered again, moving my hips awkwardly as if desperate for more, which I must admit felt pretty good. Even though the lion wasn't moving, his shaft was still grinding into my hard prostate, which every so often caused me to uncontrollably buck and moan.

Rit then growled and gave a little tug at my tailhole, grinning at me. I think he was going to get on with the show.

And with that slight yank, possibly twelve inches inside my body I felt his fleshy cock-barbs scrape, which was indeed an unusual sensation. Again there was that rapid wave of pleasure, but a new sort of pain entered the mix. It took the form of tiny spines stinging me deep inside, ceaseless in their torturous scraping. This pain was far more acute than the previous, and without even considering it, my head once again grinded into that well-defined groove in the bed, a silent cry bursting out. It was like it was too much to even make a noise, though you wouldn't know it seeing me through a window. Finally, as if my voice had finally caught up with me, I roared bestially, then at about the two-quarter mark, my head leaned up and snarled, as if I was no longer in control of my normal self. My claws were out and if they hadn't been pinned, would no doubt have been scratching the lion to hell. I couldn't even swear at that moment, however in just a few seconds, the incredible stretch of my tailhole was relieved and all that remained was his spiny cockhead.

Huffing and puffing, my head fell back, and I frowned when I heard the lion laugh.

"Just like the first time, huh?"

I think the first time I was too drunk to remember, or even feel, the pain. "Fuck," I muttered, this time ignoring Rit's little rule. Fortunately, he let it slide.

"You made quite a mess," the lion pointed out, in reference to the small pool of precum that had collected in my navel. He would no doubt lick that up later. For now, though, Rit would continue with what he was doing, and enjoy every painful moment. He, of course, felt no pain at all, the bastard.

The lion then arched his back in preparation for fucking me hard; he had just warmed my tailhole up for now. And within moments he was ascending my bowels again, the pain far less intense, which left a lot more room for pleasure. His thick lionmeat passed through my tailhole with relative ease, and when it did slow down, Rit shoved it on through anyway. Unlike before, my pained cries had become loud, long, lustful moans, yet still my claws yearned for something to dig into.

I could feel his thick shaft spreading my hole once again, and despite the workout, my insides clenched tightly around his cock. It was an amazing sensation, this hard flesh passing through me. It drove my prostate wild, as well as the rest of my body, as it wormed through me, every inch of it clear to me. And with the half-hard cock and precum to prove it, I was in heaven. I didn't want this moment to end, at least until he began to pull out again.

Rit finally bucked his hips into my rear with a grunt, and while still holding me down, slid his sharp spear outward, much, much faster.

I could tell he was just getting started. I growled and moaned as he pulled out, head grinding into the tenderized bed, useless to do any more but take it. And take it I did. Again Rit started inward, letting out a grisly huff as his hips smacked my bottom, and like his bitch I moaned the whole time. I had learned long ago it was useless to try to deny or hold back whatever noises you wanted to make, and so with no inhibitions I growled and roared and moaned almost consistently and very loudly â€" despite the others likely being back by now.

The lion was breathing more heavily now, and his You're my bitch smile had finally worn off. Rit was thrusting his hips far more powerfully than he had been, and was definitely working up a rhythm. A rhythm I couldn't quite keep in tune with, as I was more or less immobile.

I did, however, clench my butt-muscles every time he slapped his body against my sore and sweaty rear, which made him moan. Although he was completely in charge here â€" bent over me with my arms pinned down â€" it was that much more satisfying knowing I could make him do that. I began to tease the lion in such a way much more instinctively now, as he was throttling my body endlessly. And, like his hip-thrusting, so too was my moaning endless, a constant mix of rapturous roars and euphoric cries. Rit's lionmeat was pounding my insides vigorously, forcing a near-constant flow of precum to soak my belly and squirt my chest. I was squirming uselessly under the lion while my body filled with immense ecstasy, every strand of fur seeming aflame with a passionate fire. "Ooooh god!" I cried uncontrollably. I was panting heavily throughout my tiring noises as Rit thumped again and again against my rear.

"R-Rit!" I called out, interrupting one of his pleasured roars. I wanted to hold my dear feline so bad, and yet I had no practical way of telling him. I don't think I could have even formulated the words if I wanted to, let alone speak them clearly. Although he filled me with absolute bliss both physically and emotionally, I wanted more from the lion. Was I just being greedy?

Suddenly, though, to my surprise, Rit released my wrists. Had he read my mind? Ignoring that question, both paws immediately sprung upward, wrapping tightly around his shoulders and pulling him downward. And though it was impossible to tell, there may have been tears in my eyes. May have been. I think I had surprised the lion, too, with that, however he changed positions easily without sacrificing movements. His paws now rested under my back, below my arms, as he continued to pump my tailhole hard and fast.

I just moaned into Rit's ear, our cheeks mashed together, letting him know exactly how I felt. "F-fuck," I whined. That was the best I could come up with. He knew, though, I think, how I felt, as if the tight hug didn't say enough. Rit grunted each time he bucked into me, and I moaned in return. I was amazed, in fact, that he was able to keep up his powerfully fast pace.

The two of us worked harmoniously together now, my body pushing back as best as it could while he pumped forward. I could feel our intense bond growing tighter â€" or maybe it was just my tailhole â€" as he fucked me hard. "Ooh, OOOH," I cried, my half-hard tigermeat bouncing with each thrust.

It didn't take long, though, for Rit to change positions. I think he was very close to the edge now, if not already there. He was gliding very easily through my bowels, which told me I was slicked with his precum. The lion growled as he pulled away, pushing down on my chest as he pulled up, cock sunk deep within me.

And, like a bitch, I whimpered and begged for more. I didn't even have to speak. I just had to keep making these pathetic whining noises, which made him smile.

"This is it," he rasped quietly, more to himself. The lion shared a quick glance with me, which for a moment made me feel like I really was his little tiger-slut.

I moaned pitifully as Rit pulled out slowly, moving his paws down my chest and onto the bed under my arms. With himself firmly in place, looking down at me, I just stared up at the sexy, muscular lion. Again we shared a glance, and his beautiful blue eyes filled me with so much joy. It then truly dawned on me just how much this meant to me. I had known Rit for a long time, and although we had shared a life long ago, it seemed as if some mysterious, cosmic force had drawn us back together. Or maybe we were both just really horny. Either way, I knew what we were doing now meant more than just a good time. Of course, I couldn't speak for Rit, and deep down I thought this may have been entirely one-sided. Whichever the case may be, all I knew was that I had fallen for this lion once again.

Then suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by Rit when he broke our shared gaze and grunted, sliding his twelve inches â€" give or take â€" of lionmeat back into me, with some amount of force.

I just grunted in return, paws gripping thoughtfully at his mane. Although he had pulled away, my paws could just barely link behind his neck. It didn't take long for Rit to work up that same pace he had before, pounding my tailhole relentlessly. With my maw open, I rested my head back on the bed and, as I bucked back and forth, moaned loudly. However as Rit's growls and grunts got louder, I found he was starting to fuck me even harder. His growls turned into wicked snarling as that enormous piece of meat hammered my rear. My meaningful moans had quickly begun to turn into painful cries once again.

Rit snarled in my face, drool whipping about violently. He thrust powerfully into my body, and once again I felt like he was rending me in two. This time, however, I dug my claws into Rit's neck, which he probably didn't feel because of his thick, albeit messy, mane. Again and again he drove into me, roaring in my face. And I just held on tightly, moaning and crying in return. He was pounding me like a monster. The pleasure rushing throughout my body was insane, and mixed with the rough pain it started to mess with my senses. Although I could hear the noises of the lion â€" his intimidating snarling and hips slapping my rear â€" they seemed so distant. The potent mix of sweat, males and cum left the room smelling heavy with musk, which had an almost intoxicating effect.

All these sensations blended into one â€" the pain in my body, the horny stink of the room, the incredible pleasure beating me senseless. The constricting thump of my heart as my glazed eyes peered up at the lion. A slight smile came onto my open maw as Rit fucked me, uninhibited moaning piercing the rapturous haze. And in my delirium I looked past the lion to the doorway, only to see a tall, handsome Great Dane standing silhouetted by the hallway candlelight, watching us in awe. Or maybe it was shock. Either way I just ignored him, rapt in Rit's powerful pounding. My eyes quickly wandered back to Rit, though he was clearly lost in his own senses.

Having said that, I hadn't even noticed how hard I had gotten. I'd realized it quickly when I felt an addition to my ecstasy; Rit's soft body fur smearing my cockhead. Every strong thrust into my body, hammering away at my prostate, forced good-sized portions of precum to blotch the lion's fur, which he didn't seem to notice. I ignored that too, however, as my paws were firmly attached to Rit's mane. He was huffing and puffing away as he fucked me, his breath wonderfully heavy. Again I moaned in his ear, and in return I received a surprising lick on the cheek, then a giggle. I guess he wasn't so lost after all.

"I-I'm...fuckin'..." the loin spoke hoarsely and tiredly, "al-almost..."

I nodded subtly, in amongst my bucking body, stopping him from speaking. He was about to blow his load. With this in mind, I just closed my eyes and held on tight. I wasn't sure at that point just how loud I was moaning, but I was certain our modest room hadn't contained it. Part of me was hoping it was covered by Rit's roars and snarls, which was possible, but I doubted it. Unmoved by that, however, I let myself go, focusing more on how the lion was making me feel. My ass was still sore, of course, but more than that my whole lower-region was absolutely immersed in that hammering pleasure. Again and again Rit thrust into my body, completely unceasing.

Just then I heard the lion gasp, just slightly, and his right paw â€" claws included â€" clung to my ribs. "F-fuck!" he cried, eyes closed tight, his thrust becoming somewhat slower but significantly more powerful. It was like he had saved up this last bit of energy for this one moment. And what a moment it was. In a matter of seconds, Rit gave one final, bowel-ripping plunge into my body as his muscles seized and he began to roar louder than he had before.

And, in tune with the lovely sound of his powerful voice, I started to moan and even snarl a bit as I felt his very hot seed fire into my belly. And at the same time, like we were connected, my tigermeat filled with the same rapture that had surely filled his, and out poured what was left in my balls from earlier, shooting up into Rit's belly fur and dripping back down onto mine. Panting heavily, my cock heaved a few more fair-sized streams of warm seed as my stomach began to feel extremely warm and full. After a moment, still feeling the lion's monstrous cock inside me, I began to purr loudly, still holding onto the muscular feline.

Rit, too, was murring as his big, full balls emptied inside me. Deep within my bowels the lion had planted his hot, creamy seed, and there it would stay for a long while. Finally the lion retrieved his partially soft meat from my tailhole, and I clamped it shut as quickly as I could to keep in all his warmth. Soon enough, despite our sticky, messy fur, the lion knelt on the edge of the bed, still above me, smiling and murring warmly. He nuzzled our cheeks then gave me a soft kiss, now coaxing me onto the bed properly.

I lay on the modest bed, head now actually on the pillow, with my lion still above me. My eyes glanced briefly at the door only to see it had been shut again, then wandered around to see if we were still alone. And we were. For now. Then I looked up at Rit. And just as I did, the cheeky lion pressed his lips against mine, and we kissed softly for a long while.

Long enough, in fact, to have Keefe walk in again. This time Rit noticed, and he slowly broke our kiss and looked over. "What is it?" he asked happily.

Keefe stepped in and just sort of sighed. He clearly didn't approve. "I sent the kids off," he explained. "I didn't think Kai, especially, would want to hear this."

I just kept staring at Keefe. I hadn't really considered Kai, at least not seriously. Of course, I hadn't considered being fucked so hard, nor being so loud about it. What was I supposed to say?

"He seemed pretty happy when you two arrived back from the blacksmith," the dog went on to explain. "Seemed like you two had at least started to patch things up."

Why was he telling me this?

"Keefe," Rit interrupted, "is this really a good time for a guilt trip?"

A guilt trip?

The Dane just shook his head. "He loves you, you know. Despite everything, he still loves you."

Apparently it was a good time for a guilt trip. The absolute bliss I had just experienced with Rit was suddenly becoming very...shameful. I knew what I felt for the lion was real, but I couldn't deny that the love I felt for Kai was stronger than any love I had ever felt before. I just let out a long, deep sigh.

"Don't forget that," Keefe said as he turned back to the door.

"I thought you were sleepin' in here tonight," Rit so thoughtlessly pointed out.

Without turning, or stopping, Keefe replied, "I'm sleeping in with the kids. I don't know where Loki's gone off to, but it's clear he's not staying here." Then shut the door firmly behind him.

Kai and Rin were probably out trying to find Loki, though if the fox knew what was good for him he'd stay far away. It was a no doubt a fruitless task given to them by Keefe to keep them away from the Inn. Clever dog.

I just lay my head back on the pillow and sighed again.

Rit turned back to me and nuzzled me. "You all right?" he asked.

I didn't know, truthfully. Fucking conflict.

"You don't gotta worry," Rit started, though it was clear he didn't want to finish the rest, "about this becoming something more."

God damn it.

Although we both understood it would be a long time before my relationship with Kai would be fully repaired, Rit was quickly realizing what a relationship with him would mean for me and Kai.

"I..." didn't know what to say. In a perfect world, I would have both. But this world was far from perfect. That was what dragged us to this town and this Inn to begin with.

Rit just lay beside me, a seemingly different fur now. He was rough and relentless just moments before, but now was as soft and tender as ever. He wrapped an arm around my chest and nuzzled my cheek again, lying to my left.

I was still on my back, staring up at the wood ceiling. The chill of the Inn had started to creep back in, too, which begged for the thick bed sheets. I just turned to Rit, our noses meeting, neither one of us smiling anymore. He held me close once again when I started to shiver, his once steamy seed no longer keeping me warm. I snuggled close, sighing again as Rit pulled up the thick, warm covers. I did love this lion, but I also loved Kai. If anyone had asked which I loved more, I wouldn't have been able to answer, though there was hardly a doubt in my mind it was Kai. But after a night like that, how could I possibly tell the lion?

With yet another deep sigh, I closed my eyes and relaxed my tired, yet tense, body, keeping close to Rit's warmth. Slowly but surely, I drifted off to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I was definitely not in the Inn. Nor was I lying with my lion. I was on a bed, at least. But the bed seemed to be floating in absolute darkness. "Rit?" I called out, hearing nothing in response. What the hell? I thought. I peered over the side of the bed, seeing the same nothing I had seen before. Could I step down there? Rather than just attempt it, I leaned on the side of the bed and swiped my paw at where the floor should be, but as predicted, found nothing. This was getting weird.

Suddenly, I felt something grip my paw. It wasn't another paw, either, but whatever it was, it was trying to pull me off the bed. Panicked, I pulled back desperately, though it was useless. In a matter of seconds I had been dragged off the bed, and was now in a freefall through this absolute darkness. Oddly, I wasn't screaming. I was terrified, yes, but I didn't make a noise. Eventually, to my relief, my descent had slowed until I stopped. Now, I've had embarrassing dreams where I've appeared in battle naked, but naked and floating in the dark? It seemed oddly familiar, though I couldn't recall anything like that before.

Then I heard some soft laughing. My ears perked and I listened intently. What the hell was going on? The laughs and giggles were getting louder, and seemed to surround me. And though I couldn't quite make it out at first, I was certain I heard someone talking, too. But what were they saying? It sounded like it started with an S...

The voices continued to get louder, or closer.

Sa...something. Sa...cri...fice... God damn it.

Just as I heard that word in complete clarity, my dark surroundings began to fade into a backdrop of crimson, or blood, red. I felt myself falling slowly until my footpaws touched ground. To my dismay, though, the ground was soft, warm, and almost fleshy. In fact, when I looked down, that's exactly what it was. What appeared to be hundreds of corpses of nameless furs lay scattered around me, and myself standing on an enormous heap of them.

"Christ..." I said aloud. The grisly plane surrounding me was a vast, still ocean of deep, sticky red blood, littered with beaten, battered, bloody bodies. What the fuck..?

"Sacrifice!" the voice said aloud. Was it the Crimson King again?

"Who's there?" I cried out stupidly. I didn't seriously expect an answer, though.

"These are the many," the voice went on, sounding far more demonic than before, "who died by your paws..."

My stomach suddenly turned. Why was I being shown this?

"You are a brutal monster," I was told. "The life of another holds no meaning to you."

I just growled, seeming unable to move. Was this its way of trying to convince me to kill Kai?

"You will submit!" the voice boomed, and suddenly my firm corpse mountain began to rumble.

I held out my arms, trying to steady myself, but soon enough the rotting bodies began to tumble, and with them so did I. I fell face-flat into the shallow pool of hot, carmine blood, and I think a paw bobbed in front of my face. I just lifted myself slowly, drenched in the red, sticky mess. "Fuck..."

The ground then started to rumble again, and the bodies surrounding me started to quake. Moments later, the bodies began to rise, one by one, each one moaning out in pain. I was thoroughly scared at this point. Petrified with fear, I just stood and watched as these bloody corpses rose, a few of them taking steps toward me. I was shaking like mad now, head whipping about at all the furs who I had apparently killed in my life. They no doubt wanted revenge, but I still couldn't move. I just...couldn't.

One of them started with a terrible screaming then ran toward me, and moments before its rusty sword came down on me, my instincts kicked in and I dodged the attack â€" easily, I might add â€" shoving a footpaw into its rear, knocking the bastard into a couple others. But before I could celebrate, a few more came rushing toward me, and I was just barely able to dodge. I growled as another group attacked, and taking a more offensive stance, I knocked a few rotting skulls off and punched holes in their guts.

All the corpses then stopped and stared, as if pondering whether or not to attack.

It didn't take long for them to make up their minds, however, as they came at me en masse. I managed to knock a couple down, but armourless and weaponless, it didn't take long for one to cut into me. I felt the dull, rusty blade pierce my skin and tear apart my insides as it slid through, now poking out my chest. I cried out in pain as I spun around, smacking off its head. However, just as the corpse fell, another appeared from behind it and stabbed me in the gut, then another in my back.

Snarling from the pain, I took a step forward, then another, until I fell to my knees. But that didn't stop my enemies, as they now just swung their swords, slicing up my back, mostly. One kicked me in the side of the face with a metal boot, it felt like, and I fell to my side. And just as I opened my eyes, dozens of those horrid furs stood above me, I barely had time to react as I got stabbed repeatedly in the gut, each one crying "sacrifice." And I just howled in pain.

Finally, a large corpse crushed my neck with his footpaw and held a massive hammer above my face. Staring up at the metal block looming over me, tears streaming down my face, he insisted I would sacrifice my panther. And with that, he pounded his hammer down.

Suddenly I woke in a freezing cold sweat, crying out. I felt light-headed from sitting up so fast, and just held my head in my paws. My screaming had apparently woken up Rit, too, who was still lying beside me. The room was still dark, save the orangey glow still peering through the small window.

Rit sat up, too, however groggily, and nosed my cheek. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"N-nothing..." I said, wiping the sweat off my muzzle. Fucking dreams.

"People don't scream over nothin'."

I just sighed. My whole body felt intensely tingly, though there was no pain. "Just...just a dream. Don't worry about it." I could tell Rit was worried for me, especially since he put a paw on my leg and leaned in, licking my cheek.

"Yer gonna be all right," he said assuring me, though I don't think I needed it.

"Thanks," I replied anyway, then rubbed my head. I lay back on the bed and sighed again, finding some comfort in Rit's big arm draped over my chest.

The lion snuggled close, his muzzle close to my ear. "We'll get through this," he said, then licked the inside of my ear. He giggled and murred, then gave me a big squeeze before relaxing. Rit probably wanted to get back to sleep.

It was hard for me, more so with Keefe standing in the door way. What was his problem, anyway?

"You all right?" he asked me. "I heard you shout."

I turned my head. "I'm fine."

"Was it one of those dreams again?"

"Yeah."

Keefe then sat on the bed closest to mine, resting his chin on his paws. "You want to talk about it?"

He was persistent, I'll give him that. "No, I don't."

Keefe sighed. "Well, you know I'm here if you want to talk."

"I know."

There was a short pause, then Keefe again. "Want to go for a walk?"

A walk? It's freezing out. "Not really."

"C'mon," he said. The orangey light from outside highlighted his subtle features, revealing a smile on his handsome face.

Again I sighed. "All right," I said reluctantly, slowly getting out of bed. When I turned to get my warm clothes, I noticed Rit had no trouble at all getting comfortable again, curling into a ball under the sheets. I quickly got on my pants and my thick, woolly top, turning to the dark-furred canine and letting him leave first. The Inn was still very much asleep, and so too was Asgard. The sun hadn't even come up yet, though with a bit of light on the horizon, it would be soon.

Keefe and I just walked slowly through the empty thoroughfare, the snow packed tightly beneath our footpaws. Very few lanterns still burned, and hardly a breeze blew between buildings. We were surrounded with a thunderous silence, save the piercing crunch of our pawpads in the packed snow. Our breath hung like ghosts in the frozen air with every deep, long-drawn huff. The sharp air was actually kind of refreshing in my lungs. Cleansing, almost. I was very much awake now, quickly remembering what Rit and I had done, plus that damn dream, which inevitably made me think of Kai and his safety, as well as what was happening between him and I. I just sighed, my breath billowing from my maw.

Keefe turned his head. "What's up?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I insisted, though it was getting hard to resist the dog. I had to get it off my chest.

Keefe didn't respond, though, but simply looked ahead and continued along, one paw gripping his wrist behind his back. Why wasn't he insisting I tell him? Some new technique, perhaps. I didn't want to fight it, though.

Slowly my maw opened, until finally I managed to push some words out. "I've got a lot on my mind," I told the wise canine. That was the best I could come up with.

"I had guessed as much," he replied. Real helpful...

"Everything with Rit and Kai," I continued, "and the Ancient Ones, and those dreams... I just don't know, Keefe."

"Don't know...what?" The Knight turned his head, ears more perked than they naturally were.

I sighed again. "If I can keep this up. This...fighting constantly. These injuries, my distance from Kai, and Rit's advances."

"I'd say Rit's already advanced pretty damn far," the dog pointed out unnecessarily.

"It's too much, Keefe. I'm...scared."

That made the canine stop, and he turned to me. "Scared? Of what, exactly?"

"Of what I'll become." Finally I stopped, standing a good six feet from Keefe. I didn't know why I was telling him all this. "It seems like every day, every time I fight, I lose something deep inside me. Sometimes it feels like there's something inside just screaming to get out, and after every battle it reaches just a little further."

"Nosferatu..?"

I nodded, turning when Keefe approached me. "I don't know what it is, but I think that's what's kept me alive all these years. I should have died years and years ago when I was a just a kid, but no... I didn't. I couldn't. And now...I afraid I may go someplace that I'll never be able to return from."

Keefe didn't say anything for a long while, as if trying to figure it out. Figure out why I was like this, or how to stop it. I think he was starting to realize that maybe it was a little more than just a state of mind, which for the longest time I had assumed as well. But with the nickname I got in the army â€" Death on the Battlefield â€" plus all the bullshit with the Ancient Ones...I began to think it was something more.

Of course, I didn't know anything for sure. Having been blessed with far more self-awareness than most, part of me thought I was just being paranoid. That maybe it was the appearance of real, physical demons that made my mind start to pieces things together in such a way. In my entire life, I hadn't ever doubted that I wasn't as frightening a fighter as I've been told I am. Perhaps it was all in my head. But the evidence had certainly been stacking up.

"I don't know," Keefe finally said, still making his Concentration Face. That was one of his more useless pieces of wisdom. "I certainly don't envy being in your shoes," the dog said with a half-smile. I think he was trying to be funny.

I just scoffed. I was hardly in the mood for joke-telling, nor joke-listening. Finally I turned and continued slowly along, toward the eastern end of Asgard.

Keefe continued following me. "So what about these dreams?" he asked me.

At that point, it was pointless not to tell him. After all, I had just finished admitting how scared I was. "It's going to sound crazy," I started.

"You'd be surprised what I find ‘crazy.'"

I couldn't help but be a little intrigued, but continued anyway. "I think they might be messages, or something, from, uh, the Crimson King."

Keefe raised a brow. "Really..." He didn't sound convinced. Guess that's understandable for a Holy Knight.

"I never seem him, if it is him, but I hear this voice... A demonic voice, and yet soft. And it just keeps repeating ‘sacrifice' over and over. I think it's referring to Kai. I think maybe the Crimson King, wherever he is, is somehow communicating with me, trying to get me to finish the job the King started back at Midgard."

There was an awkward pause. "You're right," Keefe said. "That does sound crazy."

I sighed.

"Given the circumstances, though, there may be some validity to it. After all, if he truly does exist, his power must have grown exponentially over the centuries. Who knows what sort of abilities he's grown to develop, or what he even looks like now. He, himself, could be more demon than fur by this point. His Disciples certainly are. Anyway, I suggest you don't worry about the dreams for now."

"You haven't had them," I pointed out. "You don't know what they're like."

"What are they like?"

I paused before speaking. "They're...horrible. Not only do they beg me to kill Kai constantly, but in some way or another, I'm rendered totally useless and tortured until I'm killed. That's when I wake up. They just...feel so real. On the battlefield I've suffered equally bad wounds before, but in my dreams it's like there's no adrenaline to help cover the pain. I feel every slash and every punch and, well, every other type of injury you can think of, full-on."

Keefe didn't seem to have any words for me.

"I can't just not worry about them," I reiterated.

"No, I suppose not."

Keefe and I finally reached the edge of town where we sat on a large rock, starting to see the sun rise. Oddly, I didn't mind hanging out with Keefe so much. Despite denying him for so long, it felt sort of refreshing to get this shit off my chest.

"Do you think I'm going to end up like one of them?" I asked the Knight modestly.

Keefe paused before answering. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Luca. If something demonic is truly lurking inside you, I think you, more than anyone, will have the willpower needed to keep it inside. At least, mostly inside."

That didn't reassure me as much as I think he wanted it to. But I appreciated it nonetheless. I just let out a big, long sigh, then moments later found at least some comfort in Keefe's arm around me. We sat close together in an awkwardly tender moment, watching the distant clouds light up brilliantly as the sun rose.

"Thank you," I said quietly, relaxing a little. Despite how I usually felt about Keefe, I inched closer to him. "With all that's been happening...I'm afraid I'm gonna lose everybody I love. Which is you guys. That's...kinda what scares me the most about all this demon shit."

"You're a good tiger," Keefe said with a smile. "You're not perfect, but you're good all the same."

Like he was perfect. But it was nice of him to say; my ‘imperfection' likely referring to Rit and I.

"Hopefully Tyr will come through for us, so we can put an end to all this."

"Yeah," I said needlessly. Staring off into the horizon, it seemed a new day did nothing to lighten the heavy load of the previous, most of it still weighing down on me heavily. The Alphas were still fast asleep when I left the Inn, which was the very least of my problems. I had no idea when I would be leaving Asgard, but I hoped it would be soon. Not because of the cold, either. And with any luck, that damn arctic fox wouldn't be around. Although I sort of hoped he would be, just so I could beat his pretty face in.

With Keefe still holding onto me, I looked over at him, curious what he was thinking. But to my surprise, our noses nearly touched. Had he been staring at me? Well this was awkward, though neither of us moved our muzzles. Our eyes met, which seemed to lock our heads in place. Then I could have sworn he moved closer. Or was that me? Within moments our lips touched, though it didn't last long. Long enough, however, for both of us to close our eyes. Quickly we pulled away, equally shocked at what we had done. If it was any other fur, it may have been all right, but I had just kissed Keefe. Keefe bugged me a lot, and I hadn't ever thought about kissing him before. Except, well...it was over a year ago â€" we had just met. Needless to say, I was just as surprised at myself as I was at Keefe. He could have pushed me away. Hell, he could have backed away. But he didn't. It did feel nice, though, his soft canine lips against mine. It was a very tender kiss, actually, which may have been why it was so surprising. I could tell right then and there, Keefe was quite the kisser. That sorta surprised me, too, actually. Hard-ass, straight-laced Keefe was a good kisser. Neither of us said a word for a long while, which was torture. I couldn't tell if he was blushing, either, through his blue-black fur. I certainly was.

"Um," he said brilliantly. Usually I was the one with such clever remarks. But alas, the Dane had beat me to the punch. "S-sorry," he finally said in a feat of verbal genius.

"It's okay," I blushed. Why was I feeling so bashful now? I wouldn't hesitate for a second to tell the dog off, most days, but now I hadn't a word to say. It's okay. C'mon, you can say more than that, tiger. "Uh." Smooth...

"I'm not sure what compelled me to do that," Keefe finally admitted.

So, it was him. But why would he want to kiss me? "Must be the cold air." Ah, of course. The cold air. The biting, amorous cold air. And yet...it did feel nice. Although I would never, ever admit it out loud, I did sorta want another one. But should I risk it?

It was now Keefe's turn to sigh, and mine to ask what was wrong.

"I don't know," Keefe said. "I feel terrible for saying this, but I want more out of my relationship with Rin."

Could it be? The impermeable Holy Knight had problems, too? "What do you mean?

"Well, we don't get intimate too often, and of course when we do, it's wonderful. But after seeing you and Rit... Well, you two just seemed so much more passionate than Rin and I."

"Yeah, but it'd been, like, a year since either of us had had any action. Rit probably pawed off at every chance he got, but I was pretty pent up. We both were."

"So, what're you saying? I should withhold it from Rin for a while? I mean, longer than usual."

"Well, that probably won't work for you two. He'll probably think something's wrong. But you could try, say, experimenting a little. Do something that'll make your heart race. Like...kissing me, for example." Could you be more obvious, tiger?

Keefe pondered that for a while, then smiled. "You may be right, Luca." I then received a complimentary kiss-on-the-cheek before Keefe hopped off the rock.

I followed him, admittedly a little disappointed in the quick kiss. Oh well. Keefe and I slowly headed back into town, which was now very much alive. Oddly, I did start to feel a little better about everything, specifically things with Rit. They didn't seem to bother me as much. Could Keefe's lips really hold such restorative powers?

When we got back to the Inn, Rin and Kai were already up and eating breakfast. Rit was probably still in bed. I greeted the kids with a smile, which seemed to take them both aback, and I headed upstairs. And, as suspected, the lion was still passed out on the bed. I kneeled down beside the bed and with a smile, licked Rit's face.

The lion growled, but showed no signs of waking. I licked the tired beast again, only to receive that same growl, only this time he stirred. "Rit," I said, extending the ‘I' when I did. His growl became louder. Finally, I bit Rit's ear hard and pulled, which woke him instantly.

The lion snarled and pushed me off, crying out as he was rudely awoken. If not for my thick, woolly coat, he'd probably have scratched me pretty bad. "Whatthefuckâ€"?" he cried, sitting up quickly. Rit then groaned and held his head, either because of his hangover or because he sat up way too fast.

"Everybody's downstairs eating breakfast."

"So you bit my ear?"

"You weren't getting up," I smiled.

"Why the fuck are you in such a good mood?" Rit groaned.

I shrugged. Why the fuck was I in such a good mood? Keefe's kiss, perhaps? Or maybe because I had finally gotten all that shit off my chest. Nevertheless, I answered Rit's question with a kiss of my own, softly pressing my lips against his, offering little tongue. Rit didn't seem to know exactly what was going on, but he did kiss me back equally as soft. He even murred a little.

"Wow, stripes... You are in a good mood." Rit finally got up, stumbling a little, but with my paw quickly regained his composure. As expected, the lion was still completely naked. Such a sexy beast...

I couldn't help but put my arms around Rit, hugging him tightly.

"Ooh," he exclaimed, hugging me in return. "What's gotten into you?" he said happily, rubbing my back.

"Nuthin'," I answered shyly. Though I didn't really have a real answer, I knew he wouldn't bother asking more.

It didn't take long for Rit's paws to worm their way down to my rear, giving both cheeks a tight squeeze. With a giggle, one paw ran along my hip and fondled my heating-up bits through my pants. Damn lion was making me blush even harder than with Keefe. "Mm," he said. "Looks like yer a little excited to see me, too."

"R-Rit," I said, giggling. I wasn't particularly interested in more of this, though with my pants now down, it was hard to argue. I looked down at Rit, who was stroking my ever-growing shaft, pulling my sheath down and out of the way.

"I want some breakfast, too, you know," he said cleverly. Suppose I was the one who was going to provide it for him.

With that, Rit licked all up my now rock-hard cock, murring in delight.

"Rit," I said louder, pulling away a little. "I don't want to do this right now. Can't we just...keep holding each other?"

Rit, who was on his knees, looked up at me, no doubt seeing the seriousness in my eyes. He just nodded and stood up, pulling my pants back up as best he could. "Sorry, stripes," he said. "Thought that might be what you were fishin' for."

I shook my head, doing my pants back up. My cock didn't really want to go back into its warm, fuzzy sheath, but I gave it no choice. And just as I finished, the lion pressed his naked body against mine and held onto me tightly but gently, murring quietly. A sort of apology hug, it seemed.

"You know how much I care for you, right?"

"Of course I do," I replied, hugging Rit back and nuzzling my cheek against his.

"Well, uh, what if I, um..."

I still held onto Rit, waiting for him to continue. We seemed to be swaying a little.

"What if I told you...I, um...I loved...you..?"

I wasn't sure which surprised me more; Rit actually saying the words ‘love' and ‘you' side-by-side, or the fact that he loved me. It would seem all his advances weren't just for the sake of horniness. But how was I supposed to respond to that? I did love the lion, yes, but I wasn't sure if I loved him in quite the same way he was telling me he loved me. Surely he understood how I still felt for Kai... Though last night's activities had certainly suggested otherwise. I hadn't denied him, nor even resisted for the sake of Kai. If I ever hoped to rekindle things between Kai and me, a relationship with Rit wouldn't really be possible. But, still...I did love the lion.

"Y-you don't hafta respond," he said, shaking just barely.

"I do love you, Rit, more than you realize. But you have to understand, I still have very strong feelings for Kai. Him and I have only just begun to patch things up..."

"I see," Rit responded. I knew he wasn't trying to make me feel bad, but I did anyway. "So...what're you saying?"

I sighed. Rit and I finally pulled away, and the two of us just sat on the edge of the bed. Eventually our paws met and clasped together. I then looked over at Rit. "I love you, Rit. But if things continue to get better with Kai, I just don't think a real relationship with you would be possible."

"Yeah," the lion responded, lowering his head. It was hard to see if he truly understood. "I know."

This was the reason I had resisted Rit for so long. I knew if him and I got involved, shit would happen and it'd be nothing but complete awkwardness between us. And yet like a fool, I had finally given into my animal instincts. There was never any question that I cared greatly for the lion, but after last night, things had gotten just a little more complicated. Of course, dwelling on it wouldn't do me any good, either. It was impossible to know how Rit would handle things in the days, or weeks, or months to come. I could imagine only two different ways he'd deal with it, and that was either be mopey for a while, or be angry and passive-aggressive. Frankly, both bothered me. It was possible, though, that Rit would continue along unhindered by these events, which I was really hoping for. Finally I stood up, giving Rit's shoulder a rub as I did. "You coming down for breakfast?" I asked the lion, giving him the best smile I could.

Rit sighed, then looked up at me. "Yeah, I'm comin'." He gave me a little smile then got up, but then unexpectedly put his arms around me from behind. "As long as I can still hug you," he said humbly, "then I'll be all right."

I smiled genuinely and leaned back into Rit. "You can hug me all you like," I said, then turned as much as my body would allow and quickly kissed the lion's muzzle.

He let go and the two of us finally made our exit and joined the others for breakfast, but not before Rit put on his clothes. We all finished up quickly enough â€" plenty of meat to satisfy even the most feral tigers â€" and sat around in near-silence.

"Do you think Tyr is going to find anything helpful?" I heard Rin ask Keefe idly. I just sat back and relaxed as best I could, trying to get the lion and my panther off my mind. It was hard though with a thirteen-year-old panther sitting next to me â€" something I hadn't experienced for a very long time â€" just staring up at me in giddy anticipation. It took my exhausted brain a moment to recollect its thoughts, but soon enough a few torches lit and I remembered Kai's armour. Must've been what he was all restless about. I looked down at him with barely a smile, wearing a face of inquiry.

"Do you think it's done?" the boy asked, assuming I knew what he was thinking.

"Depends on how much armour you're getting."

"He's gettin' new armour?" Rit asked almost jealously. "Who's makin' him new armour?"

"An old friend. I promised Kai I would have Wayland make him some."

Rit frowned and slumped back in his chair. I guess he wanted new armour, too.

"You can have my old armour?" Kai suggested, but Rit snorted the idea away. It was too small for him, anyway. Was the lion actually jealous, or simply pretending, or being silly? He did that sometimes, but it was impossible to know how he was really feeling.

"Nah," Rit said. "I don't really need new armour, anyway. Give it to Rin."

Rin perked his ears, then Kai shrugged.

"Wanna go see?" I asked the eager panther, sitting forward.

Kai nodded happily and got up, running to where he had left his coat. I then looked up at Rit and offered a paw. "And you?"

Just as Rit moved forward in his chair, he clenched suddenly at his stomach and made a painful face. A second later the lion groaned, bending forward, then belched. "Oh God..." he said. "My fucking stomach..."

Worried, I leaned in and looked him in the eyes. The pain was very clear. Within moments, however, it was gone, and with a sigh of relief Rit sat back, just rubbing his belly. Bad meat, perhaps.

"You all right?" I heard Keefe ask.

"Yeah," Rit answered. He looked as if he was about to offer the gang seconds on his breakfast. "Too much sausage, I think."

Kai was all ready to go, and so I stood up, giving the lion a final worried look before leaving. The sharp, cold air again invigorated by body, though, as it quickly filled my lungs. I took in a deep breath, then exhaled warm, billowing air. There was hardly a cloud in the sky which was refreshing, and meant, generally, there would be little snowfall for the rest of the day. It also meant it'd be bitter cold. No licking swords for me today.

And so through the thoroughfare we travelled until the large structure that was home to Asgard's blacksmith. The large, barn-like doors were still closed, however luck seemed to be on my side as they slowly opened. I then saw the young, attractive face of a German Shepherd poke out, then slide the door open. Apparently the cold didn't bother him so much, as he was totally topless in the frozen morning. Finally he noticed me.

"Luca!" the young canine called happily, jogging out toward me. "I was just opening up," Luke pointed out needlessly.

"So I see," I said with a smile. Of course I couldn't help but notice his smooth, muscular body, but managed to keep it subtle. As subtle as a tiger with black armour and a massive sword could, anyway.

I then noticed Luke gaze past Kai and I, and when I turned, I realized my Alphas had followed me. What did they want? I just looked at each one, all of them seeming to want the same thing, whatever that was. They sort of growled, but it didn't sound hostile. They just kept inching closer, making their noise and staring up at me. I didn't even have Fenrir's hood on, so I guess they recognized me now as their master. So, if I was an enormous, feral black monster-wolf...what would I do?

"Get those fucking things away from here!" I heard an angry fur call from behind me, drawing far more than just my attention. As suspected, it was Wayland. He was holding a piece of my armour, which looked suspiciously the exact same as when I'd given it to him. Oh well.

"They're not doing anything," I argued, feeling oddly protective of the foul beasts. Maybe I really was a giant wolf, after all.

"Just them bein' here is enough to send chills up my fucking spine," the dog countered delicately. Sharp as always.

One of them then rubbed its head against my thigh, which was extremely disconcerting. Just less than twenty-four hours before, this one had no doubt been trying to tear my throat out, and now it was begging for attention. It was then I noticed his eyes, as well as the rest, had lost a bit of the murderous red glow they had once had, which was curious. Such strange beasts these were.

"You see?" I said, petting it gently on the head. Even Kai and Luke had joined in. "They're harmless."

"Ain't so harmless when you're passin' through their fucking forest." Again Wayland's words danced elegantly off his tongue. It was true, of course, though I hadn't even begun to understand the mind of an Alpha.

I just shrugged. What else could I do? They clearly meant no one harm, except perhaps for me if I didn't give them whatever they seemed to be begging for. It certainly wasn't attention. All five had already crowded around, sniffing pawpads and rubbing thighs. Foul beasts.

Wayland snorted and faded into his workshop.

"Did you come for your armour?" Luke asked Kai eagerly. The dog's nipples were rock-hard in the icy air, which I tried desperately to ignore.

"Yeah," he replied happily. "I can't wait to see it."

"I finished up the chest piece last night," Luke said proudly. "Though father had already finished the rest before me. Plus he fixed up your stuff a little." The canine pointed at me.

"Can I see it?" Kai asked eagerly.

"Of course," Luke replied, leading us into the shop. Wayland was stoking the fires already, which greeted my face with a pleasant warmth.

"Yer shit's over there," the old smith told me without turning around. And sure enough, all my armour was neatly placed upon the table, beside an even neater stash of smaller armour. Upon closer inspection, Kai's armour was expertly made, thick and well-crafted. Luke clearly had talent. It was made from normal steel, as evidenced by its dull grey surface, though didn't resemble typical armour. It was designed, quite clearly, for strenuous and continuous use, like mine.

"Looks good," I told the Shepherd.

Kai was rubbing the smooth chest piece with both paws, in awe of his new metal skin. He picked up the front piece admiringly, as if waiting for it to say something. It didn't.

"You like it?" I asked the panther.

"Mm-hmm." He clearly wanted to try it on.

"C'mon," I said, lifting it up from behind him, "let's see it on you." I just heard Wayland make a noise from behind us, something suggestive of get the hell out and do this elsewhere. Nice doggy. I lifted the armour over Kai's head and he easily slipped into it. Lifting his arms, I closed the straps down the sides, securing him in his chest armour. It seemed to fit snugly over his winter clothes. Satisfied with that, I helped the boy secure the shoulder pieces, which, unlike mine, fell further down his arms and strapped nicely to his upper-arms, contrary to mine which only attach to the chest piece. I couldn't help but smile at Kai's cheerful giggle as I patted the shoulder pieces. He had only a few more parts to go, on his upper and lower legs. Wayland, not surprisingly, was working away at something behind us, but I ignored the shrill hammering and continued to help.

Kai had already picked up his top-leg armour, and was trying to figure out how to put it on. Though only slightly different from mine, he figured it out quickly, and had already begun strapping himself in, behind his legs. I just stood and watched the young panther as he fastened the thick leather belt, made to help hold up the leg armour, as well as to attach smaller weapons or pouches to. He didn't have any of those, though. Within moments, Kai had already tightly secured his leg armour, and on his own, began to attach the knee and shin armour, which he managed easily. When he was done, the armoured panther looked up at me with a bright smile, and I had to admit, he looked pretty kick-ass. It was a darker grey than most armour, but not black like mine.

"You look great," Luke commented, checking Kai out. He rubbed his paw down Kai's chest now, and blushed. Then I heard Wayland sigh.

Kai looked up at me again with a wide smile, then ran his paws all around his armoured body, admiring the work. And though it was difficult to hear, with the noise of the canine's hammer ringing in my ears, the boy may have even murred a little. It did look good on him, and he was clearly happy with it. I had finally done something right. All thanks to Wayland, of course.

"Thank you so much," Kai said, giving Luke a big hug, much to the dog's surprise, then turned to Wayland, who had finally stopped hammering, and thanked the old dog, to which he received a half-assed smile.

"I didn't forge your armour with obsidian like Luca's," Wayland pointed out. "But it's a much finer steel than most. So you should get a lot of wear out of it. Just don't go off swinging your sword like a fucking fool." He was clearly referring to me.

"Thank you," I said to the Shepherd this time.

"You fucking owe me," the dog reminded me, shaking a pair of hot tongs at me. I hope he didn't plan to pinch me to death. "I don't know how or when, but you owe me."

I just laughed, however lightly. "Yeah, I got it the first time."

Wayland just glared at me and slowly went back to work. "Now get the hell outta here," he said gruffly, then pounded again. "And...don't go getting yourself killed, okay?"

I smiled and nodded warmly and gathered my armour, which was mostly scratch, crack, and dent-free now. I finally gave my farewells to the young, handsome smith and took off toward the Inn, an excited panther following noisily behind me.

"Thank you for doing that for me," Kai said, stopping me halfway to the Inn. Right in the middle of the thoroughfare, too. But that didn't seem to matter when he held my paw softly, pulling me toward him.

Going along with it, I bent down and received a gentle kiss, much to my surprise. I could almost hear the blood gushing through my ears when I felt his soft lips brush against the side of my muzzle, flattening my whiskers, then that faint kissing noise. In the freezing cold, I couldn't tell whether I was blushing or not, though I certainly felt warmer. "Y-you're welcome," I said stupidly. When I stood up straight, Kai made a point of stroking my now bushy tail with his gauntleted paw. When had he put those on? Kai apparently had even more armour than I had, way back when I got it, though Kai is just over half my size. Did the size of the armour make a difference in forging it? Maybe I just didn't understand the intricacies of blacksmithing, but it had always amazed me at how quickly and how well that dog crafted his pieces.

"Should we go show everyone?" Kai asked me excitedly, finally leaving my tail alone.

"Not unless you want to take your armour off right here," I said, pulling him to the side of a building. It surprised me how bustling Asgard seemed to be, especially since it wasn't even noon yet. I guess it was pretty big for a town.

Kai shook his head, rubbing the tops of his metal gauntlets with a paw. "I wanna keep it on."

"I thought so. You gonna keep it on all day, or what?"

Kai giggled. "Yeah, I think so."

"C'mon," I said, holding out my paw. "Let's go back."

Kai held onto my paw for just a moment before letting go, and a minute or so later we were again entering the Inn. We found, however, Tyr was inside talking to everyone, or Keefe more specifically. They all glanced up at us briefly, giving Kai and I a look suggesting to stop letting the heat out. Feeling like I was interrupting an important sermon, I snuck into my chair quietly, Kai placed nicely on the arm, and listened intently. I had dropped my armour noisily to the floor, which made everybody jump, and I have to admit, it was kind of funny.

"Although no one is certain of the exact location," Tyr continued, "our texts suggest it may be somewhere deep within the cavernous belly of Mount Hnitbjorg."

"And no one's ever thought to go up there and get it?" Rit interrupted, sitting up in his seat. What were they talking about?

"It is the seventh, and most terrible of all... We are not the brave warriors we once were centuries ago. Myself, I am simply too old now..." The white wolf lowered his head ashamedly.

"It's just a book," Rit said. "What's the worst that could happen? It put some kind of curse on us?"

Tyr didn't deny that possibility. "No one knows what exactly the Book contains, only that it was written by Níðhöggr himself."

"Need...hug?" I asked confusedly. I hadn't ever appreciated my name until hearing that one. The old gods had some strange ones. Assuming, of course, he was one of the old gods.

"Níðhöggr," Tyr repeated, as if that would clear things up. "The evil ruler of the Black Dragons. He scribed these ancient books centuries ago, the final Book detailing his venture into Hel, and outlining how he opened the gate. It was not dissimilar to the King's method, though his techniques were far more arcane."

"More arcane than dragons?" Keefe scoffed. It sounded like he didn't even believe they'd ever existed.

"Indeed. The dragons magic was far more powerful than anything Midland's King could have ever conjured. Unlike the King, they crafted and perfected their skills, instead of copying them from some amateur's tome."

"Assuming they ever really lived," Keefe added.

"You doubt their existence?" Tyr asked. I think it was a serious question. But before he could let the Knight answer, he continued. "The dragons ruled these lands centuries ago, if not millennia. Perhaps even before the Crimson King ruled; no one knows for sure. They were enormous beasts, many of whom worked with great and powerful magics, such as Níðhöggr. He was perhaps the most powerful of all."

Keefe didn't appear convinced, though it was hard to tell what his stone-face was thinking. "Everybody's heard the stories," the dog said, "but if they truly existed, then why haven't we ever found a part of their ‘great' legacy? Where are the temples? And the tombs and the bodies?"

Tyr was unimpressed with Keefe's apparent ignorance. "The dragons existed many ages ago, Holy Knight. Much of their civilization has now become part of the earth once again, just as ours someday will, too. But they have left behind small, though very significant, pieces of their ancient legacy. And it would appear it is time for you to discover a part of their legacy."

"By finding their ancient Library," Keefe said. As expected, he didn't sound entirely enthusiastic about the prospect, despite knowing far more about this place than I did.

"What library?" I asked.

Tyr sighed and turned to me. It was then I noticed a scroll under his arms, which were linked behind his back. "Within Hnitbjorg is an ancient Dragon Library, home to many of their ancient texts as well as the seventh Black Book. We have the first six in our own library."

"What do the first six say?"

"They are more or less a testament to Níðhöggr's long, powerful journey through life. No doubt the Seventh Book tells us how his tale ends, and perhaps even how the dragons as a species had ended, too. The first Six also suggest that within the Seventh Book lies the secrets to opening the gate to Hel. No one knows what sort of dark power has been written within its pages, but I promise you no good will come of you by removing it from its place within the Library."

"So you don't know what happened to the dragons?" Kai piped up.

Tyr smiled at Kai's enthusiasm. "Not for certain, no. Níðhöggr ruled these parts aeons ago with his Black Dragons. They were, for lack of a better term, the ‘evil dragons,' though his influence was extraordinarily wide-spread. It was said that Níðhöggr's fiery breath alone had carved the caverns deep within Mount Hnitbjorg, and that it was his cold heart which covered this land in snow and ice. Those stories were no doubt exaggerated," Tyr said with a slight glare in Keefe's direction. "However many still believe they had existed at one point in our history, and that it was Níðhöggr's dark magic which had lead to their ultimate demise."

"I always thought they just flew away one day," Rin cut in. The teenaged cougar never said much, which made this kind of surprising. "That they got tired of this land and sorta handed it off to us. And that they'd found another land to live in, more beautiful and prosperous than this one. Or...what this one used to be like."

"Aye," Tyr replied. "There are many stories about the Dragons, not one more true than the other."

Growing up, having had no parents, I hadn't ever been told stories about the Dragons. I mean, I'd heard of them before, but no one's ever explained anything about them to me in greater detail. Why couldn't they have existed? After seeing what I've seen, I'd believe just about anything was possible.

"All right," Keefe interrupted, "so where exactly is this old Library?"

"Ah, yes... It is up in the mountains, high up far beyond the visible eye. You will find a path leading into the caverns, and if you follow the map I gave you, you should exit on just the other side. However the mountain you see before Asgard is only a small piece of the north's vast mountain range, and somewhere in the centre of these you will find your Library."

"Has anyone been there before?" I asked.

"Sadly, no. No one has ever managed to find the ancient Library. Only our texts have given us clues. Níðhöggr's Black Books place it directly in the heart of the mountains, in the centre of an enormous crater which was said to have carved the mountains thousands of years ago."

"Why would the Dragons build a library in the middle of a mountain range?" Keefe asked. Seemed like a good question to me, but Tyr didn't seem to approve so much. Keefe's problem was that he was too logical, despite logic contradicting his own beliefs.

"Perhaps to keep others out, such as the other Dragon clans. The Library may hold many of Níðhöggr's secrets, perhaps even the knowledge of how to defeat his dark magic. No one knows for sure what is contained within its ancient walls."

Keefe sighed. He probably didn't particularly want to go find this so-called Black Book, mainly because he doubted the existence of the Library. To him, it didn't make sense to build any kind of structure up in the mountains, which he already knew were immeasurably vast, let alone a library. From what he's said, the mountains beyond Hnitbjorg were extremely dangerous. Constant winds blew, and some days you'd be blinded by snow. Which, by the way, was thigh-deep if you were lucky. I was really hoping we were luckier than that.

"What's that?" Kai chimed in, pointing at the scroll under Tyr's arm. I'd almost forgotten about that.

"This," the wolf explained, pulling it out from under his arm, "is the only known location of an ancient weapon forged by Valo. If you want to stand even a chance against the Crimson King, you will need to find this weapon."

"Who's Valo?" I asked curiously.

"Valo was a white dragon, whose species contradicted the black dragons. ‘Good and evil,' if you will. He forged this enormous weapon he called the Lionheart, the Bane of Darkness, intended to be used by the white dragon Hero, Lys. However Lys never got a chance to use the sword and strike down Níðhöggr once and for all. And so it was hidden somewhere in the foothills of southern Midland, where Valo had supposedly crafted the blade."

"That's where Wayland used to live," I pointed out. "I wonder if he'll know anything."

Tyr snorted a smile, suggesting he already knew something I didn't. "Your blacksmith had built that cabin there because of the legend. In fact, when he arrived in Asgard, he was the one who'd given me the scroll. Said it could be important some day."

I hadn't ever known Wayland way back before he was an old man, so it struck me as somewhat odd that he would be so sentimental about a legendary dragon. He had always been Grumpy Old Wayland to me, though twenty years before that he could have been a very different person. Though I think he had always had his an elegant tongue.

Tyr then held the scroll out to me and I took it quickly, though I didn't open it. "Thank you," I said, looking up at him.

"I have given you as much information as I can," the white wolf said, sighing as if he was worn out. "Beyond this, there is not much more I can give you that will help. Good luck on your quest." Tyr then gave a sort of bow, to which I just nodded my head, and the wolf left.

"So...what now?" Rit asked at length. "We goin' into the mountains?"

Keefe sighed, clearly unenthusiastic about the prospect. I wasn't either, for that matter. "Yeah," he said, "I suppose we are. We can leave around noon, or later if you want."

I leaned forward in my chair and finally got up. "Sounds good to me," I said, gathering my armour again. "I'm just gonna put my shit away." And with that, I did. I climbed the stairs with my armour and again dropped it on the floor, now sitting at the edge of my bed. I let out a big, long sigh, not certain why I wasn't more enthusiastic about our mission. I would doubt highly that there'd be any Disciples in the mountains, so it'd be a simple enough task. Find the Library, find the Book, then get out. The difficult part would be opening the gate to Hel and finding the Crimson King, then killing him... Was that it? I felt so close to the end of my mission, and when it was all over...then what? Of course I wanted to end this demon bullshit, but once that was all said and done, what would be next in the Great Adventure of Luca? Perhaps I could find a quiet place to settle down and relax for a change. Though...I've never known that sort of peace. Could I handle the change? Moreover, how would Rit and Kai, and even Keefe and Rin, fit into all this? I had gotten so used to them all being around, and now with this thing between myself and Kai and Rit...

Before I could ponder that further, I heard the door creek open and Kai walk in, his armour clanging around as he moved. "What'd they think of your armour?" I asked him.

Kai shrugged. "They said it looked all right on me."

"That it?"

Kai shrugged again, in only the way a thirteen-year-old boy could.

"You do look good in it," I told him again.

"How come you're sitting up here?"

"I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" the boy asked, sitting beside me.

"Just...nothing," I replied like an idiot. Why not tell him?

"You sure?" he asked again, looking up at me and flattening his ears.

I sighed. He knew I was lying, anyway. "I'm just not sure what I'm gonna do with myself when this is all over. And more importantly...who's gonna stay with me, you know?"

Kai gave an understanding nod, though it was hard to tell how much he really understood. "You referring to Rit and me?"

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at just how well he did understand. "Yeah," I said at last, lowering my head a bit.

"I heard you two last night," he said, which made me blush. What was I supposed to say to that? Just as I opened my maw, though, it clamped shut as Kai continued. "It was...kinda hot."

Now I was really surprised.

"You seemed so pent up, it was probably a good release for you. And for Rit, too."

Was he really saying this? Wasn't he bothered at all by it?

"Truthfully," Kai went on, "I was sorta glad to see â€" or hear â€" you two together like that. I know...I haven't exactly been helpful with that sorta thing. And, uh...well, you know why..." The panther lowered his head, and was blushing madly. Possibly more than I was.

What I really wanted to do was ask him exactly how he felt about Rit and I, or more specifically, if I should continue a relationship with him. But of course, there wasn't any tactful way of slipping that into any conversation, let alone this one. It would seem he didn't have much of a problem with it, and even recognized why him and I hadn't done anything. Kai was happy for me. Although, it could very well be possible he didn't mind what Rit and I had done simply because he didn't consider it anything more than stress-relief. Suppose in his mind, a serious bond hadn't formed at all, and all things were good in the Land of Lovers for Luca and Kai. But again, there wasn't any way to know.

"Do you like Rit?" Kai suddenly asked me, looking up at me without moving his head.

This had taken me aback, and I didn't know how to respond right away. Was he reading my mind, or something? "I, uh..."

"It's okay if you do," Kai assured me. "I was just wondering..."

Oddly, his words hadn't assured me at all. How many times in history had men been caught in this sort of deception? It's okay if you do. Was he really just wondering? One way or the other, though, he had asked me a question which I hadn't answered, and the answer wasn't going to change. Should I tell him, though? "Yeah, Kai," I said, my brain screaming at me. Stop! It cried. But it was too late. "I do."

Kai gave another one of those understanding nods, which lasted longer this time. There was no doubt in my mind that he understood me.

"Okay," he said in a sort of optimistic way. It didn't seem entirely genuine, though.

I placed a paw on Kai's right shoulder and pulled his body toward mine, ignoring the irritating jab of his armour. The two of us sighed in unison, then I loosened my grip, pleased to see Kai hadn't moved away. I turned my head and gave the boy a soft kiss between his ears, then just rested my paw on his hip. Such a warm panther. I was then surprised to feel his right paw grip at my belly, and the boy snuggle closer. I smiled warmly for just a moment before I heard a quiet sob, which seemed to stop my heart. Shit...

I felt like I should have said something, or should be saying something, but as usual nothing came to mind. I just continued to hold Kai, feeling worse when I heard him sniffle. He just dug his head into my shoulder, probably trying to hide his tears. Poor kid... I wish things hadn't gone the way they had, but what was I supposed to do? Never in my life had I ever imagined being in this sort of situation, or imagined what it would be like. That in mind, though, both Rit and Kai seemed to be under the impression I was going to continue a relationship with the other. It killed me being in that position, and of course I had absolutely no idea how to handle it. I felt somewhat dirty, having come this far with them. Like I had been playing them both. But given the previous circumstances, it didn't seem possible that Kai would've even looked at me again, much less cuddle with me. Suppose it could all have been chalked up to bad timing, but...still. None of what was happening felt right, and I could only pray I would find a simple solution. But this certainly seemed like the sort of thing that no matter what, there would never be a simple solution. Just a series of regretful decisions.

Kai then sobbed again, quietly still, and shifted even closer.

"You okay?" I asked softly, feeling like an idiot for asking.

"Yeah," the panther sniffled. "I'm fine." The boy then looked up at me with tears in his eyes and for a long moment, we just stared at each other. Then Kai moved his muzzle closer toward mine, and mine toward his, until they connected. As our lips pressed softly together, a sharp zing rushing up my back, we kissed quietly.

It had been so, so long since we shared a kiss like this, and there wasn't a thing about it I didn't miss. And for a long while we shared that kiss, breaking only for a moment in our heated breaths as it became far more passionate. Soon enough, I had found my shirt unbuttoned and Kai rubbing my soft white chest fur feverishly. God, it felt so nice to have his small paws running through my fur again. He was on my lap now, and I could taste his maw when his adorable tongue slid against mine. The intoxicating odour of my boy filled my lungs, something I hadn't smelled in far too long. Now rubbing my shoulders, Kai finally pulled his lips away, nuzzling just under my chin for a moment.

"I love you, Kai," I said softly, holding him close.

"I know," he sniffled, nuzzling even closer. "I love you too...Luca."

I sighed. "I didn't mean for things with Rit to get so involved," I explained stupidly. What was I doing? "I mean..." What did I mean?

"Don't worry about it," Kai said from under my chin. "I know what I did was sorta unfair for you, but...I just...I couldn't. And it would've been foolish of me to expect you not to react to Rit."

Again the pair of us sighed. So where did that leave us now? It seemed he understood my dilemma, or at least, why I got myself into that situation. It clearly wasn't any surprise to him that Rit and I had gotten together, nor did it seem to bother him too much that Rit and I had slept together. By his silent weeping, however, I think what bothered him was that I had inadvertently developed feelings for the lion, which he likely didn't expect. It was possible he blamed himself for it, realizing that if he hadn't shied away from me for over a year, it probably would have never happened. Having said that, though, he had to understand that a year is a very long time to be alone, especially when your lover was usually no more than ten feet away. Developing feelings for another should have been at least somewhat expected. Not being a mind reader, though, I had no way of knowing what he did and didn't understand. But Kai's a clever boy. I didn't have much doubt in my mind that he truly understood what was going on, but of course I've been known to be wrong about things like that.

A long time passed with Kai and I just holding onto each other, lovingly, until we heard some faint shuffling from downstairs. The boy reluctantly climbed off my lap just as Rit walked in, and though the lion likely had a good idea of what we were doing, he was courteous enough not to say anything. Although knowing Rit, he likely assumed we had done far more than just kissed and hugged. Soon enough our room was busy with Keefe explaining things and Rit giving not-so-witty remarks. It was close to noon and the canine was ready to go, though it was clear he didn't want to. I promptly got up and began to put on my armour.

The process went fairly quick, with Kai's help this time, as I was strapped into my repaired and refurbished armour. The chest piece went over my head, and apparently a couple straps had been added to what used to be just dangling pauldrons, securing it more snugly. My panther quickly strapped them securely to my upper arms, which he marvelled at; he wasn't the only one in our little party who liked big muscles, though Rit's were bigger than mine. After strapping up my sides, I put on my belt, which already had several pouches and a knife attached, and Kai assisted in putting on my top leg armour. It was easy enough to strap to my belt, but I got a little help with the straps securing it to my legs. In one of his more cheeky moments, Kai didn't just cop a feel at my balls, he full-on groped them, giving them a nice rub and even a bit of a tug. I made a slight noise, but kept it quiet. As he did the other leg, again his paw cupped my fuzzy orbs, from outside of my pants of course, giving a long, gentle massage. I heard the boy giggle, then continue with my lower-leg armour. I put on both gauntlets while he was doing that, and finally we were done. Kai just looked up at me admiringly, and it was fairly clear he was as aroused as he had made me. Cheeky devil. However there was no time for an even more intimate encounter, as Keefe was rushing us out. I think he wanted to get this mission done and over with. I quickly threw on Fenrir's skin and followed behind, Kraftig trailing behind me.

Soon enough, though, we were off, and with no sight of Loki around, we left Asgard toward Mount Hnitbjorg, five Alphas trailing close behind. I didn't know what had happened to that fox, but I was damn glad he was gone. Although admittedly, it was because of him that Kai even spoke to me now, but I still hated his guts. The trip into the mountain was uneventful and fairly easy. Of course, once we got into the caverns, the simplicity of following a windy path became far more complex. The map, of course, was garbage, most likely drawn by half-wit explorers who'd never drawn a map before in their lives. But we followed it as best we could, Keefe leading the way of course. It was dark and dank in the caverns, but relatively spacious. Only the flickering glow of Keefe and Rin's torches, one in front and one behind, let us see anything, not that there was anything remarkable. And, as suspected, the Alphas trailed behind, seeming to mind their own business. Occasionally they'd growl or wrestle or lick the walls, but they eventually caught up. Not that I'd particularly mind if they had gotten themselves lost.

Finally the unremarkability of these damned caverns was interrupted when we arrived at a dead-end. It appeared this tunnel was blocked off with a wall of ice, and before we turned around, Rit in his brawny glory decided it would be wise to ram the wall with his sword. Apparently "there's clearly light on the other side" means to try to smash it to pieces. Nevertheless, the lion did manage to break a sizable hole in the ice wall, and a few more smashes revealed an enormous, extremely impressive chamber filled with ice, flowing down from above. There must have been several holes leading to the surface of the mountain, as the light glistened off the gigantic icicles pouring down.

"Woah," Rit said as he finally came to a stop.

For a moment, as we all filed into the chamber, we stood in awe.

"We're nearly half way," Keefe pointed out, relieved to discover we had so far been following the map properly. "This is the so-called Ice Chamber...according to the map. It's not exactly clear which of those tunnels to follow, though..."

The walls were absolutely coated in ice, running all the way down to a jagged base. We all stood on a fair-sized ledge which seemed to run along the wall for a while until it sort of just vanishes. Obviously that wasn't going to get us anywhere, and so apparently our only choice was to creep carefully across what appeared to be an old rope-bridge, now covered in ice. From far up, it was clear where the light was coming from, which was also where three massive pillars of ice extruded from; they were evidently many, many years of icicle build-up. At the furthest end of the ice bridge appeared to be another ledge with multiple exits, as well as several other holes in the icy walls in seemingly random spots. Our footing was slick and the bridge appeared worse than rickety. Needless to say, no one was eager to cross.

Finally Rin volunteered. But the moment the cougar stepped onto the bridge, the ice coating it cracked deafeningly. The sharp pitch of the breaking ice echoed mercilessly throughout the chamber, though as it slowly drifted away, the bridge was still there. Shakily, the young feline took another step, and again our ears were punched by the sound of shattering ice. However the bridge still held, and slowly the cougar crossed. With each crashing step, we held our breath until Rin was across. Keefe was relieved more than anyone.

After a quick debate, Kai, the smallest, went next, then Keefe. I then made it across, and watched as Rit, the heaviest of us all, slowly inched across. My heart was pounding madly as sweat poured down my face, until for a moment it stopped.

Rit clutched his stomach hard and groaned loudly, nearly falling to his knees. He held on tight to the rope as it swung and creaked and cracked, shakily trying to get back up. I cried out to Rit desperately, noticing the posts on our side beginning to break. Little by little, the lion edged forward, trying to push the pain aside.

Suddenly, with Rit about ten metres from me, the cracking posts shifted forward, causing the bridge to rock painfully back and forth. I pounced forward without thinking and grabbed the ropes as the posts burst, now hammering my sides. I dug my claws deep into the ice to keep myself grounded, but needed help from my friends. I called out to Rit, telling him to hurry, and the lion staggered forward. Just as he came into arms-reach, I released the ropes and held the large feline tightly, pulling him toward me. My footpaws finally slipped out from under me and in a matter of moments, I was lying flat on my back with a panting lion atop.

"Th-thanks," he said, shakily getting up.

"What...the fuck was that?" I ask the lion as I got to my footpaws.

"I...I dunno," he said, rubbing his belly. "My stomach just started hurtin' suddenly. ‘T's fine now, though..."

I couldn't help but growl. My heart was still racing, and I was certain everyone else's was, too. "You fucking scared me," I admitted.

Rit flattened his ears. "Didn't mean to."

"I know," I said, taking a deep breath. "Let's just get the hell outta here."

Suddenly, the five Alphas, seemingly trapped on the other side, all leaped over to us, easily clearly the large gap. They stood as if bragging. God damn their demonic strength. When I peered down at them, annoyed somewhat, they simply growled fondly at me and rubbed against my leg. Foul beasts indeed.

"Which way now?" Kai finally asked.

We all looked at Keefe. After short deliberation, we finally decided upon the furthest tunnel from the bridge, and for a long while we travelled the dark caves once again, the ice long gone. We stopped more than a few times to get our bearings, and only retraced our steps twice. These caverns were maze-like to say the least, and we had completely lost track of just how far into the mountain we were. Sounds echoed all around us either from a nearby opening, or a far-off opening, the Great Dane told us. Not too helpful. He said it was difficult to gauge just how far from any entrance we were, let alone the right entrance, because of how easily sound travelled and echoed in this place. Nevertheless, the five of us pressed on, our torches still lighting the way. All this walking, admittedly, was making my footpaws sore, since it was hard, often jagged rock the entire way, however slimy at times. Keefe, in all his wisdom, said the reason why it got so slimy in some parts, answering Rit's question, was because the tunnel likely passed an underground spring, and so the water leaked through the tiniest cracks and the cavernous plant-life was able to grow. Except he used the word mildew, which grossed the lion out; his footpaws were covered in it, like the rest of ours. But of course that didn't stop any of us from questing the exit, which was becoming far more of a chore than we'd originally thought.

We had eventually reached the point, or Rit had, anyway, where we stopped asking or wondering where we were, or how far along we were. The answer eventually became a consistent I don't know, and the joke of asking anyway had quickly worn off. Very quickly. All the tunnels looked the same, and we had only come across that same Ice Chamber once. Although we hadn't completely given up on the map yet, it was clear it was no longer much help. It wouldn't be long until we were just walking aimlessly through the damp cave, hoping above all else we would find the proper exit.

After what felt like a few hours, however, it seemed we were perhaps on the right track once again. The sound of howling wind filled the caverns, and there appeared to be a bright light coming from somewhere. Hurriedly we walked toward the end of the tunnel, then turned and went along the winding cave until we noticed the more crystalline walls. Further and further, the ice coating the walls became thicker until we found the exit. Just as we turned the corner, we were blinded by the sheer white. It wasn't quite enough to make us cheer, but I think inside we were all celebrating. Although when we finally exited the maw of this infernal system of tunnels, our celebrations were cut painfully short. Before us lay what looked like an immense crater, covered in an infinite blanket of snow with nasty winds whipping ice and snow in our faces.

For a long while we just stood and gazed out, knowing somewhere deep within this massive, mountainous bowl of ice and snow was an ancient dragon library. Assuming it actually existed, of course. It did seem like an odd place to put a library, let alone one that supposedly went underground. Nevertheless, we eventually trekked through the almost hip-deep snow, aiming toward what we could only assume was the centre. Not surprisingly, the damned Alphas trailed behind, taking full advantage of the path we were making. Kai and Rin, the smallest of us, were also behind, then was Rit then me then Keefe. The canine was of modest size, very lean and very tall, yet still muscular and strong. He slogged through the deep snow with the best of them, and he seemed to even prefer it that way, which was odd considering he didn't even think this library was out there.

Uncertain of the time by this point, no one could really be sure how long we had been wondering through this frozen wasteland. And just when the wind seemed like it couldn't have whipped us harder, a slight rumbling shook us and the unstable ice beneath us. For a frightening moment, we stood paralyzed. Then the snowing stopped. The five of us stood in the middle of this snowy desert, looking about as the last few clumps of ice finally settled.

"This...is kinda spooky..." Rit pointed out.

Just then, an explosion in the snow behind us. I whipped around quickly before I was smacked hard in the side, sending me barrelling through the snow. I heard several ear-piercing screams then looked up to see a massive, fur-covered beast with forward-pointing horns and enormous wings. Its teeth were perhaps most frightening of all, matched only by its giant paws and even bigger claws. This wicked beast was clearly not of our world. It screeched again as I got up and it took a swing at Rit, who was charging it. He was felled quickly. Then my Alphas all attacked the monster, clinging on with their mighty jaws. The white-furred monster cried out â€" a deafening cry â€" and swung its arms around, flinging my demon-wolves away. Finally I got a frozen paw on Kraftig and charged forward. Just as the beast took a swing at Keefe, who had managed to block and dodge its attack, my mighty sword came down on its arm, severing it instantly. Again it cried out, but this time it sounded different. Swinging its other arm, I held my sword in front of me and blocked the attack, skidding back. When I regained my composure, I noticed Rit had charged and stabbed it from behind, and again with that thunderous screech which sounded a bit off.

When the beast fell, we had barely any time to recollect ourselves when from above three more of these cursed monsters fell from the sky, slamming down explosively. With their long, gangly â€" yet incredibly powerful â€" arms, they charged whoever was closest, myself being one of them. I leaped quickly out of the way only to receive a tail in the face, knocking me back. Within seconds I was pinned in the deep snow, its arm holding me down. The monster's jaws opened wide and came straight for my neck, however was stopped by my loyal Alphas. They all had attacked again, one of them hanging off its thick, white-furred neck. I could see blood pouring down the Alpha's mouth, much of it in his mouth, and his eyes seemed to glow again. The snowy monster tore my Alpha from its throat and tossed it aside, however the black hound quickly countered, using its claws to slash at his enemy's icy face. Which, as it happened, was the perfect distraction to allow me to get up. And when I did, regaining my composure, I wasted no time at all I swinging Kraftig around, just once to gain momentum, then stepped forward and heaved the blade into the ice-demon's side, slicing its belly open. Steam seemed to rise from its hot entrails and the Alphas all dug in quickly. Their faces covered in blood, the black hounds looked back at me with what would normally appear as murderous, eye-glowing grins, but somehow I knew it was more of a satisfied smile, as if thanking me. I smiled back.

Then just as I heard a familiar cry, I whipped my head around to see a young panther fly through the frigid air. I growled deeply and ran forward, Kraftig drawing a line in the snow. Within moments I reached the beast, and with anger fuelling me, I swung my blade upward, cleaving the monster's downward-swinging arm in half. The monster cried out and as it did, I swung Kraftig across my front, slicing the icy demon's gut open; seemed an effective method. However I hadn't struck it quite as deep as it hadn't fallen, but instead it punched me in the chest. I rolled back and when I recovered, Keefe had already cut off its paw at its wrist, giving Rin ample time plunge his sword deep into the monster's chest. Impressive. I then looked up to my left, having to time to react before being struck down again, this time by a flying lion.

When the pair of us recovered, my devoted Alphas, the bloodlust clear in their eyes once again, all attacked the final monster. And just as it started to tear the black beasts off, Rit and I readied our swords in front of us and charged. At the same time, we both mortally struck the last monster, piercing its stomach then cleaving upward, slicing off its arms. I let my Alphas finish it off, by tearing out its throat. Again they dined on blood and flesh, thankfully not my own.

Confident that was it for the snow demons, the five of us reassembled and after sharing a meal ourselves, having suffered extremely minor bloodshed â€" my bloody nose included â€" we were off again, refuelled and ready for more. Of course, no more came. Night, however, did. Unfortunately, as Keefe pointed out, setting up camp had been ill-advised. Although the night sky was clear, the eerie, glowing blue snow evidence of that, there was no telling when the storm would again return. That in mind, the thought of being buried alive in snow was enough to keep our tired selves going. The moon was bright that night, as if mocking us. You can see me now, it told us, but for how long? How long will I stay out and keep you safe? How long until I bore with you and decide to once again blind you with ice? I'm in control here, not you. God damn moon.

Finally Kai collapsed, and though I could only urge him on for so long, it became my responsibility to carry the boy, which under normal circumstances would have pleased me greatly. But I was tired, too. I was starting to wish I could control one of those flying snow beasts, like my Alphas. Then we'd be set. It bugged me that they were all so full of energy, happy to eat as much as they wanted. Despite that, though, they had really come through for me, and I was far more appreciative of their company than ever. And just when my legs started to weaken, one of my dark hounds offered a supportive head-rub and a delighted growl. His eyes were still glowing, too, which somehow warmed me. I think I was starting to become attached to the beasts, which was a frightening thought. Perhaps I was more demon than furry after all. These guys didn't seem so bad, though. Kinda cute, in their own sharp-fanged, flesh-eating, brother-humping ways. What would happen to them if I killed the Crimson King, anyway? Thinking about it, I wasn't sure I even wanted them to leave me, especially now.

Before I could continue with that train of thought, Kai began to stir. I shifted him around a bit, making him more comfortable on my back, and he rubbed his cheek somewhat awkwardly against mine, which made me smile. Along the way, now trudging through the deep snow again, Rit again had his stomach problems which went away after long. I probably would have felt more worried if I wasn't so exhausted, but I still kept closer to him. At one point in our long, frozen journey, I held out a paw and, though it was difficult in the thigh-deep snow, Rit and I held paws, warmed by our touches. Kai didn't seem to mind, either. In fact, after a while, he had climbed onto Rit's back, letting me rest for a moment. Despite the snow and the ice and my thoroughly frozen toes, I felt at least a little happy.

"Hey," Kai said suddenly, still on Rit's back. "What's that?" The panther pointed ahead, not that that helped.

"What?" I asked, squinting. Perhaps it was only something children could see.

"All I see's more snow," Rit said. "And a storm cloud..."

"It's not in the sky," Kai said, all of us stopped now. "It looks like a tower, but smaller. Like the top of something."

We all stared off in the distance, trying to see what Kai could. Maybe he was just putting us on, to liven our journey.

"I don't..." Rin said modestly, as if concentrating more on looking than talking.

Finally, Keefe chimed in. "Hold on a sec..."

Hold onto what?

"Is it kind of a spire?" the dog asked.

"Yeah!" Kai said excitedly, his eyes fixated on said spire. "Way off in the distance. I can see it poking outta the snow."

I still couldn't see it, but if Keefe saw it, I trusted it was there. Not that I distrusted Kai, but I figured this was a sign the boy wasn't just losing his mind. In a short while we headed off once again, plodding toward this spire, which I eventually did see. And, like Rit had pointed out, I also saw storm clouds. About half way from where Kai had spotted the spire, the clouds had quickly moved in and once again we were being pelted mercilessly by ice and snow. It was back to the same old drudgery we had started off with when we left the mountain. Eventually, though, with ice thoroughly meshed into our fur â€" Rit had it worse than anyone â€" we came up to the spire, examining its outside carefully. It appeared to be a dark, smooth, stone-like surface, jutting from the sheer white snow. It was hard to tell, but it seemed as if it went down much further, as if whatever the huge spire was attached to had been long since buried.

"How do we get in?" Rit shouted over the whipping winds. Although we were on the side of the spire which was out of the wind, it was still loud and snowy.

"We don't even know if this is the Library," Keefe said loudly.

"Then what the fuck is it?"

"How should I know?"

Rit growled, though I barely heard it. Keefe clearly didn't. For the moment we all leaned against the spire, at least catching our breath, wondering what our next move should be. And, predictably, we couldn't think of a thing. Not even Keefe. We had come too far to just turn back, and at this point leaving the spire seemed unthinkable.

"We could dig?" the lion suggested, which was answered with silence.

"Does the map say anything?" I asked.

"No, just how to get through Hnitbjorg. This...is ridiculous."

I guess we'd all just assumed we'd know the Library when we saw it, and the entrance would be clear. Apparently it was neither. If it was buried, then there was no way to get in at this point. No one would dig, especially not knowing whether this was the right place or not.

"God damn it," Rit said to himself, resting his head back. Then he perked his ears. "Uh," he managed.

I looked over. "What?"

"Did you just hear a click?"

I shook my head.

The lion looked about, but saw only what the rest of us saw. He then turned and pressed an ear against the spire, paws rubbing its surface where his head had been. It was still perfectly smooth.

"What's up?" Keefe asked, now intrigued.

"I...heard a click. Felt like my head pressed in on something, then I heard a click. An' now...I dunno. Gear sorta noises...like grinding stone."

Keefe, looking perplexed, promptly pressed his ear against the stone, too, and listened intently. "Yeah..." he said. "You're right. What'd you do?"

"I dunno," Rit shrugged, ear still plastered against the wall. "Nothin' intentional."

Then a noise we all heard. An audible boom sounded from within the black spire, and it shook a little. We all stepped back, ready for anything. Just then, a small sliver of light, just a thin line, appeared in the centre, then grew wider, like a door sliding open. We just stood and watched as the wall opened up, revealing a rather dark inside. Peering in, it seemed nothing was going to attack us. In fact, it looked simply like it had been precisely hollowed out, like a fair-sized room made of the same kind of stone. Slowly and carefully, the five of us, including my Alphas, stepped into the chamber, admiring its simplicity.

"Curious," Keefe said, feeling a part of the wall. It was nothing remarkable.

But before any of us could say goodbye to the snowy wasteland, the doors had slammed shut and a light rumbling rattled the room.

"Wh-what the hell?" Rin said, keeping close to Keefe.

"I don't know, sweetheart," The canine said. I don't think I'd ever heard him use that term before.

"Just hang tight," I said aloud, pulling Kai in. "I think if this was supposed to hurt us, we'd be a lot worse off."

That seemed to make a lot of sense to the others, as everyone relaxed as best they could, finding the rumbling more tolerable. My Alphas even stopped growling, and sat calmly on the floor. Save the couple who wanted some attention, which inevitably caused the others to join in. I just sighed and leaned back against the wall, petting one gently between the pointy ears.

Finally the rumbling stopped, followed by a loud bang. Standing in anticipation, once again we were greeted with that thin strip of light, then the stone split and opened. And when we stepped out of the stone chamber, very little light helped us see. We were clearly no longer outside, though this place was certainly dark, dusty, and hadn't seen the light of day in aeons. Could this be the Library?

"What happened to our torches?" Rit asked, now into the next room.

I heard Keefe scrounging around in his bag and finally pull something out. "Right here...but it's pretty damp. I don't think it'll light."

With a short growl, I looked about and, thankfully, saw a couple hanging on either side of the now closed doorway. I took out my flint and finally got it to light, and in that instant, as the heat caressed my face, I was in awe. Around us were impossibly tall stone pillars, reaching up higher than any castle hall I'd ever seen. The room stretched for a long while, shaped like a pie-piece, and between the pillars were impressive bookshelves, looking as if they had been carved out of stone. We all wondered around, lighting more torches as we came across them, finally bringing enough light into the chamber so we could see easily.

"There must be...thousands of books here," Keefe said, looking up and around.

I didn't really care much for the books and papers and scrolls littering this place. All I wanted to find was the Seventh Black Book and get the hell out of here.

"Hey!" I suddenly heard. It was Kai. "There's a big staircase over here."

The five of us, and eventually my Alphas, found our way to Kai, gazing up the stone steps. It ran along the wall, spiralling upward. It was hard to believe that in a chamber this enormous, there were still floors above us. As the others progressed upward, finding no evidence of evil texts, Rit let out another groan.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Y-yeah... Just my... Oh god." The lion finally fell, holding his gut and sitting back against the wall of the steps.

"Shit," I said, kneeling down. Then I looked up at Keefe, who was standing on the steps above us. "Just try to find the Book," I told him. "I'll stay here with Rit."

"I'll be f-fine," Rit said. "Just gotta rest. You go find that stupid book." He groaned again.

I glanced up at Keefe and he nodded, continuing up the steps. I didn't need to say anything for him to know what I was thinking. My Alphas and I stayed behind with Rit, trying to console him.

The lion sighed, still holding his gut. "I...I don't think...it was this morning's meat..." he said, looking at me.

My heart was pounding. What the hell was wrong with him? "You'll be okay," I said, trying to hold back any signs of weakening. I probably shouldn't have felt as worried as I did, but I couldn't help it. I leaned my sword against a pillar and just stuck close to the lion, holding out my paws. Rit's pads were all clammy, and he was extremely warm. "I think...you might have a fever."

Rit groaned and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "Fuck... I felt fine a couple minutes ago."

I sighed and sat beside him, gripping his paws tightly. My heart was still pounding. I didn't know what to do, but it was killing me. Keefe had told me once that a fever should eventually go away on its own, though a wet cloth or something on the forehead helps. Keeping that in mind, I tore off a piece of my coat and drenched it in water, placing it on Rit's head. "Keep that there," I argued with the lion, putting a bit of growl into it. "And drink some of this." I held out my canteen, and Rit drank it quickly.

With a smile, the lion opened his eyes and smiled at me. "You...are one in a million tigers," he said softly.

I blushed.

"I mean it, stripes. I... I really love you."

Well that did it. I was blushing probably more than I ever had before, and I couldn't for the life of me wipe the smile off my face. The furry brute could be so sweet sometimes.

"Well isn't that sweet," I heard a voice say from behind me. It was a familiar voice. I turned away from the lion and looked up, though no one was there. "You two are in love," it said again.

I got up quickly, growling. Still I didn't see anything or anyone. My Alphas were growling, too, though, so I knew I wasn't losing it. I then heard a scuffling from the shelf to my left, up high, then something else to my right. "Show yourself!" I called out. Then, in the distant darkness above me, a set of glowing eyes. I saw them quickly fall and stop on another stone bookshelf, then a figure crawled into the light. His fur was light â€" white, even â€" and had a distinct fluffy tail. It was that thieving bastard Loki. But...when did he get here? And how did he know I'd be here?

"Satisfied?" He said confidently, hanging awkwardly on the shelf. It didn't even seem possible.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I snarled. Not the best way to start off a conversation, but what I really wanted to do was slice his balls off...to start.

"All in good time," he giggled.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Loki leapt off the shelf and onto the opposite one, down further.

"I just wanted to see how you would handle things, really. Mere playful curiosity on my part."

Handle things? Did he mean if Rit and I would get back together again?

"So you came all this way?"

Loki just shrugged, then giggled. I think he was hiding something. Although the Alphas knew Loki, and hadn't attacked him before, they were fairly certain they wanted to tear him apart now. What was going on here?

"How'd you get in here?" I finally asked. He obviously hadn't come with us.

"Why, I rode on a white, winged beast, of course," he laughed.

"Wha..? You mean those monsters? H-how?" An idea then started to form in my head. But before I could explore my "Loki's one of them" idea any further, I heard Rit's painful groans turn into something far more worrisome. When I turned around, the lion was growling a bit, trying to get up.

Loki giggled again.

Ignoring the fox, I turned to face the sick feline, stepping forward. "Rit..." I said. "Don't..." I was trying to tell him not to move, but I couldn't get it out. For some reason, all I could do was watch him concernedly. Feeling panic start to kick in, I rushed over and held the lion up, who had almost fallen over again. "God damn it..."

Rit stumbled back anyway, groaning again. "St-stripes...I'm not feelin' so good..." The lion then clenched his stomach harder and puked all over the floor, the contents difficult to distinguish in the dim torchlight. "Fuck..." he whimpered.

What the hell was I supposed to do? The mess on the floor reeked of blood, that much I could tell. And it was clear he was in pain.

"Luca..." Rit cried, falling to his knees. I fell with him, still ignoring the fox, and held him tight. "It hurts all over."

"Shit," I said quietly. "We'll get through this, Rit. Just hang with me."

"One of you will, anyway," said Loki. He seemed almost happy this was happening.

"Shut the fuck up!" I shouted. Finally I let my lion go, resting him gently back against the wall. "Hang tight," I whispered, then got up.

"Personally," Loki continued, "my bet's on the lion."

"What the hell does that mean?"

The fox laughed again. "It was so easy, too."

I growled. He was teasing me now, which pissed me off even more than already I was.

"All it took was that simple touch. That one little act of...penetration...to get it inside."

Something inside me snapped. I snarled loudly and ran toward the fox, and though he was still up high, I took my sword and swung it upward as far as I could make it go, and if he had stayed put I'd have hit him, too. Books and stone fell down toward me, causing me to stumble back bit, distracted. Which, apparently, was enough time for the fox to leap to the other side, a significant gap between shelves, and fire something at me. Two of the objects ricocheted off my shoulder armour, while the other struck me in the side of the arm. I just snarled and took another swing at the fox, who easily dodged it. This time, however, I avoided being accidentally pummelled by books. But before I could attack the swift fox again, Rit was back on his feet.

The lion was swaying a bit, but looked unusually focused. Focused on me. His once beautiful blue eyes were almost glowing now, a deep red I had only ever seen in... Oh god.

The fox was watching me from afar, smiling happily. "Figured it out yet?"

"Th-that's...not possible. What did you do to him?"

Loki laughed a little harder. "It was too easy to get him to take me. Ordinarily it would have been the other way around, but given his rather imposing stature, especially compared to me, sadly I had to take it from him."

I growled deeply. So far, Rit was just standing there, as if waiting for something.

"And once he entered my body," Loki continued, "it was done. The rest was just theatrics. For you."

As soon as the fox finished his sentence, I was charging him. The cocky bastard wasn't moving, which suited me just fine. But before my sword could strike him, it was blown away by another. By Rit. I just stood a few metres from Loki, after stumbling back a bit, sword still in my paw. "Rit...what're you doing?"

"At this point," the fox explained, "I think he's going to be less inclined to listen to you."

I looked Rit in the eyes, which glowed a bloody red. My Alphas stood around the three of us, looking about, confused. They weren't sure what to do, either. "How is this possible? He's like..."

"You? Yeah, sorta. Are you really so dense?" the fox answered.

"You must be..." Could it really be? Was he from Hel? Was he sent by the Crimson King? If so, why? Why do this to Rit?

Loki nodded, like he somehow knew what I was thinking. "We knew you would never finish the job Midland's King couldn't, despite all His messages. So I was charged with finding an alternative."

I bared my teeth, for the little that would do. "You piece-of-shit... Rit would never do that."

"Well, he's not really ‘Rit' anymore, is he."

I looked back up at my lion. If the pain and fever was still bothering him, he hid it frighteningly well. Instead he just stared at me with stone-cold eyes, intensely focused on me. He looked angry. Angry at me. He stood across from me, holding his long sword in a paw, looking like he wanted to hurt me. And what did I look like? I no doubt looked worried and confused, with a loose grip on Kraftig. Rit held his sword firmly. I wasn't about to attack Rit, and any move on Loki would only be met with opposition. But it didn't take very long to be given no choice in the matter.

Suddenly Rit attacked.

I quickly swung my sword upward, blocking his attack, then swung again to block another, each time being forced to take a step back. Finally, after narrowly dodging the lion's attacks, I was backed against a pillar. "Stop this, Rit!" I begged. He didn't answer me. Instead he lifted his sword, ready for another attack. Then a voice from behind.

"I think we found it!" a young, excited voiced cried out.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at Kai, but it was too late. Rit had already turned and was charging my boy.

Kai, confused, managed to duck out of the way of the swinging sword, scurrying quickly toward me. "What's he doing?" the panther cried out.

"I don't know," I answered, stepping forward, a firm hold on Kraftig. Admittedly, I sort of knew. "I'm not going to let him hurt you," I said nobly.

"Wh-why would he wanna hurt me?"

Before I could answer that, I swung my sword across my chest, knocking Rit's downward-slicing blade aside, into a bookshelf. I growled and burst forward, sword still in my paws but trailing behind me. Instead I elbowed the lion in the gut, then in the face. Sorry, Rit.

The lion stumbled backward, but recovered quickly. He snarled as he swung his sword around again, which I blocked easily, stepping to the side and letting his blade slide off mine. I then lifted the massive metal sword over my shoulder and as it came down, turned it toward Rit.

Rit, however, struck me hard across the face before I could hit him â€" not that I really wanted to hit him â€" and I fell back with a bloody nose.

When I looked up, I growled and leapt to the right, letting Rit's sword smash into the smooth stone floor below me. I quickly turned and struck the lion in the jaw, then kneed him in the gut. These sorts of physical attacks didn't do much, especially in his stomach, because of the armour, but it at least made him falter for just a moment. With the lion bent a little, I pulled my paw back far and like a spring, struck him hard in the side of the face, and as he stumbled to his right, I swung the flat side of my sword down on his back, felling him instantly. Not wasting any time, I turned Rit around, standing above him, and with a bit of a tear in my eye, finding this a bit much, I struck him across the face again.

"Snap out of it!" I cried. I was almost at the point where if I had some water, I'd have splashed it in his face. Except he had already drank all my water.

"L-Luca..." the lion groaned, looking up at me through bloody eyes. They were still a dim red. "I'm...sorry. This...I don't think this is over."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can feel something...inside me. Changing me. Tur-turning me...into something worse." He then coughed up a bit of blood, acting as a cue for a long stream of tears to come pouring from his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whimpered.

"God damn it, Rit. If you hadn't..." I cut myself off. He already regretted what he'd done with Loki, the consequences far worse than I'd ever have thought. The lion didn't need reminding of that, especially not now.

Rit then growled. But before I could react, he leaned up and struck me hard in the chest, an extremely powerful blow which caused me to skid back along the floor. Both Kai and my Alphas came to me, and we just watched Rit.

He was standing now, eyes glowing an even deeper red. However, he looked as confused as I did. "Lu-Luca? What's...happening to me?" he cried, watching as his own arm seemed to grow. So much so, his armour began to burst, unable to contain his body. He looked down at himself, presumably as his chest armour became too tight, until finally it exploded into steel chunks. And all I could do was watch. "Luca!" Rit cried desperately, looking at me. He no doubt starting to figure out what was going on. "I don't wanna be a Disciple!" he called out, still transforming. Although this was hardly the time for such thoughts, he at least wasn't becoming a horribly twisted, ugly demon.

"Luca," I heard a young voice call out beside me, above Rit's terrifyingly loud, painful roars. "Why is this happening?"

"I...I don't know. It had something to do with Loki. He did something to Rit."

"Can you stop it?"

"I...don't know. I mean...not in a way you'd want me to. Go find Keefe, Kai, and stay with him. You aren't safe down here."

"Neither are you," the boy protested, whining a bit.

"He'll be coming after you," I snarled. "He wants you dead."

That seemed to startle the boy. "Wh-why? Why would he want to do that?"

"You know why!" I snapped. "Now go!"

Kai jumped, but quickly took off up the stairs. I then turned back to Rit, who had grown to at least twice his height, and probably twice the muscle mass. He had long, muscular arms with wicked-looking claws at the end of enormous paws, and a proportionately muscular body. His legs, of course, were bigger, but his size caused him to arch forward somewhat, not quite to the point where his front paws had to be used to keep him up. His tail, though still quite lion-like, appeared longer, thicker, and far more dangerous. He still kept his mane in what I assumed was now his full demon form, but it was long and thick, covering a bigger portion of his neck, shoulders and body. Most frightening of all, however, was Rit's face. Though it hadn't changed much, his once beautiful blue eyes were now solid black, besides the colour which glowed a bloody red. His face seemed to be stuck in a constant state of "pissed," with longer, deadlier-looking teeth, and out from behind his ears two large, forward-pointing horns had sprouted. His fur colour, while still it usual golden-tan, was far darker, and his mane as black as night.

"Luca..." I heard the Demon Rit say in a deep, evil voice, eyes locked with mine. But then it was gone. Rit smashed the backs of his paws into the bookshelves to his sides, smashing them over, roaring loudly as if to intimidate me. But I stood my ground. The lion then charged toward me, snarling as he shook the floor beneath me. And just as he took a swing with a mighty paw, I dove forward, just barely avoiding his claws. I continued to run, Kraftig in paw, until I was a fair distance away, then turned. But before I could do anything, I was met with an extremely powerful back-paw, smashing me backward into a stone bookshelf. The lion didn't let me fall, however, but instead punched me in the chest, again and again until the shelf behind me weakened and broke, sending me crashing through it. I groaned and before I could even brush the rubble off, Rit had lifted me with just one paw, fingers gripping around my torso, and slammed me chest-first into another stone shelf, books falling like debris. I then felt the dusty air rushing through my fur in weightless flight as I soared quickly through the air, reality smashing back into me as hard as the cold, stone wall. For the moment, I was down and out.

I just lay on the cool floor, my mind telling me to move. But I couldn't. The blood was gushing from my nose and my mouth, and I didn't even have the strength to see if I was missing a tooth. Then I felt the floor rumble, then again, and again. Demon Rit was approaching me yet again. Shit... I felt a strong pressure on my back, almost a grinding, then movement again. He had picked me up and I was at least able to open an eye to look at who used to be my lover. The eyes that stared back at me were no longer Rit's. He just snarled at me, something he'd only ever done to me during sex. Or if he was extremely horny. But this gesture was far from that. The monster lion wanted me dead, but not just throat-slit-open dead. More like I'm-going-torture-you-a-bit-first dead. But...why wasn't he attacking just now? Giving me a chance to fight back, perhaps? Or was a piece of Rit still in there, trying to claw its way back to this world? As usual, I didn't have much time to ponder such thoughts, as Demon Rit decided Thinking Time was over.

He smashed me back into the wall, releasing me after, then punched me hard again and again, except this time there was no bookshelf to stop him. I wasn't sure where my sword had gotten to, but it would've been handy. But just as Demon Rit was about to attack again, there was just a moment's hesitation. Just the moment I needed. I fell to my knees quickly and kicked my feet off the wall, downward and between the monster lion's legs, turning quickly and smashing my gauntleted paw precisely at the base of his tail, into his spine. Although the Demon Rit snarled in pain, my attack was more or less in vain. It took mere seconds to once again find myself winded and hurtling through the air. Thankfully, I didn't hit a wall again, but instead skidded along the floor. Usually by this point in a fight, I'd be in far worse shape, but oddly I was okay. A bit dizzy and probably several broken ribs, but comparatively okay.

When my vision finally returned to as normal as it could get, I saw a fast blur from the corner of my eye and so put up my arm to block it. Predictably, I found myself on the floor again, but before I could get up, something slammed down on my back. I cried out as blood gushed through my teeth, hearing it splatter against the floor. Then that pain again, and I was certain he had cracked my armour. It was only a matter of time before it would fail all together, crushing me completely. When I was struck again by either Demon Rit's paw or footpaw, I knew I had to do something. I could hear my voice becoming slightly hoarse as I cried out again, now feeling an intense, sharp pain in my back, like a piece of my armour had broken and pierced my skin. It wasn't going away either. Just as I felt the pressure on my back release â€" Demon Rit removing his paw â€" I slowly and painfully turned around. And when his fist started to come down again, I put up both arms to block the attack.

The pressure and strain on my body was immense, and it felt like the bones in my forearms had snapped, but I managed to keep from being crushed. The pain shot all up, through my arms and into my shoulders and back, and I think it caused even more blood to gush from all my open wounds. Nevertheless, with all my strength, I snarled wickedly as I pushed the enormous beast away. As I got up, however shakily, I noticed my Alphas were still standing idle. I looked over at one, and in that instant I managed to convey a command. Attack. Just as Demon Rit recovered, the five feral black hounds snarled and bolted forward, leaping up and attacking. He had only managed to smack one away, but I noticed with his even thicker mane, the Alphas were going to need to be just a little more cunning.

Demon Rit finally tore the Alpha off his neck and hurled him into a pillar, enough to crack it. But he slowly got back up, however dazed. The others had either been shaken off or just lost grip. Demon Rit then glanced at me, and for a second our eyes met. But that was cut off when my Alphas attacked again. Demon Rit grabbed the first one easily and slammed him hard into the floor, then back-pawed another away. He let out a terrible roar and charged toward me, ignoring the others clinging to his body. I just prepared myself for a fight until an Alpha seemed to jet out of nowhere and attack his leg, which slowed the monster lion until the leg failed. Demon Rit promptly ripped it off and tossed it aside, then reached up around his back and threw another yelping Alpha toward me. I managed to catch the hound and put him down carefully. Just as the last Alpha dropped, I ran forward, still ignoring the metal in my back, roaring as my claws came down on Demon Rit's face. He just snarled and slammed a paw down on me, but was attacked shortly after. And all I could do was groan and pull myself away, a massive headache coming on. Clearly I didn't stand a chance against the behemoth lion, at least not without my sword.

When I got up, I turned only to be greeted by an awe-struck Keefe. "What the hell..?"

"It's...it's Rit," I stammered, blood no doubt gushing from my nose. "Where's...my sword?"

"I didn't see it..." Keefe replied, eyes focused on Demon Rit and the attacking Alphas.

"Where's Kai?" I asked.

"Upstairs with Rin. We...found the book."

I wanted to be more relieved, but I really wasn't. Just then, I heard a horrifying yelp and turned quickly. One of my Alphas had had its left back leg torn off by Demon Rit, then noticed the leg was still in his mouth. "F-fuck..." I said, watching as the Alpha staggered toward me, tail down and ears plastered against his head. Black blood was pouring from its wound until it suddenly collapsed right in front of me. I fell to my knees and held the beast, petting him gently. The fire was still bright in his eyes, but it was dimming. And when I looked up, Rit had another by the head.

The monster lion squeezed tightly, growling in delight as we all heard a faint pop, then blood pouring from his fist like a fountain.

"Oh fuck," I said, feeling queasy. But before I could help the others, Demon Rit had already torn one from the side of his neck and swung him around like a club, splattering his brains against the closest stone pillar. Brownish brain matter trickled down the stone, chunks of skull and teeth mixed with it. "I need my sword," I said, getting up. The Alpha resting against me was still alive, but he had shut his eyes and was breathing heavily.

"What're you going to do?" Keefe asked.

"What the fuck do you think I'm going to do?" I looked over, and the remaining two Alphas were at least clever enough to not attack Demon Rit, but to distract him with growling and short lunges. I shoved past Keefe quickly, who had appeared through a broken bookshelf, looking around frantically for Kraftig. Under a pile of rubble and a pile of books, I found it. I paused only momentarily when I heard another yelp, but gripped my blade tightly. With Kraftig dragging behind me, I sauntered back to where Keefe was, and he just glanced at me. His paw was still on his sword, but he hadn't even made an attempt at unsheathing it. Demon Rit was munching on something now, and it sickened me to see a headless Alpha lying beside him. I growled deeply and stepped forward.

Demon Rit looked at me for a long while, an aura of accomplishment surrounding him. Just as my Alpha retreated, I burst forward, crying out as I readied my blade. Quickly, the monster lion reached to his left with his right paw and nabbed the last Alpha, and just as my sword started to come down, he blocked my attack with the black beast. It was too late to stop. I heard the poor Alpha cry out horrifically as my sword sliced him in two, barely even touching Demon Rit's paw. I just stood for a moment as the cries quickly died, unable to move. I looked up at the lion who grinned in his horrible demon way. He then gripped my sword and punched me hard, hurtling me back into a bookshelf. When I looked up, I noticed Demon Rit now had Keefe, who had managed to draw his sword, and toss him to the floor. I growled deeply and charged once again, this time receiving a tail-whip to the face, toppling me instantly.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Demon Rit standing directly above me, somewhat surprised to see his male anatomy had been demonized as well, something I hadn't ever seen in Disciples before. Of course from my angle, all I could see was his sheath and balls, but they had both grown substantially. Cutting me off from those thoughts, though, was the Demon Rit gripping my left leg tightly and holding me out, upside-down. Our faces met, and the lion snarled and roared in my face, then simply dropped me. Before I could do anything, though, his footpaw came down on my chest, and I once again felt that damned metal dig further into my back, making me gasp for breath after screaming. The demon lion grabbed me by the chest and slammed me into the floor then threw me until I landed near Keefe, who had barely recovered. "Fu-fuck..." I spat, more blood dripping down my chin. I think I felt a few more broken bones, too, but I was still mobile.

And when Demon Rit roared again, not only did I feel the floor and the walls shake, I also felt something else. Something stirring inside me. Breathing heavily, I noticed I had once again lost my sword behind Rit, but shook my head. I got up slowly, in a stance suggesting I was ready for more, despite my seemingly limp upper body. My eyes, however, were focused on the monster lion. With that damned pain in my back distracting me, I began to remove my armour.

"What...the hell are you doing?" Keefe asked, getting up, too.

I ignored him. I tore my cracked armour aside, feeling the cool air caress my open wound, a silent sigh of relief coming over me. And still my eyes were focused on Demon Rit. This sensation I came to know very well was starting to boil up inside me, a dark presence growing rapidly in my gut. I could hear it, chuckling at the demon standing before me, like it had every time before this. And as this Presence grew, it came out to greet the other, a sort of ethereal, Dark Standoff. Mine was snarling at his and his, far bigger than mine, was snarling in return. Although my body had been beaten and battered beyond what any other could ordinarily handle, this Darkness bubbling away told me I could win. Told me I had to win. I had come to know this voice very well, this dark laughter which kept my body alive. Although so many times I had tried to deny it, inevitably it would come, and inevitably I would enjoy it. I knew what would happen if I let this evil shadow take over, how I would feel after, but as the darkness rose, those silly things didn't matter. Again this Presence snapped and growled its mighty jaws at Rit's, but soon we filled this chamber with it. It felt...good. My vision was sharper, and my pain gone, and the only thing I wanted to feel now was that warm, sticky, crimson blood soaking my fur. I wanted this beast standing before me to cry out in pain, beg me for mercy. And I wanted the satisfaction of crushing it beneath my footpaw as it whimpered pathetically for it to end. Yes... Those thoughts excited me, and more importantly, it excited the Presence that flowed around me, gripping my legs, my arms, my body, head, and even my sheath and balls. It gripped me tightly, holding me, protecting me. It surrounded me completely, spiralling around snake-like, flowing outward like the blackest flames of Hell. It was here, now, in this room, having taken the reins of my mind and body. Luca was no longer in control, but instead gave into this Presence. Gave into Nosferatu.

I suddenly burst forward and as Demon Rit swung his enormous paw, I leaped up and soared through the air, hanging there for just a moment before coming down, kicking the monster lion in the face. As he fell back, I landed gracefully on the floor above his head, right where Kraftig was. I bent down and picked it up, and using only one paw, I swung it around. However, it was, much to my surprise, blocked by Rit. I snarled and pulled my blade away, jumping back as his paw came down. He had turned around and then got up, charging toward me. Before I could attack again, he punched me in the gut, slamming me into an empty bookshelf. Just as he took another swing, though, I used both paws to block the attack, then cried out terribly as I pushed him back. I took up my sword again as the monster almost tripped over a pile of books and swung it hard, again only with one paw, getting the beast right across the face. Although not quite a decapitation, I had cut him good.

Demon Rit snarled, drool whipping about messily, and took yet another clumsy swing at me, claws protracted. Perfect. With my sword, I drove it forward, roaring as the end pierced Rit's paw, continuing into a pillar, pinning him there. He cried out terribly and tried to pull himself free, finding the only way to do that would be to slice his paw in two. I then took a big chunk of stone, which was conveniently jagged and sharp at one end, and drove it down into Demon Rit's thigh, again and again until it the bloody sloshing became a thick thud against bone. My chest was covered in his thick, steamy blood, and I let out a pleasured growl.

Demon Rit was off that one leg, paw still pinned and crying horribly. And I just smiled at him, loving that sound. The pathetic groans and raspy growls filled my ears with ecstasy. Looking up at the beast, I delighted in cutting open his thick-furred forearm, which he tried uselessly to push me away with. Then I punched at his chest, and again, then again; with each powerful blow I felt his muscles and his bones tearing and breaking, a satisfying sensation. Just as his face came down somewhat, an awful, pathetic noise coming from it, I clawed his muzzle then began to pull down on his pinned arm. He snarled at me, but I ignored it. It was easy at this point to avoid his attacks, and I gave a happy pull, feeling some blood spray onto my face and heard him cry. Then, an unusual feeling. Something on my shoulder, something different. Something light. I turned and snarled at the interloper, surprised to see Keefe this close to me.

"Stop this!" he yelled, pulling me away. "He may be a demon, but he's still Rit."

I growled at the Holy Knight. Stay away! Nosferatu hissed. But the dog didn't. His light was intruding in on my dark, and I wanted to snuff him out. Without even thinking, my paw rushed up and grabbed the dark-furred Dane by the neck, squeezing tightly. I grinned my teeth at the Knight, Nosferatu screaming in ecstasy as the dog rasped for breath. His paws hammered uselessly at my arm, gasping for air. The look of sheer terror was worn perfectly on his face, which pleased Nosferatu. But just his eyes started to roll back into his head, right before collapsing â€" a near-orgasm for the Presence â€" I was suddenly struck in the side, sending me flying to the floor. When I looked up, I noticed Keefe coughing and gasping for air, then moments later, after regaining his composure, trying to pull Kraftig from the pillar. Kill the traitor, Nosferatu screamed. When I got up, I growled and picked up a fist-sized chunk of rubble and whipped it at the canine, knocking him out cold. Although still alive, his light dimmed. This was enough to satisfy Nosferatu for now.

Demon Rit watched this, and after roaring loudly, pulled Kraftig easily from the pillar, and therefore his paw, and charged at me. I dodged easily, jumping back, feeling the blade just barely strike my chest. It smashed the bookshelf to pieces on my left, but the monster lion took another fast swing, snarling as he did. Again I dodged, but barely. I dove forward, Kraftig flying dangerously above my head, and bounced up, turning only to duck and narrowly dodge yet another attack. Despite his injuries, Demon Rit was surprisingly limber. When I stood up straight, I was met by a bloody fist in the face, then another. But when he went for another blow, I blocked it easily, then scratched all up his arm, cutting deep. As the lion cried out, I spun nimbly and sliced open his right side, along his ribs, then elbowed him hard in the incision. His furious attempt at knocking me away was evaded, giving me an opening. I darted past him and leapt up high, roaring loudly as I hit a bookshelf and kicked off it toward Rit's face. Before he could strike me away, I gripped his thick mane tightly and swung up and on top of his head.

The monster lion shook furiously, trying to get me off, but I would not give up. I bit hard on his ear, which was beside an enormous horn, Nosferatu laughing wildly at the sound of his painful cries. With a bit of snarl, I tore a sizable chunk off, spitting his ear-tip out, loving the symphony of screams. Climbing forward a bit, trying desperately to cling to the Demon, I took my dagger and sunk it deep into the lion's right eye, causing him to thrash about madly. Finally I was shaken off, after he slammed his head into the furthest stone shelf, but I recovered quickly. Breathing heavily, I darted past the Monster Rit and reclaimed my sword, then spun quickly, slicing a huge gash across his back. Again the beast roared with pain, then tried to strike me with his back-paw â€" half blind â€" but I held up my sword and blocked it, simply skidding back. When the beast turned, he let out a horrible cry which I silenced quickly when I charged forward. Though he tried to attack, my sword caught him on the right side of his gut, a near-miss, and I snarled madly as I pushed him back and back until I impaled against the furthest wall. I had run past Keefe, who I'd noticed was getting up with some assistance. When the hell did Rin and Kai come down?

I just stood with Kraftig dug deep into Demon Rit â€" and the wall â€" still pushing futilely. Nosferatu felt extremely satisfied, and yet as the monster lion looked at me through blood and tear-filled eyes, I did not. This...wasn't right. I growled and pushed deeper, forcing even more pathetic moans from the lion. Yet still it wasn't there. My Inner Darkness had creamed itself all over, and yet I felt nothing. It wasn't until after a visit from Nosferatu where I would feel such emptiness, and yet its Presence was still very much alive right now.

"L-Luc...a..." the monster spoke. Nosferatu hissed, but I perked my ears.

"R..." I started, but Nosferatu cut in. Finish the job, it told me. Kill the lion. Make him squirm, make him beg for life. I was breathing heavily, and shaking even. Kill him!

"No!" I cried out, eyes closed tight and almost tearing myself away from the sword. "Stop it!" I cried, holding my head. I must have looked insane.

"Luca..." Demon Rit said again. "I'm...I'm so sorry..."

I turned to Rit, whose eyes had dimmed greatly. Tears were streaming down my face. I then sensed a presence behind me, and turned to Keefe, Rin and Kai. They just looked at me both worried and scared, though for whom I couldn't say. They had seen Nosferatu again first-hand, though I hadn't ever felt such sorrow afterwards.

"We have the book," Keefe said quietly, either to me or Rit. Kai was shaking, hidden mostly by the canine. Unlike before, he, too, showed great emotion in his face. He was frightened, but for once not of me. Perhaps...for me?

My head then whipped to Rit as I heard him growl. Nosferatu was clawing madly at my gut, screaming at me, begging me to finish the job. Begging me to slice the monster lion open and bathe in his hot, steamy demon blood. Ordinarily I would be more than happy to oblige, but not this time. Something was different. The Inner Darkness â€" Nosferatu â€" was no longer playing with Rit's. Rit's Presence had hidden away somewhere, cowering in a corner. But it was still there. I could feel it there.

"You have to leave," Rit rasped suddenly. It was strange listening to this monster speak so clearly. "B-before...it returns."

"Before what returns?" Keefe piped up. Rin had apparently bandaged his head.

"Th-the monster...the demon inside me. The one...Loki put there."

Keefe looked confused. "Loki? What's he got to do with this?"

"When we..." Rit let us fill in the blanks. "He put something inside me...transferred it over, or something. When my stomach was hurtin'...it was the monster...tryin' to get out."

Demon Rit let Keefe process that for a moment.

"We're getting you out of here," Keefe said.

"N-no!" he roared. "I can...I'm holding it off. You can thank...Nosferatu for that."

I heart skipped a beat. Though Nosferatu was shouting madly at me, hearing Demon Rit talk was more than sobering. With no one to play with, the Presence slowly retreated, unsatisfied.

"You have to leave... I'll be...I'll be fine." It was hard to be optimistic with him when he had both a dagger and an enormous sword sticking out of him. The lion was half-covered in his own blood, but what was more striking was his sanguine eyes. Or rather, the lack thereof. Though the whites of his eyes were still solid black, his beautiful blues had returned. I had never seen this sort of behaviour in a Disciple before. Was the old Rit returning? Suppose since he wasn't a true Disciple, the possibility existed.

"I don't..." I started, inadvertently sounding pathetic. It took me a moment to continue again, clearing my throat. "I don't want to leave you here," I told him.

Rit shut his eyes tightly and growled, shaking his head a little. "I can't..." he growled again. "Just go!"

I backed away, shaking a bit. I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to leave my lion there, especially not like this.

Rit then started to snarl, squirming and moving about. Though I heard a wicked giggle from Nosferatu, I had to resist. The lion then began to remove the sword from his gut, and I felt a hard tugging on my arm.

"C'mon," Keefe said. "We have to go."

"B-but..."

Rit was thrashing about, trying to free himself, making a hell of a noise. His deep blue eyes had faded once again, replaced by that evil, glowing red.

"We have to leave him!" Keefe barked. "There's nothing we can do. Let's move!"

I gasped momentarily and took a final glance at the lion, feeling my heart sink when I started to move with Keefe. He rushed through the rubble and over broken bookcases, pulling me along. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a weapon under some rocks, and stopped, pulling my arm away from the dog.

"Luca!" he shouted. "We don't have time forâ€""

I interrupted the Knight with a wicked glare, then retrieved Rit's sword. I nodded solemnly at the dog and we rushed through another shattered bookcase, and when we stopped at where that rumbling chamber was, all our ears perked at the sound of a deafening roar and some thrashing and crashing. Rin was feeling along the black stone wall frantically for whatever Rit had pressed before, when we had entered this place to begin with. Though none of us were sure what he did, the door grinded open and quickly we piled in, crazily looking for a way to close the door again.

I was then suddenly surprised to hear a pathetic whimper come from outside this square, plain chamber, then from afar came a staggering Alpha, who was missing his back leg. The black hound limped toward us, whining desperately. Then the doors started to close.

"Stop!" I shouted, stepping forward. I put out an arm, stopping the doors, wincing from the crushing pain. I could still hear Rit thrashing about, crashing through what I could only assume was more stone shelves.

" What the hell are you doing?" Keefe shouted at me.

"I'm not leaving my Alpha behind."

"God damn you!" Keefe said, a surprising remark, as I forced the door open. I rushed out quickly and picked up the large beast, and just as I did, an enormous Demon Lion appeared at the furthest end of the pie-shaped hallway. He snorted and began to charge, and with the adrenaline pumping like mad, I dashed back to the blackish chamber just as the door started to close again. I didn't know who had made it do that, but the doors had just barely bit my tail as they slammed shut. And right as the doors shut, a booming crash sounded behind me. We all plastered ourselves against the furthest end, and as the whole chamber thundered again, that unusual rumbling started again with an awful grinding. However the intense crashing slowly died, growing further and further away. I guess we were headed upward again, or so it felt.

I just let out a deep sigh of relief, falling to the floor with my last Alpha in my lap. He wasn't bleeding anymore, but he still seemed to be in pain. It would seem he'd survive, though, which was encouraging. Although I was still high on adrenaline, breathing heavily, the weight of the day had more than worn me out. Despite having this all-important Black Book, nothing about today felt victorious. Even as Kai lay against me, clearly worn out, I felt far from happy. I had once again let Nosferatu take over, nearly tearing my lion-love apart, and as expected I felt empty; hollow. I felt vacant and void. Not even the warm touch of my panther brought me comfort or joy. We rode in this strange chamber solemnly and silently to the top, where we were greeted by the biting cold of Midland's northern mountains.

I stared out into the frozen wasteland, thoughts of Rit flooding my mind. I instantly recalled the first time we had met, where I'd first laid eyes upon him. And our first drink together, and more importantly, our first night together. Though we had known each other for years, we had only gotten together a pawful of times. And as I stepped out of the spire, I realized it hadn't been enough. I hadn't appreciated him enough, nor appreciated the time we had had together, nor the time we had spent together. I would never have that chance again. "I'm sorry, Rit..."

Solemnly travelling our wind-swept path back to Mount Hnitbjorg, we found no resistance besides the cold. Keefe offered me his coat, but I declined. Perhaps I felt I needed to be punished, or perhaps I just didn't care. I had left my lion behind, never to see him again. He was going to die down there, that much was certain. And as usual, Nosferatu was to blame. No...I was to blame. It was because of me I had condemned my best friend to die alone in some God-forsaken, long-forgotten library. Would there be any forgiving this?

Despite Rit's condemnation by my paws, we had the damned Book. It would be up to Keefe to read it and figure out what to do and where to go, as per usual. The four of us, now, including my injured Alpha, were well on our way to finding and destroying the Crimson King â€" and hopefully Loki along with him â€" which would finally save this blackened country from his demonic grip. I had a feeling, though, that things were just beginning for us, and our journey would no doubt become far more difficult. Rit was a testament to that. We still had a long way to go, but despite my indignation, me and my Inner Darkness would no doubt see through it all...even if the others didn't.