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Surprise! New chapter!*

*Obligatory apology for taking forever and a half for getting this out. RL is...yeah. I would LOVE to offer a promise of when the next chapter will be out, but since I'm always wrong, I'm going to stop doing that. All you need to know is that it's over half-way finished and I have some free time in my future, so perhaps it'll be out sooner than later. Hopefully.

Don't read if you're not supposed to. Comments and criticism are always great. Feel free to PM me with anything :)

Elliot swore softly. "Damn it, Tannal!"

Wearily, Tannal opened his eyes. He was still curled up on Elliot's bed and for a moment, he thought back to the first night they had laid together, but this time the feeling was different. Unlike the last time he wasn't wracked by guilt or filled with shame; no, this time, he was utterly satisfied. The events of last night ran through his head and he was more than happy to let his mind wander through them once more. The overwhelming feelings of lust, the spikes of pleasure, the indescribable joy of finally being sheathed completely within a hot, tight tunnel of flesh - nothing could take that away from him. He had finally had sex as a male and it was amazing!

Yawning, he pushed himself up into an upright position, glancing down at his tiger form and noting that his usually majestic-looking fur was crusted in cum. Ignoring it, he looked around to Elliot, who was standing anxiously in front of a mirror. "What?" he asked mildly, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"Look!" Elliot turned and gestured and then Tannal did feel a sudden pang of guilt. Elliot's neck was badly bruised and bleeding from the puncture marks of his fangs. Dried blood streaked down his neck and shoulder and the bruises were already blossoming into a livid dark purple hue. "Damn it, Tannal! We have to keep this quiet then you go off and mark me. Fantastic!" He turned to the mirror, frowning, and began to mutter healing spells under his breath.

"I'm sorry, El," Tannal said apologetically, shifting down into his domestic cat form with a shake of his head. He glanced at the bed and for the first time noticed the shredded sheets and stains that spotted the once pristine fabric. He twitched his nose at the musky smell of two virile males that emanated from the covers. "I just - I don't know what came over me last night. Are you - are you alright?" He suddenly felt very guilty, thinking of all the times he mated with Elliot the night before. The feeling of happiness was dying quickly now that it was morning and he was thinking clearly. When he really thought of it, he did mate Elliot more times than he or Elliot were expecting, and he wasn't exactly gentle about it. The residual pain of being fucked by a large, spine-covered penis was probably hurting Elliot a great deal and the shame of the act probably didn't help Elliot at all. Tannal was all too well aware of how easy it was to get caught up in the moment of pleasure, only to be consumed by guilt the following day.

"I'm fine," Elliot said shortly, adjusting his collar as the spell finished its work. The bruises were faint now and the puncture marks gone, but the evidence was still there. "As long as I can get through the meeting without everyone knowing that I let my familiar fuck me - "

"Meeting?" Tannal frowned, pushing himself up from the bed. He didn't know anything about a meeting. "I thought we were under house arrest - "

Elliot didn't answer and just continued to tug at his shirt collar, trying to make it cover the faint bruise on his neck before sighing and giving up.

Tannal let a soft growl rise in his throat in response to Elliot's sullen silence. Why was Elliot suddenly so angry about it? "You're mad at me about last night?" he asked, though Tannal stated it more as fact. Although his friend was silent, he could feel the swirling emotions practically radiating from Elliot, stronger than ever before; perhaps the heightened sense of Elliot's emotional state was due to Elliot finally being aware that his familiar was Tannal. Or perhaps sleeping with Elliot in that way strengthen their bond even more than it initially had; or, most likely, Elliot really was just that mad.

Tannal's tail lashed in irritation. "We didn't have to, you know," he said, trying to keep the annoyance he felt from creeping into his voice. He told Elliot that they didn't have to do that. He offered himself to Elliot as a female to prevent Elliot from having to sleep with him as a male! He literally did everything in his power to offer every possible alternative. And yet Elliot was still mad? When Elliot didn't say anything more, Tannal continued, "You were the one who wanted us to keep going and 'get even.'" He eyed the bruises that Elliot was trying to cover. "And if you wanted me to stop you should have told me to!" He did feel guilty about that. But in the heat of the moment it seemed like the right thing to do. But he would have resisted the urge if Elliot had stopped him. But Elliot didn't. He was as much a slave to his desires as Tannal was to his.

Elliot turned sharply, finally facing Tannal. "Oh really?" he snapped, looking furious, though Tannal could feel that he was more confused than anything else and his anger was just an easy excuse to mask what he was really feeling. "We could have just stopped? And then I'd have to listen to you complain about how many times I screw you and how unfair it was that you only got to do me once!"

"Is that what you think? ! I never would have -"

"Or you would have complained that I always was able to get myself off but I stopped you before you could -"

"No I wouldn't have!" Tannal said hotly. He shook his head. "Elliot, we could have stopped."

Elliot looked stricken. "No, we couldn't have. I had to do that. I didn't have a choice."

Outrage surged through Tannal. "You're implying that I forced you?"

"No! But I had to do it - "

Tannal stopped, realization dawning on him. "You're - you're not angry at me for sleeping with me. You're angry because you don't know what it means."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Come off it, Tannal - "

"You're confused, Elliot. I understand that."

"No, you don't. This is different - I'm not confused!"

Tannal went for broke. "You're confused because it felt good. Didn't it?"

Elliot's face paled, his features twisting in an anguished expression Tannal had never seen before. "I never said that," he said quietly in a flat voice, confusion and humiliation emanating from him. Elliot grabbed his bag. "Just forget it," he muttered, slinging it over his shoulder. "I'm late for my meeting." As he made to storm out, Tannal called out.

"Wait!"

Elliot stopped and turned back, his eyes dark. "What?"

Tannal hesitated. He and Elliot never fought like this. They never had petty spats and they never were unreasonable if they disagreed with one another. "Elliot," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Please, I don't want to fight - "

Elliot paused, then looked away. "I don't either. But I can't deal with this now. I just - I can't."

Tannal swallowed. He could understand that Elliot needed space. But at a time like this? "Alright," he said quietly. "I can give you some space, okay? Whatever you need, I'll do it."

Elliot sighed. "Don't say that. I just need some time to sort some things out on my own first."

"I can give you some time," he nodded. Already, he could sense Elliot's heightened emotions begin to withdraw and ameliorate, placated by Tannal's agreement. His anger was fading until only the confusion remained.

Elliot swallowed, looking unsure of what to do next. "Look, I - I have to go."

"To your meeting?" Tannal asked. "Isn't it odd to go to a meeting without your familiar?"

"For an Academy meeting, yes. But this with Kensing. And I was told to go alone."

A low growl rumbled in Tannal's throat. "Elliot, that's too dangerous. You can't go alone to Kensing. The last time you two were together - " He stopped, remembering Kensing's ridiculous torture attempt in the stables. "You just can't go."

Elliot frowned. "I'm going," he said firmly. "I need to know what he wants. And this might be the only time he offers us a chance to know."

"Us?" Tannal repeated. "You mean offers you?"

"Tannal, he wants me to go alone. And right now I think that's right. We're - we're not a team now. I'm not your master and you're not my familiar. We're not friends, we're - "

"We're not friends?" Tannal echoed softly.

Elliot stopped at that. "I mean that, things are different. Whatever our relationship was before, it's not that now."

Tannal nodded, hopelessness sinking in the pit of his stomach. "Alright. Then go."

Elliot sighed, but made no effort to comfort Tannal further. "I need to go and see what he wants. I need to fix this, Tannal. For both our sakes. Just - give me a chance to figure this out."

Tannal nodded. "Alright."

Elliot looked at Tannal once last time before turning and leaving the apartment.

* * * * *

As soon as the door shut behind him, Elliot felt miserable. He had awoken in the morning feeling warm and content - nestled safely in Tannal's soft fur without a single thought about what was happening with Kensing, his life, his situation, or what he had done the night before. He woke up and for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel miserable. It was strange; the numb, empty feeling of Tannal's disappearance was gone, the terrible, raw guilt of sleeping with Tannal in an animal form had vanished, and the lingering fear and dread of what Kensing had planned for them had dimmed to a minor annoyance in the very back of his mind. In that moment - that one, singular moment - he was happy.

Elliot had almost closed his eyes and returned to the comfort of Tannal's body curled up beside him when he noticed that his message tray on his nightstand was tinged with a slight glow - a sign of recent magic - and a letter was folded neatly in its center. He immediately knew he shouldn't do it, he knew it would be a mistake to look at it. But the blissful contentment that he had felt upon waking was beginning to fade into a growing cold fear in the pit of his stomach of what new way Kensing intended to ruin his life. He had to look at the newly-sent message. He had to know what it said. The peace and happiness he felt upon waking had vanished, so he had little else to lose.

Moving carefully to not wake Tannal, Elliot was rewarded with a sharp pain in his shoulder and ass and he bit back a cry, almost collapsing back onto the bed. He had almost forgotten about exactly what he had done last night, but now with the sharp, searing pain in his ass and the dull throb in his shoulder, it suddenly came back to him very clearly. The things he had done, so willingly, the things he had said - he shuddered inwardly. _ What was he thinking?_ That wasn't him. He didn't like men, cocks, or having things in his backside - but all the same, he had practically begged his best friend to fuck him. And, judging by the pain, Tannal clearly indulged himself. What on earth possessed him to let Tannal do that? Why would he even go so far as to ask Tannal to do that?

Elliot closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He was conflicted by what he had done, though in his mind he did it for the right reasons. And, after the pain, it had felt quite pleasurable. Elliot blushed just remembering how much he had cum into his sheets, gasping as Tannal roared above him... so raw, so feral, so powerful... And it had felt so good; intoxicatingly good. How could an animal - a male animal - feel so good? Doubt crept into Elliot's head as his mind began to whirl. Did he not like women? Did that mean he was gay? Why did he enjoy sleeping with his familiar and friend so much? Did he enjoy it because it was his friend....or because it was an animal? He shuddered at the implications of some of those thoughts. But he didn't have time to think about such things. He didn't have time to dwell on what he had done and what it meant. There was a message for him and he knew all too well who it was from.

The rest of Elliot's morning didn't go much better. Come alone, the letter had said, signed with a familiar 'K'. Well, Elliot couldn't help but think, I definitely made certain of that. What was getting into him? Yelling at Tannal after everything he'd been through? Letting a male in an animal form fuck him before he had even had sex with a human female? Not to mention all of the dalliances he and "Telsa" had had together. This isn't me, Elliot told himself, this isn't who I am! It wasn't - or, at least, it didn't used to be. But lately, Elliot could barely recognize himself. The world seemed to be spinning completely out of control from him and nothing he seemed to do fixed it. And Elliot was more than acutely aware that this "meeting" that Kensing called wasn't going to make things any easier.

Elliot could feel Tannal's confusion, hurt, and anger radiating at him after he left his apartment. He didn't mean to anger Tannal, he only meant to keep Tannal distanced and keep him away from the meeting. And knowing Tannal, that was a near-impossible task. But Tannal also knew what buttons to push and had gotten the better of him; so while Elliot was grateful that their fight had managed to keep Tannal away from the meeting, he also regretted it deeply. Elliot sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, trying to calm his mind. It was difficult because Tannal's mind was buzzing so loudly in the background of his own. _ That's another thing I'll have to teach him_, Elliot thought wearily to himself as he grit his teeth, trying to ignore the spiral of Tannal's emotions. Every sorcerer was taught how to control and contain their mind before they were bound before their familiar... but Tannal wasn't a familiar and had complex, human thoughts. And didn't know how to contain them to himself, causing his emotions to constantly overflow into Elliot. Often, it was helpful for Elliot to deduce Tannal's mood, as Tannal as a familiar or as a human was hard to read, but lately it was becoming too much. And was far too intrusive. And Elliot was tired of intruding and being intruded upon.

Elliot stopped and took a deep breath, waiting for his heart to stop beating so quickly. There was no use in dwelling on what had happened last night; he would deal with that later. And he would apologize and explain to Tannal later as well. But right now his priority was to not get himself killed, which was easier said than done with Kensing. He needed a plan to get him and Tannal out of the city, away from Kensing and Malken and whatever they were planning. He had wanted to help rescue the prince, too, but this was too much. They needed to escape and organize their thoughts away from the chaos of being under Kensing's wing. He needed to get them both out.

Elliot swallowed, spotting a shadow shifting in the corner of his eye. Of course he's watching me, he thought bitterly. Kensing wasn't an idiot. No, the only idiot was him for not figuring it all out sooner. How long had Tannal been trying to warn him? How many times had Tannal protected him? Gods, he must have looked like a fool, bumbling into the Wildlands without a clue. And Kensing was there! Tannal must have intervened again to protect him. Elliot sighed inwardly and started walking again.

Tannal had protected him enough. Now, it was Elliot's turn to protect him. Whatever uncertainty Elliot felt about having sex with Tannal would have to wait - for now, he could just write it off as an effect of the spell. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was probably the same for Tannal. Of course Tannal didn't like having sex as a female - or with me! It was the spell. All of this was Kensing's spell. And once Elliot broke it, everything could go back to the way it was before. Everything could be normal again. Elliot could be a sorcerer, Tannal could be his best friend. Tannal could be a king's guard and they both could continue their separate ways, dating women and talking about normal things. No more transformations, no more curses, no more sex with each other. They'd be normal. They'd go back to the way they were before. All Elliot had to do was get through this.

Whatever Kensing wanted, he would handle it. And after that he would fix things with Tannal and then get them both out of the city and as far away from Kensing as he possibly could. He had to do it; Tannal was depending on him. And he wasn't about to let him down.

As he neared the door to Kensing's suite of rooms, he took a deep breath. He needed to think clearly and calmly; but most of all he needed to not lose himself. He needed to still be Elliot when he left the room. Elliot took another breath to clear his head, then pushed the doors open and went inside.

*****

Malken's pale eyes surveyed Elliot as he stepped into the room. As before, the room was darkened and barely lit, consisting of only a few wavering candle flames that flickered uneasily as he stood in the doorway. In the far corner of the room, Elliot spied a golden-tinged glint that could only be Malken's familiar, also watching him closely.

Elliot wasn't expecting to find Malken there. He hadn't seen his former teacher since the stables, where he had obediently lubricated Elliot's ass and did nothing when Kensing ordered his rape. Elliot was unprepared for the surge of hatred that flooded through him at the sight of his former teacher. Kensing's betrayal was bad enough, but Malken? Kensing at least had the decency to not sit by his side pretending to care about Elliot's feelings or comfort him about the so-called loss of his friend. But Malken didn't. Malken was with him every time, comforting him, telling him it would be alright. And the whole time he had known that Elliot was being forced to copulate with his friend. The whole time he knew where Tannal was and what he was and even encouraged their growing bond. And the whole time he did nothing. It sickened him. Kensing was a perverted man with a twisted mind, but Malken was none of those things. He was simply weak and let it happen.

Elliot brushed past Malken without bothering to give him a second glance. "Where's Kensing?" he asked brusquely.

"Elliot - " Malken's voice caught in his throat as he rose to his feet slowly. "You came - "

"Of course I came. It's not like that note gave me much of a choice."

Malken saw the stricken look on Elliot's face and moved forward. "Are you alright?" Malken murmured softly, placing his hand on Elliot's shoulder in a concerned manner.

Elliot jerked away. "Don't touch me" he hissed, glaring at his former master. "Don't you dare even come near me."

"Elliot," Malken's eyes flickered anxiously around the room, "let me explain - "

"Explain?" Elliot fought to keep his voice level, but months and months of anger and betrayal and loss had been building inside of him and he was tired of being polite. He was furious and he wanted Malken to know. "Explain what, exactly? Explain how you lied to me? How you pretended to care? Or explain how you knew what happened to Tannal, how you knew what I was doing to him every night and you did nothing to stop it?" Malken stepped back, looking wounded, but Elliot didn't stop. "Or maybe you want to explain how you willingly helped Kensing try to rape me with those beasts. Tell me, Malken, which part did you want to attempt to explain to me? Because I'd really love to hear it."

Malken backed away, his face unreadable, but his eyes were wide. Elliot had never spoken to him in that tone before and though it was deserved, he still wasn't expecting it.

"That's what I thought," Elliot said softly. "Now tell me where Kensing is."

Malken drew in a steady breath. "Master Kensing is in the next room," he uttered in a quiet monotone.

Elliot pushed past Malken. There was no point in further wasting words on a traitor like him.

The next room was Kensing's living room, though the furniture had been pushed aside so that the couches lined the walls instead of where they were usually placed near the fire. The fire was lit, though it was the only light in the entire room, which filled the space with flickering shadows. In the middle stood Kensing: tall, with his sweeping robes and his arrogant leer on his face. He stood next to a small table in the center of the room, his white dragon familiar off to the side, purple eyes gleaming in the dim light.

"Elliot," Kensing said, with about as much warmth as he could force into his voice. Before, Elliot would have easily mistaken it for actual caring. Now, he knew it was all a charade. "I'm so glad you made it. You received my message, I presume?"

"I'm here, aren't I? Now what do you want?"

Kensing smiled and opened his hand, revealing a fist-sized lump of white clay that quivered in his hand. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, letting the strange white molding clay roll slowly off his hand and land with a heavy plop on the table beside him.

Elliot watched the small lump of clay tremble almost sentiently on the table. He had an idea of what this was; and if he was right, then it wasn't good. "No," he answered, deciding to err on the side of caution. Better to let Kensing underestimate him than reveal anything.

"Shame," Kensing said, shrugging, his smile not reaching his cold eyes. "And Malken said you had promise. I should have known better." He walked around to the other side of the table, the white dragon behind him still completely obscured in the shadows, save for its glittering amethyst eyes. "This," Kensing continued, gently giving the lump of white clay a gentle prod, "is called shaper's clay. Do you know why it has that name?" He straightened and clasped his hands behind his back in an all-too familiar lecturing pose that he had taken when he was in charge of teaching Elliot. "A hundred years ago a sorcerer invented this during one of our kingdom's more infamous wars as a punishment for cowardice and treason. It's simple, really. With the right spell, a sorcerer can take a human's true form, tear it away from him, and store it in this clay.

"Historically speaking, the sorcerer would then transform the unfortunate man into whatever shape pleased him most and then typically gave him a task to complete in order to earn his humanity back. Until the man were able to earn his form back, his true human form would be stored in this clay. Now, many of the soldiers thought they were clever and they'd go to other sorcerers, trying to get their bodies back. But, you see, there was nothing to go back to. For all the world, the soldiers were shapeless masses until their transformation. It wasn't a matter of breaking the sorcerer's spell, finding an antidote or an alternative solution: there literally was nothing to return to.

"So you see, Elliot, if the soldiers wanted their bodies back, they needed to be obedient and well-behaved. If they were obedient, the sorcerer would return the shaper's clay to them and it would be absorbed into their bodies and they could return to their true form. But, if they were disobedient - " Kensing eased his hand down on the clay slowly, making it flatten out onto the table. "Then the sorcerer would destroy the clay and the man's true form would be gone forever. And there would be nothing in this world or the next that could return that man to what he used to be." Kensing tilted his head slightly at Elliot and smiled. "Do you understand?"

Elliot drew in a steadying breath. "Yes," he answered softly. "I understand." He hesitated, glancing at the clay blob that was slowly drawing back into a ball after Kensing removed his hand from flattening it. "Then I take it that is Tannal's form?"

"Yes. Yes, it is." Kensing bared his teeth. "Would you like it back?"

Elliot looked up warily. In the light, Kensing looked truly terrifying. The shadows thrown across his face made his features stand out sharply, his eyes shining menacingly as the half light illuminated his savage grin. Perhaps he might be considered handsome - but that was only Kensing in the light, Kensing without the awful, sadistic smile on his face with one hand half-open, as if forming a spell, and the other closed around the shivering lump of clay that was his best friend's human form.

This entire meeting was not just another opportunity for Kensing to gloat. It was a show of strength and a very legitimate threat. Kensing had Tannal's human form bound to the little lump of clay and if Elliot didn't do exactly what Kensing wanted, then Tannal's human form would be destroyed. Tannal would never be human again. Which means he'd be stuck as a familiar forever. And not just as a familiar - even as a shapeshifter he'd never again be able to transform into what he once looked like. He'd always be an animal. Elliot forced a smile to his lips. "That easy?" he asked casually, trying to ignore his pounding heartbeat and the fear surging through his veins. "I thought you might make me work for it a bit more."

Kensing's grin widened. "I knew you'd come around someday." He released the shaper's clay again and relaxed his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Elliot saw Malken slip into the room silently. "The last time we spoke I gave you a choice. And needless to say, you chose poorly and paid the price for it. Or, should I say, Tannal paid the price for it. I hope you learned your lesson from that. You're not the type to let others suffer on your behalf. So I decided to give you a second chance, even though I rarely give such an offer to anyone. Count yourself lucky."

Elliot fought to restrain himself from rolling his eyes and instead answered flatly. "I'm listening."

Kensing rested his hands on the edge of the table, completely at ease. "It turns out I still could use a little extra help with the final part of my plan. I could do without you, of course, but I'll admit, having you aboard would make things a great deal easier; which is why I decided to give you my second offer. What I need is a young sorcerer who other apprentices trust and will follow. And you, Elliot, fit that bill. So here is my offer: continue working under me as my apprentice. You'll have all the supplies, money, and access to research materials that you can dream of if you're under my supervision - wouldn't want to stunt your progress, would we? All you have to do is swear loyalty to me. And then we'll get along famously."

Elliot crossed his arms. "Sounds a lot like the deal before. And you've left out an important part."

Kensing groaned. "Of course you wouldn't let that little detail go. When will you realize, Elliot, that people only hold you back? Why do you think I chose you in the first place? You had no family, no close ties. You were supposed to be the type who wasn't anchored down by all of these arbitrary relationships; and yet, despite all my attempts to make you see that, you still cling to Tannal." He sighed, shaking his head. "Tannal, Tannal, Tannal; when will you learn to let him go? He's only going to hold you back from your real potential."

"Anchor or not," Elliot said slowly, watching Kensing carefully in case he strayed to a topic he shouldn't go to, "I would prefer to know what your plans are for him."

"Plans?" Kensing laughed as if the idea was ludicrous. "You think I have plans for him? He's a king's guard! He's a boy who got in the way. Removing him eliminated the threat he presented and, as a bonus, separated the two of you. He's nothing more than that to me."

"Then you won't mind that I insist that you release him?"

Kensing's smile widened. "Oh, I see. You want me to give him back his human form and then just release him? Like nothing happened at all? No, no, Elliot. That won't do at all. Then how am I supposed to know that you're keeping in line, hmm? No, Tannal must stay in my control, regardless of what you choose."

"Then if you plan on keeping him, what's the point of showing me all this?"

"Because it's within your power to make his life easier. Agree to help me with my little project and I'll give Tannal the shaper's clay. He'll still be a shapeshifter familiar, and he'll be bound to you, but he won't be forced to be an animal anymore. He could take his human shape and no one would be any wiser. Side against me and I'll destroy it right here, right now. And Tannal will be stuck as a shapeshifter in your service to the end of his days and will never again be human."

Elliot swallowed. The only leverage Kensing really had over him and Tannal was that he had Tannal's human form and he was the only one who could potentially remove the arousal spell on them and the familiar transformation spell on Tannal. If Elliot got the shaper's clay, Tannal would still be a shapeshifting familiar - except he would be able to shape shift into his true form. For all intents and purposes, Tannal would look human. And no one else would have to know. Kensing, Malken, he, and Tannal would be the only ones who knew that Tannal wasn't really human anymore. But that was it. Tannal could go on with his life.

"Of course," Kensing added quietly, "if you decided to side against me, there really would be no reason to keep either of you around, Tannal most of all." He tilted his head, as if considering Elliot. "I'm sure you would make a lovely familiar - so knowledgable, so eager to please. Compared to you, Tannal's really just more of a nuisance, isn't he? He's not really necessary - "

"Elliot," Malken said suddenly, stepping forward from the shadows, "trust me on this. Take the deal."

Elliot glared at Malken before turning back to Kensing, who was still grinning. "And the arousal spell?" He asked. "You can remove it?" It was the last piece of the spell that needed to be unraveled. The last real hold Kensing had on him and Tannal. If he could get rid of that, maybe their lives could return to normal.

Kensing's lips twitched in a smile. "Oh? I thought you liked that spell. I certainly haven't heard any complaints yet - "

"You can remove it?" Elliot asked again.

Kensing's smile broadened. "I can, should I desire to do so."

"Then you'll remove it once Tannal has his body back?"

Kensing crossed his arms. "If you're a good boy and do what you're told, I'll consider it."

"That's not good enough."

"Elliot, it's the best you're going to get," Malken said softly. "Take it - "

Kensing grinned at Elliot. "I would heed Malken's advice, Elliot. He's seen what I do to those who refuse me - "

"I don't care."

Kensing's grin faded. "Oh, but you do," he said, his voice laced with menace. "Allow me to provide you with a little reality check. Let's say everything works out the way you want it to: you get rid of me, you get Tannal's form, and you find a way to free him. What a happy story that would make! Except, there's one little problem. Your happily ever after doesn't quite work that way. Malken? Care to explain the flaw in Elliot's dream plan?"

Malken looked darkly at Kensing before turning to Elliot. "Elliot, please listen to me. Kensing is right. Even if you give Tannal the shaper's clay and he gets his form back, he's still a familiar. Specifically, a shapeshifter. And there is no counter spell for that. And as a shapeshifter, he has one weakness: he will not be able to control himself. As soon as you remove the binding spell, yes, you and Tannal's bond will be cut and you will no longer be forced into sexual relations with him. But there's a cost. Tannal will become overwhelmed by the instincts of all his different forms. His human mind will cease to be in control and the man you knew as Tannal will be reduced to a mere animal. The only way for Tannal's mind to remain intact is for him to be bound to a human being; that anchors his human mind as the dominant mentality. Remove the bond and you remove the anchor. And the Tannal you know will be gone, replaced by an animal driven by instincts. And most likely residual effects of the arousal spell."

Malken took a step forward "I know you don't want to listen to me. But I also know that you want to help Tannal and get both of your lives back to the closest thing to normal that you can. Cut the bond and Tannal will become a lustful animal. Keep the bond and yes, you two will remain master and familiar. You will still have to have sex together. But Tannal will be able to look human. No one will need to know that he'd not. He'll be able to live his life, Elliot. Isn't that what you want?"

"Thank you, Malken," Kensing said, smiling smugly. "So let me offer you the choice again. You can stay with me and Tannal will get his human form back. He'll be able to look like he once did, be a human, and maybe even function in society! But he will be bound to you, and you will be obedient to me. And maybe, if you're good, I'll remove the arousal spell too. Or, of course, you can choose to not join me. In which case I will take you and transform you the same way I did to Tannal. And Tannal will have to be killed. But I assure you, it's entirely your choice."

*****

Tannal paced Elliot's study in the form of a large black wolf, trying to take stock of what had happened. He was male now, and happily so. After months of being female, he finally felt like he was in his own skin again - which was strange, considering he could be in literally any skin but his own. But now was not the time to find fault in his luck. _ He could be male. He had sex as a male. Elliot knew the truth._ They weren't actually bad thoughts - the fallout of those revelations were certainly bad, but Tannal also knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had come a very, very long way from the familiar in the Wildlands. He might be in a different physical form, but for the first time in a long time, he felt more like himself. Not Elliot's familiar, not a female, not a useless animal - he felt like Tannal. And that was a good thought.

Granted, he knew that the moment Elliot returned home, he would transform into the smallest, fluffiest, least threatening female animal he could think of. Whatever happiness he gleaned from rediscovering himself paled in the pain he had caused Elliot. He just hoped that Elliot and his relationship would be able to survive the consequences. But while Tannal was happy about finally revealing the truth to Elliot, he was deeply worried about their apparent fight. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that having sex with Elliot was a huge mistake.

He kept going over it in his mind: he never should have allowed Elliot to persuade him to do it, but he had been so aroused, he was so tired of being in the role of a female; he simply couldn't say no. Mating repeatedly, he also realized was a mistake, and should the opportunity ever doubtfully present itself again, he would never make the mistake of indulging himself like that. Still, it was unfair of Elliot to avoid him when he obviously was so distressed about it: it was equally Elliot's fault as well.

Tannal hadn't considered what knowing the truth might do to Elliot. He had been so wrapped up with wondering what their relationship meant for him that he never stopped to consider his friend. He cursed himself for being such an idiot. He remembered the confusion he had felt after Kensing had brought him to climax, or after the first time Elliot had entered him. He was confused at how good the feeling was, but how wrong his mind told him it was to feel that way. He hated the confusion, not knowing what it meant for him: had he been repressing homosexual feelings all along? was it simply the arousal spell on him? or did he actually have romantic feelings for Elliot? The questions practically drove him mad; not to mention it had taken him months to sort out all of his feelings on the matter.

And finally - finally - as soon as Elliot knew the truth - as soon as Tannal had a chance at freedom, at getting away from Kensing and the stupid spell - he blew it. He slept with his best friend and forced all the feelings he had finally begun to accept and get over right onto Elliot, his one and only ally in this mess. It was a huge mistake. And Elliot was left to deal with the emotional turmoil and sexual confusion on his own.

More problematically, Tannal had been so fixated on revealing the truth to Elliot that he never actually thought about what Elliot might do after discovering it. In Tannal's head, a variety of scenarios had been played out. Sometimes Elliot found a way to release the spell on him, and together they'd get their vengeance on Kensing and Malken. Sometimes, Elliot broke the spell and Tannal would escape before Elliot could see the identity of his familiar. Basically, all of Tannal's fantasy scenarios involved Elliot breaking the spell and both of them somehow finding a way to move past what had happened.

But there was a more terrifying thought that Tannal had never had before. In all of his scenarios, Elliot had been able to break the spell. He never stopped to consider it couldn't be done. And while that frightened him deeply, there was another thought that made his blood run cold in fear: what if Elliot didn't want him? If Elliot couldn't break the spell, then he could simply break the binding. Tannal would be a free shapeshifting familiar and Elliot would be free to continue his life as a normal human being. But without Elliot, Tannal would be stuck with the arousal spell and with no outlet to satiate it. Who knows what kind of a lust beast he might become? Or worse, what he might do?

What if Elliot didn't want to see him again? What if the shame and humiliation of what they had done together was too much for Elliot to bear and he banished Tannal from his life? What would Tannal do? He couldn't be a king's guard - he couldn't even be human yet! Where would he go? He had no family, no close friends - no one, at least, that would like to be seen chatting with an animal. He could get captured by another sorcerer; Elliot said that shapeshifting familiars were rare and highly sought after. Would he even be able to stay in the kingdom?

Being with Elliot gave Tannal comfort. It wasn't always easy - the things that had had to do together complicated their relationship as it is - but Tannal never considered that the spell might have actually broken it. Without Elliot he had nothing and no one. And it was an absolutely terrifying thought.

So when Elliot finally came home, Tannal was practically beside himself with relief. "Elliot!" Tannal exclaimed, bounding forward in a small, non-intimidating form of a marten. "Where have you been?"

Elliot looked terrible. Tannal couldn't see anything physically wrong with Elliot - and he also knew that if Elliot had been physically hurt, he would have felt it as well - but Elliot looked like he was about to collapse. His face was pale and dark circles were shaded under his empty eyes. His shoulders were sloped and his movements were sluggish. Elliot let out a long sigh and wearily collapsed into a chair, holding his head in his hands.

Tannal froze. "Elliot? Elliot, are you alright?" He slowly approached Elliot's chair. Even though he could rarely feel Elliot's emotions through their bond, he could feel them again, just like earlier that morning. It was a sea of apprehension and anxiety, hopelessness and despair. "What happened?"

Elliot took a deep breath. Tannal was being incredibly emotional and those emotions were bleeding into Elliot through their bond. Glimpses of dark thoughts, repressed anxieties, and fearful apprehension swirled through Elliot before he was able to block Tannal's worried thoughts from getting into him. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes; immediately, the surge of emotions that were boiling at the edge of Tannal's mind diminished into nothing more than a faint buzzing. That would have to do for now - Elliot was too tired to completely shut them out and Tannal was more emotional than usual, making the thoughts stronger than the usual fare he dealt with.

"Elliot?" Tannal said again softly; he didn't realize what his emotional state was doing to Elliot and therefore didn't realize that Elliot needed to expend extra energy to counteract it. I need to teach him to close his mind to me, Elliot reminded himself wearily. He took a final calming breath before he looked up.

"I had my meeting," he said softly.

Tannal frowned. Elliot's face was kept carefully blank - he didn't want Tannal to know what had happened. Which could only mean something bad. Tannal bristled. "What happened at the meeting?"

Elliot opened his eyes. "Nothing," he said wearily. "We talked - "

Tannal paused, waiting for more information. But when Elliot didn't elaborate, Tannal quietly prodded, "Talked about what?"

Elliot ran his hand through his hair, purposely not looking at Tannal. "We - we talked about options."

"Options?" That sounded more than ominous. The fear that Tannal had been wrestling with reared its head again, making Tannal's heart suddenly start to pound in his chest. What if Kensing told Elliot to be done with him? What if Elliot decided on his own that dealing with him was just too much? What if Elliot was keeping his emotions at bay so that he could cut their bond? Tannal forced himself to stay calm and listen, using every ounce of his king's guard training to not have a panic attack.

"Yeah," Elliot answered. The buzzing from Tannal was becoming unbearable. He needed to at the very least make Tannal's frantic thoughts stop infringing on his own. "Tannal, are you alright?"

Tannal swallowed, watching Elliot closely. "I'm fine."

"Tannal, your emotional state is - " Elliot searched for the word, "- unsettled. I can feel it through our bond." He decided not to tell Tannal that it was beginning to affect his own emotional state; that would probably only make it worse. And besides, he could guess what Tannal was so anxious about. Elliot sighed inwardly. He shouldn't have snapped at Tannal this morning. But he didn't have the energy to talk about it now and he didn't have the strength to think about what it all meant. But it was Tannal and he was upset. Elliot couldn't just ignore that. "Tannal, you can tell me."

"It's nothing," Tannal said weakly. Elliot knew. Elliot knew and he was going to cut their bond -

Elliot hesitated, wanting to push for an answer, but the buzzing in his mind was getting louder. Doubt and insecurities were tinging his thoughts and he already had enough to deal with. All he wanted to do now was not think. He wanted to sleep and forget that all of this ever happened and deal with everything in the morning. He wanted his problem with Kensing to be solved, he wanted to know what to do about Tannal and the shaper's clay, and he wanted Tannal to stop acting so anxious. But, one thing at a time -

Elliot rubbed his eyes, looking utterly drained. "Tannal, I know something's bothering you, whether or not you want to admit it. But I'm exhausted. I didn't get any sleep last night because - " He stopped, almost as if he were surprised he even brought it up. Then he shook his head wearily. "Look, about this morning - I know you're probably upset with me about what happened. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just - I'm just trying to wrap my head around - what happened." He caught the look on Tannal's face and could feel all of Tannal's questions blistering at the edge of his consciousness. Not today - he needed to think first, he needed to not deal with this right this moment. "I know you have questions. And I know you want to talk. But can we just talk in the morning? I really just want to get some sleep."

"Sure," Tannal answered softly. He sat on the floor, trying not to act panicked or fearful as Elliot nodded thankfully and pushed himself up from the chair, heading to his room. Tannal waited, unsure of what Elliot wanted him to do - should he follow him? Should he stay? He didn't know. Elliot didn't give any indication either way, though he shuffled to his room like a zombie so he probably wasn't thinking much of it.

Tannal took a deep breath and jumped up into an armchair in the form of a cat. Just sleep, he told himself, everything will be better in the morning. He didn't really believe that. But Elliot still hadn't broken their bond, so whatever was going on, it couldn't be absolutely terrible. Hopefully. Tannal settled down into an uneasy sleep.

*****

As soon as Elliot closed his door, he stumbled mindlessly over to his bed and collapsed thankfully it, physically exhausted and emotionally drained. He doubted he had ever had a worse day in his life - it was even worse than when he thought Tannal was dead and when Kensing betrayed him. Today was definitely worse. He breathed deeply, resting in the soft comfort of the blanket on his bed, letting his body sink into the embrace of the mattress as he just tried to calm his mind enough to make sense of what was happening to him. He just needed a moment - a moment to process, a moment to rest, a moment to think -

Elliot forced himself to sit up. He wanted to sleep. He wanted so desperately to rest, but he knew he couldn't. He had three days to try to figure out what he was going to do. In retrospect, that was probably another part of Kensing's plan: he wanted to tire Elliot out so he couldn't think straight, so he couldn't form a plan, so he barely even had time to talk to Tannal about making a plan -

Elliot sighed and reached for some paper. He needed to figure out a solution. And fast. He could rest later.

He had two options: take the deal or refuse it.

If he took the deal, he would have to work for Kensing. He would be reduced to nothing more than another Malken. But, Tannal would get his body back. He would at least look human. Tannal would technically still be a shapeshifting familiar, but at least he could assume his own form. No one would know he wasn't actually human, not unless they specifically checked, which they wouldn't. He wouldn't have to be an animal. Though, he would still be bound to Elliot. And Kensing most likely wouldn't remove the arousal spell. Elliot bit his lip, his mind suddenly jumping to having sex with Tannal in his human form... Honestly, he didn't know which was worse: sleeping with Tannal as an animal or having to sleep with him as a human.

But if he didn't take the deal, Elliot would end up just like Tannal. And worse, Tannal would never get his body back. He would never again be human. He would never be able to eat the food he loved or wield a sword, or have a girlfriend. He'd be alone for the rest of his life, with Elliot as his master. Elliot couldn't condemn his friend to that sort of torture. Tannal never asked for that and it was unfair of Elliot to make that decision for him. But, Elliot also didn't know what Kensing would do if Elliot refused. He could break their binding, and let Tannal lose his mind and be a lust beast, he could kill them both, he could turn Elliot into a familiar too. Or he could throw them in jail, starve them, torture them...the list would go on forever. There was simply no way to know.

Elliot sighed. How was he supposed to tell Tannal this? How hopeless everything was...

*****

It had been several hours since Elliot had gone back into the room and now was well within the night when Tannal felt something strange. He knew that Elliot wanted to be left alone, but he felt an odd tugging sensation through their bond, like a gentle sort of beckoning. Unsure if he was just lonely and hallucinating feelings of being wanted, Tannal slowly rose to his feet, staring at the door to Elliot's room. Did Elliot want to see him? It was something he had never felt before and while it certainly didn't feel malevolent, it still made Tannal pause.

Tannal pushed the door open slowly, almost afraid of what he would find inside. The room was dark, dimly lit by a dying fire and a few flickering candles about to drown in their own wax. Elliot was kneeling on his bed, surrounded by piles of books and papers, scraps of notes and charts. He looked even worse than when he had first come home: his hair was tousled, his clothes rumpled and wrinkled, and the circles under his eyes were even darker than before. When Elliot looked up, his gaze was dark and Tannal had a horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Elliot?" he said softly, barely able to get the question out.

Elliot started at the sound of Tannal's voice and looked up quickly, lowering the parchment he held in his hands. "Tannal," Elliot said in surprise at Tannal's sudden appearance. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Tannal answered in a small voice. "I just - I wanted to check on you. I could feel - " Tannal trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it. It wasn't the first time he had felt a brush of Elliot's emotions, but it was the first time they had been that strong. "I knew you were stressed," he finished, unsure if he should say he felt like Elliot was summoning him. Obviously, he was on Elliot's mind and probably not for a reason that he would like. Tannal's eyes traveled over the papers and books surrounding Elliot. "Look, I know you don't want to deal with me right now. But - you look like you could use an extra hand. Can I help you with anything?"

Elliot blinked, as if suddenly realizing for the first time what sort of state his room was in. "Oh!" He looked around the room distractedly. "No, that's alright." He pushed himself off his bed and began to gather the papers that were surrounding him, moving perhaps a little too quickly. "I was just doing some research."

Tannal glanced at some of the books near him. Many of them were already opened to the proper pages and he could glimpse the titles of many of the stacks' spines: The Unbound Familiar, Behavior Patterns of Magical Beasts, The Art of Binding and Unmaking - Tannal took a step back. "Elliot?"

Elliot hefted the stack of papers into his arms. "What?"

"This is about the meeting you had with Kensing, isn't it?" Tannal asked quietly.

Elliot paused his arms full of parchment and paper. "Yes." He carefully deposited the armful onto his desk, blowing out the candles so nothing would catch fire. "But don't worry. I'm looking into our options, I promise."

"Our options," Tannal repeated softly, fear beginning to blossom in him. He had been right: Elliot was going to leave him. Elliot would cut him loose and he'd be alone, on his own as a shapeshifter familiar.

Elliot wasn't paying attention. He was surveying the pile of books and papers, frowning, as if contemplating something he didn't want to deal with. "Tannal, I wanted to leave this until tomorrow, but I'm not really getting anywhere with this tonight, so we might as well get it over with." He slumped wearily into a nearby chair. "We need to talk."

Fear flooded Tannal, cold and gripping. Elliot was going to send him away! "Elliot, please," he whispered, taking a hesitant step forward. "Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean - I shouldn't have - " He drew in a shuddering breath. Where would he go? What would he do? He would never be human again, he would be nothing more than an animal rutting other animals - "I'm sorry - Please, forgive me. I'm sorry - "

"Tannal!" Elliot's weariness vanished instantly. He could feel Tannal's fear through their connection and as soon as Tannal started speaking, Elliot sat up straight in alarm. "Tannal," he whispered, rushing to Tannal's side. "What's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"You're going to send me away," he whispered. "You're going to cut the bond - "

"Tannal," Elliot admonished, but Tannal didn't seem to be thinking clearly. The ocelot's little body was shaking in fear as he stared blankly ahead, trembling. Without thinking, Elliot wrapped his arms around Tannal and held in close, comforting him the best he could. "Tannal, it's okay. Everything's going to be alright." He stroked behind Tannal's ears gently. "I'm not going to sever the bond."

Shivering, Tannal looked up. "You're not?"

"Gods, Tannal; no." Elliot released the cat, suddenly feeling strange for hugging him. Why did Tannal have to be a cat in a moment like this? Images from the previous night flashed through Elliot's mind but he pushed them away. This wasn't some lust-addled cat - this was Tannal. This was the Tannal he needed to save so that Tannal wouldn't permanently become the tiger from last night. He moved back so he was sitting with his back against the bed frame. "I mean, it's your choice, but - "

"No!" Tannal curled his tail tightly around him. "Please, don't - don't send me away." He looked away, unable to meet Elliot's eyes. "I don't think I can do this alone."

"Tannal!" Elliot said gently. "You don't have to do this alone. I would never do that to you. Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted the way that I did. But you must have known that I would never even think about abandoning you. I promise you, Tannal, I will never give up on you. I never have and I never intend to."

Sweet, blessed relief inundated Tannal. "You're not leaving?" he whispered in disbelief. "I thought - I thought you were going to - and - I was - " He closed his eyes. "Elliot - "

"I know it hasn't been easy - for you most of all. But we're going to survive this. Both of us."

"Last night - it was a mistake. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you in that situation - "

"Tannal, it's fine."

"I'm sorry, I just - " Tannal took a deep breath. "You're all I have left. And after everything that's happened, I thought - I was afraid that you'd leave. I thought you'd hate me."

"I've never hated you in my life. What we're going through isn't easy. Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. But I haven't once blamed you for this. This has never been your fault or your doing. I'm sorry that I snapped at you this morning and I'm sorry that I didn't want to talk when I got home. I wasn't thinking. And I didn't mean anything by it, alright?"

"Yeah," Tannal nodded, straightening. Now that the fear of Elliot leaving him was gone, Tannal was beginning to feel a little foolish. Of course Elliot wasn't going to leave him! He should have known: of all the people in the world, Elliot was the only one who never gave up searching for him. Elliot would never abandon him now. Tannal cleared his throat, trying to ignore his temporary break down. "Uh - sorry I just came in here," he said, suddenly feeling a bit stupid. "I - I didn't know if you wanted me, but I felt - I had a feeling - "

Elliot nodded, looking unsurprised. "Sorry, that was probably my fault. I didn't intend to send that out, but I could feel your emotions getting darker - "

Again, Tannal didn't know how to respond. "I didn't even know you could do that."

"Do what? Send for you?"

Tannal nodded, shivering on the carpet. He suddenly longed for Elliot's touch. He wanted to be reassured, to have their bond strengthened by physical contact. It wasn't a sexual urge - he just wanted to be comforted.

"We're connected," Elliot answered, still sitting near the bed, carefully not touching Tannal. "I can feel your emotions, I can hear your thoughts if you chose to send them. Some sorcerers can even show their familiars what they're seeing."

"I've never heard yours before."

Elliot gave a thin smile. "Well I'm trained as a sorcerer, remember? I know how to block my thoughts and emotions from you. Don't worry, I've only ever felt your emotions, I've never heard your thoughts. That takes practice and is hard to do accidentally." He sighed. "Actually, we should probably start working on that. It's usually a few years before sorcerers and familiars can have that level of connection, but if we're already feeling each other's emotions - " Elliot shrugged. "I guess our bond is stronger than average."

Tannal nodded absently. "Today I could feel your emotions. Is that normal?"

Elliot hesitated. "I'm not sure. They don't usually study the familiar side of things." Once he started talking about sorcerer-related things, Elliot relaxed visibly, his tone lightening to a gentle lecture-style explanation. "But I suppose it's not a long stretch to assume it's possible - " He trailed off, faltering when he noticed Tannal. He forced a thin smile to his lips. "Don't worry. It will be easier to block my emotions from you when you're also shielding yours from me." Elliot leaned back against the bed, weariness beginning to overcome him. "Does that happen a lot to you?"

"Just today." There was so much he didn't know. And everything was so complicated. He didn't know what Elliot thought or what he wanted, though Elliot seemed to be able to sense his own emotions. He didn't know what to make of that.

"Ah. Well - today was - not the easiest day for me, I'm afraid."

"I know," Tannal whispered. "And I'm sorry. I know what it's like to feel that way and - "

"Not now," Elliot said softly. "Just - we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"I should have known better than to make you deal with that sort of situation." Tannal paused, but Elliot didn't say anything. Finally, Tannal whispered, "El, are we ever going to be able to go back to the way things were before?"

Elliot looked at Tannal sadly. "I don't know. I want us to - but, I think too much might have happened between us."

Tannal nodded. "I know. But I keep hoping - "

"Me too," Elliot said quietly. "But we'll be alright. We always have been."

Tannal attempted a smile. "Yeah, I guess so." But he didn't really believe it. How could anything ever be alright again?

Elliot hesitated. "I'm sorry for the way that I've been acting. If I've said something or done something to upset you even more than I already have, I'm sorry. I just can't seem to do anything right lately. I'm just - confused by all of this. It's overwhelming."

"You haven't done anything wrong," Tannal reassured him. "I know it'll take time. Trust me, I didn't exactly embrace this situation right off the bat. It took me a while, too." Tannal paused. "Do you think you're going to be alright? Because I can give you some more space, if you - "

"Tannal," Elliot said softly. "I'm fine."

Tannal swallowed. "You're - you're sure?"

Elliot smiled faintly and reached his hand out. "Come here."

Relieved, Tannal shifted into the fluffiest cat he could think of and thankfully curled up in his master's lap. They were going to be alright. Everything would work out.

"We will work this out," Elliot said softly, his hand absently stroking the cat behind his ears. "I'll figure it out. I'll find a way to make this work. And you can go back to being a king's guard and we can forget this ever happened."

"Well," Tannal said, his throat suddenly dry. "I guess if there's one good thing about this, it's that you did you a familiar after all."

Elliot smiled, but his eyes were still solemn. "I'm usually not one to return gifts, but I think in this case, I might have to return it and get a different one."

Tannal yawned and stretched in Elliot's lap. "Do they let you return familiars?" he asked sleepily.

Tannal could tell Elliot was grinning. "I'll just tell them you're defective."

Tannal snorted as he settled down and closed his eyes. He sighed and fell asleep as Elliot gently stroked his fur.

*****

The next day Elliot woke up feeling much better than the last, despite the dread of Kensing's threat looming over him and waking up on his bedroom floor. He was still exhausted but he knew he needed to start researching again. And, he still had to talk to Tannal. He sighed inwardly, looking around for Tannal, but the shapeshifter was gone. After what happened yesterday, Elliot didn't blame him for not wanting to be around when he woke up. Since Tannal wasn't there, Elliot quickly prodded at his neck, checking the bruised bite mark that was almost completely healed, thanks to his healing spells. His ass still felt a little sore, but he was willing to deal with that for now. Besides, if Tannal detected him casting a soothing spell, he'd only feel guilty again and Elliot didn't want to have to deal with that today. There were a lot of things Tannal shouldn't have had to deal with. But he did, in order to protect Elliot. But now Elliot knew what was going on. He may have been naive in the past, but now he had no excuse. Now, he needed to protect Tannal, no matter what the cost.

Taking a deep breath, Elliot pushed himself up off the floor and made his way to his study.

"Good morning," Tannal said softly from the doorway of the study, looking into the room as a fox with oversized ears.

Elliot nodded wearily. "Good morning," he answered. He frowned, realizing that he was still wearing his crumpled clothes from the day before, and attempted to smooth the wrinkles out. "How are you feeling?" he asked, tugging at his shirt sleeve.

"I'm fine."

Elliot glanced up. Tannal actually seemed to be much better. His emotions weren't invading into Elliot and though he spoke in a neutral tone, he didn't seem upset or worried. Elliot hated to admit it, but Tannal almost seemed like a regular familiar, unburdened with human curiosity or emotion. It wasn't quite Tannal as he knew him, but is was certainly a bit better than an emotional Tannal.

"We're still locked in the apartment," Tannal continued, "but they sent you breakfast. It's on your table," He nodded to one of the nearby tables where a tray laden with food was sitting.

Elliot glanced at his breakfast, frowned, then pointedly ignored it. "I'd rather that we wait and sort some things out on our own first," Elliot said matter-of-factly, "but unfortunately we're running out of time. And I think it might be better if we just discuss everything openly now and get it over with. So, if you're up for it, I'd like to sit down and talk. We - discussed some things yesterday, but there are some other things we should probably address. I need to know where we stand so we can start planning how to fix this."

Tannal nodded. He knew Elliot still wanted to talk about things. And Elliot had yet to tell him about what had happened at his meeting with Kensing the other day. He shifted to a small housecat and gracefully settled down onto one of the rugs on the floor, since all the chairs were filled with books. "Alright. Let's talk."

Elliot nodded gratefully and glanced around for a seat before giving up and sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Tannal. "Look, before we get started - what I said yesterday - about us not being friends. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay, El."

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I was - I was being unfair and I'm sorry. I was emotional and confused and I obviously didn't express that very well." He passed, watching Tannal closely. "I know this isn't easy - most of all for you. But you are my friend, Tannal. And I don't want anything - even this - to come between us."

The housecat nodded. "Me either."

"But I want to say that I'm sorry for what I've done to you. It was inexcusable and inappropriate. I wish to gods I could say it wasn't like me, but apparently - " He trailed off, his jaw set. "I wish I could take it back. I wish every night I could take it back - "

"El, you've said all of this before. I know. I know you didn't want to. It's the spell. It's not you. And it's okay. I've - gotten over it. I'm alright, so stop worrying so much about it."

Elliot took a deep, steadying breath. "I just - I don't know how I can fix this."

"You don't have to. I never judged you for any of it. Elliot, the things we did together weren't our choice; they were Kensing's. But the things you did that were your choice - you searched for me, you put yourself in danger to try to find me, you're the only person who didn't give up on finding me - those are the choices that you made. Those are the choices that I judge you by. You're my best friend and never once did you waver in trying to help me. I'm sorry that all of this had to happen between us. It's not fair. But I don't hold you responsible."

Elliot nodded, looking both miserable and relieved. He shook his head in disbelief. "I can honestly say I never once in a thousand years ever thought that I would have done anything that. And I'm sorry that I did."

"Elliot, I know you're sorry," he exclaimed, perhaps a little too emphatically. "But you've said it enough already." He ears flattened when he saw Elliot's frown and he took a few steps forward so that he was almost touching Elliot's knee. "Look, I mean it when I say you don't need to apologize, alright? This has been a - weird time for both of us."

Elliot rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. "Gods, why did this have to happen to us?"

"I've been asking myself that for months now. No answer as of yet." They sat in silence for a few moments, each of them going over what had happened to them in the last few months. "El?" Tannal asked softly. "Can I ask you something?"

When Elliot nodded Tannal carefully continued, "The other night - are you angry? It's alright if you are - "

"No," Elliot answered. "I'm not angry. I'm just - confused." He reached down and gently stroked behind Tannal's ears. It was almost easier to pretend he was talking to a pet instead of talking to his best friend and lover in animal form. After a moment he added, "Don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty sore. But, I'm not angry. I just am still trying to wrap my head around it."

Tannal settled his chin down on Elliot's leg. "It will take a while," he said softly, closing his eyes.

"A while?" Elliot echoed. "Is that how long it took you to forgive me?"

Tannal looked up at Elliot. "Forgive you?" he asked in surprise. Elliot was looking at him seriously and Tannal suddenly realized why Elliot had been apologizing so frequently. Elliot thought Tannal hated him for all of this. "What? No!" Tannal exclaimed, shaking his head. "I never held any of that against you, not even once." When Elliot didn't look convinced, Tannal added, "What we did, we did because of the spell. It has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with me. We were both forced into this situation."

"You're rationalizing it. But at the end of the day, it's still me that did those things to you. Not Kensing. When you - think about what happened, it's not his face you see, it's mine."

"I know. And it wasn't easy. You're my best friend, El, but I never thought about you like that. I hate that know those details about you. And I hate that you know them about me. But I don't hate you. I never have." Elliot looked away, unable to meet Tannal's eyes. "Look," Tannal said softly. "I don't blame you for having your body react. My body - it gets aroused and I can't stand it. I hate that when I was a female, I felt like I was in heat. Like I couldn't control myself. And I hate that you were forced to give me relief. But I told you before, the blame for all of this lies on Kensing. I never once held it against you. I would have done the same thing in your shoes. And it's not like you knew - though, even if you did, it still would have happened." Elliot remained silent, but his frozen hand slowly lowered back onto Tannal's head and he resumed stroking his fur again. "I meant," Tannal continued softly. "That it took me a few days to accept how good it felt."

Elliot's hand stopped again. "It felt good?"

"Yes." Tannal didn't look at Elliot. "I hated myself for admitting it, but it's the truth. But after a while, I had to accept that while it's not something I would usually go for - not as a human, at least - but in the present situation, it was good. El, it was the only good thing I had felt since Kensing first captured me. Being trapped in this form was miserable. But I was with my best friend, not some stranger. That made it better. I know it makes our friendship more complicated, but - " Tannal shook his head. "You were a familiar face and that comforted me. You worked tirelessly to try to find me, and that just showed me how much you cared. I know you never wanted to have sex with me. I know that. But having sex with you was the only time I felt good since this happened."

Elliot let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry that having sex with me was the only good feeling you've had." He gave a weak smile. "You must have had a pretty miserable time, then."

Tannal looked at Elliot in amazement. "Oh? Now you're making jokes about it?" Elliot laughed and Tannal's mood lightened considerably. They didn't have to keep walking on eggshells. What they were doing was out in the open to each other and they could at least address it. It was awkward, but it also felt like they were moving forward. "El? I know that Kensing did all of this to try to drive us apart." Elliot nodded, his eyes darkening at the mention of his former teacher's name. "But that means we have to actively work to not let him do that. If he drives us apart, then he's won. We can't let that happen. But that means we need to be completely honest and open with each other. Until this is all over."

"Agreed." Elliot said immediately. "I'll try to stop acting so weird about it. We might as well just discuss this stuff frankly."

Tannal nodded. "Look, it's weird to tell you when I'm aroused. And it's even weirder to tell you what sort of - things that I like. Or don't like. But being open will allow us to deal with this head on. And it means that Kensing won't drive a wedge between us."

"Exactly." There was a long silence. "Tannal - in the spirit of being open, there's something I feel like I should say. I know you said that it will take some time to work out all the - confusion - about what we've done. But, there's one thing that doesn't need any working out for me. Tannal, I'm - I'm sorry, but I'm not gay."

"Neither am I."

For a moment, they both looked at each other, Tannal looking completely calm and undisturbed and Elliot looking surprised. Then Tannal spoke again. "I'm not gay, Elliot. But I've been trapped as a female for a few months with an arousal spell on me. Yes, I learned to enjoy sex as a female. It feels good. But that doesn't mean I like always being penetrated. That doesn't mean I don't want to sleep with a woman someday."

Elliot was quiet for a long moment. "Can I - can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You said that you enjoyed sex as a female but - " he hesitated. "Didn't you also enjoy sex as a male?"

"Yes. But cut me some slack, Elliot. My options are a bit limited. You're my - " Tannal blushed, " - my only sexual partner."

Elliot nodded, his cheeks flushing as well. "So, you - you're not attracted to men?"

"Not that I know of. El, I like women. I like to look at women. But this stupid spell: it made me a woman. I don't look forward to the things we do, either with me as a female or a male. But when the arousal spell hits, and it's a choice between being miserable, frustrated, and sex-addled all day, or get off. I know which one I'll choose. Pleasure is pleasure, El. And while it's not what I would choose for myself, based on the options I have, I'm alright with it."

"I know, but - " Elliot looked flustered. "You don't seem to - hate it. As much as a straight guy would."

Tannal looked amused. "You didn't seem to hate it the other night," he said smugly. Elliot blushed furiously this time. "El," Tannal comforted, "it's just the spell. I was trapped as a female. And that meant I had to touch your - your dick. I don't sit around dreaming about it all day. It's just - something I had to do. And the spell makes my inhibitions go away and makes me aroused enough to do it. Your pleasure is my pleasure. So touching you, makes me feel good too. That's why you - " Tannal cast around for a phrase that wouldn't make Elliot blanch - "didn't exactly hate - what we did the other night. It's because I felt good, and so you felt good as well. As far as I can tell, that's how it works. Do you understand?"

"I think so. Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. But - but you're right. It felt good. And part of me resents myself for even admitting that. But it did. I haven't felt that good in a long time. I don't know what that means about me, though."

"It means nothing," Tannal said confidently. "It means Kensing's spell is working. Remember? It's designed that way. We both get aroused, we both feel good. Maybe it's not what you normally would go for, but enjoying it doesn't mean anything about you except that you like pleasure."

Elliot laughed. "I like that. I can handle thinking that way."

"Well that's how I deal with it. It seems like the easiest way."

For a moment they both sat together, feeling slightly awkward but more content than either of them had felt in days. They were alright. It was a strange situation, but they were going to be okay. And for the first time in a very long time, they could talk they way they used to. Maybe the subject matter wasn't typical, but Tannal felt like it was him and Elliot having a conversation, not Elliot and Telsa. That was all he needed for now.

"El?" he asked after a moment. "We're supposed to be open, so - that meeting you had?"

"Right," Elliot said, immediately looking considerably less happy. "Kensing and Malken were both there. They basically wanted to discuss options for what to do with us."

"That's ominous."

Elliot nodded. "Basically, Kensing wants what he wanted before. He wants me to swear my loyalty to him. Most likely, he wants me to swear myself to him, probably with a spell - "

"Spells can do that?" Tannal didn't even know something like that even existed. "Is that like the obedience spell I had before?"

"No, this one is for humans but has to be put on you of your own free will." Elliot paused. "It's undetectable but it also can't be forced onto you by another person. It's probably what Malken has. It just means you can't attack Kensing or tell any secrets he has - it means I won't be able to intentionally hurt or directly defy him."

"But can he force you to do things for him?"

Elliot frowned. "Not exactly. This isn't like slavery. It's what knights used to swear to kings. It just means I'll never be able to go behind his back. I'll never be able to tell anyone what I know so if he's ever caught, I'll go down with him."

Tannal's nose wrinkled. "I'm assuming you said no to all of this."

"No, I asked him for a few days to think about it."

Tannal looked up in alarm. "Why?"

"Because I need to figure out my options. Trust me, there aren't any so far. And Kensing knows that, which is probably why he let me have a few days to think about it. He wants me to know without a doubt that he's won."

"But - he hasn't. Right?"

"Not yet. But neither have we." Elliot sighed and pushed himself up to his feet. "Tannal, there's another matter that Kensing spoke to me about. It involves you. I'm researching it now, but don't get your hopes up."

"What is it?" Tannal whispered worriedly.

Elliot frowned. "Why don't we talk about it tonight? Let me research some more and get a better idea of what our options mean. Tomorrow, we'll discuss them and you can decide what you want. Just, let me make sure I know what I'm talking about before I explain them to you. Is that alright?"

"So you want to keep me in the dark for another day?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up for a day if I can't deliver. Just let me look into a few things and if I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, then I'll stop for now and we'll go over them."

Tannal nodded. "Fine. This is your wheelhouse, not mine, so I'll differ to your judgment." He looked around. "So if I can't help you what am I supposed to do all day?"

Elliot grinned. "I'm so glad you asked." He went to a bookshelf and pulled out a heavy tome and set it down in front of Tannal. "This is a basic manual on how to properly control your emotional state through your bond. It's written for sorcerers so they don't stress out their familiar, but maybe it can help you not cause undue stress on your sorcerer." he gave Tannal a meaningful look.

"Sorry," Tannal's ears flattened. "Was I that bad?"

"Usually it's not a problem. But lately - " He shook his head. "Just learn how to control it. It's actually really easy. It takes practice to control really strong emotions, but you should be able to master the lesser ones without much difficulty."

Tannal nosed at the book. "This looks familiar - "

"We had to read it for a class in the Lower Academy, remember?"

Tannal blinked, looking at the cover. "Ah."

Elliot gathered a few scrolls in his arms and shook his head. "This is why you should have done your homework, Tannal."

Tannal groaned, but obediently opened the old book to the first page.

*****

Elliot didn't lie, the book was fairly simple. Actually, it was almost insultingly simple. Most of the instructions amounted to basic meditation and the rest of them were actually mental exercises that he was trained to do in the king's guard. He didn't dare admit that to Elliot, though. He preferred to just let Elliot think he was gifted. Also, he didn't want to admit that in his stress he had forgotten to use the very training he had passed designed to counter anxiety. Tannal felt a bit foolish for not remembering his training sooner, but now that it was fresh in his mind he had little difficulty in doing it.

But while controlling emanating his emotions was easy, Tannal came across some other things that were decidedly more difficult. He had continued reading the book out of boredom and because he didn't want to disturb Elliot. Once of twice he felt a twinge of arousal and while he didn't know if it had come from him or Elliot, he didn't want to accidentally start something. But as he read, he came across some interesting mental exercises, one of which was mind communication.

He had seen Kensing and Malken both use it, as well as many of the senior Academy members. He rarely heard any of the familiars speak out loud to their masters because it was considered to be more polite to limit such conversations to the mind connection between sorcerer and familiar. But Elliot and he never had communicated that way. He had often directed thoughts to Elliot, but since he never got a response he assumed they never went through. Granted, he was never really trying that hard. But perhaps now... An ability to communicate mentally would be incredibly useful. Especially if Kensing insisted on separating them again, like he did with Elliot's meeting the previous day. At least that way Tannal would be aware of what was happening, even if he wasn't there physically.

Eagerly, Tannal read through the chapter on the methods and theory of how to establish mental communication through a mind link. Elliot, he thought, focusing on Elliot. He waited, listening. There was no response. Frowning, Tannal read the passage again, making sure he didn't miss anything. He took a deep, steadying breath and tried again, Elliot!

The room remained silent, his mind empty and without a response. Tannal closed his eyes and focused every ounce of energy he had on his friend.

_Elliot - _

_Elliot - _

_Elliot - _

Nothing

Elliot...Elliot...ELLIOT!

Still nothing. Tannal frowned. Perhaps Elliot was blocking Tannal's thoughts from him because his emotions had been bleeding over into Elliot's mind. Maybe that was why it wasn't working. Yawning, Tannal stretched and headed to Elliot's study to check on his friend's progress.

"Hey Elliot," he said, walking into the room and pointedly ignoring the mass of jumbled books, scrolls, and notebooks scattered about. Elliot was almost always meticulously neat, except apparently while researching. He went to the desk Elliot was sitting at and gracefully jumped up onto it. "Did you put up some sort of mind block on me?"

Elliot looked up from a notebook he was scribbling in. "What?"

"Did you block our mental connection?"

Elliot blinked. "No. You've had your emotions under control all day. I didn't need to. Why?"

Tannal shrugged. "I read a chapter in that book about mental communication between sorcerer and familiar. I was trying to do it, but, it didn't seem to work."

Elliot grinned. "You have to have a pretty well-developed bond to pull that off. Either that, or you have to be bound for a long time."

"We do have a well-developed bond," Tannal pointed out.

Elliot shrugged. "It can take years to figure that out. Some can do it in a few months, but it's not something I would really worry about."

"Fair enough." Tannal looked around the room. "How's the research?"

Elliot shook his head, looking exhausted. "It's - dense."

"No offense, but you look terrible. You should eat something."

"I'm alright." Elliot looked up from his notebook, a frown crossing his face, then he looked away again.

"Well, you should get some sleep." Tannal said. "I need to go meditate or whatever I'm supposed to do to practice the mind link thing. I'll - see you in the morning?"

Elliot glanced up, looking a little surprised. "You're leaving?"

"You look busy. And I need to practice the mental thing or whatever it's called. But I know you must be tired, so - "

"Tannal." Elliot said flatly.

"I'll come back later." Tannal said firmly, turning to go.

"Tannal," Elliot called out, sharply enough to make Tannal stop. Elliot hesitated, then sighed, "I know what you need to do." When Tannal didn't response, he added, "I can feel it."

"It's nothing - "

"No," Elliot murmured. "It's not. I can feel that you're aroused."

"I'm not - "

"We're connected Tannal." A faint smile touched Elliot's lips. "And what did I tell you before? You're absolutely miserable at blocking your thoughts. I can practically - " He sighed. "I can practically hear you begging for release."

Tannal stayed silent. He was beginning to become aroused. The moment he had walked into the room, he saw Elliot working at his desk. And he had leaned over, reaching for something, and Tannal could see the curve of his ass through his trousers. And suddenly, inexplicably, Tannal's mind went to the other night, to when he had bent Elliot over and truly claimed him. Something in him stirred at that. But while Tannal could usually hold off on such reactions, it had been two days since he had any release and he was beginning to need it. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't know why I'm always so - ." He trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward.

"It's alright," Elliot comforted reassuringly, his voice strangely calm. "It's part of the spell."

"It's - it's been two days. I - usually don't go that long." Elliot and him had sex on a fairly regular basis. There were some nights when they didn't and there were some nights where Tannal was painfully hard, knowing that Elliot was masturbating without him and Tannal was sure he did the same to Elliot on occasion. Masturbating never dulled the arousal significantly, but it did dull the burning, unbearable need, though it did just make the next time worse. "Sorry, I don't know why that happened," he said awkwardly, though he was more than well aware of why. "I should go - "

"Tannal, I can - I can help you with it."

Tannal shot a look at Elliot. "You don't have to do that," he said quickly, taking a small step back as he felt his sheath begin to plump just thinking about that. "I can - tend to myself. It's alright, really."

"No, you won't get much relief unless I do it. And then we'll both just be frustrated. It's yet another lovely part of our binding," Elliot said, a touch of bitterness in his voice. He seemed to realize the sourness of his tone, so he shook his head. "Sorry. I don't mean - " He stopped. They had wasted enough time beating around the bush. It was time to be straightforward, even if it meant saying things to his friend he'd never thought he'd say. A small voice in his head reminded him that he had already done worse, so there was no point in being embarrassed or coy. "Tannal, let me help you."

"I - but - " Tannal swallowed his weak protest. "I want you to - I mean, I don't want you to if you don't want to but - last time - " He trailed off miserably. He was so confused, so conflicted. He didn't know what he felt anymore. He hardly even knew himself now. "Last time things got weird," he finally managed, trying with all his might to avoid saying the word "gay." He didn't dare think about penises at a time like this.

Elliot ignored his comment, though Tannal saw the beginnings of shame creep in his eyes. They were both thinking about the other night; both thinking about what it meant for their relationship with each other - and their future relationships with others.

With a slight shake of his head, Elliot took a deep breath and gently, but firmly, pushed the cat onto his side on the desk. "Let me help you," he said again, gently running his hand through Tannal's chest fur. A purr rose up in Tannal's throat before he could stop it and soon he had spread himself out on the bed, purring happily as he felt Elliot's touch electrify him. "I'm sorry for the way I acted last time. I was - confused. But it was wrong of me to take it out on you." His hands began to rove over Tannal's silken fur, gently tracing pleasurable patterns in it. "We can't keep hiding what's going on. We know there's a spell. We know what it does. And we know there's no use in fighting it. So we might as well just accept it and get it over with. Besides, I'm not going to get any work done at this point."

"Elliot - Elliot, ohhhhhhhhh - " Tannal sighed and allowed the pleasurable feelings wash over him. "Mmmm that feels good."

Elliot closed his eyes, feeling the throbs of Tannal's arousal begin to cross through their binding. Soon, he knew, he would be aroused as well. And a great deal less uncomfortable. He let his hands wander around the cat's fur, paying close attention to the sounds that Tannal was making. Luckily, Tannal was a rather vocal person in bed, so Elliot had some ideas as to what he liked. But every time his hands swept down closer to Tannal's genitals, he moved them away again.

He was still unsure about all of this. At least Tannal was sleeping with a human. He was having sex with an animal! He was literally about to touch the sexual organ of an animal and wait for his own arousal to kick in. What if this conditioned him to like animals? He had never thought about them like that before, but what if he started to? Elliot set his jaw. Tannal had suffered through worse. Surely he could manage to help his friend out now.... But at what cost to himself?

Elliot's hands ran through Tannal's fur again, raking through the soft tufts on his chest and sides. Still, he couldn't bring himself to go any lower. He could see Tannal's sheath. And it terrified him. It only reminded him that Tannal was a male and an animal. He didn't want to think about his friend's penis - though thoughts of the night before crept in his mind. He didn't want to think about how his friend's penis was housed in a furry pouch like some common beast. He almost wondered if it would have been easier for him to accept if Tannal were human still.

Elliot took a steadying breath and continued stroking Tannal's body. What was he supposed to do next? He knew what was going to happen: they were going to have sex. But for some reason he drew a blank on how to get from a state of arousal to actual intercourse. Surely there were steps in between? He had sex with Tannal as a female and there was foreplay. But Tannal wasn't female now. He had sex with Tannal as a male and he was too lust-drunk to even completely recall what he did - though he was pretty sure there was foreplay? But he was in his right mind now and didn't particularly want to engage in such acts. Not to mention, he didn't know about the logistics. Was Tannal going to remain male? Who was going to penetrate who? How was that even decided? Elliot had no idea. He felt stupid, but the only thing he could think of was to ask Tannal directly what they were planning on doing. "Tannal?" he murmured, keeping his eyes on the content face of the cat and far away from his genitals.

"Mmm?" Tannal's tail lashed wildly around as he purred, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"What - what do I do?"

Tannal opened his eyes. Elliot was looking down at him, a faint blush in his cheeks, looking confused, frightened, and anxious. Tannal immediately cursed himself. Of course Elliot was scared! Tannal had almost forgotten how strange this entire situation actually was. He was so used to getting Elliot aroused and then sleeping with him that he forgot that things were different now. Things had changed a lot in the past few days. Tannal rolled to his side and sat up. "El," he said, concern coloring his voice as he realized what was wrong, "you don't have to do this. Look, I - "

"No, Tannal! We've already been over this. It'll be better if I relieve you, I just - " Elliot sighed and shook his head, looking frustrated. "It's not you. I mean - it is. I like girls, Tannal. Girls. And you're - you're a guy. And an animal. And my best friend." He shook his head. "I want to help you. I want you to feel as good as you've made me feel. But this - this is weird. I don't even know where to begin. I know I did this before, but - " How could he say it? It was different because before he was highly aroused and now he wasn't? That he still felt guilty about having sex with Tannal? "It's just different now!"

"El, it's okay. Do you think this is what I imagined?" Tannal shook his head, his tail curled up around him. "I know it's weird - trust me, I am more than well aware of that. I just - "

"Tannal! Just - just tell me what to do." Elliot's eyes were wide, but Tannal could feel the determination emanating through their bond. "What will feel good?"

"Elliot, you don't have to - "

"Enough, Tannal! Tell me what you want!" Elliot stared at him, a little breathless and a bit startled as his own declaration. But he was through with tiptoeing around. "I know I don't have to. And if I didn't want to, I wouldn't. But I want to help you. After all those times you've helped me - " He trailed off, thinking of all the countless time he had fucked his familiar over the past few months. "Tannal, you need this. The spell makes it happen this way. And soon, I'll need it just as badly. If you still feel weird about it, we'll - we'll figure something out. We'll rotate duties every time this happens or something like that. We'll figure out a system. But it will happen again. Over and over until this whole situation is fixed. You faced it before, and I'll face it now. And when this is over, we'll get over it. Our friendship will survive this. But first, we have to get through today. And that means letting me do this. Alright?"

Tannal nodded, wide-eyed. "Alright." He hesitated, then rolled slowly to his side, his tail twitching anxiously. "What - what exactly do you want to do?"

Elliot looked just as wide-eyed and uncertain as Tannal was. "What do I want to do?" He hadn't thought of that. What did he want? He kept telling himself over and over again that he wanted a human female, a real girl, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that when he was with Tannal, he had a very different arousing picture dancing through his head - The night before was so pleasurable, one of the most pleasurable he'd ever had. And over the past few months, all the times he had been with Tannal had been wonderful. Yes, there was guilt involved, but there was also pleasure. A lot of pleasure. Being with Tannal, though unorthodox and strange, felt good -

Tannal interrupted his thoughts. "We need to communicate, remember? We both - we both need it. We've accepted that." Elliot nodded and Tannal continued. "Then we need to tell each other what we want." He frowned slightly. He could feel his own arousal tugging insistently at Elliot's and he was certain that Elliot beginning to get aroused as well. What was he thinking of? Tannal wondered. Did Elliot think of girls when they were together, or did he think of him? It didn't really matter. Tannal wanted this. He needed this. He had never know how badly he loved being with Elliot until he almost lost him, but now that they were both here, together -

"El," he said gently, rising to his feet. "Stand up." Elliot shakily rose to his feet. Tannal stepped a little closer to Elliot and inhaled; yes, Elliot was definitely getting aroused. He could smell the sweet musk of his friend, a scent he knew very well at this point. He could tell by the way Elliot shifted in his seat, by the way his cheeks had a slight blush to them, the way his breath quickened. "Here," he nuzzled his head against Elliot's cloth-covered crotch, causing the young sorcerer to shudder, scarcely able to suppress his moan. "See?" Tannal whispered, pushing gently on the hardened lump that was beginning to protrude from Elliot's groin. "You're getting aroused, too."

"Yes," Elliot murmured softly, a bit of shame tinging his response as his breathed deeply. But his voice also quavered with a rich longing. Yes, he was getting aroused. Yes, soon he would want this. He swallowed. "What do you want me to do?"

"You might as well get undressed," Tannal said, unsure of how to answer. He wasn't sure what Elliot wanted him to say and he desperately didn't want to scare his friend away. What he wanted to do was flip Elliot over and fuck the living daylights out of him, but Tannal had a strong suspicion that Elliot might not be so amenable to that.

"Er, right." Elliot fumbled with his pants, his cheeks slightly pink. How many times had he done this with Tannal before? How many times had he disrobed while Tannal watched? But for some reason now it felt different, more awkward. He shed his robe easily and undid the buttons of his shirt; but when his fingers brushed against his pants he paused, suddenly unsure again. Elliot hesitated, thinking, then reached out and grasped Tannal's sides, stroking the cat's fur. "Tell me what you want," he said, his opened shirt still on and his trousers still securely buckled to his waist. _ What did Tannal want from him this time?_

The housecat nuzzled against Elliot's arm as Elliot's fingers combed through his fur, breathing heavily. He was trying to keep his arousal under wraps, but it was getting harder and harder to control, especially being so close to his friend. "You want the honest answer?"

"Yes," Elliot breathed.

"If I had the choice - what we did the other night - " Tannal answered softly. "I've never felt anything that amazing in my life before. But, you probably - "

"Not now," Elliot finished. Elliot felt Tannal's disappointment flood through their bond. "I'm not saying no or never again," he clarified quickly, surprising himself. "I just - for right now I'd prefer if we put it on hold. I'm still - confused about everything that happened. I'm not saying it was bad. It - it actually felt good. And you know that. We both - " Elliot sighed. "We both got off several times. So you know that I enjoyed it. I just need some time to figure out what that means. I'm trying to work through it and this - this is weird enough as it is. But I'll get there. I'd just prefer to wait a little more." He paused for a moment, then added. "And I'm still really sore."

"Ohhh. I forgot about that," Tannal suddenly felt even guiltier. "Familiars can just heal themselves."

Elliot smiled. "I'm aware." He scratched Tannal behind his ears. "So what else do you want?"

Tannal sat down on the desk, lowering his stomach to the hard, smooth wood and the parchment scattered over the surface. "I - I don't know. What about you? What do you want?"

"Tannal, I'm trying to learn what makes you happy. I'm going to try to break this spell as quickly as I can, but realistically, we might be stuck together for a while longer. I might as well know what you like now. It's better if you just tell me. Communication, remember? We're supposed to try harder at that."

Tannal didn't answer.

Elliot ran his fingers through Tannal's fur again, this time coming dangerously close to Tannal's sheath. "Tannal, you're not being fair. You know what I like. Hell, you probably know what I like more than I do. Tell me what I can do to make you happy."

Tannal swallowed. "The other night," he whispered. "When you - when you used your mouth. That felt good."

Elliot took a deep breath. "Alright," he said softly. "I can do that." Staring down at Tannal, he tentatively reached his hand out and gently pushed the cat to his side, easing him down onto the desk. Gently, he reached his hand out and tenderly began to rake his fingers again through Tannal's fur.

Tannal leaned back on the desk, watching his friend with glowing eyes. He could see Elliot's uncertainty and he could see his resolve. It was weird - even he could admit that. And he had no idea what Elliot must be feeling, readying himself to suck a feline cock of his friend whom he previously had no attraction toward. Tannal had been through some difficult situations, but Elliot was still in the middle of grappling with them. And he was doing it all for Tannal's sake. And Tannal didn't even know how he could begin to thank him for it.

Elliot's eyes traveled over the cat that laid before him. Was he really going to do this? His mind flooded with the memory of the night before when he happily drew Tannal's tiger cock into his mouth. He had sucked and suckled on it, licking at its length, tugging at its sheath; he had even swallowed all of the musky seed the tiger had emptied into him. Elliot had done all of that and he did it willingly. He had done it while aroused and he had enjoyed it. So what was so different now?

Perhaps it was because he wasn't completely aroused. The spell was triggering an arousal, but it was almost like an afterthought. That consuming, all-encompassing need was absent. Maybe it was because he was nervous or maybe it was because Tannal didn't have his heart in it. But either way, his shaft was only semi-hard against his pants and the burning need to seek his release hadn't overwhelmed him in the least. He was hopelessly rational now and in possession of all of his mental faculties. And his mind told him - quite firmly - that he did not have any desire to touch a male animal's penis.

He glanced up at Tannal, hoping that his thoughts weren't showing on his face. He didn't want Tannal to know how he was plagued with uncertainty about doing this, not after everything Tannal had done for him. At least Tannal was forced to do everything because of the spell, a nagging thought came unbidden in Elliot's head. He ignored it; thinking back, he was sure that while Tannal often had no issues having intimate relations with him in the past, there were a few times he was reluctant to do so, but did so out of Elliot's insistence. And now it was Elliot's turn. He could do this. He had to do this. For Tannal.

Elliot looked down, unable to meet Tannal's eyes, though looking at his friend's sheath was almost worst. The tabby's golden fur faded to a soft creamy white at the end of his torso, and nestled in the middle of a patch of long, silky fur was a lump of flesh. He couldn't see Tannal's cock yet, but he could see the rise in the fur where his friend's penis was hidden safely in its fleshy home, waiting for him to coax it out.

Tannal was watching him, his green feline eyes wide and unblinking as he looked down at his friend hovering near his crotch. Elliot could sense Tannal's growing need, but he also could feel Tannal's discomfort at being in this position in the first place. "El," the cat said softly.

Elliot knew what Tannal was about to say, but he couldn't bear to let him say it. He needed to do this for Tannal, even if the rational part of his mind didn't want to. He needed to show Tannal that he was willing to do whatever it took, too. He placed his hand on the lump of flesh that lay under the white fur and slowly tightened his grip before his friend could protest.

"Nnnn!" Tannal hissed in surprise as Elliot's hand closed around his sheath, his bushy tail lashing out. "Elliot!"

Elliot kept his eyes on Tannal's furry stomach as his hand wrapped around his friend's sheath. It was a strange sensation to be holding the furry skin that surrounded a penis: the fur was so soft, and the sheath seemed almost pliable, but under it he could feel a hardening lump. Carefully, he closed his fist around its fluffy girth and squeezed it gently.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Elliot!" Tannal breathed, his body going limp on the bed. The gentle insistence of his growing arousal was one thing to deal with - but actually having Elliot touch him like this made his arousal surge through his body tenfold, lust already beginning to overwhelm his mind.

Elliot slowly moved his hand up the small sheath, then down again in a slow, exaggerated motion. He was surprised to discover that the sheath wasn't completely connected to Tannal's belly and allowed a small range of motion when he gripped it. As he moved his hand, he could feel the hardening lump inside the skin growing ever hotter. He repeated the motion dutifully, watching as the furry pouch jiggled under his ministrations. The room was filled with silence, broken only by Tannal's heavy panting and soft sighs and the barely perceptible squish made by the growing fluids in Tannal's sheath. Wanting to break the silence but unsure what to say, Elliot ventured, "Is this - is this alright?" though he very well knew the answer.

"Yessss," Tannal groaned softly, his tail lashing out. "It feels -" he shivered, "- good."

Elliot nodded slightly, feeling stupid. Of course it felt good. He just wanted something to break the uncomfortable feelings building in his chest, but he had no idea what else to say. Was there etiquette to this? Was there some sort of conversation people were supposed to say while giving a hand job to your friend? He had no idea and suddenly felt a flush of uncertainty and shame at his inexperience. He felt like a fumbling teenager despite the fact that he had done the same to himself countless times. But it was different with another person. Very different. It was also different when the other person is a cat.

"Grip it tighter," Tannal panted suddenly. His green feline eyes were practically glowing as he stared numbly at the wall of the study, his breathing shallow and labored as Elliot continued to touch him. He was beyond feeling unsure about this. Now he wanted it.

Surprised at Tannal's sudden forwardness, Elliot obeyed, tightening his grip on the furry sheath. He knew that Tannal probably wanted him to lean down and lick at the small hole in the sheath were his penis would emerge - but Elliot wasn't nearly aroused enough for something like that. He could feel Tannal's arousal beginning to creep through their bond and his own cock was growing harder by the minute, so he continued his ministrations. The more he tugged the fleshy pouch, the more he could feel something moving inside of the sheath, almost pushing against the walls - He glanced down and immediately spotted a bright red dot at the tip of Tannal's sheath and almost released the sheath in surprise.

"Tighter!" the cat whimpered.

Obediently, Elliot retightened his grip and watched with a sickening fascination as a finger of bright red glistening flesh pushed out of the creamy-colored home.

"Ahhhhhhh," Tannal sighed, closing his eyes as his penis emerged from his sheath. His small body trembled as his cock lengthened, quivering in pleasure.

Elliot quickly resumed his hand's movements at Tannal's sheath, at a loss of what to say or what else to do. The feline cock was throbbing already, its bright tip bubbling precum onto the little spines that decorated its head, and he could feel the pulse of Tannal's heart rock through the sheath all the way through the cock, making it twitch needily. Elliot continued gripping the sheath firmly, but made no effort to touch the straining penis.

Tannal's green eyes opened and watched him. "Elliot?" he asked softly.

Elliot swallowed, unsure of what to say or do. "I - " He stared at the red cock pulsing near his hand. "I - I'm not sure - what to do."

Tannal's tail lazily swept across the scattered parchment on the desk as he watched his friend stare at his cock. "It's alright. Just - touch it," he suggested quietly. Elliot didn't move. Tannal fought down the urge to start thrusting in Elliot's hand and tried to calm his excitement down. He desperately wanted Elliot to swallow his small length down into his throat, but he also knew that Elliot was terrified. "Just - start with your hands."

Elliot nodded absently, still apparently processing what he was doing. He stroked Tannal's sheath one last time, giving it a gentle squeeze, then slowly slid his hand from the soft fur of the sheath onto the slimy, smooth cock. It twitched at his touch and he could feel Tannal's happiness at his touch explode in his mind, though Tannal said nothing out loud except a sharp intake of breath.

Gaining some confidence at Tannal's happiness, Elliot pinched his fingers together and drew them up Tannal's length. He told himself it was just like his own cock, just do what he would do to himself -

"Ohhhhh," Tannal whispered, trying and failing to suppress a moan as Elliot's fingers traced their way up his cock.

Elliot began to run his hand up and down the small length of the cock in firm, deliberate motions. Tannal was only a housecat now, not a tiger, and so his penis was a lot smaller than the one Elliot had handled the other night. And in some ways that made him feel better. Its length and girth weren't so intimidating now. Hearing Tannal make a soft sound of pleasure, Elliot tightening his grip around the hardened length, watching the cat mewl in happiness. Whatever he was doing seemed to be right.

He reached his other hand out and teased the head of Tannal's cock, making Tannal start to purr in satisfaction. Feeling more confident, Elliot swiped his finger across the tip of Tannal's cock and scooped up the fluids gathered there before smearing them all around the head with his thumb. He could feel the little barbs there, bristling and piney, as he rubbed his thumb over the quivering point. He couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to have a penis cover in all those little spikes... More clear fluids gushed from Tannal's opening. For having such a small cock, Tannal certainly produced a lot -

Tannal's arousal was finally beginning to affect him. He could feel his half-hard cock beginning to push against his trousers with increasing insistence, wanting to be freed. His budding arousal made touching Tannal easier and more enjoyable. And it made him question himself less. Elliot began to move his hand faster, gripping Tannal's shaft harder as he stroked. Now he could hear the slick sounds of Tannal's fluids slopping against the friction of his fist. Elliot gripped Tannal's dick hard as his own cock continued to leak fluids, staining his pants.

Elliot's mind was buzzing with arousal now. It was almost like being pleasantly drunk. He didn't think about what he was doing or the consequences. He was simply enjoying Tannal's reaction to his ministrations. "Tannal?" he murmured, breathing heavily. "How's this?"

"Mmmmmm oh Elliot," the cat sighed, his hips jerking in a quick spasm of pleasure. "Ohhhhh it feels good!"

Elliot took his other hand, which had been rubbing himself through his trousers, and reached out to touch Tannal's little furry balls.

"Mmmm right there," Tannal gasped, thrusting his hips up into Elliot's hand. Elliot pushed his groin against the side of the desk, slowly moving his hips so that his straining erection pressed against the desk. It wasn't perfect, but he didn't have any free hands. One was covered in Tannal's slick fluids as he jacked the cat off, and the other was fondling the pair of balls under the cat's sheath.

Elliot sighed, "Tannal - Tannal is this - is this alright?"

"Gods, Elliot. Yes!"

Elliot continued stroking fast, feeling the wet bumps and smooth slickness of Tannal's cock gliding against his palm as he fisted the cat's cock. "What - what do you want me to do now?"

"Nnnnnn ohhh," the cat writhed on the desk, his little pink mouth yawning open as he mewled in pleasure. "Ellllllll - "

"Tell me," Elliot panted, still grinding his erection against the side of the desk. He gripped Tannal's shaft harder and ground his own leaking cock more firmly; inexplicably he liked being in charge of Tannal's pleasure. He was surprised to find that he liked wielding that level of power.

"Touch - touch yourself," Tannal gasped, his tail lashing.

Elliot was too excited to feel surprise at Tannal's demand. While keeping a steady hold of Tannal's cock in one hand, his other flew down to his trousers and quickly undid his pants, freeing his hardening length. His own erection strained out needily from his body, bobbing as precum welled from the tip and without preamble, Elliot closed his fist around his penis and moaned. "Tannal!" he gasped, beginning to fist his cock as quickly as he could.

"Oh gods, oh gods, El, I think I'm going to - "

Elliot closed his eyes, squeezing Tannal's length and his own and knowing full well what was about to happen.

"Elliot! Elliot!" Tannal was mewling out Elliot's name as he thrust his hips up into Elliot's hand forcefully, cumming all over his stomach and Elliot's hand.

"Tannal!" Elliot whispered, watching the feline penis sliding in his hand as it jerked violently and began to spew volley after volley of hot cum over his arm. After a final shuddering spray, Tannal's cock stilled and Elliot released it in shock as the barbed length settled on the sticky fur.

Tannal sighed in contentment and rolled onto his side, breathing deeply. Though inexperienced, Elliot's hand had felt great and what felt even better was the ability to cum as a male again. He certainly came enough to prove it... But Tannal also was very aware of how hard it was for Elliot to do what he did. "El?" he asked, pushing himself up and ignoring the drying cum in his fur. Elliot was panting and leaning against the desk, as if unable to stand. "El, let me take care of you now - "

Elliot looked up, as if he were surprised Tannal would offer. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it - "

"Fair's fair, Elliot. You helped me, now I help you. That's how this has to work, remember? Equal giving."

Elliot nodded weakly. "I know. But I don't need help."

"Elliot - "

"I -I already came." Elliot said blushing fiercely.

Tannal blinked. "You - you came?"

Elliot looked around awkwardly. "Yes."

"Oh. Well - that's - I mean it's probably because of the spell - "

"Yeah."

Tannal watched Elliot warily. "El?"

Elliot was staring at a far corner of the wall in a daze and quickly looked back at Tannal, a blush still evident on his face. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

Elliot hesitated. "I'm - I'm fine." He sounded almost surprised. "I thought it would be - different. Like I would feel - dirty. Or guilty. But - "

Tannal grabbed a clean ink cloth in his mouth and handed it to Elliot. "You should clean yourself off," he said softly when Elliot looked at it in confusion.

Elliot blinked, then realized that one hand was slickened with his own spent cum and his other was covered in Tannal's. "Right," he said, snapping out of his daze.

Tannal watched him. "So - you're really alright?"

Elliot frowned at the cloth before tossing it away. "I think so." He still sounded surprised. "I think - it's like what you said. Pleasure is pleasure. I thought I would feel weird about doing it, but - " He shook his head. "It's like the other night. At first, it felt wrong. But then, once the spell kicked in, it felt - it felt good. I think this is the same."

"Does this mean you're going to wake up tomorrow and yell at me?"

Elliot laughed. "I promise, I won't." He sat back into his desk chair, still looking surprised at himself. "I'm not saying I'm going to suddenly be alright with all of this. I'm still working through what happened between us when you were Telsa. And I'm definitely still working through what it's like having - " He stopped himself. "Having sex with another guy."

"Yeah, it's not easy to wrap your head around," Tannal nodded. "But, at the moment, it's what we have to do."

"Yeah," Elliot nodded. He let out a long breath, looking remarkably relaxed. "Alright. I guess that means I should get back to work."

"Yeah, me too." Tannal watched as Elliot crumple up the cum-stained parchments on the desk and lay out fresh ones. "Hey, Elliot?"

"Mmm?" Elliot said distractedly as he flipped open one of the tomes.

"It's your house and all and you can do what you want, but maybe you should close your pants."

Elliot's eyes widened and he started in surprise and embarrassment as he realized he was standing in his study half dressed with his softened cock hanging out of his trousers. "Damn it, Tannal!" he swore, though in a very different tone from the other morning.

Tannal leapt off the desk trying not to laugh as Elliot hurriedly closed his pants.

"Oh shut up. Don't you have reading to do?" Elliot called after him.

"Good night, El."