Hollowed Paths
#6 of Time Will Tell
A Happy Thanksgiving to all...(cheers on the turkey) Hope everyone has a nice holiday. For those that find they have time to spare I bring you some reading material! I'm posting this really early after pulling an all nighter, so hopefully I didn't miss to many mistakes. Lot's of information given in this one. Also contains M/M physical contact, so if that's not your cup of tea find the nearest marked exit. For everyone else; rate, comment, and I hope you enjoy.
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"I need you," the wolf spoke softly, not looking at the one on the bed. He was asking a lot, and knew he had no right to even consider asking it...but had no choice. The dragon beside Fen gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he watched the one the wolf couldn't look at.
"How long?" Van asked, his eyes assessing the wolf he's known for so long and the dark colored dragon next to him. The dragon was an impressive sight, Van couldn't deny that. He was bigger then Fen, who was no small wolf. His scales were of a deep midnight blue, and from the back of his neck Van could guess he had thick plate scales covering his back. Large wings were folded tight near his body, keeping the amount of space he took up down. His pupils were slitted like that of the feline species, while his eyes held a violet color. Four horns; one placed over the other at the back of his head gave way to smaller ones down his neck. Van could only assume they followed the dragon's spine as they flowed along his tail, which had thicker ones at the end. All in all the dragon was quite hansom, even with the ‘rough' feel he gave off.
"I'm not sure," the wolf said hesitantly, his ears drooping. "I've never compared the time between the two planes."
Van turned his eyes to his hands, thinking over what all had been said. "When do we leave?" he breathed out, his voice barely audible.
The wolf quickly looked at him, his ears having perked from Van's words. "As soon as your ready."
Van seemed to be studying his hands, a few more moments of silence passed as he thought about it. "Three days," he finally said, looking up to see the wolf had moved to kneel closer to him.
"Only three?" Van heard, looking from the wolf to the dragon. His voice was rough like his appearance, almost giving one the mind of a classical villain's voice.
Van's eyes went back to his hands, "The longer I stay, the harder it'll be to leave."
Fen's paw reached out and took up one of those hands, getting the attention of the human once more. He saw the small smile on Van's lips, but it held sadness behind it. "Thank you."
Fafnir smiled at the sight, for as long as he knew Fenrir he had never once saw the look he was giving Van. Of course, this was the first time he had ever seen the wolf with his child...
My tail was wagging frantically as I entered his room, a grin plastered to my muzzle. He had been reclining in the bed, turning to look at me as I rushed in. My happiness seemed infectious as he broke out into a wide smile. "That good?" he asked.
"Highest in the class," I announced, moving quickly to join him on the bed. Sitting on the edge, my tail was still going and brushing over his blanket covered leg. I rummaged through my backpack, pulling out the test results with a slightly shaky paw. I felt his hand tug at my shirt, indicating he wanted me to lay back with him, which I quickly complied to. I handed the papers over to him, my left arm quickly snaking it's way around his shoulders as I leaned against him and looked over the paper again...for like the thirty-eighth time.
"I told you that you would do fine," I heard him say, looking at him to see a smug smile. "Should start calling you the genius now huh?"
‘Smart ass,' was all I could think as I leaned down to kiss that look from him...it worked, well I
made it at least. I soon had him squirming around trying to get away from my touch as I tickled him, my lips pressing against his throat as I teasingly growled. He start thrashing as it was becoming harder to breath, I could hear him try to tell me to stop around his laughter. The simplicity of this moment made me realize just how long it's been since we last goofed around like this.
In the end I had rolled on my back, letting him rest on my chest as he tried to regain his breath. I felt slightly guilty as I had forgotten that he may still be in pain. The guilt was quieted though when I felt his hand slip under my shirt, fingers running through my fur as his breathing settled. "Kai," he said, his whole presence becoming very solemn. The pad of my thumb had been rubbing over the soft skin on his back, now stopping from the way he said my name. "...I have to leave in a few days."
I let out a sigh of relief, "That's okay, the sooner you're out of this hospital the better. I already got the okay for you to stay at my house until we get our own." I said this with some excitement, but the way he felt against me...his presence hadn't changed. "That's what you want right?" I asked after a moment of silence.
He moved off me and the bed, standing up to look through a dresser drawer with some clothes of his inside. "Of course," I heard, his voice sounded strained. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt...he wasn't looking at me.
"What's wrong?" my voice was low, I could hear the nervousness in my tone.
"Fen's being hunted," he spoke just as lowly as I had, as he started to put on the shirt. "He needs my help. I have to go away, and I don't know how long it'll be until I come back."
"No..." I heard myself breath out. "NO!" my voice had quickly gone to shouting levels. "You don't owe him anything! Especially after what he had done to you." I admit that I hadn't realized who he was originally, but after a night of dwelling on it the muzzle matched the memory...
I had gotten off the bed and was moving towards him, but stopped as he turned around. His eyes showed me his pained sadness. He was hurting but I couldn't be sure if it was from the situation alone or if he was also hurting physically. "He gave me my freedom," he spoke, looking away from me. "In a way, he gave me you. I...I want to do the same for him."
I was furious, not at him but at the logic of how he was seeing the situation. "He wouldn't have been able to give you your freedom if he hadn't taken it away in the first place," I harshly growled out.
"He had to," he said, looking back at me. "What happens if I turned out to be like one of the others? Letting me out into the world only to have me slaughtering those who inhabited it, is that what you would have wanted?"
Now I was the one who couldn't keep eye contact, "You're not a monster."
I felt his hand caress my muzzle, which I in turn nuzzled against. I looked at him again, my anger ebbed by the loving look in his eyes. I leaned down to claim his lips, enjoying how my actions made him move his hand to the back of my head to keep me where I was. The moment would have been perfect until the door opened and a "...Am I interrupting something?" came from Fen.
"Give us a minute," was muttered against my lips, only to have Van deepen the kiss afterwards. I felt his tongue want entrance into my maw, and I was all to willing to accommodate. It amused me to no end when he showed signs of being an exhibitionist...also aroused me, but that needed to wait. He got a whimper out of me as he pulled back, which in turn made him laugh lightly. "We'll continue this later."
"I'm going to keep you to that," I said, my voice slightly hoarse.
He took up my paw in his hand, bringing it to his lips to gently kiss. "I doubt you would," he whispered against it. "These last few months have been hard on the both of us. I plan on making things right before I go...I owe you that."
I pulled him against me, mainly to re-enforce what I was going to say. "You don't owe me anything. I‘m kind of insulted that you think you do...I just don‘t want you to leave."
"Alright, not to ruin a moment but are you two almost done?" an unfamiliar voice called from behind the door, which was followed by the sound of someone hitting another. "The hell?" it growled out deeply.
"They can take as long as they need, we have time," Fen hissed out, sounding annoyed.
"You hope," the voice grumbled.
Van chuckled pulling back and shaking his head. "Suppose we should get moving," he said as he headed over to the bed to grab the paper with my scores. Placing the papers in my backpack he haled it over his shoulder, and looking back at me offered his free hand.
At first I just looked at him, then I slowly shook my head. I was being immature and greedy...I didn't want him to leave. He rolled his eyes at me, moving towards me once more to take up a paw that hung loosely at my side. "I don't want you to leave so soon."
"I said a few days," he restated, walking away with me in tow. "We'll talk, just not here."
I allowed him to lead me out of the room, and started to wonder about the clothes he left behind. Leaving I faced the biggest dragon I had ever seen. He was huge, bigger then Kurt even, who was the bulkiest person I knew....couldn't help but stare a little. "So this his mate?" the dragon asked, looking me over.
Fen laughed, "Told you he was a hunk."
"Not bad, he could do worst I suppose," the dragon admitted. I could feel the blood near the surface of my skin, heating it as I was appraised. Holding out his big scaled paw, which I took up, he introduced himself as Fafnir. Van took my paw again as the shake with Fafnir ended, the dragon watching our actions curiously.
"Alright," Fen announced, turning around and making his way to leave. "Let's get going before..." he stopped, and we all followed suite. I looked over his shoulder to see Van's doctor heading towards us, a smile on his muzzle as he saw us. Fen sighed, taking his paw out of the trench coat pocket and taking hold of Fafnir's. Fafnir took on a confused smile, and he looked like he could have been blushing but it was hard to tell. Fen then got real close to the dragon, making him look slightly more embarrassed but enjoying the contact. I looked to Van who simply shrugged, showing he had no idea what was going on. "Hey doc, what's up?" the wolf asked as the fox got closer.
The fox's eyes looked over the now connected pair, I could see the hint of jealously through his eyes. "I...just wanted to give you...I mean give Van some pain medication before he left," the fox stated. He was starting to look disappointed, to which Fen acted like he didn't even notice.
Fen held out his free paw, "You're such a good guy, thanks." He wore a smile on his muzzle, and that only seemed to increase the fox's dissatisfaction. With a shaky paw the doctor handed Fen the bottle of pills.
The fox's eyes turned to look at Van, forcing a smile back on his muzzle. "I'm glad you're feeling better, take care of yourself."
"Thanks for all the help," Van's said, his voice pleasant but I could see the venomous glare he was giving to the back of the wolf's head. The fox said his farewells before walking away, his shoulders slumped and ears lowered in a sad state. "You're an ass!" Van hissed out, his glare not easing up.
"What?" Fen asked, turning to look at him...he pulled off the innocent look very well.
"You slept with him," Fafnir muttered in what sounded like disbelief.
"No I didn't," the wolf said, a smug smile covering his muzzle as he started walking once more. Nobody was talking, but I could feel Van's frustration by how tightly he gripped my paw. I also noticed that the two ahead of us hadn't separated, making me wonder...
"No he didn't sleep with him," Van agreed as we entered the parking garage for the hospital, first thing said since leaving the corridor his room was in. "He just screwed him."
"Exactly," the wolf agreed, turning around suddenly with the same smug look on his face. "There definitely wasn't any sleeping involved. Oh come on, don't give me that look kiddo. He knew it was just a moment, nothing serious..."
"You didn't make the reality of the situation any easier though," I muttered, my free paw waving over the dragon and wolf who were still holding hands.
"Better to destroy all hope then let any left," the wolf grumbled, turning the opposite direction my car was parked. "See you at the house," he called over his shoulder, dragon following close behind him.
"Are you mad at him?" I asked, giving his hand a squeeze as we made the drive back to his place. He had been drumming his fingers against his leg since sitting down, an annoyed look on his face throughout the drive.
"It's just that..." he let out a sigh, shaking his head, "the look the doctor had. He looked really hurt."
"Well Fen did say it was just sex."
"I know but it's not always that simple," he shrugged his shoulders again. "Whatever, it's done and over with."
The silence was heavy in the car, something was softly playing over the radio but I wasn't really paying much attention to it. I turned suddenly, which got me a questioning look from Van. I just squeezed his hand and smiled, and that seemed to be enough for him. I turned again, pulling into an old style ice cream parlor that we had stopped at many times before. "Quick snack," I assured him as I got out of the car.
He followed me into the shop, where we got a nice "And where have you two been?" from the panther behind the counter. Lesa was getting up there in years, but she was still energetic and loved having us in the shop. Her and her husband were the owners, it was a small shop with great prices that kept them busy throughout the year.
"Sorry, finals and such kept us busy," I said, allowing Van to sit down first before sitting beside him in the booth seat. It wasn't busy at the moment, we had just missed the teenager crowd that came in when school left out. It wouldn't get busy again for another hour or two.
"The usual?" Lesa asked, walking over to us with a smile.
"Sounds great," I replied, looking at Van to make sure that was okay. His eyes were downcast, which Lesa noticed right away as well.
"How have you been doing sweetie?" she asked, sitting down on the adjacent booth. Her golden eyes were watching him in a motherly way that most women just seemed to have.
"Better recently," he admitted with a smile, looking up at her. "Sorry, it's just seems like it's been a really long time since I've been here last."
"Well it has been a bit," she said with a soft laugh. "I hope that this means you'll be stopping by more often now though."
With those words she got up to get their shake ready. I watched her go about her work until I felt Van's weight against my side. I instinctively put my arm around him, pulling him closer as I leaned back into the seat more to get comfortable. "You alright?" I asked, my eyes scanning the place over. There weren't many people, but a couple was staring at us. I interrupted whatever he was going to say as I leaned down and gave him a kiss. It was brief, and he pulled away laughing as I started kissing his neck and growling possessively.
"You need to stop that," he said, his voice lighter and happy.
"But it's so much fun," I replied, looking back at the couple who were trying to look anywhere but at us. "Anyway, what were you saying babe?"
"I'm doing a lot better," I heard, as he snuggled against me again. Lesa appeared at that moment, setting down the peanut butter shake and a basket of fries.
"I really did miss seeing you two," she said with a smile. "You're just to adorable."
"I don't know if adorable is the right word," Van muttered, popping a fry in his mouth.
"Aww, I think you are and that's all that matters," she said with a laugh, walking away to check on other tables.
I leaned down and took a drink of the shake. I groaned, god how I loved her shakes. "Come on, I know it's been awhile but it can't be that good." Van let out a sigh leaning down to take the straw between his lips. After a moment he sat back, not saying anything which got me laughing.
"Exactly," I said, kissing him on the cheek before focusing on the food once more. We ate in silence, but it was that content silence where nothing needed to be said. The food and shake were burned through rather fast, like always. We thanked Lesa before walking out, having left a twenty on the table...the food was no where near that much, but we always liked to tip her.
Hoping back in the car my phone started to ring, and the number wasn't one I recognized. Van must of though as he snatched it from my paw, flipping it open and answering with "We're on our way." I started the car while he talked to, I assume, Fen. "I'm fine, we just got a bite to eat....uhuh, see you in a few."
He hung up and handed the cell back to me. "He angry?" I decided to ask.
"No, worried I guess."
"Why's that?"
"He doesn't know if someone will be after me because I'm connected to him."
I growled, "I have a huge problem with you being in danger."
"I'll be fine."
I couldn't really argue with him...I mean after recent events., but still. "I still don't want you to get hurt."
"I know, but once this is over...it's over. I'll have no obligations to anyone but you. So after this we can start our lives if you still want to."
"Of course I will," I grumbled as I made the turn that would take us to our street.
"How was the food?" Fafnir asked as we got out of the car. He was sitting on the steps to the main door, his large spiked tail twitching. I suppose I hadn't been paying much attention to what he was wearing before...his size and muscles kind of distracted me before. The blue polyester, I think, shirt was snug on his body, showing off the definition of those muscles well. He also had on a pair of jeans that were just as form fitting as the shirt. All in all it was a very normal look, which I kind of found unusual. I mean, the few times I remember seeing Fen he had some kind of expensive looking three piece suite on. Hell, Van had tons of expensive clothing but usually only wore it on special occasions...Fen apparently had money and had no problem spending it. Speaking of Fen, he wasn't anywhere in sight.
"It was fine," Van was first to speak, he had also been looking around. "Where's Fen?"
The dragon lifted his paw and lazy waved it. "He's around," his eyes were on us, watching us closely...something didn't feel right. I looked over to Van, his eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
As he meet me on the other side of the car he took up my paw, I could feel his nervousness. "Whatever happens," his voice was low so only I could hear him, "no matter what, get to Fafnir."
That confused me, from how I was seeing the situation, the dragon was the cause for the unease. He squeezed my hand, wanting confirmation that I understood him and would listen. "Okay," I finally spoke softly. We started to walk towards the house, it wasn't far to the door...I didn't think anything could really happen. We had almost reached the dragon, he hadn't moved other then his eyes following us and his twitching tail.
It was sudden, I hadn't expected Van to yank his hand from my paw and push me forward. I had been tensed and ready for the dragon to do something, but this action came from behind me so I stumbled forward. Fafnir caught me, he had been up in seconds and his big arms around me pulling me away from Van. "He'll be fine," was all the dragon said as I struggled against him. It wasn't until I smelt Van's blood that I stopped, my stomach dropping as if I was on a rollercoaster.
"Where is he?" was asked, the voice sounding void of emotion. I didn't care about the voice though, the sound of Van's body being thrown and hitting the ground made me flinch and start shaking.
I heard the laugh in the dragon's chest, his arms still holding onto me protectively...I didn't like feeling so helpless. "It's good to see you Tyr," he spoke, voice friendly.
"Fafnir, I have no interest in you or the child," the one called Tyr said, his voice still impassive. "My orders are only to bring Fenrir back."
"Then why did you just slay him?" Fafnir asked. Those words made me shake a little more, he gave me a reassuring squeeze to try and comfort me though. I could still smell his blood, which made my breathing shaky and shallow.
"He's the abomination that created the ripple in the first place," Tyr replied. "Most wouldn't have noticed, and I might be the only one who could have noticed since I knew what I was looking for. It's a shame that he wasn't allowed to have a chance..."
"I'm amused that you follow his orders so well."
"He's the ‘all father', it's my duty to follow his orders."
"You were in that position originally," Fafnir kept his friendly tone, but sounded a little annoyed on how Tyr acted.
"He won it from me fairly, his rule is mine to follow now."
"True, but you have a mind of your own."
"To refuse his orders would be an open act of rebellion."
"You know you're known for your honesty in this plane. They showed you as brave and honest, yet the story they wove of us, while still showing your dishonesty, sadly only touches on it. I'm sure it would have been a more interesting read if their stories told of how Fenrir looked to you as a father while his was chained away. How he trusted you above all others. Their stories here depict him biting off your hand upon the refusal of unshackling him. If only they knew that he did it in a blind rage after you helped shackle him. If only they knew how quickly he settled after what he did, the remorse alone crushing his spirit."
"ENOUGH!" Tyr yelled, the once composed voice filled with a painful anger. "I know what I've done...I know how much I hurt him, but I had no choice. It was an order."
"Which you could have refused," was said, Fen's voice was calm and walking towards us from the woods. I had listened long enough, and trying to move in the dragon's grasp. He loosens it enough so I can turn around and see what's happening.
My eyes quickly falling on Van's body in the grass, which I tried to move to but the dragon tightened his hold again. "Not yet," the dragon said softly.
I looked over to see Fen throw a sack towards Tyr, and it was now that I took a look at the one who hurt Van. His body was that of a human, muscles well defined but scars covered the skin. His upper body was covered in a white cloth, loosely wrapped around him but left openings to see parts of his torso. From waist down he wore a cloth almost like a skirt, it kind of reminded me of what Romans would wear. A sword was held in his left hand, his right was missing...
I watched as his eyes looked at the sack, which I saw was blood stained. "What's this?" he asked, now reflecting the calm Fen had.
"Hugin and Munin," Fen announced, taking one last inhale of whatever he was smoking before tossing it. "Or the heads of the ravens at least," a smile appearing over his muzzle after exhaling the smoke.
"How did you catch them?" Tyr's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Like my real father," the word ‘real' was emphasized, "I have many tricks up my sleeves."
At first Tyr didn't say anything, only looked at the bloody sack before turning his eyes back on the wolf. I had been focusing on Tyr's actions, not noticing that Fen had gotten closer to us. Fafnir's arms loosened again, and I was sure I could break from his grasp if I wanted to. "Fenrir, you know my orders. Will you come quietly, or must we fight?" Tyr asked, his sword raising to point at him.
"I can't fight you. Even with all my tricks, the best I could do is run and escape," Fen admitted, now standing besides the dragon who held me. Tyr made the motion to move closer, stopping as Fen said, "However, he'll have no trouble."
Tyr didn't have time to react as Van's heel connected with the right side of his face...hell nobody would, it just happened out of nowhere. I smiled, I couldn't help it, he was okay and I was relieved from that fact.
Tyr was more surprised then hurt as he looked at Van. "That's not possible," his voice showed he was in awe, as he slowly got up.
"My child is the closest thing to invincible," Fenrir announced, my ears perking at what he said...I didn't know they were related. "I wouldn't take him lightly." Tyr rushed at Van, he was fast as was his vertical swing with the sword, but speed didn't seem to mean a thing against Van. He was on the inside of the swing, back to Tyr as his left hand gripped Tyr's remaining wrist. From the position he roundhouse kicked him with his heel once more and in the face again. I blinked, trying my hardest not to because I was afraid of missing something...and with Van, blinking could mean an end. The man's body was laying on the ground, the opposite direction in which the blow I seen should have sent him. However my ears had picked up another two blows that I visual hadn't seen. "He's also an expert at hand to hand," Fenrir muttered to nobody in particular.
My muzzle was suddenly pulled to the left, crimson eyes holding my attention. I made to look back, but the grip tightened to keep my attention. "Listen very carefully," the sword sounded like it cut into Van again, "when this is over he'll be unstable. Don't go near him."
"He wouldn't hurt me," I said, proud of myself for the sureness in my voice.
Someone just spit out something, probably blood. "Not intentionally, but he's forcing something that his body isn't able to completely handle. You may have seen some of the past, but not enough to know the reason behind it."
"He's flawed," the dragon said, as if he saw something that made him realize this.
"You're flawed," the wolf said, looking up at the dragon.
"Wow...can we go any more grade school?" I asked the wolf in disbelief...his comment was so much like a teenager‘s.
"ANYWAY," the wolf shouted over the sound of a breaking bone, it still made me flinch. If Fen wasn't holding my muzzle I would have looked over to seen who had done what. I noticed someone was breathing a lot heavier. "The energy he uses is to much for his body to handle. It's like a poison that slowly starts to kill off his body. However, the more power he uses the less the power can act as a poison because it's getting used up. His body also uses it to regenerate what it's killing off...it's a real complicated setup but it seems to work." The wolf turned as Tyr yelled, a battle cry I would call it...why wasn't I allowed to see this? "If he feeds off of blood though, the power subsides. The blood acts like a sacrifice to his body, the poison neutralizing because his body is getting something out of the deal. Mind, body, and soul are usually connected, but for him he has to harmonize them. You," he poked my noise, and my whole attention was on him now, "satisfy all three. His soul and mind are together, but his body has a voice of it's own. It craves and needs things, and can quickly corrupt the others for a short period of time. I don't want you near him right now, he didn't have time to prepare for the fight."
It was the scream that I forced my head to turn, Fen's paw letting go of my muzzle. My ears were turned away, trying to lessen the cry. Van was standing over Tyr, who was against a tree, the sword now in Van's right hand. The handless limb Tyr once had on his right side was gone. He held the area where the cut had been made, trying to decrease the amount of blood he was loosing. "Shit..." I muttered, the smell of blood was heavy in the air, but was being blown away by the passing winds.
"Faf, I don't want him to die," Fen spoke, looking to the dragon. I couldn't help but look up to see the grin on the dragon's maw.
"My wolf has a soft spot?" he asked with that same smile, looking at Fen. "Who would have guessed..."
One of those giant paws of his patted my chest before I was complete released from his hold. I watched as he slowly walked towards the two, his tail moving back and forth in a steady pattern as he moved. Even this big ass dragon hesitated as he got closer to Van, his eyes watching him closely...it wouldn't have mattered though if worst came to worst. "Van," Fen called from where he stood next to me, "why don't you come over here?"
Van looked over at us first, then slowly turned and started to move. His head was down, and he was dragging the sword behind him like a child who knew they did something wrong. He passed Fafnir without a word, and dropped the sword somewhere between us and him. The dragon moved towards Tyr, who looked to be in incredible pain, as soon as Van was past. As he got closer I heard him whisper out my name, looking at me with a ‘I need you' expression.
I moved towards him, hearing Fen growl out my name in warning. I didn't care though, I may not have been around him under these specific circumstances, but knew he wouldn't hurt me. His arms slowly lifted, and as I walked into reach he wrapped them around me. I hugged him to me, and I could feel Fen's tension behind us. His head nuzzled into the crook of my neck, his breathes softly passing through my fur and warming the skin beneath. I could barely hear him as he whispered out, "Worried?"
My grip tightened, a soft chuckle escaping me as I remembered the past conversation. "Completely terrified."
As I held him Fen moved past us, heading over to where Fafnir was taking care of Tyr. I felt Van's hold start to slip, he was passing out in my arms so I tightened my hold so he didn't fall. "I bet you were curious why I didn't choose to pass on my image to my offspring huh Tyr?" I could hear Fen ask, all three looking over at us as I slowly helped Van lay on the ground. "The reason was, humans have an amazing ability to adapt."
I was laying with Van in the hammock outback, listening to his soft breathing and the conversation going on between the three inside. Fen had obviously been to the house sometime before, for it was cleaned up and the smell of Van's blood wasn't present. The sun was just now setting, it being summer meant the sun stayed out longer. It also graced us with warmer weather and a nice breeze.
"He's a monster," Tyr breathed out, my ear turning as I tried to listen to the three inside. After Fafnir had gotten the bleeding to stop he tied him up with rope...not very magical but it worked I guessed. They also gave him some of Van's pills to ease the pain he was in. Apparently these godly beings weren't invincible, and felt pain just as much as anyone else.
"That depends on your definition of monster," Fen muttered back. "From how I see it, you're the monster."
Tyr became quiet, as Fen and Fafnir asked him a few things about someone named Odin. I admit I was trying to pay attention, but Van's sleeping form kept stealing it. My claws were gently running over his skin as I felt his hands unconsciously move through my fur. "Why am I naked?" I heard from Van, tone showing he was still drowsy but slightly worried.
"Because I enjoy the sight, duh," I replied with a deep chuckle. My back was facing the house while Van was cuddled against my bare chest.
"Of course," he grumbled against me, "should have known." He snuggled in closer before asking how Tyr was.
"Does it really matter if he lived or died?"
"I would prefer if he didn't die."
"He didn't care if you died though," I had to make sure I pointed that out.
"That was his choice, mine is that I didn't want to kill him."
"You could have disabled him, took his other arm."
"That wouldn't have been fair though," the way he said it meant he wanted to stop talking about this.
After a few moments I had to ask if he was alright, it was bugging me not being sure. I mean physically he wasn't hurt anymore, but pain seemed to remain even after the wound healed. "Yeah, a little sore but I'll be okay." Silence fell over us again, and we just enjoyed the closeness of each other. "Why do you have clothes on?"
"I wanted to keep the temptation down some."
"Well...this doesn't seem to fair to me. I think someone's getting more out of this, and it's not me."
I chuckled and shook my muzzle, "I want you to take it easy for the moment, you're still in some pain."
As if listening Fen walked out, a glass of water in one paw and the bottle of pills in the other. "Alright, this amazing wolf brings amazing medication," he announced...neither of us moved. "Aww come on, give me something," he whined.
"If you ignore him he goes away," Van said, mock whisper.
Fen sniffed as if he was about to cry, making me grumble about how much of a baby he was. He huffed, now standing over us and looking down. "You know, if I wasn't sure you two have done things I might be a little worried about your current attire."
"Kai still has pants on," Van said, looking up at the wolf with a serious look.
"That doesn't seem fair," Fen mused, head cocking to the right while his ear pointed up.
"I know right?" Van said, reaching up from beneath the blanket I had cocooned around us so Fen could hand him a pill. He dry swallowed it, making me cringe a little.
Fen started laughing. "Come on big boy, I know you've seen him dry swallow bigger things then that."
...I know I should have expected that form him...but I didn't. Van was finding it funny though, as he tried not to laugh. "Yeah yeah," I said, rolling my eyes...I couldn't help the grin though.
"So, you seem really accepting of the current events," the other wolf pointed out. He walked over and got one of the patio chairs, moving it closer to us before sitting down.
"I've seen what Van can do, why should I start disbelieving other things now?" I asked, not bothering to turn to look at him.
"I suppose." The sounds of his claws scratching his neck could be heard, he seemed hesitant. "So, anything you want answered?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well he may not owe you anything, but I feel obligated to inform you of what's going on."
My claws slowed their movement on Van's back, and I could see Van's eyes now watching me. "You're not from this world right?"
"Correct. You see there are a total of nine worlds all together...well at least nine that can be freely moved between if you know how." Fen kind of reminded me of a teacher lecturing at the moment. "Three god planes, three normal, and three death."
"Why three death planes?"
Fen started to laugh, as if I asked a stupid question. "Alright, well start with the morbid part of Yggdrasil."
"What's that?"
"Yggdrasil, the world tree," I heard Van say. He seemed bored with the conversation, and way more interested making furrows in my fur. It felt nice, but was distracting as I tried to educate myself. "It's a tree that's said to connect all nine worlds. The roots touch the layers of death, bringing life through the three planes of the mortals, or the trunk. However it's the crown that receives the most, thus creating the planes of immortals. It is the mortals that give the immortals a reason to live. Like a trunk of the tree, the more we prosper the better off the immortals are."
I kissed his forehead as he finished his explanation, "You're to much at times."
"But he's right. Throughout history we immortals have influenced these planes," Fen sounded amused as well from Van's explanation.
"Is that why you exist as myths?" I asked.
"Nope, all our work is done through manipulation. We never directly appear to people and assist them. No, myths exist because...well I'll use Van's tree analogy. The trunk brings us closer to the light we crave so much. We help the trunk prosper to get closer. Sometimes more then what we want seeps back to the mortals. It gave basses for myths...it's also a large part of what makes up your imagination and ideas."
"So, you're saying that everything creative we do comes from you?" I asked, turning slightly to look at the wolf.
"No no, just certain things." Fen corrected with a chuckle. "Like the bases for the atomic bomb...all you guys. It actually scared us a little. Power is a very corrupting thing, for everyone."
"Anyway we got off track," I said, looking back at Van. He had his eyes closed, and when he felt me face him again he started cuddling once more. I loved it...
"Right, back to the planes of death. First is the water that surrounds the roots of Yggdrasil. This is mostly related to the River Styx. When mortals die their souls will wake in the water surrounding Yggdrasil. There's a current and the weak will usually just let the water take them. People with stronger resolve can remain, it's these souls that make up the ideas of ghost. The current leads to the land of mist, Niflheim is what we call it. It's here that my sister takes up residence."
"You have a sister?" I asked, wondering what she looked like.
"Yes, it's been a long time since I've seen her. She rules over all the planes, in the sense of the dead. It's her responsibility to bring the souls to the planes of death..."
"I thought you said all souls woke up in the water?"
"I did, but those with the strongest resolve remain in the planes of life. It's usually these souls that seek revenge for being killed or something like that. These souls become poltergeist and such. It's Hel's responsibility to drag them into the water of death."
"Hell like fiery place where bad people go?"
"No, her name is Hel. Quite beautiful to those pure of heart..." he admitted with another chuckle. "Her appearance is different to everyone, depending on how they lived their lives. She has a castle in Niflheim, where her army waits silently."
"Why does she have an army?"
"Every ruler likes the idea of having minions. Anyway, Niflheim is shrouded in a dense fog. Some souls are doomed to wonder in that fog for all eternity. Nobody really knows what happens in the fog, but it's in this plane where the idea for the Divine Comedy came from. I suppose ideas can come from the plane of deaths as well."
Fen became quiet, taking a drink from the glass he had originally brought for Van. After awhile I decided to ask what he wasn't getting to. "What about the third plane of death?"
"Nobody knows," he mused softly. "Not even Hel knows what lies beyond her kingdom of fog. It's assumed that after you face whatever trials in the fog you reach the end. The final plane of judgment."
I sighed, my head starting to swim from all the information given to me in such a short time. "So what are the three planes of mortals? Do we all exist on this Earth?"
"No, the world of mortals differ from each other. One contains all anthro beings like yourself and I. Another contains only humans. The one with only anthros is behind in technology then the others, but make up for it with unity and magic. The plane of humans are very far ahead when it comes to technology, yet have distance themselves from one another to the point emotional relationships barely exist. All they have is their need to expand and further advance themselves. This plane is a happy medium I think. You've lost the use of magic, but still keep the belief at heart. Technology isn't to the point of absolute necessity, and some of the greatest advancements are kept towards helping others. Finally, you haven't lost the ability to communicate to one another on a more intimate scale."
"Yeah Kai...intimate," at that word Van's finger brushed against my pierced nipple. The sudden contact made me take in a sharp breath, which caused Fen to start laughing.
My retaliation was licking his face suddenly, him mutter something along the lines of 'that's hot'. "So why are you being hunted?"
"Odin bound me upon hearing I was to be his killer come Ragnarok. Since I escaped his sight, he's probably worried that I came up with a way to escape my bindings to kill him out of revenge."
"Is that what you're planning?"
"I just want to be free," Fen said, he sounded honest.
"So why do you need Van?"
"Neither Fafnir or me in my current state could stand up against him. Van, being invincible, could. We have to force him to give up the key to release my bindings."
I was going to ask how it's fair to send Van in to just wear out this Odin out, but held my tongue so an argument didn't start. "So what's Ragnarok?"
I couldn't see it, but could hear the grin in Fen's voice. "The end of days."
"Nine worlds intertwined
Nine worlds all meant to die
From their deaths a phoenix's gift
Cleansing the worlds of all their sin."
"Are you sure you're up to this?" I asked him in a low voice. I kept it low because I knew a certain wolf could easily hear us from where-ever he was in the house.
"Does it feel like I'm up for this?" he asked, gently grinding his rigid flesh against my fur.
His body was hot against mine, and besides the uncertainty of how well he was feeling I was completely for this. "I just want to make sure you'r..." I didn't get a chance to finish as he suddenly kissed me. I whimpered into the kiss as his hand started stroking my dick, pulling my muzzle away so I could nip and kiss his neck.
Upon getting to his room he had showered and shaved while I laid in the familiar bed we often shared. Everything seemed the same, but we had gotten rid of a lot of emotional pain from the last few months suddenly...so it had just felt different. What didn't feel different was his body against mine. What hadn't changed was the uniformed movements we had gathered over the years...how we knew what the different sounds we made meant.
"Kai," he huffed out as our cocks rubbed against one another. "Kai, I need you..."
"I'm your's," I said as I was still focusing on his neck. It had always been one of his biggest hot spots, and the way his breathing was getting only proved it.
"No...I want...you," he stopped, biting his lip to suppress a groan as I found the right spot to suck on. I licked the spot before kissing it once more, then I made my way back up towards his lips.
Kissing those lips, I grinned as I hovered over them. "What did you want babe?" I asked. Our hips hadn't stopped undulating against each other, a happy reminder of our need for one another.
He sounded slightly breathless, as he forced out "I want you in me."
I had a feeling he was going there, and I pulled away from him which got me one of the most shocked looks I had ever seen. "Are you sure?" I asked, sitting up now. He was quite the sight to behold. His skin flush from the heated passion, and the marks I had made spotted his flesh. I cocked my head at that, curious why those didn't heal away like everything else on him. No marks remained after his fight with Tyr, I had already checked earlier...
"Yes..." he breathed out, reaching for me but I stayed back.
"This isn't from the idea of you owing me is it?" I just wanted to confirm this.
"You're not hesitating because you think I can't handle it are you?" he countered, he was starting to get annoyed because I had stopped under my terms...I could understand.
"I just want to make sure we're doing this because we want to."
"If I didn't want to I wouldn't ask."
"Fair enough," I said before hoping out of the bed. I came back with a bottle of lube from his bathroom...sad that we had a bottle but never used it. Well hadn't used it yet. I crawled back onto the bed, kissing my way up his leg until I got to his inner thigh. I stayed there for a moment, as I looked up his body. His sack was pulled close to his body telling me how on edge he was...and I should have known why. We had been fulfilling each others' sexual needs for over a year, then when his family died it stopped. Now I won't say I didn't take care of my own needs when they came around, and it would be a lie to say I didn't have any during that time...but Van had kept himself locked down pretty well.
I moved up, giving his sack a long lick and was rewarded a nice moan. I decided that I'd help ease him into this first, not wanting him to be so wound up. I moved lower, licking the sweat that was forming on his skin and loving his taste. I licked his perineum a few times before moving up and giving the head of his dick a loving lick. His tangy fluids making me growl as I looked up at him. "Roll over," I said softly, giving his glans a kiss before helping him.
I covered his body with mine, kissing his neck and just settling to see how he took to the position. He was tensed, breathing quick, and heart beating hard and fast. "Babe," I whispered into his ear, interlace my fingers with his down turned hands. "I need you to calm down a little."
"...sorry," he said in-between breathes, trying to calm himself.
"Just relax," I murmured before making my way down his back. My touches were light, and every once in awhile I let my cold nose touch his heated skin...it got me a sharp intake of breath each time. I was between his legs once more, enjoying the view of muscles tensing and relaxing under the skin of his back. "Have I ever told you..." I began, gentle massaging the muscles of his ass. His cheeks had the same soft down of hair like his scrotum, slightly denser between his crack. "...how hot you are." I pulled his cheeks apart, running my tongue through his depth. He had started to grind against the bed, unable to control his actions. "It drives me nuts on how fucking masculine you are," I growled, giving him another long slow lick. His musky taste was driving me wild, I wanted so much to just take his sweet ass for a nice ride...but I had some restraint for his benefit.
"Kai..." he panted out, I could hear how close he was.
I could only grin as I started to focus on the soft bud of flesh. My tongue prodded against him, testing his resistance. He was starting to push back, silently begging me to give him his release. I worked at his hole a little bit more before forcing my tongue past his resistance. I could hear him cry out, feel his body shaking as he reached his orgasm. I continued to taste him, enjoying the sounds he made from his release. I only stopped when his body settled, helping him roll to his back once more.
Cum matted the hair to his skin, and I couldn't resist tasting that after all this time...it was bitter sweet just like I remembered. I couldn't help my appreciative groan, lapping his seed off him. Looking up I could see him staring, eyes still clouded with lust. A lazy grin spread on my muzzle, making my way up his body once more. I softly kissed his lips, "Ready for some more?"
He didn't say anything, maybe didn't trust his voice at the moment...all I got was a slight nod from him. I pulled back some, fumbling around for the lube that was somewhere on the bed. Finding it my grin widened, because I saw how he watched me, how much he needed me. I uncapped the tube, rubbing the slick fluid between my paw pads. I kept my eyes on him as I ran my pads over his hole, gently pushing a clawed finger inside. His cock was hard already, jerking with each movement my finger made. "More?"
"Yes..." he hissed out, his hand gripping his hair while the other was wrapped in the bedding.
I added another finger, pulling out to add some more lube before sliding back in. When I was sure he had enough lubricant in him I worked more on my cock, just to be safe. Scooting in closer, I lifted his left leg up against my body. His body was starting to shake again, my right paw holding his leg to me while my left took hold of my cock. Coaxing more pre out I set myself against his entrance as my body slightly leaned over his. "I'm going to go slow," I whispered hoarsely, "if it hurts to much say something." With that I pressed forward, facing some resistance still but not enough to stop me...God was he tight.
I forced myself to stop, panting as hard as Van had been. Looking at him was enough to make my blood boil, encouraging the load I had building up wanting released. There was little light in the room, only what was provided by a crescent moon...but it was enough. It was enough to see the sweat that covered his body, the muscles rippling right beneath his skin, and the best part was how his cock was still a hard mass against his stomach. "You're fucking beautiful," I managed to growl out. I pushed forward slowly, watching his face for any signs of pain.
His breathing had gotten harder, but he didn't seem to be in any pain. He groaned out his pleasure as I pulled back some, only to thrust a little further in. I had to go slow, not only for him but also for myself...I hadn't been in a tight passage in a long time and didn't want this to end to fast. I reached up with my left paw, pulling lightly on his chest hair and getting a deeper groan.
Soon I was able to get a slow steady pace going. His tight channel pulled at my cock as I pulled out, his internal muscles felt as if they were trying to pull me back in. I kissed his leg before pulling it down to wrap around my midsection with the other. This gave me more room to lay on him, cover his body with my own sweaty fur. I reveled in the smell of our sex, our musk filling the room.
It wasn't long before I found the right angle that made his prostate the center of attention throughout the thrust. His nails digging into my back as I felt his cock expel another heavy load between our bodies. I continued this as long as I could, which was long enough to coax a third orgasm from the one I loved.
He had started to tremble, crying out as my pace increased. My own orgasm was getting to close for me to hold off any longer, but I wanted Van to experience one more blissful moment. I made sure our bodies rubbed together, abs massaging his trapped cock. I sucked on his neck, my thrust becoming harder as my knot demanded entrance. I whimpered, unable to verbally ask if I could.
"Do it..."
I know I heard it, I was positive...My thrust became forceful, knot slowly forcing it's way in. I growled, maybe it was more of a snarl as my jaws clamped down on Van's neck. His skin was covered in sweat from all our exertion, his taste driving me further down the path of lust.
Then it happened, his tight passage gave way, and surrounded me completely...my knot
finding it's home. I humped against him, my fluids emptying into my mate. It was then that he cried out the third time, covering us in another one of his loads.
His breathing was heavy, heart beating fast after the hard workout he had just been through. I was in the same boat, trembling and unable to lift myself off of Van. We laid like that, his arms staying around me stroking my damp fur while I just rested against him. Soon our breathing synchronized, harmonizing us even more and making it harder to stay awake. "I love you," I heard him whisper, and felt how he was starting to drift to sleep.
"I love you more then you'll ever know," I whispered back, kissing his marked up neck. Once upon a time I would have felt guilty over marking him so badly, but anymore...(shrugs)
We fell asleep in each others arms, resting after a unification that had been long over due.
I almost missed it, the gentle feeling of his lips on mine. The soft whisper of a ‘Good bye,' as he was pulling away. My paw grabbed his wrist, I didn't have the strength to open my eyes...hell I couldn't say where I found the strength to grab him. I knew why he was leaving, but it didn't make it hurt any less.
"Van," my voice showed how exhausted I was. "I don't care how long it takes, I want you to come back to me. I won't forget you, and I'm not going to find someone else...no matter how much you want me to. You're the only one who will ever have me...Please, promise me you'll come back."
My strength gave out, my paw slowly falling back to the mattress. I was dragged back into the land of sleep against my will...my body giving up as if it hadn't had rest in days. Though even in ignorant dreams, somewhere in my mind I knew that part of me was leaving. That nothing I said could stop him from going and leaving me behind. So I filled the void with the only thing I could...
"I promise."