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Lutra's Secret

Lutra gave the two representatives a confident nod. "Don't worry, I'll have this sorted out in a jiffy. I mean, it's obvious that our tribal traditions simply weren't taken into consideration when the wording of that law was selected. And fixing things like that is exactly what I'm here for!" The two of them relaxed visibly, looking at her with a profound sense of relief and gratitude - which did not fail give her a warm feeling inside. They were both big, burly specimens - a Wolfkin and a Bearkin. A decade or so ago, she would've been hiding behind guys like them, hoping that they might protect her from the savage predation of the dreaded Humans. Now, here she was, protecting them - and their entire tribes - from the careless hand of the Imperial bureaucracy.

They weren't unattractive, either - in fact, she'd had to focus a bit to keep her head in the game during the meeting. She was tempted to suggest a more intimate meeting now that the main business was taken care of, but it would just be a bit too... awkward, she decided. If only Garou, the Wolfkin she'd met back when she was auditioning for the First Consort position all those years ago, had come himself, instead of sending one of his subordinates... she would've had no trouble propositioning him, and he could've probably introduced her to whoever the Bearkin sent for a representative. But, apparently the Wolfkin Representative to the National Council was too busy to come say hi to an old friend...

And so, the meeting concluded without anything interesting happening, and she bade the two Beastkin a polite farewell before setting off deeper into the Palace. Considering the lingering frustration of having her fledgling fantasy about being sandwiched between the muscular, furry bodies of a burly Bearkin and an agile Wolfkin scuppered before it could even really set sail, what she really wanted to do was head right back to the Seraglio and see who was available. Maybe if she could drag Silas and K'teshi together in the same room, she could get a fair approximation of her lost dream...

But, she did have work to do, alas. She wasn't the kind of duty-driven work-hog that K'teshi or Thielwen were, but she'd known when she volunteered for the position that there'd be a price to pay for the opulent quarters, delicious food and exotic pleasures of the Seraglio. She was there to represent the newly-unified Beastkin Nation in the Palace, and to advise her Imperial Highness, The Goddess-Made-Flesh, The Beastmaker, and of course plain old Sayn, on any matter regarding the Beastkin. Of course, in reality, she - as all of her peers - mostly tried to handle any issues that came up_without_ getting their benevolent Empress involved. She was the one who had to deliver when miracles were needed - making contact with unknown species, tracking down ancient and powerful beings, lifting age-old curses, and saving entire species from extinction. Considering that, it did not seem fair to also expect her to deal with the day-to-day headaches of running an Empire that now consisted of ten different species, each with their own culture, history, and prejudices.

So for the most part, if inter-species conflicts arose, the Consorts sorted it out among themselves. Of course, if the issue involved_humans_ - or, as here, the Imperial authorities themselves - they had to go elsewhere... specifically, to the door of the single-most hardworking being in the entire Palace. His trio of beleaguered assistants looked as harried as ever as she walked into the antechamber they worked in - shuffling around massive ledgers and books, each of them searching out some specific bit of data or random fact that their master had requested. It was unusual enough to see them all there - often, one or more of them would be off on a mad dash through the Palace or beyond, looking for information that had failed to turn up anywhere on the groaning shelves filled with paperwork.

The three pages were known as 'The Three Immortals' by the rest of the palace staff, as a kind of wry joke. This office never rested, never slept - there were three pages busily at work there literally every day, around the clock. Of course, the truth was that there were nine_pages in all, working three shifts, but after a few months in that crucible, they all looked just about identical - wearing the same harried, exhausted faces. They looked up, now, as she walked into their work-space, recognized her, and then immediately returned to their work without a word. As a Consort, she had the right to be there. Just about anyone else would've had to be intercepted, and his appointment - or lack of same - checked in a thick notebook. The notebook, she knew, was actually mostly empty. The harsh taskmaster who dwelt beyond the thick door at the other side of the chamber tended to prefer seeking out those he wanted to talk to, rather than inviting them to _his office, and few sought his presence deliberately.

No... not 'his', she reminded herself as she lightly knocked on the door. Sure, the voice that answer - "Enter!" - sounded_fairly masculine, but she knew better. Pushing open the door, she stepped inside and quickly closed it again behind her, before nodding politely down at the diminutive creature who was so busily working away at its low-slung, custom-made desk. Cybra gazed up at her with a sardonic look in its painted-pebble eyes, not bothering to return the gesture. "Great. Where's the fire? Some old-school anti-Beastkin activists still living in the previous decade raising a stink again?" Its voice was as thickly sarcastic as always, but Lutra still couldn't suppress a slight grin as she remembered how efficiently the fluffy-looking construct had dealt with _that particular crisis.

"Nothing that simple, I'm afraid!" she declared, sinking down on the floor-pillow that was provided for visitors, in lieu of chairs. She'd gotten used to the odd creature, even if she still didn't quite understand what it was. Well, it was a construct - one of the Beastmaker's titular Beasts - obviously, but it was just as obviously different from all the others. They couldn't talk, and only had a rudimentary, animalistic sort of intelligence unless commanded and coordinated by someone smarter. Cybra not only had a swift and ruthlessly keen mind, it could also use it to do exactly that - leading and commanding other Beasts just like Sayn did.

Other than that, though, it clearly was a construct. Its body was made from wood, twine, wool and stone. It had no gender, no sexual urges, no blood or other juices. It did not require food, water, sleep, or even rest. Most days, it worked around the clock, acting as the central linchpin of the Imperial bureaucracy. Incorruptible, tireless, and utterly ruthless in its mission to keep problems from winding up on Sayn's plate, it was the terror of the Palace, and likely figured large in the nightmares of bureaucrats throughout the Empire. There even was a saying, mostly used wryly to refer to the persistence of Imperial tax-collectors and law-enforcers, that "The Empire Never Sleeps". This saying, most agreed, was derived directly from Cybra's round-the-clock labors. As long as it was in its office, the wheels of the Empire would continue to turn - and grind up anyone who thought to spoke them.

For now, though, it just rolled its painted eyes. "Of course not. I'm not that lucky. Well, lay it on me, then - don't drag out the pain." She explained the two Beastkin representatives' concerns, and it sighed, rubbing its sheep-like nose with one stone-hoofed leg. "Right. Not just complicated, but changing-Imperial-law complicated. Joy." She shrugged, trying not to wince. It was just exaggerating how hard it'd be, right? It always did. "Well, not necessarily change. Maybe just 'put in an exception'. Ya know, like the tax-code exemptions the Dragons got due to 'cultural considerations', right?"

It wasn't that unusual. Sayn had no desire to enforce a cultural hegemony, after all - particularly not one based exclusively on human_values. So exceptions were generally made, within reason, when Imperial Law conflicted with some cultural or historic values of another tribe. That was, among other things, how the Sharptooth Sirrush had gained legal permission to _eat people, so long as they had a justifiable reason to kill them in the first place... after all, in their culture, doing anything else would be considered highly disrespectful and wasteful besides.

Cybra paused at her suggestion, rubbed his nose again, then shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose that's the best option, despite the drawbacks. Gotta be real careful to keep it on the down-low, though. A general change in the law would be a major headache to actually make, but we could keep it general enough that nobody'd notice what it was actually about. 'specially if I threw in a couple of other minor adjustments I've been contemplating. But a specific exemption, well, that's specific, and basically amounts to an Imperial blessing - or at least permission - to do something everybody else_can't_. That can raise a lot of sour feelings no matter _what_it's about, and in this case..." It clicked his tongue and wobbled a hoof in the air, suggesting just how touchy the issue could get.

She managed a wan smile. "Yes, I... know what you mean." With another sigh, Cybra shrugged his woolly shoulders. "Well, nothing for it, I suppose. I'll have to come up with a lot of junk to throw at the Senate along with the added exception, including some juicy stuff to draw the eye. Should be able to pull it off, though. Either way, I'll get it done." It gave her a curt nod of dismissal then, and she quickly sprang to her feet. "Thanks, Cybra. Sorry to throw this on top of your workload." It shrugged that off to. "'s what I'm here for. Now get outta my wool."

Gratefully, she turned towards the door, only to be stopped by its voice again - sounding unusually serious this time. "Oh, and... you probably shouldn't mention this issue to Sayn. At all." She spun around to look down at it, but it had its head buried in the thick ledger it had been working on when she first entered again, and was studiously ignoring her. Feeling suddenly nervous, she stepped out of its office, and wandered through the busy antechamber, past its two hardworking pages - the third having apparently given up on finding whatever he was looking for in the small but book-filled room, and run off to search elsewhere.

Emerging into the quieter halls of the Palace - evening was approaching, and many of the people who worked there had already gone home - she felt her brow wrinkling as she puzzled over what Cybra had said. As she walked back towards the Seraglio, the facts gradually straightened themselves out in her mind, and she didn't care for the image they painted. She could see, now, why Cybra had said what it said, and she was rather disappointed in herself for not realizing the problem on her own. Of course, now that she had been enlightened about it, she was in the unenviable position of having to hide the truth from her friend, lover, Empress and Goddess.

This realization had a rather detrimental effect on her libido, and once she reached the Seraglio, she did not go in search of Silas and/or K'teshi, nor join the miniature orgy that was unfolding in the warm sunlight of the late-spring evening - Achidias and Rubicundus seemed to be having some sort of contest about who could give the women underneath them (Thielwen and Sayn, respectively) the most orgasms within a set time-period, with Orichaniel and Korlin as presiding judges. Instead, she just gave them a quick nod and wave, and headed directly for the privacy of her own chambers. There, she sank down on one of the lushly upholstered chairs, leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she tried to sort everything out in her head.

The problematic law was a good one, in general. It forbade animal abuse in all its forms, effectively outlawing several previously-popular human pass-times, such as dog-fighting and bear-baiting - and, of course, the practice of getting somewhere faster by literally riding your horse into the ground. The Beastkin certainly had no trouble with that! If anything, they appreciated it greatly, particularly the Horsekin, Wolfkin and Bearkin, who had a great deal of empathy for their less-intelligent cousins. The trouble was that the somewhat-loose wording of the law meant that it could be interpreted as covering the practice of 'Wildmates'...

As she'd originally said, it almost certainly wasn't deliberate. Wildmates weren´t something you discussed with outsiders, generally speaking. Most tribes treated it as a rather taboo subject, a last resort in emergencies - and a few did not practice it at all, albeit for more physical than moral reasons. Essentially, it all came back to a subtle gift from Vertanimis - a way to survive and bounce back even from an extremely low population. In short, Beastkin were capable of 'breeding true' with feral specimens of their own kind.

Size alone precluded the Ratkin, Birdkin and Lizardkin, as well as the now-extinct Batkin, from using this option. Indeed, this was the main reason why the Batkin had been unable to head off their slow decline. Every other tribe, though, had found themselves falling back on this option at one time or another. It wasn't hard to do, once the decision was made. Beastkin also possessed the ability to communicate with their feral cousins, after all, albeit on a somewhat rudimentary level. The 'language' of animals tended to involve a lot more subtle body-language than sounds, and the information conveyed tended to be rather simple and straightforward.

The simple fact was that animals were, well, animals. As far as they were concerned, having sex was THE primary point of being alive, and indeed could take precedence over staying alive in some cases. Being offered a chance to produce a lot of young, while getting a warm place to sleep and a guaranteed source of food besides, was basically the average animal's idea of Paradise. They didn't particularly care if their children wound up walking on two legs - only that they were healthy and numerous, as tended to be the case. The infusion of 'fresh blood' into the tribe that Wildmates offered tended to lead to long-lived, healthy children, if also somewhat wild-tempered ones...

It was usually the women who took that option - mostly because it was the men who tended to die when things went south. And while things were good now, many tribes were still recovering from the losses they had suffered over decades of war with the humans. Others had found their extensive, native lands suddenly returned to them, and now needed the population to actually settle them. So even now, across the Beastkin Territories, hundreds if not thousands of tribeswomen were living alongside a 'husband' who walked on four legs, wombs heavy with young. As she thought of it, her frustrated libido finally flared through her worries, and she couldn't resist picturing it...

Somewhere, a Wolfkin bitch was on her hands and knees in her little hut, a huffing, feral wolf on her back, eagerly pushing his knot past her labia, sealing her shut to ensure that his fertile seed wound up in her waiting womb and nowhere else. The litter of puppies she had already birthed for him gamboled beside them, still too young to be much different from ordinary wolf-cubs, their paws not yet lengthened into hands. Some of them managed to rise onto their hindpaws underneath her, though, to suckle on her swaying tits.

Elsewhere, a sturdy Oxkin cow squatted beneath a bull, legs muscular and hips broad, her heavy udders resting on top of her hugely-pregnant belly. She was already bearing his child, but her advanced pregnancy had made her horny, and the massive, heavyset bull who shared her room was the only man she had available. She licked his long, thick tool thoroughly, running her muzzle along it to cover it thoroughly in her slobber, sucking on the flat, slanted head while he mooed quietly above her. Then, satisfied that she'd done a thorough job, she got up and bent over the mating-rack that the tribe had so thoughtfully provided, putting the sturdy overhead bar that would support the bull's massive weight into place. Lifting her tufted tail, she waved it enticingly, and as the bull mounted her, she carefully guided him into the tight hole beneath it. The huge, slick instrument slid smoothly into her capacious asshole, and she moaned with satisfaction as he began to ride her. With a solid ton of muscle at his disposal, he could pound her more fiercely than even the men of her own tribe...

Far further south, a young Tigerkin girl hesitantly spread her legs for her new husband - a massive jungle-cat who was both heavier and older than her. He sensed her nervousness and inexperience as he covered her furry body with his own, and rubbed his head calmingly against hers, licking the colorful fur of her face until she stopped tensing and smiled. As soon as he felt her body relax underneath him, he stepped forwards, and his barb-headed, instinct-driven cock found her virgin pussy. She cried out in surprise and pain when he took her maidenhood, but he was prepared for that - she wasn't the first virgin he'd deflowered, even if she was the first _two-legged_one. He knew that she'd cry out again once he'd done what he came for and pulled out, the barbs on his cockhead scratching her insides and catching on her labia - but until then, there would be only moaning as new experiences and pleasures found her.

Further north, in a far colder hut, a sturdy, muscular Bearkin woman was bouncing her fuzzy buttocks up and down as she sat astride an even bigger, even stronger beast - a full-grown grizzly, whose massive paws rested with surprising tenderness on her hips as she rode him. She'd been doing this every night for the past three weeks, and she was fairly certain that she was already pregnant by him... but she saw no reason to stop until she had to. His cock was long, thick, hot and hard inside her, and it rubbed her in all the right spots. When she felt his liquid love explode inside her once more, she moaned and shuddered in an orgasm of her own, then leaned forwards to kiss him deeply, her broad, soft tongue finding and wrestling with hers. He didn't really understand her fascination with kissing, but he also didn't mind it, and in the golden afterglow of their near-simultaneous orgasms, she couldn't resist.

In another hut, a Horsekin mare squatted underneath her far-larger, four-legged lover. Overwhelmed with lust, she was eagerly licking his heavy, dangling balls, while her fingers buried themselves in her wet pussy, getting stained by the load of cum he'd just filled her with. Moaning with urgency, she switched to his long, thick shaft, covered with cum and her own juices and currently drooping, pointing towards the ground. She wanted him to get it up again, to mount her again, to pound her again... the feeling of that huge, hard column filling her completely, stretching her labia and pushing against her womb was so, so sweet, but he didn't last long, not long enough to get her off, and she needed it, needed it badly. He flicked his ears, looking down at her with questioning eyes, not understanding. He'd done what really mattered, filling her womb with his fertile seed - he couldn't see why she might want more. But the feeling of her tongue and lips on his cock were far from unpleasant, so if she was going to_insist_...

Lutra moaned throatily, throwing her head from side to side. Her knees were draped over the chair's ornate armrests, now, and her fingers were busy working away at her exposed pussy. She should've gone looking for one of the guys, she thought dizzily. There was no way she could think straight and seriously consider serious issues when she hadn't had a good fuck since morning! Fortunately, her fingers were both strong and skilled, and while she usually used them on others these days, they were still quite capable of taking care of business in a pinch.

She let her mind drift to the Lionkin, the only tribe who made regular use of Wildmates rather than regarding it as a crisis-measure, letting the lurid images it brought to mind lift her closer to a much-needed orgasm. The Lionkin had an expressed gender imbalance - not as bad as the Centaurs, nevermind the Flower-Dragons, but there were maybe two or three females for every male. Small harems weren't unknown, but the lionesses were a proud lot, and many of them didn't care for the idea of being a second or third wife. So instead, they prowled the savanna in search of young, male lions, recently ejected from their pride but not yet old or strong enough to gather one of their own.

Female Lionkin who chose the path of the Wildmate often banded - and lived - together. If the juicy rumors were to be believed, their long-huts were dens of unbound lust, where the lionesses swapped mates and pleasured each other freely. Well, rumors were rumors, but she liked to believe that it was true. That somewhere down on those sun-baked plains, in a longhut built from branches and dried mud, a half-dozen lionesses and their four-legged companions were engaged in a nightly orgy.

A lioness was on her knees, her feral partner mounted on her back and eagerly pounding away at her pussy while she buried her head between the thighs of another lioness, splayed out on her back before her, legs widely spread. She let her coarse tongue play lightly across the wet pussy, down to the tiny, puckered tail-hole, and even up to give the sensitive clit the lightest of caress. The other lioness moaned lustily, digging her claws into her scalp, pulling her harder into her groin. She eagerly answered the unspoken request, applying her rasping tongue harder and harsher, even as the lion on her back growled in orgasm, filling her pussy with his seed. She idly wondered if she would get pregnant this time.

The ostensible husband of the sapphic lioness, meanwhile, was on his back as well, with his tongue hanging from his mouth as his hips awkwardly jerked, attempting to fuck the lioness who was mounting him despite the unusual orientation. A second lion - her own mate - was on her back, leaving her caught between two muscular, golden-furred bodies. With a barbed cock in both holes, her own hips gyrating to make the most of them, and the lion on top doing a far better job of actively thrusting as he pounded her tight asshole, she was cumming frequently, panting and moaning.

Nearby, a heavily-pregnant lioness was draped sideways across a low, primitive bed. Her head was hanging over the edge, straightening her throat, and the soon-to-be father of her cubs was eagerly face-fucking her despite the fangs that lined her mouth and the roughness of her tongue. She was very careful with both, after all, and her tight throat felt delightful around his cock. Between her legs - also extending off the side of the bed - a younger lioness was lapping away at her pussy, freely applying her rough tongue to the sensitive tissue, safe in the knowledge that her older friend enjoyed a bit of roughness.

Her own, four-legged husband was mounting her in a more traditional fashion - albeit driving into her ass, rather than her fertile pussy. Two infant cubs were underneath her, reaching up to suckle on her heavy tits, draining their dinner from them. While far more able to look after themselves than humans at that age, they still required a fair bit of care, so she didn't want to get pregnant again too soon. On the other hand, she also didn't want to discourage her 'husband', who had grown accustomed to having an eager partner available all around the year, rather than just during a short rutting-period. So she let him use her ass freely, shuddering in pain-laced pleasure as the soft barbs on his cockhead were dragged over sensitive, internal tissue.

Lutra, too, was shuddering - with one hand buried fully in her own asshole, sphincter tight around the wrist, while her other hand rapidly rubbed her clit. The pitch of her moans got steadily higher, until they turned into a drawn-out, orgasmic scream. As the long-awaited pleasure washed over her, she pulled her hand out of her ass with sudden brutality, letting the extremely strong stimulation that resulted push her higher and deeper. Her naturally-oily fur made it easy to get in... but it resisted fiercely when she pulled out. Only in the throes of a climax could that sensation be called pleasurable - so she had adapted.

She panted as she came back down. Sweat was rolling down her waterproof fur in large droplets, and the seat beneath her was heavily stained with both sweat and other, thicker juices. How Sayn's servitor-constructs would manage to get it clean, she did not know, but they always seemed to do so somehow. Her asshole still gaped and twitched after the sudden removal of her hand, stinging and buzzing inside and out - the aftereffects of having several thousand tough, pointy hairs stubbornly resist being removed from its tight embrace. She rather imagined that she could've gotten much the same sensation from using one of the coarse brushes the palace kitchen-staff used to scrub pots with as a masturbation-aid.

Sighing, she settled her feet back on the ground, and shakily got up from the chair. She went to the attached bathroom and washed her hand, dried off her leaking crotch, and even patted down the chair to remove the worst of the juices. Then she settled into a different, still-dry chair to think properly, now that her mind was likely to cooperate again. She recalled the debacle with the Unicorn, and his ruthless treatment of Thielwen. Sayn had been pissed, and small wonder. Most of her anger had been due to the unjust punishment being heaped on Thielwen, of course, but... not all of it.

She'd made particular comments about the way the Unicorn had used his connection to Vertanimis, the God of the Wilds, to summon and control a bevy of ordinary, feral forest-animals. "Those Beastkin before were bastards, but at least they chose to answer his call - and Thielwen chose to subject herself to this. But those animals have no idea what's going on, he's just turning them into puppets for his own amusement. Disgusting. Considering that Thielwen, on some level, consented to this... the animals are arguably the only ones there who are actually getting raped!" It hadn't quite been a rant, but it had been close, her face stiffly furious. Well, she'd been on a short fuse during that month, obviously, but still.

She_knew that the way her kind interacted with their feral cousins was completely different from the Unicorn's puppeteering. But it wasn't exactly obvious at a glance - and even knowing how it worked, a sufficiently unkind judge might argue that it made no difference. The animals were, after all, _animals - their reasoning was basic at best, and the offer of food, shelter and sex that the Beastkin extended to them was overwhelmingly persuasive. Their instincts simply wouldn't let them refuse something like that. So really, they were still being used, just with a slightly different form of control, right?

Lutra grimaced, resting her head on her hands. Surely, Sayn wouldn't take a tack like that if she found out about it. The thing with the Unicorn had been a bad business overall. People said hasty things when they were (justifiably) angry. The specifics of the situation were completely different, obviously. And yet... Cybra had suggested that she shouldn't let Sayn find out. She still didn't quite get it, but from all accounts, the peculiar little construct was some kind of... loosely-attached part of Sayn's own mind. If anyone could accurately predict her reaction to something, it'd be him. So there really wasn't much point in trying to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about, was there?

A different point occurred to her. Her own tribe rarely made use of Wildmates. Most otters were too small to serve in that regard, anyway - but there was at least one subspecies that was more than big enough. She remembered well how she'd played in the rivers of her homeland, wrestling and racing with feral otters. Most of them little larger than housecats, but a few were much larger - bigger even than_she'd_ been at the time. She'd thought they were just 'adults', and the others were kids, and only later learned that there was more than one kind of otter living in the rivers.

Her tribe had not suffered heavily from human incursions. They'd dodged that arrow, if only by a hair. The closest human outposts had just reached the borders of their territory when the initial rise of The Beastmaker had compelled the city-states sponsoring them to turn their attention elsewhere. For that, alone, she owed Sayn more than she could ever repay. But still, she remembered the rumors and gossips that had circulated through the tribe in her teenage years. A middle-aged woman, who was 'not quite there, you know'... she'd survived her hut burning down around her, but only just barely. The tribe's healers had saved her life, but little else - smoke-inhalation had clearly had an impact on her mind, and she'd lost half her fur. It didn't grow back, either, having been replaced by extensive, hideous burn-scars.

Unable to swim without risking severe infections, she'd isolated herself to her (new) hut, and considering her appearance, none of the tribes' men were interested in her anymore. Which had struck Lutra as a bit unfair even back then, seeing as she'd had several suitors _before_the fire. The gossip had it that, since no man wanted her, she had taken a Wildmate - one of the biggest of the feral otters who lived in the area. Filled with youthful curiosity, she and a couple of friends had staked out the poor girl's hut, and managed to confirm the rumors to their own satisfaction - watching a huge, male otter walk quietly from the river to the hut shortly after dark, a large fish in his mouth. Seeing the way he'd brought food for his injured lover, and the hideously-burned paw that had opened the hut's door for him, they'd all agreed that the rumor was more tragic than juicy, and had decided not to tell anyone or spread the rumors further themselves.

Still, while that probably was the only case of Wildmates being used in her tribe within her lifetime, their past history hadn't been without occasional disasters and emergencies. She'd learned of it, growing up, sitting around the Elder's fireplace with the other youngsters and listening wide-eyed to his stories about their tribe's past exploits, accomplishments - and misfortunes. Of course, the subject of Wildmates was never directly mentioned - it was only far later in life that she realized that when the Elder mentioned the tribe recovering from a plague or an expensive struggle with a neighboring tribe 'through the Blessings of Vertanimis', that was exactly what he'd been referring to.

So there was little doubt that, if one went just a handful of generations back in her family-tree, one would find one or more wild otters there. If Sayn learned of that... what then? Would she... no, no, Sayn wasn't like that. She wouldn't suddenly _hate_her, or kick her out, or start treating her like an animal the way so many humans had done to her kind in the past. But... maybe she'd look at her a bit differently. Maybe she'd be a bit less likely to seek her company. A bit less willing to entrust herself into Lutra's hands for games of bondage and domination. And that thought, alone, was enough to make her heart ache.

She loved Sayn, she truly did... more than she'd loved Sia, the human girl who'd been both her first lover and her first experience outside her species. Maybe the way she loved her was different from the bond that Sayn shared with Korlin - what existed between those two seemed to be something magical, etheric, divine. But still, she could not think of anything else to call her feelings. It wasn't the possessive, jealous kind of love, that might have made her resent having to share the subject of her ardor with so many other Consorts, but something more... slanted.

She loved Sayn, but she could not think of herself as Sayn's equal or peer. Sayn treated everyone in the harem like a dear friend as well as a lover, and never looked down on anyone. And yet, her attitude could not hide the fact that she strode as a Goddess amongst mortals. They never talked about it - it seemed... impolite, somehow - but she knew that she wasn't the only one among the Consorts who considered herself a member of the Church of The Beastmaker, even if she rarely had the opportunity to attend services. Spending so much time with Sayn, traveling with her, seeing what she was capable of, and with such casual ease... it was impossible not to see the Goddess shine through the flesh.

Sure, she was a Goddess who sometimes enjoyed being tied up, teased, spanked, or pounded by a small army of Centaurs, but so what? It was exactly as the Book said - she celebrated Love in all its forms, and shared it freely with all creatures. Well, all intelligent_creatures, capable of giving informed consent, anyway. And now her soul was shrinking again. She wasn't just trying to hide something from a friend, because she feared that the truth would change her opinions of her. She was trying to hide a _sin from her_Goddess_. Or, at least, that's what it felt like.

She groaned, digging her fingers into her skull, trying to stop her mind from running in circles. It would have been better if Cybra hadn't said anything... no, no, then she might very well have mentioned the issue in casual conversation or at the dinner-table, where work was often discussed. In the end, though, did it matter that Sayn was highly unlikely to ever learn about the Wildmates? The practice was shrouded in taboo, after all, and even the Lionkin didn't bring it up around outsiders. And Cybra was good at its job - however much it might grouse about what a pain it was, it would sneak the exception through the Senate without anyone noticing, and the Beastkin could go on as they always had, following their traditions unmolested by Imperial Law.

But so what? It wasn't really fear of discovery that ate at her, but simply the knowledge that she was hiding something from someone who was so important to her in so many ways. Gah... what was she going to_do?_ She felt a driving need to confess, to get it out of her system, but she couldn't talk to Sayn about it, she just couldn't... maybe the Church? No, no! Any hint that The Beastmaker might be opposed to the practice would immediately cause the Church to adapt that as their own, official stance. Which would be bad news for a lot of Beastkin, who were normally quite active and welcomed in the Church.

She raised her head, eyes widening. Of course! The answer was right in front of her. She quickly moved to the window and looked out at the garden. The sun had sunk while she pondered (and masturbated), bathing the lush garden in a vague sort of darkness. It hadn't quite disappeared behind the horizon, but it was behind the bulk of the palace, its warmth no longer accessible to anyone who might want to spend time out there - and as a result, it was largely abandoned. Aishee was still floating around in the pond, seemingly just doing some laps for the exercise and sheer enjoyment of it, but the mini-orgy she'd walked past earlier had long-since broken up. Everyone would be back in their chambers now, getting... ready... for dinner. Right. NOT good timing. It'd have to wait 'till afterwards, though she had a terrible feeling that everyone else at the table would somehow sense that she was hiding a dread secret.

Soon, everyone was seated around the long table in the dining-room adjacent to the Seraglio. Well, other than Achidias and Slira, who stood, and Aishee who floated in a water-filled glass tube. Used to be, the Mermaid had to be carried to the table in a sturdy water-barrel, courtesy of one of Sayn's many-handed servitor-constructs, but once the newly-arrived Rubicundus had demonstrated his stone-shaping skills, Sayn quickly found more uses for it. The Dragon's power had allowed him to hew a tunnel between the existing underground passage leading to the sea, and the dining-room floor, in less than a fraction of the time it had taken the Merfolk Stonecarvers to build the original tunnel the hard way. Then it had been simply a matter of adding the thick glass-tube and pumping some water into that, and voila - Aishee could swim to the dining-room and back under her own power.

The Harem's dinners were always lively - chatter criss-crossed the table while the various dishes were consumed, interesting points from the work-day were discussed, plans were made for the evening and the next day, and so on and so forth. Usually, Lutra participated eagerly in this, often teasing Thielwen or checking out the guys to see who had the most energy left so that she might call on them for an evening tryst... but tonight, she had little appetite for food and even less for conversation. The general din was energetic enough that nobody seemed to notice her somewhat withdrawn mood - and she certainly did what she could to avoid standing out, smiling and nodding along with whatever was flying around her head. Only Korlin, whose eyes missed little, seemed to be paying any particular attention to her.

Lutra had noticed, on occasion, that the Kirin's eyes seemed to be a different color every time she saw them. She'd idly wondered if their colors somehow indicated her mood, or if she just couldn't be bothered to remember what color they were supposed to be every time she changed her shape. Sometimes, they were a common brown or blue, while at other times they were vividly purple or pink - colors that no natural being would possess. Tonight, they were a predatory yellow, which made Lutra feel somewhat uncomfortable about the way they fixated on her. She flashed the beautiful Kirin a wan smile, letting some of her conflict and nervousness leak through on purpose, and saw those eyes narrow in understanding. Then they panned over to Silas, who had just told a rather hoary joke, and quirked in amusement. She did not pay any noticeable attention to Lutra for the rest of the meal, nor did she act as if anything at all was amiss or out of the ordinary.

After finishing dinner - not that she ate much at all - she returned to her room only briefly. She waited at the window, watching as the rest of the Consorts made their own ways back to their chambers - or somebody else's chambers, for that matter. K'teshi and Silas were joining Sayn tonight, from the looks of it. She was infinitely grateful that _she_hadn't been requested in the Beastmaker's Chambers on this day - normally, she thrilled at such an invitation, but tonight it would've left her a nervous wreck. Once the last chamber-doors had closed, she made her own way out into the garden, and headed for Korlin's room. The door opened almost before she knocked on it, and the elegant Kirin invited her in with a graceful wave.

Korlin invited her to sit by the fireplace, where a small fire burned, more for the atmosphere than for any need of heat, and she hurriedly did so while the Kirin sat attentively in the neighboring chair. "Tell me, Lutra... what concerns you so greatly?" She asked, with her harmonious voice, and all at once, it came out. All her worries and fears, the pain in her heart and soul, and the tears. So many tears, rolling down her cheeks, chest, and ultimately legs, unable to find any purchase on her oil-slick fur. Korlin listened attentively, nodding for her to continue, her face forever kind, gentle, and nonjudgmental.

Only when the words finally stopped spilling over her lips, leaving only sobs behind, did Korlin speak up, nodding softly. "I see... you have had a terrible day indeed, my poor dear. But I believe I can put at least some of your worries to rest." Reaching out, the Kirin put a a gentle hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly - a simple gesture, but infinitely comforting. Composing herself as best she could, she brushed the last tears from her eyes and nodded. "Please do. Cybra may be a part of Sayn, but you probably know her better than she knows herself..."

Korlin smiled. "You flatter me - but perhaps not unduly." Then she thought for a moment. "Well, first of all... you need not fear that Sayn might see or think of you differently should she learn of your origins. It is not in her nature to hold anyone's origins against them, and certainly not in the case of someone she already knows and loves." This made a large, hard knot in her chest loosen significantly - not just from this reassurance, but also from the confirmation that she had, indeed, earned some small measure of love from a Goddess. The knot tightened a bit again, though, when Korlin then grimaced and continued.

"However... I fear that Cybra was not wrong. It would be best if Sayn never hears of the 'Wildmates' practice. For her own sake, mind. She would be liable to act on impulse, and do something she'd regret on further reflection - and for an Empress, eating your words is a complicated, messy matter." Lutra reluctantly nodded. Of course, put that way, it was... different. She wasn't hiding it for her own sake, to avoid some consequences for herself or her kin - she was simply engaging in a white lie by omission in order to avoid a situation that might compel Sayn to act incautiously... but still...

Korlin clearly saw the conflict in her face, and gave her shoulder another squeeze. "Sayn has... very strong opinions on the subject of sexual consent." She explained. "And not without reason. She is also a kind and empathic person, who isn't inclined to ignore pain and degradation just because it's being suffered by animals instead of humans - that, after all, was the kind of thinking that led to the persecution of your people!" Then she shook her head and sighed. "Alas, in this particular case, those two fine qualities may combine into something less pleasant."

Lutra's face must have looked rather miserable, because at that point, Korlin got up from her chair and leaned over her to give her a tight hug. The warm, gentle sensation, the flowery scent of the Kirin's hair, it all helped to quiet her heart and calm her breathing. She no longer felt like sobbing. Taking a deep, mostly-steady breath, she nodded. "I understand. It's not really 'keeping secrets', it's just... avoiding a subject I know she'd dislike, right?" Korlin nodded back as she straightened up again. "That's exactly it. Nobody's perfect, and everyone has things that they find difficult to approach in a calm and measured manner - whether it's because of some passed-down prejudice or traumatic, personal experiences. Avoiding those things is exactly what a good friend should do."

Korlin paused, smiled thoughtfully, and sat down in her own chair again. "Perhaps, given time, we might be able to... ease her into a more nuanced understanding of the subject. I may have an idea or two about that. But for now, the best thing you can do is to put this whole thing behind you, and trust that Cybra will get things sorted out on the legal front without making any waves." With this resolution - and a comforting warmth lingering in her fur where Korlin had embraced her - she left the Kirin's chambers feeling much refreshed.

By and large, it stuck - she didn't feel wretched and paranoid any more, didn't feel like hiding from Sayn's eyes, or concerned that she was doing something wrong in keeping the truth from Sayn. After all, if you couldn't trust a Kirin's moral judgment, what COULD you trust? However, as the next couple of days passed, she found herself facing a different sort of dilemma... one that was less moral and more physical. And after spending a blessedly work-free day with Achidias, K'teshi, Silas, and finally Rubicundus (albeit with some time to rest and recover in between), and still finding herself furiously masturbating in her freshly-cleaned chair in the evening, she was forced to admit that it wasn't going away on its own.

Considering how well it had worked last time, she decided to pay another after-dinner visit on Korlin, who welcomed her at her door with a bit more surprise than last time. "Some lingering concerns?" The Kirin asked pleasantly, not a trace of judgment in her voice. Lutra winced and sat down in the same chair as last time. "Well... yes, and no. A different issue, but... somewhat related." Korlin nodded gravely, and sat down beside her. "Please, tell me what's bothering you." Lutra grimaced, feeling somewhat... awkward about it, despite being well aware that Korlin had a significant - and varied - sexual appetite herself.

"Well, the thing is... before this mess surfaced, I'd never really thought much about Wildmates. It was just, like... this thing that I kinda' remembered from when I was young, which nobody really talked about, you know? When I learned more about it later, it was on a fairly academic level. But I DID wind up thinking about it, the other day. And now I can't STOP. I keep picturing all the different Beastkin-tribes, with all their different Wildmates... and remembering some of the big otters I used to swim and play with when I was young... and it's exciting me." She crossed her legs as she talked, feeling her pussy tingle at the mere mention, despite the situation.

Korlin, however, nodded calmly. "I understand perfectly. You've discovered a new kink that you like... or perhaps even a fetish, from the sound of it. But it is one you know your primary partner doesn't_share. In fact, she'd find it downright disturbing." Lutra nodded, feeling miserable despite her lingering arousal. Korlin just sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Lutra my dear... you seem to have picked up a bit of a habit when it comes to worrying yourself needlessly. It's not like you're the only person in the Harem who has some interests that Sayn doesn't share. Just look at Thielwen - she has _several that Sayn finds downright nauseating, but it hasn't affected their relationship in the slightest, has it?" For some reason, this particular comparison hadn't occurred to Lutra, but now she scratched her chin thoughtfully. "No, it hasn't... if anything, it seems like Sayn is starting to open up a bit to some of them. Or so I've heard..."

Korlin nodded with a broad smile. "Indeed. A development that may occur for your own interests at some point, though... admittedly, not soon. And you will, indeed, have to keep this particular kink of yours from her, along with the rest." Lutra nodded glumly. "I know. I know... heh. Part of me kinda' wants to find some excuse to visit the old tribal lands, ya know? Look up a few of the local otters, have my fun out of sight, get it out of my system... but, well, I don't think I'm entirely ready to be a mother yet. And Wildmates are one thing - casual sex with the wildlife is another entirely, and _not_condoned." She grimaced a bit at the implicit self-realization. She wasn't all that concerned about the tribal traditions and laws, really. Sneaking off to let a couple of nice, big, strong-bodied otters have their way with her, after taking some precautions to avoid pregnancy, would suit her just fine. But alas, otters mated for life - they weren't really into the casual scene.

Korlin, however, was still smiling, and in fact seemed to be chuckling quietly. "Ah, but Lutra... you seem to be forgetting that you are part of a Harem. And one of the advantages of that is that you can usually find someone there who can play to your kinks, even if the Empress herself doesn't. Just look at Silas and Thielwen!" Lutra nodded slowly - she was, of course, aware of how the easygoing Faun often played along with some of Thielwen's nastier kinks, but... "That's true, of course, but I haven't noticed any otters around here." She said, somewhat snarkily. Korlin just chuckled louder.

"Then I guess you haven't been looking very closely..." she said, rising from her seat. Then, before her, the beautiful Kirin's human form blurred and shifted, growing darker and more massive... but it wasn't a shift to her true, four-legged form, she realized. As the blurry outline became solid, she realized that she was looking at a giant otter, balancing precariously on its rear paws, supported by the thick, sturdy tail. And not just the kind that was called 'giant otters' back home, though those could grow to as much as two meters in length - counting the tail. The specimen standing before her was about that tall, without the tail, and despite its stooped stance. It was also rather heavily-built for an otter, and probably weighed significantly more than she did.

Not 'it', she corrected herself, eyes widening. 'He' - based on the ridged, bright-red cockhead that was now emerging from its sheath between his short, sturdy legs. Together with the movement of the small, flat ears and the whiskers surrounding the wet, crinkling nose, it sent a message - a clear statement in otter-language that she understood just fine: Desire. Lust. Invitation. The breath caught in her throat, and she felt her pussy begin to gush in automatic response. She understood perfectly well what was going on - she knew that Korlin's shape-shifting powers extended far beyond merely taking a pleasing, human shape. But Korlin very rarely took a male form when she wasn't with Sayn... and she hadn't realized that she could imitate an animal with enough precision to actually 'speak their language'.

She pushed those thoughts quickly out of her head. She didn't want anything there breaking this beautiful illusion. She could thank Korlin for this gift later - for now, there was a big, horny, male otter right in front of her, and her loins were crying out for attention. She slipped from her chair while making all the right signals, carefully not thinking about whether the 'otter' in front of her would be able to interpret them. With her body-language and a short, carefully-modulated cry, she signaled readiness, eagerness, fertility, heat.

She draped herself across the woven rug that lay before the fireplace on her back, legs spread. It wasn't quite the same as doing it in the water, and her tail was somewhat uncomfortably stuck between her hips and the floor, but it'd do. The huge otter answered her cry with one of his own, signaling that he, too, was in the throes of a springtime rutting as he trundled over to her, somewhat clumsy on land but eager to cover her lithe body with his own. His sleek, muscular chest soon took up her entire field of vision, and she eagerly embraced him, feeling and smelling the tough fur, made waterproof by aromatic oils, just like her own.

Meanwhile, between her legs, she felt something hard, hot and smooth slide against her wet labia, up along her belly - twice, thrice, as the big otter struggled with the somewhat-unusual angle. She made a small cry of urgency, rubbing her chest against his, and he seemed to understand the signal just fine - the next attempt took a little while longer to line up, but it hit the mark, pushing open her lightly-furred outer labia and sliding smoothly into her yearning pussy. It wasn't as big as Achidias' or Silas', or even K'teshi's tool - but it was long, smooth and aerodynamic, a cock designed for mating while swimming - and it felt so gloriously right inside her, not just filling her up but fitting inside her, like a hand in a tailor-made glove.

Thick, powerful hips, designed for long-distance swimming and chasing down fleet-finned fish, began to pump. Her moan was not a human one, but a bestial cry of pleasure, and her body responded instinctively to the sensations now radiating out from her groin. Her legs rose to wrap around him, grabbing on, moving with him, against him, redoubling the intensity of the long, smooth thrusts. Her tail, now freed from beneath her, arched up between his hind-legs on its own, and curled tightly around his - binding them together, ensuring that no rogue wave would pull them apart while their passion lasted.

Even as her hips lifted to meet his thrusts, however, his sheer, muscular mass pushed them back down, mashing her against the floor, trapping them between his heavy, furry body and the floor beneath. The rest of her, too, was caught beneath him, her body overwhelmed, the very air she breathed thick with his heady, masculine scent. It filled her nose, set her brain on fire with surging desire, and then seemed to run directly from there to her crotch, making everything there tingle and yearn for his touch. A touch which, fortunately, he was dishing out rather freely.

She felt the orgasm rising, as natural and inexorable as the tides, flooding her mind with ecstasy, making her spine curl and her body rise against his, making her pussy clamp down on his hard cock with desperate eagerness. Clinging fiercely to the coarse fur, she only foggily noticed that her back wasn't in contact with the rug anymore. And it was only as the climax began to peter out, leaving her panting as the aftershocks ran through her that she realized they were moving. The huge otter was marching steadily forwards, her back barely brushing the ground as he carried her... where? She felt a doorstep brush her shoulders, then the soft caress of moist grass...

Then, gloriously, they were in the night-cool water, swimming together, feeling the caress of the currents. This was their element, she knew, as her nostrils instinctively clamped shut - and his, even moreso. On land, where her long legs and upright stance could be used to full effect, he was clumsy and awkward. But here, in the cold, wet depths, he reigned supreme. His paws wrapped around her, now, holding her close as he spiraled through the water, his hips moving with newfound vitality. His cock thundered into her, fucking her, pounding her, mating her, channeling the raw urgency of rutting.

There was no more room for her to move. He held her firmly, controlled her body, guided their path. She could only continue to eagerly cling to him, feeling the smooth, powerful muscles working under the slick, waterproof fur, and gratefully snatch a lungful of air whenever he saw fit to carry them to the surface. Her moans and screams of pleasure were silenced by the press of the water and the need to preserve air, but the message was transferred to him nonetheless by her fingers digging into his fur, her nipples hardening against his chest like tiny pebbles - with desire, more than the coldness of the water - and the clutching grip of her tail around his.

In those throes of ecstasy, as orgasm after orgasm rolled through her, she sent signals she wasn't aware she knew, her body speaking fluently in the silent language of the feral otters. Though that medium, she promised him everlasting love, spoke eagerly of joining him in his riverside den, and yearned loudly to bear him many strong, healthy pups. She begged him to fill her with his fertile seed, to make her his mate for life, to hold her tight and never let go. And he answered in kind, his body surging against hers, low-frequency calls vibrating from his throat. He promised to make her his, to care for her and mate with her every day, to fill her womb and their shared den with many energetic pups... while his thrusting, surging hips spoke with less eloquence and more directness about his eagerness to pump his seed into her.

And finally, he did - fully buried within her, his thrusting stopped, and a warm feeling spread and filled her womb. A sensation of deep joy came with it, something she couldn't even really call an orgasm - but an ecstasy nonetheless, as her instincts loudly congratulated her for fulfilling her purpose. It made her whole body feel hot, so hot that she might have melted if the cool water hadn't steadily leeched the heat away from her. Clinging tighter than ever to her huge, furry lover, she shivered and shuddered while her throat vibrated with a silent scream of pleasure that any undersea creature for miles around would have heard.

She was pretty sure that she didn't actually pass out, but the sheer, overwhelming pleasure and joy of that sensation momentarily overwhelmed her brain, leaving her unable to remember anything ELSE about the next several minutes. By the time her mind cleared, she was lying at the edge of the pond, legs still in the water, feeling delightful sensations still radiate out from her tingling crotch, while Korlin kneeled by her side - in human form again, albeit a rare, male one. Usually, when she brought out her dick, she stuck with a hermaphroditic form - but though she (he?) retained a beautifully-androgynous face, there were no tits in appearance.

Feeling slightly drunk, she warmly returned the Kirin's broad smile... and only then, after several seconds, realized that the sensations in her groin were too powerful to be mere aftershocks. Craning her head, she narrowed her eyes to see through the moonlit gloom, and spotted none other than Aishee. The mermaid had her head buried between Lutra's thighs, and her tongue was as dedicated and talented as ever, her cheeks hollowing as she hungrily sucked and licked up the still-hot cumload secreted within Lutra's sensitive pussy. Belatedly, she remembered that the main pool in Aishee's chambers was connected directly to the pond itself - so if the Mermaid had still been in that one, her sensitive ears would easily have heard the rather loud and vigorous lovemaking going on outside.

"Umm... hope we didn't disturb you?" She asked wanly, her voice a bit rough after all the silent screaming she'd done earlier. Aishee chuckled and raised her head from the feast, licking her chops, her sharklike teeth sparkling in the moonlight. "Well, I had_planned on a quiet night, but I'm _not complaining! It was a delightful surprise, following that noise back to its source and seeing the two of you go at it with such... passion!" She flashed Korlin a grin, then, and noisily licked her lips. "Besides, Kirin-cum is the tastiest cum, particularly when it's sucked fresh from a nice, juicy pussy... don't mind if I do!" With that, she dove in once more, and Lutra arched her back with a muffled groan as that long, powerful tongue went to work on her still-buzzing genitals again.

Aishee enjoying the taste of freshly-baked creampie was hardly news, but what had happened to secrecy? She stared questioningly up at Korlin, who grinned back and reached down to pat the Mermaid's bobbing head. "Don't worry, dear Lutra..." her voice was just as melodious as when she was in her female form. "I talked to Aishee while you were still... dazed. She won't say anything, so long as she is allowed to watch and 'enjoy the aftermath' of any future liaisons." Aishee grumbled and lifted her head again, sticking her lower lip out. "I didn't put it like THAT... if you two really want privacy, I'll stay out of your hair... or, well, fur. But you didn't seem to mind, or even notice, as I watched you earlier... all wrapped up in your own little world, as it were." She grinned, shrugging. "So, if you don't mind..."

Lutra nodded, hoping - despite a sensation of sexual weariness - that the Mermaid would soon return to her 'meal'. "Umm... I don't mind, I suppose... but you're really okay with keeping this from Sayn?" Aishee lifted an eyebrow, and shrugged. "Well, sure. She wouldn't take it well, ya know? I'm well aware of that. Heck, you won't catch me mentioning that some Mermaids have been known to seek the company of dolphins when no lusty sailors are available. Lemme tell you, dolphins are NOT gentle lovers - but they're hung like ya wouldn't believe, and they're always horny!" Flashing a naughty grin that left Lutra strongly wondering if Aishee was speaking from experience there, the Mermaid lowered her head again, and set back to work - clearly determined to track down every reachable drop of delicious Kirin-cum. Would it taste different since Korlin had been in otter-form at the time? Well, judging by how eagerly she was going at it, it clearly didn't taste worse...

Tearing her eyes away from the bobbing head between her legs, she looked up at Korlin again, a question hovering in her eyes. The wise Kirin had no trouble reading it, and she sighed. "Yes, I did say 'future liaisons'. Work and other engagements permitting, I am quite willing to provide you with an outlet for your newfound fetish in the future, too." She smiled, in a fashion that seemed far too pure and innocent for her words. "It was far from unpleasant, after all... there is a certain intoxicating intensity to having sex while in animal-form."

Lutra nodded silently. Yes, yes there was. And those instincts _were_part of her heritage... passed down from several great- or great-great-grandparents of hers, who had walked on four legs and hunted in the rivers of her homelands, unburdened by any of the worries or concerns of their two-legged cousins. Giving in to them... the intensity had been mind-boggling, addictive... she'd have to be careful. Certainly, she could understand, now, why those of her kind who had taken the path of the Wildmate seemed so content with it, so perfectly happy to be married to a beast, rather than an equal. And why virtually none of them elected to marry another Beastkin when they inevitably outlived their Wildmate, instead remaining widows or widowers for the rest of their lives - or wooing another Wildmate.

For now, though... "Thank you, Korlin... for this, and for the advice, and for the offer. I'll... call on you when the need overwhelms me." The beautiful Kirin chuckled and patted her on the head. "You need not wait until you can endure no longer. Indeed, you may find the urges easier to cope with and less overwhelming if you prevent them from building up for too long." Lutra considered this for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes... I think I'd better do that." The experience she'd just had was perhaps the most intense in her life. If she was incautious, something like that could... seduce her away from her true calling. Make her forget, if only briefly, her devotion to Sayn, The Beastmaker, Goddess Made Flesh. That could not be allowed, even if it meant taking advantage of Korlin's generosity on the regular...

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PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE

Name: Lutra Ronura

Titles: Beastkin Consort to the Beastmaker (Also daughter of her tribe's chieftain, but Beastkin do not have an equivalent of the human Princess/Lady title.)

Age: 17 (Otterkin age of majority is 10. Life expectancy is around 70.)

Sexual Profile: Bisexual, with a mild preference for women. Adventurous and outgoing, she's willing to give anything a try. Highly skilled in rope-bondage, having learned from a Tigerkin acquaintance. Fairly skilled in other facets of BDSM as well, with a strong focus on responsible conduct - not a risk-taker in bed. Recently discovered a fetish for 'Wildmates' - that is, mating with a feral specimen of her kind.

Psychological Assessment: A young and fairly ordinary girl at the time she first met Sayn (her status as the Chieftain's daughter gave her no particular privileges), the power and attitude of The Beastmaker imprinted on her strongly. Seeing keenly how much the lives and futures of the Beastkin in general have improved under Sayn's reign, and particularly cognizant of how her own tribe likely would have been humanity's next victim were it not for the Beastmaker's rise, she feels a strong debt of gratitude. Combined with frequent exposure to Sayn's inhuman abilities and general successes, this seems to have given rise to a particularly strong bond - a mixture of faith, gratitude, friendship and loyalty.

Extrapolation: Lutra is most likely a borderline zealot. While eager to serve her Goddess in any way she can - including acting as a dominant in bed - and willing to stand up to her if she feels that Sayn is risking herself needlessly, she has overwhelming devotion towards The Beastmaker, and unlike many of her peers would likely not be conflicted if she found herself caught between opposing loyalties. While she's happy to serve her people and watch over their interests in the Imperial Court, it seems highly likely that, should it come down to it, she would ultimately choose Sayn over her own people. With religious faith mixed into such devotion, she would likely be vulnerable to a sort of 'crisis of faith' - any sense that her loyalty is drifting or split would cause fierce internal conflict. As such, while she is certainly a highly reliable friend and ally, she is unlikely to provide a useful moral compass or any particularly insightful advice - she is simply too eager to align herself with whatever Sayn is already tending towards.

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_ END _