Kaleidoscope IV

Pure Imagination

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Royal Garage, Grand Palace

Luxor, Neo Egypt

Yangu-Grurra, Vasily (YG-4)

10:10, 35/2/3, 15 XP

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"Thanks, Aunt Rhyme." Artemis accepted a sandwich from the tanuki whilst still pinned on his back, ravenously tearing a bite out of it immediately. "Amazing. Here, have a bite."

"Ah... S-Sure." Vixellyn dipped her head down into the morsel and took a huge bite herself... only to immediately gag and reflexively spit her chomp onto the floor. "Gah... Ah, I mean--!"

Arty chewed another bite, swallowed, and casually reached for Rhyme's attention. "Don't worry about it, Vix. What would you prefer? Maybe Aunt Rhyme can find something else."

"Oh... Well, I don't..." The vixen shriveled into herself and tried to phrase her response as innocently as possible. "The taste of the sauce on it... I really can't..."

"Got a plain one, Auntie? Vix has a special diet."

"I do, but that was for Dee..."

"It's all yours, hon." Adrian passed over his own sandwich just as he was about to take a bite. "I can always grab another and you can't. No big deal."

"Thank you, Mister--"

"Just call me Dee or Adri, hon."

"S-Sure, uh, Dee." Vix relaxed her neck a moment, then lifted her head to be fed a bite. "Mn... Thanks, Art."

"Any time, Vix." Arty chomped down another bite of his own food, but started losing his appetite when Glitch strolled back into his field of view. "You finally felt like returning? I thought we were going to help Vix first, not take a tour."

The oddball crouched down and sat with her legs crossed. "Well I needed to get my bearings if I'd be of any use to you. This realm is quite different from any of mine."

"'Yours'?" Arty ignored the odd looks from his family and instead fed Vix another bite while the two listened to their muse. "What's that supposed to mean? You call a bunch home? You own them? What?"

"I don't own them. I share a Nexus with others. We were all desperate to survive obscurity, so we split up the realms and became their caretakers." Glitch slumped at the thought, her tail poof flapping behind her. "I'm not sure how long I can remain with the limited glamour of this one realm though. Maybe if I didn't need to share it..."

"Now we're on the right track. What is this glamour exactly? You make it sound tangible."

Vix gulped down her food and added, "And what do you mean 'share it'? If you're cut off here, it's all yours... Right?"

"Glamour is hard to define, probably by its nature. In your perspective it might be called creativity, but from mine... maybe you could call it divergence? The essence of what makes one realm different from others?" Glitch flopped onto her back beside Arty. "I don't think I can articulate how it is useful to me in words. The old and wise in a few of my realms called it 'magic' and left it at that. In any case, I don't have enough here. The caretaker of this realm is claiming most of it... and that's not counting a few peculiarities I'm sensing as well."

"Okay, that's... better than nothing for now." Arty fed both himself and Vix for a moment, then continued mid-swallow. "So you need glamour to get home to your realms, but your realms are where you get glamour. I'm guessing the reason Vix here is snared like this has something to do with breaking that deadlock? How can we help each other?"

"My fate is in your hands... paws. This animal thing is quite fun, but different." Glitch touched a finger to one of the gauntlets holding Vix and giggled curiously. "You have the power to move these, even if we can't remove them yet. That should at least get you moving instead of being so boring. It physically hurts being this boring."

"Well... bear with it?" Arty rolled his eyes back into his head. "How do we move these things?"

Glitch cooed for a moment, playfully hiding her answer in a sung riddle. "~Anything you want to, do it...~"

"What the hell is that--?"

"~Want to change the world? There's nothing to it.~" Rhyme looked up after whispering her tune, finding Vix and Arty staring at her. "What? I like to sing when I'm thinking."

"No... Our friend Glitch here? She was just singing something like that."

"Hm? I just got the urge to vent some Gene Wildlife. What was she singing?"

"Something about 'anything you wanna do'--."

"~Anything you want to, do--~"

"Yeah, that." Arty shook his head and returned to Rhy. "It was the same song, I think. What's it about?"

"Really? You've never seen Willy Wombat and the Cocoa Factory? That's a magical gem of a movie." Rhy nodded as she actually thought about the lyrics. "Essentially, it's a song about giving into your inner child and letting your creativity take over every now and then. ~Come with me, and you'll be / in a world of pure imagination...~"

"~Take a look and you'll see into your imagination. Take--~

"~We'll begin with a spin / traveling in the world of my creation / what we'll see will defy explanation.~" Rhyme looked directly toward Glitch, still a bit confused but quite sure of one thing. "I think I can hear her in song. You... weren't kidding about the muse part."

Vix looked between the two, then furled her brow and queried, "What's in this song that helps me? Glitch says I can move and then starts singing that..."

"Well, that's a tough one. Let me think..." Rhyme muttered the whole song beneath her breath, retreading the lyrics with a critical eye. Then she reached one point and perked her head up. "I think I get it now. ~There is no life I know / to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free, if you truly wish to be.~ She's hinting at something there. I think..." Rhy scooted closer, placing a paw upon a gauntlet. "I might not believe this if I hadn't seen a magic academy sprout up around us, but I think you just need to imagine these things moving and they will. I think your imagination is in control here..."

"Impressive. This one really knows her art." Glitch tapped the other gauntlet and nodded in confirmation. "You've earned a better answer for that. Yes, your imagination is quite powerful. Vixellyn here has a particularly amazing one, a practical font of glamour."

"And since these were made with glamour, they can be changed with it. I think I get that part... if the mechanics of it all don't make any sense." Arty slapped himself on the face as he drew inspiration from the muse. "But we called it magic once too. We also have wizards here, and even more up in orbit. One of us has to know what to do."

"No, I think... I might understand, barely. Glitch is a figment of our imaginations and we just need to refocus that..." Vix looked at her arm and closed her eyes, then the blocks making up the corresponding gauntlet slowly rotated around in a caterpillar track formation and the gauntlet slowly moved a few inches--pinning Arty much to his dismay. "See? I just saw it moving and it did. Glitch, you're the best figment ever."

"That's a new label for me too. The both of you might just sustain me yet." Glitch gave Vix a kiss to her forehead and stood. "I think I like that one from this realm. It fits this form."

"Then why not name that as well?" Arty gave Vix's sandwich to Rhy and wrenched his shoulder loose. "We need a name for your kind, don't we? Pick one."

"Then Figments we are, my Artist and Author." Glitch tapped Artemis and Vixellyn on the nose respectively. "We're going to have a lot of fun together."

Guest Suites, Second Level, Grand Palace

Luxor, Vasily (YG-4)

11:02, 35/2/3, 15 XP

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"There you are, honey. Where'd you go?" Adrian shut the heavy door to his room behind him and strut partway to the large bed in the center, halting as a bad feeling ran through his spine. "Iolvin, what's wrong? I don't like what your broadcasting over our Link, not one bit."

Iolvin grumbled lowly, propped up by a few pillows while half of his body lay strewn about the floor "It's... nothing. You don't... need to worry about..."

Zoë chuffed at that dishonest answer and slapped her husband's shoulder, spilling what looked like whisky from their two glasses. "Eongt-teoli! Agicheoleom u-u-uneungeoya!"

"I don't even...?" Dee reached for his personal Sense and Linked to it through the flesh of his paw. "Korean? In over a decade together you just now decide to throw that on us? At least that answers something." He shook his head as he read the translation, after correcting for a fair bit of drunken slurring. "So you've been cooped up here just drinking and crying? What in the name of the gods brought that on? And I thought you were against drinking, Zoë."

"She still is. She just didn't want me to drink alone." Iolvin took the human's glass and pulled her to his side for cuddles. "In her own way, I think I get her motivation. The more I mope, the more she suffers... this."

"And why exactly are you moping, honey? We talked about this. Don't bottle things up." Dee sat to his husband's other side and hugged his arm, careful not to sully the bed with alcohol. "I've never seen you like this before. Please, talk to me."

"I... I failed my boy, Adri. I left for coffee and food and... I wasn't there to help him." Yoyo wiped fluids he'd never admit were tears from his eyes and drooped his head down to his glass. "I let him down and nearly ruined his life."

"Yoyo, no. You didn't fail anyone." Dee snatched the very ineffective drink from his husband's paw and set it aside, freeing his arm for tighter hugs. "You both were past your limits. Everyone else passed out and yet you alone kept going right beside him all night long."

"But I left hi--"

"You went to get coffee! Nobody can blame you for trying to stay up longer, honey."

"But I almost took away his futu--"

Adrian pulled his mates into a tight snuggle, ignoring the fact that Zoë was now fast asleep. "The two of you were averting a tragedy. How does that mess with your son's future?"

"Because he deserves a family, Adrian!" Yoyo slowly broke down into a sobbing mess, his husband shouldering his drooping head. "Arty and Vix are perfect for each other. If I let her die, fuck wanting his forgiveness... No, he'd be unhappy his whole life."

"You goof." Dee flicked a claw against his mate's temple. "You couldn't be any more like your father right now if you tried."

"I don't care about myself!"

"Shush. I wasn't finished." Dee took a deep breath and slowly exhaled into his husband's neck fur through his nose. "Your father was the most honorable man I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He literally gave his all just so his son would have a future, flush with family and children. Still, shit happened and he had to give far too much." The otter kissed his mate tenderly, wiping his eyes for him with gentle paws. "All we can do is our best. Come what may, we forge our own futures. Arty may have faltered, but not for lack of help or trying."

"Adri..."

"Yoyo, it's okay to cry. You care about your son's life so much you're already treating that girl Vix like your daughter. We... almost lost that daughter today, but thankfully she's still with us." Dee stared into his mate's eyes as his emotions began to settle, grounding the larger otter until he was his normal, calm self. "Good. Now breathe, then we can think of ways to prevent future mishaps. Dwelling on the past is fine, but as you said we should be more focused on the future."

"Y-Yeah. You're right." Yoyo ducked down and planted his lips on his husband's own. "Thank you, Adri. I love you."

"I know you do, honey. That's the point." The ornate door cracked a few times, resounding in the stone chamber. "Stay here. Breathe. I'll send them away."

"You never saw tears, Adri."

"Yeah, yeah. Just watch after Zoë, silly." Adrian hopped off the bed and cracked the door ajar, immediately gasping a breath of massive relief. "Arty! You found a solution, I take it? Where's Vix?"

"She insisted I go on ahead. She's having trouble with the stairs but wants the practice." Artemis peeked through the door but Dee hinted he should stay put. "Something going on? I can't find my dad and I wanted to let him know we were safe."

"He's... predisposed. So, how did you do it? And what's Vix practicing?"

"I don't know how to explain it exactly if you can't see Glitch. Hm..." Arty turned to face the Figment for a moment as she magically helped divine a simple explanation. "Vix can move those gauntlets, but she needs to imagine them moving very, very vividly. They're linked to her mind, in a way."

"Oh... Well I'd think Nadiya could help then. Maybe even Carmine back on the Furnace if he's willing..."

"Son!" Iolvin practically ripped the door from its hinges as he used it to support his half of a body. "Arty, son! You're okay? Nobody is hurt?"

"Not too badly. Vix bruised her neck but it thankfully isn't bad enough to show through her fur."

Yoyo flopped forward and loosely hugged his son with all his weight. "Thank the gods. You said she's falling behind? She's not--"

"Dad, Vix is fine. I mean, she has those things bound to her but... You know what I mean." Art finally checked into the room once his father let go of him, finding a curiously smiling yet unconscious human sprawled over a bed. "You're... having fun with your mates. I'll come back later."

"What? Oh, no. Zoë is just drunk. Oh! Wait right here." Yoyo nearly fell on his face as he dropped to attach his prosthetic leg, returning to his hindpaws with his pants in his paw. "Dee, could you hold this? Thanks." With his paw freed, the father unlatched his pistol from his belt and held it out for his son. "Arty, here. Take this."

"What? No. I don't want your gun, dad."

Yoyo shook his head and pressed the weapon into his son't paw. "My father passed this on to me and I think it's about time for my own firstborn son to take her. Matilda is sort of a family heirloom."

"Um... But I don't need a--"

"Artemis, take her. A man can't protect those special to him if he gets himself killed first. Matilda has had the honor of protecting the men of our family generation after generation, just so there would be someone to pass her down to." Yoyo closed his son's paws around the pistol's wooden holster and stared into his son's eyes with absolute seriousness. "You have someone to protect now, Arty. Let Matilda help. Upgrade her so she's able to face any current foes you might cross. She's gotten me out of a lot of tight spots, and now that she's let me survive long enough to watch you become a man it's only right I pass the torch."

"Dad, you could just give it to Phoebe or--"

"They have a strong lady guiding them already, even if they're oblivious to how much she does for them. Besides, they're pacifists..." Yoyo let go of Matilda and nodded to himself a few times. "No, you need her more than any of us. Vix needs you at your strongest right now as well. I have a feeling you're both about to get into something huge. When we get back into orbit tomorrow, I'll train you to use--"

"Actually, I think we're going to stay a while." Arty sighed at the heavy weapon in his paws yet shoved the holster into the waist of his pants. "Vix has a tracker in her that stops us from going through security, and Void can't teleport her like she is without risking her arms and legs coming off. We were going to stick around and figure something out, maybe have Void land his ship for us."

"Well Vix can move now, right?" Dee perked up at a potential solution. "Have you tried Ari's twins? The girls could open a portal and if we're lucky Vix could just pass through it on her own."

"I didn't even think of that! Fuck, that's a load off my shoulders." Art gave the otter a quick hug. "Maybe I won't have to skip classes after all."

"You're going back to school, with Vix like that?" Yoyo pointed to the fox as she slowly stepped up the stairs down the hallway. "Son, I think there's other priorities. We know the deans, so we'll talk with them and fix you up."

"No, I'm not going for myself. I think some of my magic class teachers might be able to help Vix practice with her gauntlets."

"Ah, okay then. Good thinking." Yoyo nudged his snout to the weapon in his son's belt. "You'll still need training with that though. We can get special licenses being family with the twins, but you'll still need to earn the right to carry Matilda around. I think Cid might help with that; she's into that sort of thing now. You should see her space dojo."

"Sure, yeah. I might bring you along for that then." Arty rapped the wooden holster against his own paw and then backed into the hallway. "I've... Vix needs me right now. Let's talk later. Okay?"

Unexpectedly, Iolvin threw himself gently toward his son and haphazardly hugged him with a death grip. "I love you, son. Stay safe. Keep her safe."

"Ah... Y-Yeah, I will. Thanks, dad." Arty nodded to his father as they split ways. Once clear he sighed and jogged over to Vix partway down the hall, pausing upon noticing the lantern tethered to his belt was pulsing with blue light from the seams of its shroud. "You don't have to hide, Cher. I left your lamp unlatched."

"I know. I just didn't want to disturb you, Master." The lantern slid fully open, allowing Cherenkov to seep from her mobile abode. "He's putting a lot of trust in you, Master. Your father prizes that weapon. It's one of the few remaining gifts he received from your grandfather before he passed."

"Really? I always thought he hated using the thing. He hides it away and keeps it--"

"--Safe? Exactly my point, Master." Cheren lifted the pistol lightly for a moment for an appreciative inspection. "She's still in good condition. Yoyo always hated using her for fear of damaging her, but his father knew an unused weapon was a pointless one. That conflict still seems to be unresolved."

Arty tilted his head in confusion. "How... do you know that? Have you been chatting with him without me knowing?"

"I guess... I just always knew." Cheren donned her head briefly in thought, then perked back up upon approaching Vixellyn. "I think something your brother did to me the other day broke a few memories free. I'll sort it out, Master, so don't worry about me. Miss Trotter! You look like you're faring far better now."

"I'm doing well enough. This is still awkward, but it's doable too. Better than struggling to breathe, I guess." Vixellyn shuffled her arms forward, then her legs, and finally crawled the spinal choker forward to match. "It makes you really aware of how you use your limbs, but visualizing my back posture all the time is throwing me off the most. I guess you don't think about this stuff in detail normally."

"Well that just sounds painful. You deserve better. Let's get you on your bed and I'll channel my mom for a bit--loosen up that back of yours if we're lucky." Arty popped open the door beside them instinctively, but froze upon spotting Nadiya and Qesis huddled together on their own bed. "Wait, this isn't our room. Why'd you go this far, Vix?"

"I thought I heard crying, and... something in my head drew me here..."

"Nadiya's in your head. Interesting." Arty briefly waved in apology to his younger aunt. "Sorry, guys--wrong room. You two... Are you sitting in the dark? Something wrong?"

Yiff leapt from the bed and aggressively defended the entry to the room, only to be shushed by Qesis with a boop to the snout. "It's fine, little guy. We should stop hiding in here anyway."

Arty leaned around the human to check his slumped aunt. "Nadi, are you crying? What's going on here?"

"Her brother made her cry. It's no big deal though. I've--"

"Is that why he was looking so down?" Arty walked over to Nadi and rubbed her shoulder. "Whatever he did to you, just know he's feeling pretty damned sorry over it himself."

"No, that's not it." Nadiya's mentally projected voice held up far calmer than her physical demeanor. Following this mental fortitude came a slow clasp of her paw over Matilda's holster, bringing the weapon to rest against Arty's chest. "Yoyo's so consumed with falling out of your favor that he's tearing himself up inside. Keep your word. He could use some time with you, and this pistol could facilitate that."

"He's... upset over me? Fuck." Artemis loosened his resisting arm, clutching Matilda tightly. "If it'll keep you from crying, I promise I'll train with him."

Nadi wiped the tears from her face and shook her head. "No. You need to do this for him, not for me. And if it's even possible... maybe for yourself?"

"I can't promise that much, but I'll keep an open mind." Yiff hopped onto his partner's shoulder and licked her cheek, prompting Arty to leave. "I'll let you three deal with this for now. If you need anything, I'm just next door."

"No. Worry about Vix on our behalf and we'll take care of ourselves." Qesis rejoined her wife and clasped her paws around her back for a soft embrace. "Nadi isn't actually upset, so don't worry about us. You have other priorities."

"And a lot more on your mind than just that lovely lady." Nadi nodded in agreement, shooing Arty away with an outstretched paw. "I'll be alright. Yoyo's already feeling much better now that he's talked to you. I'll be fine come suppertime."

"And if you don't show up I'm bringing dinner to you. Later, guys."

"We don't deserve a friend like you, Arty. Thanks."

"Just being myself, Nadi. No need for thanks." Artemis waved behind his shoulder as he left the room, letting out a sigh of relief once the door shut. "Finally. All these incidents back to back only remind me how much sleep I'm lacking. You doing alright, Vix? Want that massage?"

"No, I think... I might just want to sleep too." Vixellyn waddled around until she faced the opposite direction and lumbered over to her actual door. "Mind getting this for me? I can't use my--"

"Oh, wow. I never thought about your paws like that." The panthott grasped the handle and held the door for his friend. "If we can't get these off you soon, maybe we should see if you can move your fingers at least? Stubs for arms might not--"

"Aren't your father and brother flailing stumps, kitty?" Siamun grinned with a slight coo as he sat upright on the bed. "I guess theirs won't come back with a bit of magic though. The robotic replacements are quite amusing in any case."

"Fuck, not you too. This day just won't--"

Vix slammed her hip into Art's to silence him. "Wh-What brings you to our room, um, your majesty?"

"Not in private, please. I do prefer my name to my status, dear. Being a ruler can become tiring over time." Siamun sat in silence for a moment, only standing and rolling his eyes once the situation became awkward enough. "Fine. I realize I can be a bit too playful at times. Get some sleep and we'll talk later."

"No, it's fine." Arty closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. "You wouldn't have slipped in here alone without good reason. What's on your mind, Siamun?"

"I've heard rumors of Vixellyn's bindings. My men I sent to watch over the both of you described Tyet, an old symbol of Isis." Siamun closed the gap to the vixen and reached behind her to glide a finger up her armored spine. "Seeing this single band looping your neck, it can only be the Knot of Isis. This grand ankh represents many things, but amongst them is new life." Oddly Siamun respectfully pulled away and kept his distance. "Such is childish bliss, but we were told the bonds of Tyet were released by Thoth, in doing so releasing a child from Isis's bound womb. Perhaps, should it actually exist, the Book of Thoth may contain such a spell to aid your cause."

"You have a grimoire with a nullification spell for this?" Arty took a moment to will his hard light grimoire into existence. "I'll make note of this and see what my professors know about it--"

"No, you should rest. The Book of Thoth is until now a myth. I shall have my researchers convene on the matter to divine what truth may exist. Perhaps in the centuries I've been asleep the City of the Dead has been revealed..." Siamun nodded slowly to the group and made his exit. "Come see me when you wake. I feel responsible now, if my own lore had something to do with this. I'll make it right."

"Thank you, Siamun. We appreciate any help we can get." Vix attempted to relax as the door shut, but annoyingly slanked into her magical bonds instead. "He's a bit odd, but he seems like a good ruler. A decent person, at least."

"I'm not sure what to think right now. We need sleep." Arty groaned as he fell back onto a sofa. "Make yourself comfortable, Vix. I can't move another inch."

"Art... No. You shouldn't sleep on the couch again, not like that. You're taking the bed." The vixen stood over her friend and refused to relax until he complied. "Come on, Art. You don't want me forcing you up without any fingers at my disposal."

"No, you should have the bed. You need it more--"

"The hell I do. I just took a huge nap on your back all night. I'm not letting you hurt yourself more curling up on this thing." Vix imagined her huge, stubby arms lifting Arty beneath his shoulders and so it was, though in a far cruder motion than what filled her mind's eye. "You're really going to resist? Fine, we can share it. Just sleep in a proper bed for once."

"I'm... not resisting." Arty drooped his head and averted his eyes from the vixen's own, a bit of shame pushing through his tougher facade. "I can't really move anymore. My whole body is on fire."

"Fuck, Art..." Vixellyn nodded after a moment, then proceeded to guide Arty to the bed without dropping his mostly limp body. "At least these things don't give out under strain. Come on. Here..."

"My mom's probably laughing her tail off wherever she is now. In any other situation I'd refuse to be... handled like this." Artemis fell onto the bed, pulled his legs onto the mattress, and simply laid limp. "At least this is like... three whole beds worth. I'll try not to bother you, Vix."

"After what we just went through? Impossible." Vix climbed over Arty, her loose control over Tyet allowing her to do so without crushing the guy. She settled onto her back and stared at the ceiling blankly. "So I just thought of another issue. How do I change clothes? I can't exactly get into pajamas like this."

"Oh, you're right." Arty rolled onto his side and examined the vixen, perhaps a bit too closely. "I think shirts would work, but pants? Underwear? Yeah, not sure that's as easy to solve."

"Well these clothes are a mess and I can't wear this much under these blankets. Anything?"

"Cher? I didn't close your lantern, did I?"

"Oh, no." Cheren reformed herself from the container with a slight chuckle. "I just didn't want to disturb the two of you, Master. How may I help?"

"Could you grab one of my dress shirts? It's not perfect, but I'm large enough that maybe it'll cover Vix..."

"Ah, good thinking. Would you like assistance leaving the room? I think I could help Miss Trotter change on my own."

"How many times have I told you to call me Vix, hon?" The vixen turned onto her own side, then scooted back into a loose spooning position against Arty. "Just let him be. You can change me without seeing anything like this, right Art?"

"I was thinking we'd use the blanket or something, but... Okay, yeah. As long as it's your decision and not mine..." Arty attempted to lift Vix's shirt over her head, but found the spinal choker wouldn't allow it. "Looks like nothing's coming off the right way. How attached are you to this outfit?"

"From the looks of it, far too much. Just rip it off or something. I don't mind."

"That won't work for your jeans. Hm..." Artemis played with the tail of the shirt, then smirked as he conjured a bolt of electricity between his thumb and forefinger. "I can cut it off like this though. Hold still."

Vix jumped as an arc snapped some static into her fur. "Eek!"

"Sorry. I'll try to keep it closer to be safe, but... Shit." Arty swallowed his pride and ran his paw along Vix's chest, stabilizing his finger cutter with the palm of his paw. "Try not... to think too far into... this..."

"N-No, you're just... doing what you need to do. Yeah."

"E-Exactly." That paw glided over a breast, almost comically zapping the nipple as Arty forgot to adjust his angle of attack. "S-Sorry!"

"Nn! Just... fuck being polite. Do it quickly."

"Right..." After slicing through the front of the shirt with his makeshift arc cutter, Arty sliced the sleeves and then peeled away the garment. "Got it. Uh... leave this?"

Vix's instincts argued otherwise, but her conscious self shook her head when Arty hooked a finger into her sports bra. "We'll... worry about that later."

"Good. Thank God. I'd have a heart attack if I had to try that one." Arty slid his paw down to Vix's crotch, fumbling with the button of her jeans before all else. "Wait... is the button backwards? What the hell?"

"Girl clothes. Don't know why, but that's how it goes." Vix morphed a paw to press Arty's elbow, helping his paw into her still-clasped pants and--by complete accident--beneath her panties. "J-Just get r-rid of them..."

"Uh... Um..." Arty found himself mindlessly brushing his fingers against moist heat, even prodding a bit, before he snapped himself back to task. He slipped his paw out of his friend's panties and restarted the arc cutter, slicing through her jean toggles rather than figuring them out. "...Sorry. Just relax and I'll... uh..." The panthott cut the pants in half, then slit the two legs open. "D-Done. Uh... Ch-Cher? Where we, um... at with the...?"

"One large guy shirt, Mast--" Cheren rejoined the confused friends and forced herself to thread Vix's gauntlets through the shirt arms. "I won't judge, Master."

Arty tried to place his paws somewhere safe, deciding that wrapping around Vix's waist was the best bet. "This is just... awkward, is all."

"Well then I don't need to judge, do I? Here. This seems to fit nicely, Vix." Cheren fed the tail of the white shirt under her Master's arms, pulled the garment taut, and then inspected her work. "It's not leaving much to the imagination, but at least your private bits are covered. Master, should--?" She paused for a moment, then placed a faux ocelot paw beneath Arty's nose. "Out cold. It was a noble fight, Master."

"Really? But a second ago..." Vix relaxed for the first time in hours, revealing the warm breath basting her neck and the limp arm over her side. "Wow, Art. Just how tired were you?"

"His mother would be proud. I have no doubts about his father either, especially like this." Cheren found her Master's paw rising higher and reset it before he unconsciously gained purchase on Vix's breast. "Not many people would push themselves this far to the edge for someone they just met a pawful of weeks ago."

"You think? I'm not used to people... caring about my wellbeing and all..." Vix shot her eyes open wide as she felt a hard pressure growing against the base of her tail. "He, uh... Art could be having a normal life... He could find a mate, a good job..."

Cheren smirked as she realized what was happening, taking a moment to adjust her Master's manhoods in his pants so it wasn't a sleeping hazard. "And yet he chooses to help you. What do you make of that, hm?"

"Now might not be the best time to... think about that..." Vix rubbed her thighs together, her stimulation from earlier getting the better of her all without her able to dexterously handle the situation herself. "We're close, and I'm fine with that for now... I think..."

"I won't press, Vix. I only want to see my Master happy while he helps my own situation. I happen to share his view of seeing you are happy as well." Cheren feigned a deep breath and motioned she was returning to her lamp. "Try to clear your head and rest. The both of you are worked up for various reasons right now. I hope a few things settle more favorably when you're back to normal though."

"Wait..." Vixellyn lifted an arm and welcomed the genie closer. "Sleep with us? Please?"

"I've been quite active lately. I'll need to rest in my vessel soon." Cherenkov slipped into the vixen's grasp, sandwiching her against Artemis. "I'll stay until you're asleep if you desire. I'm sure my Master won't complain."

The larger of the two refusing confinement, Arty's cocks popped his pants free and peeled down the zipper. "I'm... sure he won't. Gods, I must smell like a bitch in heat or something."

"Hm?" Cheren reached back and found the two cocks, then took the larger, longer one and pulled it between Vix's thighs. "Ah. When he thinks of you changing or taking showers he gets like this, you know. I'd say it's normal, but it's only when he thinks of you that he gets so hard so fast. Takes two or three sessions to get him back to normal, too."

"This is a normal thing?" Vix huffed out a yiff as the other cock pressed against her rump. "H-How often does he...?"

"Every time. You haven't noticed him out of breath when you return to the room?" Cheren gasped, having slid her ethereal thong aside and pressed half of her Master's manhood into her warm folds. "I like to think I'm at least useful as a masturbation aid, if anything else. I'm proud I can get him off three times in the half hour or so you shower."

"Three times? Shit..." Vix shuddered as Arty tried to jolt forward, but thankfully the exhausted panthott truly had lost his ability to move a muscle. She rolled her hips, the head of his spined cock barely pressing into her even though the cloth of her underwear held him back. "D-Damn... Maybe..." She clutched her thighs together for a moment, but then flushed all thought of sex out her mind and shimmied higher up the bed. "No. Art wouldn't want to do this. He's too much a gentleman... as much as I'd argue right now..."

"Sorry, Vix. It's just instinct to help Master out. Want me to--?"

"No, don't. I've watched you two go at it once before, anyway. Just... maybe don't mention this to him later?" Vix brought a cubified fist to her crotch and tried to take care of her own situation, but simply could not find a way to make it work. "Damn these paws."

"You know what? I think I'll do you both a favor. Sorry, Master." Cheren felt behind her, pulled Vix's panties aside much like her own, and pressed her hips backward slowly but firmly. "If he were awake, there's no way Master would pass up this opportunity. You shouldn't either, especially if in an odd way Master can help you sleep better doing so."

"Wait, I didn't--" Vixellyn shut her eyes as spined panthott pressed into her depths, then shot those eyes open when his knot halted all progress. "H-Holy shit... His smaller one is st-still pretty huge. Fuck..."

"It's nice, right? I'm not sure if it's the mixed heritage, but those soft, nubby spines feel great." Cheren rubbed the abnormally large bulge in her stomach, then dissolved her paws into herself and stroked the head of the larger cock. "That's the one to try first, trust me. I'm not sure you'd fare so well with this one--or any woman, actually. It's as long as my arm. A bit of a softy, though..."

"I-I'm fine with th-this one, thanks." Using her anchored limbs to her mechanical advantage, Vix started plunging her friend's cock in and out of her drooling cunt with absolute abandon. "G-Gods, those n-nubs!"

"He wouldn't want you to hold back, Vix. I'm not sure he'd complain right now, in any case."

"F-Fuck... Art... Gods, Art!" Vixellyn shoved herself against that engorged knot, grinding that spined tip against the sensitive opening to her womb. Within seconds she loosened her position, the core of her body convulsing around the panthott's wonderfully textured spire. "I... I'm c-coming! F..."

"Wow. You go, girl."

"Fu~ck~! Oh..." Vix clenched her thighs together as a second wave of bliss washed though her loins, thanks in particular to her cervix kissing Arty's cock so closely. "Auh! I... I love you, Art! I--!"

"Oh, that deserves a treat. You're not actually in heat, are you?"

"H-Huh? N-No... Wait, did I just say--!?"

"Perfect." Cheren reached behind her and found her Master's knot. Squeezing it in a firm milking motion, she guided about a third of the bulb into Vix. Her true goal however was what came next, a massive torrent of baby blue, glowing cum that flooded the vixen's depths. As an unexpected bonus, his other cock speared over the edge from the same overstimulation and gushed into Cheren's elastic core. "Oh, you really were worked up. Congratulations, Master."

"Wh-What did you do?" Vix looked down as her thighs were painted sticky blue. "Why didn't you p-pull him out!? He wouldn't want this!"

"Oh, he would. He's just too much of a gentleman to dare try, the lovable oaf." Cherenkov slipped herself off her Master's longer cock and spun around. She grabbed the sheets and pulled them over the trio, her head sinking below with a smirk. "He's not particularly virile, thanks to his father apparently. I don't mind a bit of extra work myself, though."

"Extra work? Damnit, Cheren. Fuck, I knew this was a bad--" Vixellyn immediately shut her muzzle as she felt a first, the djinn's tongue joining the cock probing her pussy. "Ch-Cheren!"

The genie popped her Master's cock free then slid the whole of it down her throat. After cleaning his manhood, she nuzzled her nose into Vix's leaking cleft. "I told you I don't mind. Just relax and enjoy, Vix. Your first try was too quick to enjoy."

"Relax? But... I've never..."

"Really? this is the first time someone's given you muzzle? Well then... I should leave those kinds of firsts to my Master." Cheren smiled as the longer cock rehardened between her breasts, then guided the smaller back into Vix as it regained its own vigor. "For now though, round two..."

"Already? Wai--" Vixellyn jerked her hips back as the semi-hard cock, knot and all, slid into her frazzled folds. "G-God-ds..."

"That's it..." Cherenkov licked the sacred juncture of her Master and his closest friend, then giggled as she focused on Vixellyn's spasming clit. "Feeling relaxed yet?"

"...Yes. Fuck yes!"