Eternal Flames

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Southern District, Luxor

Neo Egypt, Planet Vasily (YG-4), Yangu-Grurra System

06:47, 8/1/1, 22 XP

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"Hey, watch it fuzzball!" An adolescent human boy flew down the street on his cheap powerbike, nearly clipping a lone girl as he raced to school. "Later, pussy!"

"Jerk." Erin checked herself for injuries due to the close shave, the small statured pink and blue furred meerkat-otter mix feeling something touch her in the exchange. She leaned over and groaned at the puddle-soiled kneesock of her uniform. "Bloody asshole... Why did I even try going to an Egyptian school? I should've just worked on a new toy instead."

"Ah, don't say that. You haven't even triedhighschool yet." A similarly aged yet towering otter with azure accents and hazy eyes gave Erin a good examination. "Hey, Cupcake. Er... Might want to watch your skirt there, by the way."

"Hunter? Wh-What are you doing here?" Erin shot her friend a bit of a look, then followed his gaze to her ass--her panties quite visible with her tail lifted high. "Damnit, Tesem! Don't look!"

"Hey, an ass on display is deserving of a good stare--not that I'm really one to talk" The otter narrowly avoided a swat of Erin's paw, adjusting the tie of his male uniform. "I'll tell you what: I'll keep all eyes off your tail-end if you keep discerning eyes off me. And don't call me 'Tesem' around here either; I'd hate for my mothers to drag me back to the palace."

"Yeah, well maybe his highness the prince shouldn't be attending a normal school."

"Ah, shush... You win, Cupcake. What, you want me to treat you the same? Names too?"

Erin turtled her head into her shoulders a tad, mildly blushing as she corrected her own uniform. "You can call me your silly nicknames... but only for me..."

"There's the Erin I know. I'm just screwing with you, Cupcake. Besides, it's just us here now." Tesem nudged his snout skyward and sighed. "Well, excepting Horus. The old bird might be the one to give me away, actually. I'm looking forward to school with you, though."

"Wait, you're here because of me?" Erin turned about face to check the school gates, and totally not to hide her brightly flushed face. "Why? What's so special about going to school?"

"Besides the fact that we can now? We had a lot of fun with homeschooling but now that we're growing about normal speed... it might be nice to make more friends..."

"Oh... I guess it would be pretty lonely without me. Horus is nice but... yeah." Erin took a deep breath and scurried for the main gates. "Well 'Hunter' is it. Let's make the most of highschool together."

"Now that sounds like a plan." Sem regained his bearings and followed in Erin's pawsteps, the ottkat kindly shedding her gaze downward to watch Sem hop over the curb of the street. "You gonna be alright? We should be fine in class with all the others there, but going home..."

"I have Horus for the most part. We made it here in one piece, didn't we?" Sem nearly tripped over the edge of the outer gates to the school, prompting a bit of a pained one-legged hop. "Ack. Well, more-or-less in one piece."

"You're always so reckless, dummy. If I had to see by using other people's eyes I'd at least make sure I had a set at ground level." Erin snagged the otter by his arm and tugged him to the front door of the central hall. "If you want... I can escort you home..."

"I didn't want to ask that much of you, especially considering how far you live from the palace. We can try to figure it out if you're up to it, though." Sem caught the edge of the sliding door with his tail and tugged back so Erin would slow down a notch. "Give me a second. I just lost my other set of eyes."

"Oh, right. Wait, what's Horus going to do all day?"

"That falcon loves this part of the city. We're just close enough to the perimeter that there's birds and mice galore for him to hunt." Sem fluttered his eyes, what little usefulness they provided coming into play once they adjusted to the lesser light of the interior. "So what about you?"

"Hm? What about me?"

"You're a long way from home. I was surprised to see you enrolled here, and I'm guessing the reason isn't the vermin as well."

"Oh..." Erin tugged Tesem again and led him to the cubby lockers near the front. "I wanted... Well, I wanted to go somewhere normal. The Vaiinu schools near home are nice, but everyone knows me and treats me like a fragile little girl." She removed her shoes and placed them in her designated locker, replacing her shoes with basic interior sandals. "I'm trying to branch out a bit. So far it's not working out quite that well."

"Yeah, I can understand that. You're pretty sheltered, and that's a hoot coming from me holed up in my fancy castle. I think we're both seeking the same things." Sem grinned and gave a low whistle as Erin checked out another girl, a bronze-skinned human typical of the Ancient Egyptian districts. "It certainly helps there's a good view or two. Damn."

"If you peep on the locker rooms I'm going to put a fist through your face."

"Spicy. You're feeling a bit comfortable for a first day." Sem rolled his eyes as his stolen viewpoint shifted to his shoed hindpaws. "Hm? Something actually bothering you? You feel a bit agitated."

"I was just... You need to... swap your shoes..."

"Oh, that? That's an old tradition. We're not tracking desert sand into the building in this region. Give it a few months and we might have to talk about mud with the rainy season..." The view didn't shift, prompting Tesem to remove his shoes. "Fine. You win, Cupcake. My locker is 132 if you can kindly help find it."

"Here..." Erin placed her paw on the locker just below hers and kept her eyes on the combination lock. "You absolutely planned this."

"Eh... Actually, aside from making sure my application was approved I didn't call in any more favors. Totally just lucky, I guess." Sem rolled through his combination and popped the cubby open, his shoes following a second later. He took a moment to think before shutting the locker, choosing to go bare-paw considering the indoor sandals were made for humans without substantial webbing between their toes. "Erin, let's stick together around here. They don't think too favorably of furs in this area of town and... we can keep an eye on each other... Good?"

"Great. That's a promise, Hunter." Erin smiled with her friend, then similarly soured her expression in sync with him. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you're fine. I'm... not sure..."

"Who's getting cold paws about school now?" The starting bell chimed over the intercom radios, setting the ottkat into motion. "Come on. I'll show you to your homeroom. Which class are you in?"

"Uh... Class 1-C..."

"Really? That's mine as well? You totally planed all of this, you water weasel." A paw slapped Tesem's shoulder as Erin chortled, soon calming to dead silence at a lack of response. "Tesem? What's wrong? Something isn't right with you."

"I think I just... had a heart attack..." A chill ruffled the fur throughout Sem's body onto end as he stared up at the ceiling. "No... Horus..."

Erin held a paw up to her muzzle. "Don't tell me..."

"I think Horus... just fell..." Tesem reached blindly for his shoes, cursing at the shut and locked cubby door. "Fuck it. Sorry, I've got to find him. You can... go to class or..."

"Screw this. School can wait. Horus is family to me too." Erin looked at her hindpaws and kicked off her uncomfortable sandals. "Let me help you. Where do we go, Hunter?"

"Um... He was looking at a field..." Sem chirped in surprise as Erin took his wrist and started moving for the door. "Uh... H-He was circling a tower of some kind."

"A tower? What kind? A radio tower? Water pressure reservoir? A SenseSpace node?"

"I... don't know what any of those look like."

"Was it pointy? Fat? Round? Flat?" Erin practically dragged her friend to the street, her eyes taking note of the taller landmarks along the horizon. "I need something to work with, Hunter. I'm new to this part of town as well."

"Uh... it was a triangular shape... with some big things hanging from the top?"

"The SenseSpace node for the area. Bollocks, I noticed that earlier. It was..." The multicolored ottkat scanned around for the distinct tower and rolled her eyes when she found it at the edge of the various sports fields of the highschool. "That it over there?"

"That... might be it, yeah. Horus was really high up though." Sem closed his eyes and relied entirely on Erin's point of view, his psionic abilities strengthening when he cut away his own vision. "He was diving for something when it happened. It was--Wait! Look left a bit!"

Erin craned her head to the left slowly, noticing a custodian android standing curiously in the middle of the rugby field. "Well that's unusual. Those models aren't made for all-terrain work."

"It spotted something unusual. That's got to be Horus." Sem flipped his paw free then grasped Erin's paw firmly for a better hold. "Lead the way, Cupcake."

"S-Sure." Erin led the way along a side path, frowning as she noticed the android pick something large out of the grass. "Think you can speed it up? That custodian isn't waiting for us."

"I see it. Give me a second." Sem focused on the bot in view and eventually found himself looking through its visual cameras. "I'm connected to it. It's picking up... some kind of rodent, I think. Oh, one of those flying fox things like Yiff."

"Maybe that's all there is. Horus could be unconscious." Erin trudged through the grass and met the android, placing a paw on its shoulder so its basic safety protocols would freeze it in place. "Sorry, buddy. We just can't have you tossing out our friend."

"Make a new buddy? Come on, help me find Horus--discreetly, please."

"Discretion? And manners? From you? Where did you put my Tesem?" The ottkat exerted a bit of her own flavor of control over the construct, negotiating for it to take care of the varmint already taken before it went to clean anything else. "I bought us some time with a deal. We've got a few minutes to look around. The custodian says it found the carcass over there..."

"There? Horus, I'm coming!"

Erin smacked her distressed friend with her tail as he tried to run off alone, then caught up to him to scan the area properly. "Idiot. You're essentially blind, aren't you? You plan on combing the grass with your paws?"

"If that's what it takes, yeah. This is Horus we're talking about."

"You may have your people conned with that whole bird-god act, but I won't change without him--" Erin shut her muzzle, noticing hints of tears in the corners of her friend's eyes as he legitimately panted in fear. "Right. Horus is family, isn't he. Let's get him back in the air."

"What if he's suffering? Erin, I can't... I just can't stand it, not after what I just felt."

"We can't wait, can we? Hunter, can you see from my Slate?"

"Your... uh..." Tesem connected his mind to the small device and nodded slowly. "I'm connected to it. Your password is too basic."

"Oh yeah? That's the one I set up specifically for you, dummy. Just get ready." Erin groaned at the potential sacrifice she was about to make, promising to the device that she'd make it better than new later. She hurled the Slate into the air, tried to catch it, and failed with a shiver of shared pain as it cracked on the nearby pathway. "Please tell me you saw something. I'd rather not do that again."

"I did. Erin, lead me that way." The pair slowly made their way to the border of the field and a row of trees, creeping upon a large slump of brown and tan feathers. "No... Horus, please..."

"Oh, Sem..."

"Please be alive!" Tesem managed to break away this time, lunging upon the body of his loyal peregrine falcon companion whilst viewing himself in the second person. "No... He's... He doesn't..."

"Sem..." Erin fought with her own body, inching closer so Sem could get a better view but not actually wanting to get a look herself. "It's for a good cause, Erin..."

Tesem swallowed his heart as he finally got a hint of the true damage, spotting the falcon's head cracked red a split second before losing his source of sight. "Poor guy... Damnit, Horus. You deserved a better end than this. Erin, what do we do? Erin?" The otter looked back but felt only the most basic of mental links to his close friend. "Shit, you passed out? What am I gonna do?"

The basic custodian returned with a trash bag. "Sir, please refrain from touching dead wildlife. Please move away so--"

"Royal override, Tesem Rihzyet. Delete all--" Sem bit his tongue as he thought of his robotically sympathetic friend and her intentions. "Correction. Speak to nobody of this incident unless they have my clearance."

"Affirmative, your highness. I have taken liberties in calling medical assistance as well. Have a nice day."

"Damn. If my people find out you're dead then so am I." Tesem stood and wiped his arm over his damp eyes, making note of his silhouette from Erin's Slate. "That still works? There's hope yet. I'll get you to a proper resting place, Horus. I'll take your Path, even if it kills me." He stumbled over to the communications device and raised it for a constrained view of the area. "Let's get to it."

The Grand Palace

Luxor, Neo Egypt

11:18, 8/1/1, 22 XP

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"Ugh... My head..."

"Woah there, Cupcake. Take it slow." Tesem sat upright in his bed and waved a paw to dismiss a maid. "You always pass out when you see blood?"

"Never. I passed out because you saw blood through me. Seriously, you're supposed to be a guy, right?" Erin gripped her forehead, wincing at the tender bump bruising her hairline. "Ouch. How did I get here? And where is this? The palace?"

"It's my bedroom." Sem reached through squinty eyes and produced the ottkat's shattered chunk of ceramic from the bedside table. "Here. Thanks to this I managed to get you here safely. It might need a charge amongst other things..."

"My Slate..." She clutched the device, juggling it between her paws anxiously. "You... carried me here, using only this? Sem..."

"I carried you to an autocab stop. You think I'd seriously be able to walk the whole way like that?"

"No, I guess not. Still... thanks, Sem. You always look after me." Erin scanned around the expansive room, hiding in her own shoulders meekly as she realized she could smell Tesem's scent on his sheets. "So... where's Horus?"

"Sorry, but I had to, uh... commandeer your bag..." Sem's gaze lowered to the foot of the bed. "I buried him in the atrium garden, under his favorite perch tree. Divines bless his Path."

"So he... really was...?" The ottkat hid beneath the covers. "Damn. Do you know if he suffered?"

"Based on what I felt? No, I don't think he suffered. It seems he died from the impact with the ground and not the heart attack that caused it all. At least he went out doing what he loved."

"That's... better, I guess." Erin squeaked as Yiff sauntered into the room, the t'aaulaau gaining speed to hop up onto the bed. "Oh, hey. Long time, no see, Yiffy."

"Crap. I was thinking about that friend of his that Horus hunted. Sorry, Yiff."

That's alright, Tesem. I sensed you were lonely, nothing more. The tree swimmer curled up in Sem's lap, licking his wrist softly. Please don't be sad.

"I'll be fine, Yiff. Thanks." Sem rubbed the pet's neck idly. "I'm more concerned about the kingdom. Without Horus we might revert back decades."

"What? I know you and your family put a lot of weight on his wings, but I didn't think Horus meant that much to people." Erin stiffened up as her analytical side showed itself too boldly. "Sorry. I liked Horus a ton but I'm not sure what he meant outside your family."

"That's the thing... My grandfather set this up the minute I was born. He wanted to be the last pharaoh to rule these people as a god. So to make that happen, he paired me with Horus." Sem craned his neck, rubbing it idly. "I was made to be the attendant of a god, not a god myself. The pharaoh could then be dropped down a notch to just a king, and eventually less I guess. These people deserve to rule themselves, after all."

"So... Horus was a god then? To your people at least?"

"Horus was an ancient god, and he was known to take form as a falcon amongst other birds of prey. Our Horus was a surrogate, one the people could believe in with me as the interpreter. But without him, there's no more god to rule the people." The otter fell backward into his bed and shut his eyes, using Yiff's as surrogates. "Now we either have to revert back to king-gods or we need to replace Horus. The issue is that falcons are incredibly rare on Earth after the last few wars nuked their habitats."

"Wait, you got Horus all the way from Earth?"

"From a sanctuary, one that is now shut down apparently." Sem leaned his head forward and tapped a Sense connected to his neck. "I've been researching it all day. It's not looking good."

"So there aren't any falcons we can source." Erin communed with her broken Slate and groaned as it didn't respond at all. "Any similar birds? Maybe we can find something close enough for appearances, at least."

"Horus was pretty distinctive. Peregrines are the kings of all falcons. They have some unique features, like a razor in their beaks." The otter rolled to his side and Yiff curled up beside him. "I've checked all the sanctuaries on Earth and they all have so few peregrines they can't risk parting them and ruining mating pairs. I'm out of ideas. At this rate... we'll have to give up on grandpa Siamun's dream."

"Maybe there's somewhere else we can look?" Erin scanned around the room, then slipped out of bed to grab a Slab tablet on Sem's desk. "Aha. Let's see if we can find one offworld. Maybe there's a place on an orbital station or something."

"Already checked. I'm pretty sure they're just too rare to own as pets, even for royalty. It makes me question how much grandpa obtained Horus."

How about something grander?

Tesem quirked his head and shot Yiff a questioning expression. "What are you thinking, Horndog?"

Another nickname? I'm not sure if you're worse than Iolvin or not. Ugh. The t'aaulaau stood tall and nudged Sem's chin with his snout. The 'birds' on this world are all mammals like me. There are a few large, majestic birds on Iolvin's planet however.

Tesem perked his head at the notion, something calling to him in that idea. "I've only been there once and it was not the most fun, to say the least. They have it hard there." He rolled his eyes and clarified for those unversed in telepathy. "Yiff has a point though. Darius and probably it's twin Alexandria should have some large birds of prey. The problem is the constant, daily monster attacks."

"I've always wanted to check out some of that gnomish forge tech. It's a shame everything they forge gets ripped to shreds though." Erin smiled as she looked up the online record page for Darius. "You think maybe we can get uncle Yoyo to... snag a...?" The ottkat shook her head at the grin plastered over Sem's muzzle. "What are you thinking?"

"He's busy building up walls and growing a tribe. Besides, he doesn't have the right tool for the job." Tesem tapped his temple and hopped off the bed, Yiff jumping and gliding onto his back. "If anyone is capturing a murder-death-kill bird, it's by talking it down mentally."

"You're too cocky on a good day. How the hell do you think you'll pull that trick off?"

"I think you mean 'we', right?" Sem habitually tapped his Sense device as he searched heavily. "You were just saying you wanted to visit Darius. There's... two voyages leaving today."

"No. Sem, no." Erin clicked off the Slab and stood firmly beside the desk. "Sem, my moms left me with Cathy and Patrick for a reason. They... have me on a watchlist, for gods' sakes."

"And they get to run off and play magic medics on their own without you? Where are they right now, huh?"

"I... don't..."

"I'm just saying, if you don't take chances you'll be stuck in their protective bubble your whole life. And for what? It might make sense if they were--"

"Sem, stop. It's not like that. They wanted to leave me on the Furnace in the Academy's boarding program." The ottkat walked over, reached up on her toes, and flicked the effectively blind otter on the nose. "I chose to stay here. The Vaiinu tribelands are a quiet place, and I can interact with others at my own pace. Plus... I got to grow up with you, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to talk about you moms like that. I just want you to choose for yourself."

"No, you're still right sadly. You usually are." Erin slapped her friend's back. "Besides, I'm not letting you get into trouble all alone. If today shows anything you're helpless on your own."

"Thanks, Erin. We make a good team."

Don't forget me. Yiffy deftly pulled himself onto Sem's shoulder for a better vantage. You never know when my sight may come in handy.

"True, but mom would kill me. You know how protective she is of you."

Nadiya can live without me for a little while. She'll understand if I phrase it the right way. She'd be happy to have a chaperone following you, after all...

"Oh, good idea. That might help if we get in a sticky spot." Tesem nodded enthusiastically at the forming plan. "So the three of us head to the space elevator, stow away--"

"You're loaded and a holy prince. You can't buy tickets?"

"Not without making a fuss and attracting royal guards and my moms. Nope, we need to play it ninja style."

Erin groaned in thought, then hesitated in her agreement. "Fine, but we hit my house first. My tools might come in pawsy if we need to hide or something. I'm also definitely not wearing this stupid uniform the whole time; skirts don't mesh with me at all."

"Especially if we have to crawl in vents and stuff, hehe."

"P-Perv."

"Damn straight. If we're breaking rules we might as well dive in head first." Tesem placed his paw on Erin's head and ruffled her hair. "Let's make a ruckus for our lost friend. One last hunt for the old bird."

The Cornelia, Heavy Freight Frigate

New Volkton Spaceport, Darius (Darius-3?), Darius System

02:02, 8/2/1, 22 XP

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"Wake up, silly." Erin flicked Tesem's ear while Yiff gnawed the other. "How the hell can you sleep like this? Aren't you used to fancy beds?"

"Hm? Well what else should I do?" Sem stretched his arms and legs across the crawlspace the group secretly occupied. "I've just been resting and hacking ship systems. Oh, speaking of..."

"Yeah, well there's a lot of activity. Everyone disembarked. I'm wondering what's going on."

"Oh, we're here. We landed twenty minutes ago according to the captain's logs." Sem slithered closer to Erin and gave her fur a sniff. "You're finally you again, too. Perfect timing."

"Wh-What are y-you--?"

"You haven't smelled right these last few days. I don't know what you did, but I prefer when you smell like mineral oil. It fits you."

"You... noticed I wore perfume to school?" Erin tried to sink into herself per usual but simply didn't have the space to avoid close contact. "Hunter, can we, uh..."

"Get going, or forget the perfume? I'd say forget it and be yourself. Oh right, and the coast is clear, too." Sem pulled back to give the smaller ottkat a bit of working room. "You're the tool master; care to do the honors?"

"Y-Yeah. One sec, mate. Anything to get out of this smaller hole. The copilot just had to stash his booze in the better spot..." Erin pulled out a powered screwdriver with a specialized claw bit, using it to unscrew an access grate's bolts from the inside. "Any other information we can use, Hunter?"

"We're in the capitol. I mostly remember the last time I was here, supposing the place hasn't been rebuilt from the ground up." Erin finished with the bottom of the grate and Sem nudged Yiff out the gap. "Care to scout some more, little guy? Maybe find us some more of those ration bars?"

Sure! I need to stretch my legs anyway.

"Yiff... Hunter, don't encourage that. Those emergency rations are going to be sorely missed when the crew needs them."

"That's all fine and well, but we can't exactly starve either. A few more won't be missed, especially not after I ordered a few crates worth now that we're back on the grid. I'm no thief." Tesem slid back to give his friend some room to maneuver. "I can feel you're dying to use the restroom. The only crew is in the bridge, so that cargo-level toilet should be free and clear."

"Thanks, I guess." Erin slid out of her hidey hole and brushed off her dusty fur. "Could you maybe not read me that much though? It's a bit..."

"Unsettling? Personal?" Sem pulled his much larger self out he access tunnel and dusted himself much the same. "Sorry about that, Cupcake. Not much to do stuck in an air vent for... damn, it's been a full week apparently."

"That's what you get for choosing the slow freighter instead of the personnel transport."

"Well you needed time to get dressed properly. I'm not about to drag you along for this and then ask you to be uncomfortable on top of that." Sem pointed to a camera in the corner of the cargo hold. "Go do your thing. I'm back in the spotlight so I'll make the most of it. Might be able to snag a look outside if I'm careful."

Erin stretched her legs a moment, then walked toward the toilet closet in the far corner. "Just make sure you use the normal definition of careful and not yours, please."

"I'm not about to let that horrible voyage go to waste. Try not to take too long yourself; the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we're safe to explore town." Sem, nodded to his friend, severing his mental connection for her privacy. He adjusted to only having sparse cameras and his poor eyesight to guide him, but the otter soon made his way to the starboard airlock. "Let's see... Oh, it's unlocked when in atmo. This clunker isn't as old as I thought."

The vents are all weak or busted. It's more likely this ship is upgraded. Yiff climbed up Sem's pants and bounded to rest on his shoulder. I grabbed a few peanut butter blocks. I don't think I was visible.

"I had eyes on you, Horndog. The cameras weren't recording because of me however, so no need to fret. You did well." The otter snagged a packet from Yiff's mouth and ripped it open, immediately taking a hearty chomp. "I'm definitely treating you two with a proper breakfast once the food stalls open up. Let's see what we're working with though. Mind sneaking out first?"

I'm pretty sure I look like a tasty morsel by myself. Please, no.

"Fine, little guy. I'm not against poking my head out. Hide in my shirt if you see something coming after you." Sem mentally nudged Yiff to check downward, giving the otter a better idea of how the manual controls worked. He rolled a locking gear and slowly heaved the hinged door open partway, using his technological control to prevent the motorized opening system from engaging. "Ick. It's colder than Vasily before the sun comes up."

Aren't otters built for cold?

"I've been pampered; sue me." Sem poked his head out the gap, soon followed by his shoulder sentry. "See anything? I don't sense the rest of the crew, but someone's out there."

Don't be hasty. It could be a ralgoth that snuck past the fences.

"I'm sensing a bad experience attached to that..."

"And I'm sensing a bad experience in your future, young man." A thick, robotic tail slapped Sem on the back, knocking the otter off guard. "Nadi needs to take you on a hunt or two. You left yourself wide open, Semmy."

"What the fuck? I'm basically blind, uncle Yoyo!" Tesem picked himself off the tarmac and eased Yiff's sharp climbing claws from his shoulder. "What the hell, man? How did you even know I was here?"

"Because Cait and Lea trust me and they freaked out when my mom couldn't find their daughter. You drove them to tears, just to be absolutely clear." Iolvin hopped down from the frame of the airlock and checked inside. "So where is she? I won't have you dragging Erin into whatever crap you're planning."

"It isn't crap. We have a real emergency we're trying to solve." An uneasy tension divided the two parties until Sem cleared the lingering question. "Erin's in the toilet. I'm not enough of a jerk to deny her that much."

"But you are a jerk. Think before you act, boy." Yoyo took a full breath and forced himself to calm down. "So what's up? What's so damned important you'd subject Erin to hiding in the bowels of a ship?"

"Horus is gone. He died the day we left."

"That sucks. I'm sorry for your loss, kid. That doesn't justify some kind of fucked up vacation or whatever this is. Horus can be replaced soon enough--"

"He really can't. I've looked and there aren't any more of his species out there we can safely take. I had to act."

Iolvin scratched his chin and turned to beam Erin a knowing glare when she showed herself. "I'm sure Siamun could have figured something out. Horus is an important god for your people but he did take many forms."

"We don't have time. It's normally a two month flight to Earth and back from Vasily. Planning things with family would add to that. Hell, We're the only ones that knew what happened." Sem ducked his head and avoided matching Erin's gaze when she crossed the threshold. "If we're going to find a suitable replacement, it has to be here. My people won't understand that long of a silence. Pharaohs normally address the people immediately. We had to do something fast."

"You've got a leader in you yet, boy. Just remember that power is granted to you by those you serve and you might just be salvageable as a king." Yoyo pulled Erin off the ground to hug her at eye level. "How's my favorite cotton candy cutie doing? You're looking like you could use a bath, that's for sure."

"H-Hey, uncle Yoyo. I'm fine." Erin gave her fur a sniff after using Yoyo's scent as a reference. "I could definitely take a shower though."

"Good thing the springs are hot all day long. Let's get you back to the compound." Yoyo reinforced his grip on the tiny ottkat and lifted her onto his shoulder. "Sem, we can talk about Horus after you're fixed up and rested. Flux, are you still there?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't have time to find my normal tabards." One of the several suits of armor standing at the end of the landing pad--this one more feminine--picked up its spear and moved to meet the half-robotic otter. "What's the deal, dad?"

"Sem here needs a bath and a bed. I'm pretty sure your mother and I will want to give Erin a little tour, so you're in charge of this guy." Yoyo carried his niece away and waved a prosthetic paw behind him. "Be a good host and see to his every need. He's royalty after all, so give him whatever he wants instead of your normal take on men. Respect, please."

"Really? I have to act nice for this guy? Who is he, anyway?"

"I didn't say you had to act cute or anything. Just help him relax until I'm free. I have to check the eastern gate with Adri so it'll be a while." Yoyo reaffirmed his grip on his niece and playfully hopped her against his shoulder. "Tesem is your cousin. He's Nadiya and Qesis' first kid, so find some common ground or something. Oh, and the same goes for Yiffy there; that pupper deserves the best. Later, honey."

"Don't call me that. You know I hate that." Flux let out a sigh that mildly echoed through her helmet. "Okay, that's your orders? Sure, just walk away. It's not like you can't boss me around, dad..."

"Daddy issues, I take it?"

"Mom should be in charge. Why the hell is that man our leader?" The armored girl sighed again and shook her head. "Right. Let's get this over with before it backfires on me. Bath first, I'm guessing? Please tell me you don't need my assistance there."

"Only to find the bath, maybe. Last time I was here I was a year younger and a foot shorter." Sem tried to mind meld with the girl but found himself struggling enough to give up. "You're a gnome? That mental fortitude of yours is admirable if not."

"Shit, you've got those mind tricks if you're Nadiya's son. I could honestly care less. if you give up on probing me I might treat you better." Flux clinked her plated and chained legs down the pathway, trying her best to ignore avoid idle chit-chat. "You say you were here before. I... might remember you, actually. You stayed in the castle, right?"

"I sure did."

"Good. I'm taking you there then, so I can avoid explaining where everything is at." Flux changed direction and headed to a large gate, saluting a guard so he'd open the path. "Oh, but... I guess the only male bath is the royal spring. You seem about as sleezy as my dad, right?"

She's not wrong.

"Shush. What does that have to do with taking a bath?"

"The slave girls tend to the baths and bedrooms. I suppose they could have worse tasks, but I'd rather not make them deal with you." Flux brought her helmet up to Sem's face and pressed his shoulder with a single gloved and very sturdy finger. "They'll only go into the bath if you order it. Don't. I won't warn you again."

"I hear ya', toots." Sem grinned as he felt raw anger bleed from the gnome's mind. "Ahem. Show your guests the way, please."

""Ick! I-I'll show you on my own damned time." Flux immediately began marching into the castle grounds, wasting no time with sightseeing. "I can't wait to go back on duty. Anything is better than this humiliation."

"So that's what the armor is all about. Figures you'd be a military chick with Yoyo as your father." Sem felt anger turn to fury as they headed indoors, driving even Yiff to feel uneasy. "Look, I don't want to get in anyone's hair. I didn't ask for this. Let me grab a shower and I'll take off so you can do whatever you want."

"That's tempting. I wouldn't mi--ND..." The person beneath the armor audibly twitched even if the larger mass hid the oddity. "Fuck. No, I need to watch over you until dad returns. I can't disobey a direct order."

"He really does take his training seriously, eh? Alright, I tried." The otter's cousin stopped by a large door and grabbed a stone control beside it. "This it?"

"The springs are through here. Clean up and..." Flux lowered her gaze and raised it again. "I suppose you might fit dad's clothes. You can borrow what you like for now."

"And what about after that?"

"I was ordered to see you get some rest. If you want to sleep there's guest quarters at the end of the connected hallway." Flux turned the control and the smooth stone door opened itself. "If you need me I'll be... well, here:" Flux took out a Slate and tapped a Pebble to it. "This is my contact info. Give me a call and I'll find you."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be alright from here." Tesem took the token and walked into the steamy room, immediately flinching at the sound of a feminine giggle. "Uh, ladies? I'm alright by myself."

"Nonsense. King Iolvin ordered us to 'cleanse' you." A pair of gnomes stepped out of the water and began disrobing the otter, their hands gliding and massaging about his pelt. "We offer our fullest of 'services' to you, prince."

"Damnit, dad. You fucking bast--ACK!" Flux groaned in frustration and manipulated the controls again. "I am far too tired for this shit and I do not need to see this. Such a disappointment..."

"H-Hey, watch it..." Yiff leapt into the air and glided into the water. "You're abandoning me too?"

I just go with it. The water feels nice in any case. Yiffy poked his head out of the water and shook his head dry. Besides, I find your mating rituals quite creative and entertaining.

"Mating? Oh, Abyss no." Fully nude before he knew it, the girls led Sem into the water where half a dozen more surrounded him--their hands not the least hit shy. "Fuck."

That's the intent.

Bedroom Suites, Obrenheim Estate

New Volkton Castle, Darius (Darius-3?), Darius System

02:39, 8/2/1, 22 XP

---

"Fucking blood pact." Flux raised the lights in her room and moved over to an armor stand, taking a moment to peer through a floor-length mirror. "At least things are quiet for a while." She pulled off her helmet and set it to the slot on her storage stand, sighing at the headless body in the mirror. "At least he didn't ask to see my face. Maybe he's not into gnomes."

Flux slowly removed all of her armor piece by piece, eventually left looking at a floating, empty bodysuit. "I'm too tired to even become visible, huh? Maybe those extra shifts were a bad call." She walked over to the bed and sat down, unzipping her suit only after kicking off her boots. "Well at least I'll get a few hours of sleep before that idiot calls for me."

The lights lowered as Flux slid into bed, the invisible girl leaving only a lump in the sheets. Sensing a source of warmth, Yiff suddenly hopped into bed and snuggled against her unusually curvy form. "Hey, Yiff. I missed you too, buddy. Time for some sleep, is it? You always liked cuddling with--"

"Horndog, I can't keep up. You're my eyes, remember." Tesem barged into the room in nothing but a towel, noticing the darkness and feeling his way through it. "Oh, here you are. This is my bed, then? I need a break after those harpies attacked me."

Yiff drooped his eyes as he drifted into sleep. You won't find refuge here, then.

"What?" Sem tripped and fell into the smaller bed, very quickly getting the point upon feeling the almost uncomfortably warm body beneath the sheets. "Oh, fuck me. He's sabotaged the beds too? Yiff?"

Flux squeezed Yiff and froze stiff, trapping the glider. Shush. Relax, Sem.

"Are you serious? I just got done battling for my virginity." Sem groaned as he slipped under the sheets, nudging Flux tenderly. "Just stay on the other side of the bed. I really do need some sleep."

Manners, big guy. Yiff slid off the bed as Flux obeyed the order, the tree swimmer growling as he relocated to the top of the pillow line. Don't be an ass, Sem.

"Crap. Sorry." Sem tried to tug the gnome back but she held stiff. "Fuck. I didn't mean to reject you. My uncle is just asking too much. You don't have to hang out the bed, miss. We can... share..."

Flux scooted backward, pressing against Sem and throwing her eyes wide open at a suspicious poking in the base of her tail. "Th-There..."

"Ah, fuck. Just... ignore that." Tesem tried to keep his paws to himself but ended up draping one over Flux's side. "That has to be uncomfortable. Can you shift your tail so it doesn't bother you? Just relax for me and we'll make it work somehow."

"Yeah..." Flux flicked her thick, smooth tail upward and let it drape around Sem's leg, inadvertently allowing his excited manhood to wedge into the large gap between Flux's thighs. "...B-Better?"

"A little bit. Fuck, you're warm..." Sem's paw slid along Flux's hip, gliding over her smooth skin. His paw caught over a stony protrusion and tugged her hips back, causing his cock to slide forward into unbelievably slick thighs. "...and wet. Fuck, Yoyo. Fuck."

Flux moved her hips forward, unintentionally squeezing her thighs together. "A-Are you... okay...?"

"Spirits Divine, that man is trying too hard to get me laid! I'm not that desperate!" Sem moved his hips flush to Flux's own, his manhood poking out from her thighs at full mast--and causing the gnome to grasp defensively at the abnormally long sixteen inch intruder. "...That's it. Fuck it. He's fucking with me, so I'll show him. I don't care anymore." Roaming paws settled on the gnome's impressively large tits considering her stature, kneading them together greedily. "I want to fuck. You're okay with that, right? This isn't just some game?"

"Like I'd ever--!" Flux bit her lower lip as a jolt of pain ran through her abdomen. "Ah... I mean... I..."

"Huh? Are you here to screw me or not? I can pass, hon."

"N-No, I'm... here to serve you..."

"Then you have my thanks for putting up with me. At least you're nothing like that crass daughter of his." Sem slid a paw downward, gliding down to unfamiliar territory. "I've only ever seen human women naked. Can you do me a favor and guide me? I'm not sure how we're different."

Now this is interesting. Yiffy moved his muzzle to his own phallus, licking himself. Don't read me. Focus on the girl, you idiot.

"S-Sorry." Sem felt as his length was clasped by two warm hands, then gasped as his tip touched searing heat. "Ah... Hon, I'm probably not going to last too long. Just... don't laugh, okay?"

"Yeah..." Flux shifted her small frame backward, splitting her protective dual clits around the fleshy intrusion until his whole head was inside her. "F-Fuck..."

"Huh? Oh, right. I'm a little big for you, huh? I... I'll try to be easy on you, honey." Sem grit his teeth and shoved himself into the much smaller gnome, halting when he reached a barrier along the way. "Fuck. You're... like lava inside..."

Flux held her hands over her stomach, a slight bulge straining the skin. "T-Too much..."

"Crap, that's not even half..." Sem gasped at the heat and pressure around his cock, his paws moving down to cover the remaining length with mild jerking. This in turn drove him to thrust his hips back and forth, the extreme sensations already driving him to his limit. "I... I think I'm gonna... cum..." He jerked harder a few times, surprised to find he was able to press into another inner chamber even deeper inside his lover's nethers with an even harsher internal pressure. "Spirits! Fuck, I want to finish like this but... I should--"

"Don't--AGH!" Flux tried to pull the monstrous length out of her, but that magical pain shocked her into submission. "F-Finish... how you... h-however you like..."

"Really? Fuck, hon. That's so damned sexy..." Sem slammed his cock as far as comfortable into that furnace of a pussy with ragged, strong strokes. After a few mind numbing thrusts he pressed forward hard, the canine in him expecting to tie a knot he didn't own. That did manage to something equally impressive however, the head of his cock piercing the gnome's cervix and drawing a brief scream of shock from her. "Ah! S-Sorry! I just... Gah... C-Cumming...!"

"Builder!" Flux howled in pain at the extreme depth, then again as something that felt cold as ice to her began flooding into her most treasured places. She soon found herself unexpectedly shaking in her own orgasm, one she mentally fought with all she had as her hands felt her belly expand. "Too much! Fuck!"

"I'm... Paths, I didn't..." Perhaps even more painfully, Tesem reeled back his length and humped his cock between Flux's thighs to now paint the sheets with glowing, fluorescent azure goop. "B-Better?"

"Barely, you idio--Ah!"

"Wait, that..." Sem tried to mentally connect to his partner, finding the same telltale pattern of resistance from his earlier intrusion. "Flux? Oh, fuck." The otter immediately backed away, standing on wobbly legs even as his cock spasmed and fired blue on the floor. "Holy shit. I didn't know. Fuck... I wouldn't have done that if--"

"Builder, damn it all. This was my worst fucking fear." Flux rolled onto her back, her sore insides denying her a sitting stance. "How the fuck to you hide that beast? You're a frea--GAH!"

"What was that? Shit, I hurt you. I'm so sorry. It was my first time and I didn't--"

"It's not that. You couldn't even last five minutes, huh?" Flux held her bulging tummy, hiding beneath the sheets as her cunt drained. "I... guess that isn't rare, is it? Forget I said anything."

"Wait..." Sem gave up on taking his lover's point of view and instead focused through Yiff's eyes. "Fuck, you're hiding from me? Did... Did I just steal your first time too?"

"I don't have to answer th--Uhn!" Flux lowered the sheets a tad, just enough to stare at the ceiling in hard thought. "Wait, I wasn't ordered to be truthful. What the hell?"

"Flux, what's hurting you all the time? Are you sick? Was it something I did? I want to help you, now more than ever."

"Shit, how to explain this?" Flux forced herself to breathe as she thought through options. "I could show you, but it would bring up more questions."

"Then show me. Here, let me find the lights--"

"Gah!... No, please don't!" The gnome questioned where that last pang of pain originated, talking as she thought. "I'm under a blood oath. My mom had more than one upon her, and one went bad when... one of my dads died... then came back, if you can believe that."

"Huh. A blood oath? I'm afraid I'm not privy to those." Tesem sat on the edge of the bed, relieved in more ways than one now that his orgasm subsided. "Think you could explain? I want to help, but I need to know what I'm dealing with."

"Well I somehow inherited one father's oath when I was born. If I don't follow dad's orders or I try to defy him, it hurts me. That's why the king... had to carefully order me to assist you. The idiot wasn't specific enough though."

"And that's why you couldn't be mean to me. Shit, I'm sorry for that. We can... get him to undo the orders though, right?"

"Yeah, but... What the hell? I just called him an idiot and didn't get a shock." Flux quirked her head in surprise, tossing the sheets forward when the realization finally sank deep. "Oh, crap. Don't tell me..."

"What? If you're embarrassed, I totally understand. Can I just... be selfish enough to ask for answers?"

"Guh!" Flux doubled over, her hands against her now flattened belly. "Fuck, it won't stop! F-Fine! I think the p-pact shifted! Somehow you're in charge now!"

"Say what, now?"

"Wh-What."

Sem perked his ears at the very literal interpretation. "Wait, let me get this straight. If I order you to do something, you'll do it now?"

Flux slowly nodded, winced in pain, and verbally confirmed, "Yes."

"You'll do anything? How does that work?"

The invisible gnome gave into her new plight, breathing heavily as she rested on her back. "If you order it, I have to do it or I'll be in pain. Fuck, this feels different than before though. It actually hurts worse."

"Is there a way to gauge that, the pain level? And where does it hurt?"

"The blood seals do the damage. The binding subjugation seal is always around my neck and chokes me if I'm resisting too much. The pain is from the punishment seal, but... I don't know where that is now. It used to be near my heart like my mom's seals..."

"Then let me help find it. That's the least I can do until we figure out how to break it." Sem squinted his eyes as well as used Yiffy's sight, but came up understandably confused. "Where'd you go? You don't need to hide yourself from me. Or for that matter, you could let me see through your eyes."

"I... don't want to..."

"Nonsense. Let me take a look at you so we can figure this out."

"But... A-Ah! Fine!" Flux finally opened her mind to the telepath and looked downward at the gnome-shaped sheets. "Happy?"

"I don't see anything. Look down at yourself at least."

"I am, you assh--ACKT!" Flux caught her breath slowly, looking right at her cum stained thighs. "I... have a condition. I already told you I was born fucked up."

"Wait, this is... really strange." Sem crawled over and reached for the hovering jizz, prodding it and finding his fingers dipping into very familiar searing heat. He retracted his digits immediately, but then pressed one back into that inviting heat. "I can still see my finger. You're not kidding... Are you completely invisible? Is that even possible?"

"My brothers can go clear in their own way, so it's apparently something my family can do at least." Flux reached down to move that paw away but gunted in discomfort as a hint of pain wracked her spine. "C-Could you stop that, p-please?"

"Sorry. It's just... so damned curious." Sem looked down at his long--if not particularly thick to match--cock, by way of Flux staring at the regrowing beast. "Yeah, that thing has a mind of its own. It's hard to ignore it all this long."

"Well I assume you jerk that thing way too often with how much came out of it..."

"Actually, that's the first time I ever came on purpose. I'm not kidding when I said it was my first time."

"No way. Bullsh--Nn!"

"You're... allowed to curse? Does that help?"

"Fucker! Mother fucking asshole!" The gnome let out her stress and regained her composure. "Yes, it certainly does. Thanks." Flux ran her hand in the very thick puddle of glowing cum and brought her painted palm to eye level. "You've been bottling that up your whole life? Fuck, at least I take a toy or my fingers to mine. I almost feel sorry for you."

"A prince shouldn't spill his seed, my moms say. I appreciate the, uh... opportunity you gave me."

"You'd better. Consider that my one and only gift to you, fucker. You didn't have to cum inside me though."

"At least I didn't tell you to do anything else." Sem felt the very perturbed reaction that comment garnered and pressed, "What, you mean I can order you to do anything? I could tell you to ride me right now and you'd do it?"

"I'd... have to, or the seals would eventually kill me. Just be careful until we solve this, because some orders can be phrased so they can't be undone..."

"I'll try. First we probably need to find what's changed." Sem utilized Yiff's point of view and only managed a wider view of the dimly-glowing cum monster. "How did you first find this out? Is there a way to make the seals visible?"

"I... can briefly become visible myself. It just takes a lot out of me, and I can only do it so much at once." Flux grasped her left breast as she remembered the original seal being there, and oddly she was so open to Sem's psionic power that he understood her expertly honed sense of self and proprioception. "Could you not look when I do it? It's... disgusting..."

"Sadly, I don't think I really can. Just... get it over with, I guess." The gnome groaned in disapproval but followed that order. Tesem felt the change happen, but more impressively he had multiple viewpoints as Flux's nervous system came into view. In less than a second her bones, then muscles and organs, then her shadow-blue skin all cycled to visible. "Wow. That was actually kind of pretty."

"Shut u--Ah!"

"Ick. I guess you can't order me around?" Sem finally soaked in a view of the cousin he'd just bedded, surprised at the sight of a rather full chest for her small frame. He looked further south and noted both that the umber carpet matched the drapes, and that she was leaking from what looked like two prehensile clits--one high and one low--folded over each other to protect her nethers. "Can I see what you look like... down there?"

"No!" Flux winced and cursed under her tongue, spreading her legs and then extending her surprisingly thick and long clits to reveal a set of basic fatty flaps. "Idiot. Hurry up. I can't hold this for long."

"Huh. Aside from these guys here, you're not too different from humans or furs." Sem made his point by grasping one of those clits, the tip surprisingly leaking a spurt of magenta. "Woah. These things actually serve a purpose?"

"...Mine are way too big. They don't lock over my... my folds too well. They grow when I get intimate, too. I'm... a fucking mess down there..."

"Shit. I'm sorry, Flux. I didn't mean to upset you." Sem released his grip on the smooth tendril and looked over the whole of Flux's front. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

"My seals resemble my dad. They glow that pink color of his."

"Horndog, could you...?"

Oh, sure. Sorry, I was curious as well. She's never shown me herself either.

"Really?" Yiff moved around to check her backside, but Flux was left completely perplexed. "Oh, yeah. I can talk with intelligent animals like Horndog here. In fact, that's why I'm here on Darius to begin with. Oh, here we go..." The two examined Flux's rear, finding patterns of light tattooed all around her lower back. "There's something circling the base of your tail, and another set of symbols higher up."

"Two sets? Wait, is there still something around my neck?"

"Your neck? Nope." Sem reached behind and traced a circle around the tail loop, brushing across her pucker on the underside. "That's the only full loop. The other bit here," he paused to poke his claws lightly atop various symbols, "are the scattered bits."

A shiver ran through Flux's spine tingling even deeper in her sore womb. "Oh, crap. That... The punishment seal is targeting my... lady parts..."

"Is that a normal thing? Are these even supposed to move there?"

"It's a... potential location, yes. Usually that one is... reserved for sex slaves, so their master's desire can affect theirs." Flux again cursed to herself, rubbing her womb from the other side. "So that explains why I came, at least. I'd never let a pathetic fuck like you set me off."

"Except you wouldn't have a say in the matter, right? Like, a master could tell you to blow him off and you'd have to do it, right? Fuck, I wouldn't mind the chance to see you do that."

"Ah, f-fuck. I told you to watch out, you asshole!"

"Huh? I didn't order you, though!"

"You don't need to explicitly o-order me, just make the intent cl-clear. Ah, fuck you." Flux grasped her stomach as she dove forward, her mouth landing square atop Tesem's cock while she licked it. "Take it... back..."

Sem stared at the gnome while she fought the order, a tremble riding down his arms. Then he shook his head and took her point of view, right before she lost the focus required to remain visible. "Fuck. No, keep going. Spirits, you're scalding even on your lips."

"Ass..."

"Hey, I'm just confirming something now that I'm in your head... Woah!" Sem clenched his teeth and hissed as a third of his cock suddenly got a steam bath. "Damn, girl. You didn't have to go so fast."

Flux only grunted angrily as her head slowly bobbed, soon followed by very distorted vision.

"Divines..." Sem tried to make sense of the irregular vision, then reached down and confirmed his suspicions with his thumb. "You're crying? Flux, stop. No more of that."

"You're s-such a grimey bastard..." Flux immediately reeled back and wiped her eyes, panting as she held back from a full cry. "Is this a joke to you? That's... the most humiliating thing a gnome can do..."

"Shit. My bad, Flux." Sem took a breath himself and perked up as he realized his test was still live. "Show yourself to me again."

"I... I can't..." Flux winced in pain and tried her best, managing to only partially make her head visible for a moment. "There. That's all I can m-manage."

"So you say. Sorry, but bear with me here. Show your whole body to me until I say otherwise."

"What? No-Ack!" The gnome once again tried her best, unable to physically do as she was commanded. "Aie! Fuck! I c-can't!"

"Any different?" Sem waited all of two seconds of pained groaning to reform his command. "You can stop. Calm down and tell me if it felt different."

"F-Fuck you!" That pain started welling up again as she forgot to answer the question. "Damnit. Yes, it feels different. It's like my whole damned tail is trying to fall off, that fucking mutant thing."

"Mutant?"

"My tail is like my dad's, not short and round like a normal gnome's." Flux rubbed her tail base gently, her subjugation seal relaxing it's typical squeezing reaction. "I suppose that is better than choking my neck. You're still an ass, though."

"So it works the same as before, then? Just in a new location?"

"Yeah, seems like it."

"I'm sorry for the test, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any surprises with your change in situation. I'd hate to miss some new rule and get you killed." Sem pinched his chin in thought, then quirked his head when he noticed a stare his way. "What? Shit, I said I'm sorry."

"No... I just didn't think you gave a single shit about me. You're a horny fucker, but at least you seem better than most guys."

"I'll take that as a compliment all things considered." That stare drifted downward and centered on a bobbing, light blue cock. "What, you want to continue? No complaints from me if you wanna finish me off."

"No, I... Like I'd ever want to touch that thing!" A pair of fingers idlly slid between Flux's legs, the girl's actions betraying her words. "I just... This stupid seal is making me want more. It's not my fault."

There was a hint of truth to her words, a primal itch begging Sem to scratch it even though he consciously wanted to stop. "You said sex slaves share their master's desires or something like that. How much truth is there to that statement?"

"If the master is horny, the slave is too. If neither satisfies the urge, it'll only get stronger, then if the stories I've heard are right it'll start to hurt, then strangle..."

"And I'm feeling your need too. It's a damned feedback loop with my telepathy." Sem shook his head and laid back on the bed. "We might need to have sex soon because of this. Are you alright with that? I can hold off until later, but--"

"Now." Flux crawled atop her new master and rested her nethers on his cock. "You... claimed me, after all. It's... Sex is a wife's duty if she's taken by conquest."

Sem shut his eyes and soaked up the heat from the intimate contact. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me."

"I'd... rather be taken as a conquest than a slave. At least I'd be... making a choice..."

"No orders, huh? I... can see what you mean there." Sem braced Flux still by the sides of her hips. "How are you a 'conquest' though? I wasn't out hunting for pussy or anything. You're not a piece of meat to me, you know."

"How gentlemanly of you. I seem to remember differently when you punched past my defenses." Flux strained to understand the confusion on Sem's face over such a common matter on Darius. "You really didn't know what would happen? Hell, this whole blood oath transferral might be related and you never guessed it?"

"Guessed what?"

"You really are a damned idiot of a prince. Our people... We consider a man..." Flux reached back to cover her hand in a fresh glaze of cum, then drove her point home by lining Sem up and sitting on several inches of his dick. "If a man manages to get... ah... this far, past a woman's false womb, he can make requests of her. But to put his seed in her and not lose his manhood doing so?" Flux tried to pinch Sem's cock with two bones specifically designed for castration, but his larger girth and her hybrid body didn't allow her enough leverage. "I couldn't stop you, so..."

"So I won the battle, so to say. I think I get it now." Sem reached up and grabbed pawfuls of large, yet taut and muscled tits solely based on Flux's proprioception. "So what does that make us? Master and slave?"

"Actually... if I really was your first, that makes me... your wife..."

"Woah, there! No way. Not happening--"

"The only disgrace worse than losing... is to be rejected as only a concubine..." Flux started moving her body up and down, transitioning into a more horizontal motion to prevent herself slipping and being impaled. "If I must, I will... take the dishonor..."

"What? That's not what I meant. I just wasn't expecting to get hitched." Tesem chewed his lip and eventually chose to thrust into the girl, squeezing her firm tits to the point they deformed surprising degrees. "If... you would rather be my wife, I'll... allow it..."

"...Really?"

"At least until we find a way to undo this. I told you I see you as more than a piece of ass, alright?" Sem thrusted yet again, finding far less resistance now as well as yet more room inside his new wife than before. "Shit, hold up. How are you doing that?"

"What? Oh..." Flux slowed down and felt her stomach, Sem soon joining with his own paw. "It's... a survival trait, apparently. Our flesh can stretch to avoid predators pinning us." She sank onto even more of that towering cock, thankful that it wasn't stone hard due to its length making bloodflow a little harder to maintain. "Crap, it's in my womb now... A gnome isn't even half as long. What the fuck?"

"That's about as far as you can go, huh? I appreciate it, but don't strain for my sake." Sem pulled himself back until he hit a more natural level of pressure and resumed his thrusting. "We're both new to this, so let's not ruin it. I... um..."

"You w-were saying? Spit it out, idiot."

"I'm about to cum again. Sorry I can't last long, hon."

"Don't call me that." Flux found a better angle on her hands and knees and rocked herself at a much faster pace. "And you call the shots. I don't care if you last only two seconds."

"Or where I finish?" That drew out a tighter grasp from Flux's furnace. "Really, now? Well that's an interesting reaction. I was going to pull out," Sem hesitated as he again shivered through a clench, "but if you want it inside just say it. It's not like the risk is any different after earlier, anyway."

Flux tried to stay silent as she rode her husband, then finally gave in to a tingling pain in her womb. "Just... dump it inside me, idiot. That's what you want to do, right?"

"Sure, I do. Just... go a bit faster..." The pace increased dramatically, drawing a grin from Sem as he toppled over his limit. "Shit... have it, then..."

Completely to both of their surprise, Flux collapsed in orgasmic bliss once that first blast of cum cooled her womb. "F-Fuck..."

"Damn... Ah, take it all." Sem tried to use Flux's sight to see what was happening, but the girl shut her eyes to ride out the storm of shakes and spasms. He heaved with ragged breaths, barely managing to call Yiff over for a better view. When he finally spotted his balls twitching against Flux's cum-doused tail his orgasm renewed, driving him even more once the pet looked upward and spotted a bubble of azure cum suspended above his cock like an overfilled condom taking on close to a quart. "Shit... That's impressive..."

"Y-You're telling m-me..." Flux finally looked downward and reacted haphazardly to the foreign sight of her own filled and stretched womb. She scrambled every iota of control she had left and made herself visible again, attempting to prevent such an embarrassing display but perhaps making the sight worse when her bloated, distended belly replaced it. "A-Asshole.."

"Sorry. Shit, let me..." Sem eased himself back out of the stretched confines of his mate, feeling a few small pops as his cock head caught on various inner rungs. "I'm out. Is that better?"

"You... didn't have to stop for me..." Flux relaxed and let herself go invisible again, though with a fresh coat of cum leaking from her loins and atop her back from Sem's cock she wasn't exactly hiding her smooth form. "Are you satisfied now? I don't... feel horny anymore..."

"Yeah, I think that did the trick. Paths, this is crazy." Tesem chirped pleasantly as he relaxed in a dopamine rush, fighting the urge to sleep. "Maybe we should take a fresh bath and clean up. We can figure out sleep without all the mess."

"...Are you asking questions just for me?"

Sem smirked as the gnome caught onto his act quicker than he guessed she might. "Yeah. Beats accidentally ordering you around, huh?"

"...Maybe you're better at this than my dad. Well, except he never fucked me. There's that." Flux slid off her lover and groaned at the state of her sheets. "Let's bathe together so... nobody realizes what's going on..."

"And then we can use the guest room I apparently didn't find. Right?"

"Seriously? This is all happening because you were lost? What a fucking idiot." Flux pulled her husband up by his paw, not afraid to show him she was several times stronger even at half his height. "Bath. Sleep. I need both if I'm going to survive this."

Tesem grinned toothily much like the gnome's father, that patent Rihzyet smile. "Lead the way, Sugartits."

"...I hate you."

Guest Suite Balcony, Obrenheim Estate

08:01, 8/2/1, 22 XP

---

You're not getting up?

"Soon, little guy." Tesem waved his paw and the nearby alarm clock quieted before its ramping volume got too annoying. "Why is it still dark? It's nearly halfway through a pulsar day."

The days are almost twice that on Darius. That's why it gets so cold at night. Just dress lighter for the warmer afternoons. Yiff hopped out of bed and leapt into a glide off the balcony. Most monsters hide when the sun comes out. It's safer to roam now.

"Huh. Okay." Sem watched as the tree swimmer found a patch of freshly turned dirt and got the hint that he needed privacy. "Right, let's get you going, sleeping beauty." A smirk stretched his cheek as Sem's paw slithered and probed for Flux's nethers. "Might as well..."

"Might as well what? Sleazebag." Flux shivered as those paws roamed. "If you want to sneak a f-feel of a gnome, that light touch d-doesn't help."

"Oh? Does that mean you're ticklish, wifey?"

"N-No, I'm warning you bef-fore I hit you."

"As if you could, heeee." The otter found his goal and dipped two fingers past Flux's outer defenses, his actual targets now pried away from her pussy. "So you're not a fan of tickling? Maybe I should just get a little rougher right here?"

"Be my guest. Just don't use a light touch like that." Flux shuddered as said touch returned to a light glide instead of a grab. "I-Idiot."

"That's actually a thing? You feel that more when I use less force?" Finding a much more interesting concept to explore, Sem glided his clawtips gingerly across Flux's tummy and up to her breasts. "Like that?"

"Damnit, you a-asshole..." Flux flinched as those claws circled her nipples, then having found their targets they were replaced with a mildly barbed tongue. "By the Builder...!"

"Ouh, sensitive? Fun." Sem circled his tongue around a nipple, then suckled the other. Almost immediately Flux began convulsing in climax, much to the otter's surprise. "Really? That's all it took?"

A hand mindlessly slapped Sem's face. "I-I told you n-not to!"

"I didn't realize, hon. My bad." Sem noticed his wife's tail flagging in pain and he clarified, "You don't need to worry yourself over that hit. I deserved that one."

Flux rolled over after her partially ruined orgasm and took a moment to look Sem in his eyes. "You didn't need to do that. I deserved the punishment."

"No, you didn't. In fact, I hereby give you permission to whack me if I get out of line." Sem reached for his mate's chin, and settled for drawing her in by her jaw for a soft kiss. "I've been sitting here a while thinking about us. If we're in this, I plan on us being in it together. We don't know how long until we find a solution, right?"

"You... want to make this work? For now, anyway?" Flux touched her fingers to her lips, not entirely against the conditions of her first kiss. "Then let's do this. We'll make the best of it."

"That's my Sugartits." Sem chuckled over his wife's groan, slipping out of bed under her gaze. "I'm told I'm bad with the nicknames. You'll just have to get used to it, wifey."

"You're worse than my dad. Ugh." The gnome looked around the less familiar room and sighed when she realized she had nothing to wear. "We should get dressed. My dad's room is at the very end of the hall."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea considering I'm freezing without my personal space heater cuddling me." Sem noticed Flux fidgeting in the buff and called her over. "Show the way. Let's get some clothes."

"Sure... but where's Yiff? He didn't go off on his own in the night, did--?" A loud screech echoed through the stone walls of the castle and estate. "Yiffy! We need to--"

"I've got him. He's on his way back." Sem pointed to the balcony and Flux got the hint to look outside. "Find the source of that. What's happening?"

"A monster attack, maybe. I've only ever heard that sound once before, and way in the distance." Flux peered out, following the flow of guards and hunters to find a sort of moving fire atop one of the gate watchtowers. "The grand forest gate is being attacked by... something on fire? We hunted all of the dragons in the area, though..."

"You have dragons here? What in the Abyss are you guys up against?" Tesem snapped his fingers and pointed Flux to the doors. "Clothes, now. I can feel you itching to help, too."

"Yeah, I want to. Follow me." Flux darted for the door and opened it, looking back in confusion at the lost otter she left behind. "What are you doing? Hurry."

"Um, did I mention I'm effectively blind?" Sem used his regained viewpoint of himself to reach the door, grabbing his wife's hand with his paw. "When I say I need guidance, I really mean it."

"Fuck, you really were lost when you found me." Flux took a better look at her husband's glossed over eyes and got the hint. "Okay, hold on then. Dad's room is this way." She tugged the taller otter with mixed effectiveness, but soon found herself manipulating the master suite door controls. "How the hell do you get around at all? I'd be useless without eyes."

"I can see a blurry mess with the right lighting, but mostly I just use my head." Sem tapped his temple a few times before pointing to the open doors. "Don't think too hard about it. I can see through your eyes. Electronics too, but not many around us."

"So that's the trick. Good to know." Flux pulled Sem into the suite and rushed for the large room that served as a giant closet. "Pick something. I'll be back in a bit."

"What? No, it'll take ages on my own."

"But I need my armor--"

"I need eyes. No, find something here to wear while you help me. I see feminine stuff." Sem felt a tinge of annoyance in his wife and chose to ignore it for now, his paw reaching for a set of trousers. "Feminine isn't a requirement. Just grab something."

"I... These are all dresses and..."

"So what? Not my problem, toots. Time is." Sem slipped into his borrowed pants and cursed at the waist sliding down. "I need a belt. See one?"

"What?" That desperate question drew Flux into a small pit of despair. "None of these pants fit me without a belt either, and I only see one..."

"You can wear a skirt or something, right? Wear something else. I won't judge." Sem found the belt in question and began threading it through his belt loops. "...Right, you're not visible. You need to cover yourself more, huh?"

"I... would rather wear... pants..." A hint of pain lingered in Flux's voice, the gnome fighting her mild order to wear a skirt until she found a solution in the form of tights. "This might work. I need a shirt that fits me though."

"You might need more than a shirt." Sem used his wife's view of the various tops to nab a dress shirt. "Is that a cloak? Use that."

"A cloak? Oh, this thing is my mother's ceremonial veil. She'd--"

"Can you wear it?"

"I... could, if I was desperate."

"You're desperate. Wear it." Sem finished dressing himself and huffed a sigh as his wife only held her clothes. "Yiff is back. I'll give you a minute to get dressed."

"Y-Yeah, thanks."

Horndog, we're through the open doors. Sem waddled in the general direction back to the hallway until Yiff finally found him. "Hey, little guy. What's the damage?"

There are several monsters fighting by the gates. I tried to get a better look but one of the smaller ones found and came after me. Yiff leapt up Sem's leg and climbed to his shoulder. It looked like they had the larger one cornered in the tower.

"So you think we can just let them finish their fight? Clean up when they're done?"

The larger one is making more and more flames as it fights. I fear for the state of the city.

"Crap. Okay, let's see if we can help. Flux definitely seems like she knows her way around a spear and I might be able to calm the beasts if they're not too simpleminded."

"Good luck with that plan, your highness." Flux returned flushed blue in her face, touting a split leather skirt and a ruffled long-sleeved blouse. She placed the simple veil over her head to behave as a basic hood and mask her missing head, but something about the item brought with it a somber emotion. "Let's go. It sounds like you know what we're up against. Details?"

"Not many, just that there's a group of something smaller fighting one larger creature." Flux tried to grab Tesem's paw for guidance but he broke away gently. "I'm fine with Horndog here. Don't let me slow you down. Find a weapon and lead the way."

"There's spears at all of the guard posts. Now or never, Sem." Flux took a nod as her go-ahead and sprinted to the external doors, which to the larger otter behind her was only a light jog with his longer stride. "Crap, I'm slowing us down..."

"Not at all." Sem grabbed his wife by her waist and hurled her onto his shoulders like a large child, Yiff then moving further up the totem pole for a better vantage. "Door's open. Where now?"

"Th-That gate to the left."

"Got it." The otter struggled with the extra weight yet still managed a much faster pace than before. "It's shut. What now?"

"Renya! You're on duty now, right?"

A lightly armored guardsman poked his head out of the gate booth. "I'm sorry, but it's not safe for guests to leave the castle right now. You'll--"

"Renya, it's..." The lifted gnome checked her veil to ensure she was still well covered. "It's Flux. Open the gate."

"Flux? Sorry there. I didn't recognize the Eternal Hunter without her armor. This'll make a hell of a story at the pub." Reyna grabbed a control crystal and slid it along its track, the granite gates easing open. "Nobody will believe me if you don't tag along. Care for a drink later?"

"Maybe later. I have vermin to kill."

"Well good hunting, then. Think about it!"

Sem delayed a chuckle until they were out of earshot. "Eternal Hunter?"

"A bit of a legend. I never let people know I'm leaving the castle without my armor. Oh, the center path..." Flux played with her veil constantly, outright unable to cope with the unfamiliarity of its blind spots. "Can you see through this? Builder, I'm going to be found out."

"You're fine. Even Horndog here can't see through your disguise and he's next to you." Sem picked up the pace as he ran downhill for a bit. "We're close, aren't we? Where's the guardhouse?"

"The one for this gate is... right, just look." Flux looked over to a specific shack of a building and pointed to the open door. "That's the armory."

"Got it." Sem ran for the tiny room and nearly took his head off while approaching the small door. He fell into a roll, tossing Flux and Yiff ahead of him. "Ah... Fuck."

"Are you--?"

"I'm fine. Weapons, Flux."

"Don't die before the battle starts. Rule three of the hunter's code." Flux giggled at her own common sense for this world. She stood and found a shield, groaning out a rough sigh at the lack of spears. "I'm not too bad with a light sword, I guess. Better than nothing."

"You're used to the reach of a spear, I take it. Fuck it. You're royalty; you can commandeer someone's weapon if it comes to that." Sem waved away Flux's attempt to share her gear. "No, I'm not a fighter. I'll only get myself killed."

"No, the shield. I'd rather you do me the courtesy of not dying since that means I'd die too." Flux handed over the perhaps undersized steel kite shield and grabbed herself another. "Good. Your instinct is to hold it close, but the monsters here will topple you over that way. Hold it out ahead to absorb their charges."

"I'll remember that. With any luck I won't have to put that lesson to use, though." Sem pointed to the gate, fire now spreading across the top and keeping guardsmen at bay. "I have a lot of eyes now. Don't worry about me."

"Fuck that. You're priority one." Flux angled her head upward to the flaming tower and noted a hint of a spine-feathered tail from one of the turret ports. "That's a raptor. They aren't too big or dangerous alone, but they always attack in packs."

"That explains the smaller creatures. Can you get eyes on the larger one? What about you, Horndog?"

My sight is shot with all this fire around. I see heat, remember?

"Okay, that's a no-go. Flux, it's all on you."

"I've... never seen a monster like this one." Two seemingly solid tails of fire lashed about, tossing one of the raptors out a port and to its doom. "It's definitely big, maybe double your size. I'm not sure we can deal with it until we get the siege weapons out."

"You hunt creatures with catapults and shit? That's fucking badass." Sem used the nearby guards as antennae of sorts and probed for signs of intelligence in the creatures... curiously sensing discrete fear from something in the tower. "It's scared. The bigger one is just defending itself."

"So we were simply in the way of a raptor hunt? But they usually fight from the high ground, not uphill like this and certainly not in buildings. That's... unheard of."

"I don't think this was on accident. That larger creature is smart enough to try hiding in a building. The plan just didn't work as expected, I guess." Tesem hefted his shield and approached the base of the tower, avoiding the fire expertly with the many vantages available to him. "Can you fend off these raptors with that sword?"

"Easy. I've never had problems with these simple velociraptors. The larger variety are another matter..." Flux readied her weapon and moved ahead, Yiff moving to hang from the inside of Sem's shield. "They try to dash to the side and poke around your shield. Just bat it to the side and you'll throw them off."

"That probably sounds easier than the reality. I'll leave them to you."

"Pussy. Just stay close behind me." Flux found one of the raptors abandoned to flame and preemptively struck it down with a chop to the neck. "Hunter bless your journey."

"What?"

"A prayer, that we don't receive the Great Hunter's retaliation for our hunt." Flux smiled as she reached the third floor, the group of raptors unable to move further up by a wall of flame. "And is it ever an interesting hunt. That's a lot of them though."

"Hello? Fire creature?"

"What are you doing? Idiot!" Flux bashed away a raptor that took notice of their presence, the one monster flying out of the turret as it honked a warning to the others. "Damnit. Stay back a step and watch your flanks."

"Bit hard to do without sight. Just protect me. I think I've got something here." Sem found a stone corner and crouched behind his shield to keep safe. "Mister fire creature, I can tell you're smart enough to understand me."

I do not have the time to deal with you, mortal.

Tesem gained a chill down his spine that fluffed his thick fur, the creature probing his mind instead of the other way around. "We're trying to help you. We know you tried to hide in this tower."

Correct. However those damned ground birds are relentless. The flames stoked higher by the upper staircase, now no longer seeming entirely physically made. I am out of options. It was not my wish to harm your kind, but I must now destroy this stone cage before it becomes my coffin.

Flux chopped one of the raptors in its spine, crumpling it to the floor. "I can't handle six by myself and still protect you, Sem!"

"Keep trying! Don't worry about me and fight! That's an order!" Tesem focused on the intruding being, finding common ground so they could share more than simple words. "You don't need to destroy this place. We can help you."

A human, helping a phoenix? Now that is a rarity. The firebird lashed its twin tails wildly down the stairs, hitting absolutely nothing but stone. No, you are different than a human of old. You've regained your connection to magic. Perhaps you are more than talk.

"You are a... Bennu? The falcon of the sun?"

I have not heard this name in many thousands of cycles. The tails curled and calmed rather than lashing wildly, the beast itself finding a shared calm with Tesem. You have piqued my interest, hybrid. What might you offer me to set me free?

"Sight. I can offer you the view you lack to deal with these raptors." Sem sent a wave of panic through Flux as he grabbed her tail to strengthen their psionic bond. "I propose an offer. Take our sight, if only for an audience."

...You are a bold one, hybrid. You offer your mind to an immortal? You trust me. Might I not burn out your soul?

"You don't feel vengeful or mean. I feel compassion behind your fear. You wouldn't hesitate to destroy this tower if not for the guards below, correct?" Sem cleared his mind of the chaos around him. "I trust you. Take my offer if it suits you."

Your bravery is commendable. The phoenix borrowed Tesem's mind and those connected to it, exhibiting enough control to even move Flux's head where he needed. Then in two precise serpentine swings his tails skewered the five remaining raptors, setting their innards ablaze. Wonderful. You have earned your audience, mortal. The warrior will remain behind.

"Agreed. Flux, good job. Stay here or you'll spook the bennu."

"You mean I have to sit on my hands after all that?"

"Yes. This is a condition he set. Show some diplomacy, please." Sem waited for a nod, then watched from her eyes as he climbed the rapidly extinguishing stairs. "I apologise, but I cannot look upon your grace. I've always wondered how a legendary creature looked, but my eyes aren't very good."

You risk all just to be in my presence, and you cannot even see? You drive a streak of curiosity in me, child. The phoenix opened its mind, sharing it's sight with Sem as a gesture of thanks. Your presence reminds me of a human, hybrid. Perhaps they are where you heard that ancient name?

"I am the next in line leader of the same humans. You'll find that some of us have changed to fit the decline of our world."

Then we share a common plight. The grand, several meter long bird inexplicably shrank in size as it shed its flames, meeting his new friend's gaze. I fear I am the last of my kind. This world has changed faster than even my timeless form could anticipate. Wisdom alone, I'm afraid, has not saved my race. I envy the adaptability of your kind.

"We have a tenacity some other races cannot quite understand. It's nice to hear it's a good trait for once."

And yet it is also a dangerous one if your tenacity sends you into a blazing tower. Tell me, why do you seek my favor? I can sense it upon you.

"My people may be persistent and tenacious, but they can only put that to proper use with goals and leadership. They are now lost without a sense of the greater universe, without their gods." Tesem took a deep breath as he formed his actual point, not sure himself what solution he sought. "Your kind were once seen as one of their gods. I won't ask you to take that role again, but I would appreciate your help in guiding them back on a proper Path."

You speak of the sand dwellers. Yes, my kind once spanned to their planet. Their downfall was to succumb to the softening nature of worship and time. The flaming falcon spread its wings, stretching them proudly. You ask rather than demand. I sense no ill will in your intentions. How refreshing.

"Refreshing? How so?"

It was once assumed we could remedy our shortcomings with the lesser-lived, to shed light on our blind spots if you will. Every experiment ended in demise, for one or both involved. The phoenix curled its wings back upon themselves and shrank further. Every race demanded more of us, more of our power and magic. This turn has always been the downfall of civilizations. Yet you offer friendship with no demands, the same fabled equality we once prized. The mythical bird flapped its broad wings--licks of flame lingering in their path--until it landed upon Tesem's shoulder. Tell me your name, mortal, that I might know my first true friend.

"Tesem. My name is Tesem Artyom Rihzyet, future pharaoh of Neo Egypt."

Quite interesting. Pharaoh, you say? Yes, how ponderous. The phoenix settled into his new perch, his twin tails igniting in blue flame that very much matched Sem's own glowing flesh. The fiery tails landed on his clothes, but to Sem's surprise they did not harm him. Then even further to his surprise the mental connection between the two faded and yet they could still talk. "My name is Horus, the last of the bennu, and I am proud to call you my companion."

"You... read my language from my mind?"

"I have taken a copy of your entire self, that I might better understand you. Know that few have ever survived this process. This alone would lend you my ear." The true Horus granted access to his incredibly precise vision, leaving a low level connection open between the two so Sem could signal where he required a view. "I owe your ancestor a debt I feared could no longer be repaid. His people once saved my mate, rest her eternal embers. I shall follow you until I deem this debt repaid. If we happen to enjoy ourselves along the way, so be it."

"Ha, that's my kind of pal. I think we'll get along quite well, Horus." Tesem looked deeper into the connection they shared, mildly chuckling at a familiarity to the connected mind. "Yes, ponderous indeed."

"You find amusement in this offer?"

"No, I'm very happy to be your friend. I just noticed something odd." Sem turned his head to find the path down and Horus moved his neck in sync, the two immediately familiar with each other's motions. "I think I was drawn here in my desperation. You feel very much like the gut feeling I had in choosing this Path and coming to Darius."

"Ah, this planet does have a name then." Horus stood tall and elegant upon coming into view of Flux and Yiff. "Your warrior did well to listen. I thank you for your courtesy, young one."

"Flux. My name is Flux. And you're a talking bird. On fire." Flux started raising her gear, but dropped it entirely as Sem shot her a glance. "I have to say, this thing is right out of my nightmares, Sem."

"You'll love him. Horus seems like an upright guy, Sugartits."

"I promise not to attack unless provoked." The bennu reached a wing forward and the fire extinguished from it, allowing a soft graze on the gnome's arm. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Flux Sugartits."

"No, damnit. My name is Flux Obren. What is this guy telling you?" Flux turned around and headed for the stairs, obviously a bit intimidated by the mythical bird. "Nice to meet you too, Horus. Now let's get you out of this place before you burn it down."

"A bit rough around the feathers, isn't she?" The remainers followed Flux's lead, but Horus reached a blue-flamed tail to her bobbing, covered tail. The magic inscriptions of her blood seals became visible even through her clothing, driving a question from the bird. "You are bound together by powerful magic, yes? Is this desired?"

"Not exactly. Some aspects of it are nice, but I think we'd like to eventually get rid of it."

"You just like the sex. Stop staring at my ass, you horny asshole."

"I... see." Horus reeled his long, thin tails back and twisted them together down Sem's back. "Perhaps given time to study this particular technique I may find a solution."

Sem slowed at the thought, giving Flux a bit of distance as he lowered his voice. "I'm sure she'd like that. I'm... just not sure how I feel quite yet. It's a good thing to keep in mind, I guess."

"Curious, indeed." Horus flapped his wings as they exited the tower, buffeting away residual smoke. "These soldiers, are they under your control?"

"No, this isn't my kingdom. My uncle is in charge around here."

"Hunter!" Erin sprinted from the crowd and tackled her friend to the ground in desperation, sending Horus skyward with Yiff in his talons. "You idiot! Why did you go into the fire? Are you crazy?"

"Erin..." Tesem eased as the concerned ottkat bled tears into his shirt, causing the otter to lift her head away and wipe the soot from her cheeks. "Careful, Cupcake. You'll cry if this gets in your eyes."

"Hunter..." Erin slowly but surely gained a blush even as she sobbed. "Don't scare me like that, Hunter. I can't imagine losing you."

"Didn't your mothers teach you not to make a girl cry?" Iolvin moved through the crowd of smaller people and offered his paws to the kids. "Off your tail, hero. Or was my daughter solely responsible for saving the day?"

"Sugart--" Sem took the offered paw but decided his uncle didn't need to know that particular nickname. "Flux got me where I was needed. She did all the heavy lifting."

"In that case, I think she's overdue a little something." Yoyo pulled his nephew up, and in the process his niece as well. He then turned to his daughter and raised a paw. "Let everyone here be witness. My daughter has earned her first grand kill and--"

"Actually, we didn't kill the big one." Flux stepped forward and looked to Sem, shaking her head as she chose to give proper credit. "Sem tamed the beast, or made a friend I guess. I don't deserve anything."

Yoyo lowered his voice and crouched beside his daughter. "Honey, I'm trying to finally give you your proper Hunter commission. Just shut up and let me--"

"No. I didn't earn it. I want to earn my title, dad."

"...What? No, this keeps your safe. I order you to go along."

"I refuse." The gnome quite visibly relaxed with that refreshingly rare phrase. "I will not take that which I have not earned. Sem here is the one deserving of honor today."

"How are you... doing this? I'm only trying to help you, Flux."

"This is going to be awkward, but fuck it." Flux took a step away and raised her voice so everyone could hear. "I am now married to this man, Prince Tesem. If there is any honor to celebrate here today, it is ours to share together."

"You... You're...?"

"You found a man?" Excelle pushed through the crowd and now it was her daughter's turn to be tackled, though being far sturdier Flux held herself upright with just her tail. "When? How? I didn't even know you had your eye on anyone."

"Mom, this is my husband, Tesem." Flux held a hand out to Sem and he gave a slight bow, unsure how to properly greet the queen. "He... conquered me early this morning. And the crap that spews out his mouth may sound like trash, but... he's not so bad when you get used to him, I guess."

"This boy? Isn't he your cousin? Yes, I know Sem!" Excelle skipped over to the boy and gave him a low hug. "So tall! You've grown, Sem. You like smaller women, then? Or was it my daughter that initiated things?"

"It was a misunderstanding, I'm afraid. She's... a fun girl though." Sem grumbled and whispered a note to Erin. "Sorry. I should have said something."

"You... have a wife..."

"We're working on undoing that. It's more complex than it looks. There's magic seals and all kinds of crap."

"Seals?" Excelle sighed in relief at an assumption. "You finally broke that horrible curse upon her? Flux has always wanted to be free."

"Not quite. It just... transferred to me, that's all."

Yoyo calmed now that the details came to the surface. "Adrian and I theorized the spell needed two sets of genes to fully bind. So you... You made love to my little girl, then?"

"I did, sir. I didn't know it was her. You sent your harpies after me and--"

"Crap, I forgot about that. Uh... my bad?" Yoyo gave Sem a hearty slap to his back and pulled him into a tight shoulder hug with a strong pawshake. "Call me 'dad', son. We'll work out the rest of the details at the castle. Damn, now that's she's a woman I can give Flux her sirat!" He broke away and raised a fist. "You hear that? My daughter has married a prince! Call off all work shifts and prepare the celebration hall!"

"Except the perimeter guards!" Excelle gave her new son another hug and released him with a smile, following her cheerful king up the hill. "My husband sometimes forgets his duties, but he means well. Take some time to rest, because I'm afraid he likes to drink quite hard in these moments."

"I'll try not to disappoint." Tesem smiled as the cheering crowd headed back to the center of the city, then drifted his gaze to Erin. "Please... don't hate me for this. I really--"

"You didn't mean to get hitched. I get that much. Customs are... odd here." Erin looked Flux up and down, pausing on her curvier features. "Do you like her, then?"

"Well I think we could get along without killing each other. I don't know about love or anything quite yet." Tesem took good note of Erin's gaze as he broke from her. "I think I'd rather call her a close friend for now. Wife and husband are just titles in our case."

"Is that so...?" Erin quirked her head as she questioned a gap in the gnome's clothing, her attention only distracted until a smoldering bird landed on Sem's shoulder. "What the hell is that?"

"This is Horus--the real one, I'm pretty sure." Sem took a knee so the two could meet. "Can you say, 'Mission complete'?"

"No, I can say 'Hello' to the pretty bird. Where are your manners?" Erin reached forward but hesitated to pet the beast. "May I?"

"You may, little one."

"It can talk?" Erin grinned ear to ear. "My name is Erin! Nice to meet you, Horus!"

Yeah, she likes him. I'm not a fan. Yiff broke from Horus' grasp and skittered up Erin's shoulder. Tell him never to do that again.

"You're fine, Horndog. He won't hurt you." Tesem slowly stood as Erin shook the phoenix's stretched wing, then turned to his new wife and walked up the hill. "Let's enjoy ourselves while we can. I think we've earned a bit of a vacation."

Horus spread his wings gloriously. "I look forward to these festivities. Your kind make for great fun."

Tesem nudged Erin's side with his tail and added, "And great company."

Erin gave Flux another tense examination, then latched onto Tesem's side and smiled contentedly as they strolled to the castle. "Here, here."