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The Quest: Beginnings

"Junk," the raccoon responded, tossing back my haul.

"What do you mean?" I pushed, a growl building up at the back of my throat. Unfazed, the smaller male responded with one of his own. His mucky teeth and equally awful breath forcing me back...

"It's junk," he spat, spitting at the floor before throwing himself back onto the creakiest chair known to man. "Don't know what old lady you robbed, but you'd best just return it. It's worthless. Better yet, toss it into the swamp with the rest of them junk you bring back," he concluded, forcing myself to inspect the ring I'd slipped off a barmaid a few hours ago. Its rough exterior painted red a few strange markings I couldn't read engraved into the steel. It had seen better days, that was for sure... Should have sweet-talked the other women, this is pathetic. Engagement rings in this town aren't worth the steel they're made of nowadays!

"Fetch me a price, Gold Digger! I still wanna sell it," I demanded, pocketing my loot and eyeing the equally annoyed raccoon.

"Seriously!? It's junk, mutt, won't even get yourself a copper for it." My growl returned, louder than before, Ryan finally throwing his hands in frustration. "Five copper, if you're lucky!" He threw a finger at me, emphasizing the last word.

"Good enough, pays for some of my drinks," I confessed, waving off the raccoon before exiting his tent cursing the striped rat underneath my breath. My lungs were relieved to finally take in some fresh air, free of the raccoon's rank quarters. Nothing like exiting an unhygienic thirty-year-old tent to welcome the stench of a feces-infested bog. Quality.

This was home, unfortunately. The murky waters were uncomfortable to most but the worst and no guard's coin pocket was heavy enough to hunt down nobodies living here. There was nothing of value, just a wasteland of collected junk hoarded from lootings and a few sewn together tents. It wasn't even quiet here...

Dirt, a typical hyena, was often rolling about laughing on his personal stash of junk. Trinkets he deemed 'trophies', most coming from merchant lootings not worth selling. Tonight, he was especially loud, Ryan had told me earlier that our boss had let him keep some fancy rock from their last ambush. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, the boss rarely gave freebies. Aside from Laughing Dirt though...

I looked towards the campfire to find the largest of our group, good ol' Smokey Brew. He was the kindest. I questioned many times what led him to become a bandit. Never answered, said he'd rather not talk about it, however an answer came one unfortunate raid when he cracked a man's head open without the slightest hint of remorse. I normally didn't bat an eye to killing, done it many times myself, however Brew's smile combined with the merchant pleas didn't sit well. The muscle and executioner of our operations, outside of that... he was our cook. A strange combination, killer by day, cook by night. Nevertheless, whatever he was making was enough to forget the details, my nose twitched, my mouth watered, and I couldn't help but pant a bit.

"Damn Smokey, what are you cooking?" I began, taking a seat on a log opposite to the bear. "Only blasted thing that smells good here."

"Just stew," he happily answered, his eyes were narrow to the point of closing, and my tail clung to the log while eying his impressive frame. "Gold Digger got us some proper vegetables and meats, Boss said we deserved a good meal," Smokey added, stirring the pot and closing the lid to let the food simmer. "How'd your meeting with Gold Digger go?"

"The usual, told him his tent stunk, he called my haul shit, and I forgot to tell him to brush his teeth," I said, cracking a white smile. The only thing about myself worth bragging about...

Ol' Smockey nodded, returning his attention to the simmering pot, eyes still narrowed to the point of mistaking him for being asleep. The brown bear face was unflinching, making me feel a tad bit awkward, but by now, I was used to it. Eventually, Dirt ceased his laughing for a minute, surfacing from his mountain of trash to join us. His nostrils flared as the hyena closed the distance and sat closer to the bear.

He was scrawny, clearly mal-nourished with patches of his fur matted and unwashed. Continuing to swing his nose in different directions, he lowered it near to the pot. Almost close enough to burn himself, Brew however quickly smacked him away, earning a silence to his murmuring chuckles.

"O-Ow! Haha... that hurt... it smells so good though!" Dirt began, taking a paw away from the rock he'd carried in with him, to rub at his snoot. "I already wanna eat! When is it done, Smokey!?" He giggled, repeating himself with a bounce to his step.

"It'll be out when it's out so shut up for a moment, Dirt. You've been laughing all day," I added, expressing the annoyance in my voice best I could. Baring my fangs, squinting my eyes, and adding a huff at the end of it.

Dirt however was oblivious to his bothersome behaviors as he turned his attention to his stone and began to gnaw at it.

"Dude, seriously, it's a gem... I think. It's not rock candy! Stop it." As per Dirt traditions, he responded by increasing his biting. "Fine, break a tooth, see how much I care."

"Hahah- sorry, can't help, so red and pretty-!"

"And that makes you wanna grind your teeth agonist it!?" Dirt smiled and nodded his head ferociously. Urged to question what in his head led to that conclusion, I pushed the conversation, ultimately going in circles for another thirty or so minutes before Gold Digger Ryan joined us, physically and in the conversation, elaborating that the rock was just a cheap imitation of a ruby, worthless all but in exterior appearance.

Our chats dwindled to idle banter, then utter silence. Ryan tapping the wood of the log he sat in, turning towards Smokey.

"Boss and his pup busy?" He questioned, earning a loud "E'yup" from the bear and a followed sigh from the rest of us.

Coal was likely busy tugging himself out of 'Pup' about now, if he was this late to dinner that'd be the reason. It was an unspoken rule that we'd never eat without him, but were it anyone else however... that'd be different. If you missed dinner, you'd best hope you had the copper to get yourself some food at a bar or find some leftover scraps.

I wasn't sure if it was fear or something else that drove us to make this rule. For my own, I simply didn't wanna attract his attention any more than I already had. Aside from him and myself, there was only one other canine in our small group, Pup as we called him. At some point, he had a name, but it was long forgotten by us all, including Pup himself. He was the boss's plaything, a warm ass to use when he felt needy. Wasn't a week he wasn't used once, and there wasn't a day he wasn't tossed to one of us to fill in when the boss didn't want him. I recall my first days seeing a flickering fire in his brown eyes, a sign he hadn't given in to his role. A soft desire to escape, however last I had him to myself, it'd long been doused out. Deserving of his title, he was simply a pup broken into the boss's whims, accepting things would never change and choosing to instead enjoy having his rear broken into on a daily basis.

Truthfully, I didn't care much for him. He wasn't the most good-looking but he satisfied me when I needed a quickie. The boss kept him well-fed and groomed, enough food meant he was plump where it counted the most. Unlike me, his coat was much lighter in color, mixed with all sorts of white and browns, whereas the boss and I had much darker coats. Coal having an almost pure black pelt, befitting of his name.

Who Pup had been and what he did was never my issue, rather what he was is what was concerning... a wolf.

I always found it... strange that aside from myself, he was the only other lupus among us and that his role was simply to satisfy our boss's sexual desires. I wasn't a stranger to asking or forcing myself onto others, that's what Dirt was for and why I was concerned with his unexplained nibbling of red objects. We each knew where we stood in our totem pole. Coal at the top, Brew below, followed by Ryan, myself, Dirt, and finally Pup. Thankfully, no one above me has ever forced me to lift tail, but I'd seen it a plentiful amount of time when Brew vented his needs on either Ryan or Dirt. I counted my blessing, sleeping with my dagger, prepared for someone to attempt it, yet no one did.

I'd pushed my luck multiple times on especially stressful days, I'd forced myself on Dirt. Reminding him of his own namesake by pushing his face into the ground multiple times while I welcomed myself to his backside. I was assured I'd pay a price for it, yet again I never did... leading me to do it more and more when Pup wasn't around. It wasn't until later that I noticed that Coal, our boss, looked at me much the same way he did at Pup. Prey.

What other reasoning could come from being left untouched for a year? All the while I had the lustful stare of my superior fixed on me. Left without anything else but to assume I was being eased into a trap.

My thoughts wandered deeper and deeper into conspiracies, drowning out the conversation around me until a hand over my shoulder anchored me back to reality. In a reflex, I reached for my weapon, stopping only when I heard the familiar voice of the larger black canine.

"Ease up, Kurt," the ebony black wolf laughed in nothing but a worn pair of pants with an obvious scent following behind him. Coal was the largest among us wolves, towering over me. His frame was stacked, surrounded in a pelt worthy of a wolf. Unlike the rest of us, his fur was groomed well, highlighting the muscle beneath it. The Boss' past was a mystery much like Ol' Smokey's, but the general assumption was that he must have been some warrior. A good one at that, judging by the scars decorating the rest of his body. The most notable ones being down his left eye and the "X" on the right side of his pec. The other markings were scattered, some cleaner than others. Cleaner ones came from swords, but the messier scars like the one over his eye must have been from claws or fangs.

Coal squeezed my shoulder, choosing to sit by me as Brew prepped the stew into small wooden bowls passing the first to the boss, myself, then Ryan and Dirt. Pup had yet to arrive...

"He'll be here, just needs to remember how to walk again," Coal commented, filling the campsite with a bit of laughter that wasn't from Dirt. Everyone joined in to throw shade at poor Pup.

"Again!?" Ryan began, "think he'd be used to it by now. You've left him looser than the hole in Kurt's coin purse." I was in the midst of slurping my share, choking at the raccoon's joke as the rest laughed louder. Once I'd peeled away the bowl and rubbed off any remains of the stew from my muzzle I turned to growl. Coal once again squeezed my shoulder and I turned to meet his golden stare.

"Relax, Kurt, it's a joke. While a bit true, it's said in jest," he began, stopping mid-sentence to slurp the rest of his dinner. He delivered a pleased sigh followed by a loud burp, tossing his bowl back at Brew. "If you don't want Gold Digger to out your financial problems, you shouldn't drink and fuck as much as you do." The group laughed again...

"Well, unlike the rest of you, I can spend as much as I choose cause I've got the skill to fill my pockets." I cracked a smile back at the raccoon, baring my fangs to highlight their whiteness and twisting my head to give him a full display of my good genes. "I've got the looks to lie, smile to charm, and a silver tongue to swindle and eat out any maiden I choose."

Ryan's joy sank, the laughs shifting to him. The raccoon was by no means a charmer, and while Brew could, he rarely chose to lift his tail. Gold Digger was old, his fur stank, his teeth were crooked and unkept. You couldn't even tell the shade of brown his fur was with how much dirt rested in it.

"A good dog like me loosens mouths, holes and purses, Ryan. I'd teach you but it'd be wasted with your looks. Your best hope comes from hoping the Boss lets you use Pup or Brew gets desperate again."

Dirt's laugh drowned our own as the raccoon's expression only dropped further. Smokey was a good sport when I dragged in his name, but as per custom it just meant I was due a jab at myself from the bear.

"Personally, I'd prefer Pup any day, ain't no rump as soft as his, Kurt," he pointed at me, "since you value your looks so much, how's about you bed the boss from now on and I keep Pup?" My fur stiffened, a familiar tenseness forming in my stomach as I felt Coal's arm wrap around my neck. They laughed while I was shaken up by the other wolf, meeting his gaze again.

This wasn't the first time this comment was made, nor would it be the last, but whenever it was everyone's expressions shifted. Most of all, there was Coal's eyes. He'd always wrap an arm around me, eye me down, and close the distance between us. His breath was washing over me, Coal's mouth almost watering at the mere mention of the idea. I wanted to fold my ears back, eyeing the bright hazel eyes in a blanket of ebony fur. The boss's scarred eye glowed the brightest, the damaged pupil hardly visible.

Regardless, I pushed his arm off and myself away from the larger wolf who still stank of sex. "Sorry Brew, you've got more luck in offering yourself to the boss in exchange for Pup." The camp remained full of laughter, however most of it came from Dirt. The rest half-assing their own, leaving me once again to question the sincerity of Brew's comment.

Quickly, I finished the rest of my stew, passing the bowl back to Brew before setting off to my tent.

"Already leaving Kurt? Night's still young, your tail sore from our jest?" Ryan laughed, earning a disgruntled growl which only made him screech out another laugh.

"I'm busy tomorrow, I need some early shut eyes," I said, flipping off the raccoon before retreating to my quarters for the night. The fur at the end of my tail was still stiff from the earlier remarks.

Fucking bastards

I strolled through the boggy grass arriving at a patched-up small tent nestled between two trees. The branches carried a few wooden planks I stole from town to provide more coverage from rainy days. Unlike the boss' tent, mine was more drapes and ribbons than anything, offering the bare minimum of protection and shelter. If it weren't for the blankets inside, I wouldn't have survived winter.

Gently pushing past the flap, I entered the small living space. The ground was carpeted with only a sleeping matt and a backpack at the side. Quickly lifting the covers, I confirmed my knife was still there, nodding happily to see my things still undisturbed. Aside from the already mentioned belongings, I had a few more packed within my bag and a broken mirror shard nailed to one of the trees supporting my tent. One of Coal's gifts...

I huffed, approaching the hazy figure in the mirror, close enough to focus the image of a wolf. The wolf wasn't scrawny, yet he wasn't the stockiest youth either. Eyeing the canine, he began to undress, unbinding the notches around his tunic and peeling it off. His fur was a darker shade of grey, with a light blue tint to it. Underneath the greyish blue was a nice white underbelly going from below his nose down beyond his waistline. He smiled, raising an arm, flexing it, then turning to examine the rest of his muscles from a back perspective. That smirk said it all: confident, strong, handsome, as a wolf should be. Continuing by rubbing down his biceps and complementing their girthn, moving his paw towards his chest, adding a bounce or two, then finally flashing a smile. It was me.

I'd survived this long, after already more than a year of hardship, I'd come far and still looked no better than the day before. I was still strong, adding a flex to that statement, I was still quick, adding a fast draw of my dagger, but most importantly... I was still a charmer. I added a wink to that statement...

Moving away from the mirror, I reached over for my bag. It was just as worn as my tunic, perhaps worse. The wool barely held together, I'd need a new one sooner rather than later. Undoing the hatches I dug in and pulled a pair of tools. One set consisted of clamps, whetstones, and a random bar of iron, memories of my previous days before the anvil, back when I was nothing more than an apprentice at a Rurik's smith. Holding the whetstone in my paw, my gaze shifted once more towards the mirror, flexing just once more with the stone.

"Guess I have you to thank for these Rurik..." I sighed, reuniting the stone with the other smith's tools. Rurik had been a kind old dog, a wise one to have lived so long who made plenty of weapons for the lord of our town. I wasn't aware of when or how it happened but we quickly lost customers. I'd only recalled that rumors had begun to spread dismissing the quality of Rurik's steel, baseless rumors evolved into freak accidents, and accidents then transformed into frequent events. Before we knew it, the forge was mostly cold with no jobs from the townsfolk or the lord. Our pockets were soon as empty as the hearth and to accent the chill of the room, Rurik set me aside one day telling me he was closing shop.

"I'm sorry Kurt," I mouthed his words in silence, "but in this world, we've gotta do what we can to survive." My memories recalled his first sentence, but never the rest... Something about being like a son to him, doing good by him, I don't remember. It didn't stick to me, because the matter was he needed my cut to feed himself. I couldn't blame him, I would have done the same now. Before youth would have led me to believe together we'd find a way. Although, that's not how life works...

In life, you have to do whatever it takes to survive, otherwise, you'll die of hunger or winter's wrath. I still valued my time at the smith however, and even more the time I spent with that dog. He was like a father, and one worth remembering for the lessons he taught me.

Shifting my eyes towards the other set of tools, I tugged out a padlock with a set of picks. A loud, click confirmed it was locked, which meant it was time to practice, after a second or two the familiar click made my ears twitch.

"Fast... but could I do it... faster." I chuckled, closing the padlock again and repeating my actions. It wasn't for long as I was tired, but I wanted to assure myself my picking skills were still up to my standards.

Finally setting aside the tools and packing them in my bag, I returned over to my reflection. Flashing a smile at the wolf on the other side, I reached for my pockets to pluck a tiny bag out, with even tinier contents within. A brownish powder, one I used to rub over my fangs. It tasted bland and unsavory, although it was incredibly effective in removing any orange smudges building up, keeping my smile as bright as the guests at the bar. For as unwelcoming as I was towards Coal's gift, the mirror shard had become such a close part of my life. I knew it was just an offering to win my favor. In exchange, I told him how I made the powder. Never where I learned it though.

Content with the shine of my teeth, I took a sip from my waterskin and spat the rest of the powder out. Tomorrow was a big day, I'd need to find a place to bathe, I'd need to be at my best. Not only to hustle for a good price on the engagement ring but to find out where a merchant would be staying. The barmaids tonight mentioned a wizard of sorts would be in town selling trinkets with magical properties for a small fortune. It sounded too good to be true, but the news had spread and eventually been confirmed by some guards who'd said he was looking to sell some things to the town's lord. If I could find where he'd be staying and how to get on the good side of the folks protecting his living space...

I couldn't help but smile at my reflection.

The money from selling even one of those trinkets outside of town would let me leave this hellhole and live comfortably for years to come! No one could know of this, however... Coal was mighty passionate about hiding our findings, and even more aggressive over keeping it to ourselves. None of the other four had ever done so, not to my knowledge at least, but Ryan had let slip once during a drunken escapade that the band had former members who'd done just that. While I was looking to distance myself from the rest of these bandits, I wasn't eager to do it by sinking to the bottom of the bog. I was far too handsome to be fish food...

If I was gonna steal the merchant's goods and sell them, I had to be quick, nimble, and smart. I wasn't gonna stay here another year and find out whether or not Coal intended to make me his new sex slave. I couldn't blame him for wanting though, returning to the wolf in the reflection... I'd want a piece of that too.

Laughing slightly, I finally did away with the rest of my clothes and sank into my mat drifting away to the sounds of croaking and owls...

_________________________________________________________________

I breathed in the air of the town, glad to be among the common folk now one silver richer as I left the pawnshop.

"Lucky to just be a copper, huh? You still underestimate me, striped rat..." I chuckled, my tail happily wagging behind me as I pocketed my reward. A silver coin for a silver tongue as I'd say.

Today would be the first day of reconnaissance, with my newfound wealth I'd be able to live comfortably for the week if I didn't visit the brothel... too much. I'd paid to use the town baths earlier today and even dressed for the occasion, truthfully my best wasn't much better than my usual, but I at least looked more like a peasant than a bandit. I needed to know when and where the merchant was going to be... my best bet for information would be the merchant residence, but I'd probably have more luck in the backstreets.

I'd mulled it over the past few days. If I searched the back alleys and went for my usual contacts, I'd risk being outed to Coal for a silver worth more than my head. I could bluff and say I was gathering information for the band, but I'd rather they find out about the merchant's existence after I'd made my escape. In any case, asking the locals, whose heads were screwed right, was my best bet. Perhaps a bit of snooping among the guards. The less shady they'd be, the less likely Coal would get dirt on me.

The sun was barely out, the skies were clear, I'd have plenty of time to investigate...

Beginning with the stores selling trinkets, I went about window browsing, softening up the storekeepers to share their woes. If this merchant was selling magic trinkets, it'd likely take away business from folks making a decent living. That was my thought process at least, however most only rambled about their children and wives not understanding them. One, in particular, caught my ear though, a man whose fiance lost her engagement ring. Rather upset that one was... woops.

Next up were the bars, mead and ale loosened lips. It cost me a copper or two, but the information could prove useful. Ordering my usual mug of ale, I kept my ears open, shifting the weight of my tail side to the side when catching anything useful. A few guests looked particularly annoyed, from what I gathered; apparently they were vacated from their lodges prematurely for reasons they didn't know. Aside from catching the name of the lodge, "The Sunshine Ridge", there wasn't much more to it. Eventually, I struck what looked to be a lead, and by the jiggle of armor... it looked to be coming from guards.

I closed my eyes and focused on the banter in the tavern. Imagined the men in armor, pushing away all the other conversations around them. Their voices were low, but not enough for my keen hearing.

"Damn Alexsay, just cause he paid for it doesn't mean I want it!" One of them began, "Don't care if it makes my gear shine, and what was with that dragon!?"

"Ye mate, big one, wouldn't have assumed he be packing magic. I'a hear da bigger the scales, da more difficult it be to conduct magic, so the lizard must be pretty impressive to be casting mambo-jambo with dem plates."

I turned slightly, to see the guards, a tiger and a goat. Judging by their conversations and facial expressions, annoyed. The one who sat down first and began speaking was the tiger. Stocky, his armor did little to hide his stature, his chain mail must have been hugging his body tightly to bulge the way it did. There was a shine to his plates, something easy to ignore, but a smith's assistant would know that polishing. It's the kind of shine you request when 'you've got more gold then you know what to use it for' kinda shine. He must be a captain, minimal. His companion quickly confirmed any suspicion with minor formalities, adding a couple of 'sirs' between sentences. Regardless if it was more degrading than respecting...

The goat was not as impressive in structure, opposite to his companion. He was wider, his armor did little to hide the gut he was carrying. Speaking of the steel, his was dented and bumpy, clearly self-repaired with a hammer. If he couldn't take it to a proper smith to fix, he was likely poorer than the tiger and equally as low in rank as his pay.

I gestured towards the bartender, ordering the two a mug of the finest and asking it to be delivered as an anonymous gift. The man nodded and did as requested once I'd paid for the drinks. The two guardsmen responded kindly to the gift, laughing and clapping their mugs together while throwing thanks onto the air to whoever sent drinks their way. Now it was my time to play the part...

When they cheered for their anonymous admirer, I made sure to make obvious eye contact with the tiger. Flashing my usual smile with a now added layer of shyness as I turned my attention away in a hurry. Big guys like him tended to like smaller and shyer folks, folks who they could brag about their achievements too, and judging by his stare he was interested in more than just sharing stories. They continued their chats, bringing up the dragon who seemed to be doing something related to magic for the lord of the town. They never diverged more than that, even with the ale, so I stepped up my game. I ordered another item, this time... for the tiger only.

It was an expensive bottle of ale, it'd eat a couple of coppers, but I deemed it worth chasing this magical dragon lead. When the bottle reached the guardsman, I made sure to stare back adding a blush to my face. He cracked a smile, giving me a look I was all too familiar with, the kind of look Coal often threw my way. He was interested...

The tiger threw his fellow guardsman a look and stood up, coming over to confront me as he put an elbow onto the bar counter, giving me a smirk as he let his shadow tower me.

"Well hey there puppy, why so giving today?" he began, adding a deep rumble to his voice. It made the fur at the end of my tail stand, but I played into it, shrinking a bit into my clothes with a goofy smile.

"O-oh, you noticed, huh?" I chuckled, turning away to hide my reddening face, "I just wanted to give gratitude to you guys. Guardsmen keep the common folk safe and all, it's admirable." I almost bit my tongue, sounding as hopeless as I did, but I kept the fraud up. I needed this information. Thankfully, the bigger male bought into my interest and signaled me to join him at his table. He pulled a chair out for me, specifically the one closest to him.

"What's your name, wolf? Haven't seen you here before. Mine's Dillian, in charge of a small brigade here in town. I guess you could say... I'm a captain." He smiled, his fangs peeking out a bit as he poured the contents of the bottle into his mug, then one for his companion, and finally ordering me a mug to join in the festivities. I'd have to be careful, I was familiar with the drink... it'd left me on the streets a couple of times and I wasn't interested in letting the tiger take me home. Wasn't cashing in that card today...

"It's William, Capt. Dillian, sir."

The tiger's smile widened.

"I work the fields in the town next door, I came to town to buy some goods for my father and I had enough time to spare to drink."

The two seemed to think my story was plausible, however I don't think my story was what the tiger found interesting.

"Seems your father raised you well, don't think even my subordinates call me Captain, much less sir." This earned a laugh from the goat, accompanied by a bleat. "What did I tell you, no respect. How much time have you got to spare, Will? Wouldn't wanna get you in trouble, after all. What kind of law enforcing guard would I be?"

I shared a bit of a genuine laugh to that, telling him I had the day to myself. Explaining I'd come to order all sorts of farming goods from the vendors. New pitchforks, food for the livestock, and other equipment.

"We've been working hard for the upcoming Winter, so my father let me have the day. Really though, I think he just wants some alone time with my mother!" While we shared a laugh, I eyed Dillian's mug, it was half-empty already. Good. "Lots of interesting stories around town, vendors talked about seeing a dragon." I took a sip of my own mug...

"Oi! Words already getting out about the dragon!?" The goat bleated, earning a nasty look from the tiger. "Sorry!" He said briefly after covering his mouth, resuming to cover it shortly after apologizing.

"What'd you hear about the dragon?" Dillian questioned, eyeing me a bit suspiciously. I noticed he wasn't as drunk as I anticipated, his eyes weren't hazy nor were they as empty as I originally thought. The fur only stiffened even further at the tip of my tail, feeling I might have bitten more than I could chew. I had to push it, though.

"Nothing much, just that there was a dragon in town, one of the stallsmen, in particular, told me a friend of his was especially worried. Wouldn't give me details, but mentioned that his friends' clothes were 'special'. He continued to brag that they could do amazing feats with just a command." I wagged my tail, playing into how amazing it'd be to see something so boring. Dillian seemed to buy the story, taking another sip of his mug and refilling it shortly afterward.

"Special? Sounds like the merchant doesn't even know what his friend sells," Dillian continued, eying my own cup. "You should drink, kid, you paid for it after all. You're entitled to enjoy as much as I do." The tiger flashed a smile similar to my own and I reluctantly took my own mug and began downing it. It stung and burned, making me cough a bit in response. The tiger laughed. "Puts some hair on your chest, doesn't it? Take it slowly, I promise it's better that way."

We continued the conversation, which seemed to stray further away from the dragon, and an innate fear of looking suspicious prevented me from asking further questions. In what seemed to be an hour in, I was almost ready to cut my losses and throw in my towel.

"So Will, question for you?" I raised my ears at Dillian, "familiar with magic?" I'd normally never do it, but I couldn't resist wagging my tail leaning into the tiger. "Looks like you are judging by your expression."

Shit... tone it down Kurt...

"H-huh oh, no no no. I'm not, I've heard of the word though, stories of adventures who use it to unleash mighty bursts of power. You know, kid stuff." I laughed pathetically, Dillian seemed to go along with it.

"Heh, first I've heard someone call it kid stuff, guess you've only heard about mages from your mother s stories."

I indulged him by awkwardly rubbing the back of my ears, dropping them ever so slightly to seem embarrassed.

"Yeah, I figured, most here in town wish their children were born gifted, get you into a school for wizardry or sorcery if you're good enough. Then so long as you do your studies, you come out with a potential well-paying job. Unlike most of us, who've got to work to earn our living." Dillian downed his mug, leaving not even a drop in it. His face reddening and his brow dropping.

"Easy life and stuff, wouldn't know a thing about our work, huh? I'm sure the fields must be tough, especially in the heat." I couldn't help but nod in approval. I sincerely agreed with the captain, I'd heard of mages and how most were selected to go into schools that prepared them for good lives. "My supervisor got me looking after this bag of leather, apparently got commissioned by the lord of the town to help him apply his talents to our crafts and the town exterior. Better armor, better walls, that kind of stuff."

I couldn't resist, my brow drooped and my fangs bared. Magic in weapons and armor!? If there was one thing I inherited from Rurik was his despise for magical enhancement! They improved the weapon's utility, sure, but at the cost of its quality and lifespan! Magic deteriorates steel, I'd seen it plenty of times when an adventurer had brought his long-sword that sprung flames around it when unsheathed. Those enhancements tended to leave the sword brittle and rusted by the end of a month!

"Oh! You seem pretty angry there, pup? Thought magic excited you?" I gulped, calming myself quickly. I had to be quick.

"A-ah, sorry, it's just... I wasn't entirely truthful. I'm a farmer's boy, but... when I was younger I worked for a smith. He closed down his shop but I remember quite 'unfondly', you might say, what magical enchantments tend to do to gear," I explained, trying to remain true to my previous statement of not understanding magic as a whole, but at least being aware of how frustrated smiths got when asked to fix magical equipment.

"Looks like your mentor had a good head. Yeah, that sorta stuff tends to happen with magic. Which is why I'm unhappy. My boss wants me especially to get these upgrades, and I ain't keen on them. Screw em' right?" The tiger laughed, edging me to take another sip. "If it's all just gonna break down on you sooner rather than later, may as well not get them in my opinion."

I smiled, rarely did I find a guard who made sense. We continued to chat about the dragon, or rather the gear he was enchanting. I just needed a location, a name, one more clue. Anything!

I'd have to take another risk.

"Where is this dragon anyway? Is he at the barracks with the rest of the guards?" The question made Dillian blink awkwardly at me. A wave of doubt washed over me, wishing I'd never asked, thinking I might have blown my cover. It quickly passed as the tiger roared a laugh out.

"Haha! Nah, ol' golden scale got a house lent to him in Hightown, Thankfully, my brigade ain't responsible for his protection. Otherwise, this bottle wouldn't do it." He continued laughing, drinking directly from the bottle now. By this point, his goat friend had long returned to his shift, but Dillian had informed me he was off for the remainder of the day. I'd lost track of the time, I was sure it was close to evening, so it'd be a good time to leave soon. Although, I'd only learned the merchant was in Hightown, hadn't been there often... knowing the merchant was a dragon and his scale color helped though.

Before I could depart, however, Dillian reached for my paw.

"Hey, William, right? Let me ask you something," my tail tucked between his legs. Expecting the tiger to finally ask for a sexual favor... or something along the lines. He seemed drunk enough.

"You're Rurik's pup, aren't ya?" The blood in my face dropped, as the smile on his face rose. "Kurtius, wasn't it? Haven't seen you in a long time. Thought I recognized you, it's been what... two years now?"

I stayed motionless, not used to being outed, much less by a guard I pegged for an idiot. Thinking back, when I stared into his eyes, I assumed it was mostly a lusty gaze, never connecting what secondary trait I associated with Coal. Cleverness.

"Never thought I'd see you again," he continued, the redness in his face dissipating as he lowered his drunk facade. "Cat's got your tongue?"

I remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"I'll be honest, didn't recognize you at first, you've grown a bit. A lot more handsome than the pup I remember polishing swords."

I sighed, "what gave it away?" I asked, a hint of annoyance evident in my change of tone.

"Simple. You weren't no farmer's boy. If you were, you'd know I was bad news. If the taxes I collected and crops I've destroyed weren't enough for you to know who I was, then I must have been too kind to those farmers or you weren't one to begin with. You wanted something from me, what exactly I didn't know, 'till you legit answered my question with your own. You're looking for the dragon, but why?"

I growled, frustrated with how quickly Dillian had caught on to me, and in my desperation, I'd turned a blind eye towards any red flags. He knew who I was while I knew little of him. Was he a frequent customer at Rurik's forge? I don't remember a tiger visiting often. Much less one as built as Dillian.

"Not going to answer, pup?" Dillian added, his stare digging further into me like a hot nail. My instincts told me to leave, getting involved on a personal level wasn't safe, and I hadn't ignored that farmers didn't like this man. In addition, he knew Rurik so at least... it might be safe to assume he had a hand in turning me into the scavenger I'd become.

"I think we're done here." I responded, Dillian's smirk still strong as I stood up to leave, prepared for anything he might do... at least I thought I was.

"Already? I thought at the least you'd ask me what became of the mastiff." There it was, a question to make the curiosity in me burn. I bit my lower lip hard enough to taste iron. The damn guardsmen even called the waitress to bring him another bottle, expecting me to stay and ask. He wasn't wrong, in the farthest corner of my mind, I wanted an answer, but he had his own...

If I stayed, things could go one of two ways. We each exchange information, I learn about him and the dragon while he learns more about myself, or... I get cheated for more than I bargained for and out myself completely. Leaving would also mean possibly having security tighten around the golden drake, making my job all the harder.

Ultimately...

I returned to my seat, sighing in defeat as I offered my mug to the tiger. If I was going to be cornered, I was at least going to toast to being caught. A good thief knows when he's been had and learns how to not let it happen again.

"Good pup, I'd be sad if you left so early into the evening." He remarked, pouring the contents of the bottle into my mug. "Well, first things first, you wanna know about the dragon, and I wanna know about you. Let's start small, how have you been?"

Simple question, oddly concerning why he cared about my personal being, but I had to remind myself the tiger had an eye on me.

"Life's for those who fight to survive. I went poor, once the money ran dry and I couldn't get a job. I left town and began living off the land. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stayed as handsome as you supposedly think I look." I sipped at my drink, coughing a bit as I remembered just how badly it stung. So much for trying to appear badass...

"Lived off the land? Still lying I see. These lands are barren as they are dull, Kurt. You're lucky to grow corn, let alone finding anything edible in the forests. Trust me, I'd know."

With a disgruntled huff I took another sip, slower this time.

"I could believe you went broke, though. Heard Rurik's shop crashed hard and he let you go. Assumed you'd get a better job but looks like the rumors dragged you down a lil' too hard."

"Were you the one who made them?" I intercepted, causing him to halt mid-sip and lower his drink down.

"And if I was?" He leaned in, practically breathing in my face. What he didn't expect was my own smile, a look of true feline curiosity forming as he noticed my sincerest gratitude.

"Then thank you. You taught me a very valuable lesson, captain sir. Because of that ordeal, I learned to live and depend on myself. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for that lesson and I wouldn't have it be anyone else but Rurik to have taught me it. He was a father I never had, and a father teaches his pup the ways of the world. Glad he cut me off while I still had a copper to my name, otherwise I'd never have had the chance to turn it into a silver."

Smugly, I tossed my silver coin onto the table thankful I'd used my leftover coppers to pay for the drinks. To a degree, I was upset. Should Dillian have been responsible for the rumors, they ruined my apprenticeship, and to a further extent, my life. Nevertheless, I meant every word I said about being grateful the lesson didn't cost me my literal life. Others don't get the chance to rob a dragon of his magical trinkets and make a new life... and by hell, I was going to squeeze the information to do just that from Dillian.

"You're a strange pup, Kurt," he continued to speak between sips, "but no, I didn't make the rumors. I do know who did though. Alexay. The guard commander, my boss, ordered some weapons and when the old sword maker refused. He made it his agenda to tarnish his reputation, going so far as to even intercept his steel and replace it with his own tapered goods."

The accidents...

"Truth is, I used to sit here and drink with the mastiff. This armor, it was made by him, and I ain't letting no dragon fuck it up." The stiffness in my fur lowered hearing those words, I was prepared for something especially cruel, like how he'd deprived Rurik of everything only to slit his throat in an alley or something. I wasn't expecting kinship.

"I'm not the smith's kid anymore, so don't be mixing your feelings for him with me. I wanna know where the golden drake is, so what will it take, guardsmen?"

Dillian expression shifted, nothing radical like expressing guilt, but rather entertainment.

"You're tactless, Kurt, far more outgoing than the pup I saw two years ago. I like it. Wish my troops could grow into men like you, but I doubt most will. Few could survive an experience like yours, losing everything then being driven out of town for faults that weren't even your own." He looked down into his mug and swirled the liquid around. He looked conflicted. "Will you tell me where you've been and what you've done these past two years?"

"No." I quickly responded.

"Figures. You're not leaving me with many options here, Kurt." He put down his mug and hunched forward, the tiger's blue eyes staring into my own hazel ones. "My first offer, if you're keen on hiding your past, perhaps you're willing to throw it away. Join the guard, namely my brigade."

You never appreciate the rowdy-ness of your surroundings, until a question like that kills the conversation. An awkward reminder to the chatter and gossip spilling about. The roaring of the crowds of people shadowed by Dillian's offer. A voice begged, 'say yes', it pleaded. Anything... to leave the bandit life, a life only those without a place to go resorted to. To live a life away from Coal, perhaps appropriately as his enemy. I never wished to be his next 'Pup' nor would I ever let him break me into one.

Yet...

I had to remember that amidst that same tavern two years ago, I was offered a home when no one else was willing to take me. I remembered the ebony wolf from who I tried to steal a silver from. Confident in my inexperienced hands to take something so divine from a wolf I'd never met. Any other would have chopped my hand and been done with me. Coal, however, gripped mine, acknowledged I had skill, and welcomed me to his band. The black wolf may have had ulterior motives, but he still offered me a home when no one else would. This... was likely to be not much different. I'd only become Coal's enemy, biting the hand that fed me rather than simply looking elsewhere to feed myself.

I couldn't. Another life, given to me at the expense of becoming another's servant.

My mind reasoned, flashing images of a warm bed within the guard's quarters, a roof that didn't leak, where no winter wind tickled my feet. Companions to whom I'd share this same evening with, mugs at hand, slurs looser than pockets. I could be the goat, laughing alongside this tiger. Was being offered such a life by another truly such a taboo?

Quick to answer, Rurik's words rung louder than reasoning. The apology, the tears, the decision to cut another off to save himself. I envisioned Dillian on that same creaking wooden chair the mastiff had. The words leaving his lips as they left the dogs.

"Forgive me, I have to let you go."

How they remained etched in me. Words to never forget, you're just an extension of another's achievements. I won't serve again.

"No," I responded.

Dillian didn't look fazed, the tiger likely expected I would choose this.

"Alright, fine. Wish you'd see reason, but guess you're as stubborn as the mastiff. Mutt." He huffed, emptying the second bottle faster than the previous one. "I've got a job for you, one only you could do."

My ears twitch, twirling my wrist to have his request spat out already.

"Fix up my armor," he ordered, my face stoned for a moment before my jaw dropped a bit.

"Huh?"

"You heard me, pup. I want my armor polished and any kinks worked out of it. Ol' Rurik taught you how, didn't he?" He raised a brow at me, I almost felt genuinely upset to be on the receiving end of such a question.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that all?" I began, "first you ask servitude, and when all else fails, you want me to mend your armor? Think you're asking in the wrong order captain." I sipped my drink, the burning in my throat nubbed to the pain. With a sigh, I answered,

"Fine, I'll do it, but I'd need additional tools. On the subject though, your armor looks just fine to me, I doubt I could do better than any other smith in town. You sure you want this to be your second request?" It was foolish to make him reconsider, but the warmth in his smile when I'd accepted made the small moral compass in me spin for a moment. His response was to add a chuckle to that grin.

"I'm sure Rurik taught you more than just the basics. Give my chain enough of a stare and you'd notice the links are rusted and broken. Ain't no amount of shine gonna hide dem flaws. That mastiff about now would have had me at his shop butt-naked fixing the steel. Probably spouting some nonsense over being unable to enjoy his drink with such sloppy work dangling in his face."

I sighed, it sounded like Rurik...

That dog was always so keen on perfection, the only reason he ever had a single apprentice was because there wasn't a soul with enough patience to endure his lectures. Lectures that clearly had a pay off, Dillian was right, upon closer inspection, it was easy to notice the flaws in between the gaps of his armor.

From the loose chain, to the dents an amature smith tried to hide with polish. I couldn't help but shake my head like the mastiffs and mumble the words, "Sloppy!" Earning a laugh from Dillian and I.

Our conversation continued, bouncing between banter and business. He promised me he'd get the tools I'd need to repair his armor, give it the good ol Rurik spit and shine, and in exchange he'd share more details about the golden drake. A suckers deal, I clearly gained more from it, but the gleam in his eye when mentioning my ol' boss told another story. Once our mugs were empty, neither of us lingered about much longer. Dillian and I parted with the promise to meet at the tiger's quarters the following day.

Returning to the hideout, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps joining the guard wouldn't be a bad idea. The smells of the bog forcing me to reconsider the proposal. Nevertheless, the question bounced in my head for the remainder of the night, even laying still with my feet sore, I truly wondered if I was making the right choice...

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"Do you have to keep staring at me?" I barked, addressing the tiger who twiddled his fingers at a table conveniently behind me. Unlike the previous day, Dillian hardly carried the air of a captain. Dressed in garments befitting my 'work' uniform, torn and worn at the seams. I'd peg him for a homeless man if his garment didn't have a faint scent of soap, a luxury most didn't have.

"I'm not allowed to inspect my armor while you work?" he retorted, earning a growl from me, returned by the tiger. I went back to the pauldron dismantled and laid over the table. I'd already inspected both sets, one was far more worn than the other, likely taking the brutal impact of an opponent's warhammer. If that wasn't the case I'd question how upset he must have been to tackle the castle's walls about ten times to damage the framework that badly. On cue, Dillian began telling me the story of where the dents came from, not that it interested me much. Aside from the confirmation that indeed it was a warhammer's handy work, who and why they caused it flew through one ear, and out the next.

Dillian had set up a smithy in a hut beside his home, located outside of the castle grounds. Well as close to one that was to be expected from a guard, the traditional anvil to shape and mend, alongside a couple of buckets pre-filled with water, and finally a chimney that had been renovated into a hearth. Apparently, losing Rurik gave him enough grief to try making his own smithy to deal with minor damages, however judging by the extent of how badly some of the dents and mishapes took form... I'd say his self-made remedies only worsened the overall impairments.

Thankfully, it looked like he took it to a real smith at some point for damage control. Whoever it was, old gods, blessings to you...

I heated the straps of metal, just enough to make it easier to smelt the steel back into place, having already replaced the broken links with newer ones earlier. It was too easy to settle in and get comfortable. The tiger offered beverages and stories left and right, forcing me to keep my distance. Dillian was far too easy to read clever as he was. He was easing me into accepting his request, but my eyes were set on the dragon, and I'd already steeled (did I just make a pun...?) my resolve before coming here.

The job shouldn't take too much longer... I just had to mold the pauldrons back into place and rebind them.

"So," I cut the tiger off, still self-absorbed in his story, "tell me about the dragon. A deal's a deal, your armor's just about fixed, and the day's not long enough to hear you yammer on about your past exploits." I huffed, quickly pulling an iron strap and starting to hammer at the injuries.

"No manners this one," the tiger huffed alongside me, "you've got your eyes set on this dragon and I'm assuming it's for the most unpleasant of reasons. You realize what you're getting yourself involved with. Kurt? Mages aren't to be taken lightly, especially those who have the town guard backing them..." He lowered his voice, a futile attempt to intimidate me away from my prize.

"Continue or I'll start flattening," I said, returning his low voice gestured with an equally unamused glare. By now, the mood in the room was turning sour, and only the tapping of the hammer rung.

He sighed once more. "His name is Victor Almedio, a magister of sorts from overseas. The lord of the land paid good money to commission him to enchant the walls around the different towns. Monsters have made a habit of testing the mantle against the guard and the gates, becoming bolder each time they break them. It cost us good coin, but with these properties in our weapons, newer recruits will be more capable of handling them and veterans a greater force to be reckoned with."

"The dragon's built like a tank, I've seen lizardmen before, but this one took the cake. Instead of scales, he had plates with a build that only made them even thicker. As if having scales shine like good wasn't enough, his clothing, being foreign, gives him a fancy and suave air you think someone his stature wouldn't carry-"

"Where is he, though?" I cut him, about done with half of the metal sheets, already shaping the majority of them and cooling them in the bucket for the final step. "Willing to depart with that information, Captain? Wouldn't want you to get in trouble after all."

Dillian shook his head, walking over to me and squatting to force our eyes to meet.

"Why are you obsessed with this dragon? What's so inviting you'd mix yourself with a bag of leather who could snap you in half if he so wished? Is it the magic, a challenge... treasure?" He squinted his eyes while I tossed the next sheet into the bucket. A bit of the water spilled out and grazed the tiger's foot forcing him to retreat and reach for his burnt toe.

"It's my agenda. Deal was you'd tell me more and I'd fix your armor, what I do with that knowledge isn't your business," I answered, returning to the final sheet. The ringing of clattering steel filling the void between us, neither wishing to continue the conversation. Until finally...

"He rented an inn. Entirely."

My eyes stood up alongside my ears.

"Entirely?"

"Correct," Dillian continued, crossing his arms wearing a bitter frown. "Lord Almedio acquired an entire inn for his stay, sent every other resident packing. Apparently, the coin was simply that good. That's about as much as I'm telling you-" The rest of what Dillian spouted wasn't my corner, with the last sheet sizzling in the water. My mind began tracing the tidbits of information I'd gathered before. Careful in not mouthing my thoughts...

A lodging that was bought out entirely..? And finally... it clicked.

"The Sunshine Ridge!" I thought as my tail prematurely wagged, Dillian's face dimmed even further as mine only continued to glow. The tiger tried to persuade me to quit whatever I was thinking, but I didn't entertain his chatter. I got what I wanted, and soon his armor would be complete and our deal struck. It was only a matter of time.

"Kurt, I don't know how much more sincere I could be. Let whatever foolishness you have in your head go. Rurik failed you, I'm aware, but you still have a chance to change your life for the better!" He rambled on, asking me once more to consider his offer. Unfortunately for him, the life of a street guard couldn't outweigh the riches I'd pillage from the mage. With the bindings forming the pauldrons once more and the mail repaired, my job was complete, and my investigation a success.

"Dillain, I appreciate the words, but I hate repeating myself. This is my business to settle." The tiger was quick to stop me from gathering my things, but I dogged the bigger male, quickly packing what little I brought and throwing the worn bag over my shoulder.

"Kurt... please. I beg you," The striped beast pleaded once more, seeing this built man practically on his knees... I couldn't stand this weight in my chest. Eyes locked, I recalled how he looked at me the prior night in the bar. Though buried now, I reimagined the lust they carried, reminded of Coal once again. Dillian would be no different, they'd comfort me with a new life, groom me to be their 'pup', deny me my freedom...!

"No." I gave my back to the tiger, eager to end this cycle. No longer would anyone control me. Tonight, I'd have the dragon's goods in my pockets, the next day they'd be gold, and before I knew it; I'd be in charge of my own life.

Dillian continued to try and sway me, bringing Rurik into the conversation, but by then-

I'd already left.

________________________________________________________________

Night came, like any other, tonight however would be different. It'd be the final night I spent in this forsaken hellhole of a swamp. No more mosquitoes, foul smells and lustful wolves breathing down my back. Tonight, I'd earn my freedom, or I'd lose my chance at a good life entirely. Thieves didn't have the healthiest of lifespans, even less the ones caught. Even with Dillian's influence, I'd likely lose a hand at worst or a couple of fingers at best. Then again, I had to remember my target. Victor Almedio; a magister of a distant land who possessed great magic.

I sighed, breathing in the night's fresh air. I dressed myself in the darkest clothes I had. Aside from my daggers, I carried only a few tools, stuffed into my pockets for safety. My bag was already stashed away in a tree trunk far outside of town, and even then, I was prepared to abandon it once I secured my treasure. I could feel my fur matting with sweat beneath my garments, but even so... I couldn't stop smiling. Confidence? Perhaps. But I'd need it for tonight. Who knows what I'd find in high town or within the wizard's chambers. I've heard mages could enchant locks or their homes to make them impervious to intruders.

I dug into my pants, plucking out a couple of picks. Spinning them under the moonlight revealed an unnatural glow to them. Never in my life could I have enchanted such things, however never in my life would I have seen myself even trying. Funny how things change...

They weren't amazing. They took weeks to craft and uncountable failed attempts. Nevertheless, they were ready. These pics were magical... but not in the sense one would expect. I was no mage, nor did I understand the practice of magic, but I'd learned certain materials processed magical qualities and these qualities could be transferred over if smithed properly. The material in question was a popular stone used in counterfeiting quartz, a pain to work with, however exceedingly useful in creating pics that when dosed in magic, imploded alongside it. In short... boom.

Of course, I didn't wanna blow the whole door off its hinges, just make the magic collapse and break the locks if they were enchanted. I only had three, and I'd hoped that'd be plenty to break into the room and any chests in sight.

I breathed in one more time thinking of the beds I'd sleep in, the mansion I'd own, and all the women I'd fit in it. It was time. I rose my eyes, eyeing the towering structure before me. What laid before was no mere wall, but rather an elevated plot of land shadowing all other districts. In front of it, however, was a particular hole in the walls.

Entering high-town wouldn't be too difficult, it was just a plateau with a set of stairs to remind anyone ascending how much 'higher' they were among the common folk. Of course, the opposite could be said about descending them. The easiest way up would be the stairs, but that was if a prison bed was your end goal. Guards had outposts all around the staircases and most had patrol routes around the exterior of the plateau. Therefore, the waterways would be the best, and entering into them I was reminded why I hated sneaking into Hightown. As if the shit nobles spat out wasn't bad enough, now I had their literal droppings to avoid.

It was an unpleasant journey. Thankfully, I'd done it plenty of times to know the tunnels by heart. The least time I spent here, the better.

I recalled the Sunshine Ridge being located deep within high-town and without torches it was going to be a hassle. I couldn't have a guard spot the flame from above. Only slim rays of silver reflecting off the current of shit and piss would be my guiding light. I held my breath as best I could plunging myself deeper and deeper into the wet abyss.

Finally, I began to recognize some landmarks and the familiar twists and turns of the northern high town; the inn's location. The waterway had to have been designed by different architects, some areas were shaped differently, this one more elegant in its structure while the southern side was ridged and didn't swirl as much. East and west also had their own traits, but they weren't important at the moment.

Climbing a ladder, I peaked out a drainage before confirming the streets were empty. There was a bright festive light dancing in the distance, the lords weekly gathering... With any luck, my dragon friend would be attending it. A good shove pushed the hole loose, and I found myself suddenly giving thanks for the scent of perfumes and colognes despite how they agitated my canine nose.

Not wasting any time, I closed the lid behind me, but not enough to seal it though. Just enough to conceal it since I needed my escape after all. Returning to the darkness of the alleys and continuing my way into town, I avoided a pair of giggling ladies dressed like porcelain dolls. Ugh, whether they were wolves or not, these women were disgusting. The dresses and make-up they wore reminded me of what lil' wax girl dolls ran with. The smells behind them didn't do much justice either, concealing the good stuff. It was always fun tailing a lady who'd entered their heat cycle... Sniffing the air, I could tell one of them was close, her loins gave off that wonderful aura... ruined by that disgusting perfume. My mouths had watered a bit, only cause I'd literally smelled shit earlier and even scented loins were better than crap.

I pushed further in, avoiding a few more groups of people and finally finding my spot. The Sunshine Ridge, a beautiful building adorned in whites and gold, no brick spared a coin. It was well-guarded, although not as well as I expected. The usual stationed guards, plus the two rotating around the building. The inn had a backdoor that maids used to dispose of the lounge's trash, and it wasn't hard to get in.

By now the kitchen shouldn't be in use so it made for a great entry point. Waiting for the guards to pass, I ventured towards the door, finding it quickly and pushing a normal lockpick into it. My tail wagged instinctively as the all-too-familiar click greeted me as fast as I rushed in.

No one was around. Good.

I'd been quiet enough to make myself second guess if I'd truly closed the door completely. Keeping up the trend, I quietly maneuvered the premise. Having been told that the inn was only occupied by one made exploration easier. I sniffed the surroundings, finding the familiar scents of the maids... hehe... and a much stronger male one. Entirely foreign to my nose. Following it, I found my target: the dragon's room.

Thankfully, the scent wasn't strong, which meant he must have left a while ago. A male's scent tends to thicken and become more potent the longer he stays in one place. This one was strong but clearly only a lingering scent. I brought up another pick, this one glowing just dimly. I breathed once more and pushed it in. I knew no god... but damn if I didn't pray to some god of mischief to bless these picks. The lock was normal, the pick did not ignite after taking the plunge, which only fueled my anxiety. My paw pads became moist in sweat as I heard the familiar click yet again.

"The locks... aren't enchanted...?" I wondered, quietly pushing the door in and observing the room. This had to have been the dragon's, his scent was potent... but still slightly weak. I could only imagine what his presence was like, not that I ever wanted to see it for myself. I pushed in, eyeing the bed... empty, then confirming I really had no company. With the door closed, I was finally in.

Careful to not make the stone beneath me echo the tap of my boots, I began to survey and assess the items at hand's reach. Most were just regular tools, a few were clearly enchanted, but not with anything of value. Only simple things, like a quill of which the feathers lit up on touch and a glass that never spilled water even when knocked over. Typical. A mage's home was always weird like this...

I stumbled upon a chest and like before I introduced it to the magical pick and began my picking. Much like the door, it quickly snapped open to reveal another chest within its depth. Now it was hitting more of my expected territory. I made sure to keep an eye for any wiring or obvious signs of a booby trap, then pulled the chest out and began to work on its own locking. Unlike the chest it was placed in, this one was much more elaborate. It had three padlocks on each of its sides and was adorned in patterns accented in gold. I pushed my first pick into one of the locks and reached for a dagger in instinct as I heard a spark go off. It was enchanted and the pick had gone off. Thankfully, it was only a minor spark as the stone's power soaked the magic in and fried the lock from within. I wouldn't even have to do any further work to remove it. Thankful for my other two locks, I pushed each of them in to find similar results. With that done, I pushed the lid up to reveal three artifacts.

They each gave off an ominous vibe, one was a bracelet unlike any I'd ever seen. Thin, with a light greenish luminescence, picking it up for inspection I felt my muscles relax with an overwhelming desire to change growing in my mind. I didn't know what it could do, but I didn't wanna find out. I pocketed the bracelet and went for the other two. The next was a necklace with what I presumed was an opal at the center. It too sent chills down my spine, louder this time. No words, simply an untold offer of loyalties. The magics cried, demanding they be used, a masochistic cry of desperation. I wouldn't break, though. I tossed this one into my pocket as well. Finally, the ring blended into the set. It was silver, matching the opal's whiteness and the teal of the bracelet. I assumed it was the weakest, it's size minuscule compared to the other two, even it's surface no different than an ordinary ring. What made it special? Grasping at it... I quickly realized it's danger...

My hand went numb, the desire from the power sealed within the ring drowning my thoughts. It burnt just to hold it, loud voices rang in my ears. Each with maliciousness, one by one trying to bend my ears to speak louder. I would have released my hold, but they wouldn't let me, they wouldn't let go. They wanted to be heard... I growled, shaking my palm. I could feel my fingers enough to release it, yet I didn't... this was a part of my fortune, I wouldn't be bent! Not now, not ever! I pictured Coal's face, how shocked he'd be to see me live life as a king, having him grovel and kiss the ground I walked. I smiled, that's what he'd do... he didn't need that smug grin-

I tossed the ring, dropping it on the floor, panting. The visions ceased, my eyes returning to the ring...

"Just what did this dragon use these things for...?" I gulped, picking up the ring once more, albeit a bit more hesitant. No visions this time. I added it to the rest of my loot. Eyeing myself in a mirror on the wall, I nodded to the wolf. It was time to go, my treasure was obtained and my escape was all but guaranteed. I closed the emptied chest and placed it back within the larger one. Leaving everything as it was before returning to the door, I sniffed the air once more, catching a maid's scent. She didn't seem to be coming this way, just passing by. I waited a moment, then slipped out returning to the kitchen, then back to the streets. Once I was inside the waterways once more...

I was free...

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It was still early at night, the evening ball was still going in full swing, and I could watch the different lights swirling and bending to the will of the guests. My tail swung happily for a change, and a smile laid bare on my face. I couldn't contain my excitement, but I wanted to appreciate where I came from for a moment. It'd be the last I ever saw of this town... Stoneguard. Most of all, I wanted to remember a few people from it. Rurik, my teacher, I hope you found your own salvation. Dillian, I hope the work I've given you doesn't stress you too much, and finally Coal...

"Find someone else to be your bit-"

_______________________________________________________________

Everything had gone black.

I was unsure of what even happened, a moment I was celebrating my victory, the next... I believe I was on the ground. There was a loud ringing at the back of my head. It wasn't until the blackness resided that I'd realized the ringing was accompanied by a strong, sharp pain. I groaned, wishing to rub the pain away, but quickly realizing my hands had been restrained along with my feet. A moment passed before I began to struggle, trying to free myself of whatever had bound me.

'Was it the magic?' I thought, curious if the dragon had enchanted them to entrap whoever ran off with them. It had been too easy... damn it!!

For all my mind raced, the truth couldn't have been simpler. Once the blurriness of my vision departed, I raised my head to meet my captors' face to face.

"You-!?" I couldn't finish the sentence. The air in my lungs was forced out by the force of a strong kick. Drool slipped out of my maw as I gasped to fill myself with air once more. It was then I felt my head pulled up by the black wolf who'd somehow entrapped me.

I growled, even in my weakened state. "C-Coal!!"

He smirked, holding my head up before cupping my maw and forcing me to turn my head right. He continued examining me, looking for something before finally relaxing me with a healthy laugh.

"And I thought you'd slept with the dragon to get these trinkets! No hickies and your scent is unmasked. Must have actually stolen them, what a surprise," he laughed, joined by the rest of the other bandits who stared down on me. Bastards...!

"How did you know-!?" I was quickly silenced by Coal's foot. The weight of his paw pushed my face deeper in the ground. My growling continued, although it only edged him to keep applying more and more force. Eventually, my growls were simply muffled by the bigger canine's actions.

"Pups don't growl, much less at their masters," he chuckled, a sinister tone in his voice as he stared at me. The heat of the moment blinding me to the strange sensations around my body, I felt the grass tickling my stomach and a breeze behind my back. A grim realization hitting me as I drew the conclusion that my clothes had been stripped before I was tied up. I struggled, fought the bindings and clawed at what I could, only for Coal to raise his foot and stomp it over my head edging a whimper out of me.

"That's a good boy, that's what I like to hear." His chuckling only darkened as he eyed me hungrily. If there was ever a moment where I truly knew the meaning of fear, it was then. I'd known that gaze, the hidden agenda of this man. The desire to make me no more than his plaything. His foot weighed heavily on me, I couldn't speak, growl... I could only whimper from the pain.

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt. You poor fool. What did I tell you when you joined us?" I closed my eyes, the tension on my head becoming too much before he finally stopped. "Where a family, whether we like it or not, we stick together. I will always respect you so long as you stay true to your family. Alas though, here we are... Caught running away with treasure that could have given us all better lives."

"It's mine!!" I barked, Smokey coming in to deliver another kick that left me even more winded than before.

Coal, in response only squatted down and gripped me by the nape of my neck.

"And what is yours is ours. We don't take lightly to traitors... ever wondered who 'Pup' was?" I blinked, of course I had, I'd asked a few times amongst the group, and suddenly it dawned on me. He'd done the same... feared for his tail and attempted to run off with treasure, or so it seemed Coal wished for me to believe.

"I'll admit, you were certainly better than Pup. Best he ever stole was a noble's wares after he'd crashed and gotten himself killed. What a way to die, neck snapped with your face buried in your steed's droppings." Coal's disgust echoed, the bigger male liking to stick his tongue to emphasize the rotten luck the noble had. "Regardless, much like you, Smokey caught him running away with mirrors and trinkets he thought were worth something. Shame. Turns out they'd land him a day or two in an inn, he always had a terrible eye for appraising."

Ryan's cackling could be heard, that damn raccoon. Despite it all, I searched far and wide, looking for wolf of the hour... Pup.

I'd always kept my eyes away from him, seeing him gave me bad feelings. Never had I imagined I was looking into a mirror. He was hidden behind Coal, it wasn't hard... he reeked of the black wolf, with subtle scents of the others, and dressed in what the black wolf deemed appropriate: only a collar with nothing to hide his dignity. His eyes were blank, mind deprived of any thought. Years of sexual abuse pushing him to accept his position as everyone's cock warmer... even I hadn't been exempted from that.

A thought poked at my mind, the reflection in the shard back at my tent. Broken, a fragment of sanity left behind when Smoke had pinned the grey wolf down, shattering the mirror and his own chances at freedom. Was it your will, longing to tell me to run, to warn me of your own tragedy? I would have shaken my head, was it not pinned down. Those thoughts didn't suit me. I wouldn't break like that, I wouldn't be just another wolf in the mirror for the next fool to look into and marvel at himself.

I resumed my growling, weak as it was, the laughing only growling louder as they watched my retaliation at display.

"Oi! Aren't you so precious," Ryan stepped forward, a wide smile revealing the cracks in his teeth. "Such a bad puppy, thinking he could get away. Mayhaps you shouldn't have asked so many questions about the dragon to strangers in the market, we all knew he was there. None of us were dumb enough to steal from him though." So that's how he knew, my growl only grew, now only in frustration. I'd tipped off one of The Gold Digger's friends.

"Shut it garbage rat, stupid for attempting, but skilled enough to succeed. Despite possibly putting all of us in danger." Coal interjected, his foot finally removed from my maw, before he returned it with mighty force behind it. Blurring my vision as I felt the familiar girth of his paws lift me up. White noise is all I heard for a moment, unsure where I was being taken. I grunted when I felt the familiar texture of wood strike at my stomach. A stump?

The noise began to clear, I heard Coal barking orders, footsteps fading into the distance. Were the others leaving? Where were they going? What was going on?

Then, a firm slap to my rear end reminded me of where I was and what was happening. I couldn't stop the whimper that escaped alongside my howl. Then, once more, I felt Coal's paws tug at the fur on my neck, forcing my head back.

"Now then, it's just me and you for a while, pup. To think you'd betray me," he laughed, something wet sliding down my neck as I tried to shake it off, growling once more. This time, I felt claws on my back, a familiar sharpness grazing my flesh. I didn't catch iron in the wind, but the stinging made me assume the worst.

"Lesson One: you will never again growl at me. Do I make myself clear?" He ordered, the sharpness returning to pinch at my flesh. My breathing was all I could hear alongside the bigger wolf's own growling.

"I said, do I make myself clear?" The claws dug deeper, he wasn't going to stop...

To my better judgment, my tail fell flat and the rumbling in my throat ceased. I knew he'd do more than leave a couple of scars. I'd found plenty of markings beneath Pup's fur, and plenty more where nothing covered them.

"Y-yes..."

"Good boy," he resumed, licking at the back of my neck. The warm tongue digging deep into my fur as the wolf sampled me. The rumble in my throat almost reignited, but I couldn't risk being injured. On the surface, I submitted, but I wouldn't become another Pup. I'd need my legs to escape and my arms to fight. I was going to be humbled... there wasn't any way to escape this fate, but I'd return the service to Coal, two-fold in fact. I just needed him to cut the binds at some point...

I yelped however, his tongue replaced with a sharp row of teeth, my neck stiffening in response. He continued to lap at the chunk of flesh between his jaws, pulling back when he was satisfied, a loud wet slurp echoing behind me.

"You taste as good as I'd imagined. I'll be honest, I'm glad you went traitor. I've always been terrible at judging people myself." He laughed, his paws exploring my waist, rubbing down my sides and moving up my chest.

'Hold back the growl, hold back the growl...' I continued to tell myself...

"A body like this," he licked me once more, "was meant to serve..." then his claws dug in again, " me." His grip was a vice and it slammed me into the stomp, winding me yet again. "Now, here's how it's gonna go. You're mine now, pup. Tonight I'll be marking you. If you try to escape, I'll break your legs, if you voice your opinions I'll tear your tongue out, and if you defy me, well... you won't defy me." He leaned down, his weight coming down on me as the fear set in. I could feel... a bulge rub against my rear. A cold sinking gnawing at me as the realization began to hit of what was about to happen, the crackling of thunder drowned out by the annex building up inside me.

I wished I'd have my claws repositioned, at least then I could dig it into the wood below me. I cursed Coal's name beneath my breath. I may not be allowed to growl or voice myself, however, that never stopped me from adjusting my neck to snarl at the wolf. I wasn't afraid of him, nor what his plans entailed. My nightmare was already happening, now it was only a matter of it ending and killing the smug asshole...!

Coal, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed by the sharpness of my teeth, mute as I was. He only continued to widen his grin, tugging at my body, licking at my back, and on occasion pushing my head down onto the wooden surface. The wolf licked his lips, an underbite keeping a fang revealed at all times.

"Not scared anymore, Kurt? Isn't this what you feared?" His hands roamed lower, my eyes involuntarily following behind, they toyed with a makeshift belt, unbuckling the leather strap and tossing it aside. Only a bit of the darker male's pubic fur revealed, and already the scent of water in the air was masked completely. The absolute worst part was it wasn't entirely unpleasant, perhaps the primal urge to submit to those bigger and stronger than you was speaking, but I didn't let up my snarl. If anything, I only continued to widen it, uncaring to the pain in my gums.

Coal moved on, slipping from his garments to reveal another crafted garment resembling a loincloth. Damp, by the smell, his own sweat... my nose shifted, my head turned, and a low whimper escaped. Damn it...! Unfortunately, Coal had heard it and it fueled his coming actions. Untying the cloth and stepping forward, forcing the other dog's junk into my line of sight again, before I could even move away, denying him the privilege of setting eyes on it. I felt his paws wrap around my head and something being wrapped around my face. Eyes widening, I came to taste the moistness in the air, only to taste the other wolf's unfiltered musk. I was about ready to howl, but Coal was quick to clamp my maw shut.

"Ah, ah, ah. It's too early to be moaning. Just give it a moment," he continued, tying a knot and straightening the undergarment around my nose and maw. The cloth forced me to close my maw unless I wanted to taste it by exposing my teeth to it. A whimper followed, damn it, not another one...

His paw rubbed at my nose, pushing the garment deeper, his scent sticking to my nose with each breath forcing more of it in. It was potent. A woman's nethers didn't compare, nor the scent of any of the males I'd ever taken. It was raw and reeked of dominance, a heated sensation clashing with the chill of the air over my face. I could feel, unbeknownst to myself, the stirring of my own loins as he continued to rub it in deeper.

"There, there, you'll learn to like it, this is all yours now." He leaned into my ear, whispering, "I'll never let you forget it." His hands returned to the sides of my face, and forced me to admire the others' own doghood. If I attempted to look the other way, the tips of his claws quickly corrected my behavior. He wanted me to know what was going inside...

His sheath was a mixture of groomed and ungroomed, the fur was wild and unkept, its scent overpowering even the loincloth silencing me. Coal's sheath was somehow even darker than the rest of his body, and I noticed the peaking red tip explicitly bouncing in the air. The wolf nudged me forward, rubbing the tip playfully on the lower ends of my exposed lips. Letting the bitter taste of his pre-seed linger and continue to absolve me of any freedom of his scent. I would have risked my life to bite it off, this was simply too humiliating... I'd kill him, I just needed to free myself! In my rampant thoughts of revenge however, I noticed something... something that turned my woes into hope... the color of his peaker... was a lighter shade of red than my own.

It wasn't bright, but it wasn't the darkest shade of red I'd seen, I knew... mine was darker. I couldn't help but grin, making the larger wolf look down in question. I couldn't voice my opinion, but at least I could take a mental win here. I even laughed a bit, Coal's brow rising in response.

We canines took pride in the color of our members, the redder the better (no, we're not colorblind), and it seemed compared to Coal who had the strength, bulk, and intimidation, I still won where it counted more. Eventually, he began to piece things together as he returned to the opposite side of the stump, and I couldn't help but push myself forward to reveal my members darker red. I wasn't going to let him live this down. I bent myself crazy to see his reaction, the unamused stoic face of my captor coming to terms with his lighter dong.

'So sorry Coal-OW!!" I felt a painful tug, his paw worming its way into my sheath as I felt my cock mistreated by his manhandling.

"Feeling smug, are we? Tsk." He dug his paw deeper into my sheath, toying with my bits. "Don't get so confident," I heard him say with a spring to his voice. "It's only gonna be better for me. How enjoyable, making a dog whose dick is darker than mine beg and moan. Good genes wasted on a man who'll never fuck again." He laughed, finally letting go and brushing his hands up against the white pillows accompanying my sheath and arriving in an area that made my ears peak up.

"Besides, nothing matches the pinkness of an untapped cherry," he growled, his finger pressing up against my taint and eventually circling the hole beneath my tail. I was desperate to stop him from doing anything further, my tail refused to move, and eventually I yowled into the cloth as I felt the all-to expected tug that lifted the furred instrument away.

The urge to kick was too strong, however no matter how much resistance I put into breaking my bindings, I couldn't so much as move an inch. I could only bite at my lower lip and remind myself to keep focus.

"Now I've got a better lighting," Coal's voice deepened, hot breathing brushing against my cheeks.

"MEFFMM!!" was all I could muster as I felt the coldness of his nose press at the base of my tail, an audible huffing sound following. I couldn't even hide the redness on my cheeks. Was he sniffing me!? THERE!?

It was easy enough to confirm with repeated sniffing, each forcing me to try and reposition myself to avoid another. Coal's heavy groaning following each session as he made it evident how much pleasure he took from it.

"No other male's scent... Good... I'll be the first," he said between huffs, adding his tongue to the mix only to squeeze another sound out of me. It felt... uncomfortable to say the least! Having something so wet and slimy brushing at your most sensitive regions, and it wasn't stopping there. Each time it circled the clenched hole, Coal applied more pressure, sinking a little more on the next attempt until I couldn't deny him entry anymore. The wolf's tongue pushed further in and licked at the inner walls of my tail. I panted into the cloth, a strange enjoyment surfacing, a jolt of unexpected pleasure following soon after as Coal lashed at an even stranger spot. He continued prodding, adding the wettest sounds I'd ever heard, his drool trailing down my taint and dripping off my balls. He didn't mask his combined sniffing or penetrating, Coal wanted me to hear this, but to a degree, I was a bit too absorbed in the unwanted pleasure.

I couldn't enjoy this! Grrr!!

Eventually after a moment, I felt something cold tap at my back, rain? That's right, it was cloudy and thundering, I'd almost forgotten where I even was and what it was like outside. I wasn't the only one to take note as Coal pushed himself off, licking at the tooth outside his underbite.

"Damn, looks like it's about to pour soon, looks like I'm gonna have to hurry it up. I wouldn't wanna let the rain spoil it." He chuckled, his weight crashing on my back, this time he dumped it all, crushing me beneath the stump. "There we go, we make a nice fit, don't you think?" He put his head on top of my own, his chest form fitting at the nape of my neck. No space left unoccupied.

I felt his paws roaming about, the slickness of his cock pushing itself into the folds of my crack. The pre leaked, spreading itself over the drooled on pucker bellow. Coal was taking his time, which only fueled my temper even more. His nose buried itself wherever it could, leaving no spot unexamined. I didn't understand, why was he enjoying that so much...?

"Kurt," he whispered into my ear, just as thunder cracked, " I'll tell you something." He growled, leaning closer, then nipping at my ear and pulling it back. "I like you, you're strong, you're not like Pup, you've got a fire in you. You've got skill to back it up." He continued, lapping alongside the edges of my ear, forcing another blush to break out. "Your scent, your taste, everything, it drives me wild. I've wanted you since I laid my eyes on you, be mine..."

"Never!" I shouted at the back of mine. It didn't take a psychic to understand how I felt. it was impossible to deny the growl imprisoned for much longer. Even so, I felt an embrace, the heavy breath at the side of my cheek.

"You and I both know the worth of these relics. You want your mansion that badly? I can get us more than just a pretty house." My growl lowered, what was he saying...?

"Be mine Kurt, warm my bed, submit to me, and all the pleasures of the world can be yours. You wouldn't have to waste your life away in the bogs, stealing, or being some flea-ridden mutt.. I'll treat you well." He huffed, pulling the cloth around my face off for just a bit, closing the distance, he wanted a kiss...

For a moment, I weighed it... a life of luxury... pampered like a king... but I wouldn't be a king, would I?

Dillian's image flashed in my mind. I'd just be someone's bitch, a cock warmer for them to use when they were bored... I was just a prize to claim for these men. Did he think I wouldn't find another way to climb out of the hell hole that was this bog, city... life? Screw if it cost me my tongue, he'd forever know...

"FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO BE YOUR BITCH!!"

Our heads must have rung as I slammed our foreheads together, another crack of thunder joining the thud of our skulls. Even as I felt blood pour down my fur, my smile didn't let up. No one would or could tame me. Especially not some lighter red dog dong asshole.

His head stayed together, the realization of what I'd done starting to gnaw at me. I knew I could have said yes and tricked him to undoing the bindings, then strike when he wasn't looking, but it looked as if my pride had taken initiative. While I didn't regret my choices, even with the anger looming overhead with a piercing glare.

Coal's mood was soured. It wasn't long before I found my maw pushed down back against the stump. Any kindness in his gestures was gone, now his claws dug freely into my flesh, still avoiding piercing my skin.

"Well, you had your chance, pup. Could have been someone, but I guess I really am just a bad judge of character." His weight shifted down on my head, but not enough to silence me this time. I wasn't dumb, it was intentional, he fully intended to get either more curses swung his way, or he was expecting some begging... My response, a growl unlike any other...

I felt it, each time, dreading the follow-up even more. Coal had resumed his grinding, his length doubling in size as more of it slid out of its furry confinements. It made me question just how big the wolf was, and how much it was going to hurt. I wouldn't break my growl, I wouldn't enjoy any of it. I wasn't his bitch.

I still couldn't help but gasp each time the sliding of his member was halted by the tip poking at my hole. Enough pressure to shift the pitch of my growls into a deeper and tense one, he didn't pursue any further, letting his length slide off. Coal continued the motions until it was too tiring to keep my guard up, his paws wrapped themselves around my neck and his pointed tip found its mark. The tip probed a bit in, a preview of the sensations I'd experience in a few moments.

"Beg," he commanded, the pressure around my neck increasing. I wouldn't, though.

His grip only tightened and he repeated himself again. I only smiled.

"You'd have an easier time-" I choked out, "moving a mountain."

He wouldn't kill me, nor would he let me pass out. He wanted his fun, otherwise, I'd woken up to a sore ass long ago. Coal's tensing lips told me I was right, but it didn't make what followed any either.

We were done with words. Now we were wolves.

It stung, greater than any injury a dagger could inflict. Choking at the pressure around my throat, gasping in pain as the bigger wolf plunged himself into me without remorse. His paws had shifted to my shoulders, and he pressed me further down. I could feel a hindleg had risen onto the stump, Coal hadn't angled himself better before driving himself in. In a mere moment, I'd taken the majority of his girth, feeling the knot buried within his sheat knocking at my back passage. I could scarcely imagine what it'd feel like without the prior preparation. It didn't end there, the wolf began pulling his member free, the soreness from prior still present as he sheathed himself completely once again. It elicited a yowl from me. It didn't hinder him the slightest, resuming his thrusts until he'd gained a rhythm.

I could only endure, throwing a slur at Coal as he continued. He didn't care though, I was his prize to enjoy.

I took note that after a few moments, my breathing had turned into heated pants, and the pain was beginning to subside into unwelcomed pleasure. My growl was weakening in regards to the unwelcomed sensations. Coal must have taken notice as his thrusting softened, and a paw left my shoulders, finding themselves hugging my softened mass. My ears jumped as I felt the wolf toy with my sheath. His head coming lower to speak...

"I told you to beg, and you're going to beg tonight..." he snarled, silencing whatever witty comeback I had with a thrust that choked my words with a yelp.

Each time his shaft left, I felt my inner walls betray me and cling to the slick mass, inviting its return. The wolf above moaned, even drooling by the warm drops of saliva landing at my back. The foreignness of penetration becomes too familiar, too quickly. Then, a shock caused me to bite at a moan, and Coal's laughter returned, now with an added curiosity.

"Oh, seems I found pup's weak spot, is it?" he said adjusting himself on the stump, then pressing forward to force another moan out of me, "...here!"

Damn it! Why was I moaning? He was defiling me, why was he making me enjoy it!?

The dog laughed, his paw still squeezing at my half-mast, applying just enough pressure on the sweet spot to make my growling shift into a growl of pleasure. The pressure was too much and it stung so good. I couldn't describe the tension building up at the back of my groin. The jolt was addicting, and the more he pressed, the better it felt. Coal meanwhile guided the rest of my length out, gripping at the base of my knot to only louden my moans. Bastard...!

"Beg," he commanded once more.

"N-Never...!!" I barked, and he smiled with a crooked grin.

"Yes," he pulled out, causing my ears to slide back, "you," I closed my eyes, "will!"

I yowled as he plunged himself back into my abused rear, the jolt stronger than ever before. A jet of pre escaped as he pulled himself out and began to repeat the motion. I couldn't even make out the thunder anymore by the sound of my own barking and moaning. He wasn't relenting, but I wouldn't beg!!

Thankfully, a breather followed, Coal's shaft pulling out completely. An audible popping sound urged a groan out of me. I'd hoped he was finished, but I quickly found my body flipped over. The heat clouded my head. I hadn't realized the shift until my knees came into my vision and by that extension my own member. Then followed the towering shadow that was the bigger wolf, equally dazed in his own heat. His mouth was wide open, drool matting most of his mouth, his claws sinking into the bindings that kept my legs bound doing away with the binding around my ankles to gain access to his goal. Dazed as I was, I put resistance, he wasn't going back in without a struggle. It wasn't much of one... unfortunately.

It wasn't until he pulled apart my knees that I got a clear image of Coal's hardened mass. While lighter in red, it was still large and imposing. If it hadn't just recently come out of my ass, I'd have argued that it wouldn't have fit. The knot was even more impressive, not completely inflated, yet still threatening to destroy whatever was left of my virginity. Coal was quick to re-align himself, tossing my legs over his shoulders and pushing back into my depths. I couldn't hold back the groan that followed and I knew he relished in it...

His thrusting resumed with added force behind them, my own pup-maker bouncing in front of me. Drops of pre landed on my nose, doing little to mask the black wolf's scent from me. It was already humiliating to be fucked by this asshole, now I had to watch my own tool dance while I was being fucked. What's worse was the eruption of enjoyment I was getting out of this experience. It was supposed to be painful, traumatizing, and disgusting, yet here I was with a hard-on, letting out sounds I hadn't made since I was a toddler.

Coal however, he drank it all in. His panting had evolved into incoherent snarls, Coal's tongue hanging at the edge of his maw while he huffed loudly with each thrust. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying the sights anymore, his eyes told me he only desired to bury his knot, and soon too. I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth and baring as much as I could. It was all I could do as the power of his thrusting increased. He was going to knot soon but before that...

"Beg..." He huffed, stopping for a moment, my tailhole screaming from all the different sensations around it. Coal looked at me with lustful wild eyes, he only wanted one answer, and he looked the part to deliver his worst if he didn't get him.

My response... I put a finger at my own member, pulled it down, and flicked it at him. Spraying his face with my own pre-seed.

"Nev-" I grit my teeth, the wolf unwilling to even give me the chance to speak. He'd torn himself out of me, tossing my legs to the side and shifting my weight off the stomp. I landed roughly on my stomach, Coal landing not far behind me before he yanked my tail out of the way and proceeded to penetrate me again. Earning a loud yelp from the sudden entry.

"BEG!" He shouted, commanded, thrusting himself into my depths with newfound vigor. The tip of his knot stretching me to newer lengths bringing with it new pain. I growled, he lowered himself.

"BEG!!!" He thrust even deeper, another bit of his knot following, "BEG!!!"

Teeth collapsed on my neck, his weight crashing on top of me. His knot continued to impale me even further. I whimpered, biting my tongue, if he was going to tear my neck open he'd have to. I would not beg!!

Finally, after pushing greatly against it, threatening to end me for denying his orders. He pulled himself back, grinding me against the dirt, then sinking the rest of his knot into me. A loud popping echoing as I felt the rest of his member sink into me. I growled, tightening my grip of the ground, taking the final humps the bigger wolves had as best I could before I finally felt it. The first waves of hot seed sinking into me, marking me with his scent as strands of his cum sunk deep into me. I'd laugh from how sourly things had turned out, but I couldn't do much aside from breathe with Coal's fangs holding me in place. The occasional thrust followed behind as he pushed his spunk deeper into me. I could feel some of it had escaped, leaking down my taint and back of my sack. Teasing my own shaft which was painfully laid between my legs and the ground, yearning for release. I wouldn't allow it though, I'd taken my first knot, but I'd never give Coal the pleasure of making me cum.

A pleasant jolt of relief made me flinch as something moist landed on my ear, and I realized... it began to rain. I was honestly thankful for it, it was refreshing. I was matted in my own pre-seed, sweat, and likely plenty of Coal's. Our furs matted together as we lay on the ground recovering, it wasn't until he released his grip that he finally composed himself enough to speak.

"Wouldn't say it, huh?" I didn't respond, eyeing only the ground, waiting. Waiting to free myself of his knot and no sooner slit his throat.

"I was right," he rubbed at my cheek, egging me to growl. I couldn't see it but I knew he was smiling. "You really are a tough dog, no way I'll give you to the others. You're mine now." My growl grew, but I quickly coughed realizing how sore and dry my throat had become. How long had we gone at it? I didn't know, but tasting the water on my tongue eased the pain.

"Get used to this, Kurt, there won't be a night I don't breed you, and there won't be a night I don't let you know how much you entice me." He chuckled, licking at the bite marks on my neck. "You're mine." He repeated, over and over.

Eventually, his knot deflated enough to yank it free, urging a weak-willed yelp from me. I tried to tighten my tailhole, but it wasn't of any use... it all spilled out as quickly as he pulled out. It was over... finally. Coal stood up, content with his handiwork, likely admiring the afterview of his work, but he thankfully didn't linger for long. The others had left earlier, and given how they had dragged Pup away, it was likely for their own enjoyment. The black wolf was probably going to retrieve them, so if there was ever a time to make the best out of whatever energy I had left, it'd be now...

Once he was far enough, I dug my teeth into the bindings wrapped in my maw. The taste of mud and some bitterness (likely seed) lingered in my mouth, but I quickly did away with them. These flimsy crafts couldn't hold a wolf down, less of all me. Thankful Coal had torn the rope around my legs so I pushed myself off the muddied ground.

As I was, they'd quickly find me if I didn't get moving. Just standing was difficult, my legs shook and I must have had splinters all over my stomach, not to mention the bruises that were beginning to form. I had to ignore them though... I pushed forward. Looking for the relics would be pointless if I got caught, any luck and Ryan was carrying them. I'd find him one day and retrieve them from his corpse. On that, I promised.

___________________________________________________________________

I don't know for how long I walked, it wasn't much I was sure. The rain thankfully masked Coal's scent, making tracking me a bit harder, unfortunately any work it did to hide the trail was only undone by the tracks I made in the mud.

"What... rotten luck, huh...?" I laughed to myself. At my pacing, I'd get caught again. Even if I managed to escape from Coal. Where would I go? Naked, beaten, and raped, if Coal didn't keep me I'd die in the wilderness from either the cold or wild monsters. Here I was again, losing more of my freedom and given even fewer options to survive. It had rained the day Coal found me too... What compelled me to hate him so much? I asked myself.

I recalled being thrown out of the bar, the entire establishment booing me out. Reminding me how lucky I was for Coal not to call the guards and have me arrested for thievery.

Yeah, how lucky I was.

The black wolf joined me outside, even though I growled at him, cursed at him, yet he still lifted me up and tugged me closer. Shielding me from the cold rain, asking me if I had a place to stay, if I wanted one. Of course I did, I didn't just want a home, I wanted food, I wanted to be someone. Any fairy tale would have painted Coal as a charming prince, shielding me, grooming me to be the great bandit I'd become. I couldn't even lie, somewhere deep inside I wanted this. The rain repainted the imagery of that day perfectly, how he held me close sharing his warmth, Coal's scent brought me comfort; a smile, and the food and gift he shared... the mirror shard.

"You look amazing, as a fellow wolf, you shouldn't be ashamed of admiring yourself. You've earned it." Those words echoed. I earned it.

When did I ever start to fear him?

When I laid my eyes on Pup, when I recognized the lust in the eyes, or when I realized how powerless I truly was? Had I really earned anything?

I stopped in my tracks, looking down into a puddle of my own reflection, perhaps I should just accept it. I was just the Beta in all this. A mansion of my own, never in a million years would I earn it, no amount of hard work would grant my wish. I was unaware of what was the rain, or what was my own bitter tears mixed in with it. I lifted my head, noticing the town up ahead, the sun had begun to rise on the morbid sky. A dull grey illuminating the morning, just moments ago, on this cliff I bid farewell to Stoneguard. Now here I was again.

"Where will you go?" I heard the wolf's voice, turning to spot Coal a short distance away. I asked myself the same thing too, again, and again. The mansion in my dreams becoming harder and harder to envision. I turned to Coal, he was dressed in only the worn pants he'd had earlier. He looked warm, inviting, opening his arms to bring me in. It was all the same. Rurik, Dillian, and Coal. I was just a pup for someone to claim and enjoy... I closed my eyes and smiled, envisioning the mansion once more. I was happy, Coal and I were lovers, I didn't deny that I loved his scent, his body, his praise.

Opening them, I stared back at the town, I knew what I'd have to do to earn a life of luxury. Turning in the direction of the town, I gave Coal my back.

"Not today. I won't beg." I answered. "I said I'd earn my freedom, I'd rise from the mud and reclaim it, earn a new life. I'll keep fighting tooth and claw to snatch it back." I took a step further, Coal's eyes widening in response, for once I saw genuine fear in him. I let my weight carry me off, I would test my luck today.

"Let's see how lucky I am..." I muttered, the wind gaining momentum as I fell from the cliff. I couldn't escape Coal if I walked or even ran, I'd gamble my life... my freedom. If I was going to hit rock bottom, I'd embrace the fall. Last I saw of Coal, he was reaching over the edge of the cliff, reaching out cursing my name for attempting such a stupid stunt. I could only mouth to him, "I'd come back." The rest... was black....

___________________________________________________________________

When I came to, everything was numb. I wasn't sure if I was breathing, but I was sure it was still raining from how my eyes flickered to a strange sensation washing over them. My vision slowly returned, a large golden structure standing before me. I tried laughing, guess I had rotten luck after all. I didn't expect the gods to want me, sending me the infamous staircase to heaven and all. I guess my stubbornness was a well-appreciated trait.

I heard the light speaking to me, the pain of my back beginning to increase as I realized what was before me wasn't a staircase, but rather the large frame of a golden drake. Stunned, I eyed the dragon, before finally smiling at Victor...

"Rotten luck indeed..."