FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

In the study and library, Àzuen carefully began unrolling the rugs he had just finished beating outside. He kept his eyes on the faint outlines on the hardwood planks--the darker squares where the sun hadn't faded the floor marked the original positions, and he wanted to match the rugs back to where they were supposed to go. As he worked, he moved gingerly, slowly adjusting his legs to shuffle forward along the floor; his ass was still sore from last night, but there was no time to rest it when he had a day full of chores to complete.

As he was unrolling a paisley patterned rug, the door to the study opened, and he turned to see Galos.

"Ah, there you are!" the ram said pleasantly, striding into the room. Àzuen bowed his head deferentially while Galos stepped up next to him. "I was looking for my copy of Veladore's Comprehensive, did you re-shelve it?"

"Yes, Master," Àzuen replied--he winced at the twinge in his ass as he quickly got to his feet; before Galos could say anything more, the wolf plucked the green hardcover book off the bookshelf, then pressed it into his master's waiting hand.

"And to think I led a life of chaos before you," Galos chortled, brandishing the book before he used it to playfully smack Àzuen's hip. The wolf jumped, then smiled--after hearing his master's glowing review of breakfast, seeing the spring in his step as he made his way down to the lab, and hearing the ram do something as frivolous as whistling while he jotted down equations on the blackboard, it was plain to see that last night's romp had put Galos in a good mood, and the soreness in his backside had been worth it.

Galos grinned at Àzuen, then raised his eyebrows as an idea struck him. He held up a finger for Àzuen to wait, then stuck his head out of the doorway, checking the hall. Satisfied, the ram closed the door and returned to Àzuen's side to take his arm.

"It occurs to me that I didn't get a proper look at you last night or earlier this morning," Galos said as he led Àzuen over to his desk. "And I have to say, I'm curious about the damage I did." The ram laid his book on the desk and positioned Àzuen to stand with his back facing him; Galos then sat down in his desk chair. "Now, drop your pants, slave."

Because his back was fortunately to his master, Àzuen freely rolled his eyes at Galos's order, but he complied anyway; the wolf bent over slightly, showing off his backside while he unbuttoned his capris and shimmied them down over his round buttocks. Àzuen groaned silently, feeling the soreness in his rear as he bent further to spread his cheeks and raised his tail, revealing the puffed ring of his still-gaping hole to Galos.

"There we go...would you look at that," Galos mused, leaning forward in his chair for a closer view.

Àzuen flinched in surprise when he felt Galos's hand alight on his left cheek, then shuddered in anticipation when the ram softly tapped a finger against his balls, jostling them. Galos chuckled softly at his slave's reaction before he traced up along the backside of Àzuen's scrotum, over his taint, and then to the lower rim of his ass--he rubbed his finger over the loose orifice, swiping back and forth over the stretched lips.

"I outdid myself...it's a wonder you've been working like this all day," Galos mused while he teased Àzuen's hole. He tapped on the wolf's anus like a button, and Àzuen arched his back and relaxed his sphincter more to open up further, showing off his gape. Galos kept his eye on the dark tunnel before him as he asked, "You have been working, haven't you?"

"Yes, Master," Àzuen replied earnestly, subtly swaying his hips from side to side.

"Good slave," Galos said smugly. He circled his finger around the edge of Àzuen's hole, occasionally pressing and pulling the delicate skin to stretch the ring even further. "With how hard I bred you last night, I can imagine you must be aching today...although if you can keep up your work like this, I wonder..."

Àzuen silently gasped when he felt a thick digit enter and wriggle teasingly inside of him. He softly clenched, then forced himself to relax again.

"Can you work with something in you like this?" Galos asked with a chuckle as he slid his finger in up to the second knuckle.

Àzuen was just about to answer when there was a knock on the door. He and Galos both turned their heads as the door opened to reveal Vidan.

"I had an idea about the desterium's flux state when we combine it with--ah." The raccoon's jaw dropped and he came to a stop when he realized he'd just walked in on Galos fingering his slave.

"A better discussion for the lab, as I'm a little busy at the moment," Galos told his assistant dryly.

Vidan began to backpedal. "Should I..."

"Yes, you should."

The flustered raccoon backed out of the room, and with one last withering glance at Àzuen, Vidan closed the door, leaving the wolf and ram alone again.

Galos turned to address Àzuen. "Now, where were we?" He pushed his finger deeper into Àzuen, all the way to the base, eliciting a silent groan and a wagging tail from the wolf. "Ah, yes, can you work all day with something in you? I need a good slave who has...the right kind of discipline...if I'm to keep breeding you like last night."

"Yes, Master," Àzuen replied obediently, gently rocking back onto Galos's hand.

"Hmm...we'll have to see about that, won't we?"

Galos kept his finger lodged inside Àzuen's ass, but the wolf felt his master remove his free hand from his cheek...then he heard a desk drawer open. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Galos rummaging around in a box in one of his drawers, then pull out an object.

"I won't need you in the lab today, but I still need you to do a test for me," Galos said as he withdrew his finger from Àzuen's ass.

Àzuen frowned, confused, then raised his eyebrows in surprise when he felt a blunt, spherical object being pressed against his back entrance.

"I received a batch of chimera eggs some time ago, but never had the opportunity to hatch them," Galos said while he pushed the round, lime-sized, mottled purple egg into the open orifice. He could feel it slowly sliding forward against the natural push of Àzuen's muscles. "Until now, that is. They're dormant now, but once I awaken this one, it will need a constant heat source as it incubates."

Àzuen huffed when the egg finally popped past his sphincter and settled inside his rectum. Without Galos supporting the egg, the wolf could feel it rest heavily within him, and he clenched hard around it to keep it in place. The ram snapped his fingers, and Àzuen felt a sudden burst of warmth in his guts as Galos activated the egg.

"If it drops out even once during its six-hour incubation period, there won't be a chimera--it will be a simple serpent of some kind instead," Galos continued as he patted Àzuen's rump. The alchemist grunted as he stood from his chair and went on, "But if you keep it in, it should hatch into a full-fledged chimera, which I'd be most interested to study."

Àzuen looked back at his master, who sighed contentedly and smiled down at him. "Well, I believe you have more work to do."

Without another word, Galos picked up the book he'd left on the desk, lightly smacked Àzuen's exposed ass with the tome, and sauntered out of the room. Àzuen, meanwhile, shook his head to himself in exasperation--on top of everything else he had to do today, he had to keep this monster egg inside him? He'd already seen the state of Vidan's room earlier that morning, and the prospect of repeatedly bending over and getting down on his knees to clean up the debris of whatever tornado had torn through the raccoon's chamber--it was going to be difficult to hold the egg in his aching ass with all that physical activity he'd have to do. Àzuen bristled when he thought about how much work he'd have to do for Vidan's room alone; part of him wanted to simply pop the egg out, find Vidan, and forcibly shove it down the raccoon's throat for giving him such big mess to clean--but Àzuen took a calming breath as he pulled his pants up again. No, if he wanted to continue proving himself trustworthy enough to freely speak and orgasm, he needed to hatch this damn egg.

When Àzuen settled onto his knees to resume rolling out the beaten rugs, his spread legs helped open his hole enough for the egg to threaten to poke out--annoyed at the extra effort he'd have to exert, he quickly clenched his ass, keeping his precious cargo secure inside him while he worked.

---

The lamps in Galos's room were lit, casting more light in the large chamber than there had been the previous night. Àzuen, completely nude, supported himself on his hands and knees on the ram's bed while Galos settled behind him.

The day had passed with Àzuen completing his usual tasks--cleaning out the chamber pots, sweeping and dusting, doing the laundry, making lunch and helping Parma with dinner, tidying up the lab, and so on--and as he walked around, he'd kept a tight grip on the egg inside his ass. It hadn't been easy; the egg seemed to get heavier with every hour that went by, and on multiple occasions Àzuen had had to stop what he was doing so he could intentionally clench and try to readjust the weight he carried. When Galos had finally summoned Àzuen to his room for the night, the wolf had heaved a sigh of relief before practically racing up the stairs.

"Now, have you done your work for the day?" Galos asked as he surveyed Àzuen's ass in front of him. He cupped a cheek and squeezed.

"Yes, Master."

"And all without releasing the chimera egg?"

"Yes, Master."

"Hmm...I'll believe it when I see it," Galos murmured, sounding both dubious and intrigued.

Àzuen heard his master snap his fingers, and another surge of heat flared in his ass. Then he felt...movement. The egg lodged in his rectum rotated slowly, and Àzuen clenched his teeth when something nudged at his innards...and again...and again, like something punching in his guts.

This went on for a good two minutes, with Àzuen's hole winking at Galos every time the wolf felt an internal nudge; he clenched especially hard when he felt a blow on his prostate. Then Àzuen gasped in silence when the egg seemed to pop, and he couldn't hold it in any more; Galos watched the wolf's hole relax and gape as thick fluid and a thin, broken, translucent membrane goopily spilled out and fell to the towel that had been placed on the bedspread below.

"Good, that's the egg hatched...now to see what emerges," Galos announced.

Through the slippery slime coating the thing still resting in his guts, Àzuen could feel the pronounced texture of scales, and the creature was squirming, possibly to orient itself to the exit...but Àzuen couldn't tell if he was feeling a serpent without limbs or a scaly chimera that was simply pushing off of his prostate and wriggling its way out of him. He'd heeded his master's words and kept the thing inside all day long to incubate it, but what if something had gone wrong? What if it was still a serpent and Àzuen had failed?

He relaxed his anus as he felt the creature push back and forth like a fish, and he could tell it was getting close to the rim...Àzuen silently grunted when he sensed an appendage of some kind press past his sphincter, and he bore down to push...

"Yes...yes..." Galos murmured encouragingly.

Àzuen felt more of the creature emerge--part of it was wider and stretched his hole as it passed through...and then with a wet plop, it dropped from his ass and to the towel, along with more of the fluid that had been in the egg.

"Excellent!"

Softly catching his breath, Àzuen looked down between his legs to see the chimera--a miniature, black and blue scale-covered panther with horns, large fangs, tufts of pale orange fur, rudimentary wings jutting from its arms, and a spiked tail--cleaning itself, licking the remains of egg from its hide. Galos reached down to help clean the chimera, wiping it with the towel, before he gingerly picked it up and examined it in his hands. The chimera purred and rubbed against his thumb.

"I must say, I'm impressed with you, slave," Galos said while he continued marvelling at the small chimera he held. "I had my doubts that you could do this, but...I'm glad to see that you rose to the challenge I set for you."

"Thank you, Master," Àzuen breathed gratefully, and he smiled when Galos patted his rump with his free hand.

"You performed well today after all the work I put you through last night, and then incubating our little friend here," Galos took up. He studied the chimera for another moment, checking between its legs. "He seems to be in fine fetter."

Àzuen looked back at Galos, who stepped away from the bed and gently deposited the chimera in a terrarium that the wolf had brought up earlier that day in preparation for the creature. "I cannot deny that this is a good result of your...admirable work ethic and discipline. Doubtless you have been wondering when you might get the rest of your voice privileges back," the ram continued, sauntering back over to the bed. He clambered onto the mattress and positioned himself to sit in front of Àzuen (who was still on all fours) as he went on, "Rest assured, if you keep on this trajectory of diligence and good behavior, it will be fairly soon. In the meantime, I'd say that you have earned another reward for your efforts thus far."

Galos leaned forward with a smile and cradled the side of Àzuen's face with one hand; he stroked the wolf's cheek comfortingly, and Àzuen leaned into the warm palm, nuzzling it like a pet. The slave watched his master raise his other hand and a white light glowed within the tips of his middle finger and thumb.

Galos snapped his fingers.

Àzuen's eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his heart raced; for the first time in over five and a half months, he felt his cock swell out of his sheath as fast as an arrow flying from an archer's bow. His knot blew past the tight rim of his sheath quicker than he could process, his balls drew up tight against his pelvis, and in mere seconds he felt that wonderful, tantalizing pressure in his loins boil over in a violent explosion. The wolf threw his head back, howling silently as his vision went stark white for a moment. Àzuen's orgasm struck him like a cast iron pan to the head--his arms and legs trembled, his breath caught in his chest, his ears rang, and it was all he could do to dizzily support himself and not collapse on the bed while his cock throbbed hard and fired thick, gooey ropes.

If Àzuen had been in a clearer state of mind, he would have noticed that not a single strand of cum landed on Galos's bedsheets--instead, the translucent white fluid levitated with a pale glow the second it exited his urethra, and Àzuen's load coalesced into a large blob of sperm that floated just under his chest. But Àzuen was too enraptured by his climax to even think about the potential mess he might have been making; pure euphoria seared through his system at the apex of his orgasm, and his cock continued wildly shooting bursts of his seed, adding to the blob until his testicles and prostate had nothing more to give.

Galos watched over his slave the whole time he rode through his orgasm, a self-satisfied smile on his face. It had been a while since he'd forced a climax out of someone else like this, and the ram had forgotten how much he enjoyed the spectacle of overwhelming another person with instant pleasure. He grinned when he heard how hard his slave huffed to catch his breath, and when he looked down at the glob of cum he was levitating, Galos was raised his eyebrows in surprise at how much the wolf had produced. He waited patiently as Àzuen lowered his head and closed his eyes, gasping while he recovered...until the point when the wolf's breathing slowed to a steady, even rhythm, and Àzuen looked up at Galos again.

"Thank you...thank you, Master," Àzuen breathed softly, a pleased smile on his lips.

"You've earned it, slave," Galos commended. "And you'll earn every other ejaculation you have in the future."

At a flick of Galos's fingers, the large wad of cum that had collected under Àzuen's chest zipped into the wolf's open mouth, and the wolf's jaws forced themselves closed. Àzuen coughed through his nose while he tried to swallow, but his throat wouldn't work--Galos was forcibly keeping his load in his muzzle.

"There's a way this will work from now on," Galos said while Àzuen gagged and recovered. He clambered off the bed and pulled off his shirt, which he dropped to the floor. As he slid out of his pants and kicked them aside, he continued, "You will now have the privilege to cum, but only after I breed you. Any other time--whether you're by yourself in your room or servicing me orally, for instance--the same chastity rules still apply. But when I breed you, you can get erect. When I'm done, you'll have two minutes to pleasure yourself. If you are unable to finish yourself off within that time, then you don't get to cum until after the next time I breed you." Galos had been stroking his cock and circling around Àzuen as he spoke, until he climbed back onto the bed and took up his position behind the wolf's ass. He lined up his cockhead with Àzuen's loosened hole and softly pushed on it, teasing his slave. "Do you understand, slave?"

At last, Àzuen, whose taste buds had been flooded with his load the whole time Galos had been speaking, could finally push back with his tongue to swallow; he hastily gulped down the thick wad of cum and saliva that had been building in his mouth before responding obediently, "Yes, Master."

"Good slave." Without further ado, Galos plunged in, pushing hard until his groin connected firmly with Àzuen's rump. As he penetrated his slave's ass--wet squelches sounding as the moist lips of Àzuen's hole parted and were dragged inside around Galos's girthy cock--the wolf arched his back in pleasure.

---

Àzuen's days followed the same routine of completing his tasks as usual, but his nights began to settle into a new rhythm. Most often, Galos would summon the wolf to his chambers to simply fuck him either on his back or on his hands and knees. Occasionally, however, the alchemist would play around with different methods of teasing and torturing his slave; there was one night when Àzuen's cheeks were a deep, burnt red from a prolonged spanking session; another evening saw his hands and feet go numb after Galos had conjured four powerful serpents to wrap themselves around Àzuen's arms and legs to secure him in place, while a fifth snake had coiled around his throat and pushed its head into his maw, exploring his muzzle while Galos used his ass; his cock could still feel the muscle memory of when Galos had experimentally slid thin, lubricated steel rods into his urethra and stimluated his prostate; another night had been devoted to Àzuen literally fucking himself, as Galos had used his modular portal spell to detach the wolf's cock and had ordered Àzuen to bounce up and down on his erection for the ram's entertainment; and he'd been both terrified and excited during the night when Galos had spent hours shocking his testicles with small bolts of lightning that shot from his fingertips.

There were nights when Galos would breed Àzuen and the chimera's terrarium would be sitting on the ram's nightstand--Àzuen, in a haze of lust and hormones, would look over to see the chimera intently watching him get humped by Galos, and occasionally it would make the same humping motions, thrusting its hips forward to smear its multi-knotted, barbed, slime-covered erection against the glass. The chimera would leer and snarl at Àzuen every time the wolf looked at it, hunger for power clearly visible on its tiny, scaled face.

"Well, now that's intriguing," Galos had grunted one evening when he'd observed the chimera's behavior during a prolonged session with Àzuen. He continued thrusting into the wolf's ass as he noted, "It seems it's learning how...the act of breeding is a display of superior behavior from me...attempting to mimic my control over you in a desire to establish dominance itself. I'd be curious to see if it actually would do that to you...although you're too big for it to do much, aren't you? Ah well, simply a hypothesis..."

The chimera had growled while Galos kept powerfully pumping into Àzuen's ass, and the wolf tried to push the little beast watching him from his mind, instead focusing on pleasing his master.

There were other nights when Galos would barge into Àzuen's small room and force himself onto the wolf, ripping away the blanket and immediately hilting his cock in the wolf's ass. After a hurried, frenzied few minutes of humping, the ram would cum in him and simply leave, while his load slowly dribbled out of Àzuen's abused hole--per his master's adjustments to the chastity spell, Àzuen would furiously stroke his cock alone in his room after these encounters, trying desperately to cum. There were some evenings when he achieved release before his allotted two minutes passed, while other nights saw no more than a few beads of pre before his cock would forcibly retreat into his sheath once again.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and before Àzuen knew it, another three months had passed by. Three months of completing his chores obediently and efficiently without a hint of complaint and saying no more than "Yes, Master", "No, Master", and "Thank you, Master". Three months of learning how to cook from Parma, who had been given more and more time off to attend to other pursuits while Àzuen took on more culinary duties. Three months of getting fucked nightly by Galos. Three months of keeping his master in a good mood and doing his best to impress him with a clean home, a spick and span laboratory, delicious food, and a willing and eager ass to breed. Three months of Galos progressing from simply calling him "slave" to "grunt" to "drudge" to "drudger" to "Rudge" as a pet name. Three months of doing his best to avoid incurring Vidan's wrath--while the raccoon had managed to incorporate Àzuen into his romps with Lord Tabris a few more times, the wolf managed to steer clear of and prevent Vidan's antics (much to Vidan's visible displeasure). And three months of participating in Galos's experiments. The most noteworthy work Galos had undertaken in his lab with Àzuen's assistance was further work on his transportation portal spell--in between all the other experiments the ram had been conducting, he had set up one more attempt five weeks ago.

Àzuen had watched Galos finish drawing his runes on the stone floor and laying out thin lines of dry powder and hot, melted metal.

"These runes are for the destination, while the sigils down here are to counteract the adverse effects of stepping through the portal and keep your form stable," Galos had explained as he worked. When the ram was done, he stood up straight and held his hands, palms down, out over the circles and signs he had painstakingly created. Àzuen had stood by his master while Galos waited, and then a light shimmer seemed to rise from the floor, as if a wave of heat was building up. Galos quickly clasped his hands together, and the shimmer spiked, forming a column of wavering air that passed through his closed palms. The alchemist breathed out, then flung his arms apart to spread them wide.

As Galos moved his arms, an oblong, quivering ring of silver formed in the void he left behind--the shaking ring expanded, showing a view of Galos's backyard veiled by what looked like a thin, wobbly layer of water. The ring formed an archway seven feet high and only a few feet wide, and Galos dropped his hands to his sides as he sighed in satisfaction.

"Well, there it is...and looking much better than the previous one!" the ram had said, leaning forward to inspect his work. He nodded to himself, then looked back at Àzuen. "In you go, Rudge!"

Àzuen had gulped and took an uncertain step toward the portal--Galos stepped aside to make more room. The wolf had squared his shoulders before he took a steadying breath, then he walked through the portal. It felt like passing through a layer of jelly, and there was no discernable delay in his perception of time; one second he was in Galos's lab, and the next he had simply stepped into the backyard. It was as if he had merely walked out of the backdoor on the main floor.

Except he felt extreme pain--Àzuen's eyes widened as he looked down at himself to see he was on fire. He screamed without a sound and, panicking, ran back through the portal to the lab.

Gasping for air, Àzuen had raced around the lab, too terrified to stay still or try to put himself out, and Galos had been too shocked to do anything for a few seconds until he recovered himself.

"Oh! Oh, wait, hold still!" Galos had yelled as he held up a hand that glowed red. Immediately, Àzuen had felt as if he'd been doused in ice cold water and blasted by a hurricane; the flames were gone and his fur intact while the memory of the burning pain raced through his system, and he and Galos came to a standstill in the lab, catching their breath. The whole ordeal had lasted only a few seconds, but to Àzuen it had felt so much longer.

Needless to say, Galos had decided to take the next five weeks to restructure the portal spell, and his experiments in the meantime had been much more mundane. Which was why, today, Àzuen had been surprised to see fresh circles of powder and melted metal on the stone floor in the lab--he'd come downstairs that afternoon expecting another round of testing Vidan's endurance elixir; so far, Àzuen had been able to withstand a rock being thrown at his chest and a blunt sword to his leg, but the potion had faltered when Vidan had punched him in the stomach, winding him badly. Today, however, the raccoon was nowhere to be seen--Galos had excluded his assistant from his secretive portal experiments thus far, so when Àzuen saw the circles on the floor and realized Vidan wasn't in the lab, he knew instantly what was in store for him.

"Perfect timing, Rudge, I was just about to send for you," Galos said brightly when he saw Àzuen enter the lab. He gestured for his slave to join him, and Àzuen padded closer--some of the runes he saw inscribed within the circles on the floor were different compared to the previous attempt five weeks ago. "I believe the time is ripe for another attempt--are you ready to try?"

"Yes, Master," Àzuen replied, nodding--despite the smile he wore to demonstrate his willingness, Àzuen felt ready to run for the hills; he had no desire to go up in flames again, and while he hoped that his master had solved that error, Àzuen had a hunch that another painful transmutation was going to happen to him the second that he stepped through the portal. But he hid his doubts under the grin plastered on his face, and Galos confidently patted his shoulder before he turned to face the spell circle.

Galos repeated the gestures he'd performed during the previous attempt--the air shimmered slightly under his outstretched hands, and Àzuen watched a spike of shivering energy form between the alchemist's closed palms when Galos clasped them together. Galos exhaled, then flung his arms apart, and this time instead of a silver, wobbling ring in the air, a blue, oblong, isosceles triangle formed in the void left behind by Galos's spread arms. The triangle expanded until it was large enough to comfortably admit a full-grown person, and it connected with the floor. Àzuen saw that, like the last portal Galos had experimented with, this doorway looked out on the backyard, although this time the view was veiled by what looked like a layer of cracked glass.

"Alright, that should do it--walk in, and come back through," Galos instructed as he stepped aside for Àzuen.

Àzuen sighed, then tentatively stepped past his master and closed his eyes as he walked into the portal.

It felt as if he simply pushed past a sheer curtain, and he felt a breeze on his face. Àzuen opened his eyes to see he stood in the backyard. The trees swayed in the wind, birds were chirping, and he looked down at himself to see...he wasn't on fire. He hadn't been turned to jelly, he hadn't phased through another person or object, and his fur hadn't changed color nor had he been turned inside out; Àzuen patted himself down, checking for any missing or new body parts, but he found that he was completely intact.

Surprised, Àzuen slowly turned on the spot to look behind him--the triangle portal was there, protruding from the ground and showing him a view of Galos in the lab staring back at him, clearly amazed behind the layer of cracked glass. Àzuen smiled and nodded, confirming that he was alright.

The wolf watched Galos close his eyes and clap his hands together, simply enjoying the moment of triumph. Àzuen, still smiling, stepped back through the portal, and Galos pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Finally...thank you...thank you..." the ram whispered as he choked back a joyous sob and buried his face in Àzuen's shoulder. His back trembled under Àzuen's hands, and the wolf held him tightly, comfortingly swaying from side to side as the alchemist savored his breakthrough.

---

Galos finished his goblet of wine and belched. "Oh, that was good, Rudge. You outdid yourself, I must say."

"Thank you, Master," Àzuen said gratefully as he picked up Galos's empty plate.

Dinner had been hours in the making, but Àzuen had persevered and presented honey-roasted quail with perfectly seasoned and charred brussel sprouts, potatoes, and lentils for the main course. Dessert was a chocolate souffle, which he had only recently managed to perfect under Parma's guidance. And Galos and Vidan had eaten every last scrap that had been placed in front of them, both scraping their plates to get the last morsels.

"What was the occasion?" Vidan asked as he dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin. "This feels like a celebration of some kind, did I miss something?"

Galos winked at Àzuen, who had begun to clear away the rest of the used plates and cutlery. "Who knows? Maybe Rudge just wanted to treat us tonight," the ram said innocuously.

"Yes, Master," Àzuen said with a smile, playing into Galos's game; after that afternoon's success, Galos had sworn Àzuen to secrecy, as he wasn't ready to share his portal work with Vidan--or any other alchemist--until he'd made sure it was perfect, certified his results, and written up his discovery. In the meantime, Àzuen wasn't to tell a soul about his master's breakthrough...but he could still help Galos celebrate with a special dinner.

"Wish he'd treat us like this every night," Vidan said.

"If he did, you'd end up fatter than Professor Möcet at the academy," Galos chuckled while Àzuen ferried the dirty dishes into the kitchen. "That old bull must be carrying the weight of four men around his waist."

While Galos and Vidan chatted and began to retire for the night, Àzuen cleared out the dining room and performed his tasks to close down the house for the evening. When he eventually finished, the house was dark and quiet, and Àzuen padded upstairs to Galos's room.

"Come," Galos called when Àzuen knocked on his door.

The wolf pushed into his master's chambers, but he was surprised to see that Galos wasn't in his bed--instead, the ram was sitting in one of the tall, wingback chairs next to the green-tiled fireplace; Galos was contemplating the crackling fire in the hearth as Àzuen approached him, and he finally looked up at the wolf when Àzuen stood beside his chair.

"You really did outdo yourself with dinner tonight, Rudge," Galos began, and Àzuen smiled appreciatively. "It was a wonderful form of congratulations...well-needed after the amount of work I've put into my research. Gestures like that--especially after all you've done for me since entering my service--don't go unnoticed. You've proven yourself a capable slave with initiative, and you've demonstrated your work ethic and trustworthiness time and time again. Which is why," Galos continued, sitting up straighter in his chair, "I'm going to restore your voice privileges."

Àzuen's eyes widened and his mouth opened--he'd been waiting and working for this moment for so long, the better part of a year...

"Kneel." Galos beckoned Àzuen downward with his finger.

Obediently, Àzuen got down on his knees in front of Galos, settling between his spread legs. The alchemist held up his hand, which glowed green, and leaned forward to place his palm and fingers on Àzuen's throat. Galos squeezed lightly, then released his grip, and the green glow faded from his hand.

Àzuen didn't feel any different--then again, he hadn't felt any physical sensation when Galos had first stripped him of his voice so many months ago. The wolf coughed to clear his throat...then froze.

He'd heard himself cough.

He hadn't heard himself make a sound beyond "Yes, Master", "No, Master", "Thank you, Master", and his own humming in...

A tear welled up in his eye; Àzuen couldn't even think to wipe it away as he looked up at Galos, smiling. With a tender expression on his face, Galos leaned forward again and rested his hand on Àzuen's cheek, comforting him as he used his thumb to wipe the tear from his eye.

"Tears of joy, Rudge?" Galos asked softly.

Àzuen chuckled. "Yes, Master. Plenty of joy."

Galos smirked and patted the wolf on the head, ruffling his fur. "You've earned it. Now..." Galos trailed off as he reached down and wrapped his fingers around the middle strap of Àzuen's chest harness. The ram pulled on the leather as he continued, "We both have something to celebrate tonight, it seems."

Àzuen nodded knowingly. "I'm at your service, Master."

---

Even though Àzuen had been in control of his voice for a month now, he still kept quiet, speaking only when spoken to and occasionally chatting with Parma as the two of them worked in the kitchen during the couple days each week she would appear. Now that the wolf had proven himself trustworthy enough to earn his voice back, he was doing everything he could to hold onto his privilege and not give Galos a reason to take it away again. He continued working hard and completing his tasks dutifully, and whenever Galos would strike up a short conversation with his slave every so often, Àzuen would speak respectfully and pleasantly.

"I thought I'd do well in green, but now I'm not so sure," Galos had once said while studying himself in his mirror; he'd been wearing a green robe that Àzuen had pulled out for him at his request. "What do you think, Rudge?"

"I think you look good in it, although I'd suggest that purple would suit you even better," Àzuen had offered, pulling out the ram's deep violet robe to show him.

While their short conversations were light and professional during the day, at night Galos would occasionally demand that he hear his slave lewdly beg for a breeding.

"Please...please, Master, I need you in me," Àzuen would whine.

"Oh, you need me, do you?" Galos would playfully ask, teasing Àzuen's hole with the tip of his cock. "Have you been a good boy, Rudge? Have you earned it?"

"Yes, sir! I've worked hard all day, and I can't live without your thick cock filling me, your sons flooding my insides--let me serve you, please, Master!"

While Àzuen and Galos continued to build their rapport through their interactions, the wolf endeavored to keep himself restrained where Vidan was concerned.

"What do you think of this, slave?" Vidan would call when Àzuen would accidentally interrupt the raccoon and Lord Tabris having a morning together.

Àzuen would silently bow his head, and simply say, "Master Galos needs you in the lab, sir."

"For being such a big wolf, you're just a worthless little piece of shit, aren't you," Vidan would mutter out of the corner of his mouth when Àzuen passed him in the lab. The slave would bite his tongue in response, refusing to rise to Vidan's bait.

In the meantime, during the month that had passed since Galos had restored his voice, Àzuen had been keeping a close eye on his master's work with his transportation portal spell. Vidan still wasn't allowed in the lab when Galos was working on testing portals to different destinations, while the ram trusted Àzuen enough to use as a test subject. So far, Àzuen had been transported to the far east edge of the continent, Lepela Island, the northern glaciers, a tropical jungle, the Farzian Desert, and underground to one of the salt mines in the west. The wolf was allowed only to step through the portal to test its transit, pause in his destination for a moment, and then return before Galos closed the portal and inscribed a new destination rune in the spell circle. Every time, Àzuen would describe the sensation of travel to Galos--who had yet to use one of his own portals--and the ram would fervently write about his slave's experiences for his research paper. While Galos would excitedly scratch his quill across the scroll of parchment in front of him or muse about the implications of his work, Àzuen would both dutifully clean up the used portal supplies and make mental notes about the different runes that his master used. A plan for escape was forming in his mind, but he still needed time and the right opportunity to enact it.

However, an unexpected opportunity presented itself one day when Galos summoned Àzuen to his library and study.

"What can I do for you, Master?" Àzuen asked as he padded into the room.

Galos had just finished scribbling a list down on a scrap of paper and turned in his chair to address Àzuen. "I need you to go to the market and pick up these supplies--do you understand everything here?"

Àzuen raised his eyebrows, taken aback at this command, as he plucked the paper from Galos's hand and read over it. He recognized the herbs, metals, and additional equipment his master had written, and nodded. "Everything seems clear to me."

Galos smiled. "Good. I have lines of credit with the vendors in the market, so you can simply purchase everything with that. How soon do you think you'll be back?"

Àzuen sighed as he re-read the list--everything on there would be easy enough to find, and he already knew which vendors he'd need to go to; it was just the quantity of items that would take time. "I should be done within...two hours?"

"Then I'll see you within two hours, Rudge," Galos said approvingly. He waved a dismissive hand at Àzuen before returning to the notes on his desk--the wolf bowed his head deferentially and walked out of the room, clutching the list in his hand.

When he arrived at the market, Àzuen took a moment to pause and survey the throngs of people walking past him. There were nobles, slaves, parents, children, rangers, soldiers, merchants, auctioneers, and more swirling through the streets, and for one brief, shining minute, Àzuen contemplated how easy it would be to just blend in with the crowd--in the hubbub of everyone shopping, he could steal a cloak and some provisions, find a horse, and be well on his way out of town before Galos even thought he was missing. The vision of lying alone in a field, completely free and on his own, resurfaced in Àzuen's mind, and his hold on Galos's list loosened...

Before it tightened again, crinkling the paper under his fingers.

No, this wasn't the time or the way to do it. Even though he had been a skilled thief before being sold into slavery, it had been almost a year since he'd stolen anything--his skills were sure to be rusty, and the second he was caught taking something, he'd be packed off to Galos's for punishment, and Àzuen knew how creative the alchemist could get with disciplining him.

And then there was a bounty on his head to be considered; provided Àzuen did manage to get out of town, once his master caught on to his escape, slavers would be out in droves looking for him, and Àzuen could go only so far on horseback. Besides, the bull slaver who had initially auctioned him off had easily caught him once before--he'd very likely catch him again. And then in that case, would the bull simply auction him off a second time instead of cashing in on whatever bounty Galos might offer? And then who knew what kind of master would buy him? Àzuen recalled the other slaves who had been sold alongside him to different masters--he didn't know what their current situations were, although he didn't have to stretch his imagination very far to envision how much worse off they were. Compared to the terrible conditions they were likely being subjected to, the treatment he'd received from Galos was positively delightful.

As Àzuen contemplated the negative impacts of escaping right here and now, another thought suddenly came to mind: What if this was a test? What if Galos was making him prove his loyalty by going to the market alone? The ram had never ordered him to do such a thing before--why now? It couldn't be just because Galos had restored his voice privileges so Àzuen would be an actually useful resource at the market, could it? Plus, Galos had asked when Àzuen would expect to be back--why would he ask, unless it was to make Àzuen give himself a time limit, and if the wolf wasn't back home within that time, then Galos would either search for his slave himself or alert the authorities. And if this was a test...

Àzuen nodded self-assuredly; passing a test like this would work to his benefit in the long run. In Galos's eyes, he'd be confirmed as a highly trustworthy and loyal slave, a slave who could be left alone for longer periods of time with access to the ram's lab and equipment, a slave who was slowly becoming familiar with his master's portal research...

The wolf looked down at the list of supplies and equipment in his hand, then confidently strode off to one of the stalls that sold the herbs he needed.

Within the first hour, Àzuen had procured two thirds of the supplies Galos had listed. He'd needed to stop by six separate stalls, and he'd done his best at haggling prices down to give his master the best deals possible, but all of that had taken so much time. Fortunately, there was only one third left, and Àzuen knew that there were two other stalls he needed to visit to purchase the rest of the items he needed. He had set his purchases down on the ground next to one of the market fountains and just stretched his back, taking a quick rest, when he heard a familiar voice boom over the background noise of the crowd.

"Well, if it isn't Galos's little wolf!"

Surprised, Àzuen turned to see the tall, red and orange-scaled, big-bellied, wingless dragon he and Galos had encountered the first time Àzuen had come to the market with his master--he was walking towards Àzuen with a large crate under his arm and waving jovially at the wolf.

"Mister Caryx! It's a pleasure to see you again," Àzuen said as the dragon drew near; he bowed his head respectfully before Caryx laid a big, meaty hand on his shoulder.

"Oho! Seems that old goat finally let you speak, eh?" Caryx chuckled.

"Ah, yes, sir," Àzuen replied with a wry grin.

"You must've really worked hard to stay on his good side, then," Caryx observed. "He hasn't been working you too hard though, has he? Galos is many things, but a tyrant isn't one of them."

Àzuen held himself in check--he had numerous examples of Galos's tyranny in mind, but he knew it would be wrong to speak ill of his master like that. "No harder than I can work, sir," he cryptically answered. "He's a good master, and it's a privilege to be in his service."

"Hmm...now if only I had a slave like you...the things I could get you to do for me," Caryx mused with a thoughtful smile. He then laughed, his belly shaking under the gray coat he wore. "You know, I actually offered to buy you off of him."

Àzuen's eyebrows rose.

"I'd heard about a wolf being auctioned off a while back, and then there he was with you in the market. I had some good uses in mind for a wolf--especially a thing like you, when I saw you at last--but I wasn't able to make it to the auction, so it seems Galos lucked out," Caryx said carelessly, oblivious to the surprised expression on Àzuen's face. The dragon instead looked around the marketplace as he asked, "Where is he, anyway? I'd wanted to chat with him some more, and here you are--"

"He sent me here to shop for him," Àzuen quickly explained, recovering from his surprise enough to nod towards the parcels he'd set next to the fountain. "I'm getting close to finishing, though--would you like me to tell him you want to meet sometime?"

Caryx cocked his head, intrigued for a moment at Àzuen's suggestion, then shrugged. "Ah, sure, why not? Let him know my offer to buy you still stands," he said, patting the wolf's shoulder again as he winked down at Àzuen. The wolf gulped and nodded while the large dragon went on, "In the meantime, I'll let you get back to your shopping."

"Thank you, sir...enjoy the rest of your day, Mister Caryx!" Àzuen called as Caryx departed. He watched the dragon's tall, broad back retreat through the crowd, and a brief vision of Caryx using him the same way as Galos flashed through his imagination--Àzuen shivered for a second at the thought, grateful that the ram hadn't taken Caryx up on his offer the first time, and hopeful that he still wouldn't when Àzuen would share the dragon's message with him later. In the meantime, he picked up his parcels again and strode off to the metallurgist's stall.

---

Within another half hour, Àzuen had entered through the side door of Galos's home, his arms laden with the supplies the ram had ordered him to buy. As he walked down the hall, he heard Vidan's bedroom door open, and the raccoon emerged.

"Oh...you came back," Vidan sniffed, a sneer on his face as he surveyed Àzuen. "Have a good time at the market?"

Before Àzuen could form a polite reply, Galos's voice called from downstairs in the laboratory. "Is Rudge back?"

"Yes, Master!" Vidan heaved exasperatedly, rolling his eyes.

"Splendid! Rudge, bring everything down here!" Galos called cheerily.

"Coming, Master!" Àzuen replied.

"I thought you had to beg him like a good whore to let you cum," Vidan acidly quipped as Àzuen stepped around him.

Àzuen pretended not to hear the raccoon's barb, choosing instead to steer clear of him as Vidan attempted to bump into him and knock his parcels out of his arms--without a target to hit, Vidan jostled harmlessly against the wall while Àzuen pleasantly said, "Excuse me, sir," and started down the stairs to Galos's lab.