NONE SO VILE

15: Foolish Men

Albedo, Rennaire, 1802.

The badger slouched back against the cell wall, sunken eyes staring forward. His gaze pierced right through Alabaster, a thousand-yard stare that went beyond the gaol and all the city walls. Alabaster guessed Prince Jules was picturing the guillotine, imagining his neck locking into the creases, the wood swollen with too much blood. Or perhaps he was imagining the jeers of the people, or that final, blinding moment of panic when his body finally realised that this was the end and the blade was coming down.

“We all go the same way, in the end," Alabaster said, letting the words crawl from his lips. Jules squeezed his eyes shut, sighing. “Nobody is ever ready, and always alone."

“Shut up." Jules's voice was soft, broken.

Alabaster sniffed. “Death." He paused, leaning back in his chair. “It is a sterile process. No matter what your people and your priests and kings tell you, there is no glory in it, no honour. You wanna know what it is, Jules?" The dragon leaned forward suddenly, bracing himself on his knees. The badger glared back. He was frightened and trying not to show it. Alabaster grinned. “It's a joke. A cosmic gag. All this false meaning we apply to our lives and in the end we are all the same thing – a wet, shivering animal reduced to a cold, empty husk."

“Did you come here just to torment me one last time, Alabaster?"

“No. For once in your life, try to understand this is something that is not about you. I only came to prove something to myself."

He had come to treat the infection in his soul. It festered in the old wounds of his childhood, the natural conclusion from a lifetime spent under slavery. Ever since Leon beheaded the last king of Rennaire, Alabaster had known it wouldn't last. He could taste it in the atmosphere. Not an opinion, not even a fear, instead it was a deep-set certainty that the Kings – along with all the corruption and cruelty they brought – would return. They were owners, and the owners always win.

“Yet here you are," he whispered to the badger. “One more entry in a ceaseless parade of mediocrity. Chained." He wanted to laugh. “You're not a god, Jules, you're just a man."

Alabaster had spent his life terrified of them. For all he could remember he had craved their approval and feared their wrath. Free of it all now, he could finally admit that to himself – admit that deep down he was still that beaten little boy they'd forced into the knife-pits. To that end he had always held something back, walling off his connection to other people as he wallowed in the self-assurance that reaching out would only result in more pain. It touched everything. He was disconnected from his work, from Leon, and even from himself.

But this is real. Alabaster was born anew, breaching through the second membrane of his egg as the sting of the new world's air hit like a thousand needlepoints all across his scales. And who are you going to be now things have changed?

Tears threatened at the corner of his eyes. He was not free of hate, but he could see a version of himself waiting in the future that was.

“I thought we were friends," Jules muttered, hanging his head between his knees. “How stupid I was. I defended you Alabaster! I bet you forgot that."

“You can't be friends with something you own, Jules."

“Listen to yourself!" The badger looked up, his eyes bloodshot, lips cracked and dry. “You sound insane, just like the rest of them! It doesn't have to end here, you can still do the right thing. I am the rightful regent of this country, free me Alabaster and we can escape this place, returning with Kiberland and Yaravania at our backs! They will support the true monarchy, I know it in my bones!"

“No. Your bargains are as empty as you are." Alabaster stood to leave, but as he turned away the badger suddenly leapt to his feet. Jules threw himself against the cells of his cage, lunging out and seizing hold of Alabaster's cloak.

“Wait, wait-wait!" He begged, suddenly frantic. “What of Gabriel? Damn it, Alabaster you cold-blooded bastard, at least tell me that, what of my brother?"

The dragon narrowed his eyes. “The brother you'd have killed off the second you solidified control? The little boy standing between you and the throne? From where comes all this sudden care?"

“You cannot hold me responsible for the fables Leon concocts, you lech! Never have I harmed my brother, nor would I! I don't imagine the same can be said for you and that madman, Valoisier. All I care about is his safety, and the preservation of the royal bloodline!"

Alabaster gently pried his cloak free of the prince's grip. “And yet, even in despair your ego prevails."

“What is that supposed to mean? Speak plainly for once."

“Tried to save yourself first, didn't you?"

“No, Alabaster, no, come now, I only– Wait, WAIT!""

“Goodbye, Jules. We won't speak again."

He turned his back on the former prince, ignoring the cries of protest, the rattling bars. As Alabaster left the dungeon, the desperation morphed into anger. Insults, threats, and then finally… pleas. Jules sobbed and wailed like a child in a tantrum, begging him to come back, apologising for it all.

Alabaster paid the man no heed, leaving him to his own misery.

He strode back through the palace with purpose. The royalist downfall had filled Alabaster with renewed purpose. The chance of a just society was real now, and Leon's vision for the future was something he could almost find himself believing in.

And how long until it comes crashing down? Alabaster considered it. He had never allowed himself to trust joy before. Each time it had come into his life, it had served only as a higher place for him to fall from. Nothing ever lasts. The line between cynicism and reality was tight.

The train of thought was interrupted when he reached his laboratory and found Leon's manservant, Jacques, patiently waiting for him.

“There you are, monsieur," said the rat, bowing somewhat half-heartedly. Despite all that grand change, the old customs still lingered in people's minds. As much as the Speaker wanted to start fresh with everything, it wasn't enough to simply remove formal protocol, it had to be replaced with something. Society still had its ranks, and people yearned for a way to frame their own behaviour.

Too much freedom is frightening.

“What do you need, Jacques?" Alabaster asked. “Has Leon decided that four days in bed was enough? People are starting to talk, he needs to be seen."

“I agree, monsieur. But no, I come on a different matter. It relates to the… ritual you performed on the First Director's men. Please come, I have something… rather troubling to show you."

Alabaster turned wearily back to the stairs, waving for the rat to lead him. “If only you'd waited at the bottom of the steps and saved me the journey up."

Jacques ignored the jab, leading him back down to the palace halls. They crossed nearly the whole thing again in silence, wending towards the stables and passing outside. There was a small abandoned gardening house a short walk from the palace, nestled behind some great bushes and shrouded with trees.

“Why out here?" Alabaster asked, pulling his hood up to shield himself from the wind and rain. Frost covered the flattest parts of the palace grounds, and he knew it was only a matter of weeks until snow blanketed the city.

Jacques said nothing, retrieving a key from his pocket and unlocking the door. It swung inwards, letting the stench of rot waft back out towards. Scrunching his face up, Alabaster followed the rat inside warily.

The interior had been refitted. Heavy linens lined the walls for insulation, and a small fire crackled in a hearth down the very back. Once, the shack had been part workspace, part home for the palace groundskeepers. Now, the inner-walls had been demolished and all the furniture had been removed, replaced with a dozen beds lined up in two columns.

No, not a dozen, Alabaster thought. Eleven.

Each bed had a transparent veil of muslin hung around it, likely in hopes of preventing the spread of infection.

“Our palace healers have made no progress," Jacques said, stepping forward between the beds. Alabaster followed, catching glimpses of skinless limbs poking up from the sea of blankets. “This is like nothing they have ever seen."

“Are they dying?"

“You tell me," Jacques replied curtly. “You are the one who did this to them."

Alabaster stopped by one of the beds, stepping closer to get a better glimpse at the man. He had checked Leon's squad after the Ishim ritual first wore off them, but they had seemed fine at the time, if a little tired. Now, however, the soldier that laid beneath him was almost unrecognisable. His sheets were soaked with gore, and it appeared as if he was almost melting into the sheets around him.

“I told Leon that my sorcery was experimental," Alabaster insisted. “The power that comes from Angels is not something I am experienced in. I do not understand it, and we did not have the luxury of proper research."

If Jacques felt anything at that statement, he did not say it. Instead he looked down to the ailed soldier. “They do not appear to be growing worse than this. They eat somewhat, but do not speak. Many have lost skin, and the healers have done their best to bleed what ill humours they could manage… I thought you might have a solution."

“To this?" Alabaster was incredulous. He blinked at the man, letting down his guard and opening up his awareness of the other. The threads of reality slipped around the man, and to his mystic sense the injured soldiers appeared much as the Angel's halo had. The ordinary magic of the world seemed to slip past them, as if they were dark zones it could not reach. Clearly something was ruining them, but it was not any sorcery of Alabaster's understanding.

The Angels become more horrific the more I learn of them. What are they? If only I could know for certain.

The man below him groaned, pawing up at the air, his yellow-tinted eyes darting back and forth from unseen horrors.

“Can you do anything, or not?" Jacques asked. Coming from anyone else it would sound abrasive, but from the oddly flat rat it came across simply as a question.

Alabaster slid the fabric veil back, giving the injured man a proper look. Half his fur had fallen out, and he'd deflated so much that his head looked more like a skull. Dried blood had crusted around his nose, and most of his fingernails were missing. The Angel's sorcery has pushed them outside the current of the natural world. I will need to reintroduce them to the physical world's laws.

“Study will be required to say for sure," Alabaster said softly. He suspected that the men were not dying of entropy, but rather from the lack of it. “But I believe I can help them. Possibly."

“What a relief."

The dragon frowned. “Is it all of the Ishim? None were spared this illness?"

Jacques nodded, glancing at the eleven beds. “All of them were injured enough to require a sickbay. The level of damage seems to differ from man-to-man, but each case is severe."

The twelfth man. Alabaster knew Lazare had managed to kill one of the Ishim. The rest would have felt that trauma as if it were their own, while simultaneously forced to carry a greater weight. Could that contribute, and if so, how could he mitigate it? Is the answer a larger coterie, or perhaps a smaller one? A better ritual? More robust bindings? This would not be the end of his research. He knew Leon would keep pushing, for until the new Rennaire had an Angel of their own, they would need some way to stop the others. Alabaster made a mental note to redouble his research using Lazare's body. Hopefully this time I shall have a bit more time to breathe, and experiment properly.

His heart skipped a beat as he realised something.

“Leon," he whispered, glancing back at the injured Ishim with growing horror. Sudden panic gripped his chest, and he whirled on Jacques. “Tell me, who else knows of this?"

“Myself, the healers, and of course the First Director himself."

“When did you last speak with him? Is he… like them?" Leon was the only thing holding Rennaire together. If he died, or even if people learned how injured he might be… the consequences would be devastating. How ironic it would be though, to have the whole nation fall apart because of your sorcery, just after you decided to become a patriot.

The rat gave Alabaster a quizzical look. “I have not seen him for several days, but he was–"

“Damn it all." Alabaster turned, hurrying out of the gardening shed as he made his way back to the palace. Far as he knew only servants had been to see Leon since the battle of Albedo, and Lazare's death. The Speaker and Joachim had communicated with the jaguar, but only by letter.

It's not like Leon to stay in bed when there is work to be done. Panic rose in Alabaster's throat, and he shoved a servant aside as he pushed through the stables. A part of him felt foolish, but he was worried about the jaguar. He tried to tell himself that the worry was only a practical one – he'd thrown his lot in fully with the new Rennaire now, and if it fell then Alabaster's life would be forfeit.

But that's not all, is it? Even if he wasn't the only thing keeping this country together, you would still be worried. He turned up the stairs, rushing towards the modest room Leon had claimed as a bedroom. Pathetic. When he discovers this ridiculous infatuation, he'll use it, twisting the knife to keep you on a leash. You're only good to have around so long as you stay valuable, Alabaster. Don't forget that.

“I don't care," he growled to himself.

Leon's door tried to stop him with a lock, but a minor sorcery quickly had the cheap latch fall apart. Alabaster made a mental note to order a better one installed soon. He shoved through the door and stumbled into the bedroom, bracing himself for the same grisly sight as he'd found with the other Ishim.

Instead, he found the room was clean. Both in appearance and smell, there was no rot or degeneration hanging in the air. Leon himself stood by the window, shirtless and bandaged, but with all his skin still hanging onto his body as it should.

“How?" Alabaster muttered.

The jaguar glanced back at him, a smile breaching his serious features. He wasn't melting like the other soldiers, but that did not mean he looked well either. The fur on his head was mussed, one eye slightly swollen from bruising, and there was a tiredness clinging to his limbs. Several layers of bandages were wrapped tightly around his ribcage, as if it were the only thing holding him together.

“There is so much I am yet to understand…" Alabaster whispered to himself.

“Please, close the door, my friend." Leon's voice was dry and raspy, as if he'd been up all night screaming. Still dazed, Alabaster turned and did as he bid.

“Four days, and you don't come to see me?" Leon asked, leaning back against the window sill. Outside, rain gently fell against the thick glass.

“I…" Alabaster found himself at a loss for words. He scrambled, unsure of what exactly he was feeling. What is this? Uncertainty? Nervousness? It's only Leon, you've spoken with him a hundred times over the last few weeks. “I imagined that with your task complete, and Lazare dead, you would not need my services for some time."

“Services?" The jaguar blanched, shaking his head as he pushed off, moving to a small decanter on the opposite side of the room. “God in his heaven, Alabaster, you're not a cobbler. Sherry?" He did not wait for Alabaster's answer, pouring them both out a generous serve of wine. “Perhaps I do not need your services, but your advice and… damn it, your company, is another thing."

Alabaster didn't reply, a strange tightness rising in his throat. He didn't know how, this was entirely new to him. Part of him was worried that Leon would be angry, or perhaps even send him away. You act like an anxious puppy. Get it together, fool.

“Lazare is dead and Jules is scheduled for the guillotine, thanks to you," Leon said, raising one glass and pushing the other into Alabaster's claw. “We have secured hold of Rennaire, least for the moment. I promised to bring peace to my nation, and for this second, I have done it. It is not easy for me to admit when I need someone, but this could never have been accomplished without your assistance."

“Don't flatter me," Alabaster snapped, unable to stop the annoyance from rising in him. “It doesn't suit you."

Leon grinned, and for some reason that completely reversed Alabaster's irritation. “Very well then, I am the greatest man alive and have saved all free men entirely by the stroke of my own doing!" He held his tongue for a moment, then slapped Alabaster on the shoulder, laughing brayishly.

They clinked the wine glasses and Leon greedily swallowed half of his own in one go. Alabaster sipped his, swirling the rich taste in his mouth. Years spent in the Albedo palace serving King Phillipe, and he'd never really explored the taste of finer things.

What is going on? He had never seen Leon acting so… erratically before. The man seemed completely flushed, over-excited like a child given too many sweets before bed. Alabaster hadn't realised how much he had come to expect Leon's seemingly constantly firm grip on things. Damn it, the man always had a plan. This is him at his most vulnerable. I think he knows it. And that means he chooses to show it to you.

What did that mean? Surely Leon wasn't so stupid as to actually trust him.

“Speaking of…" Alabaster began slowly, forming his thoughts even as he spoke. “How are you so well, Leon? The other Ishim…"

“They will be alright," Leon said gravely, his demeanour suddenly shifting. “I felt it, before our connections finally dwindled out. They will survive whatever is befalling them. All victories have a cost."

“Be that as it may, something you cannot be certain of… you are not–"

“Melting?" He scoffed. “No. Did you come hoping I can explain your own magic to you, Alabaster?"

“Hardly, I only–"

“It is as you said," Leon explained solemnly. “We were each connected, leaning on one another. A coterie, even one as vile and heretical as that." He put a paw gently to his abdomen, and Alabaster did not fail to notice the gleaming muscles defined beneath his short, spotted fur. “Lazare gave it all he could to kill me. Whatever you did to us, it protected us the way armour protects from a sword blow. Perhaps a strike is no longer life-threatening, but that does not mean it can't hurt you – do enough damage, even the best armour will falter. I believe I drew on the others then, syphoning off their lifeforce to sustain my own just long enough to put that bastard down. They gave it freely to me, but there are consequences."

And put him down you did, Alabaster thought, recalling the sight of Lazare's crushed face in his lab.

“He deserved it too," Leon said firmly. “In killing him I have made another Angel somewhere else, but that will not be a danger for some time. You must use his body, Alabaster, we must understand what it was you truly did to us in that cathedral. More Angels will come, the other nations will not stand for what I've done." He swallowed the last of his sherry, turning in place and staring out the window. “Nor what I will soon do."

“Are you alright, Leon?" Alabaster asked gently, putting his own half-finished drink aside. “You don't sound yourself."

“This must be a terrible sign," Leon replied shakily. He held up his paw to the glass, and Alabaster saw it was shaking. “Jacques is avoiding me. Joachim will not speak with me except on the most official business, and politely I might add. And now… worst of all, you of all people are being considerate. What is the world coming to? Surely the One God's scriptures have these items listed as signs of the endtime?"

“Leon, I am not such a monster as you might think."

The jaguar whirled with such momentum that Alabaster nearly drew his blade and stabbed him. Leon practically attacked him, suddenly appearing only inches away from the dragon's face as he grabbed hold of his arms. This close, Alabaster could smell the big cat's musty scent, the slight tinge of blood from his wounds, even the sweat gathered on his body. His fingers were so firm on Alabaster's biceps, squeezing him tight. It made it hard to breathe, his crotch twitching inside his trousers.

What is happening to me?

“I don't think you're a monster." Leon's voice was so soft it was barely audible. “How could I? In fact I think the opposite. I think that you care so much you had to close that part of yourself away, to stop it from hurting you. I think we're the same, really, in some ways."

“Well, then it's a good thing I am used to disappointing people."

“You can jest away the truth as much as you like but I know you Alabaster. I've come to see you, in our morning conversations, the person you truly are. A useful person, perhaps even a good person."

“Let's not be childish, please, spare me. I think that you are an idiot, Leon Valoisier."

Leon smiled warmly. “Much better. Always be yourself with me, there's only so much politeness and ceremony I can stand, I'm a soldier at heart, after all."

They were so close. So achingly close that tight cramps ran through Alabaster's body for he was holding himself so firmly. He forced himself to breathe.

“No question. You are an idiot."

“Alabaster."

“No, if you think–" His words were cut off as Leon's lips smothered his own. Alabaster was instantly taken aback, claws splaying wide as he locked up. The jaguar pushed his tongue into the dragon's mouth, tracing over the sharp teeth as he explored the inside, a soft grunt rising in his throat. Alabaster couldn't think, he almost pushed Leon away but then his own claws were on the jaguar, holding his hips, Leon's arms squeezing him tight, pulling them closer together. Their hips brushed together, Alabaster's cock stiffening within.

They broke apart. “I dreamed of this," Leon admitted, pushing in to kiss Alabaster again, moaning. They stumbled back together towards the bed, claws and paws running all across one another. The jaguar's fur was so soft, his body was so warm. Again their lips broke apart. “When I was last with Jacques I thought about you, I didn't even know why at the time."

They moved so quickly they kept fumbling like teenagers. Alabaster felt Leon tug his cloak open and push his robes to the floor. His claw found Leon's crotch and he felt the swelling erection there, excitement blossoming in his gut.

“I know you want me too," Leon breathed. Before Alabaster could reply, the jaguar shoved him back onto the bed. His paws grasped Alabaster's trousers, sliding them down and quickly exposing his firm red cock.

“Wait," Alabaster said, as Leon clambered on top of him, shoving his own trousers down. “What do you mean 'when you were with Jacques'?"

Leon froze, hesitating. Alabaster could not resist, his claw went up, tracing over the developed muscles in Leon's side.

The jaguar cleared his throat. “We… would sometimes couple. As men do, on campaign." He kicked his trousers off, leaving them both naked, save the jaguar's bandages. “For relief."

“Just relief?" Alabaster asked. His claw snaked between them, finding Leon's pink cock and squeezing it, stroking it gently but firmly. The cat gasped, shuddering into the dragon's touch. He was so warm. “You want more, don't you?"

“Alabaster," Leon said, thrusting faintly into the stroking claw. “This is insanity, but… ah… I think you're the only person in this city that understands me. I… mmf… do you…" He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again they were wet with tears. “Do you realise how lonely that is?"

Something tightened in Alabaster's chest, a sensation he had never felt before in his life. It was like being drunk, or drowning, painful but ecstatic all at once. He kept one paw on Leon's cock, gently prying, but his other wormed up around the jaguar's neck, cradling the back of his head.

“I know."

Leon grinned. “Fuck. I want you."

“I want you too." Spurred on, Leon reached down to Alabaster's thigh, raising the leg up as he moved his hips backwards. “Wait, what are you doing?"

Leon paused, blushing as he stammered. “I… I thought you… I am always the dominant partner."

Alabaster grinned this time, raising his eyebrows. “You mean to say you have never submitted to a man? You're a virgin, that way?"

The jaguar snorted proudly. “Hardly a virgin. But… if you insist on semantics… I suppose so. It's beneath me." He returned to trying to raise Alabaster's legs, meaning to move down towards his rear. Clearly he had it in mind to fuck the dragon, but Alabaster had better ideas.

“Leon…" The dragon said softly. As Leon looked back at him, Alabaster raised himself up, cupping the jaguar's jaw in both of his smooth white claws. “You are in agony over the control. You said it yourself, you can't stand the polite ceremony, the constant grovelling, the anxieties of rule… no?"

“I…"

“You want to let go, I know." Their eyes met, and Alabaster let his hypnosis slip into the jaguar's mind. “Give in to me, give up control to me. Just for this moment."

“I can't… I'm…"

“Afraid?"

“No…" Alabaster felt the hypnosis taking effect. This was different to others, there was no force used here. It was more like a shaking of paws, a meeting where Leon's own mind opened itself up willingly to his influence.

He trusts me like no other, Alabaster realised, shocked by the revelation. He pushed his awareness deeper, intertwining their minds. Seeing with double vision, Alabaster looked into Leon's face and saw his own through the jaguar's eyes. His ivory white scales were blindingly bright, the rich crimson currents running like little rivers of blood through his creases. He seemed sharp and dangerous, his large red cock standing tall. Along with the physical senses, he felt Leon's desire, the lust inside him, how badly he wanted Alabaster to mount him and use him.

“Do as I say," Alabaster whispered. Slowly, he slipped past Leon, gently guiding the jaguar down onto his belly. Playfully, he reached between the big cat's legs, his spotted tail curling around Alabaster's arm. The dragon gently cupped Leon's large balls, stroking and tugging on them, his claw slipping up further to rub at his cock.

“Mmf…" Leon grunted, angling his hips back, pre-cum dripping down onto Alabaster's fingers. “Ah…"

“I have such sights to show you," Alabaster said, chuckling to himself as he pulled his newly slick claw back. Moving softly, he felt Leon's buttocks. They were strong, shapely, and parted easily to allow him access. Alabaster went first with a single finger, pushing it just inside the jaguar until he drew out a pleased, but surprised kind of whine.

“Never imagined you making a sound like that," said Alabaster.

“Oh… I… I don't know if I can do this…" Leon writhed as Alabaster's finger curled inside him, questing deeper as it explored. He briefly tried to pull away, but Alabaster held his hips tightly, enjoying the double-up of fingering while also feeling himself fingered.

“No, stay, and enjoy yourself. You want this."

“Mm… Oh…. Unf, ahhhh…" Leon groaned and twisted as Alabaster worked a second finger inside him, spreading them out within the jaguar's ring, opening him up.

“So you fucked Jacques, and all the while you were thinking about me?" Alabaster asked, continuing to finger-fuck Leon's incredibly tight hole. “Just relax, good boy."

“I… ah, yes… ever since I met you, Alabaster… I was… ah, fuck…. I was fascinated."

“Fascinated?" He pushed a third finger in, his own cock twitching eagerly as Leon really whined at that one.

“No one had ever made me as angry as you."

“Charmed."

“I don't know… I can't explain it. I was instantly drawn in… I was afraid of you."

Alabaster inhaled, turning his three ringers around inside the jaguar. Through their hypnotic link, he could feel his own fingers pushing inside himself. It was a surreal sensation, the different waves of pleasure washing through his body.

“Mmf, please… more…" Inside he felt an elated delight at seeing Leon so quickly dissolve into someone so submissive, aching for more as Alabaster slowly worked his hole out. The jaguar hadn't put up much of a fight – he wanted Alabaster to take him like this, he wanted to fully relinquish any choice and for once just do as he was told. “Please Alabaster, I… ah… I need it. I need you."

Encouraged, Alabaster pulled his fingers back out of Leon's ass, leaning down over the jaguar to whisper in his ear; “I'm going to make you my breeding bitch, First Director."

“Ah, mff, yes please, yes, Alabaster, I want it," Leon whined. He was giving in now, fully opening himself up to Alabaster's control as he gave up the last pieces of resistance. He wanted to be used, as all powerful men did.

Shifting back behind Leon's rear, Alabaster angled his twitching cock down into the jaguar's cheeks, unable to stop himself from rushing. His own head was awash with their combined lust, urging him forward, to do more, and to do it harder.

Leon purred deeply as the tip of Alabaster's cock pushed inside him. The dragon reached forwards, claw wrapping around the front of Leon's neck as he pulled the cat back onto himself like a cock-sleeve.

“You like that," Alabaster growled, shoving in.

“It h-hurts… but… y-yes… ah, please, don't stop…" Leon whimpered. His rim kept tightening and loosening, spasming pleasurably on Alabaster's thick red cock, beckoning him deeper.

The hesitation bled away with Leon's begging. Alabaster pulled his hips back, pausing only a moment before pushing deeper into Leon. He hilted in him with one swift move, the jaguar crying out loudly even as Alabaster pulled back again, thrusting in as deep as he could go. It was sloppy, rough, and fast, both of them fucking like animals as they gave in to their urges.

Leon was tight, the same kind of tightness as anyone totally new to anal pleasure. Through the hypnotic link, Alabaster commanded the jaguar like a puppet, moving him in perfect sync to match the thrusts, fucking him hard even as he came back and forth. Furred flesh slapped against hard scales, the grunts and moans of them both winding together as the increasingly strong waves of pleasure pushed through them.

“You like being used don't you?" Alabaster hissed, bending down over Leon's back, his balls pulling tight as the orgasm approached.

“Y-yes, yes sir, I like it!" Leon's voice was high, whining. Alabaster continued to thrust harder and harder, again and again, pounding himself deep into Leon's virgin hole. He felt the shame of being submissive bleeding through the jaguar's feelings, the taboo nature of it all only adding to the heightened sense of pleasure he was feeling.

“Breed me," Leon gasped, falling to pieces as he was overcome by the release of months worth of tension and anxiety.

“I want to see you–" Alabaster growled firmly. “Roll over." He reached down and with one powerful arm, dragged Leon around without pulling his cock free. The jaguar twisted, his asshole squeezing tight about Alabaster's dick as he did so, finally flopping onto his back. Leon was panting, chest heaving, his cock spasming violently down by his waist.

“You like it, huh? You want it, don't you," Alabaster panted, picking up the pace. “Tell me. Beg."

“Yes, yes, ah, fuck, yes, Alabaster, p-please, fuck me," Leon whined, eyes rolling back, both paws falling by the wayside as he simply rode out the bliss overtaking his body. “Breed me like a bitch, humiliate and use me… I want it, ah, fuck, I want it so bad!"

“Take it," Alabaster grunted. His thrusts slowed quickly as that tight, almost painful tension swelled inside his dick. He pounded away rhythmically, in, out, in. Each thrust came with a heavy grunt from them both. The sensations washed over them, each of their feelings overlapping, mixing together until Alabaster began to lose track of who was where. He felt himself filled up inside with a thick dragon cock, just as Leon felt himself dominating his own body.

“I'm close," he hissed.

“Ah, please, please Alabaster, I'm yours, your bitch," Leon gasped back. “I need it, need you in me."

Alabaster nodded, panting, air sucking between his teeth as he fucked hard, the pressure in his cock building, and building, all of it focusing right at his tip. Finally, he shoved his dick as deep as he could, suddenly releasing that painful tension in his groin. He roared as the first rope of thick cum fired from his tip like a shot from a cannon. Tremors overtook his body and he fell forwards, frozen in place as they both rode the orgasm, continual spurts of cum shooting from him and into Leon. The pleasure overlapped, overwhelming, and without so much as a touch Leon's own orgasm hit just as hard. The two men came together, Leon's sperm sputtering out onto Alabaster's stomach and dribbling down his shaft, puddling in his own navel.

“Oh… ah…. f-fuck…" Leon growled, reaching up and holding onto Alabaster as tight as he could, riding out the orgasm.

Together, their breathing slowed as the climaxes died down. Alabaster released his hypnotic grip on the jaguar, pulling his cock back and out of his asshole. Leon simply laid on his back, breathing heavily from the exertion.

“Well," Alabaster said, picking up a nearby towel and using it to wipe himself down. “That was… unexpected."

“I…" Leon shook his head. “I don't know what to say."

“Perhaps say you enjoyed it," Alabaster suggested. “Say that you were wrong, and I was right."

“What did you do to my head? You shouldn't have done that. I could feel… everything. I could feel what you felt, but I couldn't stop myself."

“I told you, I took control. I knew you wanted it, don't be ashamed, it's only pleasure, Leon." He discarded the towel, returning to the puddled pile of his clothes, beginning to dress. As he did, he watched the perplexed expression on Leon's face. He knows he shouldn't have enjoyed that so much. He doesn't know why, but I do. Nobody else could give Leon what Alabaster could. That was the crux of it.

“Alabaster… there is something else."

“I should be going now," the dragon said, straightening his outfit. “Before gossip spreads. I will continue my work into researching the Angels, and then–"

“Alabaster." Something in Leon's voice gave him pause, and he glanced across. This is where he tells me it was a mistake. That it can't happen again, that you disgust him.

“Yes then, Director?"

“Fuck off with that. There's… there's something else I wanted to tell you, before we… became distracted."

“Oh?"

“Those." Leon pointed, and Alabaster turned to see a pile of six scrolls stacked up on the jaguar's desk.

“Good news, or bad?"

The jaguar stood, still naked, stretching. “There is no good news these days. The scrolls arrived today, all at once and addressed to me. They tell me a coalition has been formed against Rennaire, in response to the revolution and the crime of regicide. I imagine they were sent before we defeated the loyalists, but it matters not. Each one is nearly identical, all documents that promise a declaration of war if we execute Jules."

“Six?"

“Six. Kiberland, Yaravania, Danegard, Losaile, Cielwen, and Tar. Rennaire's military is very strong, and we weakened both Danegard and Losaile in the last war, yet… I don't know if that's a battle we could win."

Alabaster stared at the scrolls, before glancing back at Leon. He simply waited, knowing the jaguar would say what he had to in his own time.

“My intentions haven't changed. Nobody else has seen those besides us, not the Speaker, not Joachim, not even Jacques or Deuxmoise. By the time anyone else learns about the coalition's demands, it will be too late."

Alabaster only frowned, confused as to why Leon was telling him this.

The jaguar sighed, pinching the bridge between his eyes. “I can barely stomach it, Alabaster. Again, I will plunge this nation into war. There's no way around it, and if they think Rennaire is fragile now, it will be ten times worse when the fighting begins. The Rennairan people deserve the chance to fight for their liberty and I wouldn't take that away, but it will not be easy."

Alabaster inhaled. “Naturally. Leon, are you going somewhere with this?"

“Yes. Just… I need to ask you something, and you must be honest with me." It felt bizarre to pivot so drastically. From crying, to sex, and now standing there with his flaccid dick swinging between his legs, speaking of war and global politics.

He needs time to recover properly from the Ishim ritual… but the world isn't going to give it. He made a mental note to keep a watchful eye on Leon's mental state.

“Alabaster. What happened to Gabriel?"

Alabaster blinked. “I'm sorry?"

“After everything with Lazare, I woke up here." Leon gestured at his bed. “Nobody else has seen him, you were the last. That boy is the heir to the Rennairan throne, and his existence gives the other nations an easy excuse to keep fighting us."

“I see. Gabriel is not a problem for you."

“But is he alive?"

Alabaster looked away. “Leon, do you think I would murder a child?"

“I would hope that you did. For the country. No, it is not pleasant and I won't hold it against you, Alabaster, but I have to know the truth."

“You are not yourself right now. We will talk later, when you calm down." Alabaster made to leave, but the jaguar stopped him, pinning the door shut. The dragon shifted, narrowing his eyes. “Even I have limits."

This is how he sees you. He sees a monster, a cold-blooded killer with no qualms whatsoever. Alabaster shook his head.

He told me otherwise.

He told you what you wanted to hear. You're just a tool. You think he meant that drivel about caring? He gave you what you wanted so you'd do as he asks.

That's not true. I felt his mind.

What did you expect? That he'd become some loving confidant? That he'd marry you? Pathetic. Weak. He's right. Killing is all you're good for.

“Gabriel cannot appear, Alabaster." Leon's face was firm. “You must swear to me that you will make certain he can never be used against this country."

“Or what? You'll take my head?"

“If you act the traitor, there would be no choice."

“Unbelievable." Alabaster brushed Leon's paw aside, opening the door. Thankfully the hall outside was empty – people already thought Alabaster an evil heretic, knowing he was a filthy sodomite would hardly help his reputation. “Shut your mouth Leon, amazing you can let a man fuck you then threaten to kill him. Get yourself under control, then we shall speak."

“I…" The jaguar faltered, as if reconsidering what he'd said. “Alabaster, I didn't mean–"

“It is what it is."

“Wait–"

Alabaster didn't. He pushed past, stepping out into the hall and slamming the door shut behind him. He felt foolish. He'd let his own ridiculous feelings get in the way of proper pragmatism. Leon was erratic, fried by the Angel sorceries, could he be taken at all his word? And now, to storm out so impulsively because of a single flash of anger… typical.

I know you want him to love you.

I do not. I don't need that. I don't need anything from anyone, especially not that idiot.

For a moment, he wondered if Leon would open the door and call him back, but he knew he wouldn't. Pride wouldn't allow it.

“Fools, both of us," Alabaster whispered, before turning on his heel, and leaving.