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Chapter 2: Little Imps

Faelen stood next to Geoff beside the bike rack in front of school. They watched Nathanial cycle off toward home, an obvious hitch in the Akita's movements as a large object in his pants caused him trouble. He saw a gentle smile creep over Geoff's face and his tail wag gently. He also smelled Geoff's pheromones shift from mere arousal to a "dominant" form of arousal. Faelen knew he'd have to keep closer watch over the two of them, as Geoff had difficulty controlling himself when he saw someone he felt protective toward be threatened.

He also noticed the Pekinese from earlier watching Nathanial bike off with a snarl on her face. 'Oh dear, my life just keeps getting simpler, doesn't it?' Then out loud he said, "Shall we go home, sir, or would you prefer to take a short ride through the neighbourhood?"

"I think I'd like to take a quick ride before going home."

Faelen kept himself composed, noting that Geoff didn't even notice that he referred to him as "sir." Normally he'd get reprimanded for that. Faelen swung himself onto his bike. "Then shall we?"

They set out through the gates, with Geoff automatically following Nathanial's scent.

Faelen remained a half length behind his friend, keeping a careful eye on the surroundings, noting landmarks, traffic, and potential hazards. He also kept an eye on the best escape paths, or alternate routes home, should they be needed. He had already memorized the street maps of the neighbourhood and the surrounding ones, but seeing them in person made it easier to keep track of them.

The scent was growing fainter; Nathanial must have been moving very fast to pull so far ahead, and Geoff paused at the next intersection to sniff the air. "Turn left, sir." Geoff glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, Geoff. You probably want to turn left."

"Why? What's left?"

Faelen kept his face impassive, even though he wanted to roll his eyes. It seemed Geoff was trying to play innocent. This was one of the times Faelen thought it'd be easier to tell him that he knew Geoff was attracted to guys in general and, now, Nathanial in particular. Yet every time he thought about it, he had to remind himself that it was his duty to ignore the personal life of his employer unless it affected his ability to protect him...even if Geoff was his friend.

"No reason, I guess. I think that was the way you were looking for." Geoff turned left. Faelen stifled a sigh. "Nathanial really seemed to like you. Are you thinking about becoming friends with a non-Spirit? It might cause some...issues. Even hearing you say 'hey' at lunch caused his pheromones, and other things, to surge. Turn right."

Geoff got that slow smile across his face, automatically turning right, almost running into the curb. "If the display in the bathroom was any indication, he does seem...fond of me. It was..." And here he appeared to change what he was going to say. "...funny."

"Funny?"

"Nice, then. He appears to like me for me, not because of money, prestige, my powers, or anything else. Just me." Geoff's tail was picking up speed.

"He doesn't know you, who or what you are, or the dangers involved in that. Also, that 'hussy,' what's her name, seemed to like you." Faelen threw that in to try to make Geoff start thinking with his proper head, like dousing him with a bucket of cold water.

Geoff actually growled at the mention of Betty, the Pekinese from homeroom that tried to "befriend" him. His ears lay back flat against his head. "He is nothing like her! She wanted a status symbol, the hot new foreign boy." He paused, registering the rest of what Faelen had been saying. "Pheromones? I know your sense of smell is better than mine, but pheromones? All I could smell was the litre of precum in his shorts."

Faelen could smell Geoff's arousal dampen, and could see the cues showing the uncertainty in him. Faelen knew he'd said too much; it was never wise to volunteer information to your boss. He tried to play it down by saying, "Pheromones are water-soluble, and float through the air, like mist. I'm a Mist Spirit; thus, they fall into my purview. I only smell them when they are very strong, like Nathanial's were." He smiled and tried to divert Geoff's attention again. "I almost couldn't taste my food from the smells coming off him. Watching the blood run in and out of his face was quite amusing, too."

That slow smile crept across Geoff's muzzle again, his ears perked up, and tail resumed its wagging.

'Gods, this is too easy. And so cute! I've never seen him like this.' "We're here, Geoff."

They were in front of a gated house, one of many in this affluent neighbourhood. The long driveway passed under the gate and up to a large three storey home. Not the largest home they'd biked by (not like Geoff would have noticed) but a bit larger than the one they were living in. The yard was carefully manicured, its gardens lush, and a smaller fence seemed to encircle an area on the left side, probably around a pool and patio.

Geoff sniffed the air, and even with his less acute sense of smell he should be able to pick out Nathanial's scent, and a newer, similar one. There was a third, older, scent that Geoff mightn't be able to detect. It had some elements that reminded Faelen of Nathanial, but it had a very different quality. Faelen chose not to mention it; it wasn't a threat, and it may be a half-sibling of Nathanial's or a distant relation. He did file the scent away in his memory, just in case. Geoff was still staring at the house, tail wagging.

Faelen rolled his eyes. "We are expected home, sir."

"Very well, let's go." Geoff set off at a brisk pace, but slow enough that Faelen could keep up. "How do we get home from here?"

Faelen took the lead, and set out for home.

---

Their house was in a different neighbourhood adjacent to the one Nathanial lived in. Not as wealthy, but a very nice one. It was about twelve blocks, house-to-house, and Geoff figured he could make it in ten minutes, jogging. Twelve, if he wanted Faelen to keep up. It was almost the exact same distance to school, so he wouldn't be able to "accidentally" meet Nathanial on the way to school, or claim that he wasn't going out of his way to walk him home. Nathanial probably wouldn't mind or notice, but he wasn't sure how Faelen would react. He knew Faelen wouldn't say anything, as his sense of duty would keep him from commenting on anything Geoff did unless it put him or the Clan in danger, but he still wanted to keep Faelen as a friend and not merely a bodyguard.

They were somewhat close to home, as some of the landmarks looked familiar, when Faelen slowed down. "Sir, if you're planning on going out later tonight, please remember that it's my duty to accompany you. I also consider it my honour as your friend to keep you safe."

Geoff slowed down even more, uncertain of what Faelen was implying. 'He can't know, can he? I've been careful to play it cool, I think. But he knew that I wanted to follow Nathanial home to see where he lived, and he seems to think I'm planning to sneak out tonight to go to his house. Not that I am. He wouldn't have said anything if he wasn't concerned -- very concerned -- though. He'll probably camp out in front of my door again. Gods, the last time he did that was so embarrassing. I'm taking too long to answer. He'll know something's up. Bloody hells! What should I say?!'

Geoff tried to keep his voice light and casual, but even he heard the nervous quiver in his voice and the squeak at the end when he said, "What do you mean, Faelen? Why would I do that?" 'Busted.' He hung his head, his ears so red they felt like they were sunburnt, and his tail coiled around his waist. He licked his muzzle and tried to put his ears and tail back in order.

Faelen looked back at him and quickly turned away, back rigid. Geoff saw the disgust in his stance, and closed his eyes as a tear leaked out.

With his eyes closed, Geoff couldn't see Faelen's shoulders begin to shake, or the paws clamp over his muzzle as he tried to stop from howling in laughter. Faelen looked back after a few seconds of composing himself and saw Geoff's grief.

Geoff heard Faelen's bike clatter to the ground, and he figured he was storming off in anger or coming to beat him up. His eyes opened and he kept his gaze fixed to the ground at his paws, swinging his leg over the bike seat and lowering it to the pavement. He was mentally preparing for anything, except what happened.

Faelen wrapped his arms around him in a big hug and pressed Geoff's head to his shoulder. "Don't be stupid, you big goof. I've known you your whole life. I know what you are planning almost as soon as you do. You're my friend and my charge; if you want to take a nighttime stroll to moon after someone, I'll keep you company for as long as you'll have me, and then watch over you from a distance when you won't. As long as you don't break the law or put yourself in danger I'm happy if you're happy. As sappy as that sounds."

Geoff gave out a sob, and hugged Faelen harder.

Faelen led him over to the curb. "Sit." Geoff sat, and Faelen moved the bikes off the road before sitting down next to him and putting his arm back around Geoff. Geoff sniffled a few more times, regaining control of his emotions. "Better?"

Geoff nodded. "Thanks. When? How?"

"Nathanial? At lunch. You two were so cute together. His shy infatuation, gazing up at you with his little puppy face in complete adoration, drinking up the kind attention of the big bad Wolf. You lapping it up like a starving stray. He seemed to trigger every protective instinct you have. You probably would have tried to fight the entire school if they threatened him, consequences be damned. You, my boy, are completely and hopelessly smitten."

Geoff looked at him and saw the stiffness in his body for what it was. Barely contained laughter.

"So you think this is funny, do you?" he demanded in mock outrage, full of relief that his best friend was still his friend.

Faelen burst out laughing; at that point Geoff felt a little indignant, but he let Faelen laugh...though he had avoided the topic at paw.

"You still didn't answer the question. When did you find out I was...um...I was g-gay?" 'Gods, that's hard to say out loud. It's a bit of a relief, though.'

Faelen calmed down instantly and sighed. "I don't know. Probably three years. Maybe forever? I always knew you weren't interested in girls. I often caught you sneaking peeks at me when we were changing or bathing together. You would often sneak over to my bed and watch me when you thought I was asleep. I even caught you lifting up the covers to look at my sheath a few times, meaning there were probably many times I didn't. I knew for certain when I heard you talking in your sleep. You said my name just as you came during a wet dream."

Faelen and Geoff both blushed.

Geoff's ears were flat against his head again. "I had a crush on my 'big brother' for a long time. I hope it didn't bother you."

Reaching over, Faelen grabbed Geoff around the neck and pulled his head down before rubbing the white fur roughly with the pad of his paw. Geoff struggled a bit before Faelen let go. Geoff knew Faelen was a bit stronger than him, but it surprised him how easily Faelen could hold him, if he wanted to.

Faelen seemed to be considering his response. He was silent for a while before saying carefully, "No. I...liked it, I guess. I tried very hard to make sure it wouldn't interfere with my duty, but it kept you close, so it helped. I...wasn't uncomfortable with it, as far as it went, but I worried about what I should do if you actually came onto me or made it an issue. I thought, and still think, you're good-looking, so I didn't mind you showing off. Anyway, that's water under the bridge now. Our fathers are probably getting a little worried. We should get home."

Faelen stood up quickly and grabbed his bike. Geoff sat on the curb for a moment longer, lost in thought, before he joined Faelen.

A few minutes later they pulled up to the house they were living in, a larger two storey house built at the very end of a dead-end street on an oversized lot. The land on the corners of the street was part of the lot their house was built on, so their neighbours' houses were perpendicular to theirs, and not immediately adjacent. The house was a deep green and had an attached garage and a large fence around the yard. Behind it was a forest. Conor McDougal, Geoff's father, had made a sizable "anonymous" donation to a conservation group run by the local Spirits on the condition they buy the forest and wetlands around the house. It took a lot of money, but it meant they only had the two houses built fifty feet away to worry about. There were no windows on those houses that could look directly into the back yard, and even then there were a number of large trees on either side of the house to provide cover. Two of the trees were actually dryad trees that managed to escape the logging trucks; they were very grateful for the protection Conor McDougal gave them.

Faelen and Geoff put their bicycles into the garage and closed the door. They went to the door connecting the house and garage and wiped their hindpaws on the mat before walking into the kitchen.

The kitchen was simple and functional, but had granite countertops, a slate backsplash, and some sort of reddish rock tiles on the floor. The paint on the walls was a brownish red.

Dirk was there stirring a simmering pot of tomato sauce on the stove. Dirk O'Conall was Faelen's father and Conor's bodyguard. He had just turned 36 a few weeks ago and stood eight centimetres shy of two metres tall. He was in great shape, quite muscular, and his gold eyes were very bright. He had dark grey fur except for the light grey strip stretching from his muzzle down to his groin. He wore an apron and a pair of loose shorts, as well as his "jewellery-bones." He wasn't wearing his full collection, which amounted to a suit of full plate armour made out of bone, but he did wear a set of bracers, upper arm guards, choker, chest piece, greaves, and probably a codpiece. He wasn't very bashful, so Geoff had seen him naked many times since they moved here. He was always careful to dress up when Geoff's mother or sister might be around, but otherwise a pair of shorts and his bones were common.

Dirk put the spoon down and walked over to give Faelen a hug. "Hey, pup! How was the first day of school?"

Faelen smiled. "It was alright. Nothing exciting. We may have made a friend and an enemy, so it balanced out."

Dirk put that aside for a moment and turned to Geoff and extended his paw. "Good day, Dark Master. I trust everything went to your satisfaction?"

Geoff smiled and shook his paw, not at all surprised to be pulled into a hug. "Yes, my minion served me well. How is my skeleton doing today?" he said, laughing.

It was a longstanding joke between them. Geoff was a Dark Spirit, one of the rarest of all Spirit folk, and he would be treated like royalty, even without the money his family had. Dirk was a Bone Spirit, able to manipulate and morph bones, as well as draw power from them; hence the jewellery. They were very uncommon, but not as valued as one of the six Elementals: Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light, and Dark. Light and Dark were the rarest of all six.

Dirk smiled. "Worked like a slave. All this work is turning me into fur and bones." He became serious as he said, "I'm sure Conor will want to hear about both your potential new friend and enemy, so I'll get the details at supper. Why don't you two go relax until then? It'll be about twenty minutes."

Geoff nodded happily. "I'm going to go lie down in my room for a bit to recharge. Let me know when it's time." He turned and went downstairs, with Faelen following.

At the bottom of the stairs Geoff turned to Faelen and said quietly, "Thanks for, the, ah... Thanks. I need to be alone for a bit. I have a lot to think about. Why don't you get a shower and rest in the steam for a bit? Today's probably been rough on you, too."

Faelen quickly looked around the rec room, instinctively searching for potential threats. The couches were set around the TV and game centre close to the stairs, the gym equipment was through the door to the right, the bathroom to the left, and the laundry next to that. On the far wall were the doors leading to Geoff's and Faelen's bedrooms.

Next to the gym was a small room where they had a Mage set up a permanent teleporter to link with their home back in Ireland. The teleporter used the power of the person travelling, so it was rarely used. It also made Geoff feel sick, so most people who wanted to see him came here.

Geoff padded across the bamboo floor, his claws clicking and his tail starting to wag. Faelen walked towards his own bedroom, smiling and shaking his head.

Geoff's bedroom had blackout curtains over the windows, the walls were painted a deep green, and there was only a small 20 watt bulb in the ceiling for when someone wanted to talk to him. Geoff left it off and closed the door; he could see better in the dark than the light.

He quickly stripped, put his uniform on the valet to avoid making Faelen iron it in the morning, and lay on his bed, grabbing a paw towel from a drawer in his bedside table. His sheath was already plumping up as he allowed himself to picture Nathanial standing in the washroom again.

The full dark energized him and washed away the strains of the day, but not his arousal. He placed his left paw on his sheath and gave a soft squeeze, and that was all it took to cause the full length of his shaft to leave its furry home.

He paused to look down at himself, enjoying the sight of all 18 centimetres of his long pink pride pulsing over his stomach. Geoff thought it was a pleasant width, about five centimetres in circumference, which shouldn't be too hard for Nathanial to take -- not that he'd ever taken something like that to judge by. The dog Furs in some of the porn he'd watched were much larger and they didn't seem to cause any discomfort. The knot, when fully swollen, was nearly eight centimetres across, and should lodge comfortably in the Akita.

The thoughts of taking Nathanial and tying with him had him fully aroused and leaking a near constant drizzle of precum. He took care to make sure none of it dripped on his fur; living with people that had such a good sense of smell posed some problems. 'Faelen must have smelt my sessions before, even though I cleaned up well. That is so embarrassing. He must jerk off too, so he probably doesn't care, or he thinks it's his duty to keep quiet about it.' He moved the towel a bit closer.

He dropped his right paw to the tip of his penis and allowed the image of Nathanial to re-emerge. A soft sigh escaped his lips, and he ran the tips of his pads down the length of his shaft, spreading his natural lubricant along it. He dropped his left paw to his scrotum and rolled his testicles around as he continued to tease his penis.

He thought of Nathanial standing at the foot of his bed, gently illuminated by a few candles and wearing his black silk underwear. Slowly, "Nathanial" slid his paws into the waistband -- his ears glowing red as he blushed -- sliding the elastic past his bulging sheath and allowing the reddish tip of his penis to poke out. His tail wagged slowly now as he looked up shyly and awaited the praise of his lover. The silk fluttered to the floor, chased by a drop of his precum.

"Come here, pup. I have something for you to taste." Geoff didn't even realize he spoke aloud, lost in his daydream. He was stroking himself more quickly as Nathanial crawled onto the bed and lowered his muzzle over Geoff's member, running his tongue over the underside of his dick. On the bottom of each downstroke, Nathanial wrapped his tongue as far as he could around Geoff's knot, sending waves of pleasure through him, and his left paw fondled Geoff's nuts.

Geoff was moaning now, rapidly approaching his climax, lost in his dream. He moved his left paw up from his testicles and wrapped it around his knot, squeezing firmly as he gave one last stroke. A large volley of semen shot past his face, hitting the headboard of his bed with a splat. The second one landed over his eyes and down across his muzzle, followed by a third that hit him on the chin and across his neck. A few more shots landed across his chest and abs before his orgasm abated.

He looked down at the towel beside him, remembering his was planning on cumming onto that so he wouldn't have to go take a shower. 'Damn it. I hope Faelen is in his room.' He sponged off as much as he could, cleaned the headboard, tossed the towel into the hamper, and walked out of his room to the washroom.

The shower was off, but the light was on, and a bit of steam was floating out from under the door as he walked up to it.

"Come in, Geoff. You should clean up before supper," Faelen called out softly.

Geoff paused, and then opened the door. No sense in trying to hide what he had been doing now. "You could smell that?" He shut the door quickly to keep as much steam as possible inside.

Faelen was an indistinct blur in the thick steam as he leaned against the counter, but his eyes shone a brighter blue. Geoff gave up trying to make out his form. Faelen must be manifesting. When Faelen allowed his Spirit, his magic essence, to manifest, he became cloaked in mist as long as there was sufficient moisture around. It made him virtually impossible to see if he was in a foggy area. It also gave him enhanced senses, speed, reflexes, and regenerative abilities. Most Spirits didn't manifest very often as it might allow the Mages to detect them, but Mist and Dark Spirits were considered "stealth" or "concealment" types, as their powers gave them a natural defence against detection-type magic. Faelen was in enough steam that with his powers someone would probably have to be within 30 metres and actively looking for him with magic to sense anything.

"Yes, you're rather aromatic at the moment. Almost as bad as Nathanial was in the washroom." Faelen couldn't help but throw that in, and he had to stifle a chuckle as Geoff's sheath jumped and the tip of his cock poked out. Geoff didn't seem to notice the near-chuckle or his twitching sheath.

Geoff stepped into the shower. "Sorry, I needed to release some pressure after all the teasing he gave me today. Would you dim the lights?" Faelen didn't answer but instead reached over and flicked the main lights off, just leaving a small light over the sink on.

Geoff could see much more clearly now. The shower was very dark, so he decided to manifest as well. The darkness seemed to soak into his fur and skin, turning him completely black, and to anyone else it would have looked like he melted into the shadows. He knew his eyes would look like they shone purple if they caught the light.

He turned on the shower and looked over at Faelen. He had no problems seeing him now, but he figured that Faelen wouldn't be able to see him look. He wasn't interested in Faelen like that anymore, but he was very handsome. When in his manifest state his fur was a pale grey, like a thick bank of fog, and his eyes shone blue when they caught the light.

Letting his eyes travel down Faelen's broad and muscular chest and tight abs, his gaze lit upon the prize. Faelen was relaxed, but his sheath was still thicker than Geoff's, and longer, and it lounged on a pair of testicles the size of large chicken eggs. The soft fur on his scrotum had a tiny droplet of water at the end of each strand, making the whole area sparkle in Geoff's dark-powered sight.

He turned the water on and started to wash, turning often to look at Faelen.

---

Faelen had no problems seeing Geoff, his enhanced senses easily countering the cloaking effect of Geoff's manifestation. He knew Geoff could see him, too. 'He seems to forget that the reason the Elementals are considered much more powerful than other Spirits is mostly because their "trigger" is more common. Inside this much steam, he isn't a whole lot more powerful than I am. But I may as well enjoy this.'

He dropped his left paw to his sac and started to roll his large balls around in his palm. He saw Geoff's sheath twitch again, and his penis poke out some more. Faelen skinned back his sheath, and slowly pawed his bare shaft, allowing himself to get hard, but not enough to start squirting precum. After a few strokes he reached his full 16 centimetre glory. He knew he wasn't as long as Geoff, but he was thicker.

He had seen Geoff aroused several times, but he was pretty sure Geoff had never seen him erect. Judging from the lack of cleaning in the shower and the full erection, he was pretty sure he was right. 'A pity I don't have time to "accidentally" show Geoff my knot,' Faelen thought. 'Huh. I've never really wanted to show off before. I wonder if I'm feeling the effects of all those pheromones today.'

Geoff had been staring for over five minutes now, without even any pretence of cleaning. Faelen thought he should wake him up. "One of the das should be coming to fetch us soon. You may want to finish cleaning the gunk out of your fur."

Geoff gave a start as he stopped staring and quickly rinsed the soap and semen out of his fur.

Dirk opened the door right after he stepped out of the shower. "Supper is ready. Hurry up and dry off." He closed the door and went upstairs.

Faelen felt his penis slide back into its sheath, but he could still smell the arousal from Geoff. He flicked on the overhead fan and suppressed his magic, squinting a little as his senses returned to normal.

---

Geoff looked down at his erection, feeling a little shame at getting aroused so much by watching Faelen. No matter how good-looking he was, he was like a brother to him. It also felt like he was betraying Nathanial. He stomped on that thought, knowing he would end up getting himself even more aroused by thinking about the orange and white Akita pup.

He stepped out of the shower, turned on the fur-drier, and stood under it, facing away from Faelen. "You should dry off a bit, too, Faelen. Your fur is still wet from your shower." He felt his penis finish retracting, and gave an internal sigh of relief. He suppressed his powers now that it was safe to do so.

Five minutes later they were dry enough to go upstairs. They merely wrapped towels around their waists, as neither father was overly concerned about decorum when it was just them, and their fur was still a bit too damp to get dressed.

Dirk had put the place settings on one end of the large oak table, and placed the spaghetti in the middle with a Caesar salad and garlic bread. Conor and Dirk each had a half-glass of red wine next to their full glass of milk.

Conor walked into the room wearing his standard slacks and polo shirt. Today, brown slacks, purple shirt. He was 42 years old, and like Dirk, very fit. He was 1.87 metres tall, with light grey fur with a slight blue tint on his front, and a dark grey back. His eyes were light blue. He was a Water Spirit, but unlike the stereotype he was very placid and hard to rile up. He gave no indication he noticed that the two damp teens wore nothing but towels as he gave them each a big hug, leaving his shirt darker from the moisture. He said nothing, but motioned at the table, indicating they should sit as he assumed his place at the head of the table. Geoff sat at his right paw, with Faelen next to Geoff. "Let's eat."

Dirk sat in his place at Conor's left paw as he started scooping out the pasta, while Faelen served the salad.

Conor waited until everyone had eaten a little before asking, "How was your first day in a Canadian school?"

Geoff put his fork down and took a small sip of milk. "It was quite similar to Irish schools. A school is a school. This is a new building, as you saw, and is very nice looking. Most of the Furs seem pleasant enough, aside from the regular jockeying for status. We've already reviewed the course material, and the teachers appear to enjoy their jobs. We met two remarkable people; they're in the same homeroom as us: Liam Smith and Nathanial Marks. Liam is...unusual." He paused as Faelen choked a bit on some toast. Conor and Dirk both raised an eyebrow, making Geoff smile. He took a bite of some salad. "Very good salad today, Bone Daddy."

"I should never have let you see 'Nightmare Before Christmas,'" Conor said in mock despair. "Now, as you were saying before Faelen tried to kill himself?"

"What was I saying? Hmm..." Geoff teased, stalling for time as he tried to figure out how to talk about Nathanial without betraying himself. "Ah yes, Liam is odd. Everything from his manner to his walk, his speech, and his martial arts is very...precise. Every word just so, his steps could out-time a metronome, and so on. He's very knowledgeable about certain topics, and he delivers that knowledge like an encyclopaedia. He was aware we were from Cork. He said it was from our accent, and he even placed where we lived near Cork. He seems...benign, I guess. I don't get any bad vibes from him." He paused and looked at Faelen.

Faelen swallowed the food in his mouth, drank a bit of milk, and wiped his muzzle with a napkin. "I agree."

Geoff had just taken a big mouthful of pasta, and he rolled his eyes at Faelen.

Faelen grinned. "Geoff's right. Smith's martial arts skills would be a major concern, if he turns out to be a threat."

Dirk's eyes widened slightly, and Geoff turned with a surprised look at Faelen's last words. "You think he could be a concern? That tiny Rottie is barely 14! I could pick him up and toss him around like a doll!"

Faelen actually laughed at that. "You'd never get a paw on him to lift him up with. Even if we were manifested I'd have trouble keeping up. Smith moved so fast I could barely follow him. A couple of bullies had him surrounded by his locker, and when one went to grab his 'Shaman Feather' he grabbed the guy by his arm, yanked him forward, slammed his muzzle into a locker so hard it left a dent, and then threw him back into the crowd. It was over before anyone had time to react; it was almost a blur to my eyes. I don't think I would have been able to avoid it unless I was manifested. Even then, I'm not sure I could if I wasn't in fog."

Geoff, along with everyone else, looked surprised again. "I knew he was fast, but, really? Faster than you?"

"You're faster than I am, Geoff."

"Yeah, running. But your reflexes are amazing when you manifest in fog. I know I'm a little quicker sometimes, but a regular Fur? Even a martial artist?"

"I know what I saw, and I know my capabilities. If I was in thick fog I'd have no problem dealing with the speed he showed today, but he wasn't even trying -- I could tell. He was as contemptuous as someone batting away a soap bubble. I don't think they even registered as a threat in whatever operating system he runs on."

Geoff laughed at that. "Operating system? He's a Fur, not a cyborg." He paused. "I think, Fates forbid." He made a warding gesture and then smiled. "What planet would he be from? Romulus? Vulcan? Or is he from the future?"

Faelen frowned. "I was thinking more along the lines of the priests from the Knights -- more golem than cyborg."

Conor interrupted. "I highly doubt they could make something like that. If they could they'd probably try to get rid of some of the more troublesome members of the Arcane Society before infiltrating a high school. He was on the register before we moved here. He was listed as one of your classmates in homeroom two weeks ago. When I did a quick check on your classmates he seemed to be very intelligent, but otherwise ordinary. None of the parents of the students in your classes showed up on my list of known Hunters or Knights. Dirk mentioned a possible enemy. Is this him?"

Faelen shook his head. "No, thank goodness. The inconvenience is a Pekinese girl. She marked Geoff as her newest status symbol and tried to put the moves on him. They backfired. She was very...forward. And pushy. She seems very popular at school, so it may make things difficult, unless Geoff accedes to her demands and dates her. He pretty much told her to go fu..." Conor started to glare at him, when Faelen caught himself. "...away in front of half the school. She was with, and leading, some of the girls that were part of the pack who bullied Smith earlier that morning. She was also snarling at the Fur who Geoff was being friendly with. However, she's not a threat physically; none of the Furs I saw today, excepting Smith, appear to be."

Faelen tilted his head slightly in confusion as Conor tapped his claws on the table. "Why do you call him Smith when Geoff calls him Liam? The class list had Smith as the surname."

Geoff answered. "He insists on it. He told off Ms. Paul in homeroom when she called him Liam. He did it very politely, but he said he insisted on proper formality. Like I said, an odd pup."

Dirk spoke up, "Well, you mentioned a friend and an enemy when I met you at the door, and then gave two remarkable Furs now, so who is this Nathanial?"

Geoff successfully suppressed a smile, but his tail tapped the leg of Faelen's chair as it wagged before he could catch it. He didn't notice his father's right ear twitch toward the sound. "He's an Akita pup; I mean, he must be sixteen, but he still looks and acts quite young. He's a bit of a loner, doesn't seem to interact much with the other students, so his table was the emptiest at lunch. To get away from the crowds, we sat with him. He was very shy when we asked to sit with him, and a little nervous, but he was very c...nice." Geoff couldn't believe he'd almost said 'cute' in front of his father. "Judging by the way he acted, I think he got bullied a lot at his last school, so I, we, decided to follow him home. At a discreet distance. He lives a dozen blocks away, in the Harbourview neighbourhood. There are likely Hunters around, so I'll be cautious when choosing friends, but I think he's safe."

Dirk stiffened slightly at the mention of the Hunters. Neither Geoff nor Faelen knew who Faelen's mother was, but they got the impression that she had been killed by Hunters shortly after Faelen was born. Avery, Geoff's mother, raised them together, as Dirk was already Conor's bodyguard and Geoff was born a little over a month after Faelen. Dirk's hatred of Hunters had remained strong over the years.

"He is learning wisdom in his advanced years." Sarcasm dripped heavily from Dirk's voice as he smiled. The conversation turned to routine matters for the rest of dinner.

---

It was nearing 10 o'clock as Nathanial finished cleaning the kitchen from his preparations for tomorrow's lunches. Micah remained confined to his room for the rest of the evening, and Nathanial had brought him supper when Nicholas had brought theirs down to eat in front of the TV. The evening had been very quiet, and Nicholas spent most of his time in his bedroom. Nathanial mimicked him and spent most of the evening in his own bedroom.

He thought of Geoff frequently throughout the evening, but having to discipline Micah like that had left him feeling very depressed. He understood all too well the feeling of abandonment that caused Micah to act out. Perhaps that was why he was so attracted to Geoff: a mature, strong, and kind male that could fill a dual role in his life. Lover and father-figure. He needed -- ached -- for both. As Micah got older, he probably would too, but that was something Nathanial just couldn't give him. He could be a surrogate father, but he wouldn't take advantage of his baby brother by bedding him. 'I should talk to Nicholas to ensure there isn't a repeat of today, no matter how hot it was. Wrong, it was wrong! Nothing hot about it!'

Nathanial was walking down the stairs, his shorts starting to tent. He looked over at the doors leading to his brothers' rooms. Both were dark; they were probably asleep.

He peeked into Nicholas's room first. The room reeked of semen. His brother was lying naked on his covers with a soaked towel on the floor beside him. There were a few wet patches in his fur and dark spots on the covers around him. There were also some dry spots on both as well. It looked like the events at the end of his swim hadn't dampened his arousal from before the swim too much. He must have pawed off at least four times for his room to smell like this.

Nathanial quietly crept into the room to put a blanket over his brother and take the wet towel to the bathroom. As he moved forward he saw the tip of his brother's penis was still poking out and dripping semen. The smell this far into the room was heady, and Nathanial's paw involuntarily moved to the tip of his brother's penis. He carefully caught a drop of the semen and licked it up, murring slightly with pleasure at the taste. He shook his head; Nicholas must've just had an orgasm to still be dripping like that.

Nathanial shook his brother. "Nick. Clean up a little before you go to sleep. You and your room are a mess."

Nicholas's eyes fluttered open. "Oh hey, Nats. I was just thinking about you." Nathanial arched an eyebrow and frowned, looking at his brother's plumped-up sheath. Nicholas just smiled. "Don't give me that. I wasn't thinking about you then. Not that I think you'd really mind." He grabbed the large bulge in his brother's shorts.

Nathanial gave a startled meep and jumped back. "Nick! What has gotten into you today!?"

Nicholas looked shamefaced. "Dunno. I'm just on edge. Something is going to happen; my nerves are frayed, and I can't seem to control myself. I'm hornier than I've ever been, and no matter how many times I paw off, it doesn't help. See?" He gestured at his freshly erect and dripping cock. "I just came about five minutes ago, and here it is again. Can you help me? Please? Maybe a muzzle will help. I saw you taste me and you liked the taste. I won't tell Micah, or anyone else. Please?"

Nathanial felt torn. His brother seemed in genuine need, but he was the 'responsible' one, and Nick was his brother. He didn't notice that he'd taken a half step forward. He also liked Geoff, not Nicholas. On the other paw, the smell in this room was driving him crazy, his shorts were quickly soaking through, and the taste of his brother left him hungering for more. He jumped as Nicholas yanked down his shorts, and latched his muzzle onto his penis, sucking hungrily.

Nathanial stepped out the shorts that had pooled around his hindpaws and pushed his brother onto his back, disengaging his brother's mouth from his shaft. Nicholas whimpered as he tried to get back up, but Nathanial held him down as he swung his leg over his brother's head, putting his dripping puppyhood back into Nicholas's reach. He moaned as he felt the soft warmth of his younger brother's tongue lapping up all the precum that accumulated in the few seconds his penis was free. Nathanial settled himself more firmly on the bedcovers, realizing just how much his brother must have cummed to make such a mess. He pushed his nose into his brother's groin, the puppy fluff ticking his nose as he inhaled deeply. He lowered his muzzle to Nicholas's scrotum and lapped up the semen he found there. He cleaned off each ball carefully, before going further down and making firm and long swipes across his brother's perineum.

Nicholas was moaning uncontrollably around his penis, the vibrations travelling right up his spine and triggering pleasure centres he never knew he had. He tried to make this last -- if he was going to be damned, he may as well be well-damned -- but the wet warmth that kept poking his left ear would no longer be denied.

The pulsing rod fit comfortably in Nathanial's muzzle, and the taste of the semen from earlier ejaculations whetted his appetite even further. He was soon as lost as Nicholas in his passionate hunger, bobbing up and down as his tongue wrapped around every inch it could. It would curl around the base of Nick's knot, dive into the deepest recesses of his sheath, and snake back up to lick up the freshest droplet his brother offered.

It felt like they were lost in this heated embrace forever, but it was only a few minutes before Nathanial began to shudder and pant around the penis wedged into his mouth. He gave one last violent shake before a strong burst of semen launched itself into Nicholas's throat, causing the smaller pup to cough slightly before he guzzled down the following offerings.

The taste of Nathanial's seed must have triggered his release, because after swallowing the second shot of cum, he erupted. Nathanial gagged at the unfamiliar sensation, but recovered and found he really enjoyed the feeling and taste that coated his mouth and throat. His tongue went wild as it tried to savour every last drop, causing Nicholas to resume shaking as his oversensitive penis finally had too much.

He pulled his mouth off Nathanial's dripping penis, holding firm to the base of the knot. "Nats, stop, please! It's too much!" He paused to lap up some semen that leaked from the penis dangling over his face. "I'm just too sensitive." More lapping.

Nathanial lifted his head, panting, then moaned as Nicholas found some more cum. "Ok, stop! Mercy!" Nicholas let go and Nathanial rolled over onto the bed, his senses returning. "Gods. What happened? Ugh, we need to get to sleep. We have school tomorrow. Grab this mess and we'll get a quick shower. I'll help you make your bed with fresh sheets once we're clean."

Nicholas seemed just as confused. "I'm exhausted. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself, but you're right. At least I'll sleep well tonight." He ran his paw over his head, flattening his sagging ears back into the reddish-orange fur that ran from the top of his head down onto his tail. "Let's hurry, or I'll fall asleep right now."

They rolled onto their hindpaws and pulled off the wet bedspread and sheets, Nicholas pausing to pick up the dripping paw towel and placing it onto the sheets. They brought them over to the laundry and put them in the wash.

"Oh, wait! I have some pants I need to wash! I forgot all about them!" Nathanial dashed into his room and grabbed his crusty dry underwear and the dress pants for his uniform. On the way out he went to grab his bath towel. It wasn't there. 'Where is my...?'

Then he remembered: he took it to the pool this afternoon, and it was probably still there. Right next to... "Shit! The grimoire!" He dropped his dirty clothes and dashed past the open door to Micah's room and upstairs. He heard Nicholas follow him, but he felt a sensation he'd never felt before as he neared the patio doors. It filled him with fear and loathing. His stride faltered, but he caught himself and yanked open the patio doors. Nicholas fell to the floor behind him and started to whimper.

The moon was hidden behind a thick blanket of fog, and the dark was thick and oppressive. The impenetrable ocean fog rolled inexorably into the sitting room through the open door, chilling the Akita pups instantly.

Nathanial steeled himself and conjured the largest ball of light he could. A 60 centimetre diameter ball of bright blue light, the same colour as his eyes, appeared over his head, illuminating the patio to the edge of the pool.

He strode out into the mist, and Nicholas scrambled behind him, not wanting to be left alone. The fog wrapped indecently around them. Its chill tendrils stroked and fondled every part of them, sending shivers up their spines, but the shivers were nothing like the ones they felt minutes ago in Nicholas's bedroom. Nathanial reached the chaise that his brothers had used to give him the show early this afternoon; the light from his spell could just reach the seat he was on then. The towel lay spread out as he left it, and on the ground on the far side was the grimoire.

A furless, bony hand with long claws reached out toward the magic book. The twiggy arm attached to it ran up to a bulbous body with stray wiry hairs poking out at odd intervals over the sagging skin. The small creature, no more than 60 centimetres tall, had spindly leather wings sprouting from its back, and equally twiggy legs supporting it. A long whip-like tail lashed the fog behind it, tipped with a spear-like point. The monstrosity's beady eyes squinted at them from a wide muzzle-less face set in a horned, pumpkin-shaped head. A wide gash filled with sharp teeth snapped at them.

It recoiled from the bright light, but then it crouched and hissed at Nathanial. The spittle spraying from its mouth hit the paving stones in front of it, which started to smoke as the acid burned them. Nathanial's eyes were wide with terror, and Nicholas had collapsed behind him. He couldn't reach the grimoire, and he wouldn't be able to get to safety without leaving Nicholas behind.

---

Geoff waited until a quarter after 10 pm before knocking on Faelen's door.

Faelen opened it immediately, wearing dark, warm, clothing. Faelen looked at the shorts and T-shirt Geoff was wearing and said, "It's quite chilly out. Shouldn't you put on warmer clothing? A bank of fog has rolled in off the Atlantic, and it's only 8°C out. The advantage is no one will be able to see or detect us. The fog is thick enough to block out the moon."

"Alright, Mom. I'll go change." Geoff went back to his room, and Faelen followed. Geoff shucked off his shorts, leaving his lower body bare, his muscles rippling beneath the white fur as he bent down to grab a pair of jogging pants.

"You are going to go sniff around Nathanial's house. Shouldn't you at least put on a jockstrap? You'll find it hard to move with that tree branch you have bouncing freely around your groin." Geoff blushed and grabbed a jock strap from his sports gear. He bent over and pulled it on, unknowingly giving Faelen a clear view of his pink hole, and then pulled on his pants.

Geoff's pale nose was already quivering with excitement. "Let's go."

They snuck out of the house and allowed their Spirits to manifest. In this form, and in this fog, Faelen was almost as fast as Geoff. They approached one of the dryad trees, planning to take a shortcut through a narrow section of the forest, when they heard the faint sound of silver hunting horns in the distance.

The dryad poked her face out of her tree trunk, her face pale with fear and excitement. "The Wild Hunt!"

Geoff took off like a shot towards Nathanial's house, Faelen on his heels. They burst from the trees thirty seconds later and sprinted soundlessly down the street. They would arrive at Nathanial's house in about three minutes. The dark and fog replenished their energy as quickly as they spent it, enabling them to run all night without getting fatigued, if needed.

---

Nathanial was shaking uncontrollably as the tiny Demon peered at the light that burned its beady eyes. "A-A-An Imp?"

As the light remained motionless, the Imp ignored it and again reached cautiously for the book.

That movement freed the Mageling from his paralysis. Rage swept through him as he saw his book, the most valuable and important (if not only) gift his father had given him. He summoned his magic and used it to grab the shedding brush from the table where Nicholas had left it after brushing Micah down. Nathanial threw it, barbed end out, into the face of the Imp, the entire force of his magic propelling it.

The Imp looked up too late to avoid the danger, and took the brush squarely across its eyes. It flipped over backward three times, the brush embedded in its face, and vanished from view.

Nathanial refocused his magic and used it to call his book to him. It was heavier than anything he had ever tried to move, but he was certain the Imp, or its friends, still awaited him in the shadows. The book was halfway to him when he heard the Imp shriek in the darkness.

A female voice screeched, "You failed, you worthless piece of shit!" which was followed by a wet crunching noise. "Get that book!"

Two Imps flew out from the darkness and landed on the book, knocking it to the ground. There was a blast of energy from the book, sending them back into the fog. They immediately reappeared, albeit unsteadily.

Nathanial used his magic to grab the first by the wings, holding it in place, while he "threw" the orb of light floating over his head into the face of the second. It shrieked and fell back, holding its hands over its eyes. "Nick, please! Pull the book to you!"

Nicholas stared at him for a second, terror painted across his face. He managed a nod and muttered the phrase for the Minor Telekinesis spell. The book lifted a little above the ground and started floating toward them again.

The blinded Imp had recovered somewhat and launched itself at Nathanial. He raised an arm to block it. The Imp slashed his arm open as it dodged around, preparing to spit acid in his face. Suddenly, Nathanial's bath towel struck from its resting place on the chaise, wrapping itself around the Imp's face and body, constricting its prey and slowly suffocating it.

Nathanial quickly looked back at Nicholas and saw Micah concentrating on keeping the Imp tied up as it struggled. Micah looked over at the Imp Nathanial held and said something he didn't recognize. It shrieked in pure terror and struggled even more against Nathanial's hold as it tried to flee. Nathanial let it go and it flew across the pool toward the front yard.

Nathanial focused, building his magic, and yanked the book to them. He grabbed it with his good arm, but the grimoire's momentum spun him around.

Nicholas grabbed the other side of the large tome and steadied his wounded brother. His eyes blazed with fire for a moment, and he spun to the Imp spitting at Micah from its tattered cloth prison. "Burn!" The towel burst into flame, with the Imp screaming inside.

Micah sobbed, but kept the towel coiled around the shrieking and thrashing Demon.

"Burn!" The Imp itself ignited, the smell of scorched meat and sharp acid filling the air.

Micah released the charred corpse and both he and the greasy soot fell to the patio.

The female voice from earlier called out, "So the naked little pups aren't so little, after all. You managed to kill one Imp. Perhaps I can make use of you, little Mage." Her voice became velvety and alluring. "Naked little fire dog, you succumbed so easily to the desires I gave you earlier. Bring me the book you hold and I will show you pleasure your inexperienced little brothers could never dream of. Listen to my voice and taste what you may receive."

Nathanial didn't hear anything special; her voice was better than any he heard on the radio, but it didn't make him react at all like Geoff's voice did. Nicholas must have heard something different. Even after all the abuse he had heaped on his puppyhood earlier, it was out and begging for more. His eyes were wild with lust, even more than when he was begging Nathanial for help.

Once more, he looked up at his brother, his eyes pleading. "I can't stop, I have to go. I can see her, and she... Oh gods." He dashed out of Nathanial's reach, holding the grimoire, before Nathanial could react, and then stopped. He seemed to be struggling against the Succubus's influence, but he still took a shaking step away from the house. Three Imps flew out of the fog to keep the remaining pups occupied.

"Nick, no! She'll kill you! She's a Demon!" Nathanial split his Mage Light into three balls and set them spinning around into the faces of the Imps, never letting the light stay still long enough for their sensitive eyes to adjust. They shrieked in pain, but kept moving. His arm no longer hurt; he could no longer feel the paving stones beneath his hindpaws; all that mattered was stopping Nick. He kept the balls moving, and grabbed globes of water from the pool. He splashed the water across the patio in front them and used a Chill spell, meant to cool drinks down, to create a sheet of ice, slowing Nicholas's reluctant progress even further.

The Imps were recovering; they were keeping their eyes closed and following the smell of his blood.

He grabbed shards of ice from the ground and slashed the wings of one Imp, causing it to fall. He pushed it into the pool, where it thrashed and struggled, but quickly sank. 'Imps can't swim.' He filed that away for future reference. That left two.

Nathanial danced around the Imps, dodging the acid they spat at him, trying to find some way to kill them and get Nick back, but they were moving too quick for the ice to work again. His fear still wouldn't let him move any further from the house, but Nicholas had made it to within a few steps from the edge of the light.

Micah suddenly stood up, his gold eyes appearing to glow in the dancing mage light. "Flee! They come!" He pointed out into the dark, and the sound of silver hunting horns pierced the fog. The faint sound of many hoof beats and the howling of feral wolves followed.

The voice in the dark cursed and spat out, "The Wild Hunt?! I'll be back!"

The Imps vanished, including the bones from the charred pile of soot and the floating corpse in the pool. The dark became less oppressive and the fog stopped fondling them; it was still dark outside of the light Nathanial had made and the fog still brushed against them as fog is wont to do, but there was no longer any malevolence or perversion to it.

Nicholas fell to his knees, crying, holding the grimoire to his chest.

Nathanial ran up and pulled him to his feet. "In! Now! Micah, help me get him inside!" His right arm was still numb and immobile, but together, and with Nicholas's attempts to help, they made it in. He locked the patio door. "Dad said a long time ago that the basement is warded. I always thought it was to protect the house from us. It should also keep everything else out." In his thoughts he added, 'I hope.'

Nicholas was still unable to move on his own, but they made it downstairs.

Nathanial locked the door behind them. "Why did the Wild Hunt suddenly show up? The Fey war-host only ever rides against major threats, not against a few Imps and a Succubus."

Nicholas slid to the floor, unmoving.

Micah looked sheepish. "Um, Nats. They weren't here. I, um, used a Glamour to make the sounds of the Hunt, and a Charm to make it convincing. I didn't think it'd work against the Succubus. I'm glad it did, though."

"I was going to ask why you're up, but I don't care anymore. I'm glad you were; you saved our tails. Nick, we still need to shower, and it's late. We have school tomorrow." Micah looked at him like he was mad. "What? 'Oh, sorry, we were attacked by Demons and our magic grimoire was almost stolen last night. We can't make it in.' No, I don't think so. We need to go to school, and we need to get to sleep. Micah, help me put Nick in the shower, I'll clean us up, and then he may be able to help bandage my arm."

They each put an arm around Nicholas and lifted him back up. Micah wrinkled his black nose. "She really had you going this evening, didn't she? Your fur is all crusty."

Nicholas had become unresponsive, almost like he was in a waking coma, and gave no sign that he heard the teasing.

"Micah!" Nathanial was shocked, but it was true: Nick's fur made crackling noises when he bumped against them, and it was solid in many places. He sighed. "Maybe a bath would be better. The only tub is upstairs, though. We'll just have to make do. Would you be able to sponge his fur while I wash myself, Mike?" He was too tired to notice Micah's eyes light up in delight.

Micah managed to keep his voice and body language neutral. "'Kay."

Nathanial put Nicholas in the shower and went to grab his towel before remembering it was a charred pile on the patio, and that his dress pants were still dirty. He hit his forehead with his paw and grabbed his pants and a new towel. 'I'll just sponge down the front to clean off the cum and hope for the best. I hope I can use my right paw when I wake up tomorrow.' It was still numb, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

Nicholas was still sitting at the back of the 120 centimetre-square shower stall, staring blankly ahead. The shower was going, and Micah was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the stall, leaving the curtain open. He had placed a washcloth over Nicholas's sheath, and hummed as he rolled Nicholas's testicles around his small paws, carefully cleaning off the bits of dried semen Nathanial's tongue had missed.

Nathanial couldn't help but smile as Micah's tail swished back and forth in the spray, sending water everywhere. "Having fun, are we?"

Micah jumped guiltily, and smiled up at Nathanial sheepishly, paws still continuing their rubbing as if he were a feral raccoon washing his supper. Nathanial smiled and shook his head, and cleaned his pants before stepping under the spray.

"The Graces were kind, tonight, weren't they, Nats?"

Nathanial froze. "Graces? Were you spying on me this afternoon?"

It was Micah's turn to freeze. "No?" Nathanial started to bang his head against the wall. "Stop that, Nats! I'm sorry! I... I'm...sorry." He started to cry. His paws were finished cleaning the scrotum so they moved up to the thickly matted fur around Nicholas's sheath. The warm soapy water from the washcloth had served to soften the area, allowing Micah to slowly work the gunk free of the downy fur.

Nathanial stopped hitting his head on the shower wall and looked over at his baby brother. "Are you gay?" Even Micah's paws stopped at the question, but he started crying harder. "You're probably too young to know for certain, but you really seem to like looking at Nicholas and me. You really like looking at and playing with our genitals when you get the chance, too. I find it kinda embarrassing, but I understand. I would have loved to have older brothers to look at, at your age. Nicholas doesn't seem to mind you looking at him naked. I think he actually enjoys it, but spying on us is wrong, and you know it. I'll let you go tonight, considering all that happened, and cancel your grounding. Just...don't do it again."

"Okay." Micah nodded, paws resuming their work. "Who's Geoff? Can I meet him soon?" Bang, bang, bang, went Nathanial's head. Micah laughed. "Come on! You weren't exactly quiet." He got serious. "Are you gay, too?"

"Too? As I said, you're awfully young. It may just be a phase, or natural..." Nathanial stared at Micah's finger, which had found its way inside Nicholas's sheath. The pup gazed up over his shoulder in fascination at the tip of Nathanial's penis as it crept out. "...curiosity. Or not. Gods. Yes. Yes, I am. Pay attention to your paws, would you? You're supposed to be cleaning him, not molesting him."

Micah looked at what his paws were doing with surprise. "Did you find the Demon's voice sexy? Nick seemed to, but I didn't want to go to her at all."

"No. It was nice enough, but I found her terrifying, not alluring. She was focused on him, not us. That may have made a difference."

"Maybe he's, y'know, straight." Micah whispered the last word like it was something horrible.

Nathanial laughed and shook his head. "Nick? Mr. Nudity? Not a chance, certainly not with what he did to you by the pool. Bi, maybe, but not straight."

"And to you in his room? That was even hotter than you by yourself this afternoon." Bang! "Nats! You're going to knock yourself out!"

---

Faelen ran with Geoff up Nathanial's street and leapt over the two-and-a-half metre stone wall with ease. He landed right behind his friend, growling involuntarily in his throat.

Geoff stood a little way in front of him with his teeth bared in a silent snarl, and he sniffed the air cautiously. A lumpy shape flew past him out of the dark and he leapt at it, scratching its belly with his claws. Faelen jumped and grabbed it out of the air; his left paw around the throat, right paw around the base of its wings.

Geoff looked impressed. "Nice catch. No wonder you keep getting voted the best goalkeeper in our football league. What is it?"

Faelen shrugged, looking down at the panicked and spitting creature. It didn't seem able to see what stopped its flight. Faelen made sure to keep its mouth and spittle far from either Wolf. "A Demon of some sort, scared out of what little wits it has. We were right; somehow, this is where the trouble is. I smell traces of more Demons, but the scent is fading. I also smell blood and smoke. N..." He cut off what he was going to say, but Geoff was already running to the back of the house. Faelen sighed and snapped the Imp's neck, carrying the corpse with him as he followed Geoff.

He rounded the corner of the privacy fence around the patio area in time to see Geoff slip on some ice, but he caught himself before he fell into the pool. Faelen held in his laughter, which quickly died as he surveyed the chaos while moving carefully toward the patio door. The patio furniture was in disarray, a pile of greasy ash from a towel lay beside one chaise, splatters of blood coated the tiles near the ash, and a trail ran along the side of the pool and back into the house. This close he didn't have to tell Geoff that it was Nathanial's. He could smell that there used to be several more creatures like the one he held. There were also the scents of two more Furs, the ones he smelt earlier this afternoon. They'd entered the house with Nathanial. One more scent, far back, almost against the back wall of the yard, made his hackles rise and the growl from deep in his lungs return. Geoff carefully made his way across the melting ice to the soot.

"What was this? I smell burnt flesh."

Faelen's mind was still occupied with the new scent. "Nathanial's towel." His mind refocused when Geoff howled. He hurried on. "It also has the scent of one of these creatures in it, but the scent is fading. Nathanial is inside. I think it was the Demon that was burnt."

Geoff's eyes were blazing as he ran toward the door.

Faelen stopped him with a paw on his shoulder. "He's alive. Wounded, but alive. They will either have called the police, or more likely, the Arcane Society, by now. They will make sure the pup gets treatment. What do you think will happen if you go inside like this? How will you explain it?"

Geoff stopped. "Why do you think they're Mages? We still need to make sure they're alright."

"There's a charred towel, but no source of fire. A Demon wouldn't let them grab a towel and wrap it around it without spitting a mouthful of acid into their faces, let alone giving them a chance to hold it down as they lit it on fire. It's cold, but not cold enough for water to freeze, but there is a large sheet of ice by the pool. I smell that an even stronger Demon was here, but they somehow survived. The horns of the Wild Hunt sounded, but there is no Hunt. One, or more likely, all of these pups are Mages. That means one or both of their parents are Mages. Stop and think before rushing in."

Geoff's eyes flashed in anger. "Are you done?" He glared at Faelen, who nodded, with his ears back in submission. "You're right, but I'm still going in to check on him. I'll just be careful."

Faelen sighed quietly, but curled his tail up when Geoff growled.

Geoff padded up to the patio and took control of a fragment of darkness. It slid over the lock on the door, unlocking it, and then silently slid the door open. "See, no prints, no noise, no damage."

Faelen's ears and tail remained in their submissive position, but he followed his boss inside the house. The sitting room had a couple of drops of blood on the hardwood floor; the white furniture and area rug in the middle of the room looked untouched. They followed the strong scent to a closed door in the kitchen. Faelen suppressed his power; with no mist it would only serve to act as a beacon to any Mage. The smell of the pups permeated this room, unlike the sitting room. It appeared they spent more time here and just walked through the sitting room to get to the pool.

A faint trace of light spilled out into the kitchen from around the door jamb. Geoff took control of another patch of darkness and tried to open the door. It opened easily, leading to a staircase illuminated by two nightlights. They crept down, Faelen being extra cautious. The door at the bottom of the stairs was locked. Geoff slid a sliver of dark into the lock mechanism and concentrated; after a few seconds it popped open.

The Wolves looked into a dim rec room, very similar to the one in their house, but larger and messier. The pups appeared to live down here. It reeked of them and...semen? Faelen looked to where he guessed Geoff to be and arched an eyebrow. He heard a faint 'I don't know' type of grunt. There was only one room lit, so they made their way across the room toward it.

It was a bathroom, and the shower was running. Steam spilled out of the brightly lit room, so Faelen re-manifested and slipped in. Geoff stood outside in the shadows and listened to the dark-coloured pup ask who Geoff was. Now that Faelen could see Geoff again, he could see his ears turn red and perk up in happiness. His tail wagged excitedly.

Faelen drew a line down his right arm, showing Geoff where Nathanial was cut, and then shrugged, trying to indicate it didn't look bad. Both were in a position to see the youngest Akita, Micah, "cleaning" his older brother's sheath, and their jaws dropped. They looked at each other quizzically when the pup referred to what Nathanial did in Nicholas's room. Geoff looked concerned as he saw the blank gaze of Nathanial's middle brother. He looked over at Faelen and back at the pup. Faelen shrugged.

Geoff mimed talking and pointed at the pups, but Faelen just put his ears back and tail between his legs. Faelen could tell this annoyed Geoff, but he was still a bit angry at Geoff for snapping at him. When Geoff suppressed his powers, Faelen slipped out of the bathroom and did as well. Faelen rolled his eyes at Geoff.

Geoff ignored Faelen and rushed into the bathroom. "Nathanial! What happened? Are you alright?"

---

Nathanial washed quietly for a moment, thinking about what happened today and how it'd affect the relationship of the brothers. He didn't know how it would, but there was no way it could be ignored. He noticed Micah was just finishing up with Nicholas's groin when he heard a voice that was far more intoxicating than any Succubus's call his name. His penis leapt halfway out of his sheath and start to leak.

Micah appeared to be close to panicking, but when the pup looked at Nathanial he calmed down. "You must be Geoff." Micah stood up and moved closer to the door, extending his paw. Geoff shook it.

Faelen stepped into the room to shake it as well. "I'm Faelen. Geoff's friend." He looked over at Nathanial, pointedly looking him up and down. "Told you we'd be seeing more of you soon. I didn't think it'd be quite this much this soon, though." Nathanial blushed and dropped his paws to his groin. "Bit late to hide that, pup. We've already seen it twice. What happened to your brother?"

Micah meeped and stepped back when he saw the dead Imp in Faelen's other paw. Faelen glanced at it, shrugged, and put it on the floor, out of the way.

"How? Why? Here?" Nathanial was stammering, his mind apparently overloaded.

Faelen ignored him. He pulled off his shirt and placed it on the rack beside the shower stall and leaned in to check Nicholas.

Geoff answered. "How, the door was unlocked, and we scaled the wall. Why, we were taking an evening run to stay in shape when we heard the commotion in the backyard, so we went to check it out. There was a lot of blood, so we wanted to make sure everything was alright. We also wanted to ask about those." He pointed at the Imp.

Nathanial had recovered from his shock somewhat, but his penis still twitched as he gazed at the masculine white Wolf. Micah kept shifting his gaze from the twitching flesh to the smoky grey Wolf leaning over Nicholas.

Faelen looked up. "This will take a bit. Nathanial, you look clean. Dry off and let Geoff bandage your arm. Sprite, you're up well past your bedtime. I'll finish cleaning up your brother, so you dry off as well. I wish I knew what was wrong; he seems fine, physically." He stood up and started to strip down. Micah's tongue lolled out as he panted, and Nathanial's eyes bugged a bit more.

Geoff smiled. "C'mon pups, you heard him." He pulled Nathanial out and started towelling him off. Nathanial's brain shut down again, and he leaned back against his love, who said, "Watch the corpse."

Nathanial jumped and moved his hindpaw away from the Imp with a shiver.

Faelen was completely naked and sitting behind Nicholas, leaning the limp pup against his chest and briskly scrubbing the crusted fur, careful not to pull it. His legs splayed out to either side, the large muscles rippling as his weight shifted while he scrubbed. Micah knelt down again and started scrubbing Nicholas's legs, fascinated by the play of the muscles in the large Wolf's thighs, his penis half erect.

"Bed," Faelen repeated. But when Micah just looked at him, nonplussed, he said, "I'll probably be around a lot..." He jerked his head over at Geoff. "...judging by that."

Nathanial barely heard the interchange as he leant back against Geoff (who had stopped drying him) and gazed into Geoff's eyes with adoration. His penis was fully hard and dripping, and his curly tail slowly beat against Geoff's inner thighs, soaking his jogging pants. Nathanial slid his left paw up behind Geoff's neck and pulled his head down. There was no resistance and soon their muzzles met. Nathanial let out a soft sigh, and Geoff growled deep in his chest, a very dominant noise. Nathanial's ears went back and he submissively licked along Geoff's muzzle. Geoff's tongue poked out and wrapped around the Akita's as his arms encircled the smaller dog. His paw slid down Nathanial's white and orange body, the white belly fur matching the white paw perfectly, until his fingers entered the thicker adult fur. His claws started lightly scratching the base of Nathanial's sheath, the penis bobbing with the motion and sending droplets of precum into the air.

"Ahem! Cough! Cough!" Faelen said sarcastically. And loudly. "There are children in the room! And other people who don't want to see you mating in front of them."

Micah looked like he was going to protest, but stayed quiet.

Nathanial jumped and felt Geoff jump, too. He felt really sheepish, but he no longer cared why or how his new friends ended up in his basement at 10:30 at night, past two doors he knew he locked.

"Bandage his arm, lover boy, and you," he said, pointing at Micah, "bed! Don't make me spank you." Micah's fully erect penis made several jumps at the threat and his tail started smacking Faelen's soaked hindpaws, sending water splashing onto Nathanial.

Nathanial pulled his attention away from the incredibly handsome Wolf that still held him. "Micah! Watch your tail!" He pointed at Faelen. "No spanking my brother." He pointed at Micah. "And you go to bed."

Micah looked at the dead Imp and out into dark rec room. He shrank in on himself and began to whimper, but he crawled out of the shower.

Faelen looked at the pup in sympathy. "Actually, first I may need help getting... him. His back clean. What is your brother's name?"

Micah's tail remained curled around his softening member, but he looked over. "I'm Micah, that's Nicholas. When will he wake up?"

Nathanial made himself disengage from Geoff and went over to the other side of the bathroom to get his arm looked at, while keeping part of his attention on the shower.

Faelen stood up and turned Nicholas around. He needed to keep at least one arm wrapped around the limp Akita, and under both armpits to keep him from collapsing. Micah moved up beside Faelen, and from this angle both of the Markses could see Faelen's thick sheath swallow the last bit of his penis. It remained very thick, and Micah had probably never seen one so large, or with a scrotum to match. One of the grey Wolf's testes was larger than the pup's whole sac! Micah's tongue lolled out again, and his ears perked up.

"Your brother is a complete perv, Nathanial," Faelen said dryly, but he shifted Nicholas slightly so he could ruffle Micah's headfur. Micah blushed.

Nathanial had just sat on the closed toilet, with Geoff kneeling in front of him holding a tube of antiseptic. "Yes, I noticed. The night isn't getting any younger, people."

Micah grabbed the soap and started rubbing down Nicholas's back, glutes, and sides. He seemed to be making sure to touch as much of Faelen as he could while trying to make it look accidental.

In short order everyone was clean, and Nathanial's arm was wrapped in a bandage and gauze. Micah, despite the excitement, was dried and nodding off. Nicholas hadn't stirred yet.

Nathanial rubbed his numb arm through the gauze as Geoff put the antiseptic back on the shelf. He was startled when Geoff asked a question.

Geoff reached out to stroke the soft and delicate red leather. "What's this?"

"No!" Nathanial and Micah called out.

Nicholas came awake, jumped to his feet, and magically seized Geoff's paw.

Faelen reacted faster than Nathanial thought possible and seized Nicholas by the throat, lifting him off the floor.

"Release him." Faelen's voice was barely recognisable; it rumbled deep in Wolf's chest and through the steam in the room. The steam seethed and roiled, wrapping itself around Nicholas's arms and legs.

Geoff's voice cracked like a whip. "Faelen! I order you to release!"

Faelen dropped Nicholas, then steadied him before he could fall. He dropped to a knee, head down.

Geoff shook his paw, the bones aching from the force of Nicholas's spell. "I'm guessing this is your 'Shaman Feather,' Nathanial?" He left Faelen where he was.

Micah was staring at Faelen in fear from behind Nathanial.

Nicholas had dropped to his knees beside Faelen, rubbing his temples, unaware that the Wolf beside him had nearly snapped his neck moments ago. "Where? Who? The Succubus? Gods, my head."

Faelen's ears twitched at the word 'Succubus,' but he remained otherwise motionless.

Nathanial grabbed the grimoire with his good arm and hugged it to his chest. Nicholas let out a small growl, but Nathanial was too focused on Geoff to notice it or Faelen's ears twitching at the noise. He remained quiet for a moment before answering Geoff. "Yeah. It is."

"It's magic." Geoff made it a statement, not a question.

Nathanial hung his head. "I can't say. Don't ask, please."

"You don't have to. Nicholas grabbed my paw from across the room with far more power than he could with his bare paws. There was a charred beastie on the patio and some sort of Demon fleeing from your house. Magic is the only answer. Faelen, remain silent, dry off, and help Nicholas dry off. Micah, go to bed. Nathanial, your roo...the couch." Geoff probably realized that in Nathanial's room he probably wouldn't be thinking about Demons or magic. The couch was safer, somewhat. His personality was dominant enough that everyone instantly complied.

Faelen stood silently and grabbed Micah's damp towel. He extended his paw to Nicholas and helped him slowly stand up. Nicholas rubbed his head, and moved carefully, obviously in pain.

Micah crept from the room and stopped at the edge of the light in the rec room, shivering. Geoff picked him up and carried him into his room. Micah clung to him, whimpering. Geoff plopped him unceremoniously onto the queen-sized bed before he pulled the Super Mario Brothers blankets back and slid him underneath them.

Nathanial had followed them in the room and kissed his brother's forehead goodnight. "Try to sleep." He moved the plush Goomba he'd made in school a bit closer to his brother.

"Don't leave me alone! Please! I'll go to sleep! I won't say anything, just please don't leave me alone. She said she'd be back!" Micah curled into a shivering ball, unable to say anything more. Nathanial looked up at him, pleading for mercy with his eyes.

The muscles in Geoff's face relaxed as he looked down at the shaking ball under the blankets. "It was that bad?"

Nathanial nodded in response to Geoff's question, even though he felt like saying it was far worse.

Geoff sighed, flipped the blankets back, and picked up the naked black ball of fluff. Micah instantly wrapped his arms and legs around the white Wolf and buried his head under Geoff's jaw.

Nathanial smiled gently at the sight. "You'd make a good dad."

Geoff snorted, "With who? I'll be your daddy." He leered at the naked dog walking beside him, making Nathanial blush. "But I don't plan on siring my own with anyone. Sit." They were at the couch in the nearly black room, with only the washroom light and the light in Micah's room on. Nathanial reached over to the lamp beside him, but stopped when Geoff made a noise of protest. "Oh, go ahead. I just like the dark."

Nathanial blushed and smiled demurely. "I thought you'd prefer the view." He felt really embarrassed at walking around like this, but Geoff and Faelen had already seen him naked -- and fully hard -- so there wasn't anything left to hide. Besides, Geoff really seemed to enjoy looking at him.

Micah had stopped shivering and giggled. He slid off Geoff and put his head on Nathanial's lap, with his legs over Geoff's.

"If you do anything improper, it's back to your room."

Geoff looked down at the small muzzle resting an inch from the pink tip poking out from its fuzzy tube. "What if I...?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Magic. You. Your brothers. That means either your mom, da, or both. Why weren't they here when the Demons attacked? Or at least, why didn't they show up by now? You couldn't have a...magic book unless it was theirs first. I imagine such things aren't all that common."

"I can't answer."

Micah looked up at the sadness in his brother's voice. He put his head back down facing the pink tip, and his tongue poked out to lick before he caught it. Fortunately, neither of the teens saw it.

"Why? I already know about you and the Demons. What more could there be to hide?"

"More than you know, more than is safe for you to know." His voice quavered as his heart felt like it was going to break. "You should go. I don't want you in danger because of me." He wanted to beg for the strong Wolf to stay and protect him, but muscles couldn't do anything to stop magic. Especially Demon magic.

Geoff looked like he was going to laugh at the thought of Nathanial protecting him, but didn't. Then his expression switched to looking touched, if sceptical. "I'm here, and I'm staying. Well, not all of the time, but whenever I can."

Faelen walked in behind Nicholas, fully clothed and stony faced. He followed the shamefaced and still naked Akita pup as he walked over to the loveseat near his older brother. They both sat down, watching the others.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Geoff asked Nicholas.

Nicholas probably blushed; it was too dark for Nathanial to see, but he knew his brother. Nicholas's voice took on that 'tough-guy' tone he used when he was scared as he said, "Who are you to tell me to go to bed?"

Geoff growled, making Nicholas's ears flip back a moment before he pushed them forward again. "Go to bed."

"N-No."

Nathanial stepped in before it escalated. "Why aren't you in bed, Nick?"

"I don't want to." Everyone could hear the nervousness in his voice, and he sidled closer to Faelen.

Nathanial chose not to mention that the Wolf he was seeking safety from almost killed him a few minutes ago. "It's 10:40. It's a school night. I'm exhausted, and I've had enough. Bed, everyone. Geoff, that means your bed, not mine. Out." He moved Micah off his lap and stood.

"We will continue this discussion later, Nathanial. See you at school." Geoff failed to keep the hope out of his voice, and it made Nathanial's tail start to swish back and forth.

"Out." There was still warmth and longing in Nathanial's voice, and it seemed to reassure Geoff enough to leave without arguing. Faelen slipped into the washroom and retrieved the Imp. He remained precisely two paces behind Geoff, on the left side.

Nicholas had stood up when Faelen had and stepped closer to Nathanial. Micah stayed on the couch and looked up at his naked brothers, growing scared again with the absence of the large Wolves.

Nathanial picked up the grimoire with his left paw. "I'm going to bed. You two go to bed, sleep." He waved his finger at the other Akitas and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.

With half the light gone, the very dim room became dark. Nicholas yelped and Micah gave a small scream. Nicholas scrambled to turn on a lamp, panting with fright and in pain from his head.

Nathanial yanked open the bathroom door, panicked. "What!?"

Nicholas's eyes were wide and he struggled to control his breathing. "You, um, startled us."

Micah had resumed the foetal position, whimpering loudly.

Nathanial hung his head, but couldn't feel mad. "I need to take a leak, and then we can all brush our teeth. For tonight, and only tonight, you can sleep in my room, as long as you keep your paws off of everyone's sheaths -- including your own. Promise?"

A pair of voices answered immediately and in obvious relief. "Yes." They scrambled into the washroom before Nathanial could close the door again. He sighed and left the door open.

In his bedroom, Nathanial tucked the grimoire under his pillow, set his alarm, and crawled into bed. Nicholas and Micah curled up on either side of him, placing their heads on his chest and getting as close as possible. He sighed, but felt comfort in their presence, too. He remembered that feral dogs were pack animals and often sought physical contact for comfort, so their reaction to today wasn't a surprise. He flicked his finger and the lights went out. His brothers whimpered at the sudden dark, but he stroked their backs and shushed them. They soon fell asleep.

---

Faelen and Geoff entered their manifest states as soon as they reached the top of the stairs and didn't say a word the whole way home. Faelen was getting slightly nervous and angry, but kept everything about himself perfectly professional and obedient. At the house, they entered the front door into the dark entryway. Faelen could smell their fathers in the living room which overlooked the landing as soon as the door opened a crack, but was told to remain silent, so he did.

The lights came on as soon as Faelen stepped out from the fog. Conor sat in his chair; Dirk stood beside him holding the switch to the lamp. Both were manifested, and Dirk wore his full armour.

Conor's fur was bluer than normal and it was thicker, reminiscent of an otter's in quality. His tail also looked otter-like, but his face wore none of the infamous otter inquisitiveness or mischievousness. It was stony and menacing.

Dirk (the bits you could see) was pure black, except for a mask around the eyes, which was ivory. Faelen knew that underneath the armour his belly would be covered in ivory fur, and there'd be a bony plate along the top of his muzzle. He'd never seen his father in his full armour and radiating anger like this. All of the bone around him had amplified his powers to a level neither teen had ever felt before. And from Geoff's scent, it scared the other wolf. Badly.

Geoff's voice quivered, his tail coiled up between his legs, and his ears flattened back. "I'm home?" He couldn't even keep his tongue from licking nervously along his muzzle. He glanced back at Faelen for support.

Faelen met Geoff's gaze impassively, without a hint of nervousness. Or support. He'd had a lot of practice hiding his emotions under the mask of professionalism.

Geoff looked at his father, and his father met his gaze and kept it there. After a few seconds Geoff lowered his eyes.

"I heard you went to see the Great Hunt. You were gone a long time." Conor lifted his cell phone. "A very long time."

Geoff's voice was quiet with shame. "Yes, Father. I'm sorry. I should have called."

"No!" Conor jumped from his chair, knocking it back into the wall, and strode to the railing. "You damn well should never have left the house!" He punched through the wooden railing, and fragments fell onto his son. "What the fuck were you thinking!? The Great Hunt never, never rides unless a host of Demons has been spotted, and they never leave witnesses. If they had to, they'd wipe the whole city out and make it look like a natural disaster to cover their tracks! You think the fog or the dark would hide you?" he spat towards the door. "The Fey that are strong enough to be accepted into the Hunt can pierce any magic, any illusion, any power less than theirs. And you, my boy, are FAR less than they."

Geoff crouched on the floor, cowering before his father's wrath. "Th-There was no Hunt."

"Silence. I can't to talk to you right now. Faelen. Report." Conor was struggling to rein in his anger.

Geoff kept silent and so did Faelen. He looked at Geoff for a moment and then looked at Conor.

"Well?" Conor asked, but Faelen said nothing. "I gave you an order."

Faelen looked over at Geoff and back.

"Sir, if I may?" Dirk stepped forward.

"Be silent!" Conor snapped, his temper rising again.

Dirk stepped back as if struck, glanced at his son, and assumed the same blank look and stance.

"Geoff, tell him to answer."

Geoff looked panicked, unable to understand what had gotten into his friend. Faelen met his eyes, completely unconcerned and impassive. He gestured at Faelen to answer his angry father.

Faelen merely raised an eyebrow and kept looking at him.

"Answer him!" Geoff hissed.

"Very good, sir. As you wish, sir." He turned to Conor. His entire speech was given with Faelen steadily meeting Conor's increasingly confused gaze, and he stood in a relaxed military stance. "In the many years of dutiful service to my master, I recognised his restlessness during the evening, and knew the likely outcome would be a night run. My master appears to find the exertion of a run and the difference in quality of the dark outside amenable to inducing a restful sleep. As we departed the house, warmly dressed, we heard a sound reminiscent of silver hunting horns. They were not actually silver horns. Nor were there the other sounds commonly ascribed to the Great Hunt, regardless of what the dryad said. My master knew the direction it came from, suspected the source, and went to see who deemed it necessary to try to convince another party that the Great Hunt rode. It would be logical to assume that it was someone being troubled by Demons, as that is the only sure reason for the Hunt to ride, and the only group that has cause to truly fear them. Thus, an enemy of a Demon is likely not an enemy of my master, nor would either group be powerful enough to pierce our powers. I believe it may have been a calculated risk; however, my master did not see fit to confide in his bodyguard, or ask for advice."

He held up the dead Imp. "It was Demons. Imps and a Succubus. They were after the grimoire of some Mage pups, and one of them created the sound of the Hunt to scare them off. It appears they had killed two of the Imps; I caught this one as it tried to fly past my master and me. My master and I knew the eldest pup, Nathanial Marks, and sought to ensure he and his brothers were safe. Nathanial had been injured by an Imp, the second eldest pup was in a trancelike state brought upon by the Succubus, and the third appeared unharmed. Neither parent was home, and this was determined before my master revealed himself. My master sought to gather as much information as he could before he came home, with his faithful servant following." Once finished, Faelen fell silent again.

Conor looked over his shoulder at Dirk, and saw him standing unresponsive, staring straight ahead. He looked in confusion at his son, who had risen to his feet, but kept his submissive posture.

Geoff was just as confused, and just shook his head.

"What's gotten into you?" Conor asked, anger forgotten.

Faelen looked at Geoff again, who motioned him to answer. "Nothing, sir. I am following my orders, sir."

"Orders?"

"Yes, sir."

Conor looked at his son again. "Geoff?"

Geoff spread his paws. "I don't know, Da. What order?"

Faelen's words were clipped and short. "'Remain silent.'"

"Oh." From his scent, Geoff didn't seem to remember saying that. "Um, you can speak as you wish."

"Very good, sir."

Faelen judged, from Geoff's body language and scent, that he thought Faelen was angry at him. That was partly true; Faelen was more than a little angry, but he was mostly hurt.

Conor looked at the young Furs. "And why would he tell you to do that, Faelen?"

"I am uncertain, sir. I merely sought to save his life, sir."

"You left that out of the report."

"It was deemed irrelevant to the matter at paw, sir."

Conor sighed, feeling his anger rising again. He looked back at Dirk, who hadn't moved an inch. "I told you to be silent, or some such, didn't I?" Dirk said nothing. "If I did, you may speak, and I'm sorry."

"Very good, sir." Dirk copied his son's tone and inflections perfectly. Conor and Geoff couldn't help but smile.

Geoff's ears perked up slightly.

"Faelen, go to bed. I'll take charge of Geoff until the morning. Dirk, as you will. Geoff, my study, now."

Faelen and Dirk snapped their legs together, made stiff bows, and left the room.

Faelen turned around just as he stepped out. "What shall be done with the Imp, sirs? I brought it back as proof, if needed, to show that Demons had emerged in the area."

"Leave it by the door." Conor stroked his chin in thought, suppressing his Spirit. "I'll deal with it."

Faelen nodded and placed it by the door as Geoff and Conor went to Conor's study. He then went to bed.

Conor was no longer dangerously angry, but Geoff was likely going to be in a lot of trouble. The problem of being a bodyguard was that if your charge was grounded, you were also grounded.

Geoff didn't get to bed until an hour later, but Faelen remained where he was. He didn't feel like talking to his master right now.