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Chapter 35: Who Am I?

Nathanial woke up in bed. He felt confused, but smiled when he felt Geoff holding him tightly from behind. He sighed and tilted his head back to rub along Geoff's muzzle and cheek, before pushing his hips back against Geoff. Geoff nibbled Nathanial's ear as he chuckled, "No, not now, my frisky little pup. Liam will want to examine you for the umpteenth time, now that you're awake. It looks like you've managed to confuse him, again. He's going to place a curse on you Marks, if your family keeps this up."

Nathanial groaned when Geoff said 'no'. He stretched, and groaned again, pressing against the Wolf behind him. "Gods, it feels like Ares used my skull as a mace. Ugh, make that my whole body. What happened? What time is it"

Geoff tried to hug Nathanial closer, but he already had his pup as close as he could get. "We were hoping you could tell us what happened. It's half past ten, I think."

"I was out for thirteen hours? Or, wait, it's still Tuesday the twentieth, right?" Nathanial felt aghast, he really hoped he was only out for half a day. He'd already missed way too much school. 'I wonder if my brothers did their homework and had a proper meal for supper. Dad better have made sure they didn't get something bad for themselves, like pizza or burgers.'

Geoff chuckled, "You were only out for a little over an hour. School was closed. There was a chemical attack on the principals office, Ahmed caught the edge of it and passed out. You apparently noticed it and ran in to save Mrs. Davis, but succumbed just after you saved her. Jay set it up to make it look like you were the target and hero. He seemed to find it really funny, but we want to know what really happened. He refused to tell us. Oh, and this is apparently international news, Mom phoned when she heard about it. They're still keeping your name secret, but the news agencies 'happened' to find out the pup who was the victim of the carjacking and the kidnapping attempts was the same pup targeted in today's attack. It's really a good thing the media, including the international media, is prevented from reporting your name and picture, or you'd never get a moments rest. You're still going to be gossiped about for a long time; Mrs. Davis and Mr. Gomeche are well liked at school, and now you're a tragic hero." Nathanial was having trouble processing it, but just feeling the vibrations in his back from Geoff's voice, and hearing him talk, was all Nathanial cared about at the moment. Geoff's voice could still make his sheath plump up. "So? What happened? I guess I should let everyone know you're awake, then you can tell us all at once."

"Mmm. No, please. You sure I can't change your no to a yes?" He pushed his rump back against Geoff's sheath, hoping to coax his boyfriend into a more active form of 'comforting' him. Geoff rubbed Nathanial's belly as he laughed, and went to crawl out of bed. "No, stay here, Geoff. I'll let them know." He 'looked' into the rec-room; Liam and Faelen were cuddled up on the couch, while Garret sat, dressed in jeans and a tight, red t-shirt, in Nathanial's recliner and watched the news. He couldn't sense his brothers; he checked their schools and found them sitting in class. He was a little surprised by that, he thought they would've been sent home to see him if he was the victim of another attack. Not that he was. Nathanial was having a little trouble separating fact from fiction at the moment. He brought himself back to the rec-room, *Dad? I'm awake. Geoff said you guys'd want to know.*

Garret jumped, "He's up boys. Thanks for keeping it tame." He gestured at their close contact. He shook his head as he walked into Nathanial's bedroom. His eyes widened slightly when he flicked on the light and he saw how close Geoff and Nathanial were. He looked decidedly uncomfortable, "You guys aren't, um, well..."

Nathanial blushed and smiled, "No, despite all my efforts. He won't until I tell him what really happened in the principal's office, and he wanted you guys to hear it, too. So, I'll give you the super short version so I can get to what I really want to do."

Garret rolled his eyes, "Gods, pup, you just got laid a few hours ago. Several times and in several different ways from the way it sounded when you launched into that unnecessarily graphic description of your morning."

Geoff choked in embarrassment, "Nathanial! You didn't! Telling Faelen or Liam is one thing, but your Da? Zeus have mercy."

Faelen burst out laughing, while Liam just grinned as he said, "Well, what happened this morning to make it so noteworthy? It must have been very enjoyable if you thought it necessary to regale your family with the blow by blow description."

Nathanial knew Garret could tell Liam was teasing, but his father still said, quickly, "No. Not until I've gone back upstairs, and could you two, um, put a little space between you? It looks like you're tied, again, and seeing that once was one time too many."

Nathanial grinned evilly, "But being tied once makes you want it whenever you can get it. You should give it a try, Dad." Garret gave him a flat look, letting him know he was pushing it too far. "Sorry." He shuffled a little bit away from Geoff, and Geoff rolled onto his back. Nathanial rolled over Geoff so he could lean up against him, head on his boyfriend's chest, and still face everyone else. Garret pulled over a chair and the other two sat on the edge of the bed.

Garret shook his head, "I still can't understand how you guys are so... well, such nudists, and so open about being, um, well, in love... with each other. Y'know, gay. Most teens are very self conscious of their bodies and terrified about being labelled a fa... gay."

Nathanial shook his head, too, and ignored what his dad said, "So this morning, at school..." He gave a brief summary of what happened.

Liam frowned, "That would explain much. Jay did mention you were talking to someone not present in the room, but he, of course, could not identify the entity. It is fortunate you did have sex with Geoff this morning, the pool of his semen still present in your anus provided a good counter to the amount of Yin this Light entity flooded you with. While most natural beings find a moderate amount of raw Light energy to be restorative, you have been so steeped in Yang and Dark energy that it was very stressful to your system. Jay said you were channelling this power for fifteen minutes, the longest Geoff ever channelled raw Dark energy into you was a few seconds, I believe. His semen is not 'raw', in this context, even if the act of sex without a condom is also referred to as 'raw'."

Garret cleared his throat, "Sensei, I'm not a blushing bride, or otherwise naïve. I'm sure we all understand what you meant, you needn't discuss sexual matters in such... precision. I get you're teasing me and trying to make me uncomfortable. Well, it's working, so stop."

Liam seemed to allow himself a small smile, "Pity. It was great fun. Even adults can be made uncomfortable as easily as many teens in such a manner. But, Nathanial, this Light entity you were in contact with has shifted your balance to Yin, as far Yin as you were Yang when I insisted on you having sex with one of the Yin Spirit's the first time. It is one of the reasons Geoff was curled up with you while you were unconscious. The sheer amount of stress from that radical a shift is what knocked you out, otherwise you are in better health, now, than when I last examined you. You are still... not what I would describe as 'in good health', but it is a relief."

Nathanial's eyes widened, "You said I was stressed, but you never made it sound so... bad before."

Liam grimaced, slightly, "To what end? To make you stressed about how stressed you are and over the damage it was doing to you? You are still required to try to relax, as I said, the shift in your chi balance has placed its own stresses on your system, even as the Light energy healed much of the other damage your recent traumas had inflicted. As far as prescriptions go, I want you to go slow. Do not take this as an excuse to have as much sex with Geoff you can, as quickly as he can achieve another erection. Swinging your Chi balance rapidly back toward Yang will just aggravate your problems. Now, I am curious about this Light entity, how you contacted it, and how you were able to channel its power. You are breaking more magic laws, if you were not aware of it. I am starting to believe you have a secret checklist of all of the currently held beliefs on the nature of magic, as it pertains to Mages, and are going through and breaking them, one after another. The ones you cannot break, yourself, you are getting your brothers to do."

Nathanial felt like he needed to apologise, even though he knew Liam wasn't entirely serious, "I'm not trying to break any laws, or anything. I just don't know what they are, or what I can do, so I just try what seems plausible. I know, now, that I can use Dark aligned magic; I was using it unknowingly for a while when I was nullifying magic effects and the like. So I thought, if I can do that, what would happen if I intentionally tried to find the opposite type of magic. I did, and found this being. I don't even know what it was, but I asked for help, and it gave me some magic. It hurt, it really hurt, but I fed small amounts of it to the injured lines in Mrs. Davis's brain to heal them. It hurt almost as much as when you removed the Demon Taint from my arm." He remembered something, "Oh. My dogs didn't like it when I contacted this Light thing."

Liam looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes, but his voice was still very dry, "Really. I wonder why?"

Nathanial wasn't used to feeling stupid, it made him cringe, "I-I do."

Liam sighed, "Sorry. They are opposites. They instinctively do not like each other. You had already stated that this Light being did not seem to like you, and it called you Dark One. Your compassion intrigued it and gave it a favourable impression of you. That was a case of mistaken identity, but it shows how poorly it thinks of actual Dark creatures. The reverse would be true, as well. Your, well the Shadow Mastiffs, as you call them, would automatically be assumed to mistrust or outright hate this being. Look how your brief contact with it affected you. You are no longer aligned to Darkness, if that is how they see it. You, if anything, are aligned to Light."

Nathanial felt a light bulb turn on in his head, and he sat bolt upright, the blankets falling down around his waist, "Aligned! That's what Pastor Yuke said! He said I had aligned myself to Hell! Well, he meant the Elemental Plane of Darkness, but he was too dumb to understand the difference. But, anyway, he said I had 'chose' to align myself to it, and I could've chosen any plane. Or power, I can't remember his exact words. Is this what he was referring to? Can I use Light magic easily, now? Will Dark magic be harder because of this? Can I chose to use both, or will it make it harder to use either one if I try to balance them? Wow. That's... that'd be so cool. Heh, well it would be if I could find a grimoire that'd let me use more magic without having to be terrified out of my wits, or scaring someone else out of theirs." He climbed out of bed and began pacing, forgetting he was naked, "Hmm. Scared. Nick and Micah were sitting on the stairs this morning, when we were arguing, Dad. Snow was staring at them. I thought he was staring at you because we were angry at each other, and I thought he thought you might be a threat. But when you went upstairs he didn't shift his gaze, he'd been looking toward my brothers, my scared brothers the whole time. What do those dogs eat? Fear? They did seem to eat Pastor Yuke's life energy, but they also seemed to get more worked up the more afraid he was. Or are they just sadists and enjoy watching people get frightened?"

Liam opened his mouth and closed it again. He appeared to be thinking as he looked at Nathanial. Garret took the opportunity to say, "I'm glad you're feeling better, pup, but if you're getting out of bed, put some clothes on."

Geoff groaned as Nathanial blushed and pulled on some boxer shorts. Liam sounded very hesitant when he spoke, "I do not know. They may feed off of fear, we know some planar beings eat psychic energy such as emotions. Many Demons are believed to consume one or multiple emotions, or whole souls. I found only a rudimentary digestive system in the Shadow Mastiff I had dissected, indicating it was capable of eating but did not draw most of its sustenance from physical food. I had believed it was sustained by the plane itself. If they do draw sustenance from fear, would they not need to travel to our plane to feed? There would have been some sort of records in the Society's library if they did so with any frequency. Also, you seem to... be developing a disturbing delight in being in the presence of people who are scared, of late"

Nathanial couldn't clearly recall an instance where that happened, "I... kind of remember feeling really strong and energized when Pastor Yuke was so terrified in the Plane of Darkness. As for my dogs, they can sense my emotions quite easily without coming over here. They're showing up more frequently when I'm scared or angry; I think they know that there'll be scared people around when I'm angry. If they can sense my emotions across the planar barriers, there's nothing to say they can't eat emotions across them, too, but it's probably easier or tastier when they're close. These nineteen seem attached to me, in some way, so maybe they form some sort of bond with an individual or small group and feed off them. I've certainly been scared a lot my whole life, and now I'm doing the scaring. Well, unintentionally, but for them, food is food, unintentional or not, I'd bet. Hmm, back to the Plane of Darkness thing, was I energized because I was in the Plane of Darkness and was able to do... whatever it is when I'm in my heightened state better, or because I was feeding on fear. If I'm able to draw power from my dogs, as they eat fear, if that's what they do, I would be able to draw more magic from them. It wouldn't be me that's getting stronger because of the fear, directly." He kept pacing, his right index finger tapping the side of his muzzle, he could see Geoff watching him with a funny expression, like Geoff thought he was being or looking absolutely adorable. He blushed as he tried to keep focused. "So, if they eat fear, they don't have any reason to kill anything, unless it's a threat to a prime food source. Like me. So Snow wouldn't want to actually hurt my brothers, he was just eating their fear. Or does having your emotions eaten hurt you in some way?" He frowned, "Am I hurt? If I'm right, they would've been feeding, all of them would've been feeding off me for who knows how many years. Is that what caused my sudden... explosion of magic ability? I was really scared when we got carjacked, and it was even more frightening when you got shot, Liam-kun, and I saw your blood. You were kinda scary, too, the way you suddenly became all violent and, well, kick butt-y. That sudden surge of fear, maybe combined with the appearance of Geoff and the traces of his Dark Spirit energy, might have allowed me to start unconsciously drawing on the Shadow Mastiffs power. And the more I drew on them, the stronger our link might've become. Then, I was also spending more time with Geoff and taking in more of his energy." He stopped pacing and faced everyone, "Huh. It's actually making a bit of sense, except for one key thing: why me?"

Geoff frowned, "Why you? What do you mean, why you? Isn't that what you were just talking about, now?"

Nathanial threw his paws up, "No! I was just talking about how I can suddenly use more magic, but it doesn't answer that." He pointed at his chest, "Me! Why just me!?" He growled and began making wide arm gestures as he got even more worked up, "How many people throughout history have lived in near constant fear? More than just me. How many of those people would've run into a Dark Spirit? Again, the laws of probability would say more than just me. How many of those would've been a Mage? A much smaller number, sure, but still it'd have to be more than just me. Why has there never been any mention of these Mastiffs? Why am I able to see magic, like no one else seems to be able to? Why... hmm." He suddenly began pacing, tapping his muzzle, "I was going to say 'why am I able to use magic without a grimoire at times,' but I think I might have an idea. Grimoire are books made out of magic entities, right? If I can draw on an entity's power, like a Mastiff or whatever this Light one is, I may be able to combine the spell 'data' in my head with whatever the grimoire normally provides and temporarily make a virtual one. But, still, how am I able to do it and no one else seems to have ever heard of this ability? And how am I able to contact these beings without even knowing anything about them? Contacting extra-planar beings is supposed to be really hard."

Liam shook his head, "It is. I have read many books on arcane lore, it is something of a passion of mine, and anything to do with inter-planar activity is among the highest difficulty of magic, like healing. I find your theory to be quite fascinating, I would like to discuss this with Jay, but he appears to be heavily burdened at this time. I am also very curious as to how a group so dedicated to the destruction of magic beings appeared to know about your hidden abilities before anyone else, including the most learned scholars of the Society."

Nathanial walked over to his bed and flopped face down on it, and buried his face into the covers. His voice was muffled and barely audible, "Demons. It's the only thing I could think of. One or more Demons have tricked them into wanting me for some reason. The only sure way to get the Hunters to chase someone would be to convince them of one of two things: I'm key to destroying all magic, or I'm the one that's going to destroy all non-magic Furs. Either one of those would guarantee the Hunters would do anything to capture or kill me. The first choice is theoretically harder than the second, so it's likely there is a ritual or something the Demon wants to use me for, and needs me alive till that time. It's the only thing that makes sense. If they believed I was going to destroy all non-magic Furs, the Knights would be after me just as much as the Hunters, and they aren't. Only a very small number of Priests were helping them, and no Knights that I know of. I've even encountered a few Knights, and they did nothing; they didn't even seem to know who I was. And several of these Hunters, Pastor Yuke and Mr. Harper, primarily, said I was the key to getting rid of the Demons and I was needed alive until I was sacrificed."

Nathanial could feel the tension in the room. Liam sat up and clapped his paws, "Well, this is merely conjecture. It looks like a basis for investigation, but not today. Faelen, my love, please put the kettle on and make a cup of that soothing tisane I gave Nathanial. Actually, make a pot of it, we could all use a cup. Geoff, give your boyfriend a sound fucking." Geoff and Nathanial perked up while Garret flattened his ears, "He needs some Yang aligned Chi, and it works out some of his tension. The tea will be ready when you are done, but confine it to one deposit, please; I do not want his balance to shift too quickly. I will massage him after you separate, by that time the relaxing effect of the tisane will be starting to work. Mr. Marks, you appear to be highly stressed, too. Do you want a massage as well? This one would be free."

Garret's lips quirked upward, as did an eyebrow, "Free? You'd normally charge the father of a friend for a massage? That makes me wonder what you're planning to get out of it, then."

Liam kept his face perfectly impassive, "An impressive dick up my ass." Garret started coughing, even Geoff, who was partially expecting something like this, looked flustered.

Faelen merely deadpanned, "I'd give you that, anyway. Why would I change my plans on whether you gave Mr. Marks a massage or not?"

Liam smiled slightly, "To reward me for my compassion to others?" He grinned broadly at Garret, "I was obviously joking, sir. I would not charge if you were tight for money, but I do have several expensive projects on the go that are of direct and indirect benefit to your family. I am in need of the money. I was offering the first session free for a few reasons, primarily so you may judge my skills, and secondarily as you appear to be in genuine need. Your life has seen great upheaval over the last two weeks. I have my love; I do not desire you sexually, despite your good looks. Also, as I have said to Geoff, I do not ask for sex as payment; I believe it must be freely given, and is far more enjoyable when both people desire it. I will be perfectly professional."

Garret looked at him closely before nodding, "I really need a good massage. I had one in Tokyo, well, I had a massage in Tokyo, but I'm still a mass of knots. I was going to go upstairs and soak in my hot tub while Nathanial was... having sex, but this will be better, I hope."

Liam nodded, "It will be uncomfortable, or pleasurable. I can give a therapeutic massage to work out the knots or a pleasure, but not sexual, massage to relax you. Whichever you desire."

Garret thought for a second, "Pleasure. I'll think about the therapeutic one. I'd rather soak in the hot tub to work out the knots a bit, rather than get beaten up."

Liam arched an eyebrow, "I am able, given time, to work out knots without killing you. I am trained in acupuncture and skilled in manipulating Chi flows, I can work without causing pain, it merely takes extra time. I prefer to do the pleasure massage today, as it will not require the use of my Chi, but I thought to give you the option. Let us go to Marks-san's bed, and I will begin." The three left the room.

Nathanial unbuttoned the back of his boxers, letting them drop to the floor, and grinned at Geoff. "I hope you're prepared to give me a sound ass fucking, my white furred sex machine."

Geoff snorted in amusement, "Your what? Ah, most definitely yes for the action, and never call me that again, for the name." Nathanial pouted, Geoff threw the blankets off to expose himself, "Stop pouting and put that sexy muzzle to better use."

---

Liam brought Garret into Nicholas' room, and just turned on the bedside lamp. The room was disgustingly messy, but Liam forced himself to re-examine it. It had three days of dirty clothes on the floor, an unmade bed, and a few half-empty glasses of water on the bedside table. There were also a few dirty towels by the bed that Nicholas must have used after masturbating or having sex with Micah. 'No, it is not overly messy or dirty, it is likely cleaner than average. Nathanial may be untidy when distracted by Geoff, but he seems quite strict at home. I dread seeing a truly untidy teenagers bedroom.' He shuddered at the thought. "Now, Mr. Marks, if you would undress as much as you are comfortable with and lay down. I will do a full body massage, as well as I am able on a bed, starting with your hindpaws."

Garret gave him a searching look, after he pulled off his t-shirt, "You promise to behave?"

Liam gave him a flat look in return, and his voice was dry, "Yes, sir, as I have already promised. I will not massage your front, today, and will avoid massaging your glutes, as I imagine you would find that...uncomfortable. I will reach the top of your thighs, and the bottom of your back, however. Removing your underwear would make it a little easier, and I can fetch a towel to place over your rump to preserve your modesty. Also note, as I do not have a proper table here, I may be required to straddle your back at some points."

Garret looked thoughtful, "I... actually may have a massage table in storage. I think I got one as a wedding gift. It was never used, if I did get it. Give me a minute, or a paw, if you would, Sensei." They trotted back through the laundry room and the nearly empty room behind it into the store room. It was neatly arranged, with several large shelves placed in neat rows. It was barely a quarter full. Garret stood by the door, looking around for a second, "Hmm. I could place a shower area over there," He pointed to the wall by the entertainment area of the living portion of the basement, "A door there, and just move all of these shelves into what was to be a work area." He tapped his muzzle, deep in thought, "I like that idea."

Liam smiled, noting how much he looked like Nathanial just then, or, more accurately, Nathanial looked like his father. He cleared his throat, "I am uncertain as to what you are talking about, Mr. Marks. Were we not here to retrieve a massage table?"

Garret glanced over at him, before he started to poke around some shelves, "Right. Sorry, pup." Liam tensed up, slightly, but he knew Garret did not mean it in a condescending way, "Nicholas asked me if it was possible to build a workout area here. That way I could work out with him, and he wouldn't have to go over to Geoff's every morning. He also indicated Nathanial would use it, and you guys might also end up coming to use it at times. Would you?"

Liam was searching through the bottom shelf nearby, and stood up to stretch. Liam was not sure how the question was meant to be interpreted, "If I was here overnight, for some reason, yes. I would not go out of my way to work out here, I have an adequate gym at home with equipment suited for Kung Fu." Garret looked a little disappointed, "You are quite perplexing, Mr. Marks." Garret stopped for a moment, and tilted his head to the side as he silently asked Liam to elaborate, "You seem decidedly uncomfortable around us, yet you appear to want us around more. I am well aware you find homosexuality disturbing on some level, and you are unsure of how to behave around the four of us when we are together."

Garret blushed, "Yes, I do find it... difficult, but Nathanial's in love with Geoff. Even if they don't last, Nathanial will find another boyfriend. I have to accept he's... gay, and it seems Nicholas and Micah are, too. I need to," He sighed, "Learn how to deal with my... discomfort. That's one reason I want you guys around. Another, is that I want to be part of my boys' lives; you three are a major component of that. So, I want you to spend more time here, when I'm here, so I can understand them, and get to know you guys, too."

Liam stood back up and gave a small bow to Garret, "I am impressed, Mr. Marks. You are putting great effort into your previously discarded role. I will be happy to facilitate your integration into your family's lives. I also believe I have just found the table." He pointed to a dusty box behind Garret, "One note, I am uncertain if you have noticed, but Faelen and I have been intentionally close around you. We have not been acting overt, but we have been subtly expressing our affection for each other to... ease you into accepting the idea of gay romance. It is not so different from straight romance and affection. Our cuddling on the couch this morning was no different than anything you would have seen on any sitcom on TV, from what I understand, except it was two males."

Garret pulled the box off the shelf and nodded, "It's the table. I'm actually really surprised I remembered it. It's heavy. I guess it isn't really portable. Um, yeah. You were actually much more subdued than what would be expected on a sitcom, which I'm grateful for. It was still hard to witness, but I need to get used to it. What do you mean, 'from what you understand'?"

Liam lifted up the other side of the large box, and they started to carry it out. "I do not watch TV, I do not think Dad even has one. I also do not play video games. I have no time to waste on such frivolous activities."

Garret shook his head, as he paused just inside the living area, "Over here." He indicated a place near the kitchenette and Nathanial's room. "It'll take a bit to set up." Liam could tell Garret was trying to decide whether he should ask a question or not. He seemed to decide to ask, "Geoff and Faelen are Spirits, what type I don't know, but what are you?"

Liam didn't bat an eye, he had been expecting this question for a while, "A Healer, a Monk." Faelen walked over with two mugs of tisane. Garret did not seem satisfied by the answer. "Thank you, love." He gave Faelen a quick kiss, "Would you be able to help us set this up?"

Faelen scratched the back of Liam's neck as he gently rubbed his muzzle on the top of Liam's head, "Of course." He nibbled the end of one of Liam's ears, before moving back to the kitchenette, "It sounds like Nathanial is about to cum again, and Geoff is getting close, too. I'll give them a few..." He was cut off by Nathanial howling, Garret cringed, "Minutes to recover before bringing them their tea."

Garret opened his mouth, but Geoff howled, much more loudly than Nathanial. Garret flattened his ears back, "Are they normally so vocal?"

Faelen tried not to smile as he answered, "No, they're keeping it down. The howls are normal, but there was much less noise during sex than normal. Even you would've been able to hear it out here, otherwise."

Garret grimaced, "Ugh. I was going to ask if you normally walk in on them right after sex, like it was, um, common, I guess."

Faelen gave a small bow, "I serve my master, Mr. Marks. If that requires me to... intrude, at times, so be it. I am his servant and bodyguard, privacy doesn't really exist for us. I've been in the room a few times while he's had sex, it isn't an issue."

Garret was obviously baffled, "I really don't understand you pups. How can it not be an issue? He's having sex!"

Faelen shrugged, "Yes, so? I prefer to give him privacy, if I can, but, otherwise, it's only an issue if someone makes it an issue. Besides, they're both good looking and they have really hot sex. You straight guys don't seem to have much issue letting a girl blow several guys while they're all in the same room, and stuff like that, if the bragging I hear is true. This is no different, except we're all guys, and I work for one of them."

Garret still seemed baffled, but he took a big drink of his herbal tea, "Okay, whatever. Let me go get the tools we'll need for this thing."

Liam smiled at Faelen as Garret left the room, "He is trying. He acknowledges his issues, and he is working hard to get used to us. I am impressed by him." He reached up and pulled Faelen's head down to give him a deep kiss, and only broke it as Garret stepped into the room, allowing Garret to momentarily see the kiss. He stepped back from Faelen, "Ah, you found the tools. Wonderful. Let us begin." Garret closed his mouth and walked over. Faelen poured two more mugs of tisane and walked into Nathanial's room.

They pulled the large wooden pieces out of the box, there were four thick legs, with equally large supports that interlocked without nails. Garret was silent for the first few minutes before asking, "Can I ask you for some help, both of you? I want to build that gym I was talking to you about, Sensei, and I was hoping you could help me pick out the equipment I should get. Maybe even help design it. I really hope Nathanial sticks with the weight lifting and the Kung Fu, so the easier it is for him, the better. If you decide to work out more, here, the better, too. I'd like to be involved with all of their lives as much as possible, without being invasive. If I may ask, Sensei, why aren't you teaching Nicholas and Micah?"

Liam felt his back stiffen, "Because I choose not to. Frankly, Mr. Marks, I will not teach anyone who uses Demon magic, as a matter of policy. I do not feel I would be able to teach Marks-kun without teaching Marks-san. Marks-kun, your youngest, is also... wild. A free spirit. I do not teach just the physical aspect of Kung Fu; I teach its entirety. Including techniques that are part of the Monks' discipline. Such things are ill suited for those of Marks-kun's temperament. Should either of them wish to learn Kung Fu, I have several instructors I would recommend, and I would be pleased to offer pointers, should they request my aid. I will merely not take them on as my students."

Garret seemed a little disappointed, "Then I guess asking if you'd train me is pointless."

Liam sat back in surprise, "I am sorry, but, the answer would be no. I must confess, I did not think you would be interested."

Garret smiled sadly, "Sensei, I'm forced to be part of the Hidden World by virtue of my ancestry, but I don't have the means to protect myself or my family. I can barely use Mage magic, and I choose not to use Demon magic. It isn't something I sought out or wanted in any way; it was forced on me. Even if I wanted to, I know I wouldn't be any better at it than I am at Mage magic." Faelen barely reacted to Garret's admission, but Liam could tell it shook him to his core. Liam was not even sure if he knew Nicholas could use Demon magic before now.

Liam continued to work on the table, "That does change things, Mr. Marks, but I would need time to consider this, and to study you. I do not accept students easily, and I take betrayal poorly. Furthermore, I will not teach a loyal member of the Society. Should you become my student, I would eventually require you to join the Monks. It would not be right away, but it would be before I began teaching the higher techniques. Such things are for Monks, only."

Faelen frowned, "What about Geoff, or me?"

Liam smiled at him, "The Spirits and Monks are not at odds. The primary objective of the Monks and the Society are inherently opposed. The Monks want to integrate the two worlds, the Society wants to keep them apart. You can be a Spirit and a Monk without any conflict of interests or loyalties. I would like for the two of you to join, but I will not push the matter."

Garret shrugged, "I hate the Society, I'm only a member because I hate the Knights and Hunters even more. I wouldn't have any problems renouncing my membership, I'd actually really enjoy it. Please, consider taking me on as a student. In the interim, I'll ask the other two pups if they want to take Kung Fu with me under a teacher you recommend."

"As I said, I know several. Let me think on it, for a bit. As for your other question, I have ample time to help, today, since school was cancelled. I would be happy to help design a fitness area and pick out some equipment." Faelen nodded in agreement. They fell silent and finished the table. It assembled quickly and easily, the only part that needed tools was when they attached the top to the base. Faelen grabbed two towels as Garret stripped naked, and placed one over the table. Garret climbed up and lay on his stomach, Liam reluctantly placed the other towel over Garret's glutes, just under his tail. 'Such a marvellous ass; it is truly a crime to cover it.' He suppressed a sigh and began to rub Garret's hindpaws as he marvelled at how all of these Marks continually surprised him.