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This story is licensed under the Creative Commons

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© 2008 by Noisy Bob All Rights Reserved

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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The world this story is set in is the one of Onyx Tao's excellent story series Cold Blood (don't throw a fit, it's all open license and Tao's a great guy!) and is set into the timeline at around about chapter 3 - Green Fields - but is to be considered non-canonical, being purely a fanwork. If you enjoyed this then go check out Cold Blood which as of the writing of this is up to it's 13th chapter, I guarantee you won't be dissapointed.

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In the time since the Manticore attack Cassius had grown increasingly distant, claudius had been assigned a pallet in the servant quarters and Cassius now only spoke to him briefly each morning and evening to monitor the progress of his work. It was worse than that though, it was like Cassius was deliberately avoiding any contact with him, whenever Claudius came in eyeshot he averted his eyes as though seeing him caused him discomfort and he spoke only in clipped and efficient streams of orders. Bizzarely, Claudius had exchanged more words with Lord Chant who used the library nigh-constantly, always carrying a dog-eared leatherbound journal and referencing things in it from Cassius's collection. Cassius had brought in a Tempus instructor and spent several hours in the early mornings sparring at speeds that Claudius couldn't follow as he watched from the window, though on one occasion the wind had blown some leaves through the training ground just as they had broken into Tempus and he could clearly see their sword-strokes by the ones that had been neatly bisected as the blades passed. Claudius had spent the evenings devouring the contents of the library, a book on minotaur ettiquette was one of the first to be digested, followed by a lengthy (and quite old) treatise on clan culture called "Thee Codexe of thee Clannes", strangely he couldn't find any reference to Clan Lycaili anywhere in it. Some evenings he spent in the gymnasium with Bloodmist, who quickly became the little company he had, the house slaves had litte work to do involving the library besides light dusting so for the most part he was alone for hours on end, deafened by the silence. Bloodmist was also the only half-decent conversationalist around, he had tried striking up a conversation with some of the other slaves but most had gadfly attention-spans and a marked lack of maturity that quickly irritated him.

"What do you suppose is wrong with him?" he had asked Bloodmist as they worked through a slow routine of strike-parry-strike designed to build reflexive memory.

"Who?"

"Cassius."

"You're supposed to call him 'The Master' when not in his presence. Never use his name unless he says you can." said Bloodmist, half-concentrating on the motions.

"Why? It's not like there's anyone else here?"

Bloodmist sighed "It's for you, not him. To stop you developing bad habits." he said, sounding slightly bored "I know it all sounds trivial, it did to me at first, but the minotaurs kill over trivialites so trust me, it's for the best if you just go along with it."

"Oh, allright. So what do you suppose is wrong with The Master?" said Claudius in reply.

"Can't say for sure, of course, but from what you've told me...at a guess i'd say he's embarassed."

Claudius blinked in confusion "That makes no sense, embarassed about what?"

"Don't blink superfluously...he's embarassed because he couldn't protect you, and Driver too, probably, from the Manticore."

said Bloodmist, when claudius didn't say anything in response he continued "The minotaurs belive they have a duty to protect their slaves from harm. Part of that involves actually being able to protect them, hence the Tempus instructor...he probably thinks that because he's neglected his Tempus training he's in breach of honour by bringing you into a dangeous situation."

Claudius thought back to that night when the manticore had attacked them, he had seen how Cassius and Lord Chant had been overwhelmed by the beast, it had been difficult enough for them to stay alive themselves. But everything had turned out fine in the end, out of everyone present that night only Lord Chant seemed relatively unfazed by the event, the human servant he had brought with him in particular had been so shaken up that Claudius had to spend several minutes persuading him that everything was fine before he calmed down and stopped sobbing.

"But that's...there's no way he could have predicted that a Manticore would attack at that moment."

Bloodmist made a dismissive sound "Minotaurs don't think like that." he said simply.

"Well, I hope you're right," said Claudius "I thought i'd done something wrong."

"Yes," said Bloodmist, thoughfully "and when he realises that he'll really be ashamed, he might even sell you."

"What!?" cried Claudius, breaking the sequence and holding up his Xiphos "Why would he sell me?"

Bloodmist shrugged "Because that will mean that he's neglected you, only slightly and without realising it but it may be the sand-grain that tips the scales, he might decide he's not capable of keeping you properly."

"That's crazy!"

"That's minotaurs." corrected Bloodmist with a wry grin "Fifteen years and I still can't figure them out, given up trying for the most part, they just...don't think like us." he finished, lamely.

"Also, your Master is a bit...on the emotional side, so no good predictions from me." he said afer taking a sip of water from a skin hooked over a weapon-rack "Not bad, mind you, just emotional."

"Perhaps I should tell him..."

"Up to you, might be a good idea though; if you do get sold it's doubtful it'd be to anyone better." said Bloodmist, putting the flat of his wooden sword behund his head and resting his hands on either end of it "From what i've seen he's good even for a Lycaili."

"You've met other Lycaili?" inquired Claudius

"Not met really but there was this one time when your master brought in this mage-lord from his clan, a healer I think, and..." Bloodmist trailed off, staring at the ceiling.

"'And' what?"

"I don't know really, he gave me chills, somehow I was glad I wasn't his, I don't think i'd have lasted long. Mentally, I mean." he said, Thoughfully.

A chuckle resounded through the room, echoing weirdly through the gymnasium, Claudius turned sharply to face it, Bloodmist didn't even shift his gaze from the ceiling. Another man, more of a boy really, wearing the dried-gore red of Diomedes's slaves had entered from the garden gate, he was the opposite of Warhound in every way; short-cropped sandy hair, a fading but still clearly present tan on his unblemished skin. His face was a dreamy, heavy-lidded smile, at once beatific and subtly monsterous, like a demon wearing a porcelain mask.

"Evening, Redmaw." he said, curtly.

"Yes, a very good one at that." said the blond-haired waif as he paced the outline of the training circle "I've just been to visit Warhound and the fresh meat, a lovely crop this time, the Empire does throw some fine specimens from time to time, doesn't it?"

"So some say." replied Bloodmist, carefully, levelling his eyes on Redmaw.

Claudius was about to speak when he found that Redmaw was suddenly behind him and he started at the unexpected proximity.

"My, what is this?" said Redmaw, tracing predatory circles around Claudius "A little sparrow, perhaps? Hello little sparrow, have you fallen from your nest?"

Claudius tried to keep Redmaw in view as the fighter circled him but the lilting pace always kept him just on the edge of his vision.

"He's not the masters, if you hurt him there'll be hell to pay." warned Bloodmist.

Redmaw stopped his pacing and Claudius backed away from him a few paces "I'm shocked, Bloodmist, such unkind words!" said Redmaw, feigning reproach. With a sudden sidestep he was beside Claudius again, uncomfortably close, and Claudus felt a lump stick in his throat.

"I wouldn't hurt the little sparrow now would I? Such a thing to say!" he said, casting Claudius a serpentine and humourless grin "But I am curious of what he is doing here."

"We both have free time, i'm teaching him to use the sword, happy?" said Bloodmist, irritation rising in his voice.

Redmaw gasped giddily like a child "Really!? Oh, how adorable! And what do you do the rest of the time, little sparrow? No, wait, let me guess...you write, yes definately a wrter of sorts."

"Um, yes, a scribe actually, how did you guess?" piqued Claudius, nervously, there was something very offputting about this strange man that set his hackles rising, it was like his every movement was a meticulously planned killing-stroke just held off at the last moment.

"Ink." said Redmaw, smiling brightly.

"Ink?"

"Yes, and Pallour. You have ink stains on your hands, which could mean you just paused to note something down or handled a letter were it not for the fact that you look like you don't get much sun, working indoors, scribbling away, so a writer." reeled off Redmaw, seeming immensely proud of himself for his deduction.

"Oh...er, yes...very clever." said Claudius, feeling he ought to say something.

"But why would a little...clerk," the word was said as if it was distasteful "want to learn the blade?"

"Oh, ah, well it's just excercise really, I don't get much chance to-" said Caludius before Redmaw cut in.

"I See!" he exclaimed, suddenly stepping close to Claudius and wrapping his arms around Claudius's shoulders "Yes, yes, very wise, little sparrow, keep toned, svelte, lithe..." he said, almost sultrily as he drew close enough to whisper in Claudius's ear "...flexible." came the lascivious hiss moments before Claudius felt Redmaws teeth gently pincer his earlobe, startled, he yelped and reflexively pushed the menacing fighter away, he adopted a defensive posture in case of retaliation but there was none, Redmaw just laughed aloud.

"There, there, now. I was just playing, sparrow!"

"That's enough." said Bloodmist, sternly "Go annoy Warhound some more if you like but keep your hands off this one, that's a warning."

Redmaw tilted his head toward Bloodmist and studied him for a moment before apparently finding something in the mans hard eyes that he disliked, he shrugged flamboyantly and sighed.

"Whatever, there's plenty of new ones to play with back at the barracks." he said, boredly, moving to leave through the side-entrance in his languid, unfollowable gait. He brushed past bloodmist without a second glance, pausing only once.

"Sleep well." he said over his shoulder, before continuing on. When he was out of sight Claudius finally relaxed, air burst into his lungs as he stopped holding his breath and he staggered back until he found a bench to sit down on. Bloodmist set the trainig sword back in the rack and took a seat next to him, offering a waterskin which he gladly took, the cool leather-soured water helping him wrest his voice back from his parched throat.

"There's something very...wrong about him." he said, Shakily.

Bloodmist nodded his agreement "Furies, berserker fighters, they're all like that, slaves that go mad to the point where they're not fit for anything but the pit. He's actually pretty stable, most of them are so far-gone they have to be locked up."

"Mad? Gods, that explains alot."

"Aye, way I heard it the breakers, that's the ones who train slaves, pushed him a bit too far. Most of the time they just try to sort of...bend you into shape but if they get your measure wrong or you resist too long..."

"What? Then what?"

"You snap." said Bloodmist, clicking his fingers to illustrate the point "They avoid it but it happens all the same, and not everyone snaps the same way, I heard that even the mages couldn't put his mind back together right."

"Oh, that's terrible, I feel a bit sorry for him now." said Claudius, he hadn't realised that such things happened, theose words Cassius had said to him in the library, about how any other master would have had him put through the same treatment as a matter of course came crashing back. He was suddenly very aware of how badly things could have gone for him, and how lucky he was that Cassius was his master.

Bloodmist swallowed a swig of water and shook his head "Dont be, he's a bastard, and a monster in the pit. I've never seen anyone fight like Redmaw." he said "Warhound...warhound is one of the best fighters on the circuit, he's been in the pits since he was a boy and that means he's a survivor, but," bloodmist sighed and hung his head "but that freak took him down without even a scratch."

"He fought without getting wounded?" said Claudius, incredulous after seeing warhounds skill himself.

"The way he moves! It's unreal, you're fighting smoke and shadows, he doesn't have a single scar on his body, not one!" said Bloodmist, the shadow of a painful memory flickering over his face "He's a killer too."

"Well, aren't you too?" asked Claudius.

"No, i've never killed anyone." replied Bloodmist, simply.

"What? But you said you've been in the arena for years, how can you not have killed anyone?"

"Deaths in the arena are rare." said Bloodmist "You know how soldiers sharpen their Gladius with grindstones?"

"Of course, to notch the edge and make the wounds worse, everyone knows that" said Claudius, remembering the common practice.

"By law our weapons are sharp and unotched, they make clean cuts that are easy for mages to heal, that's just one of the laws that limit the chance of arena-death, it satisfies honour as long as they are enforced. Nobody i've ever fought has been too badly wounded to heal and alot of the ceremonial fights are first-blood anyway so there is minimal risk. I've taken otherwise mortal wounds numerous times but there was a mage-healer there to keep me alive every time. But Redmaw..."

"What?"

"...The only person who has ever left the pit alive after being paired with him was Warhound, and look at what happened to him, his eye was too badly mangled to heal and that bastard shredded half his voicebox with his teeth, all the time with that same bloody grin plastered across his face." Bloodmist went silent after that, staring at the floor, lost in thought.

"Come on," he said, breaking a brief uncomfortable silence "I'm going to talk to your master." with that he stood and offered Claudius a hand.

"Oh, There's no need, really-" said Claudius

"Yes, there is, you're too shy to do it yourself and I don't like the way Redmaw was looking at you, better if you're under the Ambassadors eye for a while until he loses interest."

"What do you think he would...do?" asked Claudius, not really wanting to know.

Bloodmist shrugged "Probably nothing, I think he still has enough sense to not break the rules but it's best not play chances." he said, Ominously, helping Claudius to his feet.

It was nearing dusk when they reached the yard where Cassius and his Instructor trained, they had apparently ceased the lesson for the day and the Instructor, a large ginger-spotted minotaur resplendant in his shining chrome armour and with his massive sword sheathed at his side, was shaking Cassius warmly by the hand as he prepared to leave. Claudius rounded the corner just in time to catch the tail-end of their conversation and he and Bloodmist stood off to one side of the entranceway, head bowed as he had been taught by Cassius, awaiting the time when Cassius was unoccupied.

"-I mean it, Ambassador, you should go to the war college and retake the examinations, your progress over the past few days has been astonishing, I am certain that you would move up at least two sashes if you did." said the Instructor, excitement ringing clear in his voice.

"I would love to, one day perhaps, but duty calls me in the time being. I simply needed to refresh my memory, that's all." replied Cassius.

The Instructor wrinkled his snout "Somehow I doubt it, you were...driven, I sense this means more than simple maintenance of ones Tempus training but your reasons are your own, and it is not my place to pry."

"Thank you, Xerxes." said Cassius with a grateful smile "And thank you for providing me with the company of the finest Warmaster in Manticore, In had feared that I could not get training when I could not find a Lycaili Tempus master nearby."

"Bah, think nothing of it, any favour for a friend of Dio, any news on when he'll be returning?"

"I'm afraid not, it should not be long though, he's already later than he said he would be, the wolven must have delayed him longer than anticipated." there was a hint of quiet panic in Cassius's voice as he spoke those words, the ginger minotaur inspected his eyes intently for a moment, his jaw grimly set, before speaking again.

"Well, can't be helped I suppose, those wolves don't know what they've let themselves in for!" he said, Brightening suddenly and giving Cassius a hearty slap on the back that slightly unbalanced him.

"Yes, you're right of course." said Cassius, himself brightening visibly. The instructor hefted a canvas satchel onto one shoulder and turned to leave.

"Well, I'm off, I'll end up tempworn if I go on much longer. Oh, and Cassius..."

"Yes?"

"If you need someone around...er, well you're always welcome at my door." Said the ginger-splotched minotaur, awkwardly.

"That's kind of you Xer, I appreciate the offer, more than you know." Said Cassius to Xerxes's back as he left, following him as far as the gate.

Bloodmist left Claudius's side, mouthing "wait there" as he did. Claudius just watched as Bloodmist ran up to Cassius at the gate and knealed before him, Cassius motioned for him to rise and a brief conversation passed between them, too far off to hear clearly. Claudius's heart skipped a beat when Cassius turned to glance at him before speaking once more with Bloodmist and waving him away. Claudius's mind raced as Cassius approached, he was so busy thinking of what to say that he was suprised when Cassius spoke, suddenly towering over him as if from nowhere. He looked up tentatively and was instantly set at ease by the soft, kind smile of his master.

"Um, Master-" started Claudius, feeling he should say something.

"Not now, not yet. Come, Scribe." said Cassius, without explanation and headed indoors, Claudius following close at his heels.

The part of the building they came to was one claudius had never been to before, Cassius opened a door onto a small room containing a row of wooden benches and another door leading further within. Once the door was closed behind him Cassius began unbuckling his breastplate.

"Help me with this." he said to Claudius, indicating the buckles on his weak side and Claudius did as he was bid, tugging free the heavy leather straps and allowing Cassius's armour to hinge open, he shrugged the breastplae off and over his head, Claudius noted that the shoulder-straps were unusually widely spaced to accomodate the horns. Beneath the shining steel plate Cassius's golden pet was slick with sweat, his clinging fur more clearly defining his pectoral muscles than when dry, Cassius sighed deeply and stretched his arms above his head, making those powerful muscles undulate and flex as he drove the tension out of them. With that he sat on the wooden bench and reclined against the wall.

"Scribe, undo my greaves." he commanded and set one leg a half step forward, presenting the steel shin-guard for Claudius.

"Er, Yes Master." said Claudius and knealt to unbuckle the greaves, setting them down on the bench beside the breastplate and Cassius's bracers, which he undid himself. The last of his armour removed, Cassius stood and shed his kilt and loincloth, the sole pieces of clothing he wore.

"You had best undress too, Scribe." he said to Claudius, striding over to the inner door.

"Why, Master?" asked Claudius, already unknotting his belt and tugging his tunic over his shoulders.

"Well I would assume you don't want to get your clothes wet." replied Cassius, cryptically.

Claudius followed him through into the inner room, the first thing he noticed was the slightly humid air and slope to the ochre-tiled floor, the room was perfectly circular, about five paces across, the walls covered in mosaics of grapevines and wild animals. Windows set high atop the walls let light stream in and the ceiling sported a dizzying tangle of brass pipes, a minotaur-sized stool sat in the center of the room in front of a panel that was inset with a number of knobs set into the floor amid a number of grilles. Cassius withdrew a wooden tray filled with bottles and a variety brushes and other tools from a shallow alocove and pushed it into Claudius's hands then lowered himself onto the stool and bent down to fiddle a number of the knobs. Claudius was about to ask what he was doing when the answer made itself clear as a soft, warm rain began to fall from above him, the whole room was a giant shower!

"Ahhh, that's much better." sighed Cassius, as the warm water washed over his body "Come over here, scribe." he said, beconing Claudius closer. Claudius knealt where he was bidden and set the tray down before him, squinting slightly to keep the water out of his eyes, Cassius tapped a glass bottle filled with a clear gelatinous fluid "That first, massage it into my fur."

"Yes, Master." Said Claudius, uncorking the bottle and sidling round behind Cassius, he poured a measure of the thick liquid into his palm and stood up to rub it into the minotaurs shoulders where it instantly began to lather, raising a thick cloud of steam as it mixed with the water that combined Cassius's own piney minotaur scent with a faint lavender tang that tickled Claudius's nostrils. He worked his way allong Cassius's shoulders, up his neck and down his wide back, sometimes adding a bit more of the soap when the lather ran thin, the work was strangely relaxing and he found himself just enjoying exploring the minotaurs body inch by inch, the slick fur running between his fingers and the muscles slowly unknotting beneath his attentions. Cassius just sat statuesque and allowed Claudius to work his way across his whole body, arms, legs, chest, pectorals and the thick tangle of fur at his groin, though Claudius could feel gentle tremors of satisfaction run through his hands from the minotaurs chest.

"Now the wide-bristle brush." he said once Claudius had worked through his whole body, Claudius took the brush with the stiff widely-spaced groups of bristles and ran it through the fur, which pushed the lather out of its weave, a series of other brushes followed, increasingly soft and fine until every tangle, knot and snarl had been eased out.

"What now, Master?" he said, knealing before the golden minotaur, once all the brushes had been used. In response Cassius took him by the shoulders and swiveled him around so that Claudius's back was facing him and picked up another bottle from the tray, emptied some into his hand and began to knead it into Claudius's hair. It had a zesty, lime-scented aroma and was incredibly refreshing.

"I can do that myself, Mas-"

"Of course you can, but i'm doing it so just enjoy." said Cassius as he massaged the foamy stuff into Claudius's scalp with suprisingly gentle motions for a creature so large, but Cassius had a talent for that, he always touched Claudius like he was made from glass, delicately and always aware of his own immense strength. Claudius was struck with the realisation that this was the first time he had felt truly right for days, Cassius's touch, his scent and his soothing voice all combined to dispel the nagging anxiety that had plagued him.

Cassius huffed irritatedly "What an ass I am, should have explained myself, typical thoughtlessness." he said.

"It's nothing really, Master, I wasn't really bothered that much."

"Well it bothers me, It's a slippery slope to true neglect." said Cassius portentously "But it pained me to even look at you, you had become a symbol of my own weakness, foolish." with that he picked up a basin filled with pooled water and upturned it over Claudius's head. Claudius spluttered a little and wiped his face with the back of his hand to clear his eyes.

"But wasn't the whole point of this Tempus training to overcome that?"

Cassius was silent for a moment before speaking again "Ye-es" he said, Skeptically.

"So were you not thinking of my wellbeing then, master?"

The minotaur snorted a burst of hot air accross the back of Claudius's neck, laughing silently "From the lips of innocents."

he said, airily "Yes, I suppose I am somewhat absolved by that." hastily adding "I still should have explained my reasoning."

A tortoise-shell comb was withdrawn from the tray and he ran it through Claudius's wet hair until it lay flat against his back, he then bent down to manipulate a knob on the panel before him and the warm rain changed into a fine mist that fogged the air. Cassius put his arms around the kneeling human and pulled him back, allowing his head to rest against the minotaurs chest, and clasped his wrists. Cassius said nothing while holding him in that embrace and Claudius relaxed against him, listening to the deep Thrumm of his breathing, soaking in the lavender-tinged scent of minotaur, strangely both lulling and invigorating at the same time.

"Claudius," Cassius said after a while, the utterance of his name instantly focusing Claudius's attention "answer me truthfully, there will be no negative consequence regardless of your reply; do you trust me?"

"Master?" said Caludius, puzzled.

"Cassius now, remember. And I want an answer, do you trust that I am capable of protecting you from harm?" said Cassius, his tone kind but insistent.

"Ma-Cassius, I have never doubted it, not really." replied Claudius.

A small exhalation escaped Cassius's throat and his embrace tightened just a fraction "Then perhaps you are a poor judge, or an unreliable one, understandable really. You - and Driver - could both have died that night and I was powerless to prevent it, you are My responsibility and your safety takes precedent over everything besides my duty to my clan, yet I neglected my Tempus training thinking that enough skill to allow me to avoid assassination was sufficient, thinking only of myself, selfish fool that I am."

"But, I mean, you couldn't have anticipated-"

"I should have anticipated, my work is dangerous, more so than it seems." rebuffed Cassius.

"Well, okay then, but you at least made amends once the problem was identified, isn't that absolution enough?"

Cassius seemed to think about this for some time before saying "Yes, you are right, of course. It is senseless to dwell overmuch on the past and in any case it cuts to the bone of my initial question; Claudius, I understand that you are deep in my influence but I urge you to use your reason, do you trust in my ability to protect you now, not in the past but now?"

"I...I have good reason to think so, from what the instructor said, so yes; both by reason and emotion, I do." replied Claudius, Carefully phrasing his answer. Cassius seemed satisfied by it, Claudius could amlost feel relief palpably emanating from his body.

"That is good." he whispered and lifted Claudius onto his lap "And a good answer."

He unclasped one hand and ran it down Claudius's water-slicked side, along his thigh and cupped his groin, shallow strokes of his furred palm slowly swelling Claudius's arousal.

"C-Cas-?" he gasped

"Good enough to warrant reward, I think. And I also have missed our time together, there is much to catch up on." said Cassius, aching lust dripping from his every word.

Claudius's heart leapt, he hadn't realised how much he wanted this until Cassius had said those words. Wanted what, exactly? The delicious feeling of Cassius's awesome body moving in conert with his? The sweet pain of penetration and the long, ever building bliss that follows? The explosive ecstacy of release? Perhaps the simple satisfaction of knowing he had pleased Cassius? All of the above? It was strange, he knew he should feel ashamed to want such things but he really didn't care, a lifetime of inculcated images of how a man 'should' behave became as insubstantial as the mist that blanketed him with a word and a touch from his master, the minotaurs force of will made a mockery of his preconceptions of maleness, it was hard to imagine a creature more strongly masculine than Cassius, and harder still to imagine that masculinity being tarnished by something so petty as taking his pleasure from the body of another male.

Even still, it puzzled Claudius, in the ever diminishing part of him mind that stll cared, why he felt so right with the powerful male. His few sexual encounters up until that point had been awkward and ultimately unfulfilling, he had almost thought he'd lost interest in it all together until that first night in Cassius's bed, but now a new fire had been stoked within him. And, gods help him, it really was what he wanted, to be held in those kindly arms, crushed against that warm body and just let go, to truly feel at ease. That was truly what he craved, the strange freedom that came from the total abnegation of control he found within Cassius's embrace, the freedom to not have to worry, to not have to manage every facet of his surroundings, to just be him for that glorious span of time he spent humbled by his masters power and majesty.

Cassius maneuvered Claudius round on his lap and Claudius found purchase by locking his wrists behind the minotaurs head, supported by the furred hands on his buttocks, as he allowed himself to be speared on Cassius's shaft, the lubricating effect of the water helped alot but he still gasped and whimpered from the sheer size of the length and more than once had to pause when he met resistance. When he eventually came to rest, Cassius's full length within him, he exhaled a moan half in relief and half in satisfaction.

Through half-lidded eyes he saw Cassius's beaming smile as he tilted the humans head back to take him into a kiss of breathtaking passion, their tongues dancing together as Cassius gently bucked his hips, not thrusting but just playfully bouncing the yielding human atop his shaft, sending Claudius into paroxisms of carnal bliss, he tried to express his pleasure, to tell Cassius how good he was, but all that came forth from his throat was a string of garbled consonants and animal moans which only got worse as the wonderful ordeal continued, adding breathless gasps to the lustful syncopation. Cassius merely smiled at his incoherent prayer, as if to say 'I understand'.

Claudius felt like a drowning man, the point of light that was rationality slowly disappearing as he sank into a heady ocean that welcomed him with open arms. Without thought, operating on instinct alone, he snaked out his tongue to caress Cassius's nipple, jutting from it's nest of golden fur, before putting his lips to the fleshy nub, suckling, teasing with gentle nips of his teeth, rolling his tongue around its circumference. Groans and whispered encouragement from Cassius were his reward and he gave the minotaurs other nipple the same treatment, stimulating the tenderised flesh he had left behind with the fingers of his free hand.

"Ah, ye-es, that's...good, Ah!" huffed Cassius, almost lowing in lustful relish, making Claudius melt internally, giddily happy from the knowledge that his tongue, his hands, his body, were brining satisfaction to the majestic creature that was his master.

Cassius held him tight to his body as he shifted position, moving onto his knees and kicking the stool aside, allowing him greater stability to make longer, faster thrusts into his slaves being. Claudius drank in the heady aroma of lavender and musk as he added his own gyrations to the mix, magnifying the motions of Cassius's hips, determined to make the minotaur happy, desperate to hear the primal rumble and feel the shuddering release that was proof-positive of his pleasure, to know that he, weak and humble as he was, could bring him master to the height of bliss.

With infinite care, Cassius lowered him onto the tiles, slick with moisture and deliciously warm against his back, and Claudius was able to do little more than writhe and moan as he allowed himself to be taken by Cassius, powerfully and passionately, each stroke touching the deepest parts of him, making him burn with the sensation of pleasure-pain, there was little distinction between the two feelings, both had blended into one glorious hungry singularity that threatened at any time to consume his entire world.

Reverberating waves of pleasure running through him from the toes up heralded his climax, his member jerking as ropey arcs of seed splattered accross his stomach while he helplessly cried out in praise to Cassius, moaning worship so fervent as to shame any priest or heirophant.

Cassius came soon after, brought to peak by the humans internal contractions, letting out a lowing that echoed etherically round the room as he half-collapsed atop the doll-like figure beneath him, proping his full weight up on his hands but still splattering Claudius with droplets of musk-laden dew from his fur.

He lowered himself onto his forearms and planted an affectionate kiss on Claudius's lips as his breathing slowed.

"Good boy," he said in a breathy whisper "very good indeed." Claudius felt like he would burst from the joy those words brought.

"Th-thank you master." he croaked in response, throat hoarse from expressions of passion made too low and too loud.

"Still Cassius."

"I know, but you feel like 'master'." said Claudius, dreamily, shocked at how true the statement was.

Cassius smiled in his typical inscrutable way "I understand." he said simply, and said no more.

Claudius remembered what happened afterwards only as phantom images, the world seemed muted by comparison to the fierce, all-trancending love he found in Cassius's arms, colours became less vibrant, sounds heard as if through a blanket. He remembered cleaning himself in the warm, enveloping drizzle before following Cassius, placid as a lamb, into the disrobing room where he helped towel the moisture from his fur, the towels soft but thin enough to trace the outlines of the minotaurs muscles by touch beneath them. More flickering phantom-images of following close at Cassius's heels through the corridors of Adamant Manor, clad only in the towel haphazardly draped around him, before drifting asleep between the covers of the minotaurs bed, blinded by darkness, the only stimuli being the obscenely luxurious feel of satin aginst his bare skin and the firm pillow that was Cassius's shoulder as he lay cradled in the crook of the minotaurs arm.

~~*~~

Justicar Typhus yawned and slapped himself on the muzzle to stay awake, even though it would be months before the passes became traversable enough for the wolven to attack and the feral Kurgani were so scarce these days that they virtually never came down from the mountains the gates, even the comparatively small traders gate he was posted at, still had to be guarded, duty was duty, afterall, however dull or irrelevant it may be.

A flicker of movement in the distance caught his eye, squinting, he saw two figures swathed from head to toe in black hoods, humans judging by the size of them, ambling along the road unhurriedly.

"Alone and unsupervised at this hour? Messengers?" he thought as he stepped out of his guardhouse to block the center of the road.

"Halt, you two." he barked half-heartedly once they were within a few meters. The pair stood stock-still at his command but didn't say anything in response. Typhus tried to make out faces under the shadows of the hoods but found them impenetrable.

He cleared his throat "No entry after dusk, if you have any messages to deliver you can leave them with me, do you have any?"

"Yessssss..." came the reply from one of he hoods in a breathy hiss that Typhus almost mistook for the wind.

"Here, if you're plague carriers you can turn around and go back the way you came." he said, sternely, raising his spear to gesture at the two, slightly unnerved by the damp wheeze the voice possessed.

"Not plague, Messssage..."

"Then remove your hoods, and adress your betters properly, human, or i'll take the back of my hand to you!" he said, irritably "Your master must have been very slovenly in your education to let you go around talki-"

Typhus never finished the sentance, there was a blur of motion from one of the hooded figures as the moonlight described something terrible and flashing moving too fast for the eye to follow and Typhus slumped slowly to the ground, a thousand cuts covering his body.

"You will not speak ill of the great massssterrrr, and he will not be thwarted." was the last thing he heard before death swallowed him.

Somehow, he knew that it was the message they had come to deliver.