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The Forbidden Schools

Crisp wandered the halls of the Ivory Tower he called home, re-strapping his white and red fingerless gloves as he walked. He rolled his shoulders under a white jacket with a similar red trim to his gloves. His shorts were of a similar color, and beneath the jacket was a simple black t shirt. He also wore a long tailed red coat over his shoulders, his arms out of the sleeves now that he was not outside. It was all light weight and comfortable, even the coat. Not to mention they were slightly enchanted so as to protect his body from magic. Well, specifically his magic. No one seemed to specialize in fire anymore.

Of course it was a matter of genetics and choice as well. It took a certain type of person to master pyromancy, and not that many people wanted to learn. Chaos magic. Dangerous magic. Maniacal magic. Idiots. But there was more to pyromancy than lighting shit on fire. Crisp was jolted out of his musings by a grunt and a bump in the chest. "Excuse you?" growled Crisp.

The horse nickered in annoyance and walked away, ignoring the wolf. "Asshole," grumbled Crisp. He checked the hourglass that he wore around his neck, kept stable by a minor incantation. He really should attend the evening lesson. He moved towards the lecture hall, repeating his terse interaction with the horse, though it was a bull and a tiger. Dumb asses. They wouldn't be pushing him around in the corridors if he wasn't a short, scrawny wolf. Sadly, getting pushed around was the closest thing he got personal interaction these days.

Crisp slipped into the lecture hall five minutes late. A crowd of furs were already listening to a tall, dark otter in a long green trench coat. The wolf sneaked closer, trying to find a better place to listen but still separate himself from the crowd. It seemed wind magic was the order of the day. An odd specialization for an otter. Crisp perked his pointed ears to listen in.

"Wind is a fluid school. Its scope is limited but its applications many. It's not as finicky as telekinesis, but you can do-" The otter spread his arms wide to spin clockwise once, "This!" A gale of pale green energy was conjured around the paws of a burly lion student, sweeping him head over heels. The otter span again, counterclockwise this time. The wind caught the lion before his back his the steel floor, throwing him lightly into the air and landing him heavily on his paws. The lion staggered against a pillar, his eyes slightly crossed and his orange mane severely ruffled.

The otter bowed slightly to the lion. "Sorry for that, Quentin. As you can see, wind is a wonderful tool for pushing and pulling. If you get into a tight space, a simple gust can buy you some breathing room. It's also wonderful for disarming small objects... like so." In a dramatic beckoning motion, the mage created a brief gale, pulling at hoods and ripping hats right off of furred heads. The otter's hands expertly snapped at the air, catching the four hats that his wind had stolen. "This works for weapons, scrolls, loose clothes... it's all about creativity." With a few flick of a wrist he tossed the stolen hats back to their owners. "It's harder to be precise with a gust, but your opponent will have a more difficult time snatching their stolen goods back. An thug with a gun is a lot less scary when he's scrambling for his weapon or you steal his ammo case."

"One of the last things you can do with a gust spell," continued the mage, "is pushing and pulling yourself. Again, it's not very precise, but if you need to get somewhere fast, a strong gust is a very simple way to escape." The master bent his knees ever so slightly, pausing for a second. He thrust his torso forward, flinging his arms through the air in a motion reminiscent of a breast stroke. An emerald gale formed behind his back and swept up under his paws. He shot upward and forward, launching himself over the crowd of students in an arc before landing lightly on webbed paws. He flipped around lightly to address the group. "Again, a wonderful way to get out of a tight spot."

The crowd clapped at the magnificent display, letting the otter walk back to his podium. He modestly waved away the applause before continuing with the lecture. "To use wind, you need to create a little wind yourself." A stray snicker came from the crowd. The master rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored the interruption. "You need to create big, dramatic motions to catalyze the magic. A nice rule of thumb is the bigger the motion the bigger the spell. But remember, big motions take time, so you need to be aware of where your opponents are. You also need to clearly imagine where you want the gust to start and which direction you want the gust to go. So don't get lost in your gestures without focusing on what you want your magic to do."

The otter clapped his hands once, producing a large collection of fluffy hats from seemingly nowhere. "All right. Let's pair up and try to practice gusts. Your objective is to get the hat of your partner's head. Any questions? No? Let's begin."

Crisp found himself paired with Quentin, to their mutual dismay. The lion's mood was especially foul today, probably because he was just tossed around by a magical cyclone and that he had a rather stupid looking pink hat sitting on his orange mane. The cat growled, murmuring the incantation under his breath. The master didn't use them, but silent spells required a different level of mastery. The cat clawed the air, pulling an outstretched hand to his chest in a violent jerk. Crisp felt a breeze grip his fluffy red hat, but it didn't fall off. The lion tried numerous times, ruffling the hat but never taking it from between Crisp's pointed ears.

The wolf stepped back a fraction, imitating the master's dramatic beckon as he recanted the spell. He narrowed his eyes as he concentrated on a point of space directly behind the cat's pink cap, willing the wind to blow towards himself... except there was no wind. He snarled and spoke the incantation again, gesturing more forcefully. No wind.

The lion was laughing now. "Hahaha! What's the matter woofy? Can't cast a spell that can't kill something?"

"I just mispronounced it," growled Crisp, rolling his shoulders before repeating the gesture again, narrowing his mind again at the space behind the lion's hat. Nothing. The lion continued to guffaw, doubling over as he tried to contain his laughing so he wouldn't attract attention. "Shut it, ass hat." hissed Crisp, focusing harder. He tried to add a dramatic spin, trying to create more wind in an attempt to coax the spell out of his mind. He closed his eyes in concentration as he rotated on one paw.

A wooly, pink hat hit him in the face as he opened his eyes. A bubble of success grew in his chest, although it popped immediately when he saw that the damn lion doubled over in laughter. Dammit there was no breeze when he span. The stupid cat had thrown the cap.

The wolf stormed from the lecture hall, throwing his hat and the pink one to the ground. Assholes. It wasn't his fault he had trouble with non-fire spells. Everyone had strengths and weaknesses, right? Crisp walked without seeing, and found himself in the target range. The air was cold, but it didn't penetrate his grey fur or his coat. It was snowy and lit orange by the sunset. He was surrounded by worn ballistic dummies and no living souls.

Turing his palm upward, fingers in a spread claw formation, Crisp conjured fire. He threw it at the nearest dummy. He conjured again, imagining the lion's face on the next dummy. The fire he threw was larger, a more intense red this time. The next dummy took the visage of that stupid horse that had bumped him. The next was the bull, then the tiger, then the whole damn lecture hall. The last dummy resembled the wind master in Crisp's minds eye. He threw the biggest fireball yet. The flame didn't make it. A veritable hurricane rocked the training ground, extinguishing the flaming dummies and making the thrown fireball fizzle. The otter was framed at the gate, his arms wide but his body crouched down, his blue eyes fixated on Crisp. "What the hell were you doing?"

Crisp was alarmed by the steel in the otter's voice. "I... I don't know."

"I know what you were doing," scowled the master. "You were being a fucking idiot. Come with me."

The wolf followed the otter without speaking, his tail and head hanging low. They re-entered the white chrome sky scraper, entering the high speed elevators that connected the countless floors of the structure. The otter was speaking again. "You do realize that you threw lethal magic at another resident of the tower. You technically attacked me without provocation. You know what that means?" Crisp nodded. "So, you need to listen and listen good. Do you want to stay here?" Crisp nodded again. "Well, you're technically expelled already. But you're not. Because we were sparring."

"We were?"

"Of course, idiot pup. We took it to the training ground and we sparred. We both used the best spells at our disposal, knowing the consequences and knowing that we could get the proper attention if things went nasty."

"OK?"

"You didn't just go on a berserk rampage. You didn't just attempt to destroy guild property. You just kept missing me. Got it?"

"I think so? Sir, I don't even know you're name."

"You know so, pup." scowled the Otter as they reached an upper part of the tower. "We've got about an hour before the Sentinels come to talk to us about what the hell we were doing down there. That's our story, and you're sticking to it unless you want to be kicked out. And I'm Cairo, got it?" Crisp nodded mutely. The otter opened a door with a silver key marked with a blue glyph. "Get in. We need to talk."

Crisp tentatively stepped into luxurious living quarters. So this was what masters get to live in? And apprentices got shitty dorm rooms? No privacy, urgh. But this... it was modestly decorated, emphasizing greens. It had a couch, some simple chairs and a table, a desk, a large bed, and a private washroom. The otter pulled up two chairs for then. He poured two glasses of water for them from the jug on the table, shoving one into the hand of Crisp. "So... what sparked your little tantrum?"

Crisp scowled at the word "tantrum," but he couldn't look Cairo in the eye. "You know I'm a pyromancer, right?"

Cairo actually cracked a grin. "Everyone knows you're a pyromancer, pup. I could count on my fingers the number of furs in this school that could even throw the weakest of fireballs."

Crisp couldn't resist glowing with pride, just a bit. Even in the face of its stigma, there was a sense of satisfaction that could only be felt by doing something well. "Well, because I'm a pyromancer I get a lot of shit. People think I'm just some psycho, a pyromaniac or something. Some furs just refuse to talk to me."

Cairo nodded. "I understand. Go on."

The wolf picked at his fingerless gloves with his short claws. "It just seems like all I can do is pyromancy. I can't seem to master any magic that doesn't deal with fire. It's frustrating because I can't progress in rank and it perpetuates my reputation of being a psycho. And in your lesson I couldn't even conjure a damn spring breeze, let alone a gust. And Quentin is just one of my regular tormentors. It just sort of added up."

Cairo nodded again. "Have you ever thought of tutoring?"

"I've thought of it," mumbled Crisp, "But I don't want to waste a superiors time. I don't need another person watch me flail as I fail to cast basic spells."

Cairo smiled for the first time, a grin lifting his whiskered muzzle. "You want to know a secret?" Crisp looked up, surprised but curious. He nodded as Cairo drank from his water glass. "I can't cast water spells."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know," laughed Cairo, swirling the liquid in his cup. "A river otter who can''t even refill a water jug. Everyone has what I call a 'forbidden school.' They just get blocked by certain types of magic. I want to tutor you, boy."

Crisp looked down again, frowning. "Why? I don't want you to waste your time on a lost cause."

"Well, a couple reasons," said Cairo, his arms crossed as he leaned back in his chair. "One, I know nothing about pyromancies. I want to at least try learning about the stuff you do with flames. Two, I want you isolated for a while so this event can blow over. And three, I think that you could learn better out of a group environment anyway. That way you won't have to deal with other students giving you shit."

The wolf scratched the back of his head, looking at the older mage. "I... I think that would be a good idea." There was a knock on the door.

Cairo leaned forward, placing his muzzle next to a pointed ear. "If you don't want your magic sealed, stick to the story, and follow my lead. Do not talk unless you are addressed. Got it, pup?"

Crisp nodded again, noticing how the otter's slightly wet nose and whiskers tickled against his his sensitive grey ears. It was a pleasant sensation. "Yes, sir." Cairo swiftly walked to the door, opening it so as to talk to a dark panther. Even in this day and age, the Sentinels still dressed in thick blue robes, covered in anti magic wards. Crisp thought it made them look like idiots at a Renaissance fair, but those runes could make even his strongest fire spells fizzle. Crisp only caught snippets of the conversation, nodding when Cairo asked for confirmation or adding a detail or two. It didn't take long before the panther turned and left, pulling his hood up farther over to cast his already dark face into shadow.

Cairo shut the door. "So... I have a new apprentice. We have some rules to set up."

Crisp raised an eyebrow. "What are those rules?"

The otter was sitting at his desk, writing a series of runes on a long scroll. "Show me your shoes, pup." Crisp obliged, confused as he removed his bright red high top sneakers. Cairo spoke again. "I understand why you went on your little rampage, but I can't risk it happening again. So, you need to wear these." The otter took a knife and cut the scroll into strips. He attached the scroll strips onto the shoes that Crisp had given him. "Get these on your feet." said Cairo curtly, passing the now enchanted sneakers back to the wolf. Crisp obeyed wordlessly. He felt an odd tingling sensation as the laces of the red sneakers tied themselves up.

"What are these for, master?" asked Crisp, eyes wide.

Cairo gestured to his door. "You cannot cross the threshold of that door without my explicit verbal permission. Those shoes will no longer deteriorate nor can you take them off or damage them with fire. If you prove to be obedient I shall consider taking them off. But that will take a while."

The wolf scowled a bit but did not protest. "When will we start, sir?"

"Later," said the Otter, returning to his desk. "I have some work to do downstairs. Take a rest. You can have the couch for now. It's comfortable enough."

"Thank you, master.

The wolf examined the green couch. It was wide, deep, and had poufy, comfortable green cushions. The higher ups certainly did themselves well. He flopped onto the couch, rolling his eyes as he forgot to take off his outer coat. He threw it over himself to use as a blanket. He was tired, oddly enough. Well, he had almost razed the training field. That took a fair amount of energy. He wasn't sure what to make of the aftermath. He basically got off easy. He wasn't expelled, that was good. But these new enchantments... his favorite sneakers were basically keeping him in a fancy green prison cell right now. Well he'd just have to see what this new master would be like. Crisp closed his eyes.

---

The next week passed in a flash. Cairo had lessons to teach three times a week, and he also had general guild duties, but they still found plenty of times for tutoring. He was oddly flexible for a master. The otter taught early lectures often, but he didn't force Crisp to wake up just so he could do busy work until he returned.

Still, it all felt like busy work. Mostly because he couldn't get a damn thing done. Wind, stone, ice, psionics, kinetics... fucking nothing. No progress. He was even trying to read and work out of some water tomes, although Cairo could provide no guidance there. He wished he could get out of the damn room for just a few hours, but Cairo wanted him inside until the "controversy" he started blew over. It made sense. Crisp knew he was basically on probation.

On the ninth day of his new life, Crisp awoke to Cairo scratching away at something on his desk. He turned so that he observed the wolf with one blue eye. "Get up and eat. I have a different plan today."

Crisp nodded and obeyed, making a detour to the sink to wake himself up with a splash of cold water. He wasn't much of a big eater in the morning, so he munched on an apple as he pulled on new pants and a fresh grey shirt. "What is that plan, Master?"

Cairo turned on his chair, crossing his arms and resting an ankle on the opposite knee. "Today, you teach me."

"What?"

"Did I stutter? I want you to teach me about pyromancies. You've been struggling with other magics and I don't know whether it's how I'm teaching you or if it's something else. So I want you to teach me for a change of pace and we'll see if either of us get some brainwaves."

Crisp nodded mutely, unsure about where this was going. How would he even do this? He wasn't a teacher. Hrmm... what if? That would work! Crisp briskly rolled up the throw rug, leaving a large space of clear stone. "Sit here then. We don't want to be near anything too flammable. Is that OK, master?"

Cairo nodded, leaving his chair. "Today, you don't need to call me master. You can address me by my name or, if that feels too weird to you, you may call me 'sir.' I am not teaching you. You are teaching me. I suppose I should show you what I know about pyromancies, no?" Crisp nodded again. Cairo snapped his fingers, producing a shower of red sparks that lingered on the tile floor. Crisp looked at the otter expectantly, but Cairo did nothing more. He grinned. "That's it. That's it for just about anyone in this giant tower. So, take me from there."

The wolf sat down. "What is fire to you?"

Cairo rubbed the slight goatee he had on his chin, contemplating his answers. "It's magic. That's all I really think about it. To me it's just a spell."

"Aaah," said Crisp, waving a finger. "That's where you are wrong. Fire is a person. It's alive. It has two major desires. It wants food to eat and it wants a home. And, as a magician, we can provide both."

Cairo was genuinely intrigued. "And how do I do that?"

"Well, we hold magic within us. All it really is unused energy until we release it in a spell. So that's the food for our fire. Understand?"

The otter nodded again, rubbing his thumb and index finger together in brisk flicks, as though it was a flint stone. "Indeed. But how do we give the fire a home?"

"Our hands are a good enough home," said the wolf. "All you need to do is tell the fire that your hand is a safe place to be."

Cairo couldn't resist cracking a grin, holding his right hand out and flexing it to display the webs between the furred fingers. "So you want me to sweet talk my hand then?"

"No," frowned Crisp, not in the mood to take sass while he was instructing, even if it was from his master. "It's like focusing on an origin point for a wind spell. It's just you want to focus on your hand. Hold your palm up like this." Crisp demonstrated, his fingers spread wide in a claw formation. "Let the magic flow through your arm and into your palm, and convince the fire that your hand is a suitable place to live."

The wolf flexed his fingers, tensing all of his arm and finger muscles so that his slender muscles could be seen through his dark grey fur. There was a rushing sound as a spark ignited inbetween his fingers, suddenly becoming a roaring blaze that enveloped his hand. He closed his fingers into a fist before letting the flames dissipate. His hand was completely unblemished. "You try."

Cairo stared at his hands, mimicking the clawed formation Crisp had shown him, stretching the black webs of his paws wide. An ember lit up in the middle of his palms. It disappeared almost immediately. The otter frowned, attempting again but producing the same result. "How do you get it to stay?" asked Cairo, rubbing a thumb over his palm before closing his hand in a fist.

"You have to keep talking to it," said Crisp. He gently took Cairo's paw in his two of his own, coaxing the fingers of the otter back into the proper formation. His paw fur was rough but at the same time slick, warmed slightly by the embers it held. Crisp let go quickly. It felt weird touching his master like that, in a manner that was almost intimate. "You have to ask it to keep living in your hand after it's conjured. Don't end the conversation the moment it starts. It's like answering your front door and shutting the door in the face of your guest after just saying 'hello."

The otter made a noise of assent, contemplating his paws. "What do I need to tell it?"

"Just the same stuff you said to get it started," said Crisp. "It's like coaxing a beast. It's more your tone, your attitude than what you say. Just repeat the same phrase over and over. OK?"

"Yeah," muttered Cairo, almost absently. His brow furrowed in concentration, his arm muscles tensed under his tight sleeves as he summoned forth an ember. This time it lingered, a bright yellow in color that contrasted Crisp's own intense, almost dark red. Cairo maintained the ember for a full five seconds before letting the ember die, closing his hands. "How was that?"

"Good," exclaimed Crisp, clapping his hands. "Did you let the ember die yourself?"

"Mmhmm," said Cairo. "Did you want me to maintain it for longer?"

"No, no," said the wolf as he shook his grey head, his pointed ears bending a bit with the movement. "But i should tell you how to withdraw. Producing a flame always costs you a bit of energy. But if you produce a flame but don't want to do anything with it, you can coax it back into yourself again."

"Really," said Cairo, raising dark, heavyset eyebrows so that much more of his brilliant blue eyes were visible than normal. "That's really interesting, actually. I can't think of any school of magic that can be canceled like that. Generally once a spell is cast the energy is gone whether you wanted to stop it or not."

"It's simple, really. Just tell the flame that your hand is now an unsuitable place to live, and that your body is now a better home. The flame will go out and you'll be able to reuse most of the energy you spent. Not all, but most. The key is that you keep your hands open in the casting formation while you coax the flame back in to yourself. If you close your hand it's like you're choking the flames to death. You want to accept the fire back inside you, not kill it. " Crisp demonstrated again, keeping his hands in the signature claw formation until the fire was completely gone. "Keep the fire burning for at least a few seconds before you try and convince it that it doesn't want to be in your hand anymore."

Cairo concentrated again, glaring at his hand as a yellow ember sparked in his palms. It flickered in between webbed fingers for a full ten seconds. The otter let out a small sigh as he let the minute fire recede back into himself. His arm muscles relaxed as a small pillar of smoke coiled from his palm, the only thing left from his conjuration. "Good?"

Crisp nodded and smiled. "Very. Now we need to feed that fire. That's easy. All you need to do is put more of your personal energy into the ember you produce. That's how you need for a bigger flame."

Cairo rubbed his palms together and flexed his fingers before returning his hands to the conjuring position. He conjured the ember much easier this time, not having to concentrate as hard. He flexed his fingers and arm again, coaxing the ember into a small blaze. Crisp watched as the flame grew a bit larger, a bit larger... there was a roar as the fire exploded outward, an enormous column of yellow flame erupting from Cairo's hand, some of it running up the sleeve of his green jacket. Cairo tried to coax the fire back into himself, but the flames on his clothes remained. Cairo's eyes were wide, obviously surprised at the fact that flames remained after he canceled his spell.

Crisp dived forward, putting a hand on Cairo's right shoulder, running his palm over the sleeve as the smell of burning fabric and fur filled his nose. With a swift movement he swept the yellow flames into his cupped hands, watching them turn red before letting the energy return into his own body. Crisp looked up. Cairo's blue eyes were still wide, the sleeve of his longcoat ruined and his arm fur singed, but was otherwise unharmed.

Crisp couldn't resist a light chuckle at the sight of his master. "That was too much too fast, I think. Sorry about your clothes, sir. I take it for granted that I ward all of my clothes."

"No, it's my fault," said Cairo, examining his arm before returning his gaze to Crisp. "Did you just say you ward your clothes? How'd you manage that. Wards are a different school than pyromacies, aren't they?"

"Well, yes," said Crisp, feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment. "I drew the runes, but I asked someone else to catalyze them for me."

The otter's eyebrows raised. "But don't ward runes need to be recharged over time? How do you manage that?"

"I just put some of my magical energy into it when I put them on," shrugged Crisp. "It keeps them going. I only need to wear one rune, but I ward everything so I don't ruin my wardrobe when I practice."

"Could I borrow some clothes then? I'd hate to stop now."

"Yes, sir," said Crisp. He unbuckled one of his gloves, letting the rune inscribed fabric fall to the floor as he fished his fingers and short claws out of the fabric. He picked it up and flapped it once with a wrist flick. "Give me your arm, sir." Cairo obliged, holding out his singed right arm. Crisp shimmied the cloth past webbed fingers and up the black furred arm. The wolf couldn't help but notice how powerful that arm was. There was some muscle behind those silky arms. He must be ripped under all that fur. His hand lingered on Cairo's palm, his thumb absently stroking the now gloved palm. "This, uh, should stop you from igniting yourself for now."

Cairo wriggled his fingers as he got used to the tight gloves around his hands. "And you said you could recharge runes? That's news to me. When we're done here we should try some rune magic. You've got at least some familiarity with it, so we might be able to make some progress."

"If you think so, master," said Crisp. "Are you ready to try feeding the flames again?"

The otter opened his hands, a bit less confidently this time. "I think so..."

---

Crisp was lying on the green couch that was his bed, though now it was equipped with blankets and pillows that his master had supplied. Speaking of him, Cairo was up and moving, preparing for a morning lesson. Crisp didn't move though, feigning sleep.

Crisp had not been unhappy working with his master, but one of the problems of living in such close proximity to one another was the frustratingly fewer opportunities to drop his pants and have a decent fap. It had been a good week since Crisp had gotten an opportunity to properly squeeze off. He could do it in the shower, but if he spent too much time it would be obvious to his master what he was be doing. That would feel weird to both of them, Crisp was sure.

Normally, Crisp didn't like waking up this early, but his desire for a proper self-service session required much more time than the few minutes in a shower that he could afford and still have time to wash himself. Cairo was out the door now. Crisp delayed for fifteen minutes, watching the clock and waiting to make sure that his master wouldn't be likely to return in order to retrieve a forgotten scroll or whatnot.

As the clock beeped quarter after, Crisp eagerly threw off the blankets, slipping the waistband of his drawers and gym shorts down so he could get started. Now all he needed was the right girl... what about that otter girl... what was her name, Rhea? That was good pick. She was lean, almost a bit muscular with limbs that were wiry from swimming. She had a small rack that suited her short stature and thin body. Cute face too. He could feel himself getting hard just thinking about that graceful, powerful body.

Soft strokes first, just him running his fingers across his pink length, just like he would do with her short-cropped, black head fur. Wait, wasn't she a brunette? She had longer head fur too. Crisp frowned for a moment, trying to envision her again: corded, cute, black fur... no wait, it was brown. Brown! Crisp picked up his pace now, going with the classic five knuckle shuffle, but still not too fast. He gripped his white, furry balls just a little. Damn he was pent up.

Back to girls. It was Rhea's hands that were playing with his length now, not his own. She was smiling as she worked, running a black... no brown tail across a leg, looking back at him with gorgeous ice blue eyes. Crisp stopped again. Didn't she have green eyes, like himself? The wolf growled. Maybe he wasn't in an otter mood after all. He instead envisioned a rather sumptuous lioness that he had actually managed to have a polite conversation with once upon a time before returning to work...

---

The days seemed to be moving faster now. Crisp was teaching Cairo pyromancies three times a week now. But more importantly, he was making progress in rune magic. He started by practicing recharge techniques, and by the end of the day he was able to bring a spent rune of any school back to full strength. But an even better breakthrough occurred on a different day.

Crisp pushed the ink and paper away from him after hours of making no progress, growling in frustration. Even in this day and age, rune scrolls used ink and brush, even if the paper they were on was fresh and white instead of musty parchment. "This is pointless. I'm a lost cause."

Cairo flicked one of Crisp's pointed ears. "You're not a lost cause till I say so."

"But I've tried every school! Nothing works!"

Cairo paced back and forth. "No, you haven't. There is still mind magic. We can try that."

Crisp felt his stomach churn in apprehension. "But... can't that fry brains if I mess up?"

"Not your brain. Not if you try a charm spell. On me."

"But, master, even if I manage to cast it, won't that mean I've put a mind control spell on you?"

"Boy, do you think I don't know how to throw off magic like that? Just try. Draw the rune. Stop questioning me and just damn do it."

Slowly, Crisp opened the rune dictionary, flipping to the chapter on psionics. He tentatively but expertly copied the rune, watching it glow pink for a moment before taking the scroll in his hand. "So, what do I do?"

"What I want you to do is use magic to try and _convince_me to do something. Try to convince me like you do with your fire. So when you cast the spell, I want you to firmly think about some task you want me to do." The otter paused for a moment, trying to think of a task that wouldn't pose any danger. "Tell me to pour a glass of water. The moment I've poured the water from the jug, tell me that I am free to do whatever I please. That will break the spell."

"But, master, what if I mess up? Won't that hurt you?"

Slightly roughly, Cairo squeezed one of Crisp's hands, staring into his green eyes with ice blue ones. "I trust you, Crisp. Do you trust me?"

There was a pause before Crisp squeezed back. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now try and tell me to pour a glass of water."

Crisp took the scroll, murmuring the incantation slowly, being as distinct as he could with each enunciation of the spell's syllables. As magic attempted to rush into the scroll, he envisioned his master as a ball of fire he could command, coaxing the spell to walk to the table and pick up the water jug. There was a rushing sound as Crisp felt the magic leave the scroll and fly into his master. Cairo's eyes went pink. Slowly but fluidly, the otter walked to the table and took the jug in his hands. He poured the water until the glass was mostly full.

Suddenly, the otter shook himself. There was the sound of breaking glass as his eyes returned to their normal color. Placing the jug back on the table, Cairo turned around with a smile on his face. "That was excellent. You forgot to break the spell, but you cast it. It worked."

Crisp couldn't suppress a grin. He was able to catalyze a scroll! For the first time in his life he was able to cast a spell that was outside the school of pyromancy! "Th-Thank you master! I can't believe I did it."

"Well believe it or not, it still happened. Draw another rune and try again, but this time break the spell yourself."

---

As the days passed Crisp continued making progress with his scroll work. It seemed for the time being he could only branch out if he prepared a scroll first, but the task of drawing the runes was fairly easy for him.

Three weeks after the training ground incident, Crisp found himself on the floor of Cairo's room again, preparing to teach his master more about the art of casting fire. He shuffled a bit on the hard, cold tiled floor as Cairo sat down across from him. "It still feels weird," said Crisp with a smile, "Being a tutor to my own master."

"Anyone who thinks they know more than someone because they outrank them knows a lot less than they think they do," said Cairo. "Your mastery of this school is almost uncanny, especially for someone so young. If you can get past your road blocks and learn some other schools you could apply for Instructor status. You could teach lessons here, easily."

"Yeah," shrugged Crisp glumly. "Except no one would come. I'm the dangerous pyromaniac, remember?"

"I think you could get some curious students if you ranked up a bit. People tend to respect you more with a title in front of your name." Cairo ruffled the wolf's spiky grey headfur. His hand lingered on the goggled Crisp was wearing. "Can I see these? You always wear them, but something feels different about these."

Crisp unhooked the goggles from around his pointed ears. "You like them? I made them myself."

"Even the lenses?"

"Especially the lenses. You can do some really cool stuff with glass blowing if you can make fire at will."

Cairo's eyes widened. "These are real glass?! The craftsmanship is exquisite. It's just more proof that fire is so much more than burning things." The otter passed the eyewear back to Crisp. "You've got some real talent. Show me how to conjure again."

Crisp glowed with pride as he channeled flame with his master. His endurance was improving. He was able to maintain the fire in his hands for more than five minutes straight. After half an hour they took a short break. Sweat was running down Cairo's brow, and he was actually almost panting. "Whoi... I'm burning up in here. Do you mind if ditch my shirt?"

Crisp shook his head. He could see that Cairo's shirt was wet with perspiration. "Of course, sir."

Cairo fished his body out of wet shirt. He was sleek, his whole body covered in sleek, short fur. His inner body was a dark grey that was almost a reflective silver, his outer and back fur was pitch black that in contrast seemed to absorb light. "This is an opportunity for some practice, boy. Can you cast a ward on me now that I'm not wearing my rune shirt?

Crisp nodded eagerly. He reached into his pockets where he kept his scroll kit. With deft movements of his hands, Crisp drew a rune that emphasized sharp angles. The rune glowed blue for a brief moment, signaling that Crisp had indeed drawn it correctly. The finished product vaguely resembled a shield.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, the wolf reached into the energy he used to conjure fire and attempt to awaken, not his inner self that fueled his red flames, but the rune that he had just finished. It took three tries to arouse the rune's power. As he felt the aegis spell run through him, he pressed his hands onto the bare chest of his master, letting the spell rush into its new host.

Instinctively, Crisp gripped the silver chest fur that ran across his master's underside, feeling the firm, coiled muscle beneath. Crisp closed his eyes again, exhaling. He wasn't sure, but Crisp thought he felt a slight vibration under his palms as his master breathed. Suddenly, he felt Cairo's hands steadily gripping his wrists. He slowly lowered there arms away from his bare chest, lingering for a moment before letting go. There was a pause that felt a lot longer than a few seconds. Cairo was absently scratching his knee as he shifted into a cross legged position on the floor, resting his black arms straight across his lap. "Uh... are you ready to continue, pup?"

"Does it feel like it's working, sir?"

The otter slowly nodded. He conjured an ember and let it play across a bare arm. The yellow fire played across his body without doing any harm. "I know it's working. We'll get you off scrolls yet. You're doing quite well."

"How old are you, sir?" The question came out of nowhere. Crisp regretted asking it. He felt like he was prying.

"I'm going on twenty eight," replied the otter, nonchalantly.

"Whoa! You're not that much older than I am," exclaimed Crisp. "How'd you become a Master so quickly?"

"It was a combination of magical skill, knowing the guild politics, and sheer dumb luck," laughed Cairo. Crisp raised an eyebrow, curious but afraid to ask about more for fear of appearing nosy. Cairo continued, placing a finger on his goatee, lost in a trance of reminiscence. "Well, I knew a lot about many schools of magic, but the sages were impressed by my wind magic. I knew almost as much about wind as some of the sages when I walked in the front door. That was about ten years ago. So I became the third youngest instructor in the college's history. Once I got access to the instructor's library I started to learn about the other stuff I've been trying to teach you, you know, the stone and ice and all that. It was about three years later one of the Masters stepped down, and I nominated myself to take his role."

"So you got voted in?" asked Crisp, leaning back on his arms as he listened to his master's tale.

"Well, it wasn't that simple," laughed Cairo. "There were two other contenders that had better support than me. There was this stone mage who had a worse temper than you. Still, he knew almost every spell in the book. I think he actually overcame his forbidden school. And then there was Cleo... that vixen knew more about psionics than anyone else I knew. She had her eyes on the Archmage throne, and she didn't care how many brains she fried to get there. But those two knew a lot more than me in general. But I was genuinely worried about either of them in a seat of power. The only one who listened to my concerns was Sage Freke, but two voices wouldn't sway the council."

"So what'd you do?"

Cairo was now twisting one of the whiskers on his muzzle. "Well, both Freke and I were more concerned about Cleo. She was the more dangerous of the two. So I actually did some digging to find out more about her before she came the college. Well, it took some hard searching, but we found some really nasty stuff. She was about twelve years older than me, probably fifteen now that I think about it." Crisp nodded, entranced by the unfolding drama.

Cairo continued, scratching his short cropped silver head fur as he did so. "She was involved heavily in a really suspicious murder case a few years back. It was under a different surname, and she was a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband. But the cops couldn't get any evidence on her. Another fur ended up coming forward, with a confession, with details that only a murderer could know. He had the gun that did it too. You see where I'm going with this?"

Crisp nodded, but was still perplexed. "But didn't they know she practiced mind magic?"

Cairo rolled his eyes. "Do the cops know a damn thing about magic? Besides, she didn't go into formal magical schooling until AFTER the case. But you probably know that even an untrained novice can master some rudimentary magic without schooling. It's hard to detect a lot of mind magic anyway. It's not as flashy, not as traceable. Of course when I showed this to the council it changed some of their minds. They could connect the dots. You know, retrospect is twenty - twenty. It threw her out of favor pretty fast. She was so mad that she stormed out the front doors and hasn't come back."

"But what about the stone mage?"

"Oh, that bovine buffoon. What was his name? Right... it was Krursk. Weird name, right? Anyway he actually died. He tried to spar with someone out of his league. The fight went sour when Krursk tried to cast Earth's Embrace."

"But that's lethal!" cried Crisp. "What happened?"

"Well, he was fighting a Sentinel in training," laughed Cairo. "One quick counterspell and Krursk found himself buried in the grave he dug himself. She didn't have a choice, either. It was either get buried alive or turn the spell back on the caster. He was a foul bull. I can't believe he even got so high in the ranks with a temper like that."

"So you ascended by default?" laughed Crisp.

"Well, it's not like I was unqualified," chuckled Cairo. "Their were other suitable candidates, but I was the most knowledgeable after Cleo and Krursk were out of the picture. It was put to a council vote and, just like that, I was the newest master, at just about your age, too. So, now that I'm done jabbering, we should return to work. I know I need to work on how to control my fire better."

"That you do," said Crisp, nodding in assent. "Just remember that you cannot command fire, you can only convince it. Tell it why it's intended destination is better than your hand it will travel there. Try and convince the fire that my hand is a better place to live than yours. It's honestly better if you just try to do it once or twice rather than think too hard about it. Give it a shot, you won't burn me..."

---

Crisp was working on some runes. He really wanted to work on a water rune, to be able to cast it completely without the help of his master. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the guidance, but it would be kind of cool to be able to do something that even his master could not.

Cairo returned to the room from his early morning lessons, a number of scrolls under his arm along with a duffel bag that was clanking slightly. Crisp looked up briefly before returning to the rune. Cairo looked over his shoulder. "So you got up this early on your own? And working on water magic? I wish you luck."

"Should I set this aside while you have time?"

Cairo nodded, placing the scrolls on his desk. "I would like you to do that. But I also owe you an apology."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do," said the otter. "I've kept you locked up here for almost an entire month."

Crisp nodded. "Yeah, I know. I figured when my whole rampage blew over you'd let me out for a bit. But things like that can fester and get worse over time."

"Wise words, pup. But you deserve to get out and stretch your paws too. So I thought I'd give you a different kind of lesson today."

"Hrm?"

"Do you know anything about swordplay, pup?"

"Swords? Nothing at all."

"Well, today you're going to learn. Let's move to the gym, and bring some junk clothes."

Crisp got up from the desk, putting the brush back in the inkwell before searching through his dresser for some old shorts and a ratty shirt. He followed his master mutely to the elevator, waiting as it brought them to the floor containing the gymnasium. The wolf noticed he still got some dirty looks from his so-called peers, but only when they were sure Cairo's ice blue eyes were in a different direction.

They arrived at the gym, walking to a corner of an unused basketball court. Cairo produced a roll of blue painting tape. He pointed at the ground, specifically at the thin line that separated one of the wooden floorboards of the court. "Hold the tape here." Crisp took the edge of the tape and placed it on the ground. The otter backed up, unrolling the tape so that it followed the line.

"Fencing isn't really sword fighting. It's too polite, but the basics teach you a lot about footwork. When you fence, you really shouldn't stray more than a foot or so from the blue line. That way you need to worry about my reach. I have a few epees in my bag. They're the straight ones, the second longest blades with the thick, unsharpened points."

Crisp nodded, looking through the bag for two blades with round, wide hand guards. "Are these the right ones?"

"Yes," said Cairo, taking one of the blades as well as one of Crisp's hands. "You hold it like this." The otter guided the wolf's wrist downward, coaxing his fingers into the proper positions. Crisp held his breath as he felt the webbed fingers pressing his own into the sword. Wait, master was talking again.

"The hand guard is really important in epee. Anywhere you can reach is a valid score zone, so you need to watch where you keep your arm. Also, thrusts are the only valid attacking type, so don't swing it around like it's a damn scimitar. I'd wear those goggles of yours too."

Crisp eyed the blade. It was blunt, but it still looked vicious. He pulled his red lenses over his head, tinting the gym but protecting his green eyes. "Don't we want armor or something?"

The otter rolled his arm, his elbow, his wrist, getting used to the blade in his hand. "I can fix any injury that these swords make. It will cause some bruises if you jab hard enough, but you're equal to that. Now, place your right foot on the line, but your weight should be on your left foot..." Cairo expertly explained how to stand properly, manually adjusting Crisp's stance when he was leaning to one direction or the other. Crisp was eager to get the actual sword play, but at the same time admired how his master knew exactly how to coax him into the proper position.

Now Cairo was across from the wolf, their swords out and inches from each other, hovering in the air. "Remember, thrusts only. You should only swing the blade sideways to deflect me. Are you ready?"

Crisp, nodded. Cairo took the offensive, thrusting at the center of his apprentice's chest. Instinctively, Crisp swept his blade sideways, hearing a decisive cling as he knocked the other blade aside. Crisp smiled in success before watching his master whip his blade around his own in a tight circular motion. Crisp panicked, swinging the other way in an attempt to deflect the second thrust found a blade poking into the fur on his elbow. "Focus, pup. No big motions. Keep it tight. Keep it controlled enough so that you can change directions on a dime if you have to."

The wolf rubbed his poked elbow, not so much out of pain but more of a reflex. "Yes, sir." They resumed stance, this time Crisp taking the offensive. He thrusted purposely for the hand guard in an attempt to bait Cairo into blocking low, but Cairo didn't move, letting the blade deflect against the guard. It made a ringing sound as Crisp felt the impact reverberate up his arm. The wolf was unable to recover in time to block the blade that lightly poked the white chest fur exposed by his low cut, ratty t-shirt.

Cairo actually smiled. "Nice try, but it takes more than that to psyche me out."

The pair continued, fighting countless bouts as Crisp learned to dance back and forth across the line, staying just out of reach before lunging forward to clip his master's knee or elbow. They switched to sabers, lighter swords with thinner blades designed for non-lethal slashes. Crisp found he enjoyed saber more, relishing the feel of the lighter blade. It felt more swashbuckler-esque, a lighter, more playful style that felt more real compared to the hyper-precise epee.

The pair of furs stepped, ducked, parried, slashed, stabbed, and feinted, not stopping after a single hit now. The slim blades stung, but they decided that going to three hits to a round allowed for more dynamic fights.

They panted as they paused, Cairo offering Crisp a water bottle from his bag. "Want to take this to the next level?"

"What do you mean sir?" asked Crisp before taking a deep drink.

"We get rid of the line. We fight a bit dirtier. If you fight a real person with a blade, they won't draw a pretty line for you before attempting to kill you. What do you think?"

"Absolutely," said the wolf, bouncing on the heels of his paws. "Get your blade ready."

"It's always ready," laughed Cairo. He whipped his blade upward, aiming for Crisp's hip. Crisp sidestepped with a pivot of his heel, listening to the whistle of the slender sword cutting the air. He relished the freedom of not being tied to the line. He ducked low, going for a shin stab, scoring a hit but feeling Cairo's saber touch his elbow at the same time. One to one.

Crisp was in a bad place now, crouched low but unable to straighten up without making himself vulnerable. He slashed overhand, catching Cairo's blade purposely so as to deflect it away, buying him time to stand. Cairo was clearly flustered at letting himself lose such an easy advantage, performing a series of slashes that forced them to circle around each other, the gym echoing with the clang of metal on metal.

Cairo was pressing his advantage by staying aggressive, forcing Crisp to simultaneously block and search for an opening that wasn't there. He decided to throw caution to the wind, purposely opening his left side so as to bait an attack. Cairo obliged, and Crisp briskly side stepped before lunging low and forward, catching the otter mid thrust in the elbow, simultaneously scoring a point and disrupting his attack, preventing him from connecting with the wolf's hip. Two to one.

Crisp pivoted on his back paw, circling his body and leaning back to buy some space and get himself out of his vulnerable post-lunge stance. His stab had clearly stung enough to torque out his master's arm, as Cairo had backed off enough so he could roll his arm again, getting used to the bruise that he had probably raised. His Master caught him by surprise as he moved forward with brisk steps, attacking with a slash that started at his ankles and moved diagonally upward towards his shoulder. It was a dramatic slash that used so much body motion that Cairo had to spin his whole body around once in order to not get caught off balance. The maneuver actually ripped Crisp's old shirt, and he had to grit his teeth as the thin metal stung his stomach. Two to two.

Crisp backed off, keeping his blade between him and his master. He held it in a horizontal position so that such a dramatic vertical slash would be deflected if he tried it again. The two skirted around each other, keeping their difference as they took tentative, long distance thrusts at each other. They were both playing cautiously, both aware that one touch would lose them the match. Suddenly, Cairo repeated his dramatic upward slash. Crisp grinned, prepared to block the maneuver this time, but Cairo had different plans. The ring of metal on metal filled the gym as Cairo clashed his sword against Crisp's, knocking it upward. The otter span his body, keeping his arm raised to stop Crisp from swinging at him. The wolf felt a thick black tail swipe at his ankles as his master crouched low as he spun. Caught off guard by the tail sweep, Crisp felt his butt hit the floor, followed by a light flick on his wrist.

Crisp spoke between heavy breaths. "That...that was..."

The otter smiled mischievously. "Dirty? Tricky? Nasty? It was all of those things."

"I was going to say clever," said Crisp.

"Well thank you," said Cairo, offering his hand to his apprentice. "You catch on quickly. You sure you never picked up a sword before?"

"How long were we going at it," asked Crisp, wishing he remembered his watch.

The otter checked his own wrist. "Four hours? Hrm. It felt shorter than that. I think we can call it a day for today."

"No magic lessons today?" asked Crisp, finding himself disappointed.

"Not today. Let's change. After that you can wander the building for a bit, but don't leave the academy." He fished through his bag and produced a three inch plastic card. "Get yourself something to eat. You can go up to the scholar's lounge if you like. Show them this and they'll let you in. It'll pay for your food too."

"Thank you," said Crisp, taking the card gingerly. "Do they normally let students in?"

"They do when they have express permission from their master and their master's key card."

The two retired to the changing room, the bag of blades clanking as they walked. They were sweaty and rather disgusting smelling. Cairo dropped the bag on a bench, taking off his sweat soaked shirt. Crisp noticed out of the corner of his eye how his master's fur caught the light now that his body was glistening with sweat. He noticed how his arm muscles were stretched taught and visible through his fur as he reached up to retrieve his clothes. He noticed how his upper body was slightly longer compared to his lower body, emphasizing his river otter heritage. He noticed how the musky scent of sweat actually suited him. He noticed the slick fabric of his gym shorts pressing against his cock as he... was getting a boner?

Crisp ripped his eyes away from his master, stuffing his head deep into the locker as though he was looking for something. Why was he looking at his master like that? What was his deal? His master was... well, male. He wasn't a tail lifter. He liked females. They had breasts! Men didn't have those. How could his master stand up to a lovely pair of round, squishy mammaries? All his master had was a sculpted, statuesque physique that... shit.

Crisp changed both his clothes and his train of thought quickly, trying to hide the half pitched tent in his boxers as his master pulled on his pants. It took a lot more effort than he thought it would to resist sneaking a peek at Cairo's dark, buff body. He took a separate elevator to the instructor's lounge. It wasn't really a lounge, it was more like a damn restaurant, darkly lit and filled with booths and furniture upholstered in red velvet. It had a cafe with food, coffee... nice stuff. The wolf had gotten inside with a swipe of the card and an explanation to the badger who was standing in front of the door.

He ordered a cup of coffee and a chicken warp, broodily staring at the black liquid as he stirred sugar into it. This was stupid. He wasn't attracted to his master. He admired him, for sure. Cairo was so knowledgeable, so quick to learn new material and so ready to process it so that he could teach it in a way more relatable to others. He was honest, up front about his shortcomings and strengths. He was clever in a witty, smart ass kind of way. He was wise and perceptive, especially about the natures of others. And he was caring. Cairo had rescued him when he almost flew off the handle.

What would make him attracted to his master? He liked girls, dammit. He wasn't attracted to masculine furs. Cairo was a such masculine male. He had that short black goatee, those long otter whiskers around his muzzle that could almost be a mustache. He had such fantastic muscles. That was the wrong word, fantastic. Impressive? That sounded less... gay, he supposed. Or was he just kidding himself?

Was there anything particularly wrong with him liking Cairo? Yes there was. He doubted that the academy would permit students to date their teachers. But if they kept it secret? But would his master permit it? Would an advance cost him the only instructor who had managed to teach him something other than pyromacies? Was it worth the risk?

But did Cairo even like males? Had their ever been a sign that the otter was partial to other males? Advancing on Cairo could be an insult as well as inappropriate then. Fuck. Maybe he should try and pick up a girlfriend once. If he could convince his master to let him out on a regular basis he could try then. Maybe getting laid would put his mind at ease. But who would lay him, the pyromaniac who threw flaming tantrums?

His food came, which he ate sullenly before returning to their room. Crisp noticed that the food was of a really good quality, in a detached sort of way. He took the elevator down to the floor with Cairo's room, dawdling just a little bit as he twin doors shut behind him with a small ding.

"Oh, shit," gasped Crisp, averting his eyes hastily away as he glimpsed his master stepping out of the shower.

The wolf heard a rustle as Cairo wrapped a towel around his waist. "You're back earlier than I thought. I imagined you would have wanted to take advantage of your lounge privileges for as long as possible. Not many students get to see it."

Crisp wasn't able to talk properly, not with his master walking around in nothing but a towel. "It... was nice. I, uh, just got bored with no one I could really talk to."

"Mmhmm," said the otter. Crisp was painfully aware that his master was sitting the edge of his green bed, his legs spread just enough that if Crisp looked down a bit he might've been able to catch a look at his- "Hey, puppy boy," called Cairo, a chuckle in his voice.

"Yes master?"

The otter leaned back on his bed, lifting one of his legs so that one of his hindpaws rested on the bedspread. The white towel was still just covering his vital areas. "Why don't you come over and give me a squeeze, eh?"

"What?!"

"Don't act like i haven't seen you," laughed Cairo, tugging playfully at the towel, teasing Crisp's eyes. His voice became a bit more serious. "I'm not an idiot. I've noticed how you've been ogling me for weeks. I've noticed how you've touched me, how your fingers linger on my fur. I've noticed that even as I speak you have those little green eyes of yours zeroed in on the towel that's hiding my cock and balls. So why don't you walk up and give me a godsdamn squeeze and see if you like it?"

"But... I-I don't like males," stuttered Crisp, nervously scratching his arms. "I just like girls."

"There's nothing wrong with liking girls," said Cairo, the chuckle returning to his voice. "But if you 'just like girls,' why is there a big, fat tent in your pants?"

Crisp looked down, suddenly aware of his cock pressing against the fabric of his shorts. Damn it. He walked forward, slightly dazed as he stepped closer and closer to his master. He reached down, slowly and pressed his hand against the soft, fluffy, slightly damp towel. He felt an ample amount of meat wrapped beneath. He squeezed lightly at where he thought Cairo's shaft was located; it was hard to tell through the towel. He heard his master exhale. "Master..."

"You liked that, didn't you, pup?"

"I think so," whispered Crisp.

"I know so," laughed the otter. "You're leaking, boy." The otter took the hand Crisp had used to squeeze him by the wrist, coaxing his hand to grip the towel again, letting the wolf unwrap the damp fabric from around his waist.

Crisp felt firm, black hands working at his belt, roughly pulling his white shorts down to his ankles. They then journeyed north, sliding up the inside of his shirt. He felt webbed fingers running through the shaggy white fur on his underbelly and chest, rolling up his black shirt and short white jacket across his body. Crisp raised his arms obediently so that he otter could throw the clothes off his body.

The wolf stood in front of his otter master, both now undressed and both with sizable erections. Crisp was transfixed by Cairo's cock. It was fleshy, thick, long, subtly curved upward, and with a pink, rounded head. He looked down to be surprised that his own length wasn't much shorter, not much thinner, similarly shaped, and no less hard. He wanted to reach forward and touch his master again.

His train of thought was interrupted as he felt his own length being firmly squeezed, another one of Cairo's paw reaching around to grip his rump. Crisp was swept into strong arms, his white, fluffy chest now pressed into his master's silky black and silver one. The hand on his rump moved upward, going against the grain of his fur so that it was more ruffled and spiky than before. The black hand now gripping his head fur. The hand on the back of his scalp pressed his pointed muzzle against the rough lips of the otter. Crisp let out a tiny moan as he felt the wet black nose and whiskers tickle his face.

Cairo spent a short amount of time running his dark fingers across Crisp's member, even scoring a claw ever so lightly up the length, kneading the soft, pink head, squeezing the shaft tightly. He looked up with a grin that was uncharacteristically wolfish for his master. "You've got a nice muzzle, pup. Do you know how to use it?"

"I... I haven't been with anyone, master," stammered Crisp.

The otter sighed. Snagging the shorts around Crisp's ankles with a thick hindpaw, he flung Crisp onto the bed. The wolf found himself flat on his back, his arms at slightly odd angles. His was a little dazed after being flung, but the bed was soft, and his master had a devious grin on his face that Crisp found, to his surprise, incredibly irresistible. Cairo towered over the wolfs body, leaning down to whisper in a pointed grey ear. "So... I think we have time for another lesson."

The otter fished the pants around from the wolf's ankles. He began to unlace the red sneakers he had enchanted for his apprentice, but the wolf spoke. "Stop... uh, leave them on. Uh, please master?" Cairo raised his eyebrows but obliged. Crisp spoke again. "Uh... Master, can you tighten them?"

Cairo's eyes raised higher, "If you want, pup." Despite being obviously perplexed, the otter again did as he asked, tying tight knots so that the red sneakers fit snugly around his paws. In fact it was almost painful. The otter straightened up. Crisp was transfixed as Cairo drew a rune in the air with magic as blue as his eyes. With a flick of a finger, the rune wrapped itself around Crisp's length. "Uh... was that a spell?"

The otter nodded, his smile still slightly devilish. "Yes. The novice won't get his reward until the master is done. But you need to learn a few things. Watch how the master works, pup." Crisp gasped as the otter's maw enclosed his length. The feeling of his tongue was unlike anything he had felt before. It was wet and fluid, warm and chilly at the same time. His lips wrapped around the shaft as he began to bob his head a little. Crisp thrust forward just once as his master worked, a moment of uncontrolled lust.

Cairo removed the wolf's length from his muzzle, exhaling. Crisp gave a tiny moan, the sensation of breath on his wet member pushing him to greater levels of arousal. The otter growled. "That was the first part, pup." Crisp got no chance to reply as the otter returned to the wolf's body. Crisp's orbs were modest in size, covered in soft white fur. The otter took one of his furry orbs in his tongue, coaxing it lower with the warmth of his mouth before taking it fully in his jaws. Crisp felt how his balls sagged under the warm coaxing of the work of his master. His master's whiskers tickled against the lower part of his pink length. He couldn't help groaning at the sensation of how pent up he was. Every nerve in his body was desperate for a release. "Master, master, please... please let me finish."

The otter opened his maw wider, letting gravity remove Crisp's balls from his mouth. "Not yet," he whispered. "You've got to finish the master first. Are you ready for your exam, pup?"

Crisp understood, sitting further up and letting his master sit beside him. Eagerly, he took his place on his knees, taking the otter's endowment in his hand. He kneaded the shaft with finger and forefinger for a few seconds, felling subtle throbs, before placing his mouth around the pink head. He slid his lips around the shaft and lowered him muzzle lower, lower until to both their surprises he found his nose buried in the dark fur that grew around the base of his master's assets.

The wolf's tongue danced around the length inside his maw, tasting the leakage as his hands probed the otter's body. The silver fur on the underbody was softer, slightly shorter, silkier than the black outer fur, which was rougher but still felt slick. He ran fingers through both types of fur, unable to pick a favorite texture as his master ran his hand through the spiky grey headfur between his soft, pointed ears. Crisp felt intense satisfaction from the low, rumbling breaths that Cairo took, his eyes closed and his chest rising under his hands as the wolf continued to service his master.

Strong black paws held the side of the wolf's head, lifting it away from the otter's length, still quivering and now completely covered in wolf slobber. Crisp looked down, afraid he was disappointing his master. Cairo subtly shook his head, smiling again. "You did fine, pup." The otter slid back on the bed so that his whole body laid atop it, his erection a quivering pink spire upon a green, black, and silver landscape. "Take a seat, boy. You've got one more lesson to learn."

The wolf had only a minor hesitation before crawling onto the massive bead, straddling the otter, his rear hovering over his master's pride. Lifting his tail, he slowly lowered himself onto the fat, pink head. Crisp was guided by the hands of the otter, gently pushing him down the length. "Don't push, pup," said Cairo in a husky whisper. "Accept me. Convince your tailhole that it's a good home for me."

Crisp closed his eyes and gritted his teeth at the pain of taking such a big male. But that pain was numbed by the pleasure running through his whole body, both sensations most intense around his rear. "I'm ready, sir."

Cairo grabbed Crisp's hips as he sat up. With a swift movement he rotated both of their bodies so that now Crisp was on his back, his hips angled high in the air, poised to take his master's pride. His own pent up length was pressing into his hips, producing agonizing throbs in a desperate attempt to fight the inhibition spell wrapped around it. He groaned lustily as his master withdrew a few inches, feeling every movement inside his tailhole.

The first thrust was strong, a firm strike that rammed his hips into his rear with the intent to loosen him a little. The second, third, and fourth were the same, powerful and arrhythmic. Crisp felt his own fluffy white tail rubbing against a thick, dark otter tail, unable to control his canine urge to wag it in ecstasy.

They were both panting as Cairo transitioned into a series of rhythmic thrusts now, still firm but more consistent, sliding smoothly inside his rear. Each movement was less painful than the previous until eventually Crisp was lost in his own bliss. His hands gripped the green sheets, his short claws puncturing the bedspread by a small amount. The otter was towering over him, his sculpted black and silver chest a furry sky that Crisp reached out to clutch at as his body convulsed in a desperate attempt to release.

Crisp felt strong hands press on his shoulders now, pushing him deeper into the bed as Cairo worked faster, faster, faster. His muzzle was wide open, his canine tongue lolling out of the side as he panted in time with his master, both their chests rising and falling together in a frantic pace. The otter lowered his back, eyes clenched shut and groaned into Crisp's ear. It was then that he paused, only briefly, before gave his hardest thrust yet, driving himself deep into Crisp's rear, lowering his maw for am extended kiss made clumsy by the convulsions of pleasure that wracked both their bodies.

The fur around the wolf's tailhole grew warm as Cairo's release left it wet and sticky, leaking around the otter's ample length as he emptied himself once, twice, four times into his apprentice. Only when the otter withdrew from Crisp did the runes fizzle, the long awaited release burst forth like a river destroying a dam. It was the sweetest orgasm of the wolf's life, intensified by the extended drought and anticipation. In a greedy lust Crisp reached up and pulled his master back into his muzzle, groaning throatily. He was unable to stop himself from thrusting his hips as he shot sticky ropes across his white chest.

With a sigh, Cairo flopped onto his back next to his apprentice, one hand still gripping the wolf's now sticky chest. They panted in time with each other for long minutes, staring at the ceiling in a lusty haze. It was only then, after five minutes that Crisp broke the silence. He turned his head to address the otter. "Master?"

"Yes pup?"

"Did I do well?"

"You were excellent, Crisp."

The wolf gave a start. It was the first time his master had addressed him by name. "Thank you sir."

Crisp felt Cairo's dark tail rub up against his sneaker-clad paws. "Why'd you keep the shoes, pup?"

Crisp looked away from the otter, feeling his cheeks warm and letting a giggle escape from his muzzle. "hee hee... no reason." There was another pause as they lay there. Crisp laid his hand across the one that Cairo was still resting on his white chest. "Can I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Can I hold you?" The otter responded by pulling the sheets over their bare bodies. Crisp couldn't stifle a sigh as dark arms enclosed his body, a thick tail resting heavily on top of his legs. His ears were tickled by whiskers as Cairo gave his apprentice a long, soft kiss, gently pressing his lips to Crisp's furry cheek. "Thank you, master."