FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Seven hundred years later, Zerrex sat on a cushion in the log house he'd built himself. It was a rickety but serviceable shack that Amiglion had done him the honor of casting a Spacial Enlargement spell on, so even though it looked like any other twenty foot log home in the Lust Circle, inside it was at least fifty feet wide, and Zerrex had gathered a fair amount of junk over all his years here.

Work didn't pay him a lot: at three silver coins a week, he barely made enough to keep up with his need for new clothes every few years. But on the other hand, he felt a lot like a high-class whore: succubi and incubi would sometimes wander by with a gift for him, begging to ride the legendary Lord Zerrex, and by now he had swallowed enough of his pride to accept a little help here and there, and he'd also gotten used to the politics of Hell enough to see that what happened with him was a perfectly normal, everyday occurrence even in other Circles with admired demons.

The Drakkaren glanced back and forth over his small home as he put down the Basic Magical Principles book, and he let out a long sigh, muttering and rubbing at his temple. If magic was as easy as sex, I'd be done every incantation by now... not stuck at Moderate-Advanced Magical Theory. I hate this stuff...

Although his memory had improved dramatically â€" Selena called it part of the Death Effect, said every mortal who died gained all their old memories back and could regurgitate countless facts without problem â€" and the reptile knew most of the magical spells in the book and about half the inversions, he was still no good at control or casting. He also tended to mess up the runes while mumbling them under his breath, and had begged and pleaded with Selena to teach him how to do it by thought and concentration alone, but Selena had grumbled back that he needed to learn the basics before they moved onto Archmage-level tricks. Zerrex had then grumbled and gone back to attempting the Shield spell, but he'd messed up on a rune and instead he'd created a massive vortex that had sucked him through it and spat him out the other side with most of his scales flayed off, and Amiglion had spent over an hour healing him as Selena decided to call it a day with a groan of disgust.

The reptile picked the book up, then he stood and wandered over to put it into one of the three mostly-empty shelves that were leaning against one wall, next to his enormous futon. He sat down on this, smoothing out the fluffy blankets idly, and then he looked slowly over the plethora of swords and shields hanging on his wall and the single large dresser unit he had, on top of which were a few more knives and a few magical objects, including the Northern Star he didn't need to use anymore. He kept it on hand just in case, however, since he always felt horrible if he threw anything out... and then the Drakkaren made a bit of a face. "Still an hour or so to kill before work..."

Over the last seven-tenths of a millennia, things had slowly evened out between him and the Inquisitors... but the first five hundred years had been horribly rough. All of the Inquisitors had taken their swings at him on their own days in the first week after, but they had steadily grown worse over time, using the nastiest illusions they could think of and sending him from one hell to the next, sometimes even ganging up on him and humiliating him in front of Masters and Slavers, but they always made it clear in a simpering, mocking voice not to ‘ever, ever do this yourselves,' which of course had given them many different ideas.

Longhorn, the cheetah, for instance, had spent three hundred years dragging Zerrex around the mines like a pet, making him walk around on all fours while wearing a collar and an animal mask, forcing the reptile to pick up jagged rocks with his mouth and bringing them over to the bin, calling him the ‘loose ore patrol.' On the other hand, Longhorn had then been dumb enough to drag Zerrex around while Captain Issen and Lieutenant Ambrose had been inspecting the mines, and Zerrex thought the asskicking Longhorn and his Slaver team had received would stay firmly as one of his happiest experiences in Hell.

After that, Ambrose had taken over Longhorn's duties, and Zerrex had since been treated like any other prisoner... but since the reptile was glad to be doing a dirty, physical job, and Ambrose was a world more lenient than Longhorn, it turned the environment into an almost pleasant one for the reptile, leaving him only to avoid the Slavers that sometimes chased after him deep in the tunnels he had mined out himself. But other than that, he was starting to actually enjoy the work, and he'd even snuck a few of the smaller crystal shards home with him, and Amiglion then took these and sold them on what he referred to with a grin as Hell's Black Market in the Greed Circle.

Currently, Ami was on a run down there to see what he could fetch on a fair-sized chunk of crystal that could be refined into a ring or even a magic sphere... and the reptile smiled a bit as he rested back on the futon and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes. Amiglion and him were getting along far better these days... and maybe he'd even tapped the Naganatine a few times, and admittedly it had been quite a thrilling experience... "But then again, how many people get to say they've screwed Death?" he murmured to himself, and then he laughed a bit.

The Drakkaren glanced back and forth, and then he fidgeted and sat up with a sigh. He rubbed slowly at one of his horns before heading for the door and deciding to take a walk, since he hated the idea of simply sitting around doing nothing all day. Or perhaps it was just the mixture of disappointment and confusion at himself that always managed to sink in when he was alone that bothered him.

Despite having spent more than eight hundred years in Hell, the Drakkaren was showing no other demonic characteristics... and Selena had told him mildly he should be definitely be changing by now, unless he was going to permanently remain what most referred to as a ‘soldier-class demon,' since he could no longer be properly called an Initiate. That bothered him a bit, though, and made him feel almost like this whole experiment of giving up his family so he could ensure his victory against Az'Iriel was stupid... and now, even the fact he could walk around properly without constantly being in pain felt almost hollow compared to the pain that ached in his heart for his family.

He missed them, more than he could say... and the not-knowing whether or not they were safe was driving him insane. Furthermore, he had learned that he'd technically been dead for mortal days before his soul had awakened in Hell... and with the way the war against the Warlord was going, he was starting to fear for them more and more with every passing moment.

He'd heard news that the Warlord had reclaimed a Black Hole in the Eastern Provinces, and that he had begun to build special training centers for necromancers and other types of spellcaster that could create minions... and worse, they had lost a major battle on the Western Front, and their forces had been forced into a full retreat almost all the way to the Southern Border. It had gotten so intense that Selena had been called out of her regular duties and into service, and Zerrex only hoped that she wasn't serving alongside Queen Feldspar, or things could turn ugly very quickly.

The reptile shook his head a bit, trying to clear the dark thoughts as he strode slowly down the dirt road in the opposite direction of work, reaching a hand over the fence and trailing his fingers idly through the stormwheat inside the fence. I have to concentrate on myself... I have to concentrate on my training, and on living up to my goals here, so one day I can find a way back to my family... Gods, why was I arrogant enough to think I could... hey... "Excuse me, can I help you?"

The Drakkaren halted, glancing curiously at the dark-scaled, fellow reptile standing under an apple tree on the far side of the road, and she blushed deeply before sliding forwards a bit. It was almost like he couldn't get a lock on her scales, as they seemed to shift from purple to black to green... and her eyes were a soulful violet as she looked at him, stepping silently forwards in a long, flowing black dress, her hands crossed over her stomach. She had small breasts, and seemed incredibly shy... but she was looking at him intently and yet anxiously, and the reptile hesitated as his mouth went dry before he murmured: "You... you remind me of my mother."

"I look like everyone's mother." The female said quietly, and she gave a hesitant smile before stepping out from the shade of the tree, bowing to him quietly. "My name is Sin, and I'm a handmaiden of the Princess... I'm sorry if I alarmed you, Lord Zerrex, but I was nervous and I didn't want to disturb you."

"I was just looking for a distraction, anyway." Zerrex said softly, glancing down the street before walking over to her, and he tilted his head a bit as he gazed across at her: she was just an inch or so taller than him, and held herself with a quiet sort of dignity. He paused, then looked down at her hands, asking quietly: "Are you feeling alright?"

"As well as ever. We all have different punishments, Lord Zerrex." she smiled strangely to him, then reached up and gently touched his cheek... and her fingers were terribly cold, but he didn't move away, instead frowning a bit as she said softly: "I bring a message from the Princess for you, though, and an important one... it's about your body."

The Drakkaren nodded and tilted his head curiously, and she pressed her hand against his cheek, rubbing it gently with her odd, small smile as she closed her eyes and recited: "When your punishment in this Circle of Hell is over, you are to report directly to me unless you have undergone another transformation by then. Otherwise, you'll be given a day's grace to report to the Southern Throne. My handmaiden, Sin, will stay around you to advise you as necessary and aid you in the upcoming times ahead, as I have been forced to send Amiglion into the fields of battle. I am sure the combat techniques you have taught him will prove very useful."

Zerrex winced and glanced down, rubbing the back of his head slowly: although it was true that he'd sparred and trained Ami as best he could over the last few hundred years, a few days a week for a few hours of training didn't amount to much... and even if the scythe was now moving more fluidly, Amiglion himself just didn't seem suited for close range combat. "Thank you, Sin... I guess that means you'll be sticking around here, huh?"

"Somewhat." Sin nodded, looking a bit flustered, and Zerrex tilted his head curiously at the odd demoness. "I... I mean, I can't offer you the same comforts and pleasures the others demons have and can... and... I've been ordered to keep myself aloof from you, too, Lord Zerrex, just so you know..."

"That's fine." Zerrex nodded a bit, wondering idly for a moment if maybe the Princess was trying to win him over by sending him a harem of female demons... but then again, he thought that him getting along with Carmen and Selena was an accident or a mistake on her part. She certainly picked a set of Inquisitors for me that I'll never be friendly with, though... "I don't expect every female to get excited over the prospect of spending time with me anyway."

She blushed deeply, and he offered a smile to try and show he wasn't making fun of her or disappointed at all, and yet still she shook her head quickly and stammered: "No, no, it's not like that, Lord Zerrex! I just... I..." she broke off with a deep flush, drawing back and lacing her fingers together quietly. "I'm sorry, Lord Zerrex. I don't wish to offend you."

"I'm not, honestly." Zerrex almost felt exasperated with her, but he kept a smile on his face as he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder, not knowing how strong or frail she was but getting the idea that she wasn't the most solid of demons... and then he paused, glancing her over slowly, and before she could start babbling again, he asked curiously: "You don't seem to have any demonic markings."

She shook her head a bit, and then blushed deeply, looking down silently... and the reptile looked after her for a few long moments before she finally glanced up and cleared her throat, mumbling: "I... I'll be on hand if you need me, Lord Zerrex, and you can call me at any time. I'll hear your voice from anywhere in Hell, you need only say my name loud and clear..." She paused, then quietly held her hands out, and Zerrex tilted his head curiously before taking them after a moment... and suddenly, they were standing in darkness.

He glanced back and forth in confusion, and then Sin mumbled embarrassedly: "This is a pocket dimension called the Marquee Sur Noir. It's a secret place, and I know you can't see much right now... but when you become a demon... well... your vision will change, and you'll be able to see all sorts of things your mind cannot process right now. You still are essentially a mortal Initiate to our realm, but you have learned many things and your eyes may start to adjust even before you become a demon.

"This place is outside even demonic time, in a sort of Limbo or Purgatory... and it is very dangerous for you to stay here alone, especially right now, so I will always be with you in here, Lord Zerrex." Sin paused, looking embarrassed as color quietly faded back in, and the real world came back into focus as she added softly: "In a way, it's almost like we never leave the real world, because you will always come back to the spot where you first vanished from... and you must be touching one of my hands for us to go there." A pause, and then she added in a murmur: "I apologize for my hands being so cold, Lord Zerrex..."

"It's fine, Sin." Zerrex nodded as she quietly let him go, and he glanced down at his fingers, slowly flexing them with a frown as he asked slowly: "Could I learn to go there?"

Sin smiled again, blushing once more and shaking her head a bit. "No, Lord Zerrex... very, very few can go to that place, and even fewer would want to. It's a very unpleasant place, to put it simply... and we'll only go there if ordered or in case of emergencies, such as in case the Warlord's soldiers ever attack. I can speed up time inside the Marquee Sur Noir and then bring us back into reality once the enemy has left and we are safe."

Zerrex nodded a bit, making a face... and Sin shook her head vehemently at his look, lacing her fingers together over her stomach and saying embarrassedly: "Lord Zerrex, please! I know what you feel, but please... we can't risk endangering you or your life in the case that you are placed under a severe attack by the Warlord or other forces... you are very important to us and the Princess."

The Drakkaren nodded with a bit of a sigh, and then he crossed his arms, glancing back and forth a bit before asking quietly: "Well, where are you staying, Sin? Will you be coming with me or do you have another home somewhere?"

"I might stay in the Marquee Sur Noir... I don't want to be any trouble..." Sin looked embarrassed, glancing down and pushing her fingers together, before she quailed at a flat look from Zerrex. "I... I don't want to be a bother, Lord Zerrex..."

"You can stay with me, it's no problem at all." Zerrex said softly after a few moments, and the demoness dropped her head forwards in a deep bow before Zerrex smiled a bit, pointing to his side and concentrating to create a portal. "But I have to leave for work... it was interesting to see you though, Sin. I'll be looking forwards to talking to you more back at home."

The reptile stepped through the portal as Sin nodded and blushed a few times... and fifteen hours later â€" he'd stayed late to help dig several prisoners out of a cave-in, since none of the Slavers seemed remotely interested in lending a hand â€" the Drakkaren stepped out of a portal into his home, covered in dirt and feeling tired... but on the other hand, he had a whole two days ahead of him still of nothing to do, with Selena still gone to the front lines.

The Drakkaren blinked as he felt a cleansing spell wash over him, and the dirt and grime vanished from his body, along with the stench of sweat and cave as Sin looked at him embarrassedly from where she was sitting on the cushion in the far corner, and he tilted his head towards her before realizing she was naked and covering herself with her dress, asking meekly: "I... I'm sorry Lord Zerrex, could... could you turn around while I put this on?"

A modest demon? Something about her... "Of course." The Drakkaren turned around, closing his eyes and bowing his head as he heard her quickly shuffling into her dress... and a few moments later she mumbled something and he turned back around, laughing a bit and saying quietly: "It's been a long time since anyone's been afraid to get naked in front of me. The last time I can think of was probably either at the locker rooms where Cherry worked or all the way back in the military."

Sin murmured something apologetic again, and Zerrex shook his head a bit before walking over to his bookshelf... and pausing as he noted she'd alphabetized everything... after arranging them into different genres and sections, also apparently arranged alphabetically. That's uh... that's pretty impressive. "So, Sin... do... do you like to read?"

"I've read most of the books there, actually." Sin nodded, blushing a bit, and Zerrex decided to take another glance around his home, noting that everything was sparkling clean, and then that every single one of his weapons had been polished, and his futon had been carefully made. The reptile was half-tempted to open his dresser and check if all his clothes had been refolded and his laundry done, too, and then she asked hesitantly: "Do... are you interested in me?"

"You're... an odd one." Zerrex said lamely, rubbing the back of his head and glancing at her, and she flushed deeply before the Drakkaren rose his hands and shook his head quickly, laughing embarrassedly. "No, no, no, not like that at all, not in a bad way! I mean... you're very different. And I like that. So yeah, I am interested in you... and... how you managed to do all this in the short space of time I was gone."

"I was instructed to help you out however I could." Sin replied quietly, nodding and not moving from her spot on the cushions, looking up at him meekly. "I... and thank you. You're just as interesting as the Princess said, too. I like how you treat me."

"I'm... glad. I'd treat you better if I knew what you liked, though." Zerrex responded with a bit of a smile, as he turned towards her, then sat down on the floor as she looked at him almost warily. She's... so strange. "And I have to ask... you look like a Drakkaren to me, without any demonic characteristics... and like you've got purple scales, but there's black ones there, too, like the shadows of a tree's branches are permanently cast over your body..."

"You're very poetic." Sin said quietly, then she shook her head a bit and blushed quietly. "It's because of what I am... to a wolf, I would look like a wolf, to a bear a bear... you get the idea." She halted, then added in a murmur: "I've been around since Hell was born... I was cast out of Heaven, with many of my fellows, and I have since repented... but I'm still here, for whatever reason."

Zerrex tilted his head curiously, feeling a chill run through him as he asked softly: "So, in reality, you're..."

"Yes, one of the Naganatine." She closed her eyes, and for a moment Zerrex saw a pale, white-scaled First Breed like Amiglion... but the moment her eyes opened, once more he was looking at a Drakkaren, who smiled sadly at him. "But I don't like to advertise it... and I prefer to give people something that... I prefer to look like this. I'm sorry I don't have a good explanation for you, Lord Zerrex..."

The Drakkaren shifted quietly, holding her stomach... and Zerrex continued to look at her for a few moments before nodding and sitting back a bit, asking quietly: "So Sin... you seem very quiet, very... shy, if I can say so. Isn't there anything you'd like to tell me about yourself?"

"Not really... there's... not a lot to tell." Sin blushed and looked down, her eyes flicking away, and Zerrex got the sense it was more like she had been forbidden to tell anyone. "I... I like mortal foods. And I like backrubs and..." she paused and looked down with a deeper flush. "I mean, I don't... but I don't... I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

Zerrex only smiled a bit, though, and she glanced up at him embarrassedly, adding in a mumble: "I don't really like people touching me... and I don't like to be stared at, and I don't like to hurt people very much. I like quiet things."

The reptile nodded again, then he glanced up towards the ceiling before pausing and glancing over his shoulder at a portal that appeared, and a moment later Selena stepped through, looking grouchy... before her eyes widened in shock and she almost staggered into her own closing portal, Zerrex wincing a bit: getting half of your body teleported across Hell never worked out well for anyone.

Thankfully, she halted herself before shaking her head briskly and bowing courteously, saying calmly: "Lady Sin, it's a pleasure to see you... and it's been a long time. I trust I find you well and in good company?"

"Lord Zerrex is nice." Sin said quietly, giving him a meek smile before glancing back at Selena and asking curiously: "And I thought her Excellency had you deployed to the front line? Have you already been relieved of your duties?"

Selena shook her head with a grunt, wiping at a large gash on her left breast before saying dryly: "I'm on ‘temporary leave' for the moment while they form a military tribunal... Queen Feldspar and I got into a bit of a scuffle and several people were injured." She paused as Zerrex looked at her with concern, then waved a hand airily. "I'm fine and... Queen Feldspar... is also... thankfully okay... but I think they just wanted to reassign us to separate battlefields, just for safety reasons. While they do that, I get to do whatever I want, so I figured I'd see what was happening here."

Sin nodded, then she stood up with a wince, and Zerrex looked after her curiously as she bowed to them both before murmuring softly: "I'll give you the day, then... pardon me, Lord Zerrex, but I don't want to interrupt..."

"You can stay if you want..." Zerrex said softly, raising a hand, but then he smiled a bit as Sin looked hesitant. "On the other hand, don't let me keep you, either, Sin... just don't think that I want to get rid of you. I did invite you back here, after all."

Sin nodded again, then she blushed and bowed a bit before mumbling another apology and something else he didn't quite catch, and then she created a white portal and stepped through it, the portal shutting quickly after her. Zerrex shook his head slowly, and Selena snorted laughter from behind him, the Drakkaren making a face and dropping onto his back to look at her from the floor. "What?"

"Just you... always hitting on important chicks." Selena said with mild amusement, then she sighed and cast a quick cleansing spell over her body, wincing as she rubbed at one of her wounds slowly. "Hey, is this room soundproofed?"

The Drakkaren nodded a bit, glancing around at the walls. "Yeah, I took the time to carve some inverted Echo runes on some of the logs before I set them up... why?"

Selena shook her head a bit, then she grunted and sat down on the futon, looking miserable as Zerrex rolled onto his stomach and looked at her from the floor. "Just Feldspar. She hasn't seen you since... when?"

"Uh... she came down here sometime a few years ago, but that was the last I heard from her. I've been enjoying the quiet." Zerrex responded mildly, shaking his head slowly, and then he paused, rubbing at one of his horns a bit. "I don't remember her being as bad as she was fifty years ago, but I think she was just doing it for me more than anything else."

"That's for sure. She was accusing me of all sorts of crazy shit, talking about you saying this and that, and even making all sorts of wild accusations about the Princess wanting you for some diabolical master plan or something..." Selena paused, then said in a lower voice: "Not that I doubt the latter entirely... something's wrong here, Zerrex, something's wrong with this war we're fighting. No battle has ever gone on this long in Hell before... and it's almost like the other two Princes don't even matter, yet Prince Raithe is one of the original Princes, and he's been here as long as Sin and longer than Amiglion... he's always been quiet and slow to battle, but at the same time, he's held his position for uncountable years by doing more than simply hiding all the time... but now he seems as irrelevant as Prince Memnon seems to be, which is ridiculous.

"I don't like what's going on, and I don't even know what's going on." Selena said softly, looking down and shaking her head slowly. "We're shipping almost none of our available reserves out to the mortal world, and we should be pouring more reinforcements towards the fronts... yet for whatever reason, she wants many of our platoons to hold positions in villages and other settlements in the Eastern and Western Provinces. I can understand why we want to do that in the East, since Raithe has signed a non-aggression pact with the Warlord that could any day become a full-out alliance... but in the West, Memnon's troops are perfectly capable of holding down his own forts and cities.

"And although the Southern Province is renowned for our priestesses, she sent the Sisters out on a diplomatic mission of some sort to the mortal realm and they still haven't returned... at first I thought it was all fine and made sense, but now that I've had several hundred years to mull it over from every angle and I've seen our need for healing and their enormous powers, I... I just don't know." She looked down, closing her eyes and dropping her hand in her forehead, murmuring softly: "I'd like to spend the day with you, Zerrex, and just talk things through, if we could. I'm sure you can skip one of your horribly-grueling training sessions to talk with an old friend, right?"

"Sure." Zerrex nodded and slid his way over to her, then he smiled a bit as he automatically slipped his head into her lap, and she gazed down at him with a smile of her own before flicking her thumb-claw across one fingertip, leaving a small, bleeding cut... and Zerrex made a face as she stuck this in his muzzle, before sighing as she glared at him and suckling back, mumbling around it: "This is still pretty twisted."

"Fuck you." she grunted, and she closed her eyes and let out a soft sound of relief, her strange little fetish sated for the moment as there was quiet, but for the reptile's sucking at her finger. A few moments later, however, she tapped his muscular chest and said softly: "Look at you. When you came down here you were an old scarred lizard who was still built like a jeep... and now you're built more like a tank, but that could just be from your even-more-twisted exercise fetish. Why don't you just hurry up and change into a Wrath demon or a Gigataur or something already?"

"Your mom." Zerrex said childishly, and then he grunted as she flicked his nose with her other finger, sniffing a bit and rolling his shoulders slowly as he bit her finger loosely in return, making her wince. "Besides, I can't turn into a Gigataur. I'm a lizard."

Selena shrugged, saying absently: "It's rare, but it happens on occasion... but I doubt you'll turn into one. You have to go through special training and all sorts of magical rituals... and you're right, it tends to work out a lot better for minotaurs." She paused, then asked softly: "So hey. Why was Sin here? She usually acts as a messenger for the Princess to bigwigs... although I wouldn't get on her bad side if I were you. She's real shy, and she doesn't have much of a temper, but she won't take kindly to any undue touchy-touchy."

Zerrex grunted again, then he shook his head slowly. "She brought me some weird message from the Princess... something about me reporting to her after my ten thousand years are up in the Circle of Lust if I haven't started to undergo a demonic transformation by then. I'm getting the feeling it wouldn't be a pleasant or safe process though, for some reason."

The Inquisitor shook her head, rubbing a hand quietly through Zerrex's hair. "Not at all... it requires some very special equipment and very powerful magic. Usually Scribes do it, or sometimes the Archmages, but only ever on someone who's very powerful and is taking a very long time to transform."

"Great." Zerrex mumbled, then he sighed as she removed her finger from his muzzle and slipped her hand gently down to his chest instead, rubbing at it slowly as the lizard looked up at her and asked plainly: "Can I go and die somewhere? Or, you know, run through a Black Hole into the mortal realm and go kill Az'Iriel before we get back to that? I really think it'd be a great kick to his crotch if I killed his face off while I was still technically an Initiate."

Selena snorted and shook her head, looking down at the Drakkaren with deep entertainment. "Oh, Lord Zerrex... you're a strange creature, you know that? Most people would be fleeing in terror from even the idea of battling the Warlord, one of the most powerful Demon Princes ever to walk Hell... and yet here you are, still convinced that you'll be able to kill him like you've killed everything else: with brute force and a bit of strategy."

"Don't forget luck." Zerrex chimed in, then he rubbed a hand down his muzzle, looking lame. "Well, from the magic angle, it doesn't seem like I'll be able to do anything against him with that... so I guess the only thing I've got going for me is that whole brute force thing. And even as a mortal I could knock his fists away with Blackheart... and believe me, I don't think he was just putting on a show in front of his minions to look cool."

Selena made a bit of a face, looking skeptical. "It's hard to say, Lord Zerrex. Whereas on the one hand Az'Iriel is a demon of Pride and Wrath, on the other he's a cunning strategist. He might have been able to overlook his own urges for a moment, however short, in order to lure you into a trap where he would be sure to kill you..."

"Except that went wrong for him." Zerrex said quietly, glancing down at one of his hands before sighing a bit and looking up at her mildly before the Inquisitor could say anything, tilting his head a bit as he cleared his throat. "So, Selena. Been having lots of fun with Feldspar otherwise?"

"That fucking bitch." Selena glowered, shaking her head and looking down at him sourly. "She's obsessed with the Princess, and obsessed with you. ‘The Princess' is every second word out of her mouth, and your name is every third... it's infuriating."

"I think that technically, my name is every fourth word, then, because ‘the Princess' is two words." Zerrex said mildly, and then he groaned as Selena smacked his abdominals firmly. "What? I can't help the truth, you... you bitch."

"Shut up or I'll make you lick my crotch." Selena muttered irritably, and Zerrex rolled his eyes, while at the same time wondering what context she meant that in. "But seriously. How have things been between you happily married lovebirds?"

Now Zerrex was the one glowering at her, before he crossed his arms and sulked, saying moodily: "I never thought the day would come when I would be upset there were four naked chicks on leashes at my door, but it came indeed. She tries to do everything she can to please me... but unlike..." He quieted, then glanced down and murmured: "Unlike Marina, it's not appealing at all... because unlike my daughters, she has no idea what I actually like and dislike."

Selena gazed down at him with sympathy as Zerrex swallowed and glanced away with a sigh, before he continued mildly: "But... she interferes a lot with the things I try to do. With my training, with my other Inquisitors â€" which just makes them angrier at me â€" and with my work... but thankfully Lieutenant Ambrose is a lot more forgiving about that than Longhorn ever was about anything. The only advantage to having her around is the fact that she always lets go one too many things around me, and she seems to be ever-so-slowly focusing less on the Princess and more on me..."

"Which could be both good and bad." finished Selena, nodding slowly and rubbing slowly under her muzzle. "I noticed something strange the other day, though, when the Princess came to inspect the army group I'm co-commanding with her and another Inquisitor she tutored a long time ago. The Princess seemed upset with her... and Feldspar actually didn't treat her with the usual slavish respect, seemed even to get irritated with her, which is very hard to hide from a telepath like the Princess is. I also get the feeling the disagreement is about you... and I for once hope that Feldspar's right about something and standing up for you, since otherwise Feldspar seems like she's ready to start jabbing needles into you herself, whether she has authorization or not."

"Wonderful." Zerrex grumbled, shaking his head slowly... and then he sighed a bit and the two relaxed together for a while, eventually curling up on the futon and simply talking until the Drakkaren had to go into work. When he came back, covered in dust and grime, Sin was quietly snoozing under the blankets, and there was a note from Selena saying she'd been reassigned, but hoped to be back in two decades or so.

Zerrex wondered if she was serious or not... even though he'd spent so many years here now, he was still getting used to the idea that the concept of a ‘long time' to a demon was a very different concept than it was to a mortal... and that to a demon, a ‘short time' was probably around a century in Hell. On the other hand, however, he'd managed to waste around ten hours talking cheerfully away with Selena before even thinking about banging her, and by then he'd had to get back to work... so he supposed that either way, he was starting to get used to the fact time wasn't something that caused as much worry in Hell as it did in the mortal realm.

The reptile used a cleansing spell to get rid of the dust and dirt on his body, and then he picked up the same book he'd been studying from for most of his life as a demon here and went back to forcing his way through the text. The only good part was that the book had been enchanted to be legible even to the illiterate by the means of some weird-ass spell, and Zerrex mumbled under his breath: "I should take reopen the book store when I get back to the mortal realm with all the books enchanted like this... I'd make a fortune..."

"Are you truly so convinced you'll escape Hell?" asked a curious, quiet voice, and Zerrex glanced up to see Sin rubbing slowly at her eyes with one hand, before she yawned and flushed deeply. "Hello, Lord Zerrex. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your reading or take up your bed..."

"It's alright." Zerrex shook his head quickly as she began to get up, and she settled back down, still looking uncomfortable even as she settled in, and he said softly: "Sleep if you need to rest... don't let me disturb you, either. Make yourself as comfortable as you want here, Sin, I honestly don't mind... it's... it's nice to have some company. And anything to distract me from this book is welcomed, believe me."

Sin blushed a bit, glancing down and rubbing her hands together slowly... and then Zerrex paused a moment more before answering her question, saying softly: "And... yeah. I guess I do think I'll get back home one day. Sure, I'm in Hell... but Gape, from the Legion, is still missing after all these years, despite the trail of wreckage he's left behind in some villages in the East... and there have been plenty of other glitches and flaws in the powers of the Scholars. They can't be as omnipotent as everyone seems to think they are."

"They're neither omniscient nor omnipotent..." Sin murmured, shaking her head as she relaxed slowly backwards, closing her eyes... and Zerrex frowned, tilting his head curiously. "No one is, not even God, much as we'd like to think otherwise. Not to say any of us were ever any stronger than he was... I believe a saying from one of your mortal religions is God can make anything except someone stronger than him, because he is above all. Well, it's half true... God could never make anyone more talented than he was... it could be close, but he was always the slightest bit stronger, wiser, better, in the end.

"But there were other Gods, too, and some older and so strong that God Himself was forced to flee from them, with these terrible creatures chasing him across the galaxies, until they either tired of the chase or he managed to outsmart them somehow... and there were things he couldn't predict, like mortal behavior and beliefs... and there were things he couldn't do, although they were silly things for the most part." Sin halted, then she looked down and murmured softly: "Poor God. I suppose the only thing we ever succeeded at, we Betrayers, was at screwing ourselves up all the more... and I wish I had never done the things I did. Some mortals say Sin was the daughter of Lucifer or Satan or whatever they called the Ruler of Hell... but you know, mortals have a tendency to assume too much. Lucifer, the Morning Star, may have been the Ruler of Hell... but do you think a grand and beautiful name like the Morning Star would be given to one of the highest of Archangels by an understanding and loving God who wants all his Creation and Life to be saved? No... Lucifer is the dawn and the sunrise, representing the first star every mortal sees in the morning before they even knew it was a star...

"Lucifer always did his duty... it was Mephistopheles Thur Danna Thull the Wicked that betrayed all of us, that led us against God before there were even Angels and before Eternity was even called Heaven." Sin looked down miserably, touching her stomach quietly. "And it was Mephistopheles who decided to alter all of us in Limbo when we had nothing else to do, to try and spawn forth our own race... and so it was Lucifer who was forced to give me my eternal punishment, until the day that the Emperor of Hell returns to the Center Throne of Hell."

Sin halted, closing her eyes and hugging her stomach gently, rocking slowly on the spot as she murmured: "I'm sorry, Lord Zerrex... I... I must be tired, I got carried away..."

"It's alright... I like to listen." Zerrex said quietly, glancing over her slowly and smiling faintly, and she blushed a bit and gazed down embarrassedly. He thought for a moment about asking her what she meant by both her alterations and punishment, but from her sorrowful look he decided to leave the subject alone for now and let her be as she slowly lowered her head back onto his pillows.

She was asleep again a few minutes later, and Zerrex carefully tiptoed past her and outside, his book discarded on the floor in disgust. With all the questions rolling around in his head, he couldn't concentrate... and once a short distance away, the reptile created a portal and stepped through it into the empty arena where Selena had once brought him for training. The reptile rolled his shoulders a bit, and then he paused as a familiar voice said mildly: "Well, well, look at this. It's a douchebag."

"Did you spend all night thinking of that one?" Zerrex turned around, crossing his arms as Vampire grinned cheerfully at him from one of the walkways, waving away two Masters in silver armor as he leapt down into the arena. He landed with a grunt on the sandy floor, then bounced over as Zerrex looked at him mildly. "You also seem to be in an awkwardly cheerful mood today, and I can't quite tell why."

"Hey, since when am I not allowed to be happy to see the good old Captain?" Vampire said, throwing his arms wide, and when Zerrex didn't make any move to hug him, he made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Bitch, one day you'll come running to squeeze me to death, because you'll have missed me so damn much."

"You're the bitch and we both know it." Zerrex responded mildly, and Vampire coughed, half-pointing behind himself with a wince at the Masters who were still leaning on the balcony, doing a bad job of listening in before the Drakkaren said in a loud, clear voice: "Yeah, I know, I remember how much you were just begging for me to go harder, but I don't always like to be so rough, Vampire. I mean, who knows how much your body can take?"

"Yeah, it was a hell of a fight!" Vampire agreed in a strained voice, and then he poked Zerrex in the chest with his thin spear, hissing: "And if you keep talking about me like that I'm not going to let you fuck me anymore, motherfucker!"

Zerrex snorted at this, grinning slightly and tilting his head forwards. "Gee, wouldn't that be a shame? Not getting a blowjob or having you bending over for me when there's probably a thousand other people in this region alone who seem to want a piece of me." A pause, and then he held one finger up, nodding to the huge black wolf. "I do have to admit, on the other hand, that you are a rather impressive lay... and to think, this is the Vampire who used to always try to rape Cherry every time I was around."

"I think that should've told you something right there, sport." Vampire grunted, and he rubbed the back of his head slowly, looking lame as he idly spun the spear at his side. "But you know, it took me forever to get used to the idea that I'd much rather be doing the nasty with guys than with chicks... and I would like to point out I'm not a total bitch, and there's a good few incubi around here who will testify to that fact."

The Drakkaren smiled slightly at this as Vampire moved to poke him with the spear again, catching the neck of the weapon as he growled lightly: "But what, pecking order still applies, even in sex, or are you just sometimes in the mood to be treated like the filthy whore you are?"

Vampire coughed at this, trying to act irritated but failing miserably as he looked away, rubbing the back of his head slowly before finally grunting: "If you're going to start that shit up, Captain, you better be ready and willing to have some fun with me, because I've been stuck on routine patrol of all nine motherfucking Circles for the last ten years now, and I'd much rather waste my day getting laid here in Lust than wandering around all its scenic deserted spots where ‘enemies of the Province' could be laying in wait. I mean, seriously, this is bullshit. This is all because I was caught spying on the Commander in the shower, I tell you."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, looking dryly amused as he crossed his arms and let go of the spear as Vampire tugged on it, the lupine almost falling over. "Even Mahihko back home wouldn't be dumb enough to get caught... and nor would he get kicked out of the public showers every five days or so for inappropriate masturbation or public displays of affection that include dry-humping superior officers."

"It ain't dry-humping, we're in the shower." Vampire said with a frown, and Zerrex slapped his forehead as the demonic wolf looked confused, before blowing a raspberry at the Drakkaren. "But the fag wolf Lone turned into, right? Hey, I am so much less of a faggot than he is. Unless he's big and muscly, then I might act like a bitch, but only for a... hey, wait, that reminds me! You promised me you'd show me how damn big you could get, I've still been waiting to see that shit for like, centuries now, you asshole."

Zerrex sighed, rolling his eyes, and then he finally muttered under his breath and stripped off his leather vest, folding this gently and putting it on the ground beside him before stripping off his pants and folding these, too, holding up a single finger as Vampire's muzzle opened with what was undoubtedly a sex joke. At the look from the Drakkaren, however, his mouth quickly shut, and he only watched with interest as Zerrex strolled a few feet away, wrapped one hand around his other and concentrated.

His muscles bulged first, and then his body began to expand, at first slowly, but quickly speeding up until he reached full size, spreading his arms and shaking his hands out before he crossed his muscular upper limbs, gazing down at Vampire with a grin from a full twenty-five feet of height. One thing was for sure, at least... the magic and concentration training had paid off on allowing him to further increase his size... not to mention the thicker, beefier muscles that he had in this form even in proportion to his body now.

Vampire's jaw dropped, and Zerrex rubbed the back of his head a bit, feeling a bit self-conscious despite how used he was beginning to get to the way Hell worked, and then the demonic wolf said wonderingly as his eyes roved between Zerrex's legs: "Dude, you could fuck me with your horns alone... but that right there has to be one of the biggest penises I've ever seen anywhere. You should totally fuck me right here and now, that'd be awesome!"

"I don't know why I put up with you." Zerrex said sourly, and then he made a face, rubbing a hand over his huge chest and adding in a grumble: "And besides. If I did that right now, it'd be more like masturbation than anything else... you'd have to size up too, or bite me or something." A pause when Vampire grinned widely and started forwards. "That wasn't an invitation. Anyway, I have to train."

The Drakkaren closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then sized down as he exhaled: a much easier, faster process for him. He winced a bit as his body locked in at its natural size, and then he opened one eye to see Vampire trying to sneak a bit closer, glowering before staring at the wolf's crotch, and then he looked at him mildly: "That better be a knife hiding under your loin plate."

Vampire coughed and covered his crotch with both hands, blushing a deep red as he snapped: "Hey, I can't help it if you're hot, alright? So fuck you, you cunt." He paused, then pointed at the Drakkaren with his spear, before wincing as Zerrex tore it out of his hand easily and shoved it point-down into the earth. "Fuck, you're always so touchy when you're naked. Put your clothes back on."

"Not until you suck my cock." Zerrex said coldly, and Vampire blinked and stared, a bit of drool falling out of his muzzle before the reptile glanced up and said mildly: "Oh, sorry, wrong wolf. Nevermind."

The reptile strolled over to his clothes, immediately beginning to hop into his pants and Vampire flailed and howled: "No, no, hey! I wanna do it, I'll gladly do it, come on! Don't be like that, Zerrex, you... you... ho."

"Your mom's a ho." Zerrex muttered under his breath, but Vampire's ear twitched before he grunted something loudly in agreement. "Anyway, don't you have somewhere else you have to be? They're saying that Az'Iriel's forces are shoving deeper through the Circle of Lust, after all... and, of course, the rumor going around that the entire Circle of Pride and all Pride demons are allying with him."

"That rumor's a fact that me running around isn't going to change, and Bondage can do a better patrol of the Circle of Lust than I can." Vampire said dismissively, waving a hand before rubbing at the slope of his skull, frowning a bit as Zerrex did up his fly and looked over at him curiously. "You know, to be honest, I am a bit worried... but what can I do? I'm a Royal Guard... I might not be involved in the war here, since our designation is to ‘protect the monarchs at all costs,' but I'll side with you no matter what, Cap'n. And I know Bondage feels the same, but... he's also been specifically ordered to stay the hell away from you. Actually, everyone in the Legion has been, by orders of both the Princess and Az'Iriel...

"Look, Captain." Vampire glanced back and forth, then he slipped close and wrapped an arm around Zerrex's shoulders, leaning his head down and almost touching their muzzles together as he murmured softly: "Things are getting bad. Like... really, really dangerous sorta bad. And the Masters utterly hate your guts, and the Slavers want to serve you up with a nice chow mein side dish for their main meal, and I want you to stop being such a prideful dick yourself and recognize that the Legion is still here and always will be here to serve you. I know I did some dick-shit things in the past to you, like that whole wonderful ‘attempting-to-kill-you' thing... but that taught me a lesson, and that's never to turn on my Captain."

He paused, then shrugged a bit and glanced at the lizard with a slight grin, rubbing his hand slowly down his back to squeeze his buttocks firmly and causing Zerrex to twitch. "See, you're like, an asshole. You hide everything about yourself away in this tiny little box, and you refuse to ever talk about what's actually wrong with you or what you're feeling. I get it, that's how you were raised, and that's how things worked in the Legion... and hey, I ain't big on this talking-and-sharing-feelings shit either, but talking with the others locked up with me was all that ever kept me sane when we were sentenced to that hellhole in Wrath." Vampire shook his head slowly, then poked Zerrex's chest firmly and said dryly: "And you, you have got to start up with the talking sooner or later and letting us know what's wrong. You don't have to handle everything by yourself, you fuckin' ass.

"Oh, go away." Zerrex shoved Vampire rudely, but he was smiling a bit as Vampire snorted and quickly caught his balance. "You're a douchebag. Stop trying to sound all fuzzy and crap, you're giving me a headache." He paused for a moment as Vampire rolled his eyes, then he held out his hand and said quietly: "But I will keep it in mind. Thank you, Drake... I'm glad Hell hasn't changed you too much."

"Hey, you're still the same badass I knew, Captain..." The black wolf grinned widely and grasped the Drakkaren's hand firmly, shaking it before they punched their fists together lightly. "And hey, it's still Vampire, fuckhead. Don't call me that."

"Sensitive, sensitive." Zerrex said dryly, and then he paused, tilting his head a bit and crossing his arms as he leaned backwards, and then he half-turned away, adding: "Now either leave me alone or help out. I need to do some training with magical skills and maybe afterwards head to the gym so I can work out."

Vampire gave a snort, then he put his hands on his hips and gave a wide grin. "And what, miss all this action and fun? Hell no, biotch, I want to stay and watch, now!" A pause as he slowly slid over to Zerrex, his paws barely moving against the sand as he leaned in uncomfortably close and whispered teasingly: "Tell you what... I'll teach you how to enlarge a spell, and if you do it properly... I'll show you to a hell of a time..."

Zerrex groaned and slapped his forehead, but he had to admit he was intrigued, as he glanced over to the male and mumbled after a moment: "Fine... but it better be a damn good spell, and you better provide a damn good lay."

"Excellent!" Vampire beamed brightly at this like a child, clapping his hands together several times before he stretched out his arms and spread his legs a bit, then touched his toes in a vigorous motion before leaning back and half-flailing around in what he probably thought were aerobics. Zerrex sighed and looked flat as he watched this procedure, and finally Vampire came to a halt and looked around cheerfully. "Alright, let's do this!"

The spell he taught the reptile Zerrex recognized as one that was fairly advanced... and furthermore, it required a lot of juice to pull off. Vampire also took the time to teach him about focal movements, however, explaining a bit more why psychics tended to use their hands to portray different actions and why spells simply worked better for some people when they added gestures along with the incantation. "It just helps you focus better... you know, gets you in the right mindset. Some of the showoffs like Blake don't have to move much at all for any spell, though, and I hear when your daughter Marina broke a gasket-"

Vampire's mouth snapped shut a moment too late, and he looked lamely at Zerrex as the Drakkaren glanced at him sharply, before the demonic wolf slowly shrank back under Zerrex's gaze, his head trying to squeeze down into his body. "Hey, don't look at me like that! We aren't supposed to talk about this at all to you, and I could get in big trouble-"

The Drakkaren grabbed Vampire by the ruff of his neck, shaking him violently once and glaring at him, and the demon wolf flushed and held up his hands before squeaking as Zerrex hefted him into the air with ease that frightened even him. "He-hey, okay, hey, maybe you're right, I already am in big trouble... but... look, um... put me down and let me go hide behind thirty feet of steel, and-"

"Talk." Zerrex said grimly, shaking him once more, and the demon let out another squawk before going limp and making a face as the Drakkaren's emerald eyes drilled into his own darker irises.

"Okay, okay, okay... look. The rumor going around Hell is that Marina was so connected to you, she felt the moment of your death and promptly started exterminating demons like she was a Scholar or some shit." Vampire grimaced, rubbing the back of his head slowly as Zerrex slowly set him down on his paws, the wolf looking relieved but still wary. "The psychic rage released was unbelievable... I mean, we felt it down here in Hell for years, even! The last time there was a psychic tremor this strong rolling through the worlds was probably at the death of Beatrice Blossom, from what I've heard about her... but I don't honestly know. I only know that I've never felt anything like it..."

Zerrex tilted his head slowly, frowning a bit and asking quietly: "Psychic waves can carry down into Hell?"

Vampire blinked, then nodded and smiled a bit, awkwardly beginning to play his fingers together. "Well, sorta, yeah. It's how... like... when séances are performed, and how some psychics connect with the afterlife, after all... they go en route through Hell. Telepathic messages have been known to cross the dimensions, after all..."

The Drakkaren nodded slowly, crossing his arms and standing back a bit, looking down... and then Vampire patted him gently on the shoulder, saying quietly: "Come on, Captain. Let's get back to work, you'll feel better, I promise."

The lizard grunted a bit, shaking his head slowly and glancing down... and then he gave a sigh and a nod as Vampire grinned and punched his chest gently. "Come on, Captain Ravenlight. Just think about the ass you'll get to plow afterwards if you manage this."

He sighed and nodded, mumbling something under his breath but unable to come up with a proper retort for now, and then he flexed his fingers and concentrated on the incantation Vampire had just taught him. It was a difficult one, but he thought he had it memorized fairly well... but he felt hesitant to actually try it.

Thoughts of his family had infested his mind, made him feel lost, confused and worst of all, so very damn sad... and the Drakkaren shook his head again and grit his teeth before Vampire walked over and said mildly, as he put a hand gently around his back: "What, are you going to go and disappoint everyone waiting back on the mortal realm for you?"

The reptile's emerald eyes flicked open, and then he snarled and spat out the incantation as he cocked his fist back, Vampire staggering as the Drakkaren's elbow struck his stomach, and then Zerrex dropped to a kneel and punched the ground hard enough to knock a puff of sand through the air a moment before the ground in front of the reptile simply seemed to explode, a massive cone of rock shooting out of the earth to a towering forty feet of height, smaller stones and dust falling off of it as Zerrex and Vampire both gaped stupidly at it, then exchanged a dumb look before Vampire said dumbly: "Next time you see Inquisitor Selena, you uh... you might want to mention you're better at power-based spells than the other ones."

"Yeah..." Zerrex stared at the spire of rock before it slowly crumbled away to fragments of stone, and then he looked mildly over at Vampire. "So uh... do you think I passed?"

Vampire grinned widely at this, winking and grabbing the Drakkaren's hand, then tugging him firmly along behind him as he headed for the open gate in the wall leading out of the arena. "Come with me and I'll show you, Captain... ugh, now I just need to convince you to size yourself up so I can feel like a proper bitch..."

"I'll make you feel like the dirty whore you are no matter what sizes we're at." Zerrex grunted in return, and Vampire's eyes gleamed as the Drakkaren tried to shake loose, adding mildly: "You seem to be in quite a hurry."

"Dude, I have blue balls so bad I'm about ready to jerk off just to make sure you drain everything out of me with the second orgasm I'll undoubtedly have." Vampire muttered, and then he turned as they entered the short stone corridor leading out of the arena and shoved Zerrex firmly against the rounded wall, clawing at the rawhide strap holding his loin plate in place at the same time and managing to tear it free, revealing a thick lupine penis beginning to slowly push free of its black-furred sheath, and a pair of enormous hanging testicles even larger than the reptile's own impressive orbs. "Ugh, fuck but I need some big ol' dick..."

Zerrex snorted and grinned slightly as he looked back and forth, watching as Vampire dropped to his knees and greedily began to work at the fly of the Drakkaren's shaft with his clumsy, thick fingers, crossing his arms and looking at him with entertainment and a bit of growing arousal. "You really are just a whore, Vampire... no wonder cocksucker is my pet name for you. You're almost as bad as Mahihko..."

Vampire grunted as he finally managed to open the Drakkaren's fly, immediately using one hand to jerk his pants down and almost drooling at the sight of the reptile's twitching, enormous member, his own hand going down to stroke his own impressive length as it thickened slowly, inch-by-inch of reddish, blue-veined flesh pushing out of his pouch, which seemed to stretch ever wider as the wolf's cock became larger and girthier, until at least thirty inches of hot flesh stood out, throbbing loosely in one of the lupine's hands. "Fuck that... I'd like to see which of us could be better... after all, I can do this..."

Vampire lowered his head and opened his muzzle, slowly rubbing the length of his curved fangs against the reptile's obsidian member before taking the head of his flaccid-but-growing shaft into his muzzle with a murr, and then he settled his jaws tightly around it as his tongue slid out and out and out, wrapping teasingly around the rest of the Drakkaren's shaft in a loose spiral until the end of the forked tongue brushed gently against Zerrex's testicles, and the reptile grinned widely as he felt it twisting and moving gently against his shaft, painting his member with saliva as Vampire closed his eyes and slowly began to push forwards.

He took Zerrex's member into his muzzle bit-by-bit, at the same time stroking his own thick, long cock and murring in quiet pleasure as he felt the Drakkaren's erection growing stiffer by the moment, making it more and more difficult for him to take the huge penis into his maw as Zerrex reached down and grasped the wolf's head roughly on his hands, and Vampire's eyes opened in surprise as Zerrex yanked him forwards until his nose shoved hard into the reptile's abs, the Drakkaren growling hungrily: "No. You suck bitch, and you suck me hard... enough of this foreplay crap, I want you to swallow my cock..."

Vampire gave a muffled grunt, nodding at the same time as he immediately went to work, stroking his own stiff cock a bit faster as his bulging, massive knot pushed slowly out of his sheath: it was thicker than a bowling ball, and added another good seven or so inches to his huge penis. It throbbed with desire as Vampire's hand moved up and down it quickly, the wolf moaning quietly around Zerrex's penis as he began to rapidly bob his head up and down the black-fleshed member, the Drakkaren grinning down at him widely as he laced his fingers around the back of the demonic wolf's skull to keep him close, thrusting firmly into the wonderful, hot grip of his throat as his tongue twisted and worked against Zerrex's obsidian shaft like a dancing, hot snake.

The reptile's huge testicles smacked again and again against Vampire's chin, his nose grinding into the lizard's abs as he moved forwards hungrily, bobbing his head quickly and clenching his eyes shut as Zerrex jerked him hard into his body over and over. The pleasure was growing ever higher in his body as his muscles flexed powerfully, feeling Vampire eagerly working every part of his body against him... and admittedly, the choice of scenery the wolf had chosen was helping a bit, too. Either side of the tunnel was open, one into an arena used every so often for training drills and the other onto the dirt road that went around the entire Hell of Lust... not to mention the doors leading into the tunnel from the arena's innards... and with the Masters patrolling around, not to mention other Royal Guards, Vampire almost wants to get caught and exposed as the slut he is...

"Suck harder, bitch..." Zerrex growled down to the wolf, wanting more pleasure as he brought one hand back to slap the wolf's face with moderate strength, the other shoving him forwards as he thrusted hard into the demon's throat, grinding his cock deep into his body and grinning widely as Vampire flinched and groaned; but they had played far harder than this, and just like Cherry, Vampire seemed to adore getting hit... but on the other hand, the wolf was almost invincible, turning violence and pain into a twisted playground for him. "I know you can do better, you worthless little slut... suck harder or I'll take my cock away and rip your body apart, piece-by-piece..."

Beneath him, Vampire whimpered â€" a strange sound coming from a giant of rock-hard muscle â€" and doubled his efforts, the reptile letting his head fall back with a groan of pleasure as he began to thrust lazily: Vampire, however, didn't make any attempt to match his movements, instead going almost twice the reptile's speed as his head bobbed up and down, his nose beginning to bleed slightly from the painful shoves against the reptile's rock hard abdominals. Bliss sparked through the Drakkaren with every movement of the wolf, however, as the reptile looked down into the wolf's eyes dominatingly as he looked up at him... and then Vampire's eyes widened and he let out another moan of ecstasy.

He trembled violently, and then Zerrex felt a hot, thick wetness splatter against his thighs, testicles and tail, Vampire humping the air madly as he shoved his maw forwards and began to work in wild movements against the Drakkaren's cock, pushing hard enough against the reptile to cause him to fall back against the stone wall against him and wince between his own pants of pleasure at the sudden ferocity of the wolf's movements. At the same time, he was rapidly stroking his shaft, which had thickened and bulged out even further to a total length of just over forty inches and was currently blasting volley after volley of seed onto the reptile's lower parts and the wall behind him, Vampire trying to aim his steel-stiff cock down as his hand rushed up and down his huge shaft.

His orgasm lasted a surprisingly-long time... and his red, bulging and slick cock felt even harder afterwards, his sexual arousal even higher as he reached both hands up to grab the reptile's hips, moving his maw rapidly up and down the Drakkaren's stiff length and intent on giving him the best blowjob ever, feeling as if he would have another orgasm just from the sexuality of it all as seed leaked out of the tip of his penis and slowly rolled down his huge member... and then Zerrex grasped his forehead and shoved him violently off, looking down at him with a mixture of disgust and entertainment, domination coming off his body in waves that made Vampire pant and want to reach for his cock again even as Zerrex stomped squarely on the stiff member, pinning it against his chest and the wolf below to the ground. He groaned in pain, but flushed in sexual excitement, his eyes burning with it as he let himself go limp, and Zerrex pointed with one hand at the seed splattered over his lower body, growling: "Lick it up, bitch. Lick it all up, right now. You got Master dirty... you have to clean up the mess before you get to suck his cock."

"Yes, Master..." Vampire shuddered, staring up at him in complete submission before rolling over onto all fours and slowly crawling over to him, licking his muzzle hungrily as his massive cock throbbed between his legs... and Zerrex grinned slowly at this as he spread his legs, feeling warmth trickling down his thigh and his own member throbbing, covered in saliva and leaking a bit of pre as he crossed his arms and glared down at the wolf.

Vampire leaned slowly up, and then dragged his tongue first across the reptile's shin, despite the fact that was clean... and slowly, he moved up, not using his hands at all and avoiding the urge to start stroking madly just to see how much more he could squirt out: after all, there was a surprising amount splattered over Zerrex, and even more on the wall behind him. The wolf's tongue moved slowly up to lick the first still-hot splotch of seed off his thigh, next... and then he moved to the other leg, murmuring quietly: "Thank you, Master, for permitting me to do this... my Captain is so good to me..."

"Shut up, whore and keep working... you can praise your Master later..." Zerrex said disdainfully, and Vampire shivered with a thrill of sexual delight as he nodded and moved to lap harder and firmer, bringing his hands hesitantly up to grip Zerrex's hip as he slid his head between his legs to drag his tongue across the bottom of the Drakkaren's tail. It excited the reptile all the more, too, as he moved a hand to slowly stroke his own obsidian member, spreading his legs a bit more... and then he growled lightly in pleasure as Vampire's long tongue dragged slowly over his testicles, sliding out to curl almost completely around one as he twisted it loosely along the surface of the other at the same time. "Good..."

Vampire drew back, his eyes bright... and then Zerrex stepped to the side and grabbed the back of his head, the wolf looking confused for a moment before the reptile pointed at the seed leaking slowly down the tight brick wall and he growled: "But you aren't done yet, whore!"

The Drakkaren leaned forwards and then shoved Vampire's head into the wall with enough force to send up a splatter of blood, the wolf howling in surprise and pain as one arm went up against the wall... but the other grabbed his own huge knot and squeezed viciously, his claws digging into the hard flesh with enough force to draw blood... but the agony only served to send his arousal even higher, making him feel like a hungry, feral beast as he pushed his mouth against the wall and began to lap hungrily at the seed, tasting dirt, grim, old and new blood, and of course his own bittersweet semen as his own cock leaked its juices slowly out to drip to the ground below.

Zerrex watched with a wide grin, reveling in his own power as a shudder of pleasure went through him, stroking his massive member slowly as Vampire licked up every drop of his own seed from the wall... and then he turned around, his maw still a bit bloody and his eyes alight with need, grunting hungrily as he knelt in front of Zerrex... and the Drakkaren pointed a hand down, saying calmly: "Sit."

The wolf immediately sat on his ass, hands in front of him on either side of his massive, red cock, his paws on the ground as he gazed up at Zerrex lustfully... and the Drakkaren stepped forwards, stroking his member slowly as he growled: "Now beg... but don't touch."

Vampire got up on his knees, swallowing and holding his hands up in front of himself with a tremble, whispering up to Zerrex as he gazed into his eyes submissively: "Please Master, let me feel your power in my maw... please, Captain, forgive me for the past and let me prove to you now that all I want is to be your whore, your bitch, your property... yours... please, Master, let me prove that I think of myself only as your inferior, as your soldier, as your toy..."

"That's a good start..." Zerrex grinned widely, then his eyes glanced at the wolf's throbbing shaft before he said softly: "Suck my cock... and suck your own, too."

Vampire's eyes widened as he began to pant quietly from the mere thought of doing what the Drakkaren had ordered, and immediately he nodded, edging closer on his knees as Zerrex slowly lowered his huge shaft to his mouth... and the wolf's jaws hungrily took it into his maw, beginning to bob firmly up and down the huge obsidian member, as one of Zerrex's hands settled on the back of the wolf's skull, the other reaching out to rest against the wall beside him as he looked hungrily down at the demon.

Vampire moved up and down the lizard's cock blissfully, groaning softly and closing his eyes before he felt Zerrex drawing back... and the wolf's eyes opened before he winced and let out a whimpering moan as the reptile slipped free from his jaws and ground his member forwards against his features, inhaling the strong musk of the powerful reptile before he saw the order in the Drakkaren's eyes, and one of his own hands reached down to grasp and stroke his own red-fleshed member slowly as he lowered his head to lap teasingly at the head of his own maw... and then the lizard shoved his head forwards, and Vampire took the pointed head of his own lupine shaft into his muzzle, moaning quietly around his own length and bobbing slowly as his stroking became jagged, not daring to go any faster as he felt another orgasm already quickly rising in his body.

Zerrex forced his head up and down his own shaft, Vampire whimpering and moaning as he fought the urge to orgasm, his hand clenching tightly into the gargantuan member just above his knot... and then finally, Zerrex tore the wolf's head back and Vampire let out a loud pant, staring up lustfully into the reptile's eyes as Zerrex growled: "Now finish me off, bitch!"

"Oh Gods, yes Master!" Vampire groaned and nodded, and one hand grasped the base of the Drakkaren's cock and pulled it down, his maw opening wide and taking the obsidian member into his mouth as he began to bob hungrily up and down his huge shaft, the other clenching tight into the reptile's hip as he groaned hungrily in rapture and need, his own massive member pulsing thickly between his legs.

Zerrex growled hungrily, leaning forwards a bit and beginning to thrust violently, forcing Vampire to catch up to his movements as both hands settled on the back of the wolf's head, his eyes burning with domination and lust as he felt his shaft stiffening rapidly inside his muzzle... and it was only a few minutes before the reptile arched his back with a roar, shoving Vampire's head all the way down his full thirty-two inch length, his testicles slapping the wolf's chin painfully as his nose ground into his abdominals with every rapid thrust as the Drakkaren's huge penis stiffened up inside the wolf's jaws.

Vampire gurgled in pleasure at the first blast, his eyes rolling up in the back of his head as his muscular arms hugged Zerrex's waist tightly, looking as if he was in heaven as his huge member ground against the lizard's leg lightly. Over and over, the reptile slammed into his maw, releasing what felt like a gallon of seed with every volley his stiff, powerful penis fired, and Vampire could only give muffled, choked groans of pleasure as he swallowed every bit of seed he could manage until it finally began to leak out of his maw, his eyes bulging as he choked on the pure amount of load... and finally, Zerrex drew back, and Vampire coughed hard several times, a bit more of the white stuff splattering out of his maw before he swallowed painfully and licked up as much as he could with his long tongue from around his muzzle.

His eyes drew slowly over Zerrex with adoration: the pants still around one ankle, the strong legs, the bulging, steel-hard cock the reptile's hand gripped by the base with streamers of drool and seed still hanging from it, somehow only adding to the attraction... and of course, the huge, muscular body that was tautly-covered by a tight hide of scales and the burning emerald eyes that were looking down at him dominatingly. The reptile's entire body moved with every breath he took, and Vampire watched every movement of muscle, every bead of sweat before Zerrex growled at him in an animal, raw voice: "Turn around, bitch... turn around, I need your tight ass surrounding my cock... I'm going to take you around the world, bitch..."

"I'm here to serve my Captain... my Master is always so generous..." Vampire said hungrily, as he quickly spun around on the spot, licking his muzzle hungrily. He dropped to all fours, raising his tail and spreading his legs and feeling his huge testicles and huger cock dangling, the red member throbbing and still leaking in need as he opened his muzzle to speak again...

But he was cut off as Zerrex dropped immediately to his knees and guided his cock straight to the wolf's tailhole before thrusting in without any ado, snarling and grabbing the lupine's hips as he jerked him backwards at the same time, and the wolf howled, his back arching and eyes bulging in shock, pain and an immense thrill running through his body as his cock hardened-up further almost immediately, feeling his passage tearing and blood leaking out around the reptile's penis... but he kept himself as tight as possible, leaning forwards and moaning as Zerrex forced more of his member forwards with another grunt and growl, more blood squirting out of his violated rosebud and lubricating the Drakkaren's cock further as he moaned hungrily: "C-Captain..."

Zerrex didn't reply, leaning forwards and then thrusting with a loud groan to the hilt into the wolf, and he grinned widely, licking his muzzle slowly and pausing for a delicious moment as he felt Vampire's body reacting to his penetration, felt his passage clenching around him with amazing, unmatched tightness... and without any further hesitation, he began to thrust rapidly and powerfully in and out of the lupine's tight ass, his steely, sensitive shaft already on the verge of another orgasm as Vampire cried out in ecstasy beneath him, the wolf arching his back as his own claws dug into the ground.

Vampire's body rocked violently back against Zerrex over and over, his eyes bulging as he stammered hungrily: "Oh... oh fuck, Zerrex! Oh fuck, Captain, not so fast, please, please slow down, I... I'm gonna... oh fuck, please..."

"Harder? Of course, bitch!" Zerrex grinned widely in return, reaching a hand forwards and shoving Vampire's head down while his other arm slipped around to the wolf's huge abs, feeling his huge, slick shaft bouncing up to strike the back of his hand over and over as he added in a growl: "Go ahead, take a look if you can see past your own cock!"

The wolf moaned, staring at the head of his own huge shaft as Zerrex began to move faster and harder in and out of his passage, the Drakkaren panting hungrily behind him as the lupine demon let out a sharp grunt of ecstasy with every thrust... and then he moaned and began to yell Zerrex's name over and over as his shaft stiffened up entirely and began to release blast after blast of seed, splattering over his own face as the wolf's words became inarticulate cries of pleasure, his eyes clenched shut as Zerrex continued to piston in and out of him at an incredible speed, feeling his testicles smashing into his own over and over as if they were metal instead of flesh.

It was wonderful to the Drakkaren, as Vampire finally arched his back and released a few last volleys forwards into the dirt, his faced splattered with his own semen as his body flexed and bulged, his muscles standing out in profile through his fur as Zerrex brought one leg up beside the wolf's hip, grunting as he shoved to the hilt and gyrated his shaft, causing Vampire to squeal like a girl as Zerrex leaned forwards over him, resting his forearm on his back as the other arm remained tightly around his body. Again and again he thrusted into him, grunting hungrily and slamming into him over and over, feeling his orgasm always on the edge but never boiling over as his shaft squelched in the mess of fluids between their bodies.

Finally, Vampire's body moved in just the right way, his screams reached just the right volume, and the reptile thrusted at just the right speed, and he felt his body tip over the edge... and he roared as he thrusted violently over and over into the wolf's body, the lupine's erection still bulging between his legs but the seed long dried into the fur on his face, and Zerrex arched his back as Vampire let out a breathless moan of: ‘Captain!' at the feeling of the reptile's shaft reaching its full stiffness inside him and releasing its hot fluids.

The first blast was enough to make Vampire feel like he'd just been filled by another average male, even a demon male... and the following blasts made him feel almost bloated as he groaned in ecstasy, begging for more in inarticulate moans as he moved back against Zerrex as hard as he could, his fur splattered with sweat as Zerrex rammed into him over and over with hungry snarls... and finally, the Drakkaren leaned slowly forwards over him until their bodies were almost pressed together, the reptile panting hard and Vampire dropping his head with a moan as seed and blood leaked out of his anus in a steady drip, and shivers wracked his body as he whispered: "Captain Ravenlight... Lord Zerrex... my Master... I've been longing to say this, but never had the guts... I missed you..."

"It hasn't been the same without you either, Vampire..." Zerrex grinned a bit, his eyes closed as he slowly drew back, and Vampire groaned and fell forwards as the reptile pulled his thick shaft out of his anus, a flow of seed and blood following and splattering all over the ground before Vampire rolled onto his back, feeling more leaking out of him as Zerrex dropped onto his body, their still-hard shafts rubbing together as Vampire wrapped his arms around his body, gazing up at him as Zerrex put his hands out to either side of the wolf's head, adding playfully: "I almost thought you were going to say ‘I love you,' in which case I would've had to kill you."

"Yeah, you ain't that lucky." Vampire grunted, but he blushed a bit nonetheless before pausing and dropping his head to the side, and his flush darkened. "Oh... shit."

Zerrex glanced to the side as well, to see a whole parade of demons squeezed into the tunnel: Masters and Slavers who were gaping, incubi and succubi who were flushed and drooling, Royal Guards and Lust jailors who were holding the latter back from attempting to join in, and standing in front, a very-angry looking three-eyed demon in green armor similar to Vampire's, except it covered a bit more of the chest... and he was wearing chainmail beneath this, which meant it left far more to the imagination than Vampire's.

He was the same sort of demon as the librarian Zerrex has seen long ago, with the weird, crocodile-wolf mix muzzle and grey skin, and the cat ears covered in mattered red hair... and then he pointed furiously at Vampire, snapping angrily: "You! You... I want to see you in my office in an hour, Vampire! How many times have I told you, flat-out, no fucking on duty? But here you are... making a bitch of yourself to the one person you're also supposed to stay away from! Fuck, you... I... goddammit, Vampire!"

The demon spun around and shoved his way violently through the crowd, and Vampire winced a bit before mumbling and rubbing the back of his head slowly as he glanced up embarrassedly at Zerrex: "Maybe uh... maybe we should get our clothes on?"

The Drakkaren glanced to the side, feeling strangely-immodest... and he could still feel his hard shaft pressing against Vampire's own, so instead of moving, he only looked back down at Vampire and said teasingly: "After we give them a moment they can all remember."

The wolf blinked... and then Zerrex pushed his muzzle down on his, and Vampire melted, his long tongue twisting slowly around the Drakkaren's own as they worked their muzzles together in a slow, hungry kiss. Zerrex could faintly taste blood and his own seed, could smell sex, Vampire's seed, and his own mixed all together with the scents of their bodies... and then he slowly drew back, the demon's lips chasing his own as Vampire ground up against him, squeezing him tightly around the neck as they gazed into each other's eyes, and then the wolf said stupidly: "We should so have a fling and date for a while in Hell. Holy fuck, you just made out with me."

"Yeah, get over it." Zerrex grunted, and then he stood up and turned his back on the crowd that had now turned into a minor melee, the reptile wincing and feeling his erection quickly dying down as the Royal Guards and jailors were quickly being beaten down by the other two groups, and he cast a fast cleansing spell over himself before creating a portal as he painfully shoved himself down into his pants, still half-erect and just hoping he wouldn't tear the fabric as he did up the top of his fly. "Alright, I'm getting the hell out of here before they kill me."

"Yeah, good idea!" Vampire winced as he created a portal, and Zerrex stepped quickly through it before Vampire followed, and the reptile blinked as they stepped into a field filled with apple trees he didn't recognize. With all the fertile vegetation, he knew it was still the Circle of Lust... and then the black wolf patted him on the back and let out a sigh of relief as he sat down against one of the gnarled black trees, saying peacefully: "Here we go, Captain. This is near Ambience, a small town in the Eastern Province part of the Hell of Lust. I know you ain't supposed to travel this far away, but I figured what the fuck... it seems like the Southern Province is just as messed up, anyway, after all.

Zerrex nodded as Vampire tossed off his golden chest plate... and then the reptile strolled slowly through the field as he oriented himself, noting they were up on top of a small clifftop... and a short distance away was what looked like a set of small homes that gradually grew into several larger buildings. Nothing like the Southern Cross metropolis, but a town nonetheless... and I haven't been to a city in the Lust Circle yet. "Well, let's go take a walk around, then. I've got some spare money on me, and I'd like to see what a city in this Circle is like."

"Well, fuck then, let's get going!" Vampire agreed cheerfully, and the demon wolf paused just long enough to make sure his shaft had mostly receded into his sheath â€" he was so big that a good portion of the head of his penis still stuck out of the furry pouch â€" and then he cast a cleansing spell over his body before bouncing on ahead, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as he followed at a fair pace.

The two strode into the city ten minutes later, Zerrex trying to ignore the occasional gasp or stare he received as Vampire pointed back and forth, grinning widely: he had obviously made it a point to frequent this particular city when he was off-duty. "See, that's Cherry's Bar â€" not our Cherry, obviously â€" and it's a nice little spot with some strippers, good service but the lineup changes every month or so, which can be a bit irritating when you're trying to hit on one chick at a time... that's a gay nightclub there, awesome place, you can get your dick wet almost twenty times in an hour with the kind of clientele it caters to and the sheer amount of male-whores and strippers... and oh, this is a great little shop here, lots of leathers and stuff..."

"Let's stop here." Zerrex said mildly, and Vampire's eyes lit up as he rubbed his hands together and strode inside through the open door. The reptile paused for a moment to reflect on how he was getting stares of shock, but next to everyone else around here was naked or wearing something that belonged in a porno... and then he walked in himself, making a bit of a face at the dusty windows and decrepit look of the store.

A draconic demon sitting at the front desk only grunted from behind a newspaper, not bothering to look up... and Zerrex had to admit he liked the available selection here. Whips, restraints, collars and chokers, leashes, gloves... and from the patterns on some of them, he thought even Bondage would have been impressed, as Vampire walked up and down the aisles with a grin. "See, this is some good shit ‘round here... the problem is most of it is expensive as fuck, especially the leather clothes and shit. But they sell sheets of leather in various... what do you call it, grains? Yeah. Various grains at the back, sheets of leather and shit... and Bondage would probably whip you up anything you wanted if you even just mentioned you had some of this shit, Cap'n."

"Probably." Zerrex agreed mildly, then a plain leather collar with a golden clasp caught his eye, hanging from a hook on a small metal rack... and Zerrex picked this up, glancing over it slowly. It was almost a belt, and the clasp was fashioned in an old style golden square with a hook through the end of it, but it felt stretchy, too... and the Drakkaren pulled on it experimentally, and smiled slightly as it expanded a bit. "Fit all stuff, too, huh?"

"Yeah, it's a common enchantment down here..." Vampire said absently, from where he was busily browsing another shelf filled with porn and magazines on maintaining and taking care of leather. "You know, they even sell leather dick-covers somewhere in here, and I've always wanted to try one... I figure it'd be like a condom, but hey, what the fuck... it might feel real nice, too. Some of them even come with those leather belt things to stop a dude from orgasming... I bet that'd be some fun shit..."

"And I bet you actually have like, ten of them at home, somewhere." Zerrex said mildly, walking over to the counter and putting down the leather collar, and Vampire coughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly. "From the fact you only gave things a glance over, it makes me think you own most of the stuff in this store."

"Only half!" Vampire said defensively, brushing at his naked chest before he grinned and flexed, his muscles bulging hugely as the reptile rolled his eyes. "Speaking of which, I think all that sperm-guzzling is making me even huger and sexier... just look at my muscles, they're like fuckin' cannons."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, then turned around and tapped the counter, and the demon behind it muttered something before tilting his head around the newspaper and looking at the plain collar, saying mildly: "Fifteen silver coins. Eighteen if you want it patterned, twenty if you want me to add a charm, curse, blessing, etcetera on it, but only twenty-two for both."

Zerrex mused a bit, tilting his head downwards, and the demon put his newspaper aside with a sigh, adjusting himself on his stool and brushing down the plain robes he was wearing, looking miserable. "Oh wonderful, you want both, don't you? Let me guess, something fun and really creative, like ‘pet,' or ‘bitch,' or maybe a name, right? And then you want me to put a magic charm on it to increase sexual pleasure and potency, am I right?"

"I'll have both, but put..." Zerrex thought for a few long moments as the draconic demon looked at him grouchy, idly rubbing at a small ridge of spikes down the back of his jawline. Finally, Zerrex said mildly: "Put a design of vines and roses over it, and etch it in a darker black... and put a servitude curse on it, and a double-edged blessing that causes whoever wears it to at least get a taste of the pleasure they're causing the other person... can you do all that for me, or is it asking too much?"

The deprecating tone of the Drakkaren caused the shopkeeper to glower, and then he held his hands out, muttering quietly under his breath as he closed his eyes, and the collar twisted to lay flat as a design began to etch itself out over the leather, Zerrex watching with interest as Vampire came over curiously, half-pushing at the reptile before the Drakkaren shoved him absently away. Almost a full minute later, the dragon-demon sat back with a sigh and a wince, rubbing at his head and grunting: "There. Whoever wears it will become attached to the person who puts it on them... and they'll feel double the pleasure they give that person." The dragon looked at him imperiously, crossing his arms before asking sourly: "Want me to put it on you to prove it?"

"I'm good, thanks." Zerrex said mildly, digging in his pocket, and then he produced a small rawhide bag, opening this and dumping the contents onto the counter, muttering to himself as he sorted the coins into groups before brushing seven back into his hand. "There you go."

"Have a pleasant day." The draconic demon said satirically as he swept up the other coins, and then he sat back and picked up his paper, going back to reading as Zerrex rolled his eyes and picked up the collar. He turned around to Vampire and smiled slightly as he undid it, and Vampire blinked before looking honestly stunned, knitting his hands together slowly.

He didn't speak, and neither did Zerrex as the Drakkaren leaned up and carefully fitted the collar around the wolf's neck, and then he clasped it tight and Vampire grunted, arching his back a bit and closing his eyes... and then he flushed deeply and bowed his head, murmuring: "Thank you, Cap'n... I... I live to serve."

Zerrex smiled a bit at this and tapped his cheek gently... and then he strolled out of the store and Vampire followed as he touched the collar slowly, a bit of a grin sliding over his face as he asked curiously: "Hey, does this mean we get to fuck more often?"

"I hate you." Zerrex rolled his eyes, and Vampire cackled before the two blinked as a portal opened beside them, and immediately the wolf winced and leaned away as Sin stepped out through the dark energy, looking at Zerrex with concern as she reached up and touched his face with her cold fingers.

"This is dangerous, we have to go, Lord Zerrex..." she pleaded... and then she looked at Vampire with a bit of a frown, her eyes disapproving as the wolf shrank back under her gaze... and Zerrex wondered for a moment what kind of power she really possessed if even the cocky demonic lupine was scared of her. And Vampire wasn't even scared of me... "Drake Lazarus... you're supposed to meet the Commander soon. You should put some formal clothes on and meet him early to try and get a nicer reception."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." he muttered... but then he touched Zerrex's shoulder, and the reptile glanced back and nodded a bit, the wolf smiling faintly. "I'll see you soon, Zerrex. Thanks for the fuck and the gift."

With that, Vampire turned and opened a portal, stepping quickly through... and Zerrex allowed Sin to lead him through her own back into his home, and the female sighed a bit in relief, closing her eyes... and the Drakkaren stared at the glowing circle of runes now on the wall beside his futon, and Sin flushed deeply. "I... I apologize, Lord Zerrex, I put it up without permission... but it's a special protective charm... no one else should be able to enter your home without your authorization, and only you or I can create a portal into here... but I can take it down if it bothers you..."

"No, I... I just don't recognize any of those runes." Zerrex said lamely, and the reptile stepped forwards a bit as he stared at the glowing writing on the wall, asking slowly: "How... I mean, I've never seen even Amiglion cast anything like this..."

"It's just a little something to help make you safer, that's all... the Princess wants me to make sure you stay in fit condition." Sin murmured quietly, and the reptile looked over at her curiously before she bowed to him, despite the pain it seemed to cause her. "Perhaps once you start to get better at magic, we can start talking more about the runes and other theory... you seem very interested in that, after all..."

"Yeah..." Zerrex nodded slowly, then he hesitated before touching her arm... and it was just as cold as the rest of her, as she blushed deeply and shrank away a bit. "Sin, are you okay yourself? If you're not, let me help you however I can..."

Sin glanced down, then sat carefully back on the futon with a grunt and slid backwards, murmuring softly: "No, I'm fine... I just... I'm sorry, Lord Zerrex, I don't like to be touched..." She looked away, crossing her arms over her stomach and adding quietly: "And I don't think you can help me, with all due respect. But anything you want, I am instructed to do or help you with... I... I just..."

"It's okay... I won't force you to do or tell me anything." Zerrex responded quietly, and he looked at her for a few long moments before sighing and deciding to spend what little free time he had left reading.