Only a True King

Chapter 3

Leon laid out each of the swords he’d chosen one by one, turning expectantly to Floh as he finished. “Well, which of these do you think would suit me best?”

“I still don’t see why you want to learn a weapon. I can always back you up.”

“A lot of my understanding of sorcery is informed by Selian schools of thought. Within the disciplines of night and gravity sorcery, magic and blades are treated as complements to be used together, whereas the sorcery of Caria and the twin moons attempt to replace the blade, and sorceries of the stars and comets ignore the blade altogether. Essentially, I believe my practice of sorcery is only half complete. Learning to defend myself with a blade would allow me to live up to my full potential as a mage. Besides, I think I’ve been learning to move better in fights. If I can be more flexible, entering fights more directly if necessary I could be a better help to you.” Leon was right, he had been moving better. Almost suspiciously so. He was probably investing more of his runes into building his speed or something, but Floh couldn’t help being worried about the sudden change.

“Any reason these are all katanas?” The knight picked up a blood red blade with a chipped edge. Nah, that wouldn’t do. That was a killer’s blade, not a scholar’s.

“Well I thought since the weapon you use can cause an enemy to bleed out, if I used one with similar properties we could do it faster.” Floh considered an odd stone sword with a dragon’s head carved into its hilt. He could feel cold electricity dance along his fingers. A little too weird probably. Not really suited for a beginner to swordplay.

“You’d probably be better off with a straight sword, you wouldn’t need to worry about edge discipline as much.” A blade made of rough meteoric iron caught Floh’s eye, that was closer to what he was looking for, but it wasn’t quite it. That was better suited to somebody with more brute strength.

“That might be true but…”

“Darriwil told you about me, didn’t he.” Floh pulled another sword from its sheath. Hm, this looked promising.

“Well he might’ve told me a bit but…”

“For reference I used to use a club. They work better for fucking maniacs like me. Don’t have to worry about what direction the edge is facing or anything you just hit and keep hitting.” Floh examined the sword in his hands, it was a Selian work, forged from glintstone the color of the moon. The blade itself looked almost like steel, it was only the intact formation of crystals on its dull edge that gave it away. “The idea was cute though.” He gave it a few experimental swings that would have made his older brothers cringe.

“Well I did also think I’d be suited for one. A katana makes more sense than a greatsword or a hammer.” Floh sheathed and unsheathed the blade, he could feel magic crackling beneath his fingertips, just beyond his reach.

“You’re right about that I guess, but you wouldn’t consider a dagger instead?”

“A dagger, really? I’m not a princess looking to defend myself from the local ruffians, Floh.”

“The one princess I know uses a greatsword.”

“Floh.”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, you want me to quit stalling. Here.” He handed the Selian blade to Leon. “This one looks like it should suit you alright.” The mage turned it over in his hand. “You know its name? Usually swords this well made have one.” Leon pulled the sword from its sheath swinging upwards as he did. A crescent blade of magic shot forward from his swing.

“Moonveil.” The mage resheathed the blade. “I got it from a Magma Wyrm who couldn’t use it anymore.”

“How’d you manage that? I can’t imagine anyone would just give away a sword that nice.”

“The usual way.” Floh winced at the mental image.

“Fuck, that must’ve hurt.”

“Not as much as you’d think. Reptiles have proportionally smaller genitalia than mammals.”

“And you knew that before you fucked him?”

“Well of course I did. I feel like everyone at the academy has at least considered propositioning Smarag.”

“Okay, not saying that you were probably the only one, but doesn’t Smarag eat sorcerers?”

“The danger makes it more interesting.” Leon shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like devourers of sorcerers haven’t been convinced to work with them before. Adula serves Ranni now, don't they?”

“You know what, sure buddy. You go fuck that dragon.”

“Oh I don’t really have that much of an interest now. That’s just how I knew about the genitalia thing.” Floh took a deep breath. He didn’t need to anymore, but he still found it helpful to calm down.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Well if you’d be willing to spar, I could probably use the practice.” The mage smiled without showing his teeth. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Yet another reason Floh was starting to get worried. The mage had been acting oddly closed off, not allowing his feelings to show quite so easily as he used to. Something was weighing on him. Floh just hadn’t figured out what it was yet.

“Just so you know I’m not going easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” The wizard rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. Cocky bastard. Or maybe not. He knew better than to show his hand like that. Leon was baiting him. He wanted Floh to dodge so he could nail him with the beam from his sword. The wizard was a tactician first and foremost, Floh definitely had the skill advantage, but he’d need to approach this carefully.

“As long as you know what you’re getting into.”

He dashed towards the mage, so fast it almost seemed like he had teleported. He swung his sword but missed, Leon had already dodged out of the way and was winding up to strike. Floh slashed at him with his claws catching him off guard. He brought his sword back around to strike and he could see the fear in the mage’s eyes. Such a baby, even if it killed him he wouldn’t be dead for too long. Leon dodged faster than the eye could follow, so quickly it almost seemed like… Floh dropped his sword and stomped towards Leon. The mage seemed just as shocked as he was. Floh took advantage of his shock and forced his mouth open. Already his canine teeth had been replaced with fangs.

“How long has this been going on?” Floh knew his hands were shaking but he didn’t really care to try and steady them.

“Since Darriwil.”

“Fuck!” Floh started pacing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“I don’t really see what the big deal is.” Floh took off his helmet.

“You don’t see what the big fucking deal is?!” This was his fault, he should’ve known. The second Floh had something good in his life of course he had to fuck it up. “You want to be stuck looking like this for the rest of your life?”

“I wouldn’t mind if I got a cock the size of yours as compensation.”

“This isn’t a fucking joke!”

“I’m not joking with you, that is my honest opinion.” Leon played with the laces of his shirt. “It may be perverse, but monstrousness will never be ugly to me. Although others might treat me differently, I would find myself beautiful. I find you beautiful, you know that right? You’re beautiful.” He held Floh’s face in his hands. The knight stilled calming down a little at the touch. He held onto the mage’s wrist for a moment before continuing.

“You’d probably loose the ability to use magic as well. Way harder to cast spells when you can’t talk.”

“Oh okay, yes that’s a serious problem then. Has this ever happened to anyone you knew before?” Now Leon was starting to panic a little bit.

“No it hasn’t. Not unless you count the ones that did it intentionally.”

“So then you don’t know how to stop it.”

“No, but I might know somebody who does.”

 

“Hey! You!” The bloodhound knight clinging to the Raya Lucaria gates looked down. “You’re not that good at hiding! Come down here I need your help with something!” The knight pointed at himself. “Yeah you! Do you see anybody else over here?!”

The nomadic merchant who set up shop nearby tried his best to pretend nothing was happening. If the sorcerer had a death wish the sorcerer had a death wish. Wasn’t his problem.

The bloodhound knight dropped down from the gate. “Finally. Took you long enough. Anyway what I wanted to ask you was-“ The knight struck out with his sword almost immediately after landing. Leon dodged out of the way just as quickly, he was still getting used to the feeling. His brain couldn’t quite keep up with his body yet. The bloodhound knight cocked his head.

“Interesting. You don’t seem to have a weapon capable of housing bloodhound step. Could I ask how you are currently using the ability? Well, provided you can understand what I’m saying of course.” Leon pulled back his cheek to show his new fangs. “Is that intended to be an answer or a threat?”

“An answer.”

“Then you’ve managed to replicate my father’s research. Admirable job considering the lack of good laboratory conditions available to tarnished.”

“Well, not exactly.” Leon explained the situation, leaving out a few of the more private details.

“So it was entirely accidental then. That in and of itself is actually somewhat impressive.” He paused in thought. “Have you ever been cursed before?”

“Yes.”

“What strain?”

“Seedbed curse.”

“That may have done it.”

“I don’t quite follow.”

“Ordinarily, you should not have been able to begin a transformation like this simply due to exposure to others who have undergone it. However exposure to certain strains of curses can prime the body for the process. However even then, it seems strange that mere exposure could’ve done this. Normally even with a curse in your system, you would either have to be treated with magic, or somehow take in massive amounts of humors taken from a bloodhound knight.” The knight regarded him curiously.

“So how do I stop it?” Leon’s ears burned.

“Well given your circumstances I know of one solution.” The knight explained what it would entail.

“Would you mind if we go somewhere I could talk it over with my partner?”

“I don’t mind provided we don’t stray too far from the gates.”

Of all the people Hirnant could’ve expected the mage’s partner to be, he’d have never guessed it would’ve been the rabid stray. He really was receiving all sorts of surprises today.

“So what’s the prognosis Doc? Can you fix him?”

“Once again I never got my doctorate Floh. I’m still just a research fellow.”

“You can still fix him though, right?”

“Well unfortunately fix is a rather strong word for what I’m able to do for him. I’d say a better analogy would be he has to be broken in a different direction.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Floh growled. Hirnant put up his hands. He didn’t want a repeat of the last biting incident. He’d very much like to keep his remaining fingers.

“I was cursed before I died the first time. The man who did it is a serial murderer who kills men and pulls their souls out of their asses. My cellmate was able to pull him off me before he managed to find my primal glintstone, but he still managed to implant a seedbed curse. Stopping the transformation would require allowing the curse to run its course.”

“Do you know what will happen to you if it does?”

“Well, knowing the man that created it, I probably won’t still be human at the end of it, but I don’t think it should affect my mind in any way nor would it prevent me from doing magic.”

“I would also like to add that because he would be allowing a curse to tear through him there will likely be unintended side effects. It is malignant magic constructed by a manic, at least the transformative magic that was used to create us was constructed by an expert who actually bothered to document its effects.” Hirnant half hoped that the two of them would be scared away from letting the curse run its course. He’d never seen a case of unaided transformation before. It would have been an interesting case study to document.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“I’ve practiced magic my whole life, my very soul crystallized through its study. I would rather die than give it up.”

“And the side effects?”

“Well that’s part of the reason I wanted to ask you how you felt about it. I personally have no qualms about it, as we previously discussed.” The mage’s eyes flicked to Hirnant for a moment. Ah so he was into that, fascinating. A shame he had such strong opinions on keeping his access to magic, the mage would’ve been a perfect test subject. “But I would understand if you had any objections.”

“You said you’d rather die than lose your magic.”

“Yeah.”

“Why the fuck are you asking me then? If it’ll make you happy then just go for it.”

“Well like I said I probably won’t be human anymore after it’s done.”

“As if I have any right to complain about that.”

“By the stars!”

“Alright, fine! You want me to be honest?! I don’t know how I feel about it! But it’s my fucking fault this is happening to you!”

“Well more accurately it’s the Dung Eater’s fault. If this tarnished had never been cursed he wouldn’t have shown symptoms no matter how many times he’d been exposed,” Hirnant added, hoping that the reminder of his presence would stop him from having to sit through their lover’s quarrel.

“I wouldn’t want you to only stay with me out of guilt.” The mage gripped his staff tightly. “If I go through with this, and you decide you no longer have any interest in me, I want you to know I wouldn’t be upset with you for leaving. Whether you no longer wanted to be with me physically or romantically or whether you decided I was no longer capable of being the king you wished to follow, I would accept it without complaint.”

“Don’t say that.” Floh hung his head. “Please don’t say that.”

“I would be upset about it.” He said quietly. “I would be incredibly hurt if you decided to leave me, but I wouldn’t retaliate.” The mage was starting to tear up.

“I’m not fucking leaving. I don’t really know how to feel about any of this, but I know I’m staying right the fuck here.” Floh gently wiped the corners of the mage’s eyes. Eugh. Hirnant wasn’t used to seeing the knight acting so mushy. It was uncomfortable to watch. “So what do we have to do?”

“Well this is the other unpleasant part, you’ll need to find a matured seedbed and administer it to the patient analy.”

“Okay that doesn’t sound too bad.” Floh noticed Leon squirming out of the corner of his eye. “What’s up with you?”

“This is a seedbed curse.” The mage produced a festering lump of horns and flesh from his pack.

“Marika’s tits!”

“Yeah, unpleasant is a little bit of an understatement,” Leon winced.

“Is he going to be alright after that?”

“It should be incorporated into the surrounding flesh about a half hour after insertion.”

“You have to know that’s not an actual answer.”

“My answer is I don’t know. I’m not a curse specialist. What little information I have is based almost entirely on the data from your own case. Not a good sample size and not even remotely applicable in terms of effect.”

“You’ve been cursed?”

“You’ve got enough to worry about, we’ll talk about it later.”

“I really think I ought to know what exactly it entails.”

“Look, mine already triggered, it’s not a huge deal, can we just focus on how we’re going to get that thing in your ass?”

“We’re not done talking about this,” the mage threatened. “As soon as I’m done you’re telling me everything.”

“Deal.”

There wasn’t really a good place to try and shove a powerful curse directly up his ass, but Leon figured the first floor of the roundtable hold was as good as any. It was relatively safe, and the only person he’d ever seen down there was Alberich, who he was reasonably sure was dead. Leon was still careful to gag himself before starting. He didn’t need anyone vaulting over the railing to come investigate the noise. There was also the risk that the pain could make him bite his tongue off. If that happened he’d need to start the whole painful process all over again. Those horns were already intimidating enough as it was, he wasn’t sure he would have it in him to go for a second attempt. It helped however, that he was desperately curious about what would happen if he actually managed it.

Leon knew the Dung Eater both personally and sexually. He knew that the two of them had nearly identical aesthetic tastes, though they strongly disagreed on the topic of consent. The sorcerer didn’t believe that you could call anything a blessing if it was forced upon another, and he certainly did not support murder for the sake of aesthetics. He knew what this “blessing” was supposed to do to a person, provided it didn’t kill them first. He knew and he was excited, enough to once again allow himself to become a willing victim.

Leon worked himself open incredibly carefully. There was an incredibly high likelihood he would injure himself as it was, he wanted to make sure he was at least adequately prepared. Eventually he managed to open himself wide enough to fit his fist. Just to be safe, he opened and closed his hand a few times to try and stretch himself as much as possible. He stared at the seedbed curse on the bedside table. He’d woken up with it placed with the rest of his grave offerings. Maybe it had fallen off of him after he was buried, maybe the Dung Eater had left it with him thinking it was somehow an appropriate burial offering, who knew, but something told him that was the curse that had grown from his body. And he was going to be putting it right back in.

He took a deep breath before picking it up. There was no going back from this now. He clenched his hand around the curse, trying to ease its entry and then dropped it inside himself. For the first second or two he didn’t feel anything, then his nerves made him clench involuntarily. It was the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life. The curse’s horns dug deeply into his sensitive walls. After a moment he felt something shift inside him and they began to move, burrowing back into him. Even with the gag he was reasonably sure the others could hear his screams. Leon balled his fists, willing himself to be quiet. He felt his hands grow sticky as he dug his nails into the skin of his palms. The smell of iron became overpowering.

After what felt like hundreds of years, the pain suddenly stopped. Leon stayed on his hands and knees, desperately panting as he tried to recover. He didn’t look or feel any different. That scared him more than anything. He removed his gag so that he could get more air. He could still feel the unfamiliar length of fangs inside his mouth. That was good, he was worried he might lose those. But then again maybe that was a bad sign, maybe the curse hadn’t taken hold. What if he had endured all of that and it was all for nothing?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud crack. It took a few seconds for his body to register the pain, then he fought the urge to curl into a ball as his spine began to twist itself into a new shape. Leon shoved the gag back inside his mouth without bothering to tie it. He was going to be suffering for quite a bit longer it seemed.

Floh felt the call to awaken pulling him from the void and for the first time he was afraid of what he’d find on the other end. He knew Leon said that this is what he wanted, but who knew how the curse had changed things. Hell, Hirnant had said there might be unknown side effects, what if his personality had changed? What if he’d decided he only liked the idea of being monstrous in theory and now he wanted revenge? What if he’d become a different person entirely?

When he’d fully materialized the first thing he saw was an omen looming over him. Ah, combat. He could do combat. Usually he wasn’t a big fan of fighting omens, they’d really been through enough already, but hey, anything to avoid a difficult conversation. Before he’d finished drawing his sword Floh noticed the Omen held a staff, a wooden staff without a glintstone. He’d only ever met one sorcerer who used a staff like that before.

“Leon? Is that you?” The wizard smiled nervously.

“Sorry I took so long to call, I had to get all my clothes refitted.”

He’d ended up looking kind of similar to Morgott, tall and wiry rather than tall and broad. It looked like he’d been lucky on the infection front, the black horns that periodically erupted from his skin seemed healthy and nothing looked like it had become ingrown. He supported an impressive rack of horns on his head as well, curling up from his temples. It looked like his skin had turned completely gray, but upon second glance Floh realized he was covered in a short layer of fur. He took one of Leon’s hands in his own. His fur was soft, almost like a cat’s. He had also grown a set of small claws that slid from their sheaths as Floh pressed on the pads of his fingers.

“I also got to keep the teeth.” The wizard smiled, showing off a much more threatening set of fangs. Floh didn’t try to say anything for the moment, choosing instead to feel along one of the horns that circled around his arms. As Floh looked closer, he could see veins of colorless glintstone running through his horns. So then his sorcery was still fully intact. Maybe that was why he’d been so lucky, his primal glintstone may have helped guide the spread of the curse.

“You’re awfully quiet, so to speak.” The mage looked down at him pleadingly. The whites of his eyes had turned completely black. The hazel rings of his irises looked almost as if they were glowing against the darkness.

“You’re really soft.” Floh took off his helmet and brought Leon’s hand to his cheek. “Feels nice.” He sighed contentedly as he signed the words. The sorcerer squatted down to Floh’s eye level.

“So you like it then?”

“I still don’t feel great that you had the choice forced on you, but yeah, I think I like it.”

“Trust me, if I knew it was possible I would’ve done this a long time ago. It certainly would’ve helped when the royal guards came knocking.” Floh touched Leon’s face, the fur on his cheeks was particularly soft. He gave him an experimental scratch. Leon purred, this time a real one, coming from a place deep in his throat that hadn’t been there before. “Stars, that feels nice.” He let his eyes fall closed as he leaned into the touch. “So, are you going to tell me about your curse?” Floh pulled his hand away.

“Like I said it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“It’s still something I’d like to know. Maybe there’s something I can do to help?”

“Like I said, it already went off, there’s nothing anybody can do about it.”

“Could you at least tell me what it is?”

“A couple hundred years ago one of my ancestors killed the son of a witch. Now every fourth son of the current head of the household becomes a monster by the time they’re thirty. Usually it would be more of a metaphorical thing, my dad had to kill my uncle after the family found out he’d started torturing small animals, but every once in a while you’d get one that ended up literal. It wasn’t usually great for them, but at least they didn’t always end up as murderers. So, I figured that was the way to go for me too. I still get to have a pretty similar life to what I’d be doing if I hadn’t been cursed. I’m still a vassal knight sworn to a lord, I just ended up a little fucked up looking. I got the best situation I could’ve asked for.”

“You do make quite the handsome monster.”

“I guess I can’t say there aren’t benefits.” He threw one arm over Leon’s shoulder. “Speaking of which, can you still bloodhound step or did the curse take care of that?”

“Oh yes, I can still do that! Hold on a second.” He stood back up. “I had a hard time doing it without falling over on two legs, but the claws really help in terms of getting purchase.” He dashed back and forth coming to a quick stop as his claws scored the ground beneath his feet.

“You been back to the doc yet? We should probably have him take a look at you again just in case.”

“I was waiting until I’d plucked up the courage to call you again. He unnerves me a little bit if I’m being honest.”

“Hirnant’s bedside manner is pretty piss poor yeah. Definitely cares a lot more about results than he does about his test subjects, but now that his father is dead he’s the foremost expert on bloodhound knights. As long as I’m there he should be alright though. He got a little too rough with us during training one week and lost a finger.”

“By which you mean.”

“I bit it off, yeah. Father wasn’t too bad a guy though. Just had a bit of an obsession with shadow bound beasts. He wanted to become one for his Queen but wasn’t so obsessed he was willing to test the process on himself. He and Hirnant only turned once the rest of us proved it was safe.”

“That was rather unfair of him.”

“I mean that’s how it always goes right? You test on the soldiers before you let the important people do it.”

“Well I for one think you’re very important.”

“You would, dumbass.” Floh affectionately ruffled Leon’s now soft, white, hair. His bracer clacked against Leon’s horns. They curled elegantly up and back like a gazelle’s. “You know, you might not be king yet, but you’ve got one hell of a crown.”

Hirnant was sort of surprised to see Floh and the wizard back so soon. He’d assumed based on past experience that he’d have to track the two of them down to get his data. However the two of them had come right back to him, waiting just beyond the gates.

“Can you take a look at him and make sure everything went alright?” Floh asked.

“Can I have some clarification on what your definition of alright is?” The sorcerer had sprouted horns all over his body, most would not consider that part of their definition of alright.

“We want to make sure that I am not still in the process of becoming a bloodhound knight.” He could still speak, words were intelligible, seemingly did not suffer brain damage as a result of curse.

“I would have to perform a more thorough examination. Do I have your permission to take notes?”

He had the mage strip before he began his examination.

He pulled back the mage’s lips to check his teeth.

“Are you experiencing any neck or shoulder pain?”

“Not really. I was a little sore the first few days but I’d say it was similar to how I felt wearing a glintstone crown.”

“No scholar’s crick?”

“No, never used to get it from the crown either.”

Subject’s spine able to withstand strain. Need follow up decade out.

“Breath in for me?” The mage did so easily.

“I’ll need you to remove your small clothes.”

“Hey, why do you need to see under there?” Floh bristled.

“To check for signs of further transformation. I assure you I wouldn’t look unless entirely necessary. You wouldn’t want me to miss anything would you?” Floh backed down.

“As long as he’s alright with it.” Leon nodded his assent.

Hirnant gently moved the mage’s dick aside to check his balls. However, he noticed something far more interesting behind them.

“Has this always been here?” The knight ran his finger along the slick opening that sat where the mage should have had a perineum.

“No, that was a result of the curse.”

“Are you experiencing any discomfort as a result? mental or physical.”

“Not particularly, though I still consider myself a man if that’s a part of the question. If anything, I’d say the strongest emotion I feel towards it is curiosity.”

“May I measure depth?”

“By all means.”

“Have you been urinating normally?”

“More or less given the circumstances. If anything, I guess I haven’t had to go as often?”

“Have you exhibited any symptoms of menstruation?”

“Not as of yet, but it hasn’t been a full month since my transformation.”

“Alright, please inform me if that changes.”

“I think you may be in the clear but I would like to take a sample of fluid just in case.”

“What kind of fluid?” The mage asked.

“I’d prefer blood, vitreous fluid, or semen.”

“Oh come on, really?!” Floh threw up his hands.

“Those three contain the most testable information. I would only need a small sample of any of those three. Urine could also work theoretically.”

“I, uh, don’t really feel like I have to go unfortunately.”

“I would be willing to assist in the collection of any fluids you wished to give.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Just say you want him to fuck you if you want him to fuck you!”

“I’ll admit I would certainly enjoy it if it comes to that, but I would also not be disappointed with a sample of either of the other two.”

“This is a little embarrassing, but I’m deathly afraid of needles.” The mage shuffled from foot to foot.

“Not you too.”

“No, I’m serious! I don’t know why, I know they don’t hurt very much, but for some reason I can’t stand the sight of them.”

“You shoved a mass of horns up your ass and you’re afraid of being stuck with a needle?”

“It’s completely irrational, I know, but I’d still rather not if it can be avoided.”

“If that’s the case, then I’d ask that you make sure to pull out before you ejaculate to ensure the sample does not become contaminated.”

“I’d actually prefer to be penetrated if possible.”

“Floh would you be willing to assist in the procedure?”

“The doc is kind of like you, likes to be reamed open by the biggest dicks he can find. He’s probably been stuck guarding this fucking gate for about a century at this point. I wouldn’t imagine there’s all that many opportunities for hookups up there. Then you come along with what’s probably the most interesting cock he’s ever seen. Of course he wants you to fuck him,” Floh traced into Leon’s back while answering, “Why the fuck not,” to Hirnant.

“Was the request for penetration an expression of need or discomfort?”

“I don’t have any discomfort around penetrating, no. Do you prefer to prepare yourself or would you like me to do it?”

“I prepared myself in advance.”

“Told you.” Floh traced.

“How on earth did he know?!” Leon traced back. “He’s never seen it before today!”

“You said you got a curse from a guy named fucking Dung Eater, he probably thought it was going to be a sex thing.”

“Why would he think it would be a sex thing?”

“I thought it was going to be a sex thing.”

“Why did you think it was going to be a sex thing?!”

“You don’t know? I mean I could explain it if you want but you’re probably better off not knowing.”

“Are you two going to continue your private conversation or am I getting my sample?”

“Fine, Marika’s tits,” Floh cursed. “Impatient motherfucker. Leon, you’re undressed already, you mind helping him?”

“Of course not. I’m curious after all.” He played with the straps of Hirnant’s armor. He knew his own kinks pretty well and he knew what drove him crazy. If Hirnant was similar Leon knew exactly what to say. “We’ll have to see if he’s prepared himself adequately. I haven’t seen myself hard yet, but I was always more of a grower.” Leon tried putting a little bit of a growl into it, he knew he liked that. It came out deeper and more resonant than he expected. A soft rumble from deep within his chest. Floh glanced over at the sound, still in the process of removing his own clothes. Leon glanced back in stunned silence. Floh gave him a thumbs up. Okay, so they thought that was on purpose, good, good. He carefully undid the leather straps of Hirnant’s armor. Leon could hear him breathing heavily under his helmet. The knight flinched away as Leon attempted to remove it.

“Helmet stays on.”

“I’d really prefer if I could see your face. I want to make sure what I’m doing is enjoyable for you as well.”

“Helmet. Stays. On.”

“If you insist. Do you have something you’d like me to deposit the sample into?” He switched gears quickly. It seemed like the knight would prefer to keep things relatively impersonal.

“I’ve set aside a perfumer’s vial. It’s in the second pouch on the left side of my belt.” Leon removed the vial.

“Ah glass. A shame.”

“It is what most instruments are made of.”

“Of course, however, if the material was more flexible, or at least did not shatter when broken, I could have left it in your ass to aid in sample collection.” He fondled the large bulb on the end of it suggestively.

“I’ll take that into consideration.” He saw Hirnant swallow as he replied. Leon pulled down the knight’s pants, pretending not to see his erection.

The mage was only half hard but he’d already begun to notice stark differences in how his cock reacted to stimulation. For one the ridges that ringed his length were becoming more and more pronounced as he hardened and they’d began faintly glowing. The same thing had begun to happen to the glintstone seams in his horns. So that’s what that was, the crystallization had reached his cock as well. It had also already begun to leak pre cum, far thicker than it usually was. He took some between his fingers, testing the consistency. By his estimation that might just work as lube. Leon worked himself up and down, making sure to coat himself fully.

A strand of drool leaked from the bottom of Hirnant’s visor as he watched. He didn’t particularly care to wipe it away. Veneer of academic respectability be damned, the tarnished mage’s cock was self lubricating and those ridges were becoming more and more enticing with every stroke, he needed it in him now. He lowered himself onto his back and spread his legs hoping the mage would take the hint. Floh tapped on Leon’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Not yet. Have to make sure he’s ready to go first.”

“See for yourself if you want, but with the addition of lubrication I should be more than ready.”

“I wasn’t talking about you, asshole.” Floh gave Leon a few good strokes. “He’s only half hard.” He turned Leon’s face to his own, kissing him with one eye open staring at the other knight. “Where do you want my cock, my king?”

“My cunt.” Leon signed his answer, not willing to pull away from their kiss. Floh laughed into his mouth.

Hirnant squirmed as Floh began to push his cock into Leon’s waiting hole. He still stared directly at the other knight as he did. That fucking bastard.

Of course it had to be fucking Floh that had sworn himself to this man. Floh had been a thorn in his side from the moment they met. His hate for him was more intense than anything he’d ever felt. So intense was his hatred that it had begun to wrap around itself, twisting and consuming itself like a serpent, warping into a perverse desire. He wanted to be fucked by the very man he so intensely loathed. Not have sex, be fucked. There was a definite distinction in his mind. He wanted it raw, angry, and bloody. He wanted to be taken in the dirt and left broken and twitching. Of course his pride would never allow him to ask for that, and despite his coarseness and violent behavior, Floh wasn’t the type to force himself on another, so Hirnant would have to settle for fucking his lover instead. However, Floh wasn’t exactly making it easy, monopolizing the man as he was. He clearly knew what he was doing, staring at him like that as he did it. Hirnant wanted to strangle him, he wanted to choke on his cock, he wanted to tear out his still-beating heart and eat it, he wanted to be broken utterly and completely underneath him.

“I think you’re ready now.” Floh wrapped his arms around Leon’s shoulders, giving him a chance to re-center himself. “Give him what he wants.”

Hirnant put up his hands to protest the implication that he was in any way enjoying this, but fell still the second the mage breached him. Even with his extensive preparation the first ridge caught on the edge of his hole. The mage pulled back for a moment and then shoved himself in, pushing past the knight’s rim, but then stopping again as he reached the second ridge. Hirnant gasped, his tongue lolling out underneath his visor. He was glad he’d insisted on keeping it on. Floh didn’t need to know that he was right.

“Sorry, this may take longer than expected,” Leon grunted apologetically, as he forced the second ridge through. Hirnant didn’t reply, he was too focused on staying as quiet as possible. After a few torturous minutes of thrusting back and forth, working his way in deeper, the mage finally managed to fully sheath himself inside of Hirnant. The knight ground his teeth at the feeling of being full after such a long period of emptiness. The ridges of Leon’s cock ground maddeningly into his prostate with every slight movement either of them made. Hirnant’s control slipped for a brief moment and a whine escaped his lips. He saw Floh’s lips twitch as he began to trace something into the mage’s back.

“Are you sure?” Leon asked. Floh traced something else into his skin. It was impossible for Hirnant to see what it was from this angle. “If you say so.” He pulled himself out and slammed back in with none of the stopping and starting of earlier. Stars, he’d been trying to be gentle. Now the mage had thrown that completely out the window, taking Hirnant like a beast. The knight’s control slipped entirely and he moaned wantonly as he was fucked open wider and wider. The slick that poured from Leon’s cock made things marginally easier, but only in that Hirnant wasn’t being ripped open. He still felt the air rush from his lungs every time the mage bottomed out, he was reasonably sure he was crying, but he didn’t care. He felt too good to care.

“Told you he likes it rough.” Floh was just barely holding it together himself. Fuck, even just watching him reduce Hirnant to a drooling mess would’ve been enough to get him hard, but Floh was watching him do that while he was buried in the slick heat of his cunt. Leon truly was a king, his crown and rod of office formed from his very flesh. If he wanted he could hold Floh down and take him, like he was taking Hirnant. Even before, he could’ve put his staff to Floh’s head and forced himself upon him, but he didn’t. Instead he laid everything at Floh’s feet, he offered up every part of himself and begged for Floh to take even more. How could he say no?

Already he felt himself becoming closer to spilling inside the mage. His cunt was slick and loose for him, letting Floh’s cock slide in and out of him effortlessly. A strange voice in his head, probably the voice of Leon’s influence, wished for a moment that he had a second cock so that he could fill both his holes at once. He came, the base of his cock swelling to trap them together. He felt Leon clench around him and a warm wetness spread onto his cock. Fuck, he was a squirter. Damn that was hot. Floh quickly snapped out of his post orgasmic haze. Shit! The sample! They were going to have to do this again! However as the haze cleared further, he realized Leon was still going.

Leon felt like he was going insane. Usually he’d just let himself drift off into near mindless pleasure, but he had to stay aware and focused if he didn’t want to have to spend far more time than was needed on this visit. Stars, it was tempting though. He knew he’d just came, he felt buzzed and over-sensitive, but he was still sopping wet and wanting. If he remembered correctly from past partners, people with vaginas could cum multiple times end on end without a break. Fuck, he was already insatiable when he let himself go, and now he didn’t have to stop. The sensitivity had reached his cock as well, heightening the sensation of Hirnant underneath him. Leon shifted to rock back into Floh’s still swollen cock and Hirnant threw his head back. His helmet clattered to the ground. Leon caught a glance of dark eyes and brown hair before Hirnant covered his face with one arm. Past it Leon could still see that the knight was drooling all over himself as he moaned in pleasure, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in ecstasy.

“Look what you’ve done to him.” Floh whistled long and low at the sight of him. Hirnant lowered his arm slightly to glare at the other knight. Leon pulled his arm up and pinned it to the ground Hirnant struggled against him, his eyes blown wide. Leon released it not having meant to make him uncomfortable.

“Would you be willing to move your arm so I can kiss you?” Hirnant hesitated for a moment. He didn’t want Floh to see him acting like a whore, however, he also didn’t want to see him acting like a coward either. He took his arm away slowly, attempting to surreptitiously wipe his face and nodded. The mage was gentle at first. He softly kissed him trying to encourage Hirnant to kiss him back. Of course that wasn’t what the knight wanted. He didn’t want to be shown affection. Leon seemed to remember this after a moment and dove into him, pulling his mouth open for him. His tongue was rough, its scrape was surprisingly nice against the sensitive insides of Hirnant’s mouth. He felt himself finally begin to shudder through his release. Leon pulled out quickly, grabbed the vial Hirnant had set aside and came into it. Floh slid out of the mage and took a quick look at Hirnant. He was spent, blinking up at him sleepily.

“Leon, you have a rag?” The mage tossed him a strip of cloth as he corked the vial. Floh carefully wiped the cum off the other knight’s stomach. Hirnant tried weakly to push his hand away. “You’re going to be uncomfortable if I don’t get this cleaned off.”

“Fuck off. I can do it myself.” Leon handed the knight the corked vial. Hirnant immediately re-donned his helmet as he accepted it, stubbornly trying to pretend nothing had happened. “I’d like you to return for a follow up either in a decade, if you begin experiencing menstruation, or if you suddenly begin experiencing nausea, fatigue, bloating, increased urination, or swelling of the chest.”

“That’s quite the list.”

“If it makes you more comfortable you need only return if you’re exhibiting a combination of those symptoms. Unless it’s increased urination, you ought to have that looked at regardless.” As the mage and knight left him alone, Hirnant added a few extra bullets to his notes.

“You’re still horny aren’t you?” Floh asked as soon as the two were out of eyeshot. He could smell the arousal coming off him in waves.

“Yeah.” Leon looked at Floh out of the corner of his eyes.

“You want to take care of it yourself or can I help?”

“I’d appreciate it if you did.” Leon’s shoulders relaxed as Floh pulled down his pants.

“How about I eat you out?”

“Fuck, yes please.” Floh shoved his head between the mage’s thighs. He could taste his own cum mingled with the metallic, musky taste of Leon’s slick. Claws pricked against his scalp as the mage grabbed onto his hair for purchase.

“Still not used to it?”

“Not yet. Stars!” He grasped tighter as Floh licked over his clit.

“How does it feel?”

“Strange, but not a bad strange.”

“So a good strange then?”

“Fuck!” Leon staggered a moment as Floh grabbed onto two of the horns that sprouted from his hips for stability. As the knight’s fingers met glintstone he felt as though Floh was touching his soul itself. “Yes, it’s so good. Like- like you.” Leon was starting to become breathless. He rocked himself into Floh’s mouth trying to get even a little more stimulation. His breath hitched as he felt one of Floh’s fangs brush against him. “You’re a good strange.” Floh knew better than to take anything he said while he was like this seriously.

“You’re much stranger than I am to think like that.” The mage pulled away from him.

“Hey. Stop that.” He said the words firmly, but without raising his voice or allowing anger to enter into his tone.

“Stop what?”

“You’re confident in your skill, your speech, your sexual prowess, why do you find it so hard to be confident in this as well?” Leon held Floh’s face in his clawed hands. “You’re beautiful. Even if I’m the only one who has the courage to say it, you're beautiful.”

“Come on now, even before you never could have called me beautiful.” Not with his broken nose, or curse-marked red eyes. Not with his hair so matted with dirt and blood, he already looked like he was half beast.

“Darriwil said he thought you were handsome.”

“Yeah well, Darriwil fell for a wolf man, he’s not the most reliable source.”

“Floh do you think I’m beautiful?” Where the hell was that coming from? Floh wasn’t sure how he would categorize the way he found Leon attractive. Horned and towering as he was, glowing faintly from the still simmering heat of his arousal, he was statuesque, practically humming with power. Floh could call it beauty, in the same way he could call lighting beautiful. The more accurate way he could convey his feelings would be with his own emotional reaction, awe.

“Yes. I do.”

“And am I not just as monstrous as you are?”

“You know that’s different.”

“How. Explain it.”

“I don’t know it’s just different, alright?”

“Because it’s you instead of me?” Floh was starting to feel strange. The high of sex was wearing off and he felt oddly sensitive.

“I don’t really feel like talking about this right now. Can you just send me back for a second?” Leon kneeled down, his eyes full of concern.

“Are you alright? You’re crying.” He was? He wiped his eyes and his hand came away wet. Oh shit he was crying.

“I don’t know, this has never happened to me before.” He was starting to feel like he was drowning. Leon quickly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into his chest.

“You’re dropping. It used to happen to me all the time.”

“How do we make it stop?” He curled into Leon’s body as the mage softly stroked his hair.

“Well, you can’t do anything but get some rest and wait it out. What I have to do is make sure you get plenty of attention and make sure you understand how much you’re loved. Even if you’re too stubborn to believe me.”

“I know you care about me. I just can’t understand how you could think I’m beautiful.”

“Well, why not? Clearly you can if you think that I am.” A thought began to form, one that he’d pushed down for years and years, but only came to the surface in his overly sensitive and moody state.

“It hurts too much. My whole life I knew I was going to turn into something like this, or someone much much worse. I guess I just kind of accepted that if anybody ever wanted me it would be despite how I looked. Letting myself hope that anyone could ever actually find me attractive would’ve been too painful.” Leon gently kissed the top of his head.

“You’ll never have to merely hope I find you beautiful. I’ll prove it to you as many times as it takes.”

“So what are we doing now? Are we headed to the forge? The Haligtree?” Leon stilled.

“I think I need to find more seedbeds.”

“What? Why? You already managed to stop the transformation!”

“I think… something tells me I’ll come to some sort of understanding if I absorb more of them. The first one, it was more painful than anything I’d ever experienced, but I felt as if I was on the edge of something. As if I was just on the precipice of coming to a deeper understanding of the world. I’m not sure I want to. It would probably be incredibly disrespectful to the victims, but I can’t live without knowing where that precipice drops down into.”

“I trust your instincts. Just, let me be there this time? I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“It may be unpleasant for you to witness.”

“I want to be there for you. I should’ve been there the last time, but I was too much of a coward.”

“I could have called you. I was afraid of what you’d think too.” They sat with each other for a while longer, glintstone fireflies landing on Leon’s horns. “You know,” Leon watched as one crawled over his fingers. “Glintstone fireflies have a hard time attracting mates. Ordinarily fireflies flash so that they can find each other, but since these ones have had their abdomens overtaken by glintstone they can’t anymore. They have to gather by larger crystals and hope they can find a mate there. At the same time, there’s still lots of them, so you know, even if it takes a while, they still manage to find each other.”

“Was that your attempt at composing a poem?” Floh smiled.

“Maybe.”

“Well it’s better than anything I’d have come up with.”