Establishing Relations, Chapter 5

The first thing Natani became aware of was a touch on his cheek; a hand, the thumb slowly stroking his fur... a wolven sign of affection. He opened his eyes and saw the owner of that hand, Keith, lying down by his side, and smiled before he even remembered why.

"Hey."

They'd said it at the same time.

Beyond the smile and the flood of joy, Natani found himself beyond wiped, with some deep, deep aches, and his legs feeling like jelly -- but he didn't pay any of it any mind, mustering up enough strength to take his own hand to Keith's cheek and return the gesture, teasing at the basitin's smile with his fingers while he was at it. Keith nuzzled against his hand for a bit, then stopped, blushing slightly. Natani gave a little nuzzle of his own in answer and kept stroking Keith's cheek, and after a time could see the basitin decide to do it again, that stubborn blush slowly fading as Keith rubbed back against his hand, still smiling.

Natani found the strength he needed to shift closer and slowly pull Keith to him, embracing the basitin, tucking him under his chin, relishing his warmth and scent and the softness of his fur. Keith settled in with a happy little noise, nuzzling against his throat as Natani's hand went to the basitin's ears.

How did this go again... thinking back to what he rememebered of the King's explanations about basitins, he started stroking Keith's ears.

They were even softer than he remembered!

At the first touches of his hand, the basitin nuzzled deeper against Natani... then slowly came to a stop. "Um... Natani?"

"Mm?"

"The way you're doing that, you're... kinda... saying that... you... love me."

Somehow, hearing it said out loud was... Natani felt his own blush rising. "Well... good. I wasn't sure I had that right."

A small noise, and then a swallow... and just a heartbeat or two worth of indecision before Keith unburrowed himself to look at Natani, his expression a mix of joy and sorrow, neither of them the least bit masked. "You're... still leaving, right?"

"Yeah. I have to."

Keith nodded. "Then I can't..." a pained laugh. "I don't deserve to be this happy. I don't. Not after... but I can't... I'm so tired of losing everything and everyone I care about. So if I have this... I can't... I can't let it go to waste. I can't. Whatever time I have with you, I have to... be there for it. So..."

So please love me.

Natani's heart was full of it, and his hand found Keith's ears again, because the words wouldn't have felt as true. "Yeah."

Joy and sorrow, and probably both of them contributing to the tears in the corners of the basitin's eyes.

Keith... he would blame himself for being happy.

And Natani couldn't even say that he shouldn't. Not with all that he had lost.

So what could he say?

"I don't suppose you'd wanna come with me?"

It had just kind of... slipped out, but the bit of joy it added to Keith's expression made it instantly worth it.

"Thank you. For asking." Keith drew a deep breath. "And want to... yeah, a part of me does. Very much. But... I can't. For better or for worse, I have a place here now, and I have to make something of it. If I just threw it away..."

"We did take out that tower. Save your people from the Templar."

"Yeah." Keith sighed. "And that's something. But it's not enough. Laura... is dead. Nick is dead. Trace is dead. Flora is going to hate me forever... and if she isn't, she should. It is all my fault, even if I didn't want any of it. So I can't let it be for nothing. I just... can't."

Natani could have quibbled, but... it probably would have just gotten Keith to dig in and roll out all the arguments he doubtless had for why he didn't deserve anything good in his life ever. Dwelling on any of that probably wouldn't help... and at the end of the day, Keith was still here, facing it all.

That was enough.

Natani nodded. "So you're gonna be the best damn Ambassador General they've ever seen."

"Well... I mean..."

Natani stuck out his tongue. "Am I wrong?"

Keith rolled his eyes, but he chuckled as well. "Idiot."

Natani kissed him, gently. "I'm... here for you, yeah?"

"... Thanks."

And with that, they both let the heaviness fade, focusing instead on the immediate joys of being there, together, in that moment, Keith's hand finding its way back to Natani's muzzle, trading touches with the hand at his ears.

Where had Keith picked that up, anyway? Had the King also--

"Oh! Where'd the King get to? ... she isn't behind me, is she?"

Keith laughed. "No, she went to get cleaned up. But she said... to look for how long it would take you to remember she existed."

"... guess I had that coming."

Though... that wasn't just a joke at his expense, was it? Not that that would have been bad either; Natani didn't mind being the butt of a joke if it meant getting to see Keith laugh like that. But before it had come to laughter, what she had said would have drawn Keith's attention all the more to where Natani's focus was -- on him.

And really, thinking back to their whole encounter, at many points she'd been just... helping. Supporting them, rather than...

Hmm.

"How long was I out, anyway?"

"Not that long. Maybe five minutes or so. Or ten."

"What, lost track of time or something? Captivated by my rugged good looks?"

"Or how goofy you looked."

"Hey!"

Keith grinned. "Maybe it was both." He kissed Natani, just a quick dip in, the basitin pressing his smile to Natani's lips. But it did make his heart flutter, just a little.

He could get used to Keith being cheeky.

Natani nudged the basitin back with his muzzle, and then settled in for a long, slow kiss, their muzzles never parting far as they vied with each other, playful, full of shared delight and amusement that eventually spilled over into Natani just straight-up starting to lick Keith's muzzle and face, sending him off into laughter.

So of course Natani kept it up for a while before he finally relented, leaving Keith gasping for breath, now laying on his back, pushed over in their tousle. Natani nuzzled up to the base of his nearest ear and placed a kiss there, then buried his muzzle in the basitin's hair, just enjoying the scent. He really didn't have the strength for much more right now.

Natani laid his hand across Keith's chest, and the basitin seemed to get the message to stay put and start lazing. His own hand joined Natani's, fingers curling around his palm, thumb slowly stroking his fingers... and Natani responded in kind, focusing on the warmth of Keith's nearness, his heartbeat, his stready breathing... and slowly letting his eyes slide closed.

That moment stretched out for some unknown amount of minutes, before Natani felt Keith's ear give a twitch against him. "I think that's her now."

Indeed, Natani opened his eyes just in time to see the door -- on the opposite side of where they'd originally entered -- open, and the King come through. She was fully clothed once more, with everything in order, and she looked... not quite freshly groomed, Natani realized, because why would she be freshly groomed at this time of day? But certainly no evidence of their... activities... remained, except maybe a... certain something in her demeanour.

She returned Natani's appraising look with a soft smile. "It's good to see you're back with us." Raised eybrows. "Of course, given how long it took me to get cleaned up, I'd be concerned if you weren't. It wasn't easy to get the wolf-scent out of my fur."

Natani grinned at her, a small flutter passing through him at just the memory. "Hey, you've got nobody to blame but yourself."

"Who says I was complaining?" Her smile took on new connotations. "It's a very good scent."

Damn. Natani actually blushed a little. She was... formidable. In everything.

"A scent I would not mind getting still more acquainted with. And as such..." She looked at them appraisingly. "If you two were a pair of basitins, I would expect you to be entirely occupied with each other for the foreseeable future. And of course, should you choose that... that would be your prerogative. I have no interest in forcing myself into your private time. But should it not be so..." There was that smile again. "Then I imagine I might have some room in my schedule at the same time tomorrow. Think on it, both of you. Natani, I still expect you for our talk tomorrow; you can give me your answer then."

Natani nodded.

"And now, I still have things I need to be doing. This is part of a set of rooms; through this door, you will find a sitting room with some refreshments laid out, and through there you can find a bath as well as another exit and some other things that are less likely to be of interest. Please avail yourselves. You do not need to worry about cleaning up, but you will need to be gone before curfew. And in general... do not be seen to break the rules. That would be unwise."

She waited for them both to signal they had heard and understood, then turned towards the door to the receiving room.

"Your... Adelaideness?"

She turned back to Natani, arching an eyebrow.

"Thank you. For all of this, but also... for all the support."

For a moment, those eyebrows went up, before her surprise gave way to amusement, and she shook her head. "If you were a basitin... but then, you are not." She looked at him for a while, considering. "When we began, it became apparent rather quickly that I was to be the third in this arrangement, and it is basitin nature to recognize our roles, accept them, and play them to their fullest. And as that is the case, a basitin would never offer thanks to someone for merely doing their part. After all, calling attention to someone doing what they should have is very near to suggesting that there was doubt."

Ah. "An insult?"

"Yes, of a sort. But as that wasn't how you meant it, and as you aren't a basitin, I won't take it as one." She smiled. "Instead... I will be courteous and accept your thanks. And so, if the two of you are going to be delightfully un-basitin and take me up on my offer..." She arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps it might befit you to think on how you might pay me back?"

And on that note, she left, leaving a very thick silence behind.

Natani cleared his throat. "So, uh, how about it? Wanna keep having sex with your gorgeous King?"

A burst of shocked laughter. "Natani!"

"Hey, that's the question. The first one, anyway." Natani propped himself up on one elbow so he could look at Keith better. "And don't even think about pretending you didn't like it. Hell, I liked watching you do it."

"I-- really?"

"Yeah. I like seeing you feel good."

"Then I should--" blush, end of sentence.

"Hmm?"

"I was about to say... then I should get you on your back. Or... on top of me, or something. But not facing away." Keith cleared his throat. "Because then you'd see me feel really good."

Oh.

Natani found his own blush. "Was it... that different?"

"I mean, I'd need more... experience..."

"Uh-huh."

Keith rolled his eyes. "But... when I, um, came... inside you, it was so... I couldn't even keep moving. I wanted to, but it was just... too intense. All I could do was hold on."

"Well... um." Natani cleared his throat. "Maybe it was just because it was... later? Or... ass, I guess? Maybe that's a thing?"

"I'm... pretty sure it was because it was you."

Oh.

"Well, then what about when I... used my muzzle?"

The blush was answer enough, really, but Keith did use words as well. "That... was amazing. But I'd rather... you feel good as well. Seeing that..."

"Then... when I fucked you?"

Bright crimson. "Like that, yeah. And it did start to feel... better than I expected. And not just what you did with my paws." Keith cleared his throat. "I mean... it did for you too, right? When it was... my turn?"

"Yeah." It had been a lot of different things mixed up, but... "Yeah. It was better than I thought it was gonna be. It wasn't just pleasure, but... it was intense. And it made me kinda... giddy. Especially when finally I took all of you."

"Y-yeah. Like that. And when you kissed me..."

Of course, Natani gave him that same kind of kiss, leaning over to press him into the mattress, finding again all the ways he'd found to say 'I love you' in that moment. Keith's hand came up to his side, fingers slowly tangling in his fur, and when Natani broke the kiss, he let the basitin hold him there, then tug him down, his muzzle sliding past Keith's as he lowered himself down, partly on top of the basitin.

Keith turned into him, pushing them both over to their sides, leaving his muzzle buried under Natani's. He sounded a little choked up. "Like that. Yeah."

Natani settled his free hand around the basitin, his heart swelling with warmth. He rubbed his cheek against Keith's, smiling. "Thought you liked that."

The basitin stayed there for a few more moments, before pulling away to look at him, though they were still almost nose-to-nose. He had a wavering smile on his face that made Natani want to rub his cheek, so he did, Keith once again instinctively nuzzling against him in response.

Keith let out a happy sigh. "Anyway. I don't think the King could make me feel like this. Or want to."

Ah. "But that's fine, isn't it? If she just wants to let loose and have some fun... well, as it turns out, that feels pretty damn good."

Keith raised his eyebrows. "So what you're saying is... you want to keep having sex with 'my gorgeous King'?"

Natani laughed. "I mean... yeah? I want to spend a lot more time with you, too, but having a repeat of this tomorrow? I wouldn't turn it down." He stuck out his tongue. "I'd be an idiot if I did."

Keith smiled, and took his hand from Natani's side up to his cheek, beginning to softly stroke him again. "I... understand what the King meant, when she talked about basitins. I feel... drawn to you now." He cleared his throat, blushing slightly. "Or maybe I should say, even more drawn to you now. It's not like this is... entirely... new."

"Oh? So you want to have me all to yourself? Or maybe..." Natani moved his hand from Keith's cheek to his ear, softly stroking along the ridge. "You want to be the only one for me?"

Radiant blush, and Keith's ear twitched against his hand... and it crystallized for Natani that it didn't matter how embarrassing something was to say, if it had that kind of an effect on Keith.

Natani gave him a kiss. "We can do that too, if you want."

"No, it's... it's my first instinct, but... this isn't just about me, is it? I don't want to stop you from having something you want. If that's your first instinct... it's not like it's any less right than mine. And..." he cleared his throat "... it's not like I hate the idea or anything. Today certainly... worked out."

"Hmmmmm... you're not just doing that thing where you ignore what you want, are you?"

Keith shook his head. "No." Slight blush, wry smile. "Don't worry. I'm going to... be greedy and take all I can, while I can. But... that's just it." The basitin looked at him for a while, his heart in his eyes. "In a perfect world, maybe I would ask you to be just mine, and... to be just yours, at least for a while. But time is limited, and you should take what you can while you can too, right?"

Natani nodded. "As long as you're okay with it. If you're not... then it's not something I want to have."

Keith looked at him for a moment longer, blush slowly rising, then nuzzled closer, under his chin, his face now hidden from sight but his ears burning.

Natani grinned to himself, but also felt his own cheeks flushing. Maybe putting it that way had been a little... much.

And yet... it was true. He wanted to spend more time with Keith, and make good memories for both of them, a lot more than he wanted to do anything with the King.

But both would be best. And if the three of them kept doing things together until Natani left, then, well... Keith and the King wouldn't just stop, would they? And so he'd be able to go with the knowledge that at least Keith had that going for him.

Lucky bastard, really.

Keith cleared his throat. "So... would you like to be with her, just the two of you? Or just when it'd be all three of us?"

Huh. "Well, I mean... she asked us as a... pair, right? I wasn't thinking of anything else."

"Would you, though?"

Alone with the King... a flicker of nervousness passed through Natani at the thought. They didn't really know each other that well... and maybe that shouldn't have mattered, but... the idea was intimidating. She was someone who had all the answers, when Natani was just starting to figure stuff out. "Maybe not." But that felt like running away. "Maaaaybe? I'm not about to start hitting on her, if that's what you're thinking."

He could hear Keith's smile. "Because she might hit back?"

Natani chuckled. And... what was he doing, anyway, hiding his thoughts just because he felt a little awkward? When Keith was being so open with him?

"Look..." he stroked Keith's back as he thought, then sighed. "She's... a lot, right? I'm feeling a lot... easier... about all of this than I ever would have guessed, but... I think a lot of that is still because of you. Both because it's you, and because it's... well, it's new to you too, right?" It occurred to him that he didn't actually know, and might have just reminded Keith of something he shouldn't have. "Anyway, with you, I feel like we're figuring it out as we go along. She just... knows. And that's... a little intimidating. If it was just me and her."

Keith seemed to consider that for a moment. "Natani?"

"Yeah?"

He unburrowed once more, so he could look at Natani, a slight smile playing at his muzzle. "Will you promise me that you won't do anything with her without me? At least for now."

Oh, Keith. "Well, if it's for you..." Natani grinned, then gave him a kiss and a nuzzle, settling down muzzle to muzzle. "I promise."

Keith nuzzled back. "Thanks. That really puts me at ease."

"You... dork."

Keith grinned. "You're one to talk."

Natani smiled. "I guess I am, huh." He gave Keith another kiss. And... "I... guess we're taking her up on her offer, then?"

"I guess we are. So then the question is... how do we 'pay her back'?"

"I guess the obvious answer is that we both focus on her, but..."

Keith smiled. "A two-versus-one?"

"Yeah. Instead of... maaaaybe sometimes forgetting she's in the room."

"That seems like a good idea."

Natani nudged Keith's muzzle. "Shush, you. So if it's the both of us... what do we think she would like?"

"She did say she liked your scent."

"She... did, huh. But that isn't exactly going to get her off, is it? And if I let her go at it, then... I might not be good for much else."

Keith grinned. "Yeah, you kinda... exploded there."

Natani raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you try being pushed between both of you like that before you... well I guess you kinda were, weren't you, when I had you on your back. So imagine she just kept sucking you off instead of stopping at the one, and I was pumping into you all the while..." Keith's blush had built up as Natani was painting that picture. "... And that... sounds like it might be a thing we should try at some point, huh? When it's your turn to be the center of attention again."

Keith cleared his throat. "Um. Point taken. And..." He flicked an ear. "Yeah. That might be..." he cleared his throat again. "So maybe she would like that too?"

"Hmm... maybe? But we didn't do anything with her ass, so... I don't think we should assume she'd like that. I kinda feel like she might have demonstrated if she did." Or... maybe not? Natani could think of a few different reasons. But at any rate, it was an unknown.

"Ah. Right. So focus on stuff we know she likes..."

"Like when you flipped her on her back. That was her biggest orgasm, right?"

Blush, ear flick. "Uh, maybe? With me, yeah, I think so... but when you were, um..."

"Eating her out?"

"... eating her out, that looked really big too."

"Hmm... the first, or the second?"

"I meant the first. I didn't really... I was a bit... distracted... for the second."

Natani grinned. "Uh-huh."

Well, he'd been a little distracted himself, but... yeah, maybe that first one had been stronger, anyway. He'd had her hips pinned, and she'd still almost bucked him off. The second one had at least been more peaceful. And if the difference had been from what Natani did...

"Hmm. She provoked you, right? When you flipped her over?"

"Yeah. And before that, too."

"Right. She wanted you to be 'frisky'."

Blush.

Natani grinned. "And then the way she rode you..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

But that reminded Natani. "Were you holding back because you didn't want to spook me?"

That stopped Keith short for a moment. "I mean... I did think about that. I didn't want you to think I wanted to do something like that to you. But..."

Natani had raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean. We weren't that... aggressive with each other."

"Yeah."

"Well... I guess you were a bit rough on my muzzle."

Natani gave that muzzle a kiss. "Sorry about that."

Blush. "It's... there wasn't a... problem."

"Mm-hmm."

"Anyway, it wasn't just that. I had to realize that she wanted me to do that -- or something like that -- because it's not like I, well... could have, if she didn't help. She's like three times my weight, and much stronger. I can't just throw her around like that unless she plays along."

"I don't think anyone can."

And... maybe that was exactly it.

"... you think that's it?"

"... Maybe? I mean, think about what she asked us, too. She doesn't exactly have any trouble telling people what she wants from them, right?"

Keith smiled at that. "Bit of an understatement."

"Right. But she said we should think about it. If she wanted to set the pace again, wouldn't she have just said something like 'I have a few ideas how you might...'?"

"Yeah."

"So since she didn't... the point could be that she wants us to take the initiative. She doesn't just want to do stuff with us... she wants to see if she can get us to do stuff to her. Like that pin. And when I first ate her out, I held her hips down and really went for it. And that... worked." Natani frowned. The pieces felt like they fit, but... "Does that sound right to you? I mean, she's the King. She's..." Strong.

Keith stayed silent for a while before answering. "There's something people say. I don't know how true it is, but... it's a bit of a cliché. 'In the bedroom, the ranks are reversed.'"

"So it's a basitin thing?"

"Maybe? I think I've heard something like it in human lands as well. I think the idea is just that if you're always in charge, always in control, always the one responsible, then..."

"... sometimes you just want to let go?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Hmm. Hmmmm. General."

Keith laughed, his cheeks tinting with a blush. "You don't have a rank! And I'm not exactly in charge of an army, am I."

Natani could have let it slide from there, but... "So you don't think it's because she's... female?"

The basitin looked surprised. "No. Why would it be?"

Yeah. Why *would* it be?

Natani sighed. "Just... bodies."

"Ah. No, I don't think that's..." Keith just looked at him for a moment, and then Natani felt the basitin's hand leave his cheek. For an instant he thought it was headed for his ears, but then it settled on the side of his neck instead, Keith's thumb feeling out the curve of his jaw. It took another moment for the basitin to speak. "I wish I knew what to say."

Natani smiled, then gave Keith a kiss. "That was pretty good, actually."

A happy smile, a little sheepish. "Oh. Well. I'm... glad."

Another kiss, this one a little longer...

... but they were still in the middle of a conversation. Natani backed off just a bit. "So, okay. Assuming that's right... What should we do with the King? Get her on the bed, get her clothes off, hold her -- well, pretend to hold her down? You on one side, me on the other... What then?"

"Well, I guess we could..." blush "... reach down? Between her legs?"

"Both of us? Well, why not... you've got the retractable claws, so you could put those to use, and I could focus on her clit."

"Could we... get her off like that?"

"Probably? If we've got the right idea. And if not... well, we probably won't get far enough to worry about it."

Keith laughed quietly. "Yeah. A part of me keeps thinking... what if she just wants to see us fumble?"

Natani grinned. "Then it's going to get very, very embarrassing."

"Yeah."

"Though... remember what she said about cocky guys? What if she just wants to turn the tables on us?"

Like... like she had kind of turned the tables on Natani, at the end there.

Keith smiled. "You're thinking of that last bit?"

Natani laughed. "That obvious, huh?"

"Just a little. And, well... I was going to say that she didn't want to do anything to me after I did my thing, but..." Keith grinned "... Maybe you're more her type? But no, I don't think that's really what she was doing. I think she wanted to make sure that she ended the day without anything being 'owed'. And then she just, um... made the most of it." Keith cleared his throat. "Like she did with me after she sat on my muzzle."

Ah... yeah. She'd ended... well, sort of even with both of them.

"So I think we've probably got the right kind of idea."

"Okay. Well, I guess we're just going to have to read the situation... but let's say we get her on her back and get her off. What next?"

It wasn't that Natani didn't have any ideas of his own; he just wanted to see Keith blush when he explained his. And blush he did. "Well, you could sit on her muzzle, and I could either... eat her out, or..."

"Start fucking her?"

"Yeah."

"And then?"

"We could switch? And keep switching."

Natani arched an eyebrow, smiling. "So I eat her out between your rounds, is that it?"

"No! Well... " Keith cleared his throat. "Ah... maybe? I meant using your... strap-on thingy, but... if she then wanted to do that to you, well... would you be okay with that?"

Getting fucked by the King... an image flitted through Natani's mind, of sitting on her lap, riding her. It... maybe wasn't entirely without appeal. But...

He looked at Keith. "I think I want that to be just for you. At least for now." The basitin's blush on hearing that was a particularly happy one, and that solidified the answer for Natani. Maybe he'd revisit the idea before he left, but for now... this was definitely right. "But I can just ask her tomorrow if she'd be okay with that being a one-way thing... like she was with you. I think if she likes the idea of getting it from me, then she wouldn't have any problem with that... and if she doesn't, well, not much of a way to thank her anyway, right?"

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"Unless..."

"Unless?"

Natani gave Keith a little kiss. "Unless you want getting fucked by me to be just for you, too?"

Blushy laughter. "No, that's... I mean... no. I already did that with her, so... no way. I don't want to put that kind of limit on you."

Natani gave him another kiss, smiling. "Well, good. Coz I kinda wanna do it. So we take turns? Guess I should practice getting that harness on... don't really wanna be fumbling with it when it's time."

A small smile. "You weren't going to practice that anyway?"

"... yeah, okay, I was."

It was Keith's turn to give him a kiss. "Thought so."

"Hrmph." Natani stuck out his tongue. "How about other positions?" He smiled. "You seemed to enjoy being behind me..."

And the blush was back... but after a moment, Keith laughed. "I don't think I'd be able to reach! You already had to spread your knees pretty wide, right? With how much taller she is..."

Natani grinned at the mental image of the King presenting, and Keith trying to reach. But... "Well, what if you weren't on your knees? You could kinda... crouch behind her." He stuck out his tongue. "Or maybe just stand."

"I'm not that short. But... yeah, I guess that might work. And you could sit back and spread your legs..."

"And flash you my paws?"

Blush. "You... did that on purpose?"

Natani grinned. "Uh-huh."

Keith cleared his throat. "Um, yeah. You could do that."

"Maybe even wrap my legs around her head, put my feet up on her back... maybe you'd even be able to reach them if you leaned forward."

Even Keith's ears were bright red. "We could... try that. Yeah."

Natani gave him a kiss, smiling. "But this is supposed to be about her..." Keith's expression went toward agreement, but there was a hint of disappointment as well "... so maybe we should do that on our private time instead, hm?"

The blush redoubled, and after a moment, Keith let out a happy if exasperated sigh. "Dammit, Natani."

Another kiss. "Your fault for being so cute. But... come to think of it. Should we plan something for her paws? I'm not too clear on how that all works for you guys."

The blush stayed strong, and Natani felt Keith's ear twitch under his hand. "I... think... we should leave that out of it. It's kind of..."

Natani grinned. "So definitely just for you? Got it."

"Dammit, Natani."

Yet another kiss, this one longer, leaving Keith unable to even pretend to be grumpy. Natani tugged on his ear gently. "Ears are off limits, that I know. But when it comes to basitin taboos... what about the base of the tail?"

"That... should be fine."

"In that case..." Natani shifted closer to Keith, sliding his muzzle past the basitin's, getting close enough that he could slide his arms around Keith, pulling him closer still -- and as he did, he could feel Keith's cock press against his stomach, slick and hard, because of course he could. Natani slid his hands down to the base of the basitin's tail and squeezed, gentle but firm, and smiled to himself as he felt Keith twitch and throb against him. The basitin's ear was right next to his muzzle, so he whispered. "Maybe something like that? Because I kinda wished you'd done that when you were behind me." Another, heavier throb, and Natani grinned. He kissed Keith's ear. "Something to keep in mind."

Natani kept massaging the base of Keith's tail for a moment, making the basitin squirm, all cute and breathy, but it turned into laughter when he let up.

They stayed like that for a moment, until Natani, with some effort, pulled away again, and gave Keith a kiss. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up."

A blushy smile. "You sure you don't wanna keep going?"

"Why did I know you were going to say something like that? But I think we should at least finish up before we start again."

"Ah... yeah. I guess I could use that bath."

"You and me both."

It was true that their talk and... other things... had slowly been re-igniting Natani's arousal even after it had been so thoroughly sated, but it was still mostly dormant, buried under the happy weariness of being just utterly spent. And when he pushed himself up toward a sitting position, wincing a little as he put more weight on his butt, he realized that his legs still weren't quite there.

He looked at Keith, already up and about... though seeming a little awkward on his feet. But still stable... and still sporting that erection.

Basitins.

... and he'd been with two.

Natani let out a long sigh, and smiled. "Mind giving me a hand?"

Keith didn't, though he seemed a little concerned, not even making fun of Natani as he draped an arm across the basitin's shoulders to help support his shaky feet. Keith just wrapped his own arm around Natani in turn, and propped him up, putting that basitin strength of his to use.

They had one false start before Natani remembered to return for his dick, but soon enough they hobbled through the door to the next room.

It was, indeed, a sitting room, complete with a low table and some rather inviting looking leather chairs, one of which was big enough for two people or one King. Off to the side, there was a long couch, also looking quite comfortable, and a sideboard with food set out, the meat selection enough to make Natani's mouth water, only for the sight of water to make it feel parched again. And there were other drinks, too, and -- Natani recognized that bag.

He shook his head, laughing. "Coffee. Dammit. She had it all along."

One of the doors leading further was ajar, and Natani could glimpse a tiled floor -- presumably the bath. They came to a halt halfway to it, Natani unable to shake off the draw of the catering and the prospect of the first coffee in days.

Keith nudged at him. "How about we get you in the bath, and then I bring you some?"

Natani squeezed him tighter, grinning. "I like the way you think."

The bath was nicer than the one Natani had access to, but not by much -- some of basitin architecture was big and fancy, built to impress, but when it came to living quarters they seemed to go for practical first, even here in the heart of the castle. He'd been taken a bit aback by that at first, but the more he'd thought about it, the worse the way the wolf bigshots liked to show off started to seem in comparison. Trying to make themselves more impressive by surrounding themselves with impressive things. Strip that away, and who were they, really? Not King Adelaide, that was for sure.

Natani grimaced as Keith let him down on one of the wooden benches, and the impact, slow as it was, sent a fresh jolt up his rear. It wasn't anything he couldn't manage, but hard surfaces weren't the best just now.

"You okay?"

Natani smiled at Keith's concern. "Worried I'll decide I've had enough of that?"

Keith glanced away, returning the smile. "Not... just that."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll live... aren't you sore at all?"

"Just a little. Mostly it just feels a bit... weird when I walk. Oily."

Natani laughed. "Yeah. I've never been more aware of my buttcheeks."

Keith smiled at that, but grew more somber. "Was it too much, after all?"

Natani shook his head, then pulled Keith down to him for a kiss. "Some of us just aren't indestructible damn basitins. Don't worry about it. I'm just going to need some time to get used to it. You're a lot to take."

And in the meanwhile, he might need to spend some of his limited mana on easing the soreness, if it started to look like it was going to take too long on its own.

"Well... if you're sure..."

Natani grinned. "Get me some water to wash with, would you?"

Keith did, bringing him several buckets full, then continuing to assist him, including hanging his wrappings up on the full-length mirror in the corner, so they wouldn't get wet when he dumped the first bucket on him. Natani started shampooing himself, and Keith helped with that too, getting his back and his hair... and very carefully, his ears, making Natani laugh. Being touched by him felt good, and it sped things up -- and freed Natani up faster to turn his attention to his newly acquired dick. He washed it carefully with soap, rinsing and repeating until every part of it passed the smell test, getting more familiar with its contours as he did. It really was pretty similar to Keith's, except for the girth.

"What are you thinking about?"

Natani startled to realize he'd just been staring at the thing for a while. Keith was leaning past his shoulder to look at him, apparently done with his shampooing.

"Oh, just... if there is any way I could get one with a knot. And what I'd like in general. Someone must make these, obviously, but how long it takes and what goes into it and what it costs... those sort of things."

"Ah." Keith fiddled with Natani's ears for a moment. "So, those knots... how big are they?"

"Well, it varies, of course... but they say that if you look at the guy's fist, that's about what you should expect."

And it was pretty close for Zen, so as far as he knew it might even be a pretty good rule of thumb.

"... Can I see your hand?"

Natani raised up his free hand, and made a fist. Keith put one of his own hands on top of it, closing his fingers around it as best he could.

"Oh."

Natani laughed. Maybe in another life... he shook his head, smiling. "It wouldn't be that big. The real deal only gets to full size when it needs to. It's not gonna go in or come out like that... that's the point. So if it was always the same size... it couldn't be too big. And the base is thinner behind the knot, too, that's part of what makes the tie work. A spot to really close around." He waggled the dick, feeling out the material. "But I don't think that would really work with this. So maybe it would just be a bump near the bottom." Keith didn't answer anything to his musings, so after a moment of silence, Natani nudged at him. "Or maybe I should just get one that's the same size as yours, so I could show you what that feels like."

Keith laughed. "Hey, just because I used yours on you... but I guess fair's fair."

There was... something about that.

Natani's eyes went to his wrappings.

"... huh."

"What?"

"I just had a thought..." Natani half-turned on the bench, looking up at Keith. "You know how my wrappings work, right?"

The basitin blushed slightly at the memory of how he'd found out. "Yeah. Displacement spell, I think you said."

"Well, it should be possible to use the same principle to, uh... displace other things. And not necessarily to the pocket dimension, but rather... elsewhere here."

Keith sat down next to him, straddling the bench. "Are you... saying what I think you're saying?"

"I might be able to, well... borrow your... equipment. Though it would still be you who felt everything. It would still be part of your body, after all. Just... not where it usually is."

And... he realized, there was always telepathy, so it might be possible for them to at least... share the sensations, as confusing as that would be. But Natani didn't even want to speak that idea out loud. He'd never done that with anyone -- never could have, because of the need to keep his secret -- but the link gave him a very good sense for how that magic would work. And how intensely intimate it could be. As much as he cared for Keith... he didn't know if that was something he even wanted to consider.

But the possibility was there.

Keith was trying to figure out how to react, and it was a thing of beauty. "So if you... say..."

"... fucked you..."

"... yes, then I'd... feel both ends of it?"

"Yeah." Keith's face still couldn't settle down to any one expression, and Natani burst out laughing. "I mean, I don't really have the mana for it anyway. It was just a thought I had."

"... huh."

Natani grinned. "Yes, exactly. And you know what else?"

"What?"

"We could blow you together." Keith just raised his hands up and to the sides, speechless, and Natani laughed again. "Hell of an idea, huh?"

Keith shook his head, a very confused smile on his face. "I... can't even. I don't even know how to think about that."

Natani grinned. "Well, let me know if you find a way. I might be able to gather the mana for it at some point."

"Ah... has there been any change there?"

"Not really. The island might be starting to recover a little... or it might just be what the rains bring in. Either way, there's very little to work with."

Keith nodded. "I found out today that there might still be some charged crystals left in the castle. I was going to follow up on that, but..." he smiled, and made a gesture.

Natani returned the smile. "Things happened?"

"You could say that. But I'll look into it when... things stop happening."

"That would help me out." There was something in Keith's expression, and the set of his ears, that told Natani not to turn it into a joke. And really, he could guess where or whose those crystals might be. "Thanks. I... appreciate it."

Keith just nodded.

It was so... precarious... what Keith was doing, choosing to try and be happy despite everything.

Natani leaned towards him, pressing his well-scrubbed nose right against the basitin's. "Do I still smell like the King?"

Keith smiled. "All I smell is you... but that might just be because you keep slobbering on me."

Of course Natani gave him a lick, sending him into a laughing retreat.

As long as Keith kept fighting, Natani would look for ways to make it easier on him... and if the basitin faltered, he'd try to be there to catch him.

Simple as that.

"Ready to rinse?"

"Yeah."