The Shadows Book One: The War For EarthEnd.

Chapter Nine - Master And Student.

Liki Wolfspirit.

Liki stood a moment with no real expression. He was too stunned to show any even if he wanted, his head had temporarily gone blank. It reminded him of when his secret love died in the Dark Forest, he had been similary stunned then too. Difference was though, the Dark Forest's stun lasted longer. For some reason he dearly wished this one would instead.

He shook his head vigourously before he managed, "Why do you want Blackpaw to be my student? I'm still learning myself, it's just that now I have to learn through experiance. My Master always hinted that there were things still yet to be learned about the Shadows, things even he did not know. How can I be a master?"

"Why do you think he would tell you that if he didn't think you would be the one to find them?" Steve said and kneeled down to Liki's hieght, "You're a master in your own right, and you know it."

"Why?" Liki repeated, "Becuase my Master died so that makes me the new master?" He scowled at the thought.

Steve shook his head, "No, becuase wither you like it or not, you're probably the last Shadow alive. If any other of the remeants of The Shadows also had students around your age somewhere out there, they all probably believe the same thing about themselves, and until you find them, if they are there anyway, you might as well take on students and increase the number of Shadows around," Steve thought a moment, "Also, no matter how much the power a Shadow has, just being a Shadow will make him stronger agianst any foe. The only thing that can normally kill a Shadow is another Shadow, or someone who knows thier weaknesses toward innocents, or someone with their own unique skill set from thier own family or organization. Well...except Merlin of course, no one but Gaia could fight him and win. So, just becuase there are things you don't know, it doesn't mean you can't have students, you can find those other hidden things together then." He added the last bit with a smile.

Liki took in the reasoning, seeing the point, but he shook his head once more, "That doesn't give me any reason to take Blackpaw. You're his parents, he needs you. My Master took me in becuase mine were killed..."

"The Grey Circle is hunting me down Liki," Steve reminded him, "This isn't the first time we've ran away from EarthEnd...it isn't the first time we've had to leave Blackpaw behind as well...Each time hurts him, it's caused him to have a serious mind-set of latching on to anyone he sees as a protector. I can tell he's already done it to you, you helped him out of EarthEnd, and no doubt letting him ride in your backpack only enforced that bond yes?"

Liki blushed through his gray fur and looked at the ground a bit. It had been rather comforting to have the child in the backpack, sleeping through the night with arms wrapped around his neck while sleeping, like it was his own kid. The way Blackpaw pointed over his shoulder and his volitile, childish emotions reminded him of his step-brother back on Mushroom Isle, in fact both Blackpaw and Shadey were about the same age. Maybe he had created the connection to Blackpaw on accident becuase he missed his brother. Back when he and his little brother would go fishing on the island, he would let him ride in the backpack whenever his little brother's feet would get tired.

Steve continued on, "He has those connections to me and my mate, but it isn't healthy. Each time we leave unexpectingly while he's at school and he comes back home and no one's there, all he would do was hide under the foyer table. He wouldn't eat or drink; sometimes I don't even think he slept, until we returned after a few days. He made that connection to you so easily, he never made that connection to anyone before, not even his teachers or school peers. Our neighbors in EarthEnd would try to help him when they noticed we were gone and he was alone, but he would never accept it, never would open the door. You were the first person ever he's latched onto like he does us, the first Beast he ever trusted to lead him other than us."

Now it was Steve's turn to look to the ground, "Liki...Blackpaw was...an accident...me and my mate never meant to have him," He whimpered audibly, "We're on the run and it's ruining Blackpaw's future. He's my son, I love him and couldn't bear him to be still so attached to us when something unseen happens to me and her. Even worse if he's there when it does happen and something happens to him as well...It's better if he leave us and go with you. Something about you is special, and Blackpaw, though he probably didn't understand why, trusted you like no one else but us. He spoke so highly of you earlier, it's the same way he talks about me, I can tell."

Liki looked up, "Is Blackpaw aware of your situation? Is he aware that he was an accident and you didn't want him to enter the world with all this trouble?"

"He knows that his family is in danger," Steve said, "But he thinks it happened sometime shortly after he was born."

The adult Fangren sighed and turned his head toward the inside the door, just in time to see Blackpaw jump up to hug his mom around her neck happily. "I love Blackpaw...he deserves more than this...he's too young to be all caught up in my fuck ups," Steve looked back to Liki, "Liki, knowing that he is safe...that he is okay and has a better future, will be enough for me to face off agianst my enemies rather than running. For better or worse, if I live or die, I want him to be safe."

Liki understood now, "So...if I take him as my student and train him to be a Shadow, he'll have the power to be able to protect himself, so you won't have to worry about him and be happy knowing you did all you could for him in the end. What would you do then?"

Steve looked to the sky, "Me and my mate will leave. Knowing Blackpaw is okay and protected as best as possible with a Shadow as his mentor, we'll be able to fight back without worry..."

"But," Liki began, "If you die..."

"Better we leave his life now," Steve told him and looking back down, staring him right in the eye, "instead of being hunted down and it happening eventually anyway in his future once he grows up. Seperation is more easily managed in early childhood, when your continuing life eventually overcomes it with better memories. Even worse, if that happened once he grew up, he'd try to seek revenge. I don't want that. It was my screw up, not his. Growing up with you, I know he'll learn to see past it for the better and be happier."

"What about your mate? What does she think?" Liki still proded.

"When we saw Blackpaw in your backpack, I brought this up to her before we moved to intercept you. We talked while you were walking up the platforms earlier. She knows I'm right and will go with me if you agree. It would be better for Blackpaw. If she stay and I go, he would latch onto her and never leave her. He'll revolve his life around her, live for her and her only, not for himself..."

"A self imposed slavery..." Liki concluded.

Steve nodded, "That's an accurate way of putting it."

"What if he does that to me?"

Steve smiled, "You're a Shadow, you travel, you live life to the fullest. Even if Blackpaw would forever be your desciple and use his life to do your bidding, I have no doubt he would get the maximum pride and joy life could give. He won't get that from us, or if he latches onto my mate if I leave alone. He'd fight alongside you anywhere, earn the respect of Beasts, create a life of his own. Even if it's a life being known as your apprentice, it's a life worth having."

Liki stayed silent while watching Blackpaw and his mother continue to hug. He had the feeling that it was her secret way of saying goodbye, as she was near tears and Blackpaw looked confused at the attention but very happy to be receiving it. She would only go if he said yes, and yet there she was, hugging her son in what she truly believed her final goodbye. It made Liki a bit upset that she could be taking his answer for granted as yes, yet at the same time...

He was running out of reasons to rufuse Steve's request. He knew full well there was a high chance he was the last Shadow alive, and he needed to replenish the numbers if it was to continue. Steve was making sense when he was saying it was the best way for Blackpaw to releash his attachment from his parents and live a much better life. Liki had created the bond a bit already on accident, becuase he missed the company of his own little brother. He only had one more and he knew it was a weak one.

"What if I die in EarthEnd fighting Anubians? I am returning alongside others to fight back you know."

Steve laughed loudly, "A Shadow be beaten by an army made up only of knight class fighters? Even if they all attacked at once, highly unlikly to happen. You could take them all on one at a time with no breaks and without your Shadow Form and still win!"

Liki scowled and turned while crossing his arms, his tail swishing around behind him, "What if Blackpaw should die in EarthEnd while he's with me?" he growled lowly.

That made Steve stop his laugh and look at Liki incredously, "Well, I know you wouldn't let it happen on purpose...Blackpaw says you fought off the Anubians that are there all by yourself. You're powerful."

Liki scoffed, finally he had a hold on the conversation, "I can't train Blackpaw enough for him to survive the war. If he creates these attachments to me that you say he does when you leave, I can't have him following me in a battle. I didn't fight them physically, I used my magic and illusions to break their holds on reality. The general is now nothing more then a blithering jackel who will mumble about darkness for the rest of his life..."

"But you can train him enough to be an asset. It doesn't have to be Shadow stuff right away. Simple rogue things can do too. Knife or kunai throwing for example." Steve pointed out.

Liki absently clutched at a pouch along the right side of waist. The pouch was filled with kunai throwing knives, about fifteen of them. He could easily teach Blackpaw how to throw them accurately, but would that be enough to keep the child safe should he have to use them?

Liki relented. He knew he could, and so his final hold on the conversation was lost. He sighed and turned away from Steve all together, arms recrossing as he huffed out softly and quietly, "You're going to leave him even if I say no...aren't you?"

"My mate will stay with him, but again he'll only waste his life away doing every little thing for her in his attempts to stop her from leaving him too. He'd be happy doing that I think, but we both want him to experiance life, to feel the love of another Beast, to know the thrill of excitement, of battle. We want him to be happy when he passes on, knowing that he made the absolute most of his life."

Liki had a thought, his face softening, "Do you believe you've lived life to the fullest? You're so prepared to leave Blackpaw and sacrafice yourself for him."

Steve's expression changed to sadness, "He is my life...I lost my complete chance at life a long time ago when I made a really stupid decision, an old Beast helped me see that..." Steve paused then sighed, "It's sad he was hunted down...Now I know how he felt too."

The Fangren stood up again and held out a hand to Liki, "I'm prepared to fight to the death of course, but from this point on, I leave Blackpaw to his own doings in the wish he can live happy. I'm also prepared to trust you with that wish..."

Liki stared at the hand, the last thing he could ask was, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Completely." Steve returned. He made it sound so final that Liki's hand crept up to his hand and grasped it much like they had earlier, except this time it felt to Liki he was finalizing some kind of adoption form, which once he thought about it, was pretty much exactly what he was doing.

"All right," He said, "I'll look after Blackpaw..."

"And train him to be his best." Steve added with a smile

Liki nodded, "Of course." He found himself smiling as well.

Steve nodded in return and they releashed hands. The older Fangren turned back into the house, and Liki followed behind. Most of him felt thrilled to have a student, yet there was a part of him that was upset to be recieving that student in such a way. He stood oddly silent as Steve told Blackpaw something just in the doorway, and the child only nodded with a smile and moved over to Liki while his parents gathered near the door.

Blackpaw grasped Liki's paw with his black furred one and smiled up to him, Liki smiled back down until he noticed that Steve was in the doorway beckoning him over. He told Blackpaw to wait a moment and moved toward him. He saw that Blackpaw's mother was already outside, blowing her nose with a tissue and crying out of sight of her son.

"A few last things," Steve whispered, "That smile he has? That's the first time he's ever had a smile like that when we told him we're going away for awhile. He really does trust you like family. Thank you for doing this for us and him."

Liki smiled genually this time, that part of him that was worried diffussed greatly as Steve's wife pushed her husband out of the way and gave Liki a huge hug, nearly crushing his back. She let go of him, tears flowing freely, and turned away again before Blackpaw could notice her crying. After that, the male Fangren held out a small bag to him.

"This is my life savings..." Steve whispered and gave it to Liki, pressing it against the Fangren's chest, "Take it...wither I live or die, Blackpaw, my true life, is in your hands now..."

Liki held the sack, there wasn't much in it, but it would probably make up for the gold he had gave to the Beasts that had been in this house earlier. He nodded solomly and put the pouch in his backpack for later. He stood as Steve regarded him one last time before he smiled.

"I think I've left him in good, very capable hands," Steve said decidedly before turning and putting an arm around his mate. They both began walking away while Steve continued, "I'll leave you to telling him though. I admit I can't bring myself to do it."

Liki watched them both start down the ramp to the levels below and vanish from sight, before sighing and turning to find Blackpaw just behind him, his hands behind his back and smiling cutely up to him. The sight made Liki's heart twitch, to think Blackpaw was so blissfully unaware that his two parent's had just left him for the final time and was smiling so innocently.

"So Liki," The young Fangren started, "What should we do first? Dad said they would be gone a long time."

Liki stood, and slowly he began to shiver like he was in a snow storm, until he was shaking uncontrollably. His new charge stepped back and whimpered, his smile fading to a worried look as he continued to look up to the older Fangren.

"Liki? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Liki quivered again and knelt down, staring Blackpaw right in the face.

Might as well get this out of the way now as soon as possible, _Liki thought, if I train him a bit then tell him he'll probably hate me..._

"Blackpaw," Liki sighed as he began, "Your parents...aren't going to come back...

"Wha...What do you mean?" Blackpaw returned shakily, beginning to shiver just as his words did.

"Your parents have decided to fight the Grey Circle head on instead of running..." Liki whimpered, "They don't know if they'll be able to survive a fight with whatever force might be on their pursuit..."

"But they might!" Blackpaw yowled, grabbing Liki's chest and shaking Liki's body as best he could, "They might right!?"

Liki rested his arms on Blackpaw's shoulders. The child stopped and looked into Liki's glowing eyes, instantly silent but tears flowing down his face. Liki whimpered and squeezed Blackpaw's shoulders, "Even if they do...they aren't coming back to you," Blackpaw looked at the ground as Liki continued, "They've...left you in my care. Your dad wants me to train you as a Shadow like me, so you can protect yourself, and live your life to the fullest possible. He gave me his life savings as a-" He froze as Blackpaw tore away from him.

The white furred Fangren stared at Liki for a moment with a look that was somewhere between disbelief, sadness, and anger before turning sharply and running up the stairs to the second floor. Liki stood up from his kneeling and whinced once he heard a door slam. Feeling defeated he let his feet lead him to the middle of living room. He sighed and sat down on a couch there. He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands while staring across the room at the other pieces of furniture. Another couch was on the other side of a wooden table in front of him, a chair was too his side on the right, and the entrance to the kitchen was to his left.

"Hell..." Liki realized, "This is practically Blackpaw's house now...and by rights it's mine too..."

So he had a home of his own, yet that didn't help his mood at all. It was already a great home, the greatest Hillside had. He kind of felt it was a little too great. It was big, that was for sure, but that made it painfully quiet. He could only hear Blackpaw's howls upstairs and it made him hurt on the inside. It wasn't a place made for just two Beasts, it was a place made for a family.

He moved to lay on the couch instead, kicking his feet up on the arm rests and staring at the ceiling with his glowing green eyes and listening to Blackpaw's crying. He would go up later after couldn't hear the cries and Blackpaw had time to accept what had just happened.

It'll be all right, A mystery voice sounded near him, sounding like it was on the other side of the couch on the floor there, You've done the best you could do in a hard spot and made a hard decision. That's all We can ask of you.

Liki sat up slightly to stare around the room, but there was no one there. He got up more to peak over the edge of the couch at the ground, but nothing was there as well. He sighed and flopped down on the cushions again, pondering about that voice. It had been the same one he had heard back at EarthEnd. It reminded him of Uriay but the tone had a distinct sound of his own voice as well. What was it? He wasn't starting to go crazy was he?

Liki tried to stay awake at first, he knew he could, but the situation and its emotional drama had greatly tired his mind. He wanted to sleep now, so sleep he did. It wasn't long before his eyes closed, as Blackpaw's cries continued to run through the home.

The door being flung open shook Liki awake. He scrampled as he saw PyreFox rage into the house, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Damn those foxes! Fucking idiots!!!"

Liki made a sweeping motion with his hands while on his knees on the couch, "SHHH! Blackpaw's sleeping!"

Cammy came running in behind PyreFox, she was wearing a new set of plate armor, gold and shiny. Liki noticed that PyreFox was wearing the same thing as she stopped the male Foxen in his path of rage, "PyreFox you-" She started loudly until she noticed Liki's frantic shushing movements beside them, then restarted at a calmer voice "PyreFox, you must understand that this is their home, and we both helped in its destruction, you can't blame them for not giving us a commanding postion in a resistence made up of Beasts whose homes we ruined."

PyreFox only continued to fume, ignoring Liki's waving arms, "Cammy, they're both going to get those Beasts killed! Their decisions are based on revenge, not logic! If I made the decisions that they are making right now, my mark would ignite me until I was nothing but ASH!"

Liki lept up to balance on the couch by his feet, his hands instantly placed between the two Foxens and making them stare at him.

"I don't know all about what's going on," Liki started, "But I take it you found the resistence?"

PyreFox grunted, his arms crossing, "If you call it a resistence, I call it more a bunch of hopefuls led by a couple of glory hungry fools..."

Liki sighed, "Well what happened? Cammy why don't you explain since you seem to be more aware of your..." he gave a stare to PyreFox as he felt a fresh wave of anger flood into the Foxen's head, "temper..." he added with a warning growl rumbling in his throat.

PyreFox saw his thought had been seen by Liki's magic, and he huffed and stayed silent while Cammy started, "Well we asked around town for a long time before an Atavian told us about how a few fellows of his had gone out to the nearby plains to join a group of Beasts who were saying that they were going to fight back. We found it in the plains about three miles off Hillside."

Cammy moved around the couch to sit down, PyreFox began to pace with his hands holding themselves behind him. The female continued as she sat, "The resistence group is about three hundred strong so far, and growing as more come after seeing their families settled here or elsewhere. PyreFox's two aquintences are indeed its leaders. Cyro and Steel welcomed us at first, until we told them our story. While they know that we have defected from the Anubians, setting us in commanding positions of the resistence just becuase of our relations would question their own judgement in the eyes of the soldiers."

Liki nodded, "That's understandable. So why is PyreFox so upset?"

He heard the pacing Foxen mumble something that had more then a fair share of curse words mixed in as Cammy answered, "Becuase it appears as if Cyro and Steel are readying for an attack in two days. They plan to storm the city and take it back. They have a plan set up, but both of us feel they are being rash. Their goal is revenge more then the retaking of the city."

"A city retaken is worthless if the civilians that lived there all die to get it back..." PyreFox added lightly, finally calming his mind and rubbing his forehead, "I have a horrible headache, and it's getting late, we can deal with this tomorrow...It's finally time for that sleep..."

Liki took a glance out the door, the sky was orange in the color of the sun setting and the crevice dark like the morning before. He had slept all day it seemed.

He gasped at the sudden realization that so much time had past. Blackpaw could have ran away at anytime he had wanted! He jumped from the couch and ran upstairs. Liki began checking each room down the hallway, becoming more frightened with each one that was being devoid of life, until he reached the last one and sighed thankfully.

Blackpaw was sleeping peacefully on a small bed at the end of the room, his hands tucked under the pillow and a blanket covering the bottom half of his body. His slightly torn silver clothing lay at the side of the bed, folded as best as possible. Liki noticed that the bed was slightly clawed, but it didn't seem like Blackpaw had been upset for very long at least before falling asleep. A pair of glowing, magic infused cyrstals on a dresser nearby illuminated the room with fuzzy blue light, just enough to see Blackpaw's body clearly yet not interfere with his sleeping. The child's breathing was steady and even, and Liki couldn't help but admire him for some reason. He was just...so cute. It was then that Blackpaw turned in his sleep to face the door and Liki saw his face. His heart stopped a moment as he recalled his little brother back home. Their fur color and overall form was different, but seeing Blackpaw with his muzzle half open, tongue lolling out a bit and the fur on his head ruffled by the pillow, gave him a sense of brotherhood he felt toward Shadey back home. That combined with the fact that this child was now under his own care, completely overwhelmed his emotions and he started to feel his eyes tear up lightly.

"Aww," A female voice whispered behind him and Liki turned his face to see Cammy behind him, bending to stare over his shoulder like she was his mother as he glanced PyreFox's tail move into the first room of the hallway, the largest room of the house. Of course the fox needed the largest room. Liki rolled his slightly watered eyes with a smile as Cammy spoke. "He's cute like that...Did you find his parents today?"

Liki whimpered lightly and stared back at Blackpaw. Cammy took that as a negative and grasped his shoulders, "Well at least you found his home, you'll find them tomorrow I'm sure."

The Fangren shook his head, "No we found them," Liki sighed, "This was their house, they were only hiding out for a moment. Apparently Blackpaw's family is being targeted by the Grey Circle becuase his father had known and helped a Shadow earlier in his life. That Shadow was hunted down but they still pursue them, thinking they have contacts with other Shadows that they can use as leads. His parents had him on accident while they were hiding in Camelot. When he was born they were attacked once more while the Grey Circle knew them vunurable. They escaped again and moved here and bought this house as a safehouse if they were found in EarthEnd as well. Many times though they would leave when they believed the Grey Circle were there, fleeing across seas by boat while Blackpaw was at school. He would return home to find them gone." Liki turned toward Cammy, his ears flat.

"Needless to say, that's kinda dramatized him. He has seperation anxiety with those he makes attachments to. At the same time, he's scared to make those attachments to anyone. He didn't trust anyone except his parents, not even his teachers and peers at school. For some reason though...when I found him in EarthEnd and offered help, he created those attachments to me readily and quickly. When I brought him here and his folks saw me with him and how happy he was around me, they realized he had latched onto me like he did to them."

Cammy turned her head then, "Is that a bad thing? Where are his parents?"

"His parents blame themselves for Blackpaw's mental state," Liki told her, "Along with that, his father does not want Blackpaw to live a life in fear of the Grey Circle and living only for his parents. They were both ready to stop running, to fight back to the death if needed, but they could not do it knowing that it would probably ruin Blackpaw's mental state to a unrepairable level."

Cammy had pieced it together apparently, "And Blackpaw made a connection to you like he had to his parents," She whispered lightly in understanding, "so they could now readily leave him knowing he would be okay as long as you were there with him..."

Liki nodded, "His dad asked me to take Blackpaw on as my student and train him to be a Shadow so that he'll be able to defend himself. He believes that since I travel alot and Blackpaw will follow me with that connection solely placed on me now, that he'll get the greatest and best experiances life can give."

"How did you feel about this when he asked?"

Liki gave a small chuckle, "I guess I unknowingly fostered the attachment and strengthened it. Blackpaw reminds me of my step-brother back on Mushroom Isle. I let him ride in my backpack just like I had let Shadey back home," Liki sighed, "That, and I might be the last ever Shadow alive...I need students and Blackpaw needs to be able to protect himself since he'll be with me now..."

Cammy knelt down and turned Liki toward him, "What if Blackpaw doesn't want to go with you? Both you and his dad are making the assumption that he can't decide this for himself becuase of this apparent mental state of his."

"I don't think he will," Liki said and looked at Blackpaw again as the wolf turned in the bed again to face away from them. His bare back looked surprisingly trim. "If he really didn't have that connection to me, if he truly hated what had happened and hated me, I think he would've ran away and gone after his parents while I was sleeping. Even though he has no idea where they went..."

Cammy gasped, "Wait, were these two parents both around forty years old, one a rogue and the other a mage? Both Fangren?"

Liki looked at Cammy, "His dad did mention he was a rogue but I never saw any indication that suggested his mom was any kind of fighter...Why?"

"Well when me and PyreFox were returning from the encampment we saw two Fangren in a tussle with a couple of other rogues that wore purple clothing."

"Grey Circle rogues..." Liki growled instantly, "Their outfit is a joke to them, wearing the purple color of Shadows since they could not have it for real. What happened?"

"We helped them out, it seemed they were obviously the more innocent pair considering they weren't wearing uniforms. Once we defeated the other two, they thanked us. We asked them why there were being attacked and they simply said they could finally stop running thanks to a Fangren boy back in Hillside." Cammy smiled, "Well of course we thought of you and asked if that Fangren boy's name was Liki, they seemed surprised but confirmed it. We asked how they knew you and all they said was that you had helped them out greatly and had saved them from their own conciousness at a sacrafice of your own freedom. They moved on afterward, told us to give thanks to you and that you were here in this house," The female clapped Liki on the shoulder, "I see what they meant now. I'm proud of you Liki, you've taken on a huge burden." She stood up and Liki felt small looking up to her, yet large because of her compliment.

She moved away to stand in front of the door to the room PyreFox had entered, and she looked back to smile once more and blush at him, "I would have been proud to be your mother Liki..."

Now Liki blushed as Cammy went into the room and the door closed behind her. Liki took one last glance to Blackpaw before taking the doorknob in his hand and pulling it closed silently while whispering, "I'll take care of you the best I can Blackpaw. I promise you..."

He closed the door and stepped across the hall to the room opposite it and peered inside, it was a medium sized room like the one Blackpaw was in, a bed against the far wall and a dresser next to where the door opened up. He stepped in and closed that door as well and sighed. A pair of cyrstals on his dresser like the ones across the hall kept the room in a constant state of strangly relaxing blue light, again faint enough to see, but not enough to really seem too bright. Liki examined the objects a moment, wondoring what kind of magic powered them and thinking that maybe they were what had managed to calm Blackpaw so quickly, but he gave that up after fifteen minutes and turned toward the bed instead, removing his backpack and throwing it against a corner of the room by the bed. He stood next to it a moment before just letting himself tetter over and land on it lazily, its springs squeeking.

He couldn't take off his armor to sleep, it was against the expectations as a Shadow to do so. He could only remove it to take bathes and procreate, so he kept it on and he began moving the blankets over him so he could sleep. He turned his body away from the door and was just beginning to drift off when the door opened and he turned his head back toward it to see Blackpaw standing there, closing the door lightly behind him.

"Blackpaw?" Liki said tiredly and raised part of his body with his elbows, "You okay? Something wrong?"

"Liki..." Blackpaw whispered and stood there in front of the door, his white fur gleaming in the blue light rather beutifully, but only his face was really visible becuase of the crystals' faint light, "Did you...Did you mean that? What you said?"

Liki turned his head, confused, "What?"

"What you promised...before you closed the door..." Blackpaw took a single step toward him then, entering the light more, and Liki noticed that Blackpaw was nude and looked away quickly as the child whimpered, "Did you mean it?"

Liki blushed, hoping it was hidden well enough in the darkness and under his fur, "I did but um...you were awake that entire time?" Liki managed to return his gaze to Blackpaw's, trying to ignore looking at the rest of his student's body.

Blackpaw nodded, "PyreFox's yelling woke me up earlier," the child gave a small laugh, but then returned to his solom tone, "That was...the first time I've ever been able to fall asleep while my parents were away..."

Liki was more shocked he hadn't been able to tell that Blackpaw had been faking his sleep, usually his magic would tell him these things. It was then he realized that in the back of his mind, he was keeping his magic from tapping into Blackpaw's thoughts. This child was placing faith and trust in him, and it felt like it was a betreyal to try and read his thoughts. If his student trusted him, he would tell him his feelings openly. Liki wanted that trust.

The older wolf pushed the covers off himself and swung his knees over the side of the bed to sit facing Blackpaw. The child took another step foward then, and Liki was caught staring at how his studen'ts white fur shined in the blue light. His eyes began running over the boy's body without pause though they avoided his waist. He wondered if this was how he looked when he was six years old.

Blackpaw was trim, his stomach didn't protrude outward with the pudgy look that most kids would have around his age. The top half of his body was thinner, yet still held a sense of fitness, while his legs looked strong and a bit more toned. All traits of a good rogue. A good sense of balance, powerful legs for speed and agility, while the rest of his body was nimble and striy while still holding enough power behind it to fight.

It was almost like Steve had planned for this since Blackpaw had been born and raised his son in such a way that he gained these traits. Just as well though, it could very well be his genetics, the son of a rogue father and mage mother, Blackpaw could probably learn to fight yet have easy control over his magic as a Shadow at the same time.

"Blackpaw," Liki said and looked back into the child's blue eyes, "Did you workout before?"

"What's that?"

"Exercise," Liki explianed, "Things like running, stuff that makes you tired."

"Well, I like to run," Blackpaw nodded, understanding the word now, "Dad would usually took me on little walks around the walls of EarthEnd somedays and we'd run some of the distance. Sometimes I'd go by myself, but not very far from home. At school I would get in little play-fights with my class mates during breaks," Blackpaw reaced up to rub the back of his head with a smile, inadvertently showing Liki the just visible muscles along that arm under his fur as they worked, "I don't know if you'd call that working out or whatever. Other kids my age have this belly on them that I don't like at all."

Liki nodded, "Yeah you're very fit. I think I can easily make a Shadow out of you."

Blackpaw's ears twitched and he looked to the ground, the arm at his head moving across his chest to hold his other one.

Silence followed a moment before Liki whispered, recalling the voice from earlier that day, "Blackpaw...I can't say that what happened was the best thing that could've occured, but your parents do love you. They tried to make the best out of a hard situation and made a difficult decision. In the end, they did their best for you and that's all I can really ask of them," He moved along the bed to bring himself a bit closer to Blackpaw, trying to invite contact and forge a bond, "I meant what I promised. I'll take care of you as best I can, that's all I can really try for you. It's up to you if you let me though."

He saw the glowing white fur stand on end as Blackpaw shivered and made a sniffling sound, lifting his muzzle to level his now watering eyes with Liki's. His voice shook as he said, "I...I'm scared..."

Liki tilted his head in question, a gesture Fangrens kept from their wild wolf ancestors, "About what?"

Blackpaw stared, his voice still shaking while he tried to hold back the water in his eyes, "While you were sleeping, I had started to run away...I saw-saw you sleeping on the couch and I just...just..." Blackpaw's eyes closed tightly and a flood of water ran down his face before he reopened them, "I couldn't leave. Even though I wanted to, I couldn't and...I just stopped...I don't know why..."

Blackpaw brought the arm to his eyes to wipe away the tears while he continued, "I feel like you've been here forever...I just...I don't know, I don't know the feeling. When I first saw your eyes I knew I could trust you...maybe my parents were right," Blackpaw gave a small chuckle through his sniffling, "I make 'attachments' and then I don't want to leave, but I don't make them good. With you I did fast. When Cammy said she had seen them today in the fields fighting the ones that had been after us for so long, I felt more at peace then I ever felt. I knew that this was the right thing to do."

Blackpaw's arm left his face and he tried to put on a bright smile, "Their gift to me was having the 'peace of mind' that I could stop being scared about the Grey Circle. They want me to be happy without them now, and they gave me you. Liki, I want you to train me."

Liki smiled, feeling greatly moved himself, even though he felt that the child still did not quite understand what he was feeling, he was moving in the right direction he and Blackpaw's parent's wanted him to. "Blackpaw, I know a bit of what you might feel about your parents, but I don't think it's enough to completely understand you. My parents were killed when I was only one, and my Master found me and took me in. He trained me until about two weeks after my estimated birthday when I turned ten, then passed away of old age. He gave me his ideals, and I want to continue them with my own life," Liki closed his eyes, "I didn't get to know my true parents, but I had a foster family that treated me like their own son. I had a little step-brother later on as well. The female I had a secret crush on died in the Dark Forest..."

He sighed and suddenly felt Blackpaw sit on the bed beside him. He looked to his right, oddly feeling no more shyness or embarressment that he was sitting next to a naked six year old. He smiled again and continued while staring at Blackpaw's face, half lit by the blue light of the crystals, "I have my experiance with hardship...and I've learned that for all that happens, the only thing you can do as try to make the best out of it that you can, for yourself and others."

He put a hand on Blackpaw's shoulder, "I'll try to be your foster famliy and train you the best I can Blackpaw. I promise you."

"And as a Shadow that promise is a garentee right?" Blackpaw smiled, repeating what PyreFox had said back in EartheEnd.

"As true as the blood that flows through my body." Liki nodded with a grin, then gave Blackpaw a pat on the same shoulder he had his hand on and said, "We'll start tomorrow, I'm going to train you how to throw kunai. I won't have enough time to teach you any Shadow things and make you proficient at it so it will have to do. I'm going to fight in the battle for EarthEnd with the resistence, if you're going to come with me you need to at least be able to do something to defend yourself."

"Right." the young Fangren agreed.

"Great. Well, I suppose you can head back to your bed Blackpaw, but thanks for talking with me."

Blackpaw got up and started to walk back to the door, his tail swishing behind him as Liki began to lay back down into the bed. He brought the covers back over him and closed his eyes, but noticed that he had yet to hear the door open and close and opened his gaze to the door. Blackpaw was standing there, looking at the doorknob, only the top half of his body shown in the light once more.

"Blackpaw?" Liki started, "Is there still something you need to say?"

He saw Blackpaw jump at his voice, then the boy slowly turned toward him, at first avoiding his eyes before they met his and he whimpered, "Um...do you...can I sleep with you?"

Liki's eyes widened, but he couldn't bring himself to awknowledge his adversion to it, instead he rationalized the request to himself. He was pretty much the only family Blackpaw had now, and he was only six and probably didn't want to be alone right now. Liki's eyes softened and he opened up the blankets.

"I suppose you can." He said non-commently, though in his chest his heart was starting to beat quite fast. It was a fantasy all it's own, he had always wanted to sleep for one night with Shadey back home, and with Blackpaw that was almost the same thing. Yet something thrilled him knowing it wasn't it his little brother, but someone he trusted enough to do so with.

Blackpaw entered the faint blue light again, and this time Liki's eyes gazed down straight to the boy's crotch as it appeared. The amount of fur nearly hid his small sheath and testicles from sight, but Liki couldn't take his eyes of the area, so small, but cute and teasing him.

He remembered how Uriay had loved him, so much that he had done things with Liki back home. Liki recalled the activities they had done together and how good a feeling of love it had gave him, and he pondered if Blackpaw would-

Liki gave his mind a mental shake, suddenly feeling his leather pants being awfully tight around his waist as his adolescent erection strained against them. He couldn't ask Blackpaw such things, not when they had just forged the bond of master and student.

Yet as Blackpaw brought his naked form next to him and snuggled up to his chest like he had done it since he had been born, Liki's heart fluttered at the affection and he felt his cock give a jolt. He was thankful that Blackpaw's body was too small to have covered him completly, becuase it seemed he had not felt the sudden prodding desire and only brought his muzzle to Liki's neck and murred, which unfortunately only served to increase Liki's torment and his pants to feel even more uncomfortable.

As Blackpaw continued to murr and ruffle his nose through Liki's fur, sniffing his scent, Liki had no doubt that Blackpaw could smell his excitement but probably could not tell the difference between it and his normal smell since they had never been this close before. While Blackpaw's eyes were closed and a smile was along his muzzle as he sniffed in the scent, Liki's eyes and muzzle were wide open as he only continued to feel that feeling of attention he had not known since Uriay's death, and Gaia how he missed it.

It wasn't long before he began to pant lightly, his canine tongue hanging out of his muzzle. Blackpaw stopped his nuzzling and looked up to Liki's face, taking his expression as something completely different than what it actually was.

"Are you warm Liki?" Blackpaw asked, "You know you can take off your clothes right?"

The thought of taking off his armor, his only clothing, here in bed with Blackpaw made him shiver even though he did feel incredibly warm thanks to his arousal, "No it's okay," He said quickly, trying to smile through his panting, "Besides, Shadows are only allowed to take off their armor when taking bathes or when procreating."

Blackpaw clearly didn't know what procreating meant, but he said, "It's warm in the back of this house becuase it's buried under the ground...I kinda want to feel more of your fur too...You said you're the last Shadow right?"

"I think so." Liki nodded, his tongue lolling, his mind focused more on the comment Blackpaw made about wanting to feel more of his fur.

"Well you get to make your own rules then hmm?" Blackpaw smiled and turned his head.

Liki paused. The wearing armor clause was always more of a thing The Shadows did to keep up an apperance. Now that he might be the only one it would probably be best to stay more anominous then be wearing something that said "Hey! I'm a Shadow!" to every Grey Circle goon who saw it. Perhaps he should tweak the rule to favor his situation more.

He would still wear it in public he believed, but at the moment, the desire to be naked with Blackpaw was overriding all other aspects of him greatly. His pre-pubescent hormones were in overdrive like he had never felt them before. So he murred, grinning, and moved himself away from Blackpaw, going over him to stand up beside the bed.

"You're right. I can change the rules a bit, this one is more of a guideline then an actual rule anyway." Liki grunted and began to pull his arms through the sleeves of his leather clothing. He realized just how stiff it actually was, no doubt wearing the armor at all times was also more of a training thing. He could move in it easily he knew, yet once he pulled the leather off over his head and felt the air hit his chest and threw it to the ground, he felt like if he wanted to he could catch a fly out of the air because he felt so much more free and able to move faster. The air on his fur felt so exhilarating it had been so long since he had felt it.

He reached down to his waist and undid the belt buckle there, the several pouches there went with it as he loosened and sat it on the ground next to his shirt. He reached down and pulled of his shoes next, placing them neatly beside the pile before he paused.

He could see how his pants were straining outward, and knew why. He still had his erection going full blast. What would Blackpaw think when he saw it? Would he even know what it was?

Liki ultimately dismissed the worry and took hold of his pants, pulling them down his legs quickly and tossing them on the pile of leather armor as well. He took the moment to stare at his own self between his legs. His red shaded member pointed out into the air proudly, five inches in total length, one inch of that being the round lump that was his knot, the other four being the striaght rod from the knot to the pointed tip, his two round orbs hanged below lazily due to his feeling hot, swaying a little freely. He turned back to Blackpaw, feeling the air move between his legs and along his erection and testicles making him shiver again despite how warm he felt.

As he came by the bed and began to crawl over back where he had been before, Blackpaw noticed the piece of reddish pink flesh that was Liki's penis. Staring at it he asked, "Are you okay?"

Liki blushed deeply. It was a innocent question he knew, he didn't need his magic to tell that. Blackpaw truly had no idea what it was he was looking it, or why Liki was like that.

"It's nothing Blackpaw. Don't worry about it." He murred and laid down aside the boy again, hoping Blackpaw couldn't see his blushing.

Blackpaw snuggled against Liki's chest, this time letting his nose ruffle through the now freed fur there, "If you say so." He said simply and smiled, eyes closed and murring like before as he sniffed Liki's scent again. Since Blackpaw had placed his body a little lower so his muzzle met Liki's chest instead of his neck this time, his legs tentively rubbed against the five inch cock, and the older Fangren gasped at he sensation, which made Blackpaw stop his snuggling and look down in worry.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt or something?" Blackpaw moved his legs away from the rod as he stared down at it between their bodies.

"No." Liki shivered and gave a sigh of pleasure, "No, it actually feels really, really good..." His panting was now going unchecked, his breathing heavy. His heart was racing and his penis was throbbing along with the beat.

Blackpaw actually giggled and murred, "It feels good?" He ran his leg along the flesh again as he asked it.

Liki groaned and shuddered, his cock giving a small jump, "Yeah..."

"How good?" Blackpaw asked and stared up to Liki's face with that innocent smile. It seemed he liked making Liki feel good like this, and to Liki that made that feeling of affection grow more prominent.

"Really good..." Was all Liki could say as Blackpaw looked up to him and a thought crossed his mind. His voice shook as he continued, "Do you...want me to show you?"

Blackpaw paused before he nodded and whispered, "Would you?" Apparently he understood now that this was not something that was done without consent.

Liki nodded silently and moved so that he was on his hands in knees above Blackpaw, who rolled over onto his back. Blackpaw giggled as he watched Liki's penis above him, throbbing lightly with blood. Liki smiled and touched his nose to his student's, which made him quiet instantly, the intimacy of the situation becoming apparent.

"What do you think Blackpaw?" Liki asked quietly, "About this?"

The Fangren's blue eyes blinked once before he gave a small smile, "I trust you Liki...I don't know what you're doing...but I trust you..."

Liki could only blink as well, before he smiled as well and began to give Blackpaw's muzzle a few tender licks which made him giggle again and murr and return the licks. Liki's tail started to wag as he moved on down to Blackpaw's neck, who instinctively lifted his head up to expose it to this Beast he considered his superior. Liki took his time to lick along it, feeling the vein there pumping blood, slowly increasing in pace as the child was immearsing himself in the moment, his instincts unlocking and guiding him, causing his hands to reach up and trace down Liki's backside softly, lovingly.

Blackpaw gave a few low moans as Liki continued on to gently nibble and lick at his tender nipple on his chest through his fur, while lathering him with wet licks down to his stomach. Blackpaws hands took hold of Liki's ears now, and Liki looked up to Blackpaws face and smiled inwardly.

The young Fangren had his head tilted back and eyes closed tightly, his muzzle open and breathing through it softly. His ears twiched with each lap Liki's tongue took across his rather firm stomach, while another moan would escape his muzzle.

"Feels good?" Liki asked him softly.

Blackpaw smiled, "Yes..." His hands squeezed the older Fangren's ears lightly, "Don't stop...this feels wierd but I like it..."

Liki chuckled and moved on with his licks, staying on Blackpaw's stomach. He was afriad to move down any farther. He kept at this for a long time, while Blackpaw continued to moan while his ears twitched, but eventually Blackpaw spoke, "Liki," He moaned and whimpered, "Are you okay?"

Liki stopped licking and looked at Blackpaw's face, "I'm uh...afriad to go any farther really."

"Why?" Blackpaw whimpered.

Liki sighed, "Blackpaw, what I'm about to do can be something kept only between us, understand? This is something that others won't look upon and understand why we're doing it. Okay?" He looked Blackpaw in the eyes to make his point clear.

"All right Liki, just us. I trust you..." Blackpaw said and tilted his head back agian, "Keep going please...I like this feeling."

"Okay..." The older Fangren scooted downward, Blackpaw's hands leaving his ears, and resting at his sides on the bed instead. Liki found himself staring down to Blackpaw's sheath, which had become a bit fuller in the young Fangren's excitement and natural instincts to the attention, but his penis had yet to poke out. Shakily, Liki moved his hand foward to touch it, but he stopped.

His heart was racing, his panting labored. He could feel his own cock twiching in anticipation. Every part of him wanted to go for it...why couldn't he?

"I trust you Liki..." Blackpaw repeated when he noticed the long pause, and hearing that again restarted Liki's train of thought and he calmed himself a bit.

He nodded to himself and reached foward again, more steady this time, and took Blackpaw's two testicles in his hand, cupping then gently. Blackpaw gasped in pleasure and his head reared back more as his light breathing changed to a panting rasp, "Gaia..."

Liki smiled, gaining confidence as he noticed that Blackpaw was enjoying it, indicated by a bit of pink flesh starting to poke forth from the sheath shyly. "Like it?"

Blackpaw murred before he managed to answer, "Yes, that's the best of them all...that touch is great..."

The older wolf gave a small laugh, "It gets better, want me to go on?"

Blackpaw whimpered, "Please?" he begged.

"Don't need to beg Blackpaw. I like doing these things, my own Master did them with me when I was eight." Liki told him while moving to start using both hands to message the two orbs seperately, the flesh hiding in the sheath still creeping out slowly. Liki watched it grow eagerly, until it reached its final bit as the base of the knot immerged. Liki stopped fondling Blackpaw's balls, which made the child whimper as the older one examined him. He guessed Blackpaw's penis to be about four inches, the plump base of the knot taking up about one of those inches, leaving three as the point itself.

"Wow..." Blackpaw whispered, and Liki looked up. Blackpaw's face was surprised, his ear's twitching still and his chest rising and falling quickly as he panted, "I didn't know I had that. It's kinda like yours." He smiled and laughed.

Liki grinned, "Not done yet." He said and licked his lips.

"It gets better?" Blackpaw murred in disbelief jokingly.

"Much. All I can tell you is don't try to fight it. Let it happen when it happens. If you fight it'll only hurt instead of feel good."

"Okay." Blackpaw nodded, fully placing his trust in Liki's words again, giving Liki that wonderful feeling once more that he missed from back home.

Liki looked back down to the boy's cock and lowered his head down to it. He opened his muzzle and let his tongue go along it slowly. Blackpaw instantly reared his head again, this time giving a small howl and giving an instinctive thrust of his hips, causing Liki's canine teeth to prick the sensitive flesh. Blackpaw yelped and whimpered while Liki moved away.

"Careful, control that thrusting instinct for a moment."

Blackpaw only nodded, his tongue hanging out of his muzzle as he tried to take in oxygen. He was now completely lost to pleasure, the tooth prick had propably felt pretty estatic too.

Liki moved his head back down and gave another lick. This time Blackpaw gave only a small thrust that helped his cock run across Liki's smooth tongue, he continued to do so while Liki kept his tongue outside his muzzle and covering as much of the small member as possible with it, letting the wolf enjoy his first sexual experiance on his own terms now.

Blackpaw began to whimper, as his body started its natural responce to the stimulation and his thrusts increased in pace while trying to cover every part of his cock with each thrust, twisting and turning his hips to get the sides of it covered by the warm tongue as well. That lump at the base of his penis began to twitch and swell up slowly, as Blackpaw's whimpers turned to desperate groans in his unknown desire to reach climax.

As the knot was swelling larger and larger, Liki finally drew his tongue back and tilted his head foward to take the flesh into his muzzle. He bobbed his head once along it and heard Blackpaw gasp loudly, which made him open his muzzle away from the throbbing rod to ask if he was okay.

Before he could ask however, Blackpaw's body shot foward, his hands gripping onto Liki's head - much to Liki's surprise - and shoving it back down on his penis while Liki's mouth was open to speak. As soon that flesh was back in Liki's muzzle, Blackpaw gave a loud howl as his small cock jumped violently inside Liki's maw, waves of pleasure crashed through him as he had his first ever climax. His member throbbed and jumped multiple times, hitting the roof of Liki's mouth, in its attempts to ejaculate semen that was just not there to shoot. Blackpaw's knot swelled another size, and Liki began to run his tongue around it to keep Blackpaw's climax continuing.

The young Fangren's howl continued for a moment before his climax receded and he was reduced to small, short whimpers and gasps of pleasure while Liki continued to run his canine tongue along the swollen knot, which pulsed with blood in afterglow and gave a few more jerks. Liki continued until he believed there was nothing more to do and opened his jaw to let go, letting the flesh slide out on his tongue. He absently licked his lips to enjoy the taste of Blackpaw on them while the white furred wolf came back down from his estacy slowly.

Eventually Blackpaw looked down his body at Liki, his small penis laying up against his stomach, the knot still swollen and throbbing with blood. He stared at it and gave a small laugh, "Will it go back in?" he chuckled.

Liki nodded, "Soon. Once you calm down more. You seemed to enjoy it though yes?" Liki's tail wagged behind him.

Blackpaw's cheeks burned visibly as he blushed, "It felt nice...I wish I had known about this before...but what happened just now?"

"You climaxed," Liki explained, again remembering what Uriay had told him, "Once you get a little older, around my age, when you climax you shot out a fluid. This fluid is called semen, and is meant to be used with females so they can have children. That's all I know about a climax really, I've never shot out semen yet."

Blackpaw sat up slowly, now his penis flopped onto the bed, the knot still huge, "So, my dad did this with mom is what you mean?"

Liki shook his head, smiling, trying to make it sound as simple as possible without sounding like an idiot at the same time, "Not exactly this, females have something different than us males, inbetween their legs is a vagina, what you and I have are penises. To have kids, a male sticks his penis in a female's vagina and stimulates himself until he climaxes, shooting his semen inside her. If they time when they do it right, a female can have a child then."

Blackpaw turned his head, "So then...why did you just do this? It doesn't seem right for two males to do this the way you say."

"Well, becuase it feels good no matter how it happens or who does it to you." Liki said simply. "But you're right, males getting other males to climax isn't really looked well upon by others, which is why I told you to keep this between us."

The other wolf nodded, at least getting the gist of it, "So, does this have a name exactly?" Blackpaw smiled.

"It's called procreating mostly, but that usually refers to doing it to have a kid, not just to feel good. In other times it's just simply called having sex," Liki moved and sat next to Blackpaw, wrapping an arm around him, noticing that the child's penis was finally sliding back inside his sheath, the knot had deflated enough now trough their talking. "This is something you should do only with someone you trust. Or love."

Blackpaw stayed silent a moment, watching his own member retreat back into his body until it vanished, and he suddenly said cheerfully, "Both."

"Huh?"

Blackpaw wrapped his arms around Liki's bare chest and snuggled his face into it, "Both," He looked up to Liki's glowing green eyes, "I trust you Liki, and I love you like family..."

Liki blinked, feeling his heart flutter with that feeling of trust and love he had usually got from Uriay and Shadey back home. Slowly his arms found thier way around Blackpaw's body and hugged him back tightly, while he whispered, "Thank you Blackpaw...that means a lot to me..."

He suddenly became aware of how his own penis was still hard, had been the entire time he had pleased Blackpaw. Now that he wasn't totally distracted by that, the only desire he had now was to reach his own climax. One of his arms moved away from around Blackpaw and reached down to stroke himself. He shuddered at the touch of his own paw and stroked it lightly, noticing an amont of clear liquid he had never seen before at the tip gleasening in the blue glowing light. He touched this liquid and felt it was very sticky, yet oddly smooth. He started to smear his penis' tip along his paw to collect the liquid, then he stroked himself again. He gasped at how different the fluid made it feel, and shivered as the sensation cuased more of it to flow out of his cock as it jumped once.

Blackpaw giggled and Liki looked at his student. He was watching the older boy play with himself, a grin on his muzzle.

Liki brought his face to Blackpaw's and smiled, "You want to try?"

Blackpaw moved instantly so that he lay on his stomach with his muzzle in front of Liki's crotch, then flicked out his tongue to stroke it from the base of the knot to the tip. It was answer enough for Liki as he reared his head and closed his eyes, giving a low growl in pleasure. He could already feel his body tensing up in that feeling of climax he already knew but always enjoyed. The time he had spent with his erection already was making him yearn for a climax. He could feel blood rushing into his cock at quick paces as his heart bumped quickly, his knot throbbing a bit.

The wolf at his crotch gave another lick and commented, "What is this stuff? It tastes sweet and kinda salty."

Liki shook his head with his eyes still closed, giving a impatient grunt, "I have no idea, it's the first time I've seen it myself." Liki whimpered, dearly wishing Blackpaw would continue. He was already so close...just a few more licks. Great Gaia he hoped Blackpaw would try to take him in his muzzle even.

"Well it tastes kinda nice..." Blackpaw commented but he returned to his licking then, and Liki gave a small thrust along his tongue, which caused a glob of that juice to shot out into Blackpaw's mouth. The young Fangren removed his mouth, again making Liki whimper in need, and smacked his lips while murring, "Yeah, tastes real nice..."

Blackpaw bent again, this time opening his muzzle over Liki's tip and closing it on him, being careful with his teeth. He bobbed his head along the red flesh once and Liki whined loudly, followed by a long moan as his knot began to inflate inside Blackpaw's muzzle. That strange juice only increased the feeling of the lips around his member, and he began to move his hips as Blackpaw continued to suck on him. He could feel shots of that juice continue to spray out of his cock as his knot neared it's full size. Blackpaw would murr and eagerly use his tongue to lap at him for that sweet tasting juice while its source was still inside his muzzle. It wasn't long before the older wolf's knot was at full, almost too much for Blackpaw to keep in his maw. The younger wolf began to run his smooth tongue on it just as Liki had done for him earlier.

Liki arched his body backward, his muzzle open wide as he moaned and groaned, feeling that sensation building that would soon explode as a climax in his knot. He could also feel something else rushing it's way through his penis, pooling at the tip, it felt like he was going to pee and he couldn't stop it. The feeling of that juice coming out of his cock stopped as this new feeling continued to pool at his tip.

"Awoooo," He gave a call that was half howl, have moan, "Ohhh-Blackpaw, some-something's ha-happening-ahhhh." He whimpered in warning.

The younger wolf apparently took that as encouragement though, as he suddenly increased the speed as which he bobbed his head on Liki. It was too much for the older wolf, and he howled loudly as that sensation of climax exploded at his knot, along with the strange pooling feel at the tip, which felt even better then just climax alone did. He felt a large wad of something thick shoot out violently as his penis jumped in Blackpaw's muzzle.

The white furred wolf instantly releashed the flesh, gagging loudly, and Liki's cock continued to jump, spraying a white colored fluid across his body with each throb, his knot pulsing with blood as it inflated to its last size. The shocks of pleasure Liki felt now were so much greater compared to his earlier climaxes with Uriay. As his climax ended and his cock stopped it's spraying, he touched some of the white stuff it had ejaculated and figured out what it was quickly.

It was semen. He had ejaculated for the first time. Into Blackpaw's muzzle...

The boy was busy licking his lips and apparently trying to use his tongue to lick the top of his mouth, like there was peanut butter stuck on the roof of his jaw. His tail was wagging though and he murred inbetween his licking.

Liki sighed and let the top half of his body join his lower half in laying on the bed, his head hitting the pillow with a soft thud. He panted in afterglow a moment, before managing to say, "Gaia...that was an amazing feeling."

"What was that?" Blackpaw asked, licking his lips.

"I think it was semen."

Blackpaw seemed to think as he pieced together his new knowledge over the conversation, "But you said you've never 'shot' before."

"I did, but the last time I climaxed had been four months ago back home, and I didn't ejaculate back then."

"Ejaculate?" Blackpaw contineud to question innocently, licking his lips again.

"That's what it means to shot out semen like that. Anyways, it's been four month since my last one, I must have grown up sometime inbetween then and now and started puberty. Once you start puberty you're able to ejaculate."

"Puberty?"

Liki smiled and chuckled. His new apprentice had lots of questions, but he supposed that this was a very interesting time and subject for him. "That's the word that describes when your body starts the process of growing up into an adult. It takes about seven or eight years for puberty to finish. Children usually start it around ten or eleven I think on the average, but some might start it sooner or even later than that." He saw how Blackpaw was confused and tried to simplify it, "You get bigger and stronger, like your dad."

"Oh," Blackpaw said and was suddenly laying agianst Liki's cum stained chest and stomach without care, his nose meet Liki's and they both smiled, "It tastes really good if you ask me, but it scared me. I wish I could've got the rest now."

"Yeah. I didn't expect it myself." Liki laughed, "Maybe next time now that we know." Blackpaw wrapped his arms around Liki's body and hugged him, letting his head rest against Liki's neck and Liki's muzzle rest across his own. Liki could smell his student's scent now. It reminded him of grassy fields filled with flowers. The musky smell of sex hung there too, but he tried to go past that to the base smell of Blackpaw.

Silence followed for a long while as Liki basked in what was left of the afterglow, enjoying Blackpaw's warmth and smelling his flowery scent. Liki's knot had deflated and his penis began to receed back into him when Blackpaw giggled, "I had my first climax and you had your first ejaculation."

"Heh, a good trade off," Liki murred as he felt his tip slip back into his sheath, "I guess this makes us more master and student now too, just like how me and my Master did things. We trust eachother enough..."

Blackpaw murred with him and nuzzled Liki's neck a moment, and Liki got that feeling of love again and closed his eyes, his exhaustion getting to him now as he decided to bring his arms around Blackpaw's body and hug him tightly, whispering tiredly, "I love you Blackpaw. I'll do my best for you..."

"I love you too Liki..." Blackpaw replied, sounding just as tired, "I trust you as family..."

The two Fangren fell asleep together quickly. Master and Student, a new family to eachother, bonds forged and an intimate moment shared. Liki concluded his decision to take Blackpaw as his student was most certaintly the right thing to have done as he drifted off to slumper with Blackpaw in his arms.