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The white wolf stood there before the mirror in his chambers - his­ chambers - and let his eyes graze back and forth over his figure again. His uncanny, pale blue eyes, like the cold sky over the seething ocean off the cliffs of Dorian, like a thin film of ice coating a deep, still lake, watched back from within the other side of the mirror.

These were Lucius's eyes too. Every time Lua recalled this it brought a smile to his face, and a stirring deep in his chest. For so long while growing up he had never seen another like him - plenty of amber, orange, ruddy ochre, rich earth among the other Doriani wolves, then hazels and greens and darker, smoother blues from the others - but never this sharp, cold white, almost the same tint as the main field of his fur. He lifted an arm, watched his reflection in the mirror make the same move, then half-turned his body; he arched his back, slid a leg forward, sank down a little bit, swung his tail down in front, brushed it off to the side... smirked, and ran a paw up his smooth belly.

Solm so far had been quite good to him. A brief period of uncertainty before his formal acceptance into the palace had blossomed into everything he had expected but could never in good conscience or reasonability hope for. Since Lucius had arranged these quarters for him, never again had Lua wondered where he might sleep on the following night, and whether he would awaken cold or harassed by dreams or someone else unwelcoming of his presence; never again had he wondered at his next meal, when it would be or where it would come from. One of the palace chefs, a sleek and delightful cheetess with one of her front fangs chipped, had taken quite a shine to the young wolf for his sheer appreciation of her work.

The finery he could go without, however. Lua dropped his pose and relaxed into his original posture, then caught himself and straightened up, pushed his shoulders back, angled his muzzle a little bit, squared his footpaws; Lucius and the archmage both had told him the importance of posture and body positioning when it came to magic, and that practicing those habits whenever he could would serve him quite well.

The fitting had come and gone earlier in the week, with the clothing itself arriving at his door by one of the meek palace servants some days ago. Surreptitiously Lua had hoped for his tutor to be there either for the original fitting or to see the outfit upon his first donning, but neither of these came to be - and Lua scolded himself for such frivolous wishes. There always was a little tinge of guilt when his thoughts strayed down that path, and he was quite glad for Lucius teaching him how to shield these from outside listeners as one of their first exercises. So many times during their sessions had he discovered his mind wandering, fixating on whatever it could and then diving down that path as far as it wanted to go, with Lucius there near him often close enough that he could smell the fragrances the other wolf employed - and then even deeper, to his natural scent underneath.

Lua looked over his own nude form in the mirror again, letting his eyes drift almost shut, taking the extra darkness and shadow to instead be a deepening of the palette of his pelt, whites to greys, greys to blacks, warm cinnamon-tan to the deep tones of wet earth. In the fogged definition there he could imagine the reflection to take on a wider, broader figure, though subtly so; the shape of the muzzle changed a little bit, the angle of the ears, the quality of the tail... and then, with just a little more imagination, Lua stood here on his own in the room, naked, with an equally bare Lucius standing within the mirror opposite him.

This was something that entered his thoughts quite often. And Lua had of course done the best he could to keep those thoughts and desires under wraps, shielding them whenever his mentor was near, pushing them away if he could manage, or even denying them entirely if he could, but inevitably his mind would wander right back, drawn like a lodestone.

And he_indulged_ when he could. Especially over this past week, Lua had ended several nights in energetic, panting throes atop his luxurious mattress, silk covers flowing down his bare thighs and ankles like sweet, still water, one paw slipping back and forth across his length while the other gripped at his chest, his knot, his sack, or sometimes even lower - nights ending with him gasping and thrusting up, imaging his paw as Lucius's instead, or pretending he could taste that natural scent right from its source, or that it was a different, sharper impression that dug into his senses instead. Even now, standing here feeling at himself, watching his reflection in the mirror make the same movements to the image he pretended was Lucius...

With a shock the Doriani came back to himself, blinked, and resumed his original upright posture, conscious of and now indulging in an embarrassed guilt at the point of glistening red flesh protruding from the end of his sheath, against the splotch of brown fur that ran down the middle of his chest and belly. Not only was it improper to have such thoughts about his mentor of all people, but that he was married too.

To be fair, though, Lady Azura was quite a delight as well. Lua ran a paw down his fur, nodded, and turned to begin doing up the slightly gaudy regalia that that sweet little tailor had prepared for him. One of the apprentices working under the tailor had been a vixen as well, with rich wine-red fur and sharp, knowing eyes - and Lua had fancied a few times about tracking down their shop to seek her out for a chat, perhaps. Hers would be a much more welcome countenance to sit across from than Lucius's vixen, tall as she was, bold, strong. Azura was clearly accustomed to being listened to, and used to holding the attention and respect of those in her presence. Not for any trait of office or stature, but rather just by her sheer force of presence and personality.

She was a cross fox, exhibiting a stark, sudden contrast between sleek, glistening black fur, black deeper than pulverized charcoal or of the mystic elumium steel, and then bright, rich orange, effulgent like the morning sun. As striking to look upon as she was to speak to, as every time she caught Lua in the halls between sessions or on his way out to study at the academy, she held him tightly at attention with his ears up and his tail pinned straight down.

Something always glistened in her warm eyes, as though she knew something that Lua didn't. The young wolf reflected on this as he slid the sleek trousers up his legs, then shifted to pull the undershirt across his arms; Azura was actually the first to see him in his regal finery after the outfit's arrival, just conveniently passing by the younger wolf's wing when he stepped out of the room. She had held him there, not _physically_even though the force of her gaze made it feel as such. She crossed her arms, herself garbed in a cutoff dress of sorts that showed individual leggings underneath, as she was a woman of the people and needed to attend her city and station as one of Queen Scheherazade's council.

"My, oh my," the vixen cooed, looking Lua up and down where he nervously stood. "Look at you. That white fur does you quite good, you know."

_ _

"Thank you, my lady," he had stammered in response, unsure of the source or purpose behind the attention. Azura was wed to the spirit mage royal adviser, so of course the first time Lua had tried to worm his way into her mind, he had found a barrier in place there that he couldn't breach without her noticing - and, honestly, it was disorienting for him to find so many individuals where all he had to go off was their facial expressions, body language, voice and word choice, and myriad other small traits to judge their thoughts and feelings. Especially when those individuals carried as much importance as Azura here. "Is there something I may help you with? I was just about to-"

_ _

"Oh yes, actually," she interrupted, not for any rush or insistency. "Would you find your way to my husband, please? He should be attending the Queen right now."

_ _

"Of course. Shall I await further instruction from him?"

_ _

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary." She had smirked again then, and reached out to smooth down some of the stray ruffles along his clothing. "I just think he should see you in your new outfit. He is responsible, after all, and he'll want to see the fruits of his work."

And the way Lucius had looked at him that day... it still made Lua blush to recall, even now as he adjusted and tightened the fit of the shirt collar around his neck. Sleek, warm eggplant violet, shimmering in the dry sunlight as it came down from overhead. The style out here in Maldeth was of course quite different from what the wolf had grown accustomed to back in Dorian, favoring a much more open, airy fit that tended more often than not to hide the figure rather than accentuate it, with wide, billowy sleeves, lighter coloration, thinner material - even the rich purple that Lua wore showed the contours and folds of the lighter undershirt beneath - which altogether helped to alleviate the heavy presence of the midday sun and dry heat, even if it was a little inconvenient for his studies and sessions.

Really, it was more a formality than anything, for Lua to wear when he stood alongside Lucius during the Queen's citizen hearings, or if the opportunity ever came up for him to need to appear in public. The former of these would be the reason today: he looked himself over again, further adjusted the collar around his neck, half-turned to make sure he had gotten the fix over the tail... then paused, and turned the rest of the way so he could look over his shoulder.

Emblazoned in a small crest along one shoulder, then larger in the lower center of his back, hung the resplendent crest of the Kalla noble house. He felt at once strange yet also oddly flattered wearing it, the symbol for a well-known, reputed, and at some points throughout history arguably royal House of southeastern Alenar, while he himself came from a family of no distinct name.

By now he had forgotten the formal heraldry terminology for the display, but it caught his eye every time he saw it, first on Lucius's formal outfits and now, stunningly, on his own. The "crescent sun" design, with five sharp points reaching out from the left and opened to the right, mouth yawning about a vertical oval cast in scarlet, then all of this standing out from a field slashed from top right to bottom left in orange in the upper quadrant and white in the lower.

Bold and bright, without fail drawing the eye among the sea of violet around it, it told everyone of suitable station who looked upon Lua here, I am a Kalla. He knew he should feel some shame at the subtle, effective erasure of his prior name, but still.

Lua Kalla. The Doriani in the reflection mouthed the name, sharp little fangs showing the shape of the words, tongue flicking as it tasted the syllables. There was no way he could claim the full formal designation - Lucius Kalla ef Leyo Alenar sounded so much better than Lua's ef Dorian Dorian, if that were the case - and, really, it wasn't an_official_ renaming and reclaiming, but...

He could pretend. He could fantasize. Satisfied with his appearance, the young wolf settled his sleeves on his arms, lifted his head, gave himself a smile, and turned to leave the chambers.

~ ~ ~

"...And then," Lucius said, most of the tension melting out of his body, "I do believe we are done for the day. I'm impressed, Lua: you've been here hardly two months, and already I begin to suspect you will soon eclipse me."

Every time his mentor mentioned it, it made the younger wolf squirm and blush. Both knew beyond any shadow of doubt that this were the case, after repeated exercises and practices in the archmage's presence had showed Lua's quicker grasp of new concepts, his natural talent in the type, his particular dexterity and deftness resulting from that talent. In truth it was not unlike comparing a flame sputtering along the last frayed wick of an old candle, to a bonfire freshly built and prepared: one simply could not come close to the other.

There would always be something new to learn, of course. Lua stood up from where he sat, head heavy with the rich, spiced scent of the incense the two had taken to burning in the center of the room during their practices. Often after the sessions he would undress and relax for a bit, but every time he turned or twisted the aroma of the stuff would come right back to him, soaked so deep into his thick fur.

That had started to play into his fantasies too, actually. Rich, swirling, smoky spice carrying him over, turning to what he had come to identify between everything else as the smell of Lucius, inviting, perhaps a little intoxicating...

The older wolf smiled up from where he still sat, the slight tweak in the angle of his muzzle catching Lua's attention enough to look back down at him again. Neither of them had mentioned it, but this ritual spirit-bond that had been established between them had seemed to grow and change on its own, now more free and flexible than before. Now Lua could close his eyes, turn around, and point directly towards where Lucius was, relative to himself; even with both of their minds shielded, sometimes he still unconsciously took on some of the other wolf's deeper emotions and impulses, be that annoyance with a citizen, satisfaction with their practices, or even the hot, simmering arousal late at the night that certainly was Azura's doing.

It made him wonder if this went both ways. Sometimes Lua sat up against the door of his chambers during those late nights, muzzle halfway turned and lip caught between his teeth, enjoying both his own pleasure as well as what he imagined came from the other wing of the palace. Sometimes when he indulged like this, he thought that he felt the other end of things intensify as well.

"Lua." Lucius shifted where he sat. "Help me up? I'm older than you."

Lua rolled his eyes and smirked, but still reached down to help. As soon as their paws brushed, a little glimmer of sensation shocked up and along the Doriani's arm. His first instinct was to tug away and hide his muzzle out of embarrassment, knowing that the blush still burned there, but still he pulled the other wolf up.

"Barely. Lucius, you're not even thirty yet. You can't even properly joke about being old since you know you'd be lying."

"But it still is true that I am older than you."

Lua always loved that little glimmer in his mentor's eye. It was the strangest thing: as time had gone on they had each started thinking of the other less as apprentice and mentor, and almost more as peers. Lua naturally shied away from these feelings, as it of course was not within his prerogative to really discern. Logically, he could certainly understand it happening, as Lucius enjoyed reminding him that every session was now a learning experience for him as well.

"Ah, well," the very-slightly-older wolf went on, "either way, I do imagine you will out-"

He trailed off. Feeling a twinge of something through their bond, Lua paused at the door, frowned, and turned back to see Lucius standing with his brow knitted and mouth partially open, as though deep in thought. When he realized he was being watched, though, those facial features easily released, and all evidence of his hesitation disappeared from his muzzle.

"I just realized something," he explained, but gave no further information.

Lua tilted his head. "Yes?"

"Yes. I will bring it up with the Queen next time I see her. You may go, Lua."

"Am I free to enjoy the rest of my day, or would you have me study at the academy a while longer?"

"Whatever you think is necessary," Lucius replied, an answer which both of them knew would send Lua right back to the library. "I hesitate to give you such free reign after so short a span of practice, but..."

Something else both of them knew: Spirit magic simply lacked the foundation that all the others did. There was no central text for practice and study, no established or formalized methods to preparation and casting. Lucius was, essentially, a user of low magic when it came to that, since by nature most of it had to be.

Lua smiled. "I understand. Shall we meet again for dinner tonight?"

That brought some of the original softness back to his muzzle. "Of course. I'll see you then."

Lua turned to leave the practice room, new thoughts and ideas already stirring around his head as he thought about where he had left off in his studies. As he began to turn the corner down into the hallway, though, he stopped, as though a rope bound around the center of his being had suddenly drawn tight and yanked him back. He opened his mouth to ask Lucius if he had felt that too, then stopped: the other wolf still stood there in the room, chin now in his paw as he dug deep around whatever thought had so captivated him before.

Whatever it was, it very clearly focused around Lua himself. Lucius's eyes flashed up to find him when he turned that corner again, then held there for a while until he seemed to realize the object of his attention stood right there.

He smiled again, and something new made its way out beneath that smile. Lua returned it, tail swaying behind him, and departed down the hall.

_ _

~ ~ ~

_ _

A brush of the paw in the hallway. A little huff of breath, a touch of tail against tail. Lua shivered, took in a breath, turned his head... and then suddenly he felt himself pushed up against the wall, smooth sandstone dragging along his fur and clothing, the latter of which was leaving his body at a surprising pace. Hot, hungry breaths caressed his jaw, his neck, his shoulder; deft paws ran down his sides and along his rump, down to the base of his tail.

_ _

This time he knew this dream came not from his own mind. When he looked down, down across Lucius's body suddenly and inexplicably bare against his own, following the trails of shadow across stone in his fur, he saw just a pure field of white along his own body. Lucius had never seen that part of him before: he would not know of the patch of cool brown there along his belly.

_ _

But, then, if the two really had shared dreams and fantasies as seemed so true, then wouldn't he have learned this fact by now? Lua knew that Lucius bore a similar spot along his own body, and when he half-opened his eyes and looked down, there it was nestled behind the thick, glistening red flesh of his arousal, pressed up and grinding into Lua's fur - which, now that he looked, also bore the same mark.

_ _

He sighed, shuddered, and tilted his head back against the wall, hips reflexively bucking forward at the sensation of touch. Not true touch, but just the sensation of it... but to them it was true enough. Another shudder bounced through his body, and before he could stop himself he draped one arm forward around the other wolf's shoulder.

_ _

Suddenly they were in Lucius's chambers. Lua had been there only twice before, once upon the older wolf's tour of the grounds for him, and then again when Azura had invited him over for tea one afternoon. And, in fact, as Lua turned his head to the other side to show more of his neck to Lucius's seeking lips, through half-lidded eyes he caught sight of the cross fox there, sitting, watching... enjoying.

_ _

He looked once, and she sat with one leg crossed over the other sipping from a cup of tea. He looked again, and saw her leaning in with her chin in a paw, a smirk decorating her lovely angular muzzle. The Lua felt himself dropping down to his knees, felt the unmistakable humid heat of arousal above his muzzle, and looked again - and this time saw her with her legs spread and body bared, one arm hanging down over the back of her chair while the other paw slid and pulsed and circled between her parted thighs, her breath heavy in her chest.

_ _

Then Lua disappeared beneath his own pleasure and enjoyment. This time Lucius's scent - and his taste - carried a different bite. So this was what he really smelled like, then. He closed his eyes, drew in that aroma, parted his lips and let his tongue hang out...

_ _

~ ~ ~

Still he hadn't grown accustomed to the weather in this part of the world. Lua reached out around himself with a thin, careful weave of Air and Water magic, briefly flash-cooling the space immediately around him, and for the moment enjoying the sensation of being somewhere much cooler and much less dry. In a moment, though, the vicious sunlight whisked all of that away again, once more leaving him with the distinct sensation of being coated all over in a thin layer of sweat.

He did what he could, though, and here within the thick walls of the academy, the stones doing quite an appreciable job of insulating the inside from the outside, it was more bearable. A few thick books spread out across the table before him, some of them having borne dust after so long left untouched. Others stood in a short stack nearby, written either in what the other students called_the Old Tongue_, vaguely similar to the modern Common yet still different in certain opaque ways, or sometimes in such a deep dialect of Common that it might as well have been another language.

Lua knew and accepted that he was quite fortunate to have been able to read Common at all, with his background. He couldn't write too terribly well, but that was more for a lack of practice than anything. The words and diagrams throughout these pages, the various apocryphal anecdotes and historical happenings... if he closed his eyes and thought, if he focused and meditated, more often than not he could adapt them to his usage. Constant cross-referencing between disparate texts helped with the more inapproachable books and scrolls as well, and he knew that if he met enough of an obstacle, he could always find his way back to Lucius or even the archmage for help.

Still, though, figures and diagrams and casting setups, formulas and swirling script and written characters he barely recognized... the wolf sighed, slid back in his chair, and rested his muzzle atop the cool stone, just for a moment allowing his mind to drift away from the day and freely wander wherever it wanted to go.

There could only be one place, of course. He thought back to last night's dream, and then the practice session with Lucius before that, and then one of his own guilty, fervid fantasies a few days prior... he kicked his footpaws back and forth beneath the table, freely letting them brush against the smooth stone of the floor, and the thick, heavy-pile rug that had been placed beneath the table. The academy was this great, sprawling building pressed up into the northeastern corner of the city walls, and which stretched out nearly to the northern fork of the river. Down here in the library stood many wide tables with chairs around them, intended for group study, while along each side of the hall were these individual study rooms: Lua's station - since, he had to keep reminding himself, he was now quite a bit more than when he had first arrived within these walls - permitted him to claim one of these to his name, whenever he liked, for as long as he liked.

His pale eyes flicked up towards the door, sleek, smooth wood treated to hold its shape and luster against the swirling dry heat of the desert. It latched and locked from the inside, though he had of course not done so for this simple perusal of texts and manuscripts; the wolf closed his eyes, sighed, drew in a breath, held it... then reached out from deep inside himself, sending out a quick, measured pulse through the ground underneath him, then grasped the weave as it departed and still held it against himself. Spirit magic, cool and sweet and utterly undetectable, rippled out from where he sat and through everything within radius: there sat several students in the main body of the library, more upstairs, a handful spread out across the other private chambers, many more outside. None of them noticed his casting, and none of them had any intent to disturb him here.

Lua smirked. A rush of energy flowed through him, not from the magic but rather from simple, indulgent biology: he sat back in his chair, hooked an arm over the back, half-tilted his body, pushed slightly away from the table... then reached down with his other paw and smoothly, slowly, undid the fastenings of his pants. Up and behind his head, thankfully beyond the view of anyone passing by outside, stood an open window that cast a bright shaft of light and smooth, curling tendrils of heat down across his shoulders; a tingle rushed through his body when he brought his sheath out into that light, knowing that he was doing this in a place that wasn't his own, that anyone really could come through that door at any moment.

So Lua tilted his head back and sighed again, pushing two fingers down into the thick, warm fur there, looping his thumb around the back. The shift of supple skin and flesh inside, the electric stir vibrating up from his loins, the burst of sensation and arousal... he remembered the dream the other night, the feeling of Lucius's hard shaft pressing up alongside his own. He imagined the other wolf to have a bit of a size advantage on him, which Lucius seemed to assume as well. He thought about that slick, humid heat, the undeniable firmness twitching down against the base of his sheath and root of his shaft; he swallowed, turned his head, and sat up a little bit further, intentionally hiding his illicit doings beneath the table in case someone did come in.

For a moment there the young wolf worked himself further by riding along the essence of that threat, eyes fixed forward to the shadows beneath the threshold. Still he held onto that quick weave of Spirit magic, his nerves naturally tingling in instinctive response to the feedback coming back through the casting: every time someone passed by outside he squeezed his legs closer together in half an attempt to hide himself, though continued rubbing and stroking, fingerpads greasy with the natural slickness of lupine arousal, fur a bit matted from how close and careful he had to be. At one point he had to lean back in his seat - then looked down to see a good half of his red-fleshed length there against his belly, twitching, occasionally spurting out a little jet of eager arousal into his already matted fur.

So then he imagined spreading his legs further, and seeing Lucius's muzzle slide up between his legs. Normally he preferred to have himself in that position, but it brought a certain twinge of enticement to imagine things the other way around: he imagined he could feel the other wolf's breath along his sensitive flesh, imagined he could feel his lips slip up along his sack, then part around them, tongue curling out as well; he imagined the soft suction, the careful ministrations. He imagined the sensation of Lucius then drawing back, gently tugging at his sack as Lua had imagined himself to do to him a few times before already, then pop free, nuzzle up at the supple root of his sheath, draw up from there, and...

And then something jerked within the little Spirit weave he had sent out around himself, the casting still maintained there in the back of his head, so slight and effortless that he had nearly forgotten about it. Someone coming this way down the hall, with purpose, with intent; someone who stood out among all the others, showing a deeper, richer pool of inherent essence.

Another Spirit mage. This fact ruled down the possibilities quite a bit. Lucius would know where Lua's mind had wandered, and would know what he was doing here, especially as the younger wolf bustled to fit himself back into his pants and resume his guise at studying: he felt his mentor out in the hallway slow his pace as well, as though giving him the chance to make himself decent.

With their link as it was, and the closeness between them separated only by this wall and door, Lua thought he could sense some trepidation, shame, and a little bit of arousal echoing away from Lucius's end as well... and then the knock at the door, the pause, the smooth "Lua?" uttered in a practiced, level voice.

Lua opened his mouth to respond, felt his words catch in his throat, coughed, and then went on. "Come in."

The door clicked in its saddle, then swung silently open, and in strode the royal adviser, garbed not in his regal finery but rather in the usual looser, more relaxed fit that he wore around his personal time in the palace, and with Lua. A small pleasant smile touched his lips, though as soon as the door opened before him his nose and whiskers gave a few distinct twitches - and then Lua felt the so-familiar sensation of a shield swinging down in place between their bond, obfuscating most of the other wolf's thoughts and feelings to him save for the slightest, gentlest undercurrents.

"Oh! Lucius. Um..." Lua cleared his throat, frantically readjusting his posture in attempts to find something more comfortable what with the twitching, humid heat still between his legs. He reached up to pretend to scratch at a spot alongside the bridge of his muzzle, then nearly recoiled at the obviousness of his own musk clinging to his fingers. "I was just - doing a bit of reading."

"I figured I might find you here." The other wolf crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back to close the door behind him, shutting the two of them in together. A breeze stirred outside, slipping its swirling fingers into the room through the spaces of the window; Lucius's fur ruffled gently. "Are you busy? Or, I should specify - engaged in anything you don't wish to abandon?"

Lua looked down across the various papers spread out before him, most of which he had already forgotten about in his brief distraction. "Not... particularly. Did something happen?"

"Oh, no. Not yet, anyhow. Don't you worry." Lucius pushed off from the door and came forward, using that same slow, steady pace that he did when he had Lua repeat the same exercise over and over again, until he started to remember it too well to ever mess it up. "There are no citizen's hearings today, and I do believe I gave you the day to yourself?"

"You did." The Doriani reached over towards whichever manuscript was on his left, at least trying to look busy.

"So I did. You've performed quite well since your arrival here, and I also believe I did make such a promise, so..." Here Lucius drew up the lone other chair in the room to sit across from Lua, and sank into it with such fluid grace that the younger wolf actually straightened up and leaned back, wishing not to impede his movement. "How about you and I go for lunch, and then relax at the bathhouse for the afternoon? It's a lovely day for it."

The invitation actually caught Lua off guard. For a moment he sat there staring at the text, seeing it but not reading it: his ears perked up and his tail swayed behind him, and in a quick moment he ran through a handful of different ideas and scenarios all swirling around in his head, each one a little more improbable and unbelievable than the last, until finally he had to deliberately stop, draw in a breath, and then let it out.

And then he looked across the table to his mentor again, who sat with such a sly, satisfied smile that there could be no doubt he had anticipated the younger wolf's answer. How couldn't he? At this point both of them had to know what was going on, but their particular position and uniqueness of their relationship allowed them to do... whatever this was.

It was enticing. It was invigorating. It was terrifying, especially after that last dream with Azura watching and enjoying the two. Suddenly the glimmer in her eye when she passed him in the halls, and how she seemed to come across him more often than any of the other nobles within the palace, took on quite a different implication.

"Of course," Lua answered. "That sounds wonderful. I haven't really explored too much of the culinary side of the city, if you'll excuse me for doing so-"

"Oh, not at all."

"It's just that I'm still unaccustomed to being able to do that."

"I understand." Lucius smiled again, folding his paws over one another on the table. "Well, today will be my treat. And by 'my treat', I mean the palace treasury will pay for it."

"Is that legal?"

In a smooth move Lucius swung the book around to face him, then tapped at the yellow pages with a claw. "Can you read Old Tongue?"

"What? No."

"Then it'll be educational. Bring this along - I'll show you a thing or two."

"To the bathhouse?"

"Well... we don't have to enter the baths." Idly he drummed his fingers on the pages. "But let's get one of the private rooms, with a massage table and perhaps some aromatherapy... you've been applying yourself pretty hard, and it's important to unwind and relax."

The two held gazes for a moment, Lua barely daring to breathe as he tried to search beneath and between those words for the other wolf's intended meaning - even though, again, he felt he knew it already. Nervousness and faltering confidence had caused most of his prior arousal to fizzle out, but with him sitting here so close to him, and then even just the prospect of something perhaps coming to fruition... he squirmed in his seat, swallowed again, and nodded.

"Yeah. Alright. Should we head out now?"

"Are you hungry?"

"I could go for something."

"What's your preferred taste? You've seen parts of the city; I'm sure it'll be no surprise that we have fare covering most of what anyone with a respectable mind might ever want..."

And so the city did. Every time he walked through a new section of the streets, Lua found himself stunned with the scope and scale of Solm. His home of Dorian was this vast, beetling city hewn from solid rock and casting up the slope towards the precipice of a great cliff overlooking the sea, where if he were to stand before the gates of the palace he could turn around and see nearly the entire city spread out in every direction before him, endless webs of streets and passages weaving together and back out - but here in Solm, the furthest he could see was usually the protruding top of the next building over, or the grand spires of one of the chapels throughout the town, or sometimes the lovely branches of the palace tree. And around that next corner, past that next building, there was always something _more_to see.

Soon the young wolf's nose and senses tingled with aromas quite different than what had swirled around him within that private study room at the academy library. Spices and seasonings, pungent to acrid to sharp to bittersweet, wafted in from both the open market stalls as well as the stands themselves; marinated meat glistened bright scarlet-orange in the sunlight, delightfully moist even beneath the aridity of the day; steam and smoke curled into the sky between stone and wooden roofing, combinations of flavors and techniques that Lua had never even heard of back in Dorian.

Lucius could tell, too. At one point the older wolf disappeared for a moment - though Lua could still track his progress and position through their bond - then swept back up from his other side with two bowls clutched precariously in one paw and what looked like two carafes in the other.

"Look," he said. "Let's find somewhere to sit. This is a... more cultural meal from around here that I've really come to enjoy. It's a relative of rice, and what you do is you pour the broth over the grains, then wait a few minutes - and, look, you can see how it's already soaking in and expanding..."

"It's really... thick."

"Yes. It needs to be."

"It smells a little bit - um-"

"Yes. It does, doesn't it?" In the smile that lifted Lucius's lips there, in the glimmer in his pale blue eyes, yet again Lua got that same feeling as he had a few times before. For a moment he wasn't out here between studies and practices, a student with his mentor, textbook of study - written entirely in the Old Tongue - resting alongside him, but rather just a pair of wolves, a pair of friends. He looked and held himself as so much more, but in reality Lucius had barely three years of age over Lua here. The two could have grown up together.

So as long as he thought of it like that, it wasn't so strange to lean over and take a sniff from Lucius's bowl, his own clutched in his paws. Some of that hesitation still lingered in the background, as it might always, but the two sat side by side there on one of the stone seats looking out over the street, ate their meal, and just talked for a change. Neither mentioned the old tome waiting by Lua's side; neither brought up what they had done earlier in the day, or the prior day's citizen's hearings, or what would come next.

The bond lingered, and the knowledge, and the sense of duty, but for now it really was just the two of them, sharing a lunch... and knowing that they would enter the bathhouse after. That was the part that gave Lua pause, especially after the sly, overly nonchalant way that Lucius had voiced it.

"Let's get one of the private rooms. With a massage table and perhaps some aromatherapy." A twinkle in the eye, not quite a wink, not quite an overt recognition of what both of them already knew, but certainly a hint at it.

So when they wrapped up their tasty little meal and stepped back into the streets of the city, Lua's heart thumped in his chest and he couldn't keep his tail from swishing and swaying behind him. Eagerness warred with anticipation, nervousness with excitement, and he had to continually check and check again to make sure he hadn't let his own mental shield slip, and let through a little too much of his thoughts and feelings. Because, after all, part of the fun was indeed in the not-quite-knowing, and the wondering.

How had it happened, though? One of the thing that the young Doriani actually wished to determine from the few texts was whether or not there could be an inherent, natural attraction between users of the same magic types. Never before had someone captured his attention so quickly and solidly, and he certainly hadn't expected it when he had first approached the gates of Solm, saw the great glass pillars there, felt the dizzyingly deep reserves of ancient power there - then continued on his way and into the palace proper, where Lucius accosted him some time later.

It had been nearly instant. The tingling in the back of his head, the preternatural sense that there was someone else there, someone new, someone special, and then he turned his head and looked and... and felt his breath catch in his throat. This still happened every time he looked at the Alenari, too: even now as they strode along the street, Lucius walking with purpose, one ear halfway tilted in the way it always seemed to be, short whiskers forward with his nose constantly twitching and pulsing at all the different smells of the city.

Feeling his apprentice's gaze, Lucius lifted his brows and looked partially over his shoulder, just enough for the angle of his muzzle to change - and Lua jumped and looked straight forward again. Here rose the carved marble walls of the bathhouse just ahead, the little swirls of color within the stone looking like tendrils of smoke reaching up through a thick fog. Around towards the front those lines of color drew in and around, as though beckoning towards whoever passed by on the street out front.

Sweet, inviting humidity reached out from the open door, the temperature already palpably cooler than out here. Lua swallowed, drew in a breath, let it back out, then looked over to Lucius before him, waiting patiently by the door.

The older wolf nodded in. "After you."

Before Lua stretched luxury like he couldn't believe. Sleek marble stretched out in every direction, pitted and textured in places to afford stable footing when wet, then pitched down in the center of the space to clear, radiant blue water stirring idly under the movements of its inhabitants, all in various stages of undress.

Admittedly Lua encountered some trouble in not focusing on those - a sleek, white-furred vixen lounged back near the entrance to the main bath, arms resting back while she chatted with the much taller, broader stallion beside her; in the back corner floated a pair of otters, one leaning forward over the rim while the other scrubbed at their back; a lion and lioness couple whom Lua thought might be relatives of the Queen sat in comfortable silence along the other edge - but Lucius's paw brushing gently across his arm brought him back to himself.

"I shall go arrange a room for us," the Alenari said. "Wait here."

Lua wouldn't know where to go otherwise. He shifted where he stood, more to get out of the way of anyone entering behind them, and continued to look over the place. Each side of the main building here sprouted off into another hallway, each likely bearing the private rooms that Lucius had mentioned. Towards the back of the baths issued the constant, quiet burble of running water; the white wolf lifted his head and turned himself a bit to get a better angle, and back there saw fountains rising up from the stone floor so that they could poor that sweet, cool oasis water down and into the pools, where it would invisibly seep back down into the pipes of the building through some unseen network.

He closed his eyes for a moment, drew in a breath, focused... and reached out with his magic, and in a matter of seconds found himself exploring those network of pipes. What a feat they were, utilizing the natural properties of pressure and momentum to propel the water wherever it needed to go, whenever the occupants so demanded... a few large sections trailed off towards the backside of the building, where perhaps there were more focus, personal baths. Lua wondered if the Queen had her own personal room here, or if there was yet some place within the palace that served this purpose for her.

Then he had the idea: novices in Earth magic often work in mines, to teach them how to work their material. Fire mages often assist with forges and smiths. Would a Water mage assist their mentor with bathing? His eyes continued to wander, now coming up along the sleek, chiseled back of a tall male wolf - a fellow Doriani, judging by his coloration - as he stood beneath one of the water spouts, paws held behind his head, muzzle tilted back for the liquid to pour down across him. His tail hung down and swayed within the water that came up to his thighs, sending off little rhythmic ripples throughout; he half-turned, shook a good portion of that moisture off in a thin spray, then reached down to scratch idly at the matted puff of pubic fur, ash grey, that sprouted out from the base of his sheath, plump even to Lua's vision from here. For a moment he looked up, and the two met eyes, and Lua jumped and turned aside - and looked right into Lucius's similar pale blue gaze.

He motioned to the hallway off to Lua's left. "This way. Follow me."

"It was that easy?"

"Well, I'm the royal adviser to the Queen." He glanced over his shoulder. "We get - special permissions."

"Nobility always does."

That bought a twinge of amusement through the bond. Lucius's tail swayed. "The baths are free to attend for anyone in the city. That was decreed by Queen Sylvia."

"Queen Sylvia?"

"Scheherazade's mother. She and her husband passed away some years back - you might notice that Scheherazade, too, is young - but she was quite beloved by the people. Scheherazade faces much stress, knowing that she is expected to follow after her mother... but, she is bold, strong, and determined, and she will bring unknown good to this city, and to the land around us."

"You're certain of that?"

"I am." Here Lucius actually winked. "And I cannot lie. Do you still have the book, from the library?"

"I-" Lua shifted it under his arm. "I do. Are you sure we should be bringing this here? It's old, and I'm worried that the humidity will-"

"Oh, don't worry. I reserved a room away from the water."

"So we won't be bathing?"

"Oh, we can." A pulse through the bond. "We are still expected to undress."

"Expected?"

_ _

Lucius looked over to Lua and lifted an eyebrow. "You would not like to?"

"Well, I..."

He trailed off beneath the other wolf's gentle chuckle. "Here we are. See, feel the air; we are far enough from the pools that the humidity has evened out, and as you might notice - the doors are of wood."

So they were, and they bore not a hint of mold or moss. Lua stepped through behind Lucius. "They're a bit thin, though." When he tugged it shut behind himself, he was surprised to find the door to be a series of thin, flat slats, with enough space between them to roll in place over guided rails. "And not very, um-"

He turned back to face the room and felt his words stick in his throat once more. There was Lucius, and there was Lucius's bared chest as the wolf worked the fastenings of his shirt open, the folds of fabric already shimmying down off his shoulders. Not a hint of hesitation or embarrassment shone in his eyes, and when he noticed Lua's audience he smiled, shrugged, then removed his shirt the rest of the way, to carry it over to a series of shelves and racks specially provided for the purpose.

"Yes, they don't insulate against noise, and anyone who stops to take a look will be able to see right into here." Lucius shrugged. "That won't be a problem, will it?"

There was no way this was actually happening. Excitement and arousal stirred through all of Lua's being, and as he stood there watching Lucius slowly continue before him, paws moving down towards his pants, he felt himself freeze up - then just as quickly dove into one of the novice exercises that he had found worked so well for him. He retreated into his head for a moment, imagined a field of great black velvet curtains coming down on a stage displaying the world around him; he let the sights and noises fade away, drew back into himself, took a breath, held it, released it. Took a breath, held it, released it.

Then he opened his eyes again, smiled, and began on himself as well, and that was what put that startled hesitation into the other wolf's movement. Lua delighted in Lucius's attention as he ran his paws down his own chest, tugging open the folds and fastenings of his shirt to show the field of snow-white fur beneath, down to the patch of brown that had been absent in the other wolf's fantasies until he had filled it in for him - and then before he could stop he moved right down to his pants as well, a little shimmy and tug undoing the belt so that the fabric could pull itself down, sliding nearly noiselessly along smooth, soft fur.

His heart pounded in his chest. He stepped out of his loose clothing, forward towards Lucius, then shifted the book under his arm and nodded towards the low-standing table. "Shall I go first? You _did_offer, after all, and it'll allow some time to gather my thoughts on the study..."

Lucius missed a beat there. The Alenari blinked, swallowed, then hurriedly continued with his own undressing, the moment there and then gone for him. "Ah. So I did. Yes, go ahead - I'll be with you in a moment..."

Lua smirked, his confidence only halfway faked, and strode over towards the table. It barely came up to his knees, with plush cushions set up along its length and near the head for his body; he looked back to Lucius again, let his eyes roam up and down the other wolf's body as he revealed to him that most of his assumptions in his fantasies had been correct, then stepped up the plinth towards the table. Then came the thought about whether to lie down facedown or face-up: on the one hand, Lua couldn't deny that being so close to him, and especially under these circumstances, had had their expected effect on himself - but then on the other hand...

He stepped up, swallowed, and reached forward to pull himself down across the table, loving the way the soft, carefully maintained fabrics felt against his fur and skin. Different than what they had given him back in the palace, a little bit stiffer and drier likely to help against what moisture would come into here, and to prevent the gathering of fur from so many different occupants. He pulled himself up, shifted, rested his legs down in the provided stirrups, moved his arms ahead of him, and there rested the book, its carven cover catching the sunlight that came in through a series of high, thin windows. The text in there did interest him, sure, but - there were other things that caught his attention more.

Lua turned his head to the side, just in time to catch a view of Lucius's sleek back while he bent over to shelve their clothing.

"Lucius. Why do you need to strip down, too?"

"It can get a bit hot in here," he explained. "And, besides, I figured we would visit the baths afterward anyhow. Here, would you - move your head like this..." Gentle paws came in alongside either side of his muzzle from above and behind, slowly moving him along the table. Lua closed his eyes and let Lucius manipulate his body for that short time, each contact of fur to fur sending sweet little tingles through him that he was certain the Alenari felt as well. "Here, if I could have you..." Then one along his midsection, which sent an intoxicating tingle down into his loins - two paws along his lower thigh - one at one of his footpaws, which tickled and made him kick. "Does that work for you?"

"It - works... Lucius, I very well might fall asleep like - oh..."

Then those paws came in along his upper back, pressing up between where his shoulder blades nearly met. Pressure, tension, tightness - then release and a sweet, shivering sensation rippled down through him.

"Can you do me a favor," Lucius rumbled from somewhere above him, "and go ahead and open that book to the contents? I'd like to see what we're in for."

A little amused - he hadn't expected Lucius to actually call for the textbook - Lua did as told, the crisp pages crackling in the air when he turned them. "Do you - recognize this one?"

"Yes, but not that well. When I was first learning our skill, I had to..." Here he leaned in and over the younger wolf, again reapplying that pressure along his shoulders. The breath squeezed sweetly out of Lua's lungs, then sucked right back in. "...pore over this one, as it's a fantastic example of early-era grammar and subject matter..."

Lua let his eyes drift shut. It certainly felt as though Lucius had had experience in this realm of things: he knew where to put his paws, how hard to press, what to do with his fingers, down along the lines of bones and tendons and muscles underneath. Up along his shoulders and over his arms, every now and then asking for the wolf on the table to turn the page or move to another section; down across the middle of his back, then turning so his fingers splayed out and along his hips, where they gripped, and squeezed, and tugged, and - there was a_pop_ down near his hips, and Lua let out another sigh of relief.

"Oh. Wow. Have you done this before?"

"Mhmm." Those paws started back up again, leaving a tingle of arousal in their wake as they went. "Come here often with my wife. She speaks of you often, you know."

That wasn't a surprise. "She - does? What does she say?"

"About what you'd expect." Their mental bond meant that both knew precisely what this was. Lua turned his head to the other side, mouth hanging partially open. "Lua. Next page, and start at the top. You can read Common, yes?"

"I - ah - yes..."

"Perfect. The Old Tongue isn't too far different from Common, truthfully - as that's why it's old: it led to what we have today. The grammar structure is where it deviates the most, although..." Paws in along the back of his neck, sending a shiver ricocheting down his spine. "...if you draw out a timeline, you can see where those lines start to blur, and common colloquialism begins to take precedent over established foundations..." One remaining there, rubbing at tense muscles buried beneath fur and skin, while the other began to trace down his back again. "...and then enforce themselves as standard. The vocabulary is of course different as well, though many words share the same root structure." Then the other began down as well, the first coming dangerously close to the base of Lua's tail before straying off to the side. It gripped his hip, thumb coming in towards that spot; the other ran down his lower back, claws sliding smoothly through thick fur, to take a similar spot. "See that one there?"

Blearily, Lua opened his eyes again and looked to the page. "Where?"

"At the top. Could you read that for me? The alphabet is identical. Well - nearly identical. In this dialect, at least."

So he tried. "'Ola no'ei'o za sha... val hara, su...'" Lucius's paws continued in, fingers wrapping around the bones of his hips, thumbs coming in towards the underside of his tail. Electric tension fizzled through his loins. "'...suma'val va... va..."

The words escaped him, even as they swam before him in smooth ink soaked into yellowed pages. Lua rested his chin on his arms folded underneath him, Lucius's thumbs continuing in and down, teasing _underneath_his tail, running along the ridged lines of his tailhole. Gentle touch, then grip and squeeze, then tug and spread - and then he released him as though he had never made the move in the first place.

"Need you to scoot down," the Alenari rumbled. Lua nodded and did as such, bracing his paws on the smooth table and pushing himself steadily down. Immediately the ancient, valuable tome before him was forgotten, the pages fluttering in gentle breezes that came in through the window overhead; Lua closed his eyes, licked his lips, and continued down, down until his footpaws hung off the table, and then when he could drop down to bend over the smooth surface... and then again Lucius's paws came in against his sides.

Lucius's breath puffed out along his shoulder. "How's this feel?" he asked, with a firm squeeze along his sides - then up towards his chest - and over his arms - and at his shoulders-

"That's - ah, that's..."

-and then the other wolf pressed himself firmly up beneath the base of his tail, the firm, humid heat of his burgeoning arousal tickling at that so-sensitive spot. Electric energy zapped up and throughout Lua's entire being. With a gentle huff he pushed back, grinding himself against Lucius's plump sheath and revealed tip; he turned his head, swallowed, licked his lips again, let a shudder run through his body, and pushed back and forth, back and forth, while the other wolf did the same.

Slow, gentle, yet so deliciously deliberate, before long Lucius's attention and motions turned from a massage into what the two really desired, one paw on the younger wolf's shoulder and the other down by his hip, holding him in place as he pushed and pressed and rubbed. Lua could feel the heat of his length as he worked himself up against him, gentle humidity slipping along his fur, tickling at his skin.

Desire and need both trembled through their bond, itself feeling like a pair of magnets within range yet carefully apart at this distance. Lua's legs twitched, and again he pushed up and back against the other wolf behind him - and felt a deep throb ripple through his body, his own arousal having already come to full underneath him, occasionally brushing against the stone of the table.

He buried his muzzle in his arms. "Lucius..."

Amusement bubbled through, so miniscule compared to the force of the shared desire. "Lua." Then another thrust, another tug back, and this time the Alenari reached down, pressed a thumb against the base of his sheath, brought his tapered tip forward against the twitching ring of muscle there, and gently pushed.

That sent an irresistible shudder through him, enough to make the fur along his back and neck bristle sweetly, and to make his arms and legs shiver. He giggled softly and lifted his head. "Took you long enough," he rumbled - and delighted at the spike in amusement that came through their bond. "Were it not so improper, I would have done this same thing to you during our session last week..."

"Mm. You're lucky I didn't impart the same restriction on you, Lua, to prevent you from lying." Lucius leaned back, spread the younger wolf with both thumbs beneath his tail, shifted - and then Lua jumped at the sensation of a glob of thick, warm saliva splashing down along his rump, then trickling into place. One of those thumbs worked it in. "And - is this not so improper, too?"

"Perhaps it is. I could - ah-" His body tightened up at the sensation of that same thumb pressing up under his tail, now smearing that saliva around and over, poking in just a little bit, teasing at the tension and his natural reflexive response. "-ask you-"

"Ask me what?" The thumb slid away, and Lucius's shaft and sheath again took its place. He worked his hips gently forward and back, coaxing himself further out right there alongside the base of Lua's tail, driving the younger wolf mad with desire. Before long he couldn't resist pushing up and back, trying to angle himself right to get that tapered tip nestled up against him, to get him sinking in...

"About your - wife, I don't want to... insult Lady Azura, and-"

-and then it did. Tension and pressure, mounting, peaking - then releasing a little bit as the other wolf began to sink slowly, steadily up into him, the sensation pushing the breath right out from between Lua's parted lips. The Doriani shivered and slid his claws along the smooth stone of the table, at once bracing himself against it just as he continued to push slowly back. The effect on Lucius was also palpable to him through their bond, anticipation stirring with excitement and disbelief, nervousness with a slightly guilty, self-indulgent desire, all coming to fruition here, peaking as Lua intentionally squeezed back around him.

The younger wolf arched his back and let out a hiss of pleasure, eyes closed and nerves sparking, sizzling with the reality of what was happening. This wasn't any of his fantasies or daydreams: he swallowed, pushed himself back, and felt Lucius throb inside of him, the rim of his tailhole clenching back in turn, the warmth and grip of the other wolf's paw settling in along his shoulder.

"Don't worry about that," Lucius purred into his ear. The weight and pressure him leaning over Lua from behind caused him to sink in steadily further, the contours of his shaft stretching, sliding, sinking, filling him up. He wished he could have seen it first, but - something told him that would soon come, as well. "You have nothing to fear from her."

"But - what about you? Certainly this will -ah­-"

_ _

Above and behind him, Lucius angled his hips slowly yet firmly forward, both paws now running their way down towards Lua's waist. There he held for a moment, letting the natural motion of their bodies draw him in deeper, until... there was no further to go, and Lua felt his rump press up against the other wolf's hips. Another twitch and throb, echoed in himself; he gritted his teeth, swallowed, adjusted how he lay on the table, pushed back again, and gasped at the sensation of deep, electric pleasure that this sent through him.

"It will not," Lucius said simply, those his voice shook a bit with the strain of their motion. Lua noticed he had to pause, catch his breath, and then let it back out as a little shivering sigh. "I have nothing to fear from her either."

"Are you sure? I think maybe I-"

One of Lucius's paws abruptly wrapped around Lua's mouth. Surprised, the younger wolf straightened up and perked his ears, though the movement caused him to push back against the other wolf, which made him shudder and arch his back again, which in turn led to him melting into place there. Hot, tense breath washed down over Lucius's fingers, and before long Lua felt his body lurching and bouncing in slow, steady rhythm. Each time Lucius pressed into him, that same pressure and pleasure vibrated out through his body, and he puffed another breath down over his fingers which themselves had started to slacken as well.

The very idea of the taboo, and the knowledge that they were doing this likely without Azura's knowledge - even despite Lucius's repeated assurances, which counted more from him than from anyone else - added another little spark underneath everything else. Lua gripped the edge of the table and pushed himself up and back, Lucius's paw dropping from his mouth, to his throat, and then down to around his chest again; teeth gritted and eyes shut, he brought one of his own paws up over, halfway bent forward so that he could still buck backwards against him.

"Hah-" Mouth hanging open, Lua turned his head to the side just far enough to catch sight of Lucius's muzzle. The other wolf's eyes fluttered open and locked in on his. "Lucius-"

And then he closed them again, the one paw moving down to his waist, the other coming down and forward to wrap firmly around the base of Lua's fully hard shaft. The Doriani sucked in another breath and straightened up, reflexively squeezing around Lucius as he did so, only for him to bury himself beneath his tail yet again.

It felt amazing. There was something tingling along their bond, basic and nonintrusive as it was, that magnified every sensation that went through either of their bodies: whenever the Alenari pushed forward and hilted inside of him, balls swinging forward and nudging against his own, Lua felt first and foremost the sensation of his length pressing deep and stretching through his tailhole - but then he also felt, deeper and further away, the tingling residue of Lucius's own pleasure vibrating out through their link, echoing, ricocheting back in on itself. Each time Lua pushed back, Lucius's paw slid up along his length; each time he tugged forward, it drew back, fingers wrapping around the base where his knot would form, pushing his sheath back a bit further, lower fingers coming in to cup his sack and hold him there. Each thrust forward sent a bounce through his body, now steadily picking up in pace and urgency, until both his breaths and Lucius's puffed out one after the other, the gentle slapping of hips to rump underlining each movement.

Soon Lua stood upright, thighs halfway braced on the edge of the table while Lucius thrust into him from behind, each push sending another wave bouncing up through his body. He gasped and panted and grunted and moaned, head turning to one direction and then the other, one paw moving to hold over Lucius's, the other undecided between his belly, his chest, his shaft, the side of the table, somewhere else. Normally when he was on his own it took all kinds of energetic motion, a constant, fervid stroking, back and forth with his other paw squeezing tight around his sack or the base of his sheath - but with the other wolf here, pressing into him, filling him up, he found those same sharp, invigorating pulses to rush through him at the slightest touch.

Lucius squeezed behind his half-swollen knot; he slipped his fingers up along his shaft, base to tip and then back; he ran his paw down to cup Lua's sack in his palm, massaging and rubbing gently, then returned to his steady rhythm. Eventually the pressure of Lucius's weight against him from above and behind drove him forward again, so that he _had_to brace his paws on the corner of the table to hold himself up. Every time he closed his eyes he imagined he could see what was happening from Lucius's point of view, with his own shoulders bunched up and back, his head held at an angle, his tail hiked at the base before his hips, and then the way he bounced and rocked forward and back.

Once it started, he genuinely could not tell whether the peak had started to stir within himself or Lucius behind him. Perhaps it was both: each of them tightened up and came closer together, breath hissing, voices trickling out in half-issue moans, ears back... and then Lucius gasped, bent forward over Lua, and wrapped an arm around his chest, yanking the younger wolf back up against him. The sudden movement sent a wave of surprise through him, but his body responded before his mind quite caught up: the extra pressure there, the heat and sensation of Lucius buried to the knot inside of him while a pair of fingers and his thumb squeezed around the base of his own.

There was a sudden tight shuddering from behind him, Lucius's entire body shaking with the force of his finish. He pressed himself deep beneath Lua's tail, thrust, thrust again, slid halfway out, then pressed in again, finally allowing the other wolf to feel the warm slickness of his load there inside of him, slowly dribbling out in the spaces between his own clenching - which themselves increased, came closer together, peaked... and then Lua was the one with his head tossed back and body shaking, fingers entwining with Lucius's along the middle of his chest, his hips rocking, swinging all their own with the sheer force of the sensation.

"Hah - ah-" He gasped, swallowed, bucked again, and again - and through half-lidded eyes just barely saw the thick spurts streak out across the surface of the table, one after another after another. Every time he came forward and then sank back onto Lucius, the heat of the older wolf's length sank right back up into him with a steady, wet schlk, forcing another wave through his body until, finally spent, Lua let himself slump in his grasp, one arm reaching up and back to touch Lucius's shoulder in a way he never had before.

The other wolf leaned forward against him, rocking Lua's hips up along the table. His paws came down as well, drifting away from his body and simply holding there. "Yes?"

Still he could feel the rhythmic pulses of effort ricocheting through him, warm and dizzying and delightful. Lua nodded. "Y-yes..."

"Can you stand?" Lucius leaned in, nipped at Lua's neck, then without touching him, angled his hips and started to draw back out of him - which sent yet another shiver bouncing through his body. This time the wet, sucking sound bounced around the room, even as Lua tensed and clenched against it: he could feel those thick drips working their way out of him, rolling down the back of his sack and plopping onto the ground beneath.

Lua dug his fingers into the table, held himself there, and nodded. "Y-yes. I should be able t- ah..." His legs shuddered beneath him and tossed him forward, and even immediately after his finish, he still felt a stir of arousal at having his rump held out towards Lucius's body. Panting softly, he managed to pull himself upright again. He turned to look over his shoulder. "Lucius..."

And there it was. The Alenari had taken a step and a half back, chest heaving with slightly unsteady breathing. There was no real muscle definition to see along his body and beneath his naturally thicker fur, but still he maintained a good shape and figure - and the rich, glistening red flesh of his still fully-hard shaft hanging at an angle away from his body, sack stirring gently underneath with a notable puff of pubic fur lining the middle... Lua licked his lips, swallowed, and very nearly dropped to his knees right then and there, were he not unsure of his ability to get back up afterwards.

One of Lucius's ears flicked. Lua's did the same. Like a taut wire plucked, the residual pleasure continued to bounce back and forth along their bond, keeping each of them breathless for longer than they had expected. The older wolf nodded over towards the table. "Good study session?"

"Study..." Lua frowned, then perked and looked over. There along the lower portion of the book, still open at the head of the table, a damp, cloudy spot had started to soak into the edge of the yellow pages. "Oh, gods. Oh, gods-"

"Lua." Lucius came up alongside him, and for a moment the younger wolf was struck with the absurdity of the situation, each of them standing fully naked, fully hard, side by side with Lucius putting on his mentor voice again. "Careful application of magic is one of the most reliable methods for artifact restoration. What is this if not water and-"

"Okay! Okay. I get it." He rolled his eyes and tried, in vain at first, to focus himself. Perhaps this was Lucius's way of showing him that this wouldn't change the way things were between them on the surface, that they could still maintain their prior relationship and arrangements, and... and now all of the several hours spent locked in a room, just the two of them, away from the eyes and ears of everyone else while they went through their rigorous studies and practices, and...

And a pulse of energy came through their link, tugging him back to the present. Lucius wrapped an arm around his waist, focused his intent through the other wolf, guided him forward... and together they removed that stain from the pages, the shadow retreating as though it were evaporating in the hot sun.

Lua let a breath out afterwards, then slumped forward again. "What about the - rest of this?"

"The rest?"

He motioned down to the surface of the massage table, and the few thick, distinct streaks that stretched out over the surface. Amusement tingled; Lucius breathed a little laugh.

"The attendants will clean it up," he said. "They always do."

"Well, sure, but - won't they know that we-"

"Lua." Warm, strong, slightly damp paws clamped down on his shoulders and turned him to face the other wolf. So close to him, here in this room, his nose tingled with the sharp mixture of both of their scents, Lucius's musk so close to what he had expected from his fantasies, tinted by that personal knowledge leaking over from the other side of the link. "There's nothing to worry about. And you can believe me on that."

The Doriani looked back and forth between his pale blue eyes, swallowed, and nodded. "Yes. I know."

"Would you like me to help you dress? You seem a little bit..." Again Lucius smirked. "Shaky."

Lua thought about it, rolled that scenario around in his head, and then assented, still halfway supporting himself where he could. In another few minutes he had his head tilted back and a sigh of sweet enjoyment trickling out from his lips while Lucius's paws worked his clothing back on. Pants drawn up his legs, fingers firm as they drew the fabric over short, thick fur, then closing in on all the right spots to make him shiver and gasp all over again; then shirt in over his paws, arms, and shoulders, working the fastenings down the front, one paw leading along bare fur while the other worked; then up and along his throat, just for the touch and sensation.

He breathed a little, shaky laugh, then echoed through Lucius behind him. The older wolf took a step back, held his arms out to his sides, and looked down across himself.

"Lua. It's only fair if you return the favor, now. Wouldn't you say?"

He would. The Doriani turned and looked him over, natural reticence urging him to avert his gaze and blush - so he intentionally, deliberately pushed this down and let himself look. Lucius shifted and adjusted his posture accordingly, letting the other wolf finally drink deep of what he had fantasized for the two months and change that he had been here.

So, finally, he let himself indulge. Lua turned to step over to the shelf where Lucius had placed his clothing, then upon returning actually did drop to his knees, move to slip one leg up and then the other, and then paused in place there, nose twitching constantly with the weight and warmth of the Alenari's musk so heavily tinted with his own. By now his shaft had retreated most of the way back into his sheath, though as Lua drew his pants up his legs he made sure to lean forward and scoop his nose up there, right along the space between the side of his sack and his inner thigh.

Lucius's pants, only halfway up, dropped right back down to his ankles then, while the younger wolf dug deeper into place there. He closed his eyes, swallowed, and nuzzled up, then to the side and down, letting that little ruff of thicker fur tickle at his nose and his senses; and then he drew back, let his hot breath out in a tense puff, and came up again. All it took was two fingers hooked around the back of Lucius's sheath to bring him level with his muzzle, the extra pressure along supple wet skin there causing him to jiggle and slide further out again, glistening red flesh tickling at his nose as it came.

Lua swallowed, licked his lips, swallowed again, and flicked his tongue out to draw it up along the revealed length. Immediately it twitched and bounced, a little glob of sticky wetness dripping out along his nose; he lapped this up as well, then gave another lick, and another, and wrapped his lips up around the other wolf's tapered tip, and only then tugged his pants the rest of the way up.

Lucius's shirt buttoned in front as well. Lua slunk around him in back to pull the sleeves in over one arm and then the other, then came around to the front again to do it up all the while Lucius watched him, through those same uncanny blue-white eyes. Then he grinned and flicked his tongue out over his lips, and Lua nearly expected him to kiss him right then and there.

He didn't, though. The older wolf took a half-step to the side, righted the creases in his clothing, and motioned first to the book where it rested on the table and then towards the door. "Are you ready?"

Lua bustled over to pick up the book, reflexively giving it another look-over to be sure he hadn't stained anywhere else across it. "Ready?"

"To go back." Lucius caught his eye. "You may have the day off, but I don't. The Queen is expecting me back." He stepped towards the door.

"Ah." Lua waited a moment, then followed after him. His tail had started to sting a little, pulsing each time he clenched, but it was quite an enjoyable situation. "I suppose I will... return to my quarters, then. Get cleaned up, maybe lie down a bit..." ...enjoy the memory all over again.

The temperature out in the hallway felt noticeably cooler than it had in the room. Lucius strode alongside him, smooth and easy, not a single sign of what he had just done showing anywhere within him, save for the slight tinge of another virile scent atop his own. Any other lupine would easily be able to pick that out.

"I'm sure you will," he said, with a flick of the tail. Lua bustled after him.

As they passed through the next private room down the hall, though, he noticed that the door stood partially ajar. Despite himself, and knowing what he might see in there, the younger wolf turned and looked - and caught a quick flash of brightly contrasting fur, fiery orange against stark charcoal-black. Golden eyes flashed up, first at Lucius before him and then at Lua himself, and then the vixen was gone behind the partition again.

Lucius made no mention of it, but he certainly noticed. In fact, judging by the impression that vibrated between the two of them, just barely hidden behind a hastily constructed shield, he had expected it. Had known it.

Lua frowned. That was interesting.