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"Yes. I know. And then what?"

_ _

Lucius felt himself getting flustered even as he remembered the conversation. There were very few in the world who could draw such a reaction out of him, and of course he had made the executive decision to _marry_one of them - Azura with her bright eyes and sly, knowing smile, watching the way he picked around his dinner while she calmly, easily went about her own, across the table from him. The fox and wolf pair had sat at the table out on the balcony, the chilly air of deepening night providing a star contrast to the steady, humid heat of the bathhouse just a few hours before.

She had been there to see it, of course. All of it, through the little hideaway partition between the two rooms specially reserved for instances like this. They had both made sure of that before making the arrangements, as Lucius had a fairly confident idea of what it was Lua desired out of him at this point - and was just as confident that his student knew the same of himself, if not more. Should they have told the younger Doriani before? Should he have alerted the headstrong wolf that he would be watched?

"Well," Azura had said while laying out their dinners that night, "I've kept an eye on him. Not as much as you, of course, but it certainly seems to me that he suspects. You and I, Lu, we play our fun little games..." and here she leaned in to place a gentle kiss to his cheek, "...and those who lose interest when they find out the truth... tend to not stick around." There she gave her fork a dismissive wave. Each had had their own share of that kind of tryst: Mercutio, Alira, Rora for her, then Marcus, Alaz, and also Mercutio for him, where the interest and passion angled more towards the fact that they were each someone else's rather than for Azura or Lucius themselves. "But Lua? He's sharp. You don't need me to tell you that. I think he already knows, or at least has some idea, of what's going on."

_ _

"You sound like you've spent a lot of time with him," Lucius remarked, over a sip of tea. Bayshoot provided an excellent start to the day as well as a great wind-down, and the flavor just seemed to get better every time he drank it. "Don't tell me you're pursuing the same kind of relationship?"

_ _

"Not as much as you. And - no." The way she said it had that distinct glimmer in her eye, that smug smirk and sparkle of amusement... though still Lucius could feel through their own informal bond, itself far, far_different from what he had established with Lua, that his wife held full respect for the two wolves and whatever might be developing between them. _"Not yet, that is. But anyhow, we digress - what happened next, Lucius?"

_ _

"Lucius..."

_ _

"Lucius."

The Alenari blinked and shook himself out of thoughts and memories, his mind and body immediately snapping into the long-trained rituals to prepare himself for his work. Upon Scheherazade's establishment as the heir to the throne all this years ago, and thus his own to becoming her adviser in the future, he had spent countless hours and days honing the discipline to keep his official mindset and his personal mindset separate and different.

And yet here he was, sitting back in one of the Queen's chambers with her, thinking back over a conversation he had had with his wife, wherein she had made him tell her word for word what had happened with his paramour just earlier that day. In fact, if he let himself dive too deep and think about it, he could still pick up the residual tingles of indulgent pleasure throughout his body and loins: there was just something about the bond he had with that damn white wolf...

"Lucius?"

Again he shook himself and sat upright, careful not to let his surprise prick his claws into the soft silk of the cushions. Scheherazade actually loathed the vast, pompous royal chambers that her parents had used and upon her coronation had refused to move her belongings over, instead opting to retain her original, smaller space. Still the servants and cabinet had elected to furnish her with the best of the best of the best, though, as their Queen... and now as Lucius looked across and around everything, Lua's words still rang in his mind.

_ _

Look at our prosperity. Look at our success. When one person indulges, another suffers. That's the way of things.

_ _

He lifted his head and looked across the room to where the Queen stood, decked out in the casual, breathable garb she tended to wear beneath her regalia for public appearances. Much of her time away from the courts, the grand hall, the cabinet chamber, everywhere else that held power and office, she spent in the courtyard sparring with the palace armsmaster or his various assistants. It very well might be bad form, but she also chose to keep the great, broad axe she favored in her sessions here in her chambers with her, and would often pick it up and practice her form and stance while having these one-on-one discussions with her adviser.

The wolf could see her eyeing it now, in fact. She raised her eyebrows towards him in expectation, and he did the same in turn before reaching over to the platter about which he had already forgotten. Lucius's favored bayshoot tea was a relic from his upbringing, a distinctly Alenari beverage that had drawn him to his wife: Scheherazade, born and raised here in the depths of the Maldethi desert, was partial towards the rich, smoky juice pulped from sunbaked tuwa plants, and she liked hers prepared particularly thick. All these years together, and it still made Lucius's face scrunch up when he sipped it.

"What do you think?"

So he took a sip, suppressed the reaction as best he could, and then caressed the silver cup in his entwined palms. It was also strange to him that she preferred the beverage chilled.

"I don't know."

The lioness breathed a gentle scoff, her paintbrush tail flicking out behind her. She swung the heavy axe away from the wall and balanced the point atop its head against the floor, where she had long ago removed the thick-pile rug and replaced it with dense, resilient hide. Once in place there she rested her weight atop the haft, slowly spinning back and forth so that the vast blade came close yet never quite sliced across her bare ankles.

"Why's that?"

Lucius sat back in the seat a little bit further and lifted the cup again, just to rest his lip against the raised silver. The act of imbibing in itself could be therapeutic and meditative, even if the beverage was not. He paused there, closed his eyes, drew in a slow breath that nearly made him splutter and cough for the smoky taint of the tuwa, then let it back it out. Hidden up there in the back of his mind, distant yet ever present, he felt Lua plying himself hard at his studies for the day, over in the back halls of the academy. It seemed he hade made some friends among the students there. That was good: surely they could instruct him in the other types of magic better than Lucius.

"I..." tilted his head against the back of the chair, held there a moment, then opened his eyes, looking up at the distant ceiling of carven stone and stained glass. "Truthfully, I wasn't listening."

So far there were only two people in his life with whom he felt he could be wholly honest, without playing the mental gymnastics and games to get around his spirit-bonded restriction - and, oddly enough, those happened to be the two women closest to him in his position. The Queen's muzzle split in a wide grin and her tail lashed again, and in one smooth, comfortable movement she swiped her axe up and brought the business end roughly level with her head, held at an angle away from her body. The thing weight easily have as much as Lucius himself did, yet still Scheherazade freely danced with it as though it were any other partner. Even so, though, he could see the taut muscles tightening and bunching in her shoulders and upper back, throughout her arms and belly. A great space had been cleared in the middle of this room of her chambers for the purpose of the practice, her toeclaws _tck-tck-tck_ing across the dried wood mat as she stepped and dove.

"That's-" Even though he sat at the far other end of the room Lucius still braced himself and leaned back when Scheherazade made the swing. The woosh of the huge blade sliced straight through the air. "-understandable. You've got a lot on your plate - arguably as much as I do, I'd think. We have no king, but we have an adviser, and until that point comes-" Here she paused in her motion to gesture at Lucius, one finger pointing straight down. "-If - that point comes, I expect you to stay as on top of public matters as I have to be."

"Yes, yes, I know. I understand." Anyone else might have understood Scheherazade's fascination with her weapon as a threat. Lucius found the movements comfortable and soothing, admirable and beautiful. "It's just..."

"What? Wife troubles?" One more swing and half-turn, and the lioness used the momentum to bounce the axe up and over her shoulder to rest upon the other. Panting softly, she tossed her head, wiped at her forehead with her other paw, and peered down at the sitting wolf. "And here I thought you two were perfect for each other. Were we not so close in age, I'd honestly think about naming her as my heir. Although I suppose I am much more likely to be the target of an assassination..."

Lucius scoffed. He couldn't imagine himself being king. Or, rather, king consort. "You are also," he said, "the most likely to _repel_an assassination. As for the issue, it's... well, it's Lua."

That certainly got her attention. Scheherazade looked up from where she was inspecting the gemstone set into the end of the axe's haft. "Lua? Your assistant?"

"Yes. He is, ah..." To gather his thoughts the wolf leaned in and took another sip of the tuwa. If anything, this just muddled things further. "-ah. Assisting me in... more than just that."

The Queen straightened up, tossed her head back, and let her tail lash about her legs. "Oh, gods." Here she tapped her axe against the floor a few times. "Again? Lucius, this isn't distracting you, is it?"

No, he wanted to say, it is not, fraught with memories of the other night, the feelings and sensations, everything that still lashed and bounced back and forth in his head and made him surreptitiously cross one leg over the other - but instead what came out was, "Perhaps a little bit. It goes further than that, though."

"I'm listening."

"I believe we have spoken about how his potential is unlike anything seen by myself or the Archmage of the academy, particularly regarding Spirit. In fact, we don't think this has been seen in all of written history."

Scheherazade rested her chin atop the base of her axe, body angling to accompany the reduced height. Her tail stuck up and out behind her. "So what you're telling me," she rumbled, "is that he can get you off just by thinking about it?"

There were also only two people who could entirely _fluster_him, and these were precisely the same individuals. The Alenari tried to hide his blush behind another sip of the thick, foul concoction, but now he was _thinking_about it, and given what had happened that first night...

Unsurprisingly the lioness could feel where his mind was going, her grin widening in turn. "Ah. That makes sense. And Azura knows about this?"

"She's in on it..."

"Of course she is. What a woman. Anyway - what about Lua? His potential?"

"I'm just thinking, ah - looking at the brewing issue in the... mountains to the west..."

"Ah. So you were listening. That's actually where I was going with the subject, too; I'll discuss it with the Archmage, and we'll see what may happen. Right now it's a situation where the most prudent option is to wait and watch..." And she swept her axe up again, once more bringing it around in a wide, controlled arc that still made Lucius's short whiskers flutter. The wolf leaned back out of the way again. "...and hopefully it _stays_that way. If he's as much a boon as you two say he is, then I'd hate to post him to something so potentially dangerous. The Archmage could inform you on it better than I, but we just do not know what is happening up there. Can _you_feel it?"

"Feel what?"

Scheherazade held her posture a moment longer, then lowered her axe down to a more comfortable position in front of her. She strode over towards the western window of the room. "Coming down from the mountain peak, far out there. The mages on my cabinet are telling me intelligence from Meris says there's something strange happening there, something unnatural." She looked back over to where he sat again. "We're waiting on the report from the mage who carried out the initial investigation, which should be here sometime within the coming weeks. When that happens... I'll reconvene with the Archmage and with you, as Lua's personal mentor and trainer, and we can discuss our options then."

Something weird. Something unnatural. At once Lucius's heart thrummed with mixed excitement and nervousness, but - why the latter? This was exactly the kind of thing that he had spent all this time preparing Lua for. This could be his first step to establishing himself as something more than just the assistant to the royal adviser.

"Until then, though," she went on over his silence, "keep on doing what you're doing. But remember - business first, Lucius."

"Yes, yes, I know." He set his cup and saucer back on the table and moved to rise. "You don't need to remind me of that."

Scheherazade's eyes glittered in appreciation. "I know I don't. I'd be lost without you. All of Maldeth would, truthfully. The rest of the day is yours; we don't have any more hearings until the day after tomorrow."

~ ~ ~

"Magic is a constantly evolving science, threaded through with rumor, mysticism, occultism, and downright superstition. It is not only your expectation but your obligation as well, as a student of this academy, to break down these barriers and establish in truth and reality the unknown workings of our world and existence..."

_ _

Lucius felt the whispers of the lesson as they rumbled throughout the nearby space, his eyes closed and arms crossed before his chest. To anyone else it would look as though the adviser had fallen asleep in his seat, here in the sandstone library pushed up to the rear of the main academy building, when in reality he had put himself to focus, reaching out across the mystical sub-layer of reality upon which all of the magical threads worked and intermingled. Even to his own muted senses he could feel the waves of Fire pulsing down from the sun overhead, the wisps of Air carried along the wind, the whispers of Water in the humidity thick from the oasis and river, the Earth solidly woven into the walls and floor all around... then the few different pulsing beacons of Spirit, first from the distant glass pillars and then from every living thing around him.

If he focused, if he centered himself, reached out, and latched onto these little disturbances and waves throughout the Weft, then he could piece together little bits of thoughts and sensations, like fragments of a dream floating on by. From his wife, to whom he was emotionally bonded, and from his Queen and student, to whom he was magically, _spiritually_bonded, these impressions came fuller and brighter, like when another conversation suddenly intruded on his own. He could feel Azura's and Scheherazade's presences stretched off into the palace in the distance, little rumbles of awareness too muddled and indistinct to truly determine... and then Lua here, sitting directly across from him at the table, was a dark void.

Thought shielding was by no means a strictly magical technique: neither Azura nor Scheherazade had any capability whatsoever, and yet they could both perform it admirably well enough for their positions of power. It was just an exercise of the mind, a method of passive, unconscious meditation that also assisted with sleep and memory. Lua had latched onto the simple exercise and practiced it in his time between sessions, and it felt as though he had such a grasp on his own magical potential that he worked some of that into it as well, needing the active presence of mind of consciously maintain it. Some of the more advanced students here at the academy could do things like Fire mages "tying off" strands to create persistent lanterns of flame, or Air mages being able to wrap themselves in a steady cloak of wind to insulate themselves from the harsh conditions of the desert, but Lucius himself knew he could never hope to achieve the skill necessary to do so.

Yet again he was reminded of how greatly Lua eclipsed his own capabilities. It was at once threatening yet invigorating, knowing that if all went well - and he doubted it wouldn't - the realm would be in good hands for when his own time had passed. Capabilities in the type _literally_unheard of throughout history: things with which Lucius's mentors had struggled, Lua could do with hardly a second thought. The material for his studies and practice had become useless to him within barely three months of his arrival, and now much of his lessons were self-led, with him investigating and testing new techniques with his "teacher". Lucius was truly in awe, and proud to stand alongside this young Doriani at Scheherazade's side.

He had high hopes for the next era in Maldeth's history.

Across from him, pale blue-white eyes flashed up over the rim of the book Lua was reading, and that shield slipped a little bit. Warmth and familiarity spread out from within, easily encompassing and overtaking everything else; the two had tried to establish a strict, formal business relationship during their active hours and reserve the indecency, so to say, for afterwards - but being so closely linked in thought and emotion made this difficult.

Especially when he could tell that Lua hadn't _actually_been reading the book, and instead had yet again gotten lost in thoughts and fantasies. Now the other wolf's tendrils of thought and magic reached forward, not for the first time Lua showing Lucius something new about their shared skill and capability. He felt those little wisps, these half-formed unconscious impressions tickling through him, like soft fingers caressing his chin and drawing him forward...

...and then he found that he really was leaning forward, his body moving on its own - or, rather, at Lua's gentle insistence, suggestions sent to the nerves and muscles to make them move as if by reflex. Surprise and shock jetted through Lucius at first, though these quickly melded away to amusement instead, each of these changes passing through to Lua across from him. The younger wolf smirked, tilted his head to the side, then gave a little wave of his paw - that was another one of those rumors mentioned in the academy's introductory speech, still faintly palpable as the new initiates received it in the other room; as far as experienced mages could discern, the only link between physical movements with manipulating the Weft was simply psychosomatic - and Lucius felt himself drawn forward further.

Lua closed his eyes first, and then Lucius did as well... and then the cover of the book thumped to the stone surface of the table, and Alenari and Doriani both gently twitched, and then their lips met in a slow, soft kiss. Lucius held there, then tilted his head to the other side a bit, then parted his lips for his tongue to make way, and only afterwards realized that Lua's "compulsion", if that was the word for it, had since dissipated. Footpaws came forward and brushed together beneath the table, and then there was a paw caressing his cheek like he had imagined, and then another holding him in place while the other wolf started to suck at his tongue, drawing it further into his mouth, wrapping and twisting his own around it, letting little breaths puff out from his nose or trickle from the corners of his lips.

Then there was another twitch through Lua's lips against Lucius's own, and now the Alenari felt that same ghostly sensation rippling down his body again, this time like fingers pushing through the fur of his chest and belly and working further down, unbound by the physical restrictions of clothing. A stirring within his sheath, a squeeze and tug, a little shiver, a shudder... his eyes fluttered halfway open and rolled up, and he breathed a quiet moan directly into Lua's mouth - and then the other wolf drew back out of the kiss and swiftly took his book back up, though those eyes remained on Lucius before him.

The sensations did not cease, though. Lucius grunted and squeezed his knees together as it went on, the front of his pants starting to tent with his growing arousal, coaxed so easily out of his sheath without any sort of real, physical touch. His nerves kept on shifting and firing in rhythm, convincing enough that if he closed his eyes it really felt as though there was a paw pumping across him, slick and soft - yet still different in its own distinct way, strengthening when he clenched his muscles, continuing when he tried to relax. It was already so hard to focus, but when he did he could just barely make out the delicate yet precise strands of Spirit magic working across him through Lua before him, his student manipulating them so deftly without any sign of conscious effort.

Lucius gasped and bit down on his lower lip, now feeling a distinct tension inside of him that made his hips reflexively thrust and rock; Lua cleared his throat quietly and turned the page.

"You might want to look busy with something," he purred, "or someone might notice."

The elder wolf flashed what he hoped was a sharp gaze at Lua, as that was no way to speak to his mentor, but then lost his composure beneath another burst of sweet, indulgent pleasure. He sucked in a shivering gasp through gritted teeth, curled his tail against his body, squeezed his knees and ankles together, and thrust forward until he felt the rim of his sheath tug against his slowly swelling knot. He shuddered again, gasped, and then had to put in quite a bit of effort to keep himself from bucking against the back of the chair.

Skillful indeed, if a bit impertinent.

~ ~ ~

The Alenari sighed and rubbed the bridge of his snout between a forefinger and thumb, tail flicking around through the space in the chair behind him. Lua's already impressive skill, increasing ever quicker the longer that went on, meant that his mentor had to push himself nearer and nearer his own boundaries and limits during their lessons to try to provide some semblance of education to him. Perhaps, Lucius thought, wearily reestablishing his mental shield even though this step was more a formality than anything, I may have to pass on my position sooner than expected...

Presumptuous though he was, Lua still had much to learn, particularly in the realms of bureaucracy and the political waltz. He was still young: even during their lesson today, spent almost entirely in silence as the two practiced their communication, their shielding, and other such necessities, Lucius had been able to detect the little thoughts and ideas milling around in the back of his student's mind, this being one of the rare times when Lua _hadn't_wanted him to find them. A blush had heated his cheeks when he felt his mentor detect them, and the babbling apology and embarrassment had been quite genuine.

He leaned back in the chair, the younger wolf's footsteps and presence receding quietly down the hallway outside, and folded his arms behind his head. Four months now since Lua's arrival, and the world around them had continued churning regardless of the potential implications of this change. There would be the festival coming up soon, and then the agreements to work out with Alenar to the northwest, Mora to the southwest, and Dorian to the east, which meant ambassadors to send, diplomats to appease, bribes to handle. The changing of the seasons always brought with it more activity, but luckily Lua's advancing skill meant that he had already begun seeking out other mentors down at the academy to hone his other magical abilities, and to better establish in him the fundamentals that Lucius's teaching lacked.

He was going to become something wonderful, Lucius knew. The adviser could not tell a lie, of course; he straightened up, swallowed, wet his lips, and moved his mouth to say the words to himself, Lua Szaro shall go down in history-

But found that he could not. There was just too much left undecided. Skills and capabilities as they were, Lua was just simply not yet _ready_to move on to anything else yet. He would have years ahead of him in education and refinement, perhaps taken under one of the Queen's cabinet to pick up a particular school of thought and research, all the while reporting back to Lucius as his spirit-bonded mentor... his mentor who had already run out of lessons for him.

Yet again the wolf leaned forward to rest his muzzle in his paw. There were methods to properly remove the bond, and while he doubted that someone of his own ability could execute it - he had needed to enlist the help of some of the academy's top students to perform the binding ceremony, and even then Lua had had to step in as well - he did not yet know if it would be necessary. And then there was the brewing situation in the mountains to the west as well, these rumors, this evidence of a rogue wild mage, devastatingly powerful, threatening local caravans and harassing other such groups.

Just my luck, Lucius figured. I'm constantly surrounded by people far more dangerous than myself. There was to be another meeting later in the week with the Archmage of the academy to finalize the choices for the investigative party to head up to the mountain, identify the truth of the rumors, and do what they could to resolve the situation. Not the first time something like this had happened, but for some reason the thought of it sent a cold chill down his spine and tickled at his hackles. Something wasn't right about the entire situation.

Something wasn't...

The wolf lifted his head again, elbow still resting on the table, and frowned. Something tickled along his bond with Lua, little shivers of sensation vibrating through the link from nearby: he was still on this floor of the palace, and this wing. The precise specifics escaped him, but Lucius could tell that Lua was nervous.

Lua, whose confidence oozed into just about everything he did, was nervous. The shielding around his end of the link shuddered and wavered, threatening to break before his natural skill snapped it back into place. Something was going on. Perhaps more swiftly than he had expected, Lucius pushed back from the table and left the room, swinging the door shut behind himself. Like a lodestone he was drawn along their bond, leading him down the long hallway and around the corner, then over through one of the libraries in this portion of the palace, then around again, and - found that he had come to his wife's study, where she received and looked over and tabulated the documents for nearly all of the imports coming into the city. The door stood slightly ajar, and from inside, Azura's voice:

"...oh, don't you worry, it's not poisoned. See?" Then a pause, and another flutter through the back of Lucius's mind. Azura had recognized his presence outside the room. "Go ahead."

_ _

"Oh, ah - thank you, my lady," now Lua's slightly strained response. "I wasn't - wasn't thinking that. It's just, I... wasn't expecting you to, uh. Accost me, like this. Is there something - oh, thank you... something I may help you with?"

Lucius closed his eyes, took in a breath, sighed, then bumped his head back against the wall. Reaching out with tendrils of Spirit would alert his student to his presence as well, but with both of them there he could just barely piece together their relative positions and poses in the room. Lua sat forward in the luxurious armchair, bolt upright with his ears splayed and hackles raised, wineglass clutched awkwardly in his paws, and sleek, confident Azura wafted over from where she topped off her own glass. For a second her gaze flashed over to the door. She had left it open on purpose.

"My husband is quite pleased with you, you know."

Confidence slipping, shield wavering, Lucius felt Lua's sudden suspicion and fear. Despite his feelings for the young wolf he still couldn't help but smirk. Azura was at heart a merchant and politician: it was not for love alone that the two maintained their marriage. Constantly surrounded by people more dangerous than myself.

"Y-yes, uh - thank you. My lady. I'm trying my best, and I'm trying not to let it go to my head, what everyone's saying..."

_ _

"Oh? And what is that?"

_ _

"That I'm - unusually skilled in Spirit magic. It's... not something spoken about in Dorian, where I'm from."

_ _

"Yes. I remember the stories. The Blood Queen."

_ _

A seed of relief took root, quiet and unsure, as the conversation drifted away from himself. Lucius felt Lua shift, then make himself take another sip of the wine. "Yes. And then - the other academy instructors, I've heard them speaking, too. My skills in the other types are not quite as remarkable, but still well-grounded, and... I'm a good student. I apply myself, and I do my best to study and review, and-"

_ _

"And you're a hell of a lover."

_ _

There it shattered. Spirit magic, driven by passion and depth of feeling, could be galvanized or stymied by intense emotion either way, and sudden shock and surprise was enough to break even Lua's immense depth of ability. Lucius had to clap a paw to his mouth to cover the gasp and grunt at the sudden wave of sensations and thoughts that flooded into him, straining not to let his own awareness make its way along the bond as well.

"I - my lady, I-"

_ _

"I hope you don't mind," Azura went on, now gliding over to the other side of the armchair. She, too, took another sip from her glass, slow and sweet and languid. "But I've been witness to most of your trysts with my dear Lucius. Well... some."

"I'm - I'm sorry, I was just-"

_ _

"Sorry? What for? You know, he rather enjoys having his sheath squeezed around his knot. In front of it, I mean, so that the skin swells... would you like me to show you?"

_ _

There was a moment of shocked silence. Lucius glanced down the hallway, then stepped quietly around to fit himself behind an alcove where he could still hear, and could still sense both of them.

"...Oh," Lua answered after a moment, shifting where he sat. "Well, I - can't exactly tell you no, can I?"

_ _

Azura scoffed and took another sip. "It is only to him you cannot tell a lie. Not I. Go ahead."

_ _

Silence again. Now there was interest and faint arousal thrumming beneath the shock and surprise, as Lua's mind started to wander. Lucius could tell that already he was thinking about running his paws up between his thighs, one wrapping around the root of his sheath while the other pinched it forward around his knot, squeezing and rubbing there, making the Alenari stiffen and grow while still sheathed... he swallowed, shifted behind this alcove, and then reached down with a paw of his own, slipping it gently beneath the waist of his pants.

Azura waved her glass in a slow circle. "You are willing?"

"Well, I mean - my lady, we just parted ways after a lesson; I do not know where he is..."

_ _

For the briefest of moments, one of the vixen's ears flicked back towards where Lucius crouched outside. If Lua noticed, he showed it neither in body language nor through their bond - and there was another thing in the back of the Alenari's mind to note down: he had the potential, and the sheer, raw power, but still did his abilities need honing.

This time the wolf's ears perked to the sound of glass on smooth stone as his wife set her glass down atop the nearby table. "That's quite alright," she purred, stepping closer to Lua; he straightened up, tail binding close to his body, and looked around. "I can still show you."

_ _

"My lady, I-"

"Come on. Scoot over. I ensured that chair has enough room for two..."

_ _

Lucius closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall behind him. Lua's insecurity and nervousness twitched through the link again and again, now cresting as Azura slid into the space beside him, holding there as he felt the warmth of her body and the scent of her perfume; then it dribbled back a bit when she rested an arm around his shoulder, then spiked again when her other came up to his belly, his chest, his throat. She tilted his head back, made him look up at her -

"You have my husband's eyes," she breathed, more effort put into the thought through her link with Lucius than into the actual words. A shiver rattled down both wolves' necks, fluffing out fur and making them straighten where they sat. "Lovely eyes. He sees himself in you."

Then, a little bit of amusement hissed through. "Yes,"_Lua murmured, and tilted his head away. Lucius felt the shiver that vibrated through his body then, as his wife exhaled across his bared skin and fur. _"I'd reckon he does..."

_ _

The joke did not escape Azura. She breathed a low chuckle, long yet carefully maintained claws teasing over the front of his throat, down over his collarbone, and then in to work at the buttons of his shirt, one by one. Lua licked his lips, swallowed, leaned back a little bit... spread his legs, though embarrassment started to burn beneath everything else as well.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that again."

_ _

Lua's eyes flashed halfway open. "Again?"

"Again..." A warm, strong paw - one that Lucius had felt in that same place along his own chest several times before - pushed Lua into the back of the chair, his shirt falling open to either side of him and showing the smooth snowcapped fur underneath. "He took you to the bathhouse, didn't he? A few times, now. The first was perhaps half a month ago, then again last week..."

_ _

"I thought - you were-"

_ _

Then suddenly a sharp, sweet intake of breath. Lucius's back arched just as Lua's did, when Azura's paw slid into his pants, found his stirring sheath, gave it a squeeze between warm fingerpads and her soft palm.

"He's shown me what you like. How to get you there, how to make you... squirm, and wriggle, and writhe, and gasp. Relax, dear. Just a little bit... like..."

And this time Lucius did not need their bond to be able to tell how good she made Lua feel, right then. A breathy, rumbling moan trickled out from the open door, warm and familiar enough to make the Alenari shiver as well; he spread his own legs, footpaws pushing up against the opposite wall with one paw holding his pants down out of the way while the other rubbed at his sheath, halfway hard already, delighting in his own memories of the pleasure as well as what he felt through the link, and what he knew to be happening between his wife and his apprentice just through this wall.

Azura lounged back as well, one arm draped around the young wolf's shoulders while the other now smoothly, rhythmically worked between his legs, one of his footpaws kicking every now and then or his tail twitching off the seat beside him. Lua rolled his head back, took in another slow breath, swallowed, shivered; Lucius felt almost disappointed in him, as with such proximity as this he really should be able to sense his presence through the link, but -

But... yet again another shudder pulsed through both wolves' bodies, Lucius jerking in place where he leaned against the wall. He swallowed, leaned forward, slid a paw down to cup and squeeze his sack while stroking himself with the other, eyes halfway closed to feel what Lua felt through him, while still listening to gently noises and rustles from within the room. Lua's soft panting and moaning, Azura's little giggles and encouragement:

"S_ee, Lucius quite enjoys... like this..."_

_ _

"Ah - my lady, that's - I - ah..."

_ _

"Relax. See? Pinch here, and squeeze, and..."

_ _

And Lucius's hips bucked in another reflexive twitch. Sometimes when he heard Lua gasp, he himself did as well; and then there was the flicking of his tail, and the curling of his toes, and the twitching of his ears, and - he thought he could feel his wife's paw trailing through the fur of his chest, in along his collar and then up his neck again, where she wrapped her fingers lightly around his throat...

Lua tilted his head to the side again and swallowed against her gentle grip. He could smell everything about her, from the perfume she wore to the soap she washed with, to the little tells and notes that showed her closeness to her husband, and then the brighter, richer vulpine bite that was purely and wholly her own. Lucius knew that mixture well, and his familiarity with it brought it along the link even clearer as such.

Even though his own sheath had slid back past his slightly swollen knot, Lucius could still imagine and somewhat feel the sensation of the slick, supple skin wrapped forward, where his wife now held it around Lua's. A forefinger and thumb pinching around the rim to keep it in place, squeezing and sliding back and forth; she brought her other arm down from around his shoulders and leaned in over him, at once pushing him back and drawing him more fully out into the air, running that paw up and down along his length. Lucius's hips bucked in turn with the phantom sensation; if he closed his eyes again he could almost imagine that she were doing this to him instead, with the way his nerves jolted and twitched and sizzled.

The adviser swallowed, lifted the hem of his shirt up to clasp it between his teeth, then braced both of his paws on the stone against which he leaned, claws scraping into the polished surface. His toes squeezed and curled and his tail lashed; he thrust forward, hard shaft bouncing before his belly and balls tugging up, then relaxed and squirted another little jet of energetic pre across the other side of the alcove, again and again.

"Doesn't that feel good?" Azura went on, breath warm in the Doriani's neckfur. She touched her nose to the line of his jaw, lips parting open, fangs coming close to his soft neck. "He also enjoys it if you..."

Then Lucius's head quirked to the side and the muscles in his throat clenched, the distinct sensation of four little pinpricks of sharp fangs settling gently into skin through fur. His cock bounced again, unloading a sticky spurt of pre across the wall and floor; his claws scraped through the rock underneath him, the noise tickling his ears.

Inside the room Lua moaned again, his knees coming together and then spreading back apart. He twisted his head underneath Azura's slowly strengthening grip, the vixen deliberately breathing though her mouth clamped around his neck, tasting his scent as much as he was hers. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, his breath swelling in his nostrils and throat; the hot, simmering sensation stirring in his loins, the growing pressure, the urgency, the need, all building up there so that both of them bucked their hips, leaned forward, and tightened all their muscles.

Lua jerked his head, and Lucius did too. One of them pulled a muscle; it was hard to tell which. "M-my lady," Lua managed through gritted teeth, "you - I'm-"

_ _

"Good boy," the vixen purred, voice muffled still in the thick fur of his neck. "Good, good boy. My oh my, look at that... ah, I take it you two haven't had any alone time recently? That's quite a lot; keep on going... good boy..."

_ _

Lucius stretched one arm up over his head grasping for the molding of the wall above, the claws of his other still digging into the stone. He tossed his muzzle side to side, teeth clenched so tightly together that his jaw ached, muscles stretching taut, hips shaking, leg kicking; he heard the quick, sharp pattering of thick ropes of seed arcing out and impacting the floor in front of Lua, each one in rhythm with his own gasping, and panting, and heavy, breathy moaning. The Alenari shuddered, jerked, shuddered again, nearly fell away from the wall, and then doubled forward as he, too, unloaded across the opposite wall, hard cock jumping between his legs with each spurt, knees pushing outwards as he thrust into the open air. He felt his fangs sink through the fabric of his shirt caught there, and quick, intense breaths rushing out from flared nostrils; he jerked, then thrust again, then shuddered, and sighed, and nearly fainted beneath the swell of exhaustion and exertion pulsing through him, both his own and Lua's in the room.

And then inside the room... inside, Lua lifted his head, twitched and ear, and looked straight at the wall behind which he stood. Without being able to see him Lucius could feel the questioning and curiosity on his muzzle, a little sizzle of investigation starting to tingle through the bond - until Azura's fingers trailed up along his jaw again, turning him to face her. While the two went through a few more murmured bits of conversation, sweet encouragement and confirmation, Lucius managed to open his eyes and look out across the mess he had made, ropes of milky white dripping slowly down the surface of the stone. And to think he didn't even have the magic to be able to eliminate the evidence.

It wouldn't be the worst thing that the palace servants had had to clean up. Shirt still caught between his teeth, the wolf reached down to wipe himself off a little bit, shivered at the sensation of touch against hypersensitivity, then with some effort slid his pants back up into place around his still-twitching shaft. He felt nearly about to faint between the exhaustion of that paired with the now deliberate effort of keeping himself shielded, blocking Lua out from keying into his presence or thoughts. The Doriani would technically be able to hammer his way through regardless, but the circumstances of their bond - as well as the way Azura now held his muzzle in both paws, gently wine-tinted breath wafting out across his face and making him dizzy with sweet pleasure - luckily kept things muddy in the younger wolf's head.

While Lucius caught his breath, gentle yet confident paws worked their way up along Lua's hips in the room again, touching and prodding in all the right places to make him gasp and squirm while also getting him dressed again.

"Are you sure this-" Then a gasp when Azura hooked a forefinger around the back of his sheath, "-is alright?"

_ _

"What?"

_ _

"I mean... this whole..."

_ _

"Did you ask this of my husband as well?"

_ _

That did indeed catch him off guard, but only for a moment. "Well... yes?"

And then Azura laughed, a bright, sweet sound. There was the noise of fur rustling on clothing as she guided him to his feet; Lua winced briefly and moved to adjust himself in his pants, eyes directed disdainfully towards the spattered lengths he had blasted out across the nice floor. Lucius felt some whispers of the disappointment and guilt at how they were already soaking into the stone.

"What are your tasks for the day, Lua? I wouldn't mind having you... help me out around here for a while longer, as I could always use an extra pair of paws." Quickly, nonchalantly, she too looked up towards the doorway and hall outside. Lucius perked his ears, took in a breath, straightened his clothing once more, glanced out to see if his mess was too terribly visible from someone walking through the hallway...

"Well..." Lua took in a breath while he thought. "I'm kept fairly busy with my studies. But I mean - if you and my mentor, ah, your husband, could work something out, I'm sure that I would be able to-"

_ _

...and then two pairs of eyes, one icy blue and the other soft gold, flashed up upon Lucius's entrance to the room. He held himself with practiced confidence and grace, all evidence of the afterglow that still simmered through his system and jellied his legs gone from his expression as well as from the portion of his mind that he shared with Lua. With his wife, though, he let that sweet, indulgent appreciation and enjoyment leak through; her tail flicked, and the corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk.

Immediately Lua trailed off, his bushy tail curling around his legs and his ears flicking back before deliberate effort brought them upright again. He glanced down to the mess he made across the floor, which Lucius made sure he didn't look at, then took up a more formal posture with his paws behind his back and his head inclined in a shallow bow.

"Ah! Lucius," he intoned, voice only a little bit shaky. "I wasn't - expecting you to come here."

Lucius met his wife's eyes, silent amusement stringing between them. "This is my wife's office," he replied, smooth and strong. He glided over with practiced steps, coming in to both give and receive a kiss to the cheek with her. "Seeing as our practices are done for the day, I thought I would come on by and pay her a visit. Might I ask what it is that brought _you_here, Lua?"

"Oh - yes, I - ah..." His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Shock lanced through their bond: Lua remembered that he was prevented from lying to his mentor. Once more his ears flicked back. He paused, took in a breath, swallowed - and then glanced over to Azura as the vixen took over for him.

"He was just helping me out with something," she explained smoothly, "as we bumped into each other in the hallway and I thought I could put him to use."

"Ah! Wonderful. I trust you behaved yourself, Lua?"

The Doriani looked away. "Yes, sir."

"He performed admirably well indeed," Azura confirmed. She folded her paws in front of herself near her waist; Lucius's eyes flicked down and caught the distinct glimmer of thick, sticky white streaked across dark fur there, and once more he could suppress the stir of satisfied amusement on his face but not in his heart. "In fact, I invited him to help out with my work occasionally, if he ever finds the time. But I do suppose I should ask you first, Lucius? Seeing as you are his mentor..."

Lucius crossed his arms in front of his chest, putting on a much more severe face than he actually felt. Lua shrank back from the look a little bit, though it was clear in the way his tail twitched and stirred that he could tell at least part of it was an act. Lucius felt those inquisitive fingers poking around their bond, touching and prodding at his shield - so he let him in, just a little bit. Once again the younger wolf's ears flattened with shock, guilt, and embarrassment, as suddenly he became aware that Lucius had seen the streaks of his seed across the floor, and could smell his familiar musk and arousal in the air, and had even noticed the stains along the back of his wife's paw; then these feelings started to give way to nervous, indistinct relief in the face of Lucius's pleasure.

"I'm sure that could be arranged." The mentor nodded. "Lua, shouldn't you be down at the academy for a follow-up lesson?"

His ears perked. "Oh! Yes, sir. I'll - be on my way, if you'll... excuse me. My lady." As he bustled out of the room, Lucius's senses shivered with the notice of a quick, tight burst of magic, and when he looked again the evidence spread across the stone floor had been cleanly eliminated. Listening to the footsteps fading down the hallway, feeling the distance in their bond lengthen, Lucius kept his head halfway turned and ear cocked until he was quite certain the younger wolf was out of listening range, both audibly and magically, and then turned to his wife.

Her muzzle spread into a sly, amused smile. His did as well; the two reached forward and embraced, and once more Lucius drew her lovely, intoxicating scent in from the fur of her neck, now delightfully tinted with Lua's as well. All of his strain, effort, exertion, exhaustion, and rich pleasure still hovered about her presence as well as in the room around them, curling like wisps of steam.

"So," Lucius rumbled, paws dropping to the vixen's waist.

Azura's smile sharpened into a smirk. "So," she responded, then bumped her nose to his. "I approve of your boy."

"He is more than my boy, dear. I'm very much considering him for the heir to this position when my time is over."

She tilted her muzzle up. "Which won't be for several more decades."

"Ideally, no. I am bonded to Scheherazade; I will be here as long as she is." He broke away from the embrace and stepped over to the table to try a sip of the wine that Lua had left, his glass almost entirely untouched. "All the better for Lua, I believe."

"He is passionate, and... impressionable."

"Well." Lucius shrugged, yet again looking at that spot along the floor. He could see it in his head: Lua pinning himself against the back of the chair, eyes squeezed shut, teeth gritted, while Azura pawed him off out into the air; his toes curling and legs kicking, body lurching with each powerful spurt arcing up and out of him, splattering out across the stone floor, dripping down her fingers and his sack. "Part of me thinks he already had some idea of what was happening..."

"You didn't tell him I knew?"

"No." When he turned to face her again his eyes fell on that streak of white across her fingers, dried a bit now yet still quite clear against dark fur. Azura felt his gaze there, lifted her paw away from her glass, and gave those fingers a wave, stretching out the younger wolf's seed in dripping strands. "He knows I cannot tell a lie; he simply never asked."

Still watching him, Azura turned her paw around and now drew her tongue over and between those fingers, slowly lapping off the rest of his mark. Lucius watched, enraptured, and felt another stir down in his loins, this one purely from himself instead of from his shared link. The vixen swallowed, smirked again, and moved to lounge back in the same chair, now casting her gaze over to the window.

"He reminds me much of you, Lucius."

"Yes? How so?"

"As I said... passionate, impressionable." She swirled what remained of her wine back and forth within her glass. "Ambitious in his goals, determined to reach those goals; we talked a bit before I felt you arrive in the hallway outside."

"Well, I'm glad I missed the boring part."

"Hah. There is much to him, and certainly a lot in his head, though he does seem a bit... shortsighted, in that regard."

"Should I be worried that my apprentice may abscond with my wife?"

"No more than I should be worried that my tea importer may abscond with my husband."

Lucius laughed at that. "It's the only way I can acquire fresh seeds as well as shoots!"

"All I'm saying," she went on over the rim of her glass, "is that we've been growing our own for at least two years now..." yet the same sweet amusement glittered in her golden eyes. Delightful affection bubbled through the softer, subtler link the couple held between each other, and Lucius felt his tail wag behind him. "Truthfully, though, I will like to spend more time with Lua, particularly if he is to become a permanent fixture here in the halls."

"I don't have any doubt of that. There is the meeting with the Queen and the Archmage later in the week about the-"

"The mountain situation?"

Lucius nodded. Azura breathed a sigh into her now empty glass.

"It is worrying," she said after a moment. "It's impacting our lines of import from throughout Alenar, and interrupting communications from western Loria. Rumors change hands even faster than money, and at this point even my sources doubt that it's the doing of a single mage."

"Wild mages are dangerous." Lucius sank down into the chair opposite the room, paws clasped in his lap. "Untapped power, unrestricted boundaries... even our academy's greatest Wind mage has trouble whipping enough of a current to drive clouds this way. For a storm to remain that far up the peak, this much out of season, for this long uninterrupted..."

Azura tilted her head again. "You believe they're going to send Lua."

"I know they're going to send Lua."

"Do you have any say in the matter?"

"I do. But it would be selfish to keep him here." Again he shrugged. "I have some idea of what the Archmage is planning, and I agree that my apprentice is likely the only person in all of Maldeth capable of carrying out such a demand. I literally cannot say otherwise, if I am asked."

"I understand the necessity of that restriction..." Azura mused, "but it is... well, restricting. Do you know when this plan will take place?"

"Not yet, but it must be soon. Scheherazade understands the importance of it as well. Though she has no magical inclination herself, she is aware of the effects it's having on those of us that do. I haven't mentioned it to Lua specifically, though with his abilities I'm certain he's more aware than the rest of us. His input will be vital when it comes to that."

The vixen pushed herself up from the chair once more, resting her glass along the table. She drifted over towards her husband and then stepped around beside him, paws brushing lightly over his shoulders; once more he picked up the rich yet blunted scent of Lua's peaking arousal there along her paw.

"Well," she said, "in that time, do remember to send him to me every now and then. I'm sure both of us would like to get some more use out of him before then."

Lucius took that paw and placed a kiss to the back of it, right over where her fur still remained damp. Yet again he breathed in both of their scents, sweet and comfortable, intoxicating and arousing.

"Anything for you, Azura."

"Anything to share, Lucius." They shared another chuckle.

"Of course."