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Chapter Ten

Seeing Green

Xevian's room - as befit the Master of the House - was huge, with thick rugs of wool plush scattered lavishly over the polished wood floors. The huge windows opened out on the expanse of well-tended garden. Erik had realized, very quickly, that the gardens were a tremendous source of pleasure to his Master. Even inside there were numerous plants all neatly growing from pearly ceramic - Xavien called them porcelain - pots. Ferns, blooming roses, and other plants with bushy foliage added a deep, pleasing scent of wet earth and the subtle smell of plants to Xevian's private chambers. The huge stuffed chairs, covered with soft blue-and-green fabrics and the huge, minotaur-sized bed just made it perfect for his Master and his favored humans.

Erik had, gratefully, relinquished the diaper, and Master - not Daddy - had been pleased, as well. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it shouldn't matter to him, it shouldn't be important to please the minotaur, but it was. The minotaur loved him. And Erik loved the minotaur back; he loved the soft but firm touch on his skin, the slow caress of his back, the wonderful pine-musk scent that clung to the stiff, fine pelt and strengthened to a deeper, more animal scent around Master's maleness. The soft texture of his sack, the firm orbs within, and the salt and pine taste of minotaur sweat. The yielding strength of his Master's shaft, and how it hardened, grew, and the delicious fine slippery saltiness as he tasted him. He even loved knowing that he - his touch, his tongue, his body, when he offered it to the minotaur - he, Erik, brought his Master bliss. And himself.

And when the memories started coming back - just flashes of recall, at first - of smoke, images of fire, of sword-wielding giants - when the memories started coming back, and Erik woke screaming, Master was there to hold him, to tell him that these things would not happen, that what he saw was long ago, and could not happen to him, that Master - Xevian - would not let them happen. Erik was doubly grateful to his Master, and loved him all the more.

At first.

The images and nightmares turned from a trickle to a torrent, a cacophony of fire and violence, hacked bodies, lingering executions, and the growing certainty that he - Erik - had seen all these things. The images were too strong, too detailed. What had he done? Why wouldn't his Master - his wonderful, caring Master - tell him. Why was it all falling on him, random horrors hitting him like hurled stones, each terrible recollection leaving a mental bruise that had no time to heal as the next terrible thing buffeted him. Why was Master - Xevian - just leaving him to remember all this on his own?

He finally asked on the fifth day, after waking from a horrible memory of coming on a village of impaled children as men - men he recognized, men he knew, men he ... he ...

Men he worked with. His brigade. Laughing and stuffing the last little girl on a three-foot sharpened stake. Had he ...

Oh Great Ones he had.

He'd been in command. He'd been ordered ... He'd been ordered to do that. The villagers would ... would have been next. After watching their children butchered. He himself had ordered it.

He looked at the minotaur with horror, barely able to move. How could his Master - Xevian - how could he have asked anyone, much less Erik, to do that. And yet he must have, he remembered it, so clearly, and he wished he didn't.

"Why," he croaked, somehow forcing the word out in Master's preferred language of Greek, not the Latin he was more comfortable with.

"Why what?" Xevian said drowsily, his eyes still closed.

"Why ... why did that village have to die? And the children?"

Erik had seen Xevian move in that strange way before, once or twice, and he saw it again as the light bed sheet went sailing in the wake of the minotaur. "Boy, I don't know what you're talking about. It's something you remember, yes?"

"Yes!"

"Tell me," Master said. The command was soft, persuading, almost an appeal, although Erik knew enough to recognize it for the order it was, from Master, not from Xevian. It was a strange way to think of the minotaur who Erik clung to, but ... sometimes he was Master, and sometimes he was Xevian and they were almost two different minotaurs in the same body.

Somehow, Erik made it through the grim recitation without throwing up. The images came back, flooding into his memory with more detail and flashes of other things, the smell of burning wood, charred flesh, and the sewer scent of intestines. He'd known these men. He'd been friends with the legionnaire - legionnaire? - who had pulled the last girl onto the stake. This time, he remembered that that the legionnaire with the blood dripping on his sandals was also Markus, and also a father with a little girl and two not so little sons. And ... and Erik had been his commanding officer, under ...

Only the minotaur didn't command legions of humans, he remembered, another fact blossoming in his mind. "It wasn't you," he whispered.

"No," and Erik was pretty sure that was Xevian again. "A minotaur ... well. A minotaur of our Clan would never give such an order, nor would a minotaur of our clan carry out such an order."

"But ..."

"I can imagine some clans, provoked sufficiently, might," conceded Xevian. "And ... even one or two where such an order would be followed, if not given, but ... but where an order would be followed, it is like to be given. I do not trust ..." Xevian trailed off, and the calm strength of Xevian faded into the colder tones of Master . "But that is not your concern," the black minotaur said firmly. "Living with these memories, that is your concern."

"Can you ... can you make them go away? Again?"

"No," Xavien said, with an almost merciful bluntness. "I'm sorry, Boy, ... but that's a severe thing. We are many things, but we are principally our memories. To lose your memory is to lose your identity, the uniqueness of experience. It leaves you foundering, uncertain, it is something that should be done ... very cautiously. Perhaps not at all. And ... consider this, too, Boy. You have paid a terrible coin to know just what honor and integrity protect you from. Would you discard what you bought so dearly?"

"But ..."

"But I did that to you? Is that your question?"

"Yes."

The black minotaur nodded. "That is exactly what I have not done. None of your memories are gone, they're just ... not available to you for a while. This is an exercise that many mages and occasionally warlords go through - when they think their previous experiences are getting in the way of their current situation. There are a number of different formulations, depending on ... well, who is doing it."

"Master, that doesn't answer the question of why you did it to me."

A slight stiffening was followed by a profound silence, and then, in a tight voice, the black minotaur said, "That is a ... difficult question. To answer it completely might be to place you in the same situation you were in that caused me to ... take such a drastic action. You were having extreme difficulty accepting your current situation, and your decisions had passed the boundary of unwise to self-destructive ."

"I find that ... difficult to believe, Master, although I don't doubt that it's true." Erik said, after a moment.

"Xavien," the black minotaur said, softly. "Until I tell you otherwise."

"Yes, Ma - Xavien," Erik said. "Can you tell me what I was having difficulty with?"

"You resented the defeat of your legion, and that you were subsequently enslaved. You did not wish to be my slave, nor to serve me as I require." the minotaur said, shortly. There had to be more to the tale, Erik thought, but ... the black minotaur seemed not to want to discuss it.

"How ... how was I to serve you, that I did not wish to? Xavien?"

"Like this," the minotaur said. "I find you attractive, and I wanted you in my bed. And ... from time to time, I had another need of you."

"A service?"

The black minotaur shrugged, his shoulders twitching. "I will not discuss it, other than to say it made you desire me, and you appeared to resent it."

"But I didn't?"

"What?"

"You said I appeared to resent it."

The minotaur shrugged. "So you did. I have no reason to think your resentment was insincere, but that was my interpretation. You might have had some other reason."

Erik thought about that, and snuggled up to the black minotaur. "Well, I won't anymore," he said.

Xavien said nothing, merely drawing the human tightly up against him.

"Xavien?"

"Yes?" sighed the minotaur, in the tone he generally said 'Questions ' in.

"I'm sorry," Erik said. "I didn't mean ..."

"No," said Xavien, interrupting him. "At the moment, your questions are reasonable, since I hid away your answers. Ask your question."

Erik took a breath scented with pine-resin, and said, "What if it doesn't work?"

The black minotaur was silent for a moment, and then shifted in the bed. "If this doesn't work? If you are still - or rather, return to - angry, uncooperative, and self-destructive when your memory fully returns?"

"Yes," said Erik quietly.

More silence followed, with a deep breath and exhale from the minotaur.

"Something," Xavien finally said.

"Something?"

"Something," repeated Xavien firmly. "You are important ... very important."

"I gathered that," Erik said, "but I don't understand why."

"You do not need to know," and that was Master talking. "It's better if you don't, if you simply trust that you are."

"I ... I don't think I was very trusting."

A snort of laughter. "No. And you aren't now, either."

"I'm not?"

"No," the minotaur said, with a hint of black humor. "You're not. You don't even trust yourself. After declaring your contentment, after declaring your commitment to that contentment, you ask what happens if it does not remain." Xevian's gaze lingered on the human's for a moment. "You are remembering more, now, memories are intruding into your waking."

Erik thought about that for a moment. "Oh. I guess ... I guess I am." The human shrugged, consciously imitating the minotaur's motion of a moment earlier. "I thought it would be more ... I don't know, dramatic. Like the dreams."

The black minotaur regarded him for a moment, thoughtfully. "No. A reasonable guess, but no. Dreaming is the way your mind puts itself back together, and sorts out your recollections. When you wake, it is simply that more comes when you reach for it. It's much gentler than dreams."

"Good," said Erik darkly, the raid on Klas Village - and others - now firm in his mind. He'd done them for ...

The Empire.

His Empire.

The one at war with the minotaurs ... oh. Oh!

Erik couldn't help himself, he pulled away from the minotaur sharply. "I remember, now," he said, angrily. "You'd just had me whipped."

"Yes," the minotaur said, the cool tone of Master returning.

"You ..."

"Perhaps you should think very carefully before you say anything further," the minotaur said, in that same cool tone. "Running away is not something I can permit. If you had succeeded, I would have done more - much more. And if you try again, I will do more." The gaze focused directly on Erik's eyes. "That would displease me."

Erik closed his eyes against the memory of the beating - somehow so close to the impalings, and wondered for a moment just what he was fighting, what he'd done, or what he was becoming. Would it be so bad to just ... just let it go? Give himself over to Xavien - Master? The last few days had been peaceful. More than peaceful.

He'd been happy. Happy to be with Xavien, happy to please him. He wanted ... oh, if he were telling himself the truth, he wanted to be with Xavien. Wanted Xavien to hold him, care for him, keep him safe ... even from himself. Stakes with grisly slumped human decorations flickered briefly in his memory, and Erik forced them back out. That, he told himself, was the past. "No," he said, more to himself than Xavien. He had been a butcher, and now ... now he had the chance to leave it behind. He would. "I won't do that again," he whispered.

"Disappointing," the minotaur said, with a strange tone in his voice.

Erik started to tell Xavien that he accepted, he was grateful, that nothing would please him more than to be Xavien's slave, that he hadn't understood just what the minotaur had wanted, he'd been blind, so blind, but ...

Xavien's power had locked over him like an iron fist. He could breathe, but he couldn't move, not even a twitch. Xavien shook his head, the light glinting off the black pelt like some kind doom. His voice, when he finally spoke, was conversational although that odd tone was still there. "I really had thought you would see ..." and then he stopped, closed his eyes, and breathed, slowly, his huge chest filling and emptying, for a surprisingly long time.

I have, I did, you don't understand ... Erik howled silently, unable to say the words, watching Xavien ... breathe.

"I'm so angry," the minotaur finally said, with that same calm tone, "I don't trust myself to deal with you. Which in itself is a clear sign that I've made an error ... I've grown too fond of you." Xavien Lord Green turned away from the frozen Erik, staring out into the garden. "Very fond of you," he admitted. "Too fond," he repeated, bowing his head. "I doubt," and then he stopped, chopping off the sentence.

"I've lost the distance I need to train you correctly," Xavien continued. "I should have realized it when I couldn't bear to see you scarred ..."

The pause was longer, and Erik stood motionless, trying to scream out that No, Master, please that's not what I meant .

"Foolish of me," Xavien concluded. "And it's foolish to be angry, foolish to expect a feral human to be civilized in a few weeks, foolish ..." He turned back, facing Erik again. "Well. One is entitled to a little foolishness from time to time." He smiled, almost gently. "No. I won't permit you to say anything to make it worse; that much, I think, I can give myself."

It's not worse, please, Master ...

The minotaur reached out, and caressed Erik's throat, and he felt a soft warmth in his neck, reaching up to his tongue. The tightness around him relaxed, he could take full breaths, and he relaxed. " Master, I under ... " Erik started to say -

But nothing came out, and the grip on him remained, looser, but still unrelenting, and the minotaur turned and walked away, closing the door precisely behind him.

It was a long time - an hour, maybe two, before he returned with a heavy steel ring - a collar, Erik realized, as the mage separated it into two halves, and then fastened around him. The chain, too, was melded directly into the collar - there was no lock to pick, just seamless metal already starting to warm to body heat. It was only after he'd been carried, motionless, down to the basement and five links of the chain had been embedded into the stone floor that Xavien released the spell. The human collapsed onto the thin straw mattress, his limbs tingling with the return of blood.

Wait, Master, you don't understand. Erik watched the minotaur walk heavily out of the room, and he began to convulse with silent laughter but Xavien said nothing as he walked stiffly out, not even turning around.

Breaker came down , bringing breakfast and dinner, for two days. The human was silent at first, but on the second day, he sighed as he put Erik's dinner down - coarse bread with thick vegetable soup - and said, "I don't know what you did, but I've never seen him like this." Breaker went back over to the door, and then added, "He's even sent Dog away now," before starting up the steps.

In some strange way, it was heartening to hear that. After spending two days missing his Master, wishing he'd had some way to explain what he'd meant - that he'd wanted to serve Xevian, that he wanted nothing more than the black minotaur as his master, he'd begun to wonder if his Master really cared, the way he'd thought. This wasn't punishment; there was no shortage of good food, the room was comfortable beyond the expectations of a captured Imperial soldier - it had begun to feel like his Master was ignoring him, and that thought hurt more than the whipping had.

He would have laughed out loud if he'd still had his voice. Sitting quietly in a warm room, with a single manacle and twenty feet of free chain, was the most effective punishment Xevian had found, better than the escstatic affect of sex, or even the - and he shuddered, involuntarily, at the thought - of the whipping. That had been bad, worse than he'd imagined, but ... he'd still take it over this.

Erik sat in the cellar, on a bale of hay, - it wasn't even that dark; light filtered in from tiny windows right under the ceiling, dust motes catching the gold light. He stared almost unseeingly at the empty bowl.

The light had shifted almost across the room by the time the noises started - footsteps running, the lighter patter of humans and - yes - the heavier steps of the other minotaurs; doors closing suddenly, loudly as the passages through them increased in number and speed. It was dark before the door opened and Xevian, followed by Breaker, came into the room.

The minotaur didn't explain anything, however, simply pulling the chain back out of the rock, and handing it to Breaker, with the cryptic comment of, "Don't dally."

"No, Master," the human said, but Xevian, without even looking hurried in the slightest, had already left.

Erik looked questioningly at Breaker, who shook his head. "I don't know. Master got a message from Great Lord Chimes, and we're going back to the estate, immediately. Master's already sent messages - open the ballroom, trim the gardens, a full summer cleaning, open the Chorus Wing and get it ready for a visitor."

I thought this was the estate, Erik thought, stunned for a moment, and then, the Chorus Wing? Breaker just went on.

"He didn't say who was coming, but ... I can't imagine him doing this for anyone less that another Great Lord - probably from another clan." Breaker thought for a moment, still looking a little stunned. "Actually, I didn't think there was anyone he'd open the Chorus Wing for."

Erik managed to catch Breaker's attention, and waved his arm questioningly.

Breaker just stared for a moment. "I said I don't know."

Erik shook his head, and made a backwards motion. The Chorus Wing.

"I don't know. He's never opened the Wing ..."

Erik nodded his head fiercely.

"Oh, what's the Chorus Wing, you mean?"

Erik nodded once, slowly.

"Yeah," said Breaker thoughtfully. "Come on, we've got to get ready to go," he said. "We're leaving tonight. Apparently this visitor is coming ... really soon, and Master wants to be there when he arrives." The human turned to the door. "Don't ask me what he's going to do with you; I have no idea." Breaker paused, turned back, grabbed a blanket. "I imagine you - and me - are going to be riding on top of the carriage," he said. "It gets cold. Master wants to leave at dawn."

Erik prudently grabbed a second and third blanket.

He was glad he had. They were riding on top, on back of the carriage, and it was cold. Two minotaurs drove up front, and Dog rode in the carriage with Xevian. Breaker and Erik were the only other humans, and they huddled together during the trip. Even so, it wasn't awful, just a little chill. The driver would stop the carriage every hour or so for a short break, and each time, Breaker would share some bread and tea with Erik.

Even Xavien emerged from the carriage once or twice.

It wasn't until, an hour or so before dusk that Erik became alarmed. They had stopped - apparently for one of the short rest breaks - but while they were walking around, the team of horses was being replaced - where there had been four huge horses, there were now eight smaller donkeys.

"He's not stopping tonight," was Breaker's depressed comment. "I'd hoped ..."

Erik made a questioning gesture.

"It's about twenty hours from Labryinth to House Green," Breaker said. "Master's been known to go straight through, and ... I guess I knew he would, after all the fuss in town. There's another change of horses in about eight hours, and that team will get us home. It's a long trip, though, and sometimes Master will stop and take it over three days."

"Not this time," the deep voice of Xevian interrupted him, and Erik looked down, suddenly, on the black minotaur who was gazing up at the two humans on the back carriage bench. "There's too much to do." The minotaur glanced at Erik, and he fet hi heart leap. Remove the spell, let me talk, please, Master.

"It doesn't seem too cold," Xevian said after a moment.

"No, Master," Breaker said. "The blankets are keeping us warm. We're very comfortable, Master, thank you. Master?"

"Yes?"

"May I ... may I know what the emergency is, Master? Are there things I should be ready for, when we return? I feel ... I like I'm not serving you, Master, not like ..." he stopped as the black minotaur shook his head.

"The Imperial army is proving ... troublesome, like ... children with playing with fire," the minotaur said. "Exactly like. And they have burned us, badly," he said. "They nearly killed a councillor, and ... hurt him, possibly severely, I cannot know. So he is travelling to House Green, and ..." Xavien paused again. "He and I have quarrelled, often. And now he comes to my House, for my assistance. He will not find my welcome wanting; I wish him to have no reason to question my hospitality."

The minotaur looked up for a moment, away from the human, up to the night sky. "I'm sure he has enough, already. So, Breaker, other than let your fellows know that however displeased I am with impertinence or any form of misbehavior, anything ... anything ... that discomforts my guest will not be tolerated."

"Yes, Master, thank you."

"And. Those who please him will draw my favor." Something like a grimace twisted the minotaur's face. "Significantly so. Let that be known, too."

"Yes, Master. I will; thank you, Master."

The minotaur nodded. "I have great faith in you, Breaker. You will not disappoint me." Erik knew that Xavien wasn't looking him - very definitely not looking at him.

"Thank you, Master." Erik wondered if Breaker understood it; but he couldn't ask, and the other human probably wouldn't have admitted it if he had. Breaker did give Erik a strange look, after the minotaur had climbed back into the carriage and the two drivers got them on their way, but the human didn't say anything, just wrapped the blankets around himself tighter.

Erik had wondered how they'd drive in the night, but after a moment, the road itself began to flicker, and then the stones burst into a cool blue light.

Erik tapped Breaker on the side, and pointed quizzically.

"Master's work," Breaker said. "He lights the road up for about five hundred feet in front of us. It lets anyone know there's a mage in the carriage, too, so ... we're not likely to be bothered by anyone."

They weren't, and Erik even managed to fall asleep, waking when they stopped to trade the now-tired donkeys for a fresh team - more donkeys, Erik noted. Xavien didn't bother getting out again, although Dog did. The slow vibration of the carriage put him to sleep, again, finally, when it stopped, the carriage was inside a carriage-house, the donkeys unharnessed and stalled quickly by human slaves. Two more minotaurs waited, and Lord Green vanished with them and the two drivers.

Breaker looked puzzled, and then sighed. "He's got other things to do before he settles you, I suppose," the human said. He looked around, and then settled down on a hay bale. "Have a seat. It ..." the human paused. "No," he said more suddenly. "We're to ... oh. We're to report to him in the field house." Breaker looked worried for a second and then resigned.

Erik tried to get Breaker to say more, but the human just fell silent, and pulled Erik forward, out of the brightly lit carriage house, through the darker stalls where donkeys were eating, and then outside. The stables themselves were behind the house, Erik judged, and they went quickly past what looked like extensive gardens. Erik hoped, briefly, he'd have a chance to see them in the light. Beyond the gardens were lower buildings, and the fresh-turned smell of earth that said farm to Erik. "Here," Breaker said, finally, leading Erik to a set of steps that went down; Erik realized the house itself must be on a hill. He'd missed the climb up while he was sleeping, although he wasn't sure he'd have seen much in the dark. He certainly wasn't seeing much on the way down.

They passed another couple of fields filled with large, low plants - a crop of some kind, although Erik wasn't sure of what - and they reached the buildings that had looked deceptively close. Breaker was looking ... a little upset, and Erik wanted to ask him questions.

Breaker finally stopped outside a heavy wood door, and, uncharacteristically, stared at it nervously before knocking.

"Enter," a low voice said, and Breaker shuddered. Involuntarily, Erik thought. Where ...

The door opened into a low room, heavy with the smell of sweat and men - not unpleasant, not gone sour, but stronger than Xavien had ever tolerated. Two men - young, younger than Erik, certainly, were tied to the wall, and another was tied to some wooden contraption. A hint of deep gray fur, and then the shape resolved itself into a wolven.

Smaller than minotaur, the size of a large human, with long, thick pelts of heavy fur, Erik had seen wolven three times before. Twice, when the Imperial Army had been chasing raiders - and hoping not to catch them. The last time was at Mog Ford, where the wolven soldiers had been systematically butchering their captives, in preparation for smoking them. Erik stepped backwards, in shock, eliciting a glimmer of amusement from the creature. What was a wolven doing here? And then, more numbingly, why would Master have sent me to a wolven? Had ... had he been wrong about Xavien?

Breaker had already dropped to his knees, head bowed low to the floor, and even Erik could see he was trembling.

"My little arturan," the wolven said thoughtfully. "What name has Xavien given you?"

"Breaker, Lord."

"Sir," corrected the wolven. "Xavien Lord Green of Lycaili is your Lord and Master. Not me."

"Yes, Sir." Breaker said as close to tonelessly as he could.

"Which you should know," the voice continued, thoughtfully. "Now, I wouldn't want to think you were being deliberately obtuse with me."

"No, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

"So then you're not thinking clearly."

"I ... I don't know, Sir."

"Are you afraid, Breaker?"

A half moment, and then, "Yes, Sir."

"Of me?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Vexing," the wolven sighed. "And disappointing. You know that if you weren't afraid, you'd have nothing to fear from me, don't you, Breaker?"

"Yes, Sir."

"But that lesson has not sunk into your heart," the wolven whispered, and then it - he, definitely a he - was crouching by Breaker, whispering something into the human's ear, too low to be heard.

Erik noticed the trembling stop, though, and the wolven rose slowly to regard Erik. "You, I don't know you," he said.

Erik shook his head.

"Answer me," the wolven said.

Erik opened and closed his mouth, gesturing to his throat.

"You can't," correctly interpreted the wolven. "Well. Breaker? Can you speak for this dumb slave?"

"I don't think so, Sir."

The wolven blinked once, and nodded. "What can you tell me, Breaker?"

"Sir, my Master ordered me to bring this slave here, to you. Master told me nothing more."

"Not how it was to be trained?"

"Sir, no, Sir."

"Then Lord Green must be intending to come in person," the wolven said after a moment. His gaze returned to Erik. "You're feral, aren't you?"

Erik shrugged.

"Breaker?"

"Sir, the slave was taken at Mog Ford in service to the group calling itself the Imperial Army, Sir."

The wolven looked surprised for a moment, and then angry. "Yes. Stupid, really. No good comes of dealing with those ..." his voice trailed off. "D'kanathell-addu-d'kalay." He shook his head angrily. "Vermin-by-choice." He looked at Erik, the anger still in his eyes. "I heard," he said, "that Redding Clave demanded the ... right to harvest from the battlefield." The wolven's face twisted in frustration. "Euphemism. They demanded - and I'm sure they did - butcher, in the sense of chopping up as meat, the human wounded."

Erik nodded.

"Vermin," the wolven repeated. "All of Redding Clave. Addu-d'kalay vermin." He moved past Erik, out into the night, glanced around, returned to the wooden room. "Come in." He looked around, and pointed to a corner. "There. Sit."

Erik nodded, and sat down, and looked over at Breaker, who was staring at him with a stricken expression.

"Ah," said the wolven, with a slight grin. "I see where we need to start." He turned to one of the two slaves tied to the wall, and tugged on a knot. The rope came loose, and the wolven carefully unwound it from around the male. Erik realized with a sudden dismay that, although the slave wasn't bound anymore, he still wasn't moving - he was holding himself in the same position he'd been tied in.

"Left. Sit," the wolven instructed.

Erik wasn't sure how long it had been when Xavien walked in. Breaker was still crouched on the floor, completely ignored by the wolven other than stepping around him. The wolven had concentrated on teaching Erik the postures that corresponded to his commands, and the positions the wolven had put him in had become progressively harder and harder. The other slave seemed not to have trouble at first, but there was a sheen of sweat on him now. Erik himself was dripping, since the wolven was dissatisfied with anything less than perfection. "Like that," he'd say, pointing to One, although once he'd reached over and carefully adjusted the young man's foot.

Erik himself was now trembling with exhaustion, but after a moment of thought, he'd determined he'd best learn what Master wanted him to learn. He was here, after all, because Master thought he was still ... difficult. The only way to change that was, well, to not be difficult.

"Progress," was all the minotaur said, walking in. "Where's ... ah. I thought you'd send Breaker back."

"I'd like to keep him for a week or two, if ..."

"Sorry, Talosh," Xavien interrupted. "I need him right now."

The wolven looked taken aback. "He needs a refresher."

"Not now. Lord Fog is coming."

Talosh looked affronted. "All the more reason ..."

"No," the minotaur said, curtly. "Breaker. Return to the House. The Chorus Wing is supposedly ready. Inspect it."

"Yes, Master," and Breaker left, quickly.

"He's your slave," the wolven said, finally, disapprovingly.

"Yes," replied Xavien, just as shortly. "I like him the way he is."

"He shows fear," the wolven replied. "A .."

"Only of you," Xavien countered. "Most of the slaves are terrified of you."

"Because ..." the wolven sighed. "You keep pulling them out of training before they're ready."

"They're fine," the minotaur answered. "This one ... I see you've already made more progress than I did."

"Really? He seems very willing to learn," Talosh said. Yes, thought Erik. Please, Master, give me another chance.

The look Xavien gave him was hard to decipher. "He does, doesn't he. Don't be taken in. He tried to escape - quite cleverly. A whipping did not make much impact, either."

"I see," Talosh said.

"I tried memory suppression, too," Xavien said heavily.

"You should have brought him to me," Talosh answered. "That's ... there was no need for that."

"It seemed to be working," Xavien said.

"But?"

"Once he regained most of his memories ... he turned intractable again."

The wolven turned to Erik, still holding the difficult position of quarte. "Intractable." Talosh's tone was thoughtful, as if Erik's performance for him made that hard for the wolven to accept.

"Yes," the minotaur said.

"I see," Talosh said, and then, staring at Erik, "Sit. Oure. Tawer. Parte. Anvil."

Erik carefully cycled through the positions, concentrating on getting them right rather than spped, and pausing as Talosh corrected Anvil, pushing his foot in a little.

"Intractable," Talosh said again.

"Yes," Xavien said angrily, and then the minotaur took a deep breath.

"I see it's made you angry," Talosh said, neutrally.

"Very," said Xavien.

"Distance," said Talosh.

"Exactly," and it was an admission of ... something, the way Xavien said it, grimly defiant.

"It happens," Talosh said. "Especially with the promising ones."

"Yes," Xavien said. "No permanent markings on this one."

Talosh shrugged. "That would include modifications?"

"Yes."

"You want him intact?"

"Yes."

The wolven shrugged again. "That's fine." He looked at Erik for a moment. "Although a few scars ..."

"No," said Xavien. "I do not want him scarred."

"I can confine myself to removable marks," Talosh said. "Decorative. Only."

Xavien looked at Erik, and then back to the wolven. "Accidental. Only."

"As you wish," Talosh said, sounding a little surprised. "Is there anything more?"

"Yes," the minotaur said. "He's gifted."

"I see," the wolven said quietly. "Lord Green, I believe I'd like to keep him dumb for a day or two, but ... may I trouble you to return his speech at some point?"

"Of course. His training is in your hands, Talosh."

The wolven just nodded noncommittally.

"Are any of these trained acceptably?" Xavien asked, gesturing toward the others.

"These two," and Talosh indicated the one tied to the wall, and the other he'd released, "are well-trained - I'm calling them Left and Right for now. They'll respond as they're instructed."

"And him? Although if he's chained to a breeding stand, I doubt he's ready."

"Not ready, Lord Green, not for some time, and if I don't have one of these two it will slow his training down."

Lord Green shook his head. "Lord Fog is coming; I need attendants for him and an Ourobouros warrior. Most of your trained ones have been claimed. All of them, actually. Your work is in high demand."

Talosh bowed. "Thank you, Lord Green. One does one's best, but ... is that really the best use of my trained slaves?"

Lord Green's expression didn't even flicker. "They can come back to you for a refresher if you want," he said. "I have to make clear to Lord Fog that he's getting the best I can offer him. And it's not a secret that you work for me, and slaves from your hands are simply the best."

"Thank you again," Talosh said carefully. "But they are not the best , they are simply well-trained . There's a significant difference. As you know."

The minotaur simply stared at the wolven, dispassionately. "We will make do with well-trained , then."

"As you wish, Lord Green. You will need both of them?"

"Yes."

"As you wish, Lord Green. Left. Set Right loose. Both of you will attend Lord Green; he is now your Master," Talosh said with a light sigh.

The black minotaur simply stood as the young man was freed. "Come," he said, and left.

Talosh watched the door close behind Lord Green and the two slaves with a curious alertness. "It seems that Xavien has ... well." He turned to regard the remaining human. "One always thinks one will have more time ..." and then he returned to Erik, a speculative glimmer in his eyes. " Sit. That position should be comfortable for ... a while. It's not a stress position, after all." The wolven himself relaxed back into the pile of furs in the corner. "So. We have Xavien turning you over to me." Talosh glanced over to the slave tied to the breeding stand. "I break humans." The yellow eyes examined Erik closely, and there was a slight smile on the wolven's muzzle. "But ... Xavien comes down, in person, to tell me to treat you gently - in front of you, odd that, when he ought to have told me with a farspeaking spell. It does me no good if you know I have limits to what I can do to you. Interesting, also, that when I put you through your paces, you simply go through them. No fighting, no hesitation, and you picked up quarte quickly; more quickly than most. Now, quarte is a stress position ... "

The wolven paused. "Where does that leave me? I think ... well. I think ... I think ... I think," and Talosh paused for a moment. "I think I'll keep my opinions to myself, that's what I think." He stared at Erik for a moment. "I just can't call you slave , or you there ."

Erik would be acceptable, Erik thought, but he doubted that could happen.

"I'm not going to get to keep you," the wolven went on, his eyes fixed on Erik. "Not for long, no." Was the wolven reading his expression? Erik tried to make it more neutral. "I may not even have long enough to train you properly ... I'm sure I won't, really, not if ..." he fell silent again.

"But that ..." and then he was quiet, just watching Erik. A claw tapped sporadically against the floor. Tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tap. Tap. Tap-tap.

" Pink," Talosh said finally. "You will respond to Pink."

Pink? Pink? Couldn't it have been ... Of course not. Erik nodded, once, and Talosh smiled. "Good. Now, Pink, come over here. Kneel."

Erik did. "No, on both legs. Tuck the feet in behind you, yes, you can rest on them - good. This is kneel. It's not actually a formal position, but I expect you to learn it nonetheless."

Erik nodded.

"I like this speechless thing," Talosh said after a moment. "It's relaxing. Now, this isn't, strictly speaking, a stress position, but if you're not used to it will become uncomfortable fairly quickly. That's all right; it won't actually hurt you. And it pleases me that you obey."

I don't actually care about you, Erik thought.

The first blow caught him unaware as Talosh slammed his arm across Erik's face, knocking him back and into the wall. "Bad," Talosh said calmly. "Bad Pink. Disrespect to me will get you punished. Get up," the wolven said, conversationally.

Erik saw the next blow, but couldn't manage to avoid it, and he slammed into the wall again. "I'm not your newest friend," Talosh said, and his foot slammed into Erik's testicles. Erik doubled over, gasping for breath. "Not your best friend," he continued, as Erik tried hard not to vomit. The wolven bent over to whisper. "I'm the only other person in the world, Pink. There's nobody else, just you and me. Get used to it."

Erik groaned, still not recovered, as Talosh returned to the piled furs, and settled back down. "Ah," the wolven said, stretching out. "Now, let's try this again. Kneel."

Erik struggled back into position.

"Back straight. Slumping will hurt, and take some of the weight on your legs - not all, just some, on your heels, that will be easier. Yes, like that. As I mentioned, this isn't a stress position, although it's a little hard at first," the wolven said, closing his eyes. "Now, don't move. If you're very, very smart, you'll think very hard about how good it is to please me, how that's what you want to do."

The wolven's eyes opened, and the pupils were focused on Erik's face. "Because until you do, you'll stay like that. There's an alternative, of course - you move without my permission." The wolven stared at Erik. "The result of that would be worse than you can imagine, I think."

Oh. Erik tried hard to remember that the only way back to Xavien was by pleasing this wolven. And ... and he'd rather not be punished, not if he could avoid it. He settled in to wait for the wolven to declare himself satisfied.

It didn't take long. " Stand ." The gray wolven waited patiently as Erik moved, and shook his head. "That won't do, either. There's a correct transition from stance to stance, and ... well," Talosh trailed off. "Not everything at once. Please bend your knees slightly - unlock them, yes, that's right. I don't want you falling face-forward onto the floor."

The wolven shifted himself upright, and then began walking around the human. "Eyes straight forward. This is not a stance for you to relax in, this is a stance for examination, for presentation."

Not a stress position, at least.

"It shouldn't be hard to hold, however." the wolven mused, uncannily close to Erik's thoughts once again, circling around the human again. "No visible scars, no visible markings, no skin deformations ..." Talosh trailed off. "I detect the subtle hand of Lord Green there; your skin is simply too perfect. The posture is wrong, though, not quite, something is ..." Clawed hands touched both shoulders, gently, and then pushed down with a surprising strength. "A broken left leg? Badly?"

Erik was astonished; he had broken his left leg - it had taken months to heal.

"You may nod for yes, shake your head - once only - for no," Talosh instructed.

Erik nodded.

"Beyond my help, then ... Lord Green could correct it, if he choose, but it's minor, very minor, and if he's not planning on showing you ..."

Showing me Like a horse?

"... he probably won't bother." Talosh continued. "It's minor, requires a trained eye, and ... the defect is neither congenital nor noticeable in any service you might render. And fixing it would be unpleasant at this point." The wolven was behind Erik now, he could feel the heat of his breath against his neck. "And I wonder just how unpleasant Xavien could bring himself to be to you," the wolven added.

Hard claws drew themselves lightly across Erik's back, in just the way the whip had landed, and Erik couldn't control the flinch.

"The skin may have been repaired, the muscle below soothed, but the mind ... the mind still bears whip marks," Talosh said quietly. "Did Xavien have you whipped?"

Nod.

"He's got a dreadful temper," Talosh said reflectively. "He calms down quickly, and he's the first to admit he's got a dreadful temper, but ... it does get the better of him from time to time. Did you infuriate him to the point of his having you whipped, and he healed you after he'd calmed down?"

No. He'd come by the whipping honestly. Shake.

"No?" For the first time, Talosh sounded a little surprised. "Well, then. I won't ask if he had a valid reason to have you so treated - but, do you think that he considered himself to have a valid reason?"

Oh, yes. Nod.

"Interesting! Did you do something worth being whipped?"

Yup. Nod.

"So ... Xavien does have some legitimate concerns," Talosh sighed. "Pity ..."

Shake.

"That wasn't a question, but I'll let it pass," the wolven said magnanimously. "For now. I'll let you know when ... when that forbearance ends." Erik felt the tickle of fur against his back, and hot breath in his ear, and he had to fight to stay standing. "I'm enjoying this little game of questions ..."

"You had intercourse against Xavien's expressed desires," the wolven said

What? Erik thought. Where did that come ... and then, Oh. My misdeed, for being whipped. No. Shake.

"Well, then, you were violent, and harmed another slave."

Shake.

"No? No, then ... thieving, you stole ..."

Shake. Well, he had, sort of, but that wasn't why Xavien whipped me.

"Not thieving. Good; I despise thieves," the wolven said. The wolven stepped around, into Erik's straight-ahead gaze, interposing himself between the wood-plank wall and the human, and Erik found himself looking directly into the golden eyes of the wolven. "But I've rather run out of offenses serious enough for whipping." He muttered something to himself, too low for Erik to hear.

"Or perhaps," Talosh suggested slowly, "you were attempting to steal yourself? That is, run away?"

No point in denying it. Nod.

"Ah," the wolven said triumphantly. "Well. What I despise of thievery is the overall pettiness of the offense; attempted flight from one's Master is serious, serious ... but ... you did not actually do it, did you? Just ... a thwarted attempt. Yes?"

Yes. Nod.

"Someone sold you out?"

Shake.

"Poor preparation?"

Shake.

"Just ... bad luck?"

Pretty much. Nod.

The golden eyes stared into his, and Erik fought the compulsion to look down, look away, look anywhere but into them. "Good luck, really, for you," the wolven said, without blinking. "If you had managed to escape, it would have been brief, very brief, with Lord Green hunting you down personally. And then ... he would have made certain you'd never do it again."

Yes, he made that clear. Very clear.

The wolven sighed, blinked, and finally turned to face the other human. "And you ... whatever will I do with you tonight?" He approached the breeding stand pensively, prodding the tightly-bound man with a foot, softly. "Can't do what I'd planned, no, not without Left and Right. Can't overlook your behavior, no, not with your previous offenses. Can't have ... no."

The wolven walked over to a shelf, and took down a small sealed jar. It was glazed brown, with green streaks, and the wolven looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. "I've never really been that fond of this," he said. "It's more a substitute for poor planning, I've claimed." The wolven chuckled for a moment. "Or a great thing to have on hand when one's employer drops in and disorders one's night's ... entertainment." With a twist, he broke the wax seal, and carefully poured a fine thread of golden syrup out onto the human's back, creating a wavy line from the top of his shoulders down to just above the cleft of his rump. "There ..." he said, and used a claw to smear the stuff - clearly a little sticky - across the man's back. Talosh was careful not to let it touch his own skin, Erik noticed, keeping it just on the black claw. He wiped it off carefully on the young man, and then took a quick two steps over to Erik.

Without saying anything, he just tapped his finger against Erik's mouth, and - knowing what was expected, Erik just swallowed his pride, and remembered Obey. That's what he wants, and that's what will get me back to Xavien. Erik parted his lips, licked the claw. A faint residue of honey and pine filled his mouth for a moment and he realized with a start what the wolven had just done, and what he'd just swallowed. The only question was, how strong was it?

"You recognize it," Talosh said - and it wasn't a question, but Erik nodded anyway. "Minotaur essence."

Which, Erik reflected, was just a nice way of saying minotaur piss.

"You've had the real stuff, then," Talosh said. "This isn't that, not really. It starts out that way, or so I'm told, but it's concentrated, altered a little, doesn't have quite the same effects as the original, but ... it's absorbed through the skin, which the original isn't, and ... did I mention it was a more concentrated?"

Already, the room felt warmer, and he was aware - uncomfortably aware - of the wolven in front of him. The male wolven. Erik felt the beginnings of that lust-haze he'd come to associate with Xavien rise. It seemed empty, somehow, without the minotaur there.

"It takes a little more time for it to go through the skin," Talosh said with a smirk. "But ... give it another five minutes or so. The effects will peak for you in a few more minutes - at ease, Pink. Talosh not so much sat as fell back into the piled furs, sprawling down so that he could watch the effects on the slave. "Join me." He patted the fur.

Erik hesitated for a moment, more out of uncertainty than anything else, and a moment later Talosh added " Now. "

Yes. Sir. No, that didn't seem right; anyone could be Sir , and this wolven - Talosh - was clearly more than that. Master was Xavien, and ... yes, only Xavien. Teacher. Yes, that seemed ... better. Probably Talosh would object if he knew but ... but that didn't keep it from being respectful.

Did it?

Talosh just watched him as he approached, not sure how to settle himself - the wolven decided the matter by pulling him down, between his legs, also facing the breeding stand, and its increasingly uncomfortable prisoner. "There," the wolven said in his ear, gently pulling his back against the wolven's front - and Erik could feel Talosh's sheath, and a warm, wet poke on his back. "I'd originally planned for Tag here to be fucked all night," Talosh said, "but ... that's not really an option unless I want to do it. Not that I'm questioning your stamina, Pink, but ... I don't want you doing that, either."

Erik nodded.

"That's so cute," Talosh said. "I do like this quiet. It's relaxing. Now ... you've probably been intimate with a minotaur - probably Xavien."

Erik nodded again.

"They're so charmingly egalitarian when it comes to sexual etiquette," Talosh said. "Are you imagining that I might be, too?"

After a moment of consideration, Erik shook his head.

"So clever," crooned Talosh. "That's right, Pink. Understand that you are mine , to do with as I choose, and nothing else. You are here to please me . If you feel any pleasure at all, Pink, it's because I choose to let you. Is that clear?"

Erik nodded.

"It isn't, of course, but that was still the right answer," Talosh said, rather coldly. "Try to behave, Pink, and that will keep you out of trouble."

Erik nodded again. There still wasn't much choice.

"Good Pink," Talosh said, his voice softening a little, and he ran his hand down Erik's side, the claws scraping Erik very faintly.

The human shuddered, and then stopped himself. Xavien put me here , Erik reminded himself, because I couldn't control myself. He'd played that scene back in his mind. Oh, yes, Xavien was at fault, he couldn't absolve the minotaur ... but.

Erik was at fault, too. Xavien had gone to great lengths to convince - no, not convince, show him just how he'd been mistaken. And Erik had been too deep in introspection to listen to Xavien. If he'd just listened ... the minotaur had even warned him, and in retrospect, Erik understood exactly what had happened with Lord Green and his bad temper. And even then, Xavien hadn't even taken it out on him, but ... oh yes, turned him over to someone else.

And he'd go back to Xavien, too, in a week, or a month. Yes . The thought filled him with ... not so much relief, but satisfaction. He was looking forward to apologizing, Erik realized, and suppressed a laugh. He still had to please Talosh, and that ... that might be tricky.

The wolven's claws closed around his throat. "I sense your attention is drifting," Talosh said. "Am I boring you?"

Erik shook his head - very carefully. The grip loosened.

"Poor Tag," the wolven said, settling back. Erik could feel Talosh becoming harder under him. "About now, he'd do just about anything to be where ... why, where you are!" the wolven said in a jovial tone. "He'd probably be a little more vocal, but, well, he's gagged." Another long stroke - with claws - down his side, and Talosh's arm had reached around Erik's belly, pulling him closer to the wolven, pulling the wolven's hard shaft between the cleft of his legs. "I'm afraid he was terribly rude to me," Talosh said with mock sorrow.

The voice turned colder. "He was punished for that, of course. But after consideration, I decided that ... he'd never have the opportunity to be rude again. When he's done here, Pink, he'll be as obedient and happy as ... Left and Right are."

"The entire process takes anywhere from six months to a year; depending. Tag here is a feral, so I'm estimating longer rather than shorter, but ... I've been surprised before." Talosh was starting to move forward, backward, forward, backward, and the feel of the wolven's shaft against the sides of his ass - it felt good; Xavien had never done anything like that, and it was ... relaxing, and exciting, and that he could hear the faint sounds of pleasure in the wolven's breathing made it that much better. It almost overrode what Talosh was saying. Almost.

"I wonder if that's what Lord Green wants for you," Talosh sighed, watching Tag start to pull a little at his bonds. "Sort of all hollowed out, everything that makes you you submerged so deep that it will never bother him again."

Something of Erik's sudden fear must have communicated itself to the wolven - not hard, given the close contact they were in, because Talosh chuckled. "Probably not, Pink. Although I must say there's a certain amount of hypocrisy practiced by minotaurs with their humans. They have magic - very powerful magic. Much stronger than wolven magic, and one of their mind-mages could turn you into a happy little puppet, utterly content to kneel at your master's feet and do whatever he tells you. It would take less than hour, I think, and it wouldn't hurt at all, you wouldn't even know it had been done. And you wouldn't care if you did know." Talosh sounded almost relaxed, although he was still slipping deeper, the tip of his shaft touching Erik's center.

"I can do pretty much the same thing given a year or so," Talosh whispered, and with a sharp push he was inside Erik, and the human felt a certain tension leave him. It felt good, so good, so right to be used this way. He would serve Xavien this way, had served, would serve again.

"Yes," whispered Talosh, slowly pulling the human onto his length.

Tag was watching them; or more precisely, Erik . The gag prevented the other man from speaking, but Erik knew that look, of desperation at the need to be taken, used, to surrender to a hard length of flesh. A very quiet whimper escaped from the metal gag; but Erik knew that sound, too.

A sudden spasm overcame Tag; he wrenched at the heavy leather cuffs holding him down, the firm muscle of his legs tightened as they pulled against their own restraints - opening his legs wider. The round muscles twitched, and Erik heard a slight chuckle from Talosh.

Poor man, Erik thought. He'd ... he remembered being, if not chained to a stand - a breeding stand, at that - at least being held down by Xavien and taken ... and begging his Master to take him in exactly that way, spreading his legs, trying frantically to make it clear that he wanted, he needed, he was burning for his Master's touch. Xavien, at least, had given him that touch.

Talosh, though, seemed content to watch Tag squirm - writhe. Erik closed his eyes, not wanting to watch. He'd ... he'd been in that need before, induced by magic or piss or however Xavien had done it, he could remember the gold hazy insanity and could imagine only too clearly being there himself - tied down, in position for breeding, needing it, more than anything, panting with arousal, just like Tag - and then not getting it. Letting the need, the want, the emptiness just pile on higher and deeper until ...

"Open your eyes," Talosh said. "I want you to see what can happen to a disobedient, rebellious human." The wolven's voice dropped lower, quieter, even as his tone picked up intensity. "If we have the time, I'll let you watch him break." The wolven chose that moment to slip into Erik, and the human grunted against the sudden intrusion. "Ride me, Pink," Talosh said.

A good slave would obey. He'd done this with Master ... Xavien. It just felt so strange to miss the minotaur that half of his memories said was a cruel monster, and the other half said was a kind master. At a warning tap from Talosh, Erik swallowed nervously, and began moving his hips, back, forth, rocking - oh, yes, that ... that felt ... good ... like ... yes ... just like that .

Tag was watching them, he realized, as much as Talosh was watching Tag - watching Erik get what he wanted, and didn't want to want, but at this point Tag was so far gone in the drug that Erik didn't think the human was capable of rational thought. Erik had been there - and even with the wolven inside him, holding him as he rocked back and forth - he'd rather be clearheaded. That drug, whatever it was, was something he never wanted to experience again.

Talosh pulled out of him suddenly, without a word, and deposited him, with just enough care not to be rough, on the side of the furs. "There," he said, "on your stomach! Now ."

The furs were warm, and smelled faintly of wolven, a complex animal musk that, to Erik, smelled wonderful, like concentrated sex. He knew it was the drug, a lesser reaction just as the now-writhing Tag was a greater one, but even so, the warm scent of Talosh was enveloping him and he couldn't help but breathe it in.

There was a moan from Tag, but Talosh ignored it. He paused for a moment, and pulled the furs together, elevating Erik's ass sharply. "There," he whispered, and this time - much to Erik's surprise - he entered slowly, very slowly, but it felt like ..."

Erik couldn't help himself; he bucked upward; tyring to get more of the wolven inside.

He realized suddenly what Talosh had done - he'd given Erik the choice of angle, the choice of speed, full freedom to do what felt good. And that, in turn, had told the wolven what did feel good, and Talosh was taking full advantage of it now. The wolven was surprisingly light, as if there were scarcely more than lithe muscle under the thick coat of fur - not gray, as he'd originally thought, but white and black. Brindled , he thought, until the thrusting drove everything but his own mounting pleasure from his mind.

Only the wolven slowed, just as Erik felt orgasm building within him, and thehuman pushed back a little, until a clawed hand pushed him back. "Not yet, Pink," Talosh said, and chuckled a little. "We have the entire night. I intend to make good use of it, little Pink." The wolven got up, and stalked quickly around the room, and ended by examining the leather straps holding Tag in. The wolven brushed a single claw down the sweating human, and smiled as Tag bucked, trying desperately for more stimulation. Talosh whispered something in Tag's ear, too low for Erik to make out, but it had a profound affect on the young man. Something like a curtailed scream came through the gag, and the heavy wooden stand bounced for a minute as the human hurled himself furiously against the restraints, until he stopped, panting and exhausted.

"If it makes you feel better," Talosh said, sounding almost kindly, although Erik was certain no kindness was intended, or received. Tag looked like he would have protested more, but he was too exhausted - and wrapped in the drug - to move. The wolven reached to his head, and tightened the gag, before returning to Erik.

A warm hand caressed him, without the claws this time. That startled Erik so much he glanced up and back, only to see Talosh stroking him at an angle. Talosh's eyes met his, and his gaze flickered from Erik to his hand, and then he seemed to relax. "No, they're not retractable. Jaguen claws are retractable, these are just ... held out of the way. I'm not going to disembowel you with them." Talosh shifted Erik slightly, pulled up at his hips, and eased himself into the human.

The wolven's hand shoved his head down, into the furs, "I'd use a knife for that, anyway," he added, as he resumed fucking Erik. There'd be a lot of justice in that , Erik thought, cringing involuntarily as the memories forced themselves into his mind. The messy spill of blood, and the foul smell of guts, and the shocked, horrified or worst, dumb disbelief. He felt sick, the sheer physical pleasure of the moment draining out much like the life had poured out one of the many villagers he'd killed. A hundred moments washed through his memory like some bloody horrible tide, and he fought down the urge to vomit.

"What!?" said Talosh, faltering, pulling out of Erik quickly, and then running for the door, slamming it open and then it crashed shut a moment later, the wolven gone.

What? Erik looked up, the room now empty except for him and Tag. Erik pushed the memories out his mind, and regained what control he could. He couldn't imagine why Talosh had run out, but it couldn't be good , he thought. Without Talosh, the room seemed larger, and colder. Colder ... Erik untangled one of the furs, and carefully draped it over Tag. He thought about touching the human, giving him the release he needed so badly, but ... that would definitely meet with disapproval, and probably punishment for both of them, and Erik didn't want to do anything to make Tag's situation worse. Hopefully Talosh wouldn't mind the fur, and even if he did ... well, he could blame Erik for it.

He wasn't sure how long it was before Talosh came back in. He'd snuggled back into the furs, wrapping them around himself, hoping that the next person through the door would be Xavien and not Talosh, but knowing that it would be the wolven.

He was right, but he hadn't anticipated the anger that the wolven dragged in with him. His muzzle was set in an expression of absolute fury. The wolven stepped in, and let the door close behind him as if had ceased to exist. He was staring at Erik, and the rage was all the more unnerving for its unexpectedness.

"How did you know to do that? How did you do that!" the wolven said, the words forcing themselves out around the glare Talosh fixated on Erik. Ten more measured steps until the wolven towered over Erik. "I see why Xavien handed you over to me now," the wolven said, his voice tight. "You will regret that. You will regret that deeply. What ..." The wolven stopped for a moment, his gaze going to Tag and his makeshift blanket. "Why ..." he said in more puzzled voice.

Erik felt a sudden twinge at the blanket. Maybe he shouldn't have covered Tag?" But he was cold. You sentenced him to ... to lust, not cold.

"You're feeling guilty over a blanket? But not ..." Talosh snapped his jaws shut. He took a breath, sounding remarkably like Xavien for a moment. The wolven bent down, grabbed Erik by the throat, and pulled the human up to his feet and slammed him against the wall, his eyes inches away from Erik's. "I'd kill someone for even contemplating what you did, slave."

What did I do?

Something of Erik's confusion must have communicated itself to Talosh, because the wolven just dropped him.

"But I don't think you contemplated it," the wolven said, in a more relaxed - although still angry - voice. "Guilt over covering Tag with a blanket, but not for attacking me ... lack of understanding, ... disorientation ... disappointment? Why ..."

Erik had been thinking he'd fucked up again when he realized that the wolven was reading his mind . No, not his thoughts, but his emotions, how he felt. And if ... when he'd made that offhand statement, about ... about disembowelling, that had caught Erik unawares - he must have somehow transmitted his own nausea to the wolven.

"You think it's funny?" snapped Talosh, dropping Erik into the furs, and then he paused. "Well." The wolven dropped down into the furs, and then chuckled. "I suppose it is, actually." Talosh sighed. "Except I really hate throwing up."

Erik ducked his head. He hadn't really meant to think about that, it was just ... the suddenness, he supposed. I'm still being ambushed by my memories , he thought, and sighed quietly.

Talosh reached down, lifted Erik up by the shoulders - gently, this time. "Let's try this again," he said softly, and deftly guided the human's legs around his waist. Erik's stomach clenched as the wolven dropped back into the furs, but he settled down, and quickly felt the wolven within him again. "There," sighed Talosh, "there. Yes." The wolven used his arms, bouncing the human up and down on his shaft, less interested now in Erik's pleasure - and Erik wondered softly if Talosh had been experiencing his, Erik's, pleasure at being fucked while the wolven was doing the fucking - it made sense, especially given how quickly ... Erik tried to put that out of his mind. I have to please Talosh. Talosh is the key to Xavien. Focus. Focus.

The wolven quivered slightly; that was Erik's only cue that Talosh had reached his own plateau, that, and a long, long, deep pleasured sigh. The wolven was motionless for a moment, another moment, and then Erik felt himself pulled against the wolven's shaft, against ... against ... something hard, large, like a ...

Erik had a moment of fear as he realized what was pressing against him, a moment of dull pain, and than a sharper one as he opened, and Talosh's knot lodged inside him. The wolven lay back against the furs with a glazed expression, and said nothing, only holding the human to him more tightly. Erik wanted desperately to know how long the massive lump would remain, but ... there was no real way to ask. I'll just have to endure it.

It lasted ... for a long time, and Talosh's faraway expression of pleasure didn't waver. Finally, the wolven shifted, the knot still firmly lodged in Erik. "I'll have Xavien restore your voice tomorrow," Talosh said dreamily, stroking Erik, running his hands down the human's smooth torso. "And then you can beg him to take you back." A faint hint of amusement came out in his voice. "If you want."

I want , Erik thought, first ashamed, and then, defiant. I want.