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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2023 22:32:49 GMT
Artemio Reyes: Perfer ConfusionemEnduring Chaos Art spent the rest of that first day reading the codex, and he was grateful that Adriel did not stir at all when evening fell and he got up to cook. He made a whole roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots, and fresh herbs, then he threw together a chocolate pudding with a side of berries since he had noticed that Adriel seemed to like fruits and sweet vegetables. While cooking, Art's brain finally started to kick into gear, and he decided he would send in for his one week a year vacation time to see what would happen for the next week before he did something final like put in a resignation, and he knew he absolutely had to find a way to meet with the Unspeakables if they knew stuff about the Ancients. However, the paper with the words he had written was burned on the stove since he didn't want to risk that getting into anyone's hands. It hurt to burn the paper and the pages around it to get rid of all traces of the Words - until this point he had believed that anything written should be kept preserved for future generations - but he realized that there actually were things in the world far too dangerous to write down. He wondered if that was why the ancient Greeks had 'Mysteries' that were unrecorded and other cultures had oral traditions even if they were literate, and he could understand why people would want to bury the knowledge of ancient magic if these gods had the ability to make or break civilizations like Adriel had said had happened with Ancient Rome. He also couldn't help but wonder if gods like Hephaestus existed, and he wondered what god it was that the roman emperor had sacrificed his book to for Adriel to get it since the only mentions of gods had been Celtic and Norse ones so far. "Adriel, what god were you for Ancient Greece?" he asked over dinner. Adriel had made sure he got a large slice of chicken breast, vegetables, and a portion of the dessert before eating himself, but Art didn't have much of an appetite. "You said that book was sacrificed to you." "That book was sacrificed to Perses the Titan of chaos and destruction," Adriel replied. "But I could also answer to Khaos, Eros-Phanes, Tychi, Prometheus, and a few others. I could step in for Pan, Hephaestus, and any of us could step in for the children of Nyx. Most of the upper gods are shared by all of us with demigods and the like a consort or a child. For example, Hecate was my daughter but I took over her duties once she died. Sometimes we take each other's children as a consort since they are longer lived than humans, but even they pass by the time a thousand years goes by. With your magic, you could be a distant relative many generations removed - magic is proof of your ties to the gods. Before the Greek Empire, that would have automatically made you bhlaghmṇ - Destined Servant, or high priest of whoever your ties were closest to unless you picked and devoted yourself to another." Art couldn't help but feel intrigued, and he set his fork down so he could focus on the topic as excitement started to form. "Who am I related to?" he asked. "The relation is so distant now that it is impossible to say," Adriel said with a shrug, then pursed his lips a little bit at the feeling of disappointment he got from Art and tried to explain it a little more to his mortal. "You have all intermarried with each other so much that you are related to all of us. It has been many centuries since any of us last walked your lands, so your blood lines could not be infused with more powers. It is why humans were usually very glad to provide us with women - especially virgin women - since our offspring have different powers. At the same time, if we lie with beasts, we make creatures such as the phoenix or the cerberus, or if we take the form of an animal to lie with mankind, you get people like the Veela and the Centaur. You have distant magics of the Americas in you as well - your grandfather or great grandfather would be a wizard... You didn't know? Yes, you have magic on your father's side. Anyway, magic from there is slightly different from magic here - it is more primal, elemental, vicious, and nurturing. I left a lot of offspring in those lands unlike these ones - my children can be too wild and would often be killed by others while the people of the Americas loved, fears, worshipped, and respected my children. Then the Spanish catholics came and put an end to my summonings there when they burned all the sacred texts. Diego de Landa, yes, the bishop that recorded almost everything about the Mayan culture but much was changed by him, was an asshole, so one of my siblings made sure that his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán manuscript was lost and is why the iterations of it now have a good portion of the truth - what truths he wrote in it. The worst of the slander and lies was wiped from existence, but we can't completely change what is written or drawn, only manipulate, tamper, or destroy it. It is why we also insist on oral traditions, and I approve of you burning that paper for now. Eat, sacrifice, you are too thin as is." Art picked up his fork and stabbed up a potato. "Is my grandfather still alive?" Art asked. He knew the man had disappeared one night before his uncle had been born - before he knew his wife was pregnant with his uncle - and he couldn't help but wonder if he had been a wizard. "Do you know why he left home?" Adriel tilted his head a little bit and his eyes got unfocused as he reached out to look through the prayers the hidden cities and small tribes still sent to him and his siblings. "He is alive and lives in one of the hidden Inca cities," Adriel revealed. "In the Mayan sector of one. He still follows the Old Ways, and he left because your father showed no magic and staying any longer would have spelled death for your father's family. It is forbidden to lie with those with close ties to the Spanish, and your grandmother came from a wealthy Spanish family. He prays for the safety of his family and begs that ill fortune does not befall them, and he was tortured for a full cycle of the moon when he had returned but never revealed that he had gotten married and had a son so they are unaware of your existence. You could be welcomed there, however, since you have enough blood to bypass those wards, and you would automatically become a high priest and have riches and honors bestowed upon you because of your ties to me. Eat, sacrifice, or I won't tell you more." Art had completely forgotten about his half nibbled potato as he stared, unsure about how to feel about his grandfather. The man had left his father behind, but he had had reason to do so and had endured torture to keep his family safe. At the same time, his father had grown up poor and had to be the 'man of the house' from a very very young age since his grandmother had not been allowed to sign government paperwork and such alone. Art would not be here if it were not for that man, though, and he kind of wanted to meet him since he sounded much much better than the grandfather he currently knew. Then he stuffed the rest of the potato in his mouth because Adriel was starting to look scary while he looked at Art's plate. "Good," Adriel said with a nod of approval when Art started digging into his food, and he resumed eating his own pudding while he talked in between bites. "So for another one of your unasked questions, no, my siblings and I are not related to each other, and we are not related to anything including our own children in the same sense you would be, so things like inbreeding does not apply to us. That is why your mythologies have god siblings that marry each other - our immediate offsprings are not related to each other despite them being listed as siblings unless they had a mortal parent that was related. We can take the form of male or female - I gave birth to centaurs, and the first named was Sleipnir - and the tale of Enki and his seven daughters was also from me. Only three of us could give birth at the beginning, however. I birth new types of creatures, and one of my siblings can birth what once was or birth what is, and the third one births plants, insects, plagues, and worldly things like clouds and springs and the like. I and my third sibling together can create living plants like this one, and we did so for a very long time just to see what new things could come from chaos and order combining, but our second sibling was the one who picked their favorite and birthed those things to mother entire species. I thought the first human I made was very boring, clumsy, and ugly, and my third sibling doesn't like anything that is not born knowing its place or having a purpose, so us two saw no point to a human since we already had monkeys and the like. Our second sibling was the one who lifted the first human out of mud, raised him and taught him, then laid with him and gave birth to more humans. They realized there was a problem with no women among these new creatures, so the second time they laid with different men, they birthed many daughters, and by then, I grew curious and decided that my first impression was a bit too hasty. Humans were where all of us found something we all liked, so we all laid with men and women at various points and granted favors and powers on whim. Stories sprang from that, and at first they were true, but as human populations grew and spread out, the tales began to change and mythologies and worship started to become part of human nature. We were revered as were our first generation of children, and their children also found a place in the stories since the first humans were very very long lived, and you all are still long lived compared to almost every other creature on earth. Even if one of us wishes it, none can ever be immortal, though. One of my siblings also gave to humans, and their gift was aging and death. My siblings were very upset about that since there were favorites, but the one that granted death pointed out that we had already given them so much that if they didn't pass on, the earth would be crowded and then everything would die making us start all over again like had happened a few other times before. Starting all over isn't too bad, but we all liked humans too much to want to do so, so immortality is not possible for humans." "What about the flooding?" Art asked when Adriel finally stopped talking for a few seconds to eat his chicken. "What you said explains so much about how all of the ancient tales are so similar with chaos birthing primordial gods! But there is also the flooding and then the child of a god that also comes back from the dead or the underworld, too!" Adriel shrugged while he sucked the meat off the chicken thigh in his hand. "The third sibling threw a fit over the gift of death and accidentally cause the flooding that almost killed everyone," he admitted once he swallowed. "It formed the eastern part of the mediterranean, capsian, black, and red seas, and I had to get as much of the salt and poisons from everyone's tears into the dead sea so the other seas could have life in it." Adriel paused to take a bite out of the drumstick that had been attached to the thigh he had finished. "Your cooking is delicious and you use things from so many lands that blends well together," he complimented once he swallowed. "Hm, so the child that comes back to life in the tales is the first child that Death had with a human - a pure human rather than one of the godlings. We can have children with humans, of course, but some are so weak that they only have two to three times the lifespan of a human and they tend to go on to be heroes rather than demi gods or gods. That meant he had the lifespan of about a century and a half, and he had the power to remove sickness even when people were on the very brink of death and heal them. No, Death can have children. All of us can procreate as male - share our essence you might say - but only three of us can take in essence to form life or create from nothing which is why I think you humans are strange for believing women to be weaker saying as I and my two siblings would be considered the most powerful by human standards and females are given the gift of birthing." He paused again to finish the chicken leg as he shook his head in confusion. "So to continue, Death's child was killed because his powers terrified the kingdoms. He refused to work for any specific kingdom so he could share his gift with everyone, and they all feared he would heal an enemy they were at war with. He was killed for not taking any side, and Death was very angry. He brought his child back to life, but he had been the one to gift humans with death so we stripped the life from the child and told him he can't just take away his gift to keep his son when the rest of us already had to come to terms with human's mortality! So he turned his anger on the kingdoms and cursed the lands to wither and die. That is why some of the land that was once fertile is now a desert that will never see life. The flooding had made those lands a very fertile paradise, but his anger made many ancient cities collapse. We try not to argue very much since it tends to kill off a lot of humans. Anyway, Death's mortal son ended up becoming part of legends that continue even now since he knew that he would not be allowed to live when he had been brought back to life. He parted with his last words being that of love and compassion and it immortalized his memory in a time that hate was more prevalent. That was around the time the Sumerians were making empires and were attempting to form writing, and there was a three hundred year drought as a result of the curse. They all spoke the same tongue at first, but all that fighting made civilizations spread out to many other lands." Which was a bit the fault of he and his siblings since they had all enjoyed the attention and fighting over which one of them was better than the others. The death of that child followed by Death's anger had made them temper themselves a bit more. Art pushed his empty plate to the side and frowned down at the table in thought. "What about souls?" he quietly asked. "And angels?" Adriel hummed and took several more bites before he answered. "Souls are not real," he explained. "At least, not in the way you are thinking. You have essences, and when someone that we really like is about to pass, we take the essence to keep and cherish it and the memories of the being it belonged to. Sometimes I will swallow an essence and birth something new from it, and angels - or Annunaki as the Sumerians called them, Eretos for the Greeks, and others - are my children wherein I swallow an essence, mix it with mine or another, and birth a winged being that can live for many many centuries. Sometimes my second sibling will continue one of those races - the pegasi for example, was from the essence of a stallion that I admired the beauty and strength of - but winged humanoids are rare to be born sane and are often dangerous to mortals or even each other. They are all zealous in their love for my siblings and I - obsessed actually, not love - and most are not sane at all since I am of chaos. Sometimes they love mankind like we do and will destroy things to protect them, but more often they see everything else as competition for our attention and will kill whatever it is they think is in the way. Sometimes my siblings destroy them because they get annoyed with their clinginess, so I don't make them unless a consort or someone favored specifically wishes for it." He noted Art's shiver and thoughts, and replied to that. "Your Lucifer was probably one of those," he agreed. "There are many of those that were just trapped elsewhere by one of my siblings who just wanted one of them out of the way. Sometimes they were released, and sometimes my siblings forgot about them so they are still in whatever space they were put in, dead or alive depending on if time continues to pass in those areas. The early humans wished to all be turned into one on their deaths since the ones that protected humans were placed as guards for each new city that sprang up and were worshipped as sacred beings, but it's annoying to make life like that only for one of my siblings to swat it away because they aren't perfect or don't obey orders. I prefer free will, but I'm not going to argue with one of my siblings over one of the Winged Ones that annoys them because they won't obey orders. I don't want an argument to get out of hand and cause a large portion of humans to die over one silly little being." Art was heartbroken to hear that about angels... He was never quite a devout Christian, but he was often comforted by the thought of angels being around and maybe getting to become an angel himself one day. It was so strange to hear all of these things explained by someone so old that they could claim to be part of what created planets and even humans, and it was strange to hear something majestic like an angel get described as 'insane,' 'obsessive,' 'clingy,' 'annoying,' and 'silly.' However, if he turned the biblical tales around a bit to see it from that perspective, it did make sense since they were expected to obey without question, expected to love and serve, expected a lot of things from, and the ones that rebelled from any expectation were 'sent to hell as punishment.' And if souls were essences, then 'bad essences turn into bad angels that go to hell' and 'good essences turn into good angels that go to heaven' going by scriptures. Only, Adriel made it sound like chance rather than the life that a person lived. "That is correct," Adriel said, then continued to speak. "There was another sibling's consort that turned into a beautiful Jinn - a creature made of fire - and I laid with it to create a nest of phoenix. They can't die, but they also don't procreate, so there will always be ninety nine of them. Reusing essences is where the reincarnation tales in some religions also comes from, but yes, it is all based off of chance. I took a male form in this incarnation since you, my sacrifice, are attracted to males even if you are not aware of it." Art turned red and spluttered. "No, I'm going to get married to a woman and have children with her!" he vehemently protested as he pushed himself back up against his chair. "I'm not attracted to men!" Adriel's lips curled upwards. "Oh? And you were not admiring my body and thinking that Apollo would beg on his knees to have me pose?" he asked as he broke off the other thigh from the chicken. "Or how Adonis would weep with envy and Ares would feel weak? My hair is a shimmering black waterfall? You have never had these thoughts about a woman - your only thoughts towards women are if they might be compatible, not annoy you when you are reading, that they might listen to your tales of history, and that they are kind and gentle. You wish to have children, yes, but you are not attracted to them and only want to marry one because you believe it is expected of you to do so." Art slapped his hands down on the table and stood up. "No!" he loudly denied, though he couldn't bring himself to look at Adriel directly since he also felt ashamed. "I need to do the dishes, take a shower, and change into pajamas. You can sleep on the couch." Art's little outburst was amusing, but he also had not meant to make Art feel shame for his attraction. "You have been accepted and are wanted by a god," he reminded Art in a firm tone. "You should stop caring about what society wants you to do - there is no wrong in laying with a man though you should not lay with things outside of your species." He caught Art's flickering thoughts on half goblins and the like. "No, goblins, veela, and all of those races are all the same as yours, or rather, they are half human so they are fine to breed with since one of the original parents was a human. Note that all of those races are magical and so our child, though just having life makes one 'magical' since even a plant or a fresh spring has an essence as well. Yes, there are many more than those of us who stay in this area - suns and plants are birthed from some of my siblings in other galaxies and there is life in those other planets, and some who were originally here have moved on to other parts of the universe while others from distance regions are now here and take up roles that those who have left used to do if they are capable of it. Sometimes I battle those that are of chaos at the outer edges of my territory so they don't influence what is my jurisdiction, and my second sibling is also just as territorial of this area though our third one has moved on because this region has enough order and structure that they grew bored and wanted a new place to start again. They may have been order, but they were also destruction to build anew except we wanted to keep humans, so I and other siblings took on that one's role. Death still remains and fights others for jurisdiction, but they are also time and the change of seasons and the movements of the planets in this entire region. We've played at making life in other places in this area a few times, but this one is our favorite and our community location. It is very upsetting to not have been summoned for so long to play with and mold things directly." Art nodded that he had heard, but he was still unhappy about what Adriel had said about him not liking women. He liked women! It was also strange to be told he was wanted since nobody had ever wanted him, but Adriel reminded him that a god wanted him. Still, Adriel was also terrifying and a force and someone that also didn't seem to... He couldn't say that Adriel didn't seem to care about humans since he didn't like to argue just so that humans wouldn't die, and he kept mentioning consorts and granting things and having favorites, but it all sounded like Art was just one among many, a trinket to collect and play with, and even animals and creatures were collected by him so it wasn't love, either. Adriel stood up and snapped his fingers so that not only did all of the food and everything disappear, but the plates were completely clean, repaired of old scratches and chips, and put away so he could focus on his moping sacrifice. "It's frustrating you don't understand," Adriel said as he started to stalk Art who was backing away towards the living room and looking afraid. "We love every single one of you. You humans are the reason we stay here when most of us just flit around, make new life when we clash, then move on and leave things behind like they are inconsequential byproducts." Art backed himself up against the arm of the couch, and Adriel reached out to grab one of Art's pinwheeling arms to pull the human up against him. "It's like how you love books. Yes, they are just objects, but you know each one has its own personality, history, and things it contributes to the whole of a library." He lowered his head and started sniffing Art's neck, and Art heavily smelled of dinner, a bit of sweat, and Adriel's earlier licking of his neck, but there was still a faint trace of Art. "But there are books that fascinate you that you adore more than any other book in the library. You read it over and over again, then obtain your own copy of it to keep all for yourself. You write notes on the margins to make it yours even more, and it enriches your existence while you take care of it. Then you feel lament when it is lost, destroyed, or falls apart from age, and you grieve for a period before you fall in love with a new book. You and others like you love the library, but everyone has their own favorite books. To prevent us from fighting over a single book, however, we have sacrifices - a human so appealing that it can catch our attention, but it is dedicated to one so we don't destroy entire lands and do the equivalent of burning down an entire wing of a library just for a single book that could get destroyed in the process." Adriel popped off another button that had Art making a small squeak as he stayed frozen in his arms, and Adriel leaned Art back a little bit so he could smell more of his human's bare skin. Art grabbed his shoulders as he squeezed his eyes shut to keep his balance. "I haven't had a good book in a long time, and I take good care of what is mine. I have said before, but I only want what is freely given." He pulled Art upright again and helped him stay on his feel. "I may inspect and taste and try to read you, and you might belong to me now, but I see no point in mistreating you so I won't force you to lay with me like you keep fearing I will. Go shower, but I do want a God House so I will leave the initial search to you. You will have a week to present choices to me since these quarters, as sturdy as it is, is not large enough to be satisfactory." Art nodded then fled to his room and slammed the door shut and held himself up against it. No, a door would not stop Adriel, but the thin veneer of safety and privacy was something he needed to get away from all of that. He felt hot and his heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it in his ears, and he doubted he could say a word at the moment from how... that... that that! Art had no idea what that was, but it had him feeling such strange things, and his skin was feeling sensitive and his stomach was doing flips like he was on a broom and it had felt like falling only Adriel was keeping him up, and he had wanted to press himself against Adriel and say yes only there was no question being asked! Yes he wanted to be Adriel's book?! That didn't make sense! Nothing made sense anymore! However, he did know that he didn't want to just be part of a collection of favorite books. And now he had a week to figure out what a God House was and then give Adriel a selection of those things to pick from. Talking to an Unspeakable had just climbed higher on his list of things to do. ************* Art woke up the next morning and started doing his daily ritual of getting ready to go to work - he stumbled into his bathroom, brushed his teeth, went back to the bedroom, and started getting dressed. It wasn't until he started buttoning up his shirt that his brain started to wake up because the sight of buttons had him thinking there was something he was forgetting. Then he remembered he had summoned a god, and said god had been left alone out in the living room all evening and night after changing his life and flustering him so badly that he had run away to go and sleep to escape everything. Oh, god, he hoped none of London had not been looted or burned down! He rushed out of his room wearing pants and a partially buttoned up shirt, and was relieved to see that Adriel was sitting on the couch with a bowl of apples next to him while he ate one and read a... newspaper? "The moving pictures are interesting," Adriel said as he tossed Art's morning copy of the Daily Prophet to the side, stood up, and prowled towards Art who took a step back but then froze because he realized that backing up would have him and Adriel in his bedroom. "I am glad to see you forsook those annoying buttons." Art flinched a little when Adriel reached out to lay his hand on his chest, but he noticed then that Adriel was wearing fur trimmed velvet robes, black lounging pants, and... Was that an ancient Egyptian collar necklace? Art leaned forward to try to figure out if it was Egyptian or not and forgot that said piece of jewelry was attached to someone until he felt the hand on his chest slide up to the back of his neck. Art yelped when he was pulled forward and turned his head away when Adriel leaned in, but he stayed still for the weird sniffing ritual that Adriel liked to do while he stared at one of his bookshelves against the wall he was facing. Then Adriel shifted even closer to suck on his earlobe and Art felt Adriel's bare chest brush against his where his shirt was open at and he flinched at the tingling feeling with a quiet whine even as he felt himself turn red and dizzy. "Ancient Egyptian - when they started learning to make bronze though it was a coveted art," Adriel said as he reluctantly pulled back to give Art a little bit of space, though he did keep one arm around Art's waist while the hand on the back of Art's neck went up to Art's messy hair for him to smooth the curls back. "One of the famous artisans from that time period made this necklace specifically for me, so I gave him the recipe for bronze. I also grabbed clothes since you seem so uncomfortable with what I was wearing. Or not wearing?" "Not wearing," Art agreed even as he tried his best to not go back to studying the necklace - an attempt he wholly failed at since he was very very curious about the craftsmanship. It was made of a lot of tiny beads of gold and turquoise that was threaded with gold - something that would have taken a lot of time to pound and put together with it continually falling apart since gold beaten that thin was fragile - and turquoise was a very coveted stone in that period so to see such a large and perfectly polished one meant it would have been worth a small fortune. It was the stone of Hathor, the goddess of fertility, but it also symbolized the heavens. Everyone had worn turquoise, even the pharaohs, since blue was the color of divinity and to wear one - especially one threaded with the red of Egypt - meant that the wearer was protected by the gods. "Were you Hathor?" Adriel blew out a sigh of amusement then leaned forward to smell Art's neck again because he smelled like himself once more and it was a mouth watering scent. "She and Horus were both consorts," he mumbled into Art's skin. "Later, after they died, I did some of both of their jobs, but Death picked up a lot of it. The Egyptians and Sumerians always wanted our children, so often we took two or more consorts, and their list of gods is huge as a result. Egypt was a land of excess and pleasure, so we were happy to spend time there. We never really took on any exact positions - all but the Ogdoad were initially made by consorts, children, or us. We were the Ogdoad, the four pairs your people now seem to try to give determining roles to, be it about waters of creation, the infinite, the invisible, and darkness. Oh, and Amun was an accident." Adriel pulled back and made a face at the stupidity of that decade. "I got annoyed and swatted one of my sibling's kids away because his little rebellion in thebes was interrupting my work, and then they decided that Amun was the main god of Thebes - I don't know why, humans are weird sometimes. It did mean that I was spoiled, though, so it wasn't too bad, except the Ogdoad were all supposed to be the unidentifiable four so we could get work done in a very complicated civilization without having to deal with consorts since some of us aren't interested in those things when all of the gods had consorts. The Ogdoad, however, were male and female at the same time - one being that could be either - and they were their own consorts and so sacrifices were put to death after the summoning if they were rejected. My siblings were rather put out that Amun the Hidden ended up becoming the main god during the er... You call it middle and new kingdom time period. And that if we needed to use the position, we had to take a consort for the other gender of that pair, which meant only I and my second sibling could regularly do the duties of Mut in lieu of the sacrifice along with the duties of Amun if we used it. Khonsu was to symbolize the third sibling who had already left for his travels by then, and we didn't let any god take that position since we were the original three that birthed life even if others did come along that could do Mut's duties." "That sounds difficult," Art promptly said, since how else was he supposed to say it? Every time Adriel explained something new about the ancient Gods, it sounded like a worse family drama than his had been two years ago when his grandfather had announced that he was giving the heirloom pocket watch to Dio rather than him the day before his seventeenth birthday. He started to frown, only his chin was cupped and his face was tilted up so he was forced to look up at Adriel even the touch was a lot more gentle than the usual tugging and pulling was. "Your grandfather's approval no longer matters - he is a terrible creature that would have been executed in the old world for his acts," Adriel told Art. "Do you not understand the powers that can be granted to you or the gifts you can recieve? I can give you knowledge of the ancient languages you wish to know, and you have the power to determine who gets to see me since I don't want to bother with daily petitioners asking for petty things. That means they need to appease you, and any that would dare to hurt or use you would feel my full wrath. You have already received a small trinket from me - what do I care for an ancient text when I already have knowledge of my own and can force changes on what I don't like? Now, go ahead and get dressed up and do your talk with these Unspeakables and your shopping and the letter to your library for your vacation time. I will say that I will smite any Unspeakable that even thinks of taking you for human experimentation like you fear, and if one wants to visit your home, warn them they must give proper payment to you and a donation worthy of seeing a god to me. I won't loot or burn anything while you are gone, and I willed the clothes into existence so stop worrying about that." Art was annoyed that he didn't even get to say anything out loud properly, then Adriel softly laughed before he was sniffing Art's neck again. Art bit back his sigh as he stayed still, then squeaked when Adriel suddenly pressed his mouth against his neck in a spot that made him shiver when it was sucked on. It stung a little bit, but it was a good sting that sent the warmed from Adriel's mouth straight down to the pit of Art's stomach, then it was over and he stumbled back against the couch when he was let go as he automatically reached up to cover that spot on his neck with his hand. "What?" he asked, wondering what that had been about. "A temporary mark so people know you are taken," Adriel said with a haughty sniff as he turned around to go back to the couch. "If anyone touches you inappropriately, I will be very displeased. And no, you initiating with someone else is different, but I won't let anyone think they are worthy enough to do something to you. Yes, I do mean you can kiss or lay with someone else, but not until you do so with me first and I should always be foremost in your mind." Art turned red as he backed away into his room, glad that Adriel had gone back to his apple and newspaper and had not been looking at him when he had told him that. He closed his door as soon as he was able to, and then buried his face in his hands and groaned. What kind of magic did Adriel have to make him feel so weird and disoriented?! And it wasn't fair that he didn't have privacy in his mind! Maybe he could stay in his room all day and just not go out except when it was time to feed Adriel so that he would not get eaten? Adriel said he wouldn't eat him, but he gave Art almost the same exact look that he gave yesterday's feast, and he kept putting his mouth on him! But no, he had too much to do today to stay in... and he had to get his tent that he had left in the woods and clean up the broken glass in the barrow. ************** Getting in to see the Unspeakables was a lot easier than Art thought it would be. All he did was walk in through the lobby, and suddenly two faceless people wearing all black had each arm and were dragging him to the elevators without him even getting to go to the security desk to check in his wand. "You are now in custody for questioning by the Unspeakables," the one on his right said in a very scary monotonous and deep voice that could be male or female. "Do not struggle or attempt to escape." "I can walk!" Art snapped, angry at being manhandled outside of his apartment now as well. "And I came to talk to you guys, anyway!" At that, the grip on his arms was loosened, and he was able to walk rather than get dragged to the elevator even though they didn't release him. When they reached it, the one on his left arm let him go to wordlessly make the people in the elevator get out of it just by his terrifying presence and the wand he slowly pulled out to intimidate the people inside with, then Art was pulled in by the second one while the first one started casting spells on the elevator. Everyone that had been in the elevator and lobby were staring at Art, and Art had no doubt that he looked pale and terrified to them since he was now second guessing his decision to come here. Finally, the elevator doors closed, and The One that had still been holding his arm let go to hit the button for the lowest level. "Who do you serve," the Other One suddenly snarled, and Art turned in time to see a silver dagger pointed at him. "Do you realize what you have done?!" Art heard The One behind him curse. "Put that away," The One snapped at the Other One, but the Other One ignored him and lunged forward to stab Art. Art squeezed his eyes shut and screamed as he tried to get behind The One that didn't seem to want him to get hurt, but The One also suddenly backed away and Art found himself pinned against the elevator wall because The One had also flung out his arm to push him back. He opened his eyes to figure out what was happening, and he saw that instead of that large dagger, the Other One was holding a silver snake - silver as in the metal, not the color - and it was soundlessly hissing at the Other One who was trying to shake off the dagger-turned-snake in his hand. "Foolish idiot!" Art started to try to squirm out to get into a safe corner, only The One wouldn't let him out from behind him. "Get it off!" the Other One screamed, but he couldn't shake off the snake's coils. Suddenly, the silver snake lunged forward, and Adriel saw the darkness that hid the man's face shatter like crushed onyx and dissipate into black smoke. The woman's exposed face was twisted with horror, and then the snake bit her throat. Art started screaming again and clutched at the back of The One's robes to hide his face, and he didn't stop hiding or screaming until the elevator doors opened up so he could dart out to safety with The One right on his heels. "She should have begged for your forgiveness," The One bitched as he kept ushering Art forward - something Art was all too willing to do since he didn't want to see what happened after the snake bit that woman. He knew the stories and knew they were gruesome. "I apologize for her actions - we are to apprehend you and question you, but everyone has been told not to do anything to you. She was one of the muggleborn that scoffed at superstitious tales and was exceptionally upset to find out that they were real yesterday. We have been searching for the Sacrifice ever since those ancient artifacts started signaling that there was one in the world again." Art had absolutely no idea what to say, but he was starting to feel angry because he hated feeling so helpless and speechless. He let himself get respectfully escorted to the doors at the end of the dungeon-like corridor, and when they entered a room that was filled with doors that started spinning, he got even more angry at how dizzy it made him. "There is nothing wrong with being muggleborn!" he finally snapped once the doors stopped spinning and The One had started to reach out for a handle. " I'm not a dark wizard and I LOVE my father who is a muggle!" The One had paused when Art had started shouting, but s/he nodded and opened the door to a room filled with desks that had Other Other Ones sitting and working at them, though they all stopped to look up and stare at Art. "My apologies, sacrifice," The One said, and Art would have been irritated by the name and the immediate apology, but he was feeling intimidated by how many faceless black robes people there were. "I did not mean to imply you had a problem with muggles or muggleborns. I just meant that she refused to believe in any kind of sentient force - she was an atheist that dealt purely with facts." The One gestured for Art to go in, only Art didn't want to go in first. "I need a clean up on elevator two." The One walked in first, and Art grabbed the Unspeakable's robes as he followed him (her?) in since he knew The One would not be hurting him, at least. Not after he saw whatever it was that happened after the snake bit the woman that had them acting a lot more nicer than they had been at first. One of the Other Other Ones got up and left the room when Art and The One was halfway to it, and then they were going through another door that led into a hallway that looked similar to the one they took only there were more doors. Art released The One's robes after the door closed behind him, and Art finally spoke up. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Pick the door that draws you, and that is the office we will use," The One replied. "It's like choosing a wand - you will know the right door when we reach it. You don't want to pick any other door though - it won't open unless it is the right one." Art and The One silently walked for quite a while, but none of the doors were particularly interesting or anything to him. He did start getting tired though - it almost felt like that long hike only there were no killer bees. There had only been a killer Unspeakable that was probably dead even if Art didn't actually see the woman die or a dead body. Or hear what had happen, either, since he had been screaming loud enough that he couldn't hear her screams after that initial bite. "I didn't want her dead," he said out loud, just to clarify that he was not a murderer or anything, but once he started, it was like a dam had broken and he couldn't stop. "Or hurt or cursed or anything! Or anyone else cursed, either! He just keeps reading my mind and knows what I'm doing and does stuff himself like cursing all of my bullies and my sister and my grandfather! And he keeps sniffing me and left a red mark on my neck and keeps making me feel dizzy and sick and acts and looks like he wants to eat me! Then the goblins said I have to retire from my archivist training but I don't want to, Adriel wants feasts except I only know how to cook a Christmas dinner, and now he wants a God House only I don't know what a God House is but I'm supposed to give him options within a week! And then he told me Christianity isn't real, that I'm only interested in men even though I like women, that I am not allowed to pray to anyone except for him, and he keeps calling me sacrifice and I hate that! CALL ME ART!" The One kept glancing back at him as his rant grew angry and angrier, and they nodded at his demand. "I will call you Art," they agreed. "We did not know who you were so we were addressing you by title. May I have your full name?" "Artemio Jose Miller Reyes, but I go by Art Reyes," Art immediately replied, feeling a little bit better now that someone was calling him by his name finally. "I graduated from hogwarts last year with the highest OWLs and NEWTs and was getting close to my one year of apprenticeship with the magical archivist at the British Museum, but they all wanted me to write a proper thesis at a Neolithic site. I was studying Wayland's Smithy when I accidentally summoned Adriel? And since then everything has changed, he has taken over my home and my life, and everyone is treating me weird, and I hate it! Is there a way for me to unsummon him? I came here to ask that." The One shrugged. "If there is, we do not know it, but I don't believe there is a way to do so," s/he stated, and Art drooped with disappointment. "It would be like unsummoning gravity or dismissing time. The entity you summoned - what has historically been known as gods - are sentient personifications of natural forces that the Unspeakables has studied for hundreds of years. The proto-indo-europeans that we suspect to be close to these sentient forces did not differentiate between male and female things like we do, like a female pig is called a sow or a male cow a bull. They named fire hng-WIS when speaking about it as a sentient form or when in use with the flames active while pyrr was fire in an inanimate form, referring to heat, warmth, or just talking about a fire. And so it was with most things that could be seen as living, sentient, or have a spirit or a soul - there was the sentient name for it and the inanimate name for it. For example, 'Thames River' would be a sentient form, while 'a river' is an inanimate form. We know nothing about the humans from even earlier than them, but that was also when the earliest records of magical beings - the ancestors of goblins and such - are first seen so we can but assume there were close ties even that far back." The One had started looking back at Art more often as they walked and talked, but Art was comparing what the Unspeakable was saying to what Adriel had told him. "When was the Dead Sea made?" he asked. "Adriel said-" ' Ah, ah, my little Sacrifice,' Art heard in his head as his mouth snapped shut on its own. 'We do not tell others what is learned unless they are worthy to learn things directly from me.' "He said...?" The One asked in a curious tone, then saw Art shaking his head no so he answered the question. "The Dead Sea is thought to be a couple million years old and was once connected to the mediterranean and the red sea." Art frowned and started to worry he might be in trouble. "Were people around back then?" he asked, glad that his mouth did not stay closed as he started going over the things he had said about Adriel so far. He... Had not been able to talk to anyone about anything, he realized. The goblins had stopped him when he started to say something extra - even cutting him off before he barely started to say anything. "The theory is that humans as we know it were around about five million years ago," The One said as he glanced back at Art again. "Are you paying attention to any of the doors?" Art had not been, not really, and he shrugged. He was wondering about those missing two or three million years between humans being made and the dead sea Adriel said he had to make because of Death. It was a lot of history to be missing. "None of them have been interesting," he replied. "What is special about them?" The Unspeakable shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I just wanted to make sure we did not pass the one you want," s/he said, but that just made Art worry. "Our work here is not for others to know - that is why we are called Unspeakable. We do not speak of what we do." "Oh, so just studying the forces of the universe isn't the only thing you do?" Art asked, his tone coming out a little snide on accident and he felt a little bit bad since it sounded like the same tone that people mocking him for his studying used. "I - er- didn't mean it like that. I mean, I always heard it was human experimentation and unspeakable horrors. And exploring magic." "No worries, I'm sure we do those things, too," The One said, only this time there was a dry humor tone to it that startled Art into a small laugh between his own sense of humor. It was the first time that The One had not spoken in monotone, and Art was pretty sure it was sarcasm. Kind of sure. Dubiously sure. "Magic is just another force of the universe, one that is capable of so much only we have barely tapped into its potential! The only limitations from it come from us! The entity that you summoned used to teach humans how to harness it, but we lost so much knowledge because of purges, dark ages, bans on dangerous magic, and wars. Is he teaching you magic?" Art shook his head no. "Just some... history," Art said with an unhappy expression since it was the parts of history he loved but it was also knowledge that was rearranging his entire view about everything. "He did say..." Art paused to make sure he was not going to be stopped. "He said that I could have things granted or gifted... He actually gave me a gift already. The Codex of Luke in Ancient Greek! Then he told me I had to stop worshipping the false Christian god... But I do think he means all the the Abrahamic religions." "Well, it was started by a man named Abram," The One pointed out. "It pretty much tried to lump all of the primordial forces into one simplified being, and I imagine it would make them all mad. They are all very complex and sentient forces that control vast portions of power that have taken on many names and identities, and to suddenly have their worshippers who had been praying to them for tens of thousands of years to suddenly start praying to something else would probably have them unhappy." Art suddenly got the feeling that this person wanted to meet Adriel - s/he was speaking monotonously, but the tone was rushed like his own would get when he was excited and talking about something he loved. "Did you... want to meet him?" Art timidly asked, then had to stop because the Unspeakable had stopped to stare (he assumed it was staring, the empty space was looking in his direction) and he had almost plowed into their back. Adriel did say it would be ok, but... "He said that he would be willing to meet with an Unspeakable, but I have to be paid and he wants an offering befitting a god." "Oh... You need lessons on how to properly take bribes and offerings," The One said, and Art scowled since it wasn't like he had ever done this before. "Peace, Art. I did not mean that in a bad way, just surprised is all. I would like to know who you serve before I ask to see them, but we do need to get to an office first." "How long is this corridor?" Art asked once they resumed their walk and he had pushed aside the mention about lessons on taking bribes and offerings. Bribery was corrupt and he wasn't the type of person to only introduce rich people to Adriel! Actually, he wasn't too sure who to introduce Adriel to, only that Adriel had told him an Unspeakable was fine if they made a proper offering and donation to both him and Art. "All these doors still look the same to me." "We're almost at the end," The One said, then added the next part under their breath. "I wonder if this thing is broken or wrong." "Broken or wrong?" Art asked, but The One just waved their hand to dismiss the question. He was about to open his mouth to ask another question, only something caught his attention up ahead. "Oh, is there something here?" "You feel something?" The One quickly asked, and when Art nodded, they clapped their hand and picked up the speed. "Which one?" They passed two more doors on each side before Adriel pointed at a door that was the one after the next one. "That one," he said. "On the right, right after here." The One sucked in some air, and Art frowned. "Did I say something wrong?" "No, nothing wrong," s/he said, then stopped in front of the door that Art had pointed out and gestured for him to open it. "Go ahead, it should only open at your touch. I haven't got to see any of these rooms yet - they are all made based off of theory of the gods, so this one is your room." Art suspiciously narrowed his eyes and did not touch that door. It might be a prison! "What do you mean by my room?" he asked in a tone that demanded an answer as he folded his arms over his chest to hide his hands in his armpits so he couldn't be forced to open the door by being pushed to it. "There is an ancient artifact that belongs to your god in there, and it drew you to this room," The One explained as they held their hands up to show they were not going to do anything. "Each room here holds something similar, but you are the first sacrifice to walk through here so none of us knew if it would work. We're in the section with the primordial god stuff. There's nothing for you to be afraid of, though you shouldn't touch whatever artifact is there in that room since almost all the religious artifacts we have collected are cursed." Art kept one eye on the Unspeakable and the other on the door as he debated with himself... An ancient artifact! A suspicious trap... But they didn't even know who he was, so there was no way they knew it would be a good trap, right? Otherwise they would have said there was gold or jewelry or some powerful magical object rather than something cursed. He reached out to to open the door while he kept an eye on the door and the other person, and the door opened up without a sound into a red room. " Ooooh, one of the red gods!" the Unspeakable exclaimed, the charm that kept their voice a genderless monotone unable to completely disguise the person's excitement. "Are any of the other doors inside also of interest? Oh, go in, or I can go in first if you want." Art took a step back so the Unspeakable could go in before him, and he breathed a sigh of relief when the robed person went inside and nothing happened. "Both of the doors," he said as he followed them in because he felt a pull from them also, then noticed the books and made a beeline for the table while the Unspeakable hovered over the entertainment cabinet that had a weird black rock that sucked in light but had a shimmer to it around the carvings at the top. He figured it was the cursed artifact - it definitely looked ominous - so he ignored it to see what the titles of the books were only they had no titles. "Am I allowed to read the books?" "The four gods of chaos, but the mother goddess is there, too," the Unspeakable said. "Which one is yours, though? Has he mentioned any mesopotamian gods by chance? Oh, the books are for your god - they are all written in cuneiform to help him understand what has happened in the world." Art was very disappointed to hear they were written in an alphabet he didn't know - it was an alphabet that was even more difficult than modern or ancient Chinese. "He mentioned Enki, but also Amun-Ra," he reported. He had meant to say Ogdoad, but his tongue slipped for some reason. Some reason suspiciously being Adriel since it had that same feel that snapping his mouth shut did. He figured he would let it go, though. "The goblins recognized God of Chaos, Son of Creation, and Divine Red, and he has also mentioned Loki, Lôgna, the Americas though he didn't say what specific god there, only that he liked that region and that Egypt was..." Art couldn't quite recall the words. "A den of pleasure and excess? And that-" "That?" the Unspeakable asked as they looked up, then noted Art's scowl and thought he was wondering how to gather up the books. "Ah, you can shrink all of the books and just stick them in your pocket. Or actually, I'll conjure you up a bag real quick - there is probably more in the other rooms. So you said Enki? What about Inanna?" Art was annoyed at being cut off by Adriel again as he watched the Unspeakable conjure, cast some spells on it, then tossed it onto the table for Art to grab. "What spells did you cast?" he asked as he picked up the books but did not touch the bag. "And I don't recall him mentioning an Inanna." Art paused and frowned since he had a sudden feeling of foreboding. "I don't think I am allowed to tell you anything else?" And then the feeling melted away into the warmth of approval and Art scowled at having his privacy - his whole life! - completely invaded. "There's no way I can unsummon him or let someone else be the sacrifice?" Art could tell that the look the Unspeakable was giving him was either shocked or judgemental - he had gotten plenty of both throughout his life. "I would have offered to switch places with you if it was possible," the Unspeakable said. "Actually, let's go through these rooms and you can collect the books in those if there are any. The spells I cast were extension spells, and I'll explain things like the God House and such for you. Maybe seeing more stuff will help you realize you are actually in a very honored position." ***************** By the time Art left the Department of Mysteries, he had a couple dozen books in the bag, was told someone would contact him soon, and he learned he learned that a God House was pretty much a temple and a mansion in one. Examples would have been the ziggurats of mesopotamia, the grand Egyptian and Greek temples that claimed gods lived in them, the stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy was supposed to have housed gods during neolithic England, and that the asian countries even in the modern days still had temples gods were supposed to reside in - some built like small but elaborate sheds and others as large as a palace. Art had been told to go to the goblins to enquire about places available or that could be built, but they suggested he should probably just sketch some blue prints to present to his god. Oh, and yes, that Adriel was definitely his god, sacrifices that tried to wander to other gods met terrible fates that 'jealousy' stories often mentioned, and that Adriel was definitely one of the Old Gods that moved and transformed along with time. Most of the rooms that had been connected to the first one had been red, but some had been blue or gold. He had only gotten to wander through nineteen rooms before he realized he couldn't keep looking through more doors or he would not have time to see the goblins and do more shopping. Art had thought the Unspeakable had been very nice to have gifted him some recipe books and household charm books, but the person had then said it was a prelude for the payment for getting to visit. Part of his bribe. Art would have chucked them back at the Unspeakable's face except that he really did need a recipe book to make more kinds of foods since he didn't want to be eaten by some immortal god entity. His next stop was the bank, and he had been surrounded by goblins and ushered to what he learned was the private podium for people like kings, emperors, high priests, and the like. Apparently, the 'sacrifice' title meant he would be treated as any and all of the above because he could be elevated as such, only Art didn't want to be 'elevated' or anything - he just wanted to get his apprenticeship worked though, pick up some other skills, and become an archeologist! Then again, he had also been exposed to so much ancient lore and artifacts already, owned an ancient book, and was probably going to be dragged along to this God House. He could kind of see why that Unspeakable had said they would have switched places with him if it were possible since most people would probably want this sort of thing. The goblins had a small selection of properties that were nice, but none of them looked right to Art when he saw the pictures. A castle was not a temple, and a simple manor would not withstand the test of time. He did get to go down to the vault though, and it had given a whole new meaning to ' a king's ransom.' The waterfall behind the treasure was the mouth of the Thief's Downfall - concentrated enough that even the mist would reveal him if he was an imposter - and Art was warned not to touch the lamp since it contained an evil Djinn that one of the ancient priests had sealed away. Art wondered if it was the djinn that made the phoenix. Art excitedly hopped from 'mythical lost artifact' to 'legendary sword' to 'holy relic' until the goblin cleared his throat and told Art to get his money and go. Art was about to snap at the goblin for interrupting him like that, but he closed his mouth when he realized that it would sound A) very pureblood, B) very racist, and C) like he expected special treatment. Both the Unspeakable and Adriel had already been telling Art that he would get special treatment, and the goblins had already given him enough special treatment that he didn't want, so he grabbed the gold with a very sad and forlorn sigh as he looked out over the sea of artifacts, then trudged out of the vault and to do his shopping. Art finally got home and was intending to go to the kitchen to start dinner, but he dropped his grocery bags (but not the bag of books, never the bag of books) on the floor because his living room had been changed! The couch had a lump of what looked like a very soft beige blanket, his own very soft beige blanket, then Adriel rolled over to look at him and why wasn't he wearing a shirt again?! All of that beautiful skin and muscle on display was going to make Art suffer a stroke, and the plain necklaces just accentuated how absolutely divine the chest and stomach he was looking at was. "Because the blanket is very soft and I prefer to feel it and the new couch," the stupid god told him in a matter-of-fact way that made Art snap out of his thoughts and wish he could kick Adriel out of his house. Adriel sat up and gave Art puppy eyes, but Art seemed completely immune to the look since he was seething with anger, frustration, and embarrassment. "I thought you would be happy with some nicer bookshelves! And there is the little altar space right by you so you can store the proper stuff you need to set up incense and candles and such for me." "You can't just - this is my living room!" Art spluttered, and while yes, it looked very nice and his comfy arm chair had not disappeared, he had liked his couch also! "Where is my couch?!" Adriel sighed since his little sacrifice was so hard to please. "This is your couch - I just changed it since you gave me this room for my repose," he explained, then pursed his lips when Art got even more agitated. "I also made the bookshelves larger so there was no longer stacks of books and put a curtain up for more color. No, I will not change it back, you told me this was where I was to sleep and I prefer the royal Roman color of Tyrian purple and bronze. The room was also too small, so I made it a little bigger and more comfortable. Do you like the rug? It has proper gold threading." Art opened and shut his mouth a few times. Yes, he had told Adriel he could sleep on the couch, but he had not given him the whole room! It was HIS room! HIS apartment! HIS stacks of books and how dare Adriel put in such expensive looking curtains and rugs and made his living room look nice! And Adriel was conceited enough to also want to dedicate an altar to him when he was already taking over his home! "I don't like incense," he snapped out as he grabbed his shopping bags up from the floor even though he didn't know if he liked or dislike incense since he had never burned them before. "And I'm already cooking for you! I'm not setting up an altar!" Adriel got up, but Art held his shopping bags out in front of him like a shield when a couple of steps was taken towards him."Nuh uh, you stay on the couch. I'm going to go cook!" Adriel stopped where he was and pouted because his sacrifice was all kinds of cranky and was stomping off towards the kitchen. All he wanted to do was scent him! Adriel followed after Art once Art disappeared into the kitchen, but he leaned against the door frame to watch rather than go inside. "Why are you denying yourself pleasure?" he asked, then clarified when Art sparked with confusion and anger at the question and with Adriel's presence. "You feel the flush of heat and lust when I hold you but dismiss it, and you keep denying how much you enjoy seeing my body. You also keep thinking yourself stuck in a position of servitude where you have to sacrifice your dreams, but I can give you everything you want. All I want in return is your love, adoration, joy, and attention, and I will give you the history you crave and the artifacts and books that you love." Art had scowled when Adriel said he was told he felt lust because he did not! And he didn't enjoy seeing Adriel's body - it was embarrassing! And of course he was losing his dreams - everyone was telling him to resign from his position! Then Adriel offered him stuff, and yes, he loved those things, but that wasn't the point! "I want my freedom!" he shouted as he grabbed up an apple and chucked it at Adriel who just caught it and took a bite. "I want to go to work and learn to be an archivist, librarian, and an archeologist, and achieve all of the history feats myself! I don't want it all just handed to me!" Adriel shrugged as he finished chewing on his bite and shrugged. "Then do that, too, as long as you stay with me," he said. "Have tutors come to our God House to teach you the skills you want and make a library there that will put all other libraries to shame. I want you as my consort to father my new children, and we can have women so you may also have human children of your own. I can take you wherever you wish to go to dig in the dirt so you can perform hard work, and I will continue to give you gifts that you love as long as you love me and please me. No, I won't tell you where ancient things or cities are unless you ask - I understand you want to research and find it yourself. And while you are in various areas, I will just gather bhlaghmṇ to me - wizards and witches as priests - and renew worship for my siblings and I. Inanna is the one who birthed more humans, and she has been known by many names and was the great mother since you were wondering, and yes, I will expect my priests to go out and find one that can bring that one along as well or I will have to deal with their anger. Stop trying to make yourself so unhappy and accept what I have to give - it should not matter that I appear male since that is what you prefer. You can be the god of history, books, and knowledge, consort to me. Artemio is a noble name for a god." Art was drawn in by the idea of having his own library... They did say he might want to design the God House himself. There was plenty of gold to pay for any kind of materials to make sure it was the most durable temple that could preserve books and scrolls perfectly, too! Plus have people go to his house so he wouldn't have to deal with people at work? That sounded very nice. But then he scowled because Adriel was telling him he had to love and please him, and he was not attracted to men! And he also did NOT want to be considered a god! He was just a regular human! "Not anymore," Adriel said with an unhappy frown since Art still seemed so upset. "You are tied to me and will live for many centuries once you give me your body. If you don't want to be a god, that is fine - you can be ambhíqolos instead, perhaps the knowledge keeper or cup bearer. No, Ganymede was not my deed - he was not a sacrifice and I had plenty of willing humans to join with even if some needed to be seduced. Like I said before, plenty of gods were interchangeable and it is why the worship would change at times. Yes, the ancient Greek Erotes were mine - all of the winged humans are mine, and no, none of them could really procreate. Hmmm, it's complicated, but yes, I also have had winged forms." Art frowned with irritation since he had not asked any questions while he had washed his hands then started washing the vegetables with his back to Adriel. Or rather, Adriel had avoided the most important topic. "What do you mean by 'not anymore'?!" he asked as he glared at the potatoes that were being scrubbed with a vegetable brush. "If I don't... You know. Do stuff. Does that mean I won't have to live for so long? Because I will not be doing anything inappropriate with you! I don't want to father your children when you say you make monsters! Or sleep with those scarlet women you think are going to show up for you! Also, there is a Statue of Secrecy so we can't show magic to muggles!" "You are the most difficult sacrifice I have ever had," Adriel huffed, irritated, insulted, and amused at the same time. "What a silly law to pass, but it doesn't apply to me... Oh, well... Those persecutions were your own faults for following that religion Abram made up. None of us changed his name to Abraham - he did that himself - and none of us particularly liked him and kept kicking him out because he refused to give proper worship after his petitions for priesthood in Sumeria was denied all his life which made him start preaching about a false god. You will live two or three centuries if you remain a virgin, but if you give it to someone else, I will be displeased as I said before. I won't kill you like I did that woman in the elevator that dared to threaten you, but I'll do something." He shifted to the other door frame as he watched Art's tense body continue to scrub stuff. "Let's not talk punishments, however, since there are very few things that you can do that would truly anger me - disloyalty being the key thing to it. You are mine and I would rather treasure you and please you, and if that means you would rather remain untouched in carnal ways, then Artemis and Athena were both the same. You should know though that I do want you above all in that way. I also do not only birth monsters - I have had many humanish children like Hecates, Andjety, Ueneg, Vali and Narvi, and many others. I only create 'monsters' as you mean it with my siblings or magical beasts, but if they are monsters, so are you since humans initially came about in the same way. You all are things of intelligence, beauty, and grace because of the blessings we have repeatedly given you all and the children we make with you." Art turned off the water and buried his face in his shoulder for a brief second since Adriel was so infuriating and embarrassing! And he could remain a virgin! Fine... That was fine. He could work with that. And not pray to any other gods... Adriel seemed to really dislike Abraham since his voice always turned a bit scathing or disgusted when he brought up any of those topics. Art did feel a bit guilty since Adriel sounded a bit hurt when he explained his children, though. "I won't worship anyone else, but make your stupid altar, either," he angrily grumbled as he dried his hands on a dish towel then moved the cleaned vegetables in the colander to the counter and pulled out the recipe book the Unspeakable had given him. Tutors and a library sounded nice, but he doubted that Adriel would be able to form a new religion in this day and age. Just cause a lot of work for the obliviation squads. "I won't be disloyal, either. You need to stop that creepy sniffing thing you do since I am going to be just like Artemis and Athena." Adriel was pleased with the grudging acceptance Art just gave, and he prowled into the kitchen to grab the back of Art's shirt to pull him up against him and sniff his neck. "I may not defile your body, but you smell far too nice and are very soft to not hold, taste, and smell," he purred as he wrapped an arm around Art's waist to keep him in place because Art was trying to pull away. Plus, he would not be able to seduce Art if he kept a distance like Art wanted. "I never said you needed to worship me - your station is above a priest, let alone a follower - but I will get your love, adoration, and attention, and give you much joy in return." Art couldn't help a small shiver from the implied promise at the end that Adriel gave him. Joy? He never had that before. Then Adriel's mouth was on his neck, and he stiffened up since he couldn't get away. Stupid stupid stupid, he let his guard down! Why was the kitchen and his clothes so cramped now? "I need to cook!" he squeaked out as he started struggling again, and thank goodness Adriel let him go. He twirled around to glare at Adriel as he backed up against the counter and shook his finger at him in a scolding way. "Go back to the living room! And the cloth bag on the counter is yours - read your books and stay out until I'm done cooking!" Adriel's eyes brightened since he did like them fiery, and he took a step closer as he put his hands on the counter to cage Art in. "I want a sign of affection first," he said in a commanding tone though he was giving his sacrifice a fond smile. "You were gone for so long! Then I shall let you be to read the books from those people you met today. I may even make copies in latin for you to read." Art turned bright red as he leaned back to give himself a bit more space even though Adriel technically was not touching him anywhere. Affection?! Like... A kiss? No, wait, there were hugs! Hugs... that required touching all that bare skin, and Art felt like he would probably combust if he tried that. The expanse of dazzling copper skin with a body that Da Vinci would have pronounced a 'perfect man' along that long, soft-looking glorious dark hair that any goddess of the wild would have wanted... Art squeezed his eyes shut and blocked out the sight so he could try to think of an affectionate human gesture that might be considered acceptable where he didn't have to touch too much. Before he could really begin thinking, he felt Adriel's hot mouth on his neck again and whined because he did not mean to tilt his head back but it felt so good! When Art had closed his eyes to try and stop the mental war that Adriel absolutely loved listening in on, it made him look very appetizing. Adriel decided that a mark on the other side of his neck was in order, so he lowered his head to make one and was pleased with the sounds and thoughts Art made over it. He wanted to hover to taste and smell even longer, but he knew Art would snap out of his pleasure very quick so he made his little mark and then stepped back and smiled at the expression Art gave him that was supposed to be a scowl, but far too dazed to get a proper glare or a frown going. "You took a bit too long to decide, so I decided for you," Adriel said in a light tone as he reached out to grab the back on the counter that had Art skittering sideways like a started lamb. "As you demanded, I will go off to the living room and let you cook, my beautiful Artemio." Adriel turned and did just that without looking back even though he could feel Art's eyes on him. He supposed it had been far too many centuries, and mortals forgot proper fear, awe, and worship that his kind wanted from the creatures they had made, nurtured, and loved. All of his previous sacrifices were eager for their duty, but Art was ignorant and in denial. He would just have to fix the first with awe inspiring acts and the second with seduction until he could no longer deny his attraction. It would keep things interesting while he considered how he would resurrect the old religions or create a new one, and he would draw Art into bed. Art dumbly stood staring out the doorway of the kitchen even after he couldn't see Adriel... What had? No! He was not attracted! If hadn't felt good! Adriel had called him by name and said he was beautiful? No, no, he couldn't think about that right now... He had a feast to cook. Yes, a feast. He should find a properly difficult thing to cook also to make sure he did not think about what Adriel had just done!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2023 1:50:59 GMT
Captain RedTimeline: During WW2 around March 1940Quartermaster Kurra - Sepia First Mate Pyro - Quinn Bosun Indie - Paul Maya Halili had a very concerning job to do - find out what happened to the other ICW agents who had been investigating this 'Captain Red' in the Mediterranean region. She was picked for this because she had come from Albania, and it was highly suspected that this 'Captain Red' was a dark wizard who was using the war to abduct non-magical people since the other missing aurors had been investigating what was happening with the missing people. The rumors on the non-magical side said he was a pirate that was offering safety, however neither Axis nor Allies military forces could find this pirate, though a small sailing ship had been spotted many times going as fast as a motorized race boat. The ship had 'Crimson Waves' painted on the side of the red hull in bold and black letters, and it was registered to no country. The red sails were said to only drop when picking up passengers, but the ship obviously had radio capability since the times it had been ordered to drop its identification flag, it dropped flags from many countries and missing ships stitched together like a mockery of a sail. As small as the boat was, that display showed it was capable of fighting, so both sides of the war were reluctant to waste resources to chase it down or investigate it too much since it didn't seem to be doing anything except smuggle the common people around. They had much larger battleships to fry, though it was starting to garner more attention for taking and disappearing some political refugees, so that might not last much longer. The wizarding community, however, was supposed to stay out of the war which was also why the ICW had been sending agents to track this ship down, and the ship along with the rumors of the missing people and missing agents were all tied together. Maya was trained for long term undercover operations, they knew that the next pickup was slated for a coastal town in Albania called Shëngjin, and that passengers were a mix of Jewish people and their families from the laborer class. Albania had been hit hard by the war - the fascist Italian government with the communist rebels were causing a lot of problems, and the jews fleeing into the country were also a strain on the resources available. 'Captain Red' had offered to take a couple dozen refugees through an underground network that was still not uncovered (but suspected of being Greek Mavros and Turkish Black Order agents, and who knows what Red was offering those spooks), and now Maya was in a small camp on the beach a few miles from any other town with almost 50 other people of varying ages around her. Night fell, and some people tried to sleep while others muttered fearful whispers until one in the morning. Crying children and babies were quickly shushed by older siblings who had to care for them as the camp was broken down. The Captain was said to arrive at the lowest tide during the night, and it would be within an hour. Maya folded and packed away the blanket she had been using to keep the night chill away, then she put a scarf over her head to cover her hair like any decent Albanian woman would. She moved to assist a large family of six that had been camping for two days in this spot, and she was almost done when a loud snapping sound easily cut through the hushed conversations. Everyone looked up, and there were red sails backlit with bright lanterns that was coming in and beaching itself into the wet sands of low tide. From there, activity grew rushed as people packed up the last of their things or woke up the sick and the elderly to help them towards the boat. Through the dim light, Maya could see two people on board the deck, and each person that climbed up the gangway was given a beaded bracelet they were putting on before being pointed to a door that would go below deck. The people around her were looking skeptical about such a small craft holding everyone here, but Maya now knew for sure that the boat was magical since it would not be able to handle the mass or the weight of so many people and their items otherwise. They were all desperate, however, so they all filed towards the ship without questioning it as did Maya herself. She had placed herself in the last third of the line of people - the family of six she had helped was behind her as were the last of the single men who had been assisting people like she had been. Captain Red was right there with a lot of colorful beads and braids and very fine clothing, and he was watching her as she accepted a beaded bracelet from a young man who had shoulder length hair and a bandana around his forehead. "Put this on, ma'am," the young man said in a polite tone with an American accent. "After that, you can go down to the hold and get more directions there." Maya could feel the magic in the wood bracelet, and looking at it she could see there was something carved into it like prayer beads. It was too dark to see what was actually written on it, but the young man cleared his throat so she reluctantly put it just as she had seen others do. A moment later, she felt another brush of magic, but when she looked at Captain Red, there was no wand in sight and she was given a charming smile before he made shooing motions at her to move on. She realized she was holding up the line, so she made her way through the door and down a set of stairs that had a curtain hiding what was below. She pushed past the (canvas?) curtain and stepped into a large common room. A glance behind her showed that the 'curtain' was actually a repurposed sail, and she bet that it and a good portion of the furniture inside had been looted from other ships that had been magically shot down by this one. She walked in to see what was in the next area, however she no more than stepped in to see others looking around with confusion before she heard another man with a Greek accent address her. "Miss, have a seat," he said, and she looked to her right and wondered why everyone she had seen working on the boat were very very handsome men. He was older, in his 40s, but he looked very good and had a lot of fancy items on him. Oh. No. She realized he looked like he was from Hephaestus Hill as she looked closely at some of the weird tools on him. She nodded and gave a grateful smile though she was starting to feel a sliver of fear, then took a seat in the chair he pulled out for her. "Freeze." Maya found herself frozen in position, and she tried to struggle but something was keeping her from doing anything except to breath and blink. "Sorry, but Red marked you. If you're not an agent, he will apologize no doubt, but you'll have to wait until everyone else straggles in. Just be calm, shouldn't be too long now. He's going to explain things to everyone here then deal with you after." Maya worked to control her breathing even though she felt a lot of panic. She didn't think she had done anything wrong - her wand was in her pack and the only spells on her were subtle glamours to discourage people from looking at her too closely. Maybe it was the bracelet? She wanted to study it now that there was good lighting, but she could not move her arm or her head to see it. "All right, everyone take a seat!" The Smith called out in a terrifyingly stern voice that got people's attention as he walked away from her table. "Families stick together at the same table, please. The captain should be here any minute since the last few people as well as the Bosun has come in. That man will be addressed as 'Indie,' I am the First Mate and can be called Pyro, we have a Quartermaster you have not seen yet, but she is a blonde that goes by Kurra, and then there's the captain, Red, who was looking all colorful up top. Red will explain things to you lot, so sit down!" The non-magicals were looking a bit fearful, and several started to quietly pray where they were seated while a few tried to tug off their bracelets to no avail. Maya was seated in a corner so she could see the room, and nobody seemed to notice or pay her frozen state any mind. Then, the pirate captain walked in, and Maya froze when he looked at her first before his attention moved away and to the rest of the room. "Oh, thanks Pyro," Red said with a grin that looked so friendly and disarming that Maya would not have been terrified at all if she were not frozen in place. "I'm waiting for high tide to unbeach us, so that will be a few hours, but I'm sure you all are wondering about the boat, right? You all don't need to be afraid at all - the one that was cursed was me. You see, I was an evil pirate once upon a time - a little over a thousand years ago to be exact - and destroyed and looted many towns and ships all over the seas, and one of those was an Indian temple to Kali. The ancient priest there cursed me to never step foot on any country's land until I saved three times the amount of people I killed back in my wicked days, so now I am atoning for my misdeeds that I may not go to hell once I'm finally released from my curse. It was a Chinese Taoist monk that I saved two hundred years ago that helped me with my quest however - though ancient Chinese mystical prayers, he promised that for every group I saved, I would be able to increase my ship's capacity by one person. Sadly, I have had to sink some ships in this war which has added to the amount I need to save, but that's fine since I actually enjoy this life!" Maya glanced around and could not believe that everyone here actually believed the bullshit story that just tumbled out of 'Red's' mouth. She never knew people could be this gullible - sure, the non-magicals would look for any way to explain away magic, but this was just... just... absolutely insane! "So! You are wondering about the bracelets, I am sure," the captain said as he gestured to everyone with a sweep of his hand. "They are actually prayer beads crafted by Buddhist Monks, carved by other religious priests based around ancient Babylonian, celtic, the Americas, and Egyptian holy scripts, and cannot be removed until you are away from me and my island - the only land I can walk that used to be my pirate base. They have been blessed by Muslims, Jews, Catholics, and Christians just to name a few, and they are for your protection. Yes, I am cursed, but if you are on my ship or island for too long without those bracelets, you would also end up sharing my fate. My first mate and my quartermaster were from my original crew while this young American here had wanted to be a pirate so bad that he tracked me down twenty five years ago and begged to join. He seems to love the life, but I do not like to take new crew members so don't ask because part of it is forsaking your religion so we may all sail sail into hell together once the curse is broken. One other thing the bracelet will do is that on removal, everything you have experienced while wearing it will be forgotten - that is the Celtic influence with their Tuatha Dé Danann. Alright, Indie, take over and start sorting out rooms! If you all have any problems or need anything, you are to go to him about it first." "Okay, so first is food!" the cheerful young American said with a smile. "This is where food is served, but you will only be here for a day. We keep the fare simple with so many religions and food restrictions, so chicken, eggs, and white fish will be available along with vegetables, grains, and fruits. If you have any food allergies, please let me know and I will make sure it isn't cooked or prepared around your own meals, but we will only be sailing for a day before we get to the island. The island is always a day's sail away, so keep that in mind, and get all the rest and food as you want while you are on the boat. We do need workers on the island - you all need to support yourselves - but that will be explained by the governor... uh... Whoever is acting as governor right now, anyway. We're pirates, so everyone answers to Red in the end. Anyway..." Maya stopped listening to the American and focused on the captain who gave her a friendly smile as he tapped on her chair and took a seat in the one next to it. "You can speak now," he said to her. "Have anything you want to say in defense?" "I don't know what you are talking about!" she shouted, hoping it would get someone's attention, but only Indie glanced back at her for a second while nobody else seemed to notice. She realized there were wards of some type that kept everyone else from noticing the corner she was in, but she continued with her act. "Why are you doing this? I'm just looking for refuge like everyone else is! I don't know why you have singled me out! Why am I stuck here?!" "We have an agent of some kind," the captain said with an annoyed sigh as he looked at Pyro who had decided to also take a seat to Maya's dread. Smiths were rather terrifying people who specialized in all sorts of tools including weapons and torture devices, and she had no doubt that this was one of the one of the scarier ones rather than one of the Smiths that specialized in farm tools. He was even of the age that he could possibly be a Master Smith, though one in their forties was fairly young for a Master Smith. "I wonder if she would make it easier for us and just tell us who she works for, or if I need to get Kurra? Kurra doesn't like female agents too much - she is a bit jealous of my time, and most attempt seduction." Red had looked very friendly, but that sounded like a threat. "I don't know what you are talking about!" Maya insisted, sounding a little bit panicked and fearful now. She had a feeling she didn't want to meet Kurra at all, especially since she probably would have attempted seduction on Red if not on Indie who looked like an easier target. Her brows furrowed then because she realized that Red looked distantly familiar somehow... Like someone that she should know about, but she could not think of why. "Please, just let me go and I'll leave the boat." "If I were to guess, I would say ICW rather than Grindelwald," Pyro said as he squinted at her, and Maya snapped her mouth shut since she didn't want to be under his scrutiny. "The latter don't blend in very well with locals, but she looks and acts just like an Albanian woman." Maya whimpered when Red leaned forward and reached out towards her, but he made a grabbing motion just shy of touching her and she felt the glamours she had been wearing get dispelled. "Hm, still looks the same," Red said to Pyro with a nod. "I doubt she is from the Blue Order since they don't get undercover training. Sorry girlie, we can't let you go, but we won't be sticking you in a prison or anything on the island unless you are one of Grindelwald's lot. You'll be put to work with the other agents that keep the muggled from wandering onto the rest of the island - a very very bad idea since there are many dangerous magical beasts on there." Maya gasped then as she realized who it was sitting in front of her. "Adriel Chee!" she declared - he had gone missing almost a year prior when Italy had invaded Albania and was thought to have died during one of the Mediterranean battles because he had been guiding a group of muggle academics at that time. She had seen so many news articles about him in the years between 1932 and 1939 for finding some very famous and ancient magical history... And Atlantis! And Cleopatra's tomb! With Artemio Reyes, the notorious recluse who ran an ancient Greek city where the citizens called him King Reyes! "Wait, you're the dark wizard making people disappear?!" Maya blushed with both 'Pyro' and Adriel started laughing. "Oh yeah, definitely ICW," Adriel chuckled. "Is that what they have determined that the mysterious Captain Red is? Nope, I provide them all a safe haven on my island, and your missing agents are helping with the safety. Shanghai'd! Honestly, none of them are too broken up about it, though. Some miss their families, but I do need help keeping the non-magicals from being eaten by Nemean lions. I have three prides now!" "Nemean lions?" Maya asked, since she had not heard of them before even though she did know most dangerous beasts. She had only read the articles because both men were handsome and rich bachelors, and because it was Atlantis and Cleopatra who everyone knew about. "What are those?" Adriel and 'Pyro' exchanged glances, then they both shrugged. "Giant lions from Hercules' story that aren't so mythical or extinct anymore," Adriel explained to her. "We accidentally found them when we found the scepter of Zeus right before Atlantis. I keep them in warded areas, but the wards have to be renewed every month or so because the damned cats like to use it as a scratching post. They have claws that can rend a tear into German tanks like a hot knife through butter, and they are impervious to spells and weapons, so... Yes, the muggles need to be protected. Your fellow agents poke magic into ward stones for various areas around the island, and there are two very deadly areas on the island that also need to be kept away from. I did break the curse that killed all foreign influences on the island when I first got it, but I was too busy to do more than poke around the paleolithic and neolithic sites. Your only mode of transportation on the island is on foot or on horse, and it can take about a week on foot to get to the furthest location that needs to be warded. You will be starting by taking supplies to each outpost, and please be careful of the nest of dragons in the mountains. I can't get them removed until after the war, and they do sometimes look for food on the plains." Maya wondered if she should have actually wished for an actual pirate ship run by a dark wizard since Adriel was known to run tight operations when he could be talked into running something. Like Atlantis. That whole thing was so iron clad that he had even defeated the ICW's attempt to claim it in the name of all wizard-kind. Adriel was a famously infamous prince that nobody really knew what to do with since he technically didn't break laws, but he would jump right into loopholes. Well, until now, anyway. "You do realize you will be going to prison for joining the muggle war, right?" she asked. "And you are breaking the statute! And kidnapping ICW agents!" Adriel burst into laughter, and Pyro grumbled as he pulled a few galleons out of his pocket and slapped it down onto the table. "Ah, three for three," Adriel said as he scooped up the galleons and made them just... disappear? "Sorry, wasn't laughing at you - you just used all three things I put my bet down on when we made bets about what agents would say when they realized it was me. First - I have joined no side, I'm just ferrying people around. Second - the statute isn't broken. I'm some kind of devil pirate looking for redemption! Plus, they won't remember anything but my red sails and will probably think they had been stolen by a ghost ship for however long this war lasts for. Your third point - as per the agreement I signed with the ICW about Atlantis, the property stays neutral and I am allowed to hire ICW personnel to maintain my properties so that I do not have to bring other governments into affairs that could break my neutral stance. You and yours will be properly compensated - not only will you be paid by me, but you will also be paid by the ICW for the time you have spent investigating this case... which could also be years. Keep in mind that you will also lose your memories of this time since the Nemean Lions are currently a secret that we can't let out until there is a stable size of them because poachers are a thing, but you will be doing a great deed. Look at all those people - they need safety. More than safety, they need food, they need support, and they need stability. Greece and Turkey have both agreed to take in the refugees once the war is over if they do not return to their own countries, and there have been a few wizards and witches also among the refugees who have agreed to work on the magical side of things to protect their own people. You decided to become what you are to protect everyone in the world - don't these refugees also deserve that protection?" Maya knew that the 'Navajo Prince' had a dangerously charismatic silver tongue that had been part of the whole ordeal with Atlantis, but she couldn't help but look out and see the family of six she had helped along with a few of the very young children she had also watched over the last few days she had been on the beach with them. They had been desperate, then grew a bit fearful with Adriel's tale, but Adriel's ship and presence had also given them hope that had not dimmed. 'Evil and cursed pirate' he may be, but he was also 'atoning' which kept that hope going for them, especially since 'Indie' was cheerful, energetic, and looked so eager to please and happy. Then people started to get up and 'Indie' began handing out keys with a number attached to them while he wrote down names in a captain's log book. Each person that took a key looked exhausted, dirty, and relieved, and they hurried back to their families - some with tears - and people started going out into a hallway to the side of the room to get rested or cleaned up. "I'll do it," Maya sighed out, unable to say no because these people really did need help and it was something she had wished she could do. The war had only been going on for a little over a year, but it was already terrible with so many deaths. "What about Grindelwald's agents? I don't want to work with them." "Oh, I feed them to the lions if they are actually his agents rather than those coerced or forced into joining," Adriel said in a cheerful tone that would have had Maya shudder with horror. "Some of your fellow agents like to take bets when-" "Red!" a blonde woman - the Quartermaster Kurra no doubt - cried out as she came in through another door that Maya had not noticed until then that was right by their table. It closed and sealed itself to look like a wall when the woman closed it to run over to Adriel and drape herself on him. "I'm so sorry, Red, but I forgot to tell you that there would be a 'Maya Halili' in this batch from the ICW. I see you already found her, though! Does she need interrogating?" "No, Kurra," Adriel said with an amused huff before he kissed her on the cheek, then pulled her into his lap. Maya heard Pyro mumble ' here we go again' under his breath just as Adriel continued to speak. "She has already agreed to work with us, and before you go pouting, you were the one who didn't show up on deck like you were supposed to. Surely the house elves didn't give you a hard time?" "No, just some last minute stocks - there were a few more last minute people so I had to make sure we have enough supplies for the island to last another few weeks and get the new people outfitted properly," Kurra said in a tone that sounded a little bit put upon with genuine concern underneath it. "I swear, we agreed to a total of thirty people this time! That's five to seven families with a couple stragglers. You might want to take down another one of Grindelwald's outposts or one of the Italian fascist ships to loot, Captain!" Adriel sighed with exasperation this time, picked Kurra up like she weighed nothing, and moved her off of his lap and to the side so she was forced to stand on her own with a pout. "Bad Kurra," Adriel chided. "I'm not actually a pirate and don't attack the ships unless they attack me first... Which will probably be happening soon unless I can figure out how to make the boat invisible, but I don't want to make an enemy out of any side by attacking them first. If you have reports and defenses of any of Grindelwald's places though, you know I will hear it as long as it's remote enough to not be caught by anyone. Anyway, take Maya here off to her quarters on the magical side of the boat since she probably wants a real shower or bath and a bed to sleep in unlike the small basins and bunks we use on the other side to maintain a pirate ship cover. Oh, and she knows who I am, so I owe you a galleon. I need to start wearing more makeup to hide better." And that was how another ICW agent was shanghaied by the notorious devil pirate Captain Red. The Crimson Wave would just be one of many 'ghost ships' reported on during World War Two, so it was quickly forgotten since a small and ghostly sailboat was nothing compared to the horrible stories from that time period. Adriel never managed invisibility, but he did manage fogs when he recalled that scary story told by the people of Fort Island, and the Greek Islands were very convinced that their deadly ghost ship born from fog was very real and very protective of the sea it haunted.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2023 20:31:55 GMT
Artemio Reyes' New Boggart
Art could be called many things - highly intelligent, a historian, a librarian, an archeologist, friend, best friend, and a whole lot more. One thing he could not really be called was brave - or he didn't think so, anyway. Adriel had told him several times that he was brave and determined since bravery wasn't an absence of fear, but rather the determination to do something despite the fear. Art was able to do some things... But not things that came to cats. Or lizards. Or birds. Or any animal, really. However, he did know the Riddikulus spell, and he did know his boggart was a large black cat with a forked tongue like a lizard and many many pointy teeth ready to eat him. That was why when he got home from Greece, the rattling sound coming from his closet only made him sigh since it was just one more annoying thing in the way between him and his beautiful bed after that very very long trip home. Not that he had not enjoyed himself - Adriel had showed him many places that were written about in books, and a few more hidden and secret places that only the locals knew about. However, Adriel had also stopped at a couple islands because he had 'dinner plans because politics are a thing and you really should learn them' to attend to and that kind of stuff that Art really was not interested in. That meant there was irritating stuff that he did not want to deal with, but Adriel apparently knew how to handle it so he left him to it. There had also been the whole thing with the goblins which took three days in Athens to take care of, but Art got to spend those days looking at the various ruins in the acropolis and the areas surrounding it while Adriel talked with them which had been nice. Art only had to show up towards the end to read the contract and then sign it, and he and Adriel were apparently allied? partnered? with the goblin nation who were eager to go to Atlantis to take inventory and be the first to catalog everything. Now the stupid cat lizard boggart in his closet was demanding attention, so Art whipped out his wand with the intention of yanking open the door to blast it with the Riddikulus spell to turn it into a wood toy version on it that would then fall apart. The key word there was intention since it wasn't a cat lizard that came out, it was Adriel and he was wearing almost nothing! Or no, not nothing. He was wearing the white silk shorts that Art had picked out, but no shirt! And he had promised to never wear those silk shorts and shirt again because they had gone see through and Art had been stuck in the water for an hour with Adriel just watching him! Or not watching him, but unable to help it because that bathing suit brought to mind specific types of paintings that had him staring and comparing Adriel's grace to the mythological naiads and finding them to be pale comparisons to the grace and strength of his partner, friend, and bodyguard. His long black hair had streamed out behind him and almost nothing was left to the imagination because of the transparent bathing suit - Art's only luck was that the shorts apparently had an additional 'brief underwear lining' that kept that from being seen. The shirt had nearly been nonexistent except as an ethereal outline that made Adriel shimmer in a way that would have tempted many mortals to jump in and drown just to get a closer glimpse of the enticing display. Art had no idea how long he had been floating and staring for, but it took Adriel swimming up to him (a beautiful and dark siren coming close that had Art paralyzed with fear and something else) and calling his name repeatedly. Art reacted a bit poorly when he realized what had happened and tried to swim off, but Adriel had grabbed him and just held on to him from behind while calling him a silly goose. Then Adriel had promised they could stay just like that so Art would not be in danger while he guarded him, and he said he would change into the red shorts he had originally planned to use as soon as the gillyweed wore off. "What are you doing in my closet?!" Art belatedly shrieked as he stumbled back, ready to put up a protego just in case this was another one of Adriel random surprise attacks. "In that! What are you doing?!" "You're very pretty," Adriel said with a smile that made Art uncomfortable and even more scared. Art took a step back and Adriel took a larger step forward so he was an inch closer. "You made me wear this though, Art. So I'm going to get what I want from you." Art had absolutely no idea what Adriel was talking about, but he had been pacing back while Adriel paced forward until his back was against a wall and Adriel's arms were on both sides of him and had him caged in. "Out!" Art demanded. Or he tried to demand, his breath was coming out in short gasps so the demand was very weak. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away when it looked like Adriel was going to kiss him. "Adriel, no!" There was a short breathy laugh, a very familiar one that made Art shiver with fear as his mind flashed to a very specific alley, then he felt a lick on his neck in that same exact spot. He automatically raised his knee just like Adriel had taught him, heard a squeal of pain, and opened his eyes to see Christos dropping to his knees on the floor while clutching at his groin. Art was very confused for a brief moment until he realized that it had not been Adriel at all, this was his boggart now rather than the giant cat, and he started to laugh with an edge of hysteria because it was crazy that he was terrified of Adriel even though he understood why he was so terrified of Christos. Art did not have to cast a spell at all - him laughing as he was was enough to send it back into his closet, and he kept laughing because apparently his deepest fear was that Adriel would be just like Christos? Adriel? Who had taught him that it was perfectly fine to say no to things he didn't like or want? Who had kept people - even Art's parents - from just grabbing and hugging him? Who he had found out had a very stern talk with Athena about how she kept just grabbing him? Who had taken care of Christos and made him take unbreakable vows to stay away from him? Art figured he was just tired, but after that, he really really needed a shower. Adriel would be back by then with groceries since he was staying for a week, and he could take care of the boggart. It must be a very stupid boggart to have taken the form of Adriel since he felt safest around his forever friend, or maybe it had just used that form to get close enough to turn into Christos to really scare him. Well... Art had kicked it in the nuts and it had worked just like Adriel had said it would, so he did feel a little better. He still needed to scrub himself clean though since the stupid thing had made him feel dirty again. AN: Art's deeper fear is what Adriel keeps making him feel because it is confusing and unknown, and it is easy to fear the unknown. Christos jumped into it when it got to the point of touching because being cornered and licked by Christos is also Art's new fear in this headcanon. Adriel comes back, takes care of Art's boggart (his is a horrible terrible thing from an ancient egyptian tomb that Adriel tells Art is just like the horrible thing on Circle Island that he was not allowed to talk about due to contracts.), makes him hot cocoa and ice cream, then cooks an early dinner and sends Art off to bed. I also used Christos' lines for Adriel as the greeting, but out of order. The Christos in an alley post if you want to see which Christos lines the boggart used - all in the fifth paragraph.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2023 14:00:12 GMT
Artemio Reyes: Amplectere Confusionem Adriel spent the next two days in the apartment invading Art's space until he was flustered and confused, then retreating back to the living. The living room had also been expanded just a bit more - not enough for Art to notice, but enough for him to feel like he could finally breathe a little bit. Art was allowed to go out grocery shopping - though only to the non-magical side now that he really understood the divide because of the books he was given - but Adriel absolutely insisted his sacrifice be very careful. On the second day (fourth since he had been summoned), there had been a commoner that had dared to raise a hand to Art while he had been shopping, and rather than traumatize his little sacrifice with something sufficiently horrifying to warn everyone from touching what was his, he just stopped the man's heart and the blow did not land. Art had come home, cooked dinner, then gone to his room after stiffly tolerating Adriel's affection and had barely said anything at all. He did not seem to appreciate the lengths Adriel was going through to keep him protected, and Adriel ruminated on the issue all night. He waited until the sun was well into the sky, but Art did not come out of his room, so Adriel went to enter only he realized it might not be too good of an idea to just walk in when his precious person was so upset so he knocked. "Come out, my sweet," he coo'ed. "I want my morning kisses and to see you now that the sun is up. Surely you are not very upset about one stupid fat man that was going to damage what was mine?" "Go away!" Art shouted. "I don't want to come out! And I don't want your kisses, either! Just leave me alone!" Adriel knew Art was still in bed and had just put the pillow over his head in an attempt to hide from the world, and while Adriel had not broken the boundary of the imaginary line between Art's bedroom and the living room yet, he was not going to be denied his affections or let his little sacrifice wallow in misplaced guilt. He opened the door with a thought, ignoring the flimsy bit of magic and metal lock that was meant to prevent that, then padded into Art's room. Finding out Art's fascination with his Egyptian necklace, he had worn an Ancient Persian one of onyx and gold on the third day that Art did not appear to recognize, but he had gladly told him tales about Ancient Persia and how Onyx was the stone of protection. On the fourth day, he had worn an ancient Mayan necklace of gold beaten on to black leather in little scale patterns with the pure gold icon for K'ak Ch'ul which translated to Divine Fire with the way it had been written. Today, he had worn Ancient Greek jewelry and went with red velvet embroidered with gold thread rather than purple, all to try to impress his little sacrifice. Art, however, refused to respond to Adriel's presence even though they both knew that he knew that Adriel had just walked in. "That man is not worth all your upset since he was going to hurt you," Adriel said in his sweetest stone as he walked over to the bed. "Come now, there is no need for you to feel bad that he died because he was going to strike you, nor is there any reason to be angry with me when I made his death mercifully short and relatively painless. Yes, they are ignorant, and no, I do not feel sympathy for him just as you would not feel sympathy for crushing a termite colony that was about to hurt a library. His ignorance and my consideration for how much it would upset you if I punished him as was proper is the only reason it was not horrible, and no, you are not at fault for any of it. You do not expect to stop a hurricane or a volcano, so I do not understand why you think you could have done something else. Your existence is not relative to other people's survival or not." "Go away," Art grumbled, refusing to come out of his pillow and even more upset for having his guilt over the other man's death laid out so bare. Adriel had told him that his existence did not matter if that man died or not, but Art was still thinking that if he had not been around, that man would still be alive and could have gone back to his family, but now his family would mourn him. "I hate it when you do that." "His family is relieved at his death since he was a tyrant behind closed doors and enjoyed hitting those he thought were easy to hurt," Adriel told Art even though his little sacrifice had said he hated how he replied to his thoughts. Adriel knew that deep inside, Art was feeling a little bit of relief for his reassurances, and that he was slowly growing to accept that Adriel's abilities so see so deep inside his heart. "I dressed up very pretty for you today to give you comfort and distract you from your upset. Will you not look?" "No," Art mumbled, and curled up tighter just to be stubborn. He stopped being so stubborn though when Adriel sat down on the edge of the bed. "Get off! This is my room, you're not supposed to be in here!" Art twisted around to glare, but he saw the crown and his eyes widened. "That is a Greek crown from the Archaic ages! But there are diamond shapes?" Art scrambled up and Adriel was pleased to have his sacrifice looking intently at the gold and silver inlays on the center diamond. " Eusebeia? Respect? Snakes around the caduceus? That's a healer's symbol!" "Eusebeia is reverent piety as well," Adriel explained with a smile as his eyes wandered over the pajama-clad form of his sacrifice. One day he would have Art sleeping naked in bed with him, though it would no doubt take a while to get to that point with how easy it was to upset his precious human. "It was for Apollo, god of the sun and both god of the plague and a healer during the dark ages since 'Gaia's twin snakes' were killed by him in the legends. Asclepius, one of our children, later took on the duties of healer, however. Would you like to hear about what really happened with the twin snakes?" Art scowled because he finally realized that Adriel had managed to distract him, but it was half hearted at best since he couldn't help but give an eager nod. "So that temple was shared by my second sister and I," he said. "Gaia could have meant either one of us, and the third sibling was Themis, goddess of justice, but if my second sibling was there, They got Phoebe and I took Gaia and we were the trinity of that temple. However, two entities - twins that worked the concepts of negative space - crawled in while our attention was elsewhere. This was in the time period when the Enuma Elish was being written and the New Kingdom era of Egypt, but Greece was still in its dark ages after Mycenae fell, and we were mostly occupied with Egypt since Babylon was also collapsing from the ending of their own bronze age. The twins took on the forms of snakes, said they were our children, and demanded to be call Py and Thon, though they got a bit bored and combined their names into Python so that one could always be out and about wreaking havoc while the other kept trying to gain more followers by having their Sacrifice act as an oracle to keep the dark ages going so that Greece would not unite and would remain a series of little kingdom states that continually warred with each other. We realized what was happening after a couple hundred years of that since it was strange that Greece was still struggling to collect itself while the Sumerian lands had already started to rebuild, so I decided that I was done in Egypt and answered the first call to Greece that I could take over - that of Apollo. My first act after I made sure that my new Sacrifice was okay after being harrassed by one of the twins was to go straight to the cave where both were hiding in, sealed them within a golden rod, and left their sacrifice where she was once I corrected her on all of the lies she had been told. After that, I slowly drained them of their powers to heal mortals and creatures alike until they were weak little husks that could not maintain a corporeal state even if I had let them go though it took a couple centuries, and I cast the wand into the sun to finish them off." "That would be around the eleventh century!" Art declared. "And the tenth one, also. What happened to them in the sun? Did that kill them? I thought you said you all cannot die?" Adriel smiled as he basked in Art's attention and the pretty bright and curious eyes that were no longer burning with anger and guilt. "We can't, but some of us can seal others away," he explained as he inched a little closer, a move unnoticed by Art although the human did subconsciously lean back a little. "Mind, I wouldn't be able to do it to my second or third sibling, or many others who have come and gone, but for minor entities like those that were born off of small currents from creation rather than the larger pools like I was, it can be done. They will be released when the sun finally dies one day, but that is billions of your years away and nothing you need to worry your pretty head about." Art blushed and his eyes dropped down to Adriel's chest. "What about the necklace?" Art asked, desperate to change the subject away from any compliments about his beauty. Adriel took the opportunity to shift even closer under the guise of letting Art see it better, and this time Art did not shift away since he was too busy studying the gold and silver bauble. "Normally there were stylized leaves or coin shapes for this type of necklace!" "Coin shapes, yes, but this is a necklace that I put together between an offering from Ramses the third and the 'Sea-Peoples,'" he explained. "You can see the collar part is Egyptian, but the medallion part was a dedication to Poseidon from the 'Sea Peoples' as Ramses called them, though they were more like a collection of pirates from Italy, Greece, Sicily, and the Peloponnese - an ancient Greek version of Vikings who were taking advantage of the collapse of the bronze age to try and establish their own kingdom. It's a bit older than the crown is - the crown was made for me in the 10th or 9th century, and the necklace is 12th century - and Ramses dedicated his sacrifice to Wadj-wer and prayed that the Mediterranean would stop them. Now, this was when I was in Egypt - before the fight with the snakes - so I decided to bless Ramses with his victory and combined the two offerings into this necklace to remember both by. Had I let the Sea People win, they probably would have brought Greece together sooner and the snakes would not have been able to gain the foothold that they did, but it would also have caused a lot of enmity and the Hellenistic Greek Empire would never have formed. You can touch the necklace if you wish to inspect it better." When Adriel made the offer, Art seemed to notice then how close they were and he stiffened up and started to lean back. Adriel leaned forward at the same time as he lifted the necklace up to 'show' it better, and Art squeaked as he lost his balance and fell back on his own pillows. Adriel was immediately on him then to breath in Art's scent and enjoy having Art under him even if they were both clothed, but he kept his body just a couple inches above Art's so that Art was not pinned under him by using his knees and elbows to keep himself up. "Adriel, no," Art weakly protested as he tried to push Adriel's shoulders back, but he quickly subsided when Adriel made a grumbling noise that was not a growl, but still a gentle and very light warning. "This is my bed! It's - it's inappropriate!" Adriel replied by tracing his tongue up Art's neck along his artery, and Art quietly gasped before shutting his mouth to not make a sound. His little sacrifice enjoyed having his neck, shoulder, and collarbone sucked on, but his neck was especially sensitive so he really liked the licks there even if he refused to admit it out loud or make any sounds to indicate his enjoyment of it. There was less confusion about how good it felt since Art was getting used to the sensation even if he was still confused about how hot it made him feel in other places, but Adriel figured Art was ready for the next part. He suckled at Art's throat a little bit above his adam's apple which had Art automatically tilting his head back so Adriel would not growl, and he shifted to put one knee in between Art's legs to force them apart. "What... What are you doing?!" Art said as he startled at the contact and started to try to squirm away, but his thrashing made it easier for Adriel to get his other knee in between Art's knees and Art yelped as he started to panic. "No! I'm not - I don't want to!" Adriel settled himself down so his hips were on Art's, and they could feel each other's hard lengths long side each other as he brought his head up. "I'm not doing anything but kiss and hold like normal," he said in a reassuring tone. Art was terrified since he thought Adriel was going to take his virginity even if he wasn't sure what that would entail, but Adriel had no plans to do so. "Just getting comfortable. You are so soft mmmm..." Adriel trailed off into a hum after giving Art one of his more usual compliments and started giving the other side of Art's neck some attention. Art did not relax - he never really did during these sessions - but his panic did ebb away as things went back to something he was more familiar with. Adriel liften a hand to quickly undo the top two buttons - that was as far as Art was comfortable with at the moment - and he tugged the pajama top away from Art's left shoulder so he should start sucking at the spot where the shoulder and the neck met. Art's breathing stuttered for a moment like Adriel knew it would, and Adriel shifted his hips a little bit to give Art's neglected penis some friction. Art's stuttered breath turned into a gasp of surprise that almost made a noise because of the bolt of pleasure he had felt, and Art's thoughts completely stopped on one question: what was that?! It was followed up with ' Was it intentional?!' when Adriel just continued like he had not noticed, but he provided a bit more friction again when he moved his mouth further along Art's shoulder. "I uh... I need to go to the bathroom!" Art squeaked out after the second time Adriel did that. His poor little sacrifice was stopping himself from rubbing up against him for more of that pleasure, and he wanted to get away from the temptation Adriel was giving him. Adriel was not having his, though - he moved his hand down to Art's belly and vanished all the waste there. "I'm not done with my morning kisses," Adriel huffed just like he usually did when Art tried to get away too soon. "We also have a guest in a couple hours - your 'The One' Unspeakable is coming today, so I want a little more time with you since he will be here for a couple hours. He has gotten his blessing from his organization to see if he can be a priest, so that is a couple hours where I will not get to play with you." Art groaned as he gave up, and his body relaxed in the process of the fight leaving him since he knew he was not escaping Adriel's attentions. "I still don't see why anyone would want to be your priest," he grumbled out loud, hoping his speaking would hide his prayers that Adriel had not noticed his reaction each time he had felt pleasure. It hadn't, of course, but Adriel wasn't going to disabuse him of his thought for the moment. Art's new plight also meant he forgot all about the man that had died at the food market, and Adriel would make sure that the man never again featured so heavily in Art's guilt. "Fine, but don't do this in front of the Unspeakable." "There is no need to - they know how precious you are to me," Adriel purred as he lowered his head to lightly brush his cheek on Art's exposed collarbone on the left side while letting his warm breath puff under Art's shirt to his chest a little bit. Art tensed back up again, but it was once again from him trying to hide his confused feelings about why it felt nice to be touched by Adriel like this. "It's only you that needs to learn how precious you are to me." Adriel felt Art swallow hard, and he turned his head so he could lightly brush his lips along Art's collar bone - staying close to what he normally did though he usually sucked it in passing from shoulder to throat and the like. Art aborted a movement to flap his hands or squirm. "That tickles," Art whined while he moved his head up and to the right to face away from what Adriel was doing. Adriel flattened his tongue to lave the spot, and as he ran his tongue along the collar bone up to the shoulder, he shifted to give Art some more pleasure before sealing his mouth at the neck and shoulder junction to suck. Art groaned and involuntarily bucked his hips up, and Adriel rolled his own hips with the movement to make the friction so much sweeter for his precious sacrifice. That was finally enough to make Art's self control snap, and he wrapped his arms around Adriel's shoulders and dug his nails in as they both started moving in tandem together. Adriel kept his licked and sucking in the areas that he knew that Art liked on his neck the most, and finally Art gave a sweet sounding moan when his hips started to stutter as he came in his pants after a couple minutes of frottage. Adriel turned his sucking into lazy licking while he slowed down his own movements to help Art come down from his first pleasurable orgasm, and when Art began to feel mortified, fearful, and guilty, Adriel gave his shoulder a small nip to distract him. "None of that, beautiful," he coo'ed as he nuzzled Art's neck. "It is perfectly normal to experience pleasure with someone that loves you and you find very attractive. You have enjoyed my kisses once you got used to it, and all I did was hold and kiss you as I said I would so you are still a virgin and need not be afraid. Yes, you may shower and get clean, but one day I will get to taste you down there and clean you with my tongue and mouth. No, not today, or tomorrow, or even next week - I already said I will force nothing." Adriel paused to give Art's jaw a kiss, then reluctantly sat up and allowed a furiously blushing Art to scramble back up against his headboard. "Just kissing and holding can be very nice, and I enjoy making you feel good and happy. Love me, Art, and I will lay your dreams at your feet and give you whatever your heart desires." Art was absolutely terrified, though not of Adriel - he was terrified of his own feelings and that he had done something very wrong. Adriel did not stop Art from rolling off the bed on the opposite side of him to flee to the bathroom since he knew his sacrifice needed a little bit of space like he usually did when something new happened, but there was no need to stop Art. He knew Art would now allow this in the future again as long as he was careful and gentle about it. ********************* Adriel spent the rest of the morning quietly reading while Art cooked them some brunch after he had showered and got dressed for the day. Art was moving around stiffly and trying to pretend that nothing had happened, and after they ate he began working on translating the Codex Adriel had given him into a very nice looking leather and wood bound journal Art had bought specifically for that task. Adriel was perfectly content with Art 'forgetting' about the morning's events since it would mean he would get to seduce him several more times, and seducing Art was becoming a fascinating thing to do. When the Unspeakable finally knocked at the door at around two, Art jumped before looking at Adriel with confusion. "It's your 'The One,'" Adriel said with a fond smile without looking up. "He must obtain permission from you to speak with me, and you are not to give him that permission unless you actually like the gift he has brought for you. I will know if you are just accepting it to get it over with, my sacrifice, so turn him away if it is not a good gift or only a gift for 'a job' that you don't really care about like those recipe books were. If his gift is sufficient, you are to seat him at one of the pillows on the floor I conjured earlier, then sit by me on the couch. No, the armchair is not good enough, and you will learn why during the meeting. I already told you I will not be kissing you in front of others, though I may hold you protectively or possessively. Go on, then." Art scowled at Adriel since Adriel had once again answered all of his unvoiced questions, worries, and fears, and predicted that he would accept whatever 'bribe' The One had brought along, then he stomped over to the door to also glare at the Unspeakable whose fault it was that he would have to sit next to Adriel for this meeting and accept a gift from. Art decided then and there that it had better be a damned good gift because he was not ready to sit next to Adriel, only the man standing in the alley outside his tiny apartment looked very nervous and not intimidating at all. "Sacrifice," the man greeted with a bow of respect, then winced but stayed in his bows position like a supplicant would. "I mean, Art. I've come to petition an audience with your god to beg to become a priest and learn from him. I've brought a gift so that you may be persuaded to share a little bit of your god's time with me." Art was absolutely taken aback by how ritualistic this sounded on his own doorstep, so he was glad that The One had not looked up yet because Art was absolutely gaping and caught off guard. Then a small wood box was pulled out of the man's coat pocket, enlarged, and carefully opened up so Art could see it was full of potions. "It's a set of potions and such that might help you get through the trying times up ahead," the man explained when Art remained silent out of shock and confusion. "There are two doses of Felix Felicis, six doses of polyjuice, a vial of phoenix tears equivalent to fifty drops, a small vial of ministry controlled veritaserum that only needs two to three drops and a vial of antidote that is also the same, five doses of Baruffio's Brain Elixir, a drawer of bezoars, and the five in the center are everlasting potions for the draught of peace, blood replenishing potion, antidote to common poisons, antidote to common venoms, and grand pepperup potion. There are other potions as well, of course, and the bottom drawer is an undetectable expansion drawer that contains everything you need for a full potion kit, with the smaller drawer above that containing rare potions ingredients so that you can pick the more common ones up from the store or even someone's garden. Then the drawer above that are bezoars. The bottles in the doors are all rare potions that only very very good masters can brew." Art scrunched up his nose since the man was literally holding out a fortune to him, but it was potions and he didn't need potions! "I'm a historian that wants to be a librarian and an archeologist," he pointed out with confusion. "Why would I want that?" The One almost seemed to flinch at the question. "Because the Unspeakable in the elevator is not the only one that wants you dead, so this is meant to help keep you alive," he admitted in a quiet tone. "I will leave this here and find another gift to present to you, however." Art shook his head no, suddenly terrified and quite happy with his present thank you very much. "I'll take it!" he exclaimed, then reached out to accept the box. "I don't get it though, why would anyone want me dead?" The Unspeakable looked relieved as he finally straightened up. "I can explain inside where it is safer," he said in a quiet voice, and Art moved to let him in before he closed and locked the door and guided the man over to one of the cushions Adriel had indicated. The Unspeakable kept his head lowered the whole time and immediately prostrated himself once he was kneeling, and Art awkwardly stayed where he was while he held the open box to his chest. "Thank you, Sacrifice Art." "Over here, sacrifice," Adriel said, and patted the spot next to him as he set his book to the side to look at the man. Art hesitated a moment, but Adriel glanced at him and it got Art moving to sit by him. "Name yourself." "Titus Mateo Marchbanks," the man immediately replied, raising himself up just enough so his voice wouldn't be muffled by the floor though he kept his head lowered. "The Unspeakables have released me from all of my vows." Adriel narrowed his eyes and reached out to grab Art and pull him up against him. Art quietly allowed himself to be manhandled and focused on preventing his potions from falling out until Adriel had him pressed tightly to his side. "Anything more to say for yourself?" "Only that many want Artemio Reyes dead - some that believe the warnings from my department fear the change you will bring," Titus replied as Art figured out how to close and latch the potion box. "Many believe that the ancient gods are not real, however. When they learn otherwise, the dissenters will grow." "Why do they want my sacrifice dead?" Adriel asked next. He knew all these answers, but he wanted Art to hear them since Art had remained very obtuse or dismissive about the information Adriel had given him. "And why do you want to be my priest?" Titus picked up on what Adriel wanted and replied. "If he dies, then you will be dismissed and unable to affect the world," he said, and Art startled but Adriel held him tighter. "They also do not want the other Ancient Ones to be awakened and fear that that is part of your future plans. I wish to be your priest since I know of the existence of you and your kind - the proof of it is in ancient magics, rituals and artifacts, and I have always lamented the lost knowledge and wish to see great works and miracles brought to life once more." "What do you offer me?" Adriel asked. "What do I gain from accepting you?" "I offer to be liaison between you and the magical community," Titus replied, and Adriel could feel how nervous the man was since the Unspeakables and the Ministry had both refused to outright grant him anything to bring. The potions giften to Art had all been brewed by him or came from his own private collection, and he had enchanted the box himself after buying a small apothecary kit from a regular store. "It will help smooth things over so that there might be less trouble for you. I offer my magical knowledge - small though it may be in comparison to what you can do, I will use my knowledge and my skills to keep your sacrifice safe. I offer my life, soul, mind, and heart to you, and will give you all that I am." While the first few offers were not interesting since he could get rid of the dissenters himself if he wanted and he could protect Art just fine, Adriel was satisfied with the last one. "Look upon me then, and open yourself," he said. Titus looked up and met his eyes, and Adriel knew the mortal wasn't sure how to open himself up, but dropping his occlumency barriers and accepting Adriel's words was enough. Adriel reached into the human's soul and pulled out the magic that the Unspeakables had left behind in the man, then snapped the spell with a snap of his own fingers while Titus clenched his teeth so he would not scream from the pain of having something ripped out of him. "They were foolish to believe they could leave that and I would not know. Tell my sacrifice what I just did." "It was soul magic," Titus said as he looked at Art with a guilty expression. "I stocked your box with everything that I could that might see you through an assassination attempt made by me since the Ministry and the Unspeakables decided to use my request to join your god as an opportunity to plant a hidden trigger that would force me to do one action on command. Since it was embedded in my soul rather than in my mind, I would not have been able to fight the command... I would have done everything I could to succeed at it without subverting or faltering in whatever goal it was that they had set." Titus prostrated himself again. "Please forgive me - my only chance at getting it removed was if your god saw." Adriel knew that Art had no idea what to say, so he stopped holding Art against his side to raise his hand and run his fingers through Art's hair. "I already knew about it," Adriel said in a dismissive tone. "There is nothing to forgive since you are mine now and wished to be mine. The plan was theirs, and you feared it was for nefarious purposes. It was intended to be a failsafe just in case they needed my sacrifice dead or wanted a gain they could have coerced you into doing regardless if it was a betrayal or not, and they would not be the first city or king to try to attempt such a thing." He completely let go of Art who immediately scooted an inch or so away. "Come here, Titus. I will bestow my blessing on you that will give you protection, and then you will go to the ministry with my demands to be appeased or they will feel my wrath. You will go by Titus Mateo - you are Marchbanks no more since you belong to me. I'll give you your new name when I decide what my own will be." Titus looked up with surprise, and Adriel was amused that the man was a little taken aback that he had not chosen his name yet. Still, he pushed himself up all the way and shuffled forward on his knees when Adriel indicated that he wanted him at his feet. When he got close enough, Adriel carefully tugged out the blue tie tucked inside of the vest and felt out the texture, then he pulled Titus in by his tie and kissed the surprised man's mouth. Art was absolutely scandalized and even a little bit heartbroken as Titus tentatively kissed Adriel back, so Adriel kept the kiss short to a couple of strokes of tongue against tongue before he pulled back and let Titus go. "I have shared a small portion of my essence with you," he explained to a dazed and confused Titus who was thinking that he was not attracted to men, but that even the most homophobic man would be attracted to Adriel so he was not upset by the sudden kiss at all. The explanation was also for Art as well, though, who was trying to ignore how hurt he felt. "There are many ways to bless someone, but the least invasive one is through a kiss. I also took an equal amount of your essence - a tiny amount - and so will always be able to hear you and aid you." Titus nodded and scooted back enough to prostrate himself again while Art reluctantly began to settle down from his silent upset. "Thank you," Titus whispered. "What is your command?" "You will go to those that had tried to tamper with your essence, and you will tell them that I demand that all humans that live in the building in the blocks around us are to be relocated within the next three days," he stated. "They are not allowed to put up their little secrecy wards, and if there is any of their magic left behind once the mortals are moved that is intended to hurt or hinder my intentions of turning this area into sacred temple grounds available to all, then I will see it as a declaration of war and smite or punish those that are guilty of the offense through intentions or deeds - including those that plan out and give the commands for others to carry out. They will never again interfere with those who wish to worship me or I will strip them of their magic - you may let them know that I am the mother of magic and am quite capable of such a feat. You will also write the article that the Daily Prophet paper will be publishing in three day's time so that those who wish to see the first miracle may come to do so." "There is a library on the block over," Art huffed with a scowl since he finally had a viable outlet to actually show he was angry. He didn't know why seeing Adriel kiss another person made him angry (Adriel was only supposed to kiss him!) since it was just to give a bit of essence as a blessing, but thinking about the library being taken over by Adriel made him upset since it was a public library. "And a secondary school on the other side! There is also a trade school as well! You can't take over those blocks!" Titus froze since he could not believe that Art was taking that kind of tone with a primordial entity, but since he was prostrated, he did not see the fond smile Adriel sent in Art's direction that made Art scoot just a little bit further away since those kinds of smiles usually meant Adriel was going to be affectionate, only he was too mad at Adriel to want to be touched. "Of course, my beautiful one," he coo'ed. "I did not know one of your beloved libraries was so close. And no, your work is not going to waste - this will be sacred grounds, but it will not be a God House. Just a temporary but proper home until the house you have been drawing up is built. Titus, I want two blocks to the east and the west - both sides are residential with only a few inconsequential stores, however the main roads on all sides will also be mine since I do not want the sound of cars or carriages so close. There will be foot traffic only available. I will also take half a dozen of your ministry's house elves - females - and I will be fixing the curse that was wrought on them. It was meant to be a blessing, not what it has devolved into and has twisted them up. The Great Mother will be wroth if I don't do something about it." Art had initially been upset when he heard the word 'house elf,' but he became confused when Adriel bitched about the house elves himself. "You mean they were never supposed to be slaves?" he asked. "You can sit up, Titus," Adriel said to the man who was still prostrated. "You are a priest, so a bow will suffice unless you have angered me in some manner. Otherwise you are to sit in a spot always lower than my own which is why there is a comfortable pillow for you to set upon." Adriel turned his attention back to Art as Titus gave a bow while on his knees and then crawled backwards towards the pillow without turning his back on Adriel. "They were meant to live in symbiosis with all other magical races," Adriel explained to Art. "More specifically, the very magical ones like the veelas who constantly exuded an aura of magic. They were to help temper the effect of those auras by using the magic themselves and assist whoever it was they were getting their magic from. When wands, wards, and enchantments became a common thing for men after Hogwarts was built, however, humans became the dominant source of magical aura and your Helga Hufflepuff, who valued loyalty, made the elves she brought to England from a dying veela colony in France swear their loyalty and the loyalty of their descendants to the castle for as long as it stood. Other families who were around at that time decided they would do something similar and went searching for their own elves, and it became popular all over Europe to seek out an elf or two and tie them to family lines or family properties from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. They are rather simple beings meant to be happy having magic and serving others, but they were never common since one could serve up to ten beings without taxing themselves because they were able to channel a small amount of magic to the maximum effect like wands do for humans. So the sport of finding a 'wild elf' died down when all of the 'wild elves' were found and 'tamed,' they forgot what their original purpose was, and they are happy in this warped relationship they have with humans that should never had happened." Art looked almost triumphant by the end of the explanation, though he also looked upset. "I knew it was wrong, but everyone mocked me when I said so!" he declared, outraged but also feeling validated. "Slavery is wrong!" Adriel gave Art a blank look. "There is nothing wrong with slavery," he stated, then grimaced when he caught Art's thoughts about whips, rape, mutilations, and other things that had happened in the past century or two along with Art's feeling of righteous anger that Adriel sought to recitfy. "Well, that kind of slavery is wrong and should only be reserved for criminals who need to work to atone for their crimes, but Ancient Egypt, sumeria, and Greece had laws to protect a slave's rights which included not raping or mistreating them in such ways like you are thinking. Rome had no rights for their slaves and did what the Americans did and what King Leopold also recently did, but we have already established that the Romans messed up in many ways which is why they imploded so spectacularly and became a den of vicious backstabbers and schemers. We did not approve of a lot of things the Romans did, but they really were like cockroaches and were impossible to control since they were willing to hit the same wall with their heads over and over again until there was a large enough pile of bodies for the rest of them to use as a stepping stool to get over said wall." "The recently fallen Ottoman Empire also had laws for fair treatment of slaves - they were known to have a better life than very poor people which was was many of the poorest people sold themselves into slavery," Titus stated. "Not that I don't understand your dislike of slavery, Art. It gained a very very bad reputation in regions where slaves had no rights or laws to protect them." "Well, the point is moot for the moment," Adriel said before Art could start an angry rant about how wrong they were and that all slavery was bad. "The elves need to be fixed, slavery is illegal so I cannot demand slaves for the temple, and my sacrifice dislikes such things so even if I wanted slaves, I would not have them simply to keep him from getting all angry. He is already upset enough as it is about his whole situation, no need to add more problems to it. Make sure that the ministry also knows that the library and the schools that Art is worried about is relocated to adjacent blocks so I can take those properties as well, and yes, Titus, I will deal with your King when he comes knocking, too. The ministry is to not interfere in any way when it comes to me and the non-magical side of things. You should also get your home in order since you will be moving into the new temple when I erect it, and I will have my sacrifice assist you with furnishing it properly." "Furnishing it?!" Art hissed, still very upset and pouncing on the next thing. "I don't want to furnish it! I don't know how to furnish it!" Adriel smiled at Art. "Of course you do, precious," he said. "You have studied many ancient temples and designs. Plus, you wanted to design a library, so it will be your chance to make your first one after you finish my God House plans to my satisfaction. Which will also have a library - a grander one than the space I will provide you with in this temple." That was enough to suitably distract his little sacrifice once more. There was still lingering upset that Adriel would no doubt be taking care of later that night, but at least his darling human would have something to do until then. *********************** Titus spent nearly three hours at the ministry where Adriel had to kill three people and strip the magic out of two more before they were sufficiently cowed and fearful enough to give in to the demands he had made that his first priest was delivering to the ministry. Two of the dead men were the Unspeakables that had cast the trigger spell on Titus, the third was the minister who spoke the trigger words only to end up dead, an emergency wizengamot meeting had been called, and two wizengamot members that had simultaneously stood up to say that Adriel was not real had had their magic stripped. During that time, Art had set the potion box on the cupboard that was supposed to have been an altar to Adriel, worked on his translations for another hour, then huffily walked into the kitchen to start cooking dinner with loud bangs of pots and pans that was meant to show Adriel how upset he was. His poor little sacrifice was not aware of it, but he was acting like quite the upset little wife in their relationship, and Adriel was amused by it while he let time and the food preparation take the brunt of Art's anger. When Titus got back, Adriel waved him on into the kitchen to give Art a little helper, and the two of them talked about cooking charms, spice mixes, and food suggestions in quiet voices and hushed whispers which also helped cool Art down. Or rather, it gave Art a different outlet because Titus was trying to give Art advice, and Art had someone else to be irritated with but not angry at. "No, just a chicken isn't good enough, Art! There should be pork or beef and then a game animal like venison or hare as well!" Adriel heard Tidus whisper. "And just fruits isn't good enough - the gods loved sweets! Honey cakes was a popular offering for a reason!" He was right, Adriel did love honey cakes. "He has been perfectly happy with what I've been giving him so far!" Art quietly hissed back. "I also don't have room for all that stuff on my table!" "You are a wizard! The table can be enlarged! There is more than enough space!" "No there isn't! My table has only two chairs because I can't fit more chairs into the space!" "What? How much space do you need for a chair or to walk around a table?! There is enough space for three to walk abreast your dining table! Go look!" Art then poked his head out of the kitchen, was very surprised and then recalled that Adriel had made the living room space larger which would naturally have included the dining room space with it, then disappeared back into the kitchen after making sure that Adriel looked like he was reading. Adriel was not, but he maintained the illusion for Art's sake. "Fine, we have more space," Art quietly grumbled. "I still don't have all that stuff, though. This was what I picked up for tonight's dinner, and Adriel has not complained at all!" "He might not complain, but you can always do better," Titus whispered quite insistently. "You should make a grazing table for tomorrow's lunch - it is a bunch of small things put together. Actually, I'll show you real quick." There was silence for a minute as Titus grabbed one of the recipe books, then he flipped it to the section for banquet options and pointed it out to Art. "See? This! Then you carefully watch and take notes of what he actually does like. A happy god is a god that is less likely to smite people just because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time and irritate the god in some way. They will also be more inclined towards positive changes rather than just tearing down and demanding what they want in that spot instead." "He will stop killing muggles that are about to hit me if I make all his favorite foods?" "Uh... That is a hard no. Sorry, Art, but you are pretty much untouchable unless your god gives permission for you to do as you please with others. Nobody will ever be allowed to hurt you even if you say you want it, though. Or if someone does manage to hurt you, his anger will be swift and deadly like the Unspeakable in the elevator's was. He will probably be very very protective of you until at least a few more Ancient Ones are summoned, though. It's probably why he wants this temple up right now rather than to wait for a God House first as is the more normal thing to do. If you die, he won't have an anchor to remain here." Finally, finally, Art fully comprehended what his life meant to Adriel and how precious he was. "Oh..." Art said, then sniffled. Titus began to panic since he wasn't too sure what to do and was scared that he might be punished for making the sacrifice cry. "That's why he said I'm not allowed to die." Or maybe not - Art was now under the impression that Adriel only wanted him as an anchor rather than for more. He sent a mental nudge to his priest - nothing verbalized, but rather an 'intuition' on what to do to try to fix the problem. "No, he doesn't like you just because of that," Titus said in a quiet but caring tone. "If that was all he wanted, he could just imprison you somewhere safe so you are alive but can't do anything. He changed the land he wanted to protect your library and schools, though! He obviously wants you happy and cares about you." "He kissed you," Art choked out so quietly that Titus almost couldn't understand it. "He only did what he had to do to make sure I would be safe at the ministry," Titus said to try to comfort Art. "I am not interested in men, don't worry. Three people had to die because they tried to use the trigger words or put me under the spell again - one was the minister - and then an emergency wizengamot was called and two people from there had their magic stripped when they stood up to simultaneous say that my claims of the ancient gods coming was was false. I know that many gods used sex or blood as methods for blessings, so he was right in that it was the least invasive way to share essences as he put it. Here, I'll get started on a pie crust, and you wash your face and take a break in the corner. Our roles are a bit backwards - traditionally, a sacrifice was raised learning and knowing about their god to devote themselves to them, and they gave the priests advice. I'll help you out though, okay?" "Okay," Art mumbled. Dinner was done about an hour and a half after that conversation, and it included a blueberry pie which Adriel absolutely did love, quail (that Titus had popped off to buy at a market real fast), roasted chicken, and then deep fried chicken legs, a fruit cake that was also loved, and a platter of various cheeses that Adriel cautiously tested out since they were types he was not familiar with and found them to be better than a lot of the ancient ones he used to eat. Cheeses back then could get very strange, and he destroyed a whole town in Greece once when they gave him this absolutely disgusting filth that was fermented by maggots. A few survivors fled to Sardinia where the recipe was shared, and the language barrier between the two different peoples meant that when the Greeks were trying to explain that it was a cursed cheese that a fertility god hated, they thought it was an aphrodisiac. Adriel had been very cautious with cheeses ever since and he was very glad to see there were no maggots or other offensive things in it. After everything was washed up, Titus made his excuses and went home with one last encouraging look at Art, and his little sacrifice made to get up to go to his room. "Not yet," Adriel said as he stood up, then moved over to Art who looked resigned and miserable. "Come here, I have not got to hold you since this morning." Art dropped his eyes and shuffled only a couple inches closer before he stopped, very reluctant to do more than that, but Adriel bridge the distance to scoop Art up into his arms and then carried the lighter man to the couch. Art clung to him as he sat down, and Adriel carefully arranged him in his lap so that Art would be comfortable and Art immediately released him as soon as he was stable. "My sweet sweet Artemio," Adriel purred as he held Art and nuzzled his neck with his nose. "The kiss I gave Titus was only a blessing. I will look upon him affectionately like a pet, but you I will love like family - like a spouse if you will allow it. There is a reason why so many sacrifices became consorts, husbands, or wives - you are very special to me since we are connected like what you would call a soul mate. I shared a small bit of essence with him, but you and I are connected on a deeper level." "Like the french greet each other?" Art asked with a very very sad frown. His lower lip trembled briefly, and he swallowed and tightened his lips more which just made the downturned edges become even more pronounced. "They only kiss each other's cheeks, but you did his mouth and used your tongue!" "Saliva, blood, or sexual fluids," Adriel said as he gently began to rock Art to comfort him. "Sweat secretions as well, but to a much lesser degree and I don't sweat. Sweat would be a taste of your essence and nothing can be exchanged through it. I love how you taste - your skin, your sweat, and your essence. Titus cannot bear my children, and I already said I want you to father the ones I bear. That wish will remain so for as long as I have hope that you might love me." "Oh," Art said as he looked down at his hands to hide the blush that was beginning to form even though he was still frowning. "I thought prayers were just granted, though." "Prayers and blessings are two different things," Adriel said, then buried his nose in Art's hair to get a nice smell of him and his shampoo. "Prayers are things I can grant externally - things like a good harvest or a terrible tragedy. Blessings, however, are things meant to change a person in some way. Titus is now immune to spells that will coerce, control, trick, or do other things to his mind, body, or soul in ways to deceive or take away his free will. He is mine, and I will have him see and do things clearly of his own free will. If he performs well, I may bestow more blessings like longevity on him or give him the ability to affect luck in minor ways, or I might teach him magics that he has asked to learn if I feel like giving him time rather than a blessing. Giving him time means I get less time with you, however, so I would rather give him blessings for now while I devote my time and affection to you." "Why not give him blood then?" Art asked in a sulky tone while he started to pluck at his shirt sleeves. Adriel smiled at the mix of nervous flutters and unhappy sulking Art was doing. "Even one drop of my blood is more potent than having sex with someone," Adriel breathed into Art's ear before he started to lightly brush his nose on Art's neck where some goosebumps were beginning to develop. Art stiffened up and his breathing picked up a little bit, but Adriel pretended to not notice Art's reactions and how he was getting turned on. "The house elves I will be getting will all receive a drop of blood each - half a drop to break the warped magic, and half a drop so they will take in my essence and become pregnant with a new generation of elves who will not be able to be tricked like they were. Helga might not have realized what she had done when she thought to have them swear to be loyal to a castle rather than let them work as they pleased where they pleased while being loyal to those they were working for, but everyone else since knew exactly what they were doing and did it out of pure greed and for stature." Art uncomfortably shifted, then looked up at Adriel with large eyes that were still sad but no longer miserable. "I thought you only want me to uhm... have children with," he said. There was not the same amount of hurt as there was when Adriel had kissed Titus, but there was a lot of doubt with no confidence that anyone could like or even love him, let alone a god like Adriel. "But you are having kids with them?" Adriel tilted his head a little bit like he was considering how to answer though he already knew that Art was going to ask that. However, Art needed to ask these questions and Adriel needed to appear like he was actually considering it since anything spoken too soon would come across as flippant or untrustworthy. "I want you to father the children I will bare," he said. "Children I give birth to. Giving these elves children is not giving them my children - it is just giving them a chance to finally be able to change to something more capable of making decisions that won't lead them astray. It will end up meaning at least two different types of elf species as well, but those children are not mine. They would be the virgin birth type - they take only from one parent but my influence will give them change. Normally I mix it with male and females both so that the two procreating will have new types of children - evolution - but house elves rarely get pregnant from unions and I don't want that to change since there isn't a whole lot of places then can thrive in. Our children would be different in that we combine a little bit of ourselves to make new life that I will birth, but for the elves, it is all them but they are changed by me without my essence becoming part of the new life in that way. That isn't to say I will not be impregnating women at some point - you may take me up on the offer of having women together - but that is farther into the future and something we will discuss if we get to that point." Art subsided then, and while Adriel knew he was still unhappy and upset, it was more a residual grudge feeling rather than being angry and jealous about the kiss any longer. Adriel nuzzled him, lightly brushed his nose or lips or breathed in different spots that gave Art more goosebumps, but he didn't lick or suck anywhere since Art didn't want that at the moment even if he would grudgingly accept it. "You know, if you want a kiss, I will gladly give you one," Adriel said as he shifted Art a bit to put him in a good position to kiss while keeping him in his lap. He leaned in to hover his lips over Art's lips, and Art turned bright red as his brain froze up and his body flashed with heat that burned away the last of his anger just as Adriel hoped it would. "All you have to do is give me a small sign that you want a kiss on your mouth. You did not think about or want it before, but now you can't help but wonder what it would be like. It should be a gentle press of soft lips together, a tentative touch of tongues, then a slow exploration to see what kind of kiss it might be that makes your insides heat up and have you wanting more. No? Still scared?" Art had almost withdrawn when Adriel had asked if that was a no, and then his question about Art being afraid had his little sacrifice burning with anger again, though this was the more defiant type of anger that wanted to prove that he was not scared at all even if he still was a bit scared about the everything happening between the two of them. Adriel took that second of anger to steal the kiss that he wanted, starting it with a light brush of lips on lips to tickle Art's lips and make him reflexively lick them even as Art started to stretch out in Adriel's arms to lean back in an attempt to subtly try to get away without looking like he was afraid and going to run. Adriel darted his tongue out to catch Art's tongue before it could retreat, and Art's startled gasp gave Adriel the chance to chase Art's tongue into Art's mouth as he gently pressed their lips together. Art reached out to grab Adriel's robe sleeve to hang on because he suddenly got light headed, and Adriel tickled Art's tongue tip with his own until Art finally started to tentatively touch his tongue back. Adriel pulled his tongue back then and gently sucked on Art's lower lip to give Art a chance to catch his breath, and Art got a couple of pants in before Adriel shifted Art a little closer as he took a second kiss so that they could both explore it together. Art was slow to figure out how it worked, but his confused/scared/curious-but-didn't-want-to-admit-it state meant Adriel had ample of time to figure out how Art liked to be kissed. It was definitely the light touching of tongue tips rather than sucking or licking that gave Art a tickling/pleasure feeling that Art felt down to his stomach, and when Adriel moved in for the third kiss after letting Art catch his breath again while he licked and sucked on Art's neck, Art's eyes fluttered closed and he met Adriel's mouth for it. Adriel kept kissing Art over and over from that point, and when Art started making small sounds as he caught his breath between each kiss around the sixth one, Adriel unbuttoned the annoying vest and sat Art up for the seventh kiss so he could tug it off. Art had been holding Adriel's left sleeve with his right hand until he had to let go for the vest to come off, but Adriel was a little surprised when Art's left hand hesitantly moved up like he wanted to wrap it around Adriel's neck. He could hear Art idly wonder if the same thing that had happened this morning was going to happen again that was accompanied with the feelings of curious/embarrassed/eager/thrilled/scared, and Adriel broke off the kiss to suck on Art's neck as he slid the hand on Art's back up to Art's left arm to encourage Art to embrace him. Art clung to Adriel as he dropped his head back to give Adriel more access to his neck while he panted for air with quiet sounds of pleasure, and Adriel was amused since Art didn't seem to realize he was starting to squirm as well. He started unbuttoning the top two buttons of Art's shirt to access the spot where shoulder met neck on the right shoulder since the left already had a dark hickey on it from that morning, and when Art let out a soft moan and leaned into Adriel's mouth, Adriel undid two more buttons and slid his hand inside to lightly tweak Art's left nipple. Adriel's precious mortal moaned a little louder this time as he arched his back, though it was still a quiet one and a sound made in the back of his throat, and Adriel kissed and sucked up Art's neck to melt their mouths together again while Art squirmed even more as he played with Art's nipple. Art was making whimpering sounds when Adriel ended that kiss, and as soon as he broke off the kiss, the soft sounds he had been making earlier now sounded like needy little whines. Adriel's intentions had been to send Art off to bed once he got him turned on enough so Art would be more eager to continue in the morning, but if he did that now, he would have a very upset sacrifice in the morning rather than an eager one. He kissed down Art's neck, and Art dropped his head back again to show he wanted more. When Adriel reached the bottom of Art's neck, he didn't stop to suck at the junction - he tugged Art's shirt like he usually did when he was going to suck on his shoulder, but since there were two additional buttons that had been undone, it revealed a lot more of Art then just a bit of shoulder. Adriel smoothly switched the fingers on Art's nipple with his mouth before Art was even aware of how exposed he was, and it started Art into a louder cry of pleasure that was combined with a brief flail of panic before Art's right hand was buried in his hair and tightly gripping it. Art was not sure if he wanted to push Adriel away or press him in closer, and as a result, he was trying to yank back and forth while Adriel sucked on his nipple, but he subsided a little bit when he felt Adriel slide his hands back under him in a motion meant to pick him up, then stood up with Art in his arms. The only reason that the move did not completely break his suction on Art's chest was because Art was now pressing himself up against Adriel's mouth out of fear that Adriel might be stopping and with eager anticipation when he realized that he was being laid back down on the couch. Adriel climbed on top while Art gave him the space to do so by bringing his left knee up so it could rest against the back of the couch and dropping his right foot down onto the floor. Adriel wanted to pause and offer to kiss and suck on Art down there since there was a chance that Art would agree to that at this point, but he knew it would be moving way too fast for Art and he would regret it in the morning. It would also interrupt the current thing happening and could scare Art into retreating into the bedroom, so Adriel positioned himself how he had been that morning only he made sure that their dicks were aligned against each other so Art would definitely realizing he was feeling Adriel. Adriel unbuttoned another couple buttons so he could uncover the other nipple as he started to shift his hips, and when his mouth switched to the other one, Art made another sound of pleasure and began to thrust up for harder friction. " Nnndriel," Art moaned out as he gripped Adriel's hair even tighter, and Adriel hummed with pleasure against Art's chest before he stopped sucking to lightly nibble and give Art a little bit of teeth. Art seemed to very much like that since he started moving his hips in a way that demanded more speed, but Adriel was not going to have this end so quickly this time so he moved his left hand to pin Art's right hip down to the couch and fully took control over speed and pressure. Art gave his hair a vicious yank as he whined out a complaint, but a firmer nip on Art's nipple turned it into an "Ah!" of pleasure that pleased Adriel since it meant that Art either liked it a little bit rough, or he actually liked that Adriel was taking control. Since Art had no idea why things felt good, only that they really did feel good, Adriel didn't know which one it was, but he was happy to figure it out in the future. Adriel moved back to the other nipple to nibble and nip on it, and Art continued to squirm under him in an attempt to get more despite Adriel keeping one hip pinned down. After another couple minutes of rolling his hips slowly to keep Art on edge but not let him finish, he raised himself up a little bit to seal their mouths together in a kiss and let go of Art's hip so he could grind them up against each other. Art's moans into Adriel's kiss got louder when Adriel used the hand that had kept Art's hip pinned down to pinch and lightly twist Art's nipple, and Art's left leg that was pressed up against the back of the couch moved so that Art could dig his heel into Adriel's butt and encourage more and harder even as Art started to get light headed from the lack of oxygen the long kiss was causing. Adriel knew Art was very very close, however, so he didn't break it off for the next couple thrusts, but he let Art suck in some air on the next one and then Art was coming and crying out as he did. The lightheadedness from not being able to breathe followed by the sweet taste of air had heightened Art's pleasure to something a bit more than it had been that morning, and Adriel felt every bit of it since he had entwined himself deeply into how Art was feeling and thinking just to make sure that his sacrifice was enjoying himself. They came down together with their foreheads pressed together and breathing each other's air. Adriel technically didn't need air to survive, but he did it anyway since it enhanced taste and smell, and he did love how Art tasted and smelled even if their dinner was the majority of it. Adriel started kissing Art again before Art got to recover his wits, and lhen lazily started to move his hips as a silent declaration of what had just happened since Art would definitely feel his own warm ejaculation with it. Art was too sated to really feel grossed out, but he did realize right then ( finally) that it was Adriel's own length he could feel rubbing against his own and it made him squeak a little with embarrassment into the kiss. Art, finally discovering sexual pleasure, had only softened a little, but he could tell Adriel was still hard and wondered if... he made Adriel feel good also? Adriel broke off the kiss with a hum to let Art breathe while he replied in a quiet and husky voice in so he could breathe hot air over sensitive spots along Art's upper neck and his ear. "Definitely very good, my treasure. So so good. You are perfect the way you are and need not worry because I am so very happy to have you. Yes, I think you are beautiful and smart, but I even find how upset you can get endearing even if others criticize you for it. I do not mind that you do not like most humans, honestly your thoughts about some people you encounter is very entertaining and your internal jokes make me laugh. Yes, those same jokes that have offended others and gotten you into trouble. Hush now and stop worrying - just relax for the moment and let me continue to make you feel good. No, we don't have to do that again if you don't want to, but I do want to keep you a little bit longer." Art pouted with annoyance at Adriel once again answering unvoiced questions and concerns, but Adriel noted that Art was more going through the motions up a bit of upset rather than being genuinely irritated or annoyed like he usually was. Art was also more exposed than he had ever been before, and Adriel wanted to taste and mark the new expanse of territory he had uncovered. He mouthed his way down Art's neck which had Art make a huffing sound that released his faux-annoyance as he settled in, but Art started to flail when he realized that his chest was completely uncovered when Adriel started kissing down it. It took a very quiet growl to make Art stop his panicked embarrassment, but Art froze with fear and worry which had Adriel keeping his exploration to light touches of his lips and nose. Several minutes of careful touching like that did not have Art relaxing, however, so Adriel finally sealed his mouth on the left side of Art's chest over his heart and began to suck a kiss mark on to it. Interestingly enough, that was what made Art finally let go of his fear and relax his body once again. The unknown anticipation of what Adriel might do was what had kept Art so on edge, and since Art relaxed, Adriel continued to lick and suck on Art's chest while being mindful not to uncover more than what had already been exposed. Art's shirt was almost completely unbuttoned - there was one more button above the pants line, but he knew that disturbing that last button would definitely break the tentative trust that Art was giving him as would any other thing that could be construed as trying to remove the shirt which was just about anything he did if he touched the shirt at all. Art's left nipple had ended up mostly covered again at some point, but the right was still fully exposed so Adriel began to lav his tongue on it like a cat grooming itself would. Art squeaked at the first pass and Adriel knew he was turning red with embarrassment, but Art didn't seem to truly want Adriel to stop and so he didn't. The pass ended with a flick of his tongue over Art's nipple as he glanced up at Art's face, and it was just in time to see Art shiver as he turned even more red because Adriel was looking at him. Adriel maintained eye contact as he sealed his mouth over the nipple to suck on it, and Art bit his lower lip in an attempt to not give anything away while he was being watched. His adorable sacrifice didn't seem to realize that that in itself was a giveaway that showed Art was more nervous rather than embarrassed now, and Adriel was thinking there might be a round two in it them. "I need to shower before bed," Art said, trying to sound stern but it came out a little high pitched and breathless. The sudden announcement made Adriel's hope for more shrivel up and die, and Art also looked a little bit surprised that he said that at all. "I mean, please?" Adriel stopped sucking and laved his tongue over Art's nipple one last time before he fully propped himself up on his elbow but kept Art stuck in place by their position. Art flushed red again as he bashfully moved his left leg that was still on Adriel though it had slid down almost to his knees while he moved as he played with Art's chest and carefully removed the grip he had on Adriel's hair, but even with all of that, Adriel did not get up. "Do I get a sign of affection yet?" he asked, the same question he had asked Art every night for three days now, and it was a question that had gone unanswered and had Adriel giving Art affection while pushing Art's boundaries just a tiny bit more. Art froze just as he had every time he was asked that question, but this time it only lasted a second before he lifted the hand that had been in Adriel's hair and slowly started to move it towards him. Adriel gave Art a smile, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed to turn thought into action. With a hand shaking from nervous tension, Art carefully used his fingers to gently smooth down the part of Adriel's hair he had messed up, and Adriel hummed with content as Art marveled at how soft and silky the hair was. Art continued to stroke Adriel's hair even after the mess had been undone, but it went on long enough that Art started to feel self conscious and looked at Adriel to see if that had been ok. "Thank you," Adriel said in an honest tone, then he leaned forward to give Art's nose a small kiss before he started sitting up. "Yes, doing that to my hair counts. Shower, change, and know that I will visit you in the morning if you stay in there for too long or I know that you want to do this again. Sleep well, my sacrifice."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2023 0:01:43 GMT
Artemio Reyes: Conplecte Abyssum(Entwined with Chaos) Chief Warlock Morgan Runcorn stepped into the prime minister's office the evening Adriel was teaching Art how to kiss, and he and the Prime Minister Lloyd George shook hand for a brief moment before they quickly let go like the other was diseased but hid their obvious distaste behind polite smiles. "Minister George," Morgan greeted with a curt nod. "Chief Warlock Runcorn, please take a seat," Lloyd replied as he kept up a false smile. "Would you like some tea? Or perhaps something a little bit stronger? I have a nice seventy year old bottle of scotch if you would like." Morgan swept past the man to take a seat on the guest chair as he grimly shook his head no. "I don't have much time for niceties I'm afraid," he told the Prime Minister. "The Ministry of Magic is under emergency protocols after our minister and two of our highly trained agents were killed but a few hours ago. I've come to notify you about that, and about the problem all humans currently face. It's going to come with a bit of a history lesson that spans hundreds of thousands of years, however. Without the background information, you won't believe me at all... I doubt you will believe me anyway, though. Not until you have proof." Lloyd wanted to scoff at such a preposterous and dramatic claim about a nebulous and no doubt magical problem, but he gave the wizard a polite nod as he took his own seat. "Very well then," he said as he pulled out a fountain pen and a notepad. Keeping notes on their secret government was always a good thing for future successors. "I am ready." "Those in the magical community for the most part are passively religious or outright not religious at all, Prime Minister," Morgan began, trying to find a good spot to start at that didn't begin with 'an ancient and powerful god has been awakened and is wreaking havoc. The end is nigh!' "However, we have also been aware of powerful cosmic entities that mankind has worshipped since at least the paleolithic period. These things like to play with lives and tamper with things to create monsters. They are why such creatures like the manticores and the dragons exist, and they walked among mankind until the Abrahamic religions wiped out almost all of the rituals and such required to summon one of these things. Christians would call these summoned things demons and devils, but they take on beautiful forms meant to entice mankind to see them as gods. "They claim to have created humans," Morgan continued, pausing only for a brief moment because the muggle had been gaping at him so he had made a gesture towards his pen to snap him out of it. "They would call Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and Christians false religions. Our top researchers call them entities however, and do know that they were tied with Egyptian, Greek, and Norse religions at least, so I'm not here to say if what religion is real or not. I am here to say that at least two days ago, a man figured out how to summon one of them, and the one that was brought is the one that Lucifer was based off of." Lloyd angrily bristled up to his his fear. "You witches!" he sneered. "There is a reason the holy scripture says 'You shall not suffer a witch to live!' I was told you lot do not summon devils and your witchery was not powers granted by selling your soul, but-" "ENOUGH!" Morgan shouted as he stood up and pointed his wand at the muggle's face with his own sneer. " Silencio! That line was mistranslated and it's 'You shall not suffer a poisoner to live,' fool! It does not take magic to summon one of these things - it just takes knowing the words and pronouncing it accurately, so magic has nothing to do with it being here now! People summoned these beings despite the things they did because they could also grant powers, and it's known that Jesus himself was the son of one of these entities - or the person Jesus was based off of, anyway." Morgan glared as he sat back down, but he kept his wand held in his lap rather than put it away since the muggle was hiding his fear after being silenced behind a facade of bravado. "Rather than point fingers, however, I came to warn you. The ministry of magic at this time cannot do anything - the one agent we sent to try to assassinate the summoner turned on us and is why the minister and two Unspeakables are dead. Two others had their magic stripped from them, and one of the magicless ones is currently in the hospital after suffering a heart attack while the other is searching for the agent to beg for forgiveness. The god has decided he is taking five of your city blocks and has given us three days to evacuate all the people out of the area. In the middle of London. Close to the Oxford schools. And that is why I am here, because this entity does have the power to warp and shape the world around us using powers that our ancestors called 'divine,' and many people will flock to it in worship as they witness 'miracles.'" Lloyd flinched when the wand was pointed at him, but he realized he was released from the power that had stolen his speech and he scowled. "We can kill it with a platoon shooting guns I'm sure," he scoffed, then he glared when the wizard shook his head no. "Then we will gas or bomb it! You said it is in London? Where is it, and we will get rid of it before it can spread its satanic influence out." "Weapons won't hurt it, nor will exorcisms or anything like that," Morgan sighed as he brought up his hand to rub his temple. It had been a long and stressful day, an already long evening that required him to speak with this muggle because the minister was dead, and then he would have to go home and start writing up a list of possible candidates for an interim minister. Oh. And organize the muggle evacuation before more people had their magic stripped. And try to figure out how to head off a panic when the magical community learned their magic could be stripped by an alien entity. "Magic won't affect it, either. No, its only weak point is the summoner - Artemio Reyes - and he lives at 153c Hanson Street. The god is highly protective of the human though, so if you are going to attempt this, the first shot absolutely has to kill the man. We made our attempt and failed, and that is part of why we lost our minister and two of our best agents. No, three, there was a death yesterday. Four if you include the one the entity has deemed its priest. As I said, the agent was sent to assassinate Mr. Reyes, but in order to do that, we needed someone who would be genuinely interested to join the entity since these things can see into your mind to determine your honesty. We thought that hiding the secret in our agent's soul would go unnoticed, but we were wrong. The goblins have already declared their neutrality, and we dare not approach any of the other magical races since they are creatures that will probably be joyful about the return of their original creator. We suspect that this entity plans to summon more like it to build a polytheistic religion before they turn their attention to the Abrahamic religions to wipe them out. You will have your proof to its existence and a small sample of its powers in three days time, but assistance in moving out the citizens from the area before it begins its plans for making a 'sacred temple' would be appreciated." "We will help protect our citizens, but tell me more about this Artemio Reyes," Lloyd said as he prepared to finally start to write. "I'm guessing he is one of yours?" "Artemio Reyes, age nineteen, studying at the British museum," Morgan began. "This was all unintentional and he had come to the ministry two days ago to see if there was a way to 'unsummon' the creature or give someone else his position..." ******************* Once Art had gone off to bed and fallen asleep, Adriel spent the night lazily stroking himself as he thought about Art's reactions earlier and his plans on the temple. Even though he didn't need to masturbate and didn't gain the same kind of pleasure from sexual acts that humans did, it was still relaxing and it felt pleasant. His little sacrifice had definitely had their activities on his mind as he had showered and then climbed into bed, and Art had wanted to play with himself in the shower to see if he could recreate the feelings only he had been far too embarrassed and afraid that Adriel would know. The cutest part was how Art had intentionally left the top button of his pajama undone specifically for Adriel, but he had been far too shy to undo more than that. And there had been no guilt this time. Art liked the Egyptian pyramids. He loved the graceful marble Greek columns and such as well, but Adriel would not be able to recreate those things from the available materials in the area he had claimed from the magical government. He also knew that the magical government had gone against his wishes of not interfering with their counterpart, but Art had been so hot and willing in his arms that Adriel had not paid it much attention. It wasn't like either of them could do anything to him, and he would keep his sacrifice protected until Art finally took his place by Adriel's side so that Adriel could bestow more gifts on him. There was a lot of concrete, wood, and metals to work with in and around the area they were in from all of the buildings, and there was a lot of old and rusted copper as well as lead. Those last two could give him a blue tinted pyramid, and there was enough of everything for him to include a bronze dome that the persians loved so much. The earth felt a bit poisoned in some areas, but Adriel could fix that. The miracle he intended to make was not the raising of the pyramids, though. It was going to be in the healing waters that would surround his pyramid and be available to all. Adriel continued to take inventory of the resources with a portion of his mind while he replayed the soft sounds and moans of pleasure Art had made. Most of his other siblings would be rather offended about having such a reticent sacrifice that did not obey their wants, but Adriel was more selfish than they were. Art had thought that Adriel was kinder than his siblings since he was mindful about controlling his temper so he didn't accidentally destroy large portions, but that was just more selfishness on his part. He really loved humans, and having a sacrifice that was so different from any other he had had before was such a novelty that he already wanted to extend Art's life. The sun wasn't even up all the way yet when Adriel decided he was done with his waiting and quietly slipped into Art's room. Seeing Art asleep for the first time made Adriel smile since his sleeping expression looked so relaxed and vulnerable. Normally Art looked unhappy, upset, stressed, or cranky, so it was nice to see the mortal look like this. Adriel moved next to the bed and carefully pulled the blankets back so he could see the button Art had undone specifically for him in hopes that Adriel would visit in the morning. Art's neck and throat was absolutely covered with the red and purple marks of love bites, and Adriel started undoing buttons so he could see how they continued down all over Art's chest. Rather than hold himself back, he undid all of the button, then he pulled off his robes and climbed into the bed without disturbing Art and laid out on top so their chests were together. Art hummed and relaxed since morning were a little chilly during early May, and Adriel ran much hotter than humans did so it wasn't too surprising that Art began to entwine their legs together and moved his arms to cuddle. Adriel crooked his finger like he was beckoning something, and the blankets came back up to cover them so that Art wouldn't get chilled and catch a cold. "So beautiful," he quietly breathed out once Art settled back down. "I thought about you all night. Your whimpers and your moans, and how much I enjoyed holding you as I did. Your kisses tasted divine like sipping from a honeysuckle, and your pleasure is addicting. Most sacrifices all had training in sexual arts as well as politics, religion, and oration, but you know none of it and teaching you myself has been gratifying. You are so good, so sweet, and it is a wonder to slowly unwrap all of those defenses you have wound tightly to yourself to keep yourself safe." Adriel continued to quietly murmur endearments, praises, and compliments to Art's sleeping mind that gladly accepted them unlike his waking mind did. After nearly twenty minutes of it, Art was looking a little flushed, and while it could have been from the additional heat Adriel was providing, Art's quiet little moan and tightening hold said otherwise. After another couple minutes, Art began to rub himself up against Adriel without waking up, but that was fine since Adriel was now featuring in Art's dreams rather than the weird dream Art had been having before about using a broom to sweep dust kittens out of a library that sneaky cats kept dropping off when he moved into another part of the library. "Good Artemio," Adriel quietly purred into Art's neck as he started to brush his lips against Art's skin in phantom kisses. Art moaned a little louder as he undulated beneath Adriel, and Adriel finally moved his hips to give Art the friction he needed with that move to come in his pajamas. He didn't stop his phantom kisses and quiet encouragements though, so Art continued to writhe under him until he whimpered and started waking up. "Good morning, my beautiful sacrifice," Adriel greeted in a low and soothing tone so that Art wouldn't be jarred back to reality, and he started kissing Art's neck. Art groaned as he bucked up, then tilted his head back as far as his pillows would allow and didn't seem to notice that he had already come for a minute or so as his dreams slowly melted away into waking up. " 'Driel?" Art mumbled in a sleepily confused voice that was also husky with pleasure. "Wha'?" "You left your button open for me," Adriel reminded Art in a low and playful tone as he started to roll his hips to make up for Art stopping his. "Give me permission, and I will kiss and lick you like I offered yesterday down there, Artemio. I promise it will feel very nice." Perhaps Adriel was taking advantage of Art's half awake and confused but lustful state, but he didn't see it like that and Art made a small sound that was not quite acceptance or denial. It was a sound of embarrassed and shy curiosity, a very tentative yes backed by a fear that would normally say no, but the fear was barely present in such a quiet and pleasurable atmosphere so Adriel began kissing and licking downward as he slowly drew himself up on his knees and replaced the friction against Art's member with his left palm when his hips got too high for it. His other hand went to splay itself on Art's chest to push him down a little bit - enough for Art to feel the pressure and a little bit pinned, but not enough to make him feel trapped or forced. Art brought both of his knees up and splayed them out, and Adriel stopped rubbing Art with his palm so he could hook his fingers into the waistband of his pants and briefs to slowly pull both down and kiss and lick the new territory. Art made a sound in the back of his throat when he aborted the simultaneous movements of trying to buck up for more and close his knees to stop. Adriel's sacrifice was very alert now, and Adriel glance up to catch a glimpse of Art's wide eyed look of shock, fear, and need. Art's penis was caught in his underwear and pants which pulled it upright by the time Adriel got to the wet patch of hair and come, and he groaned as he licked up the remnants of Art's first ejaculation while he gently worked Art's penis free. Art's breath stuttered when he felt Adriel's cheek on his dick when it landed there, and then he froze when Adriel turned his head to kiss the base of Art's dick. Adriel kept his kiss going for several seconds, but he only mouthed it so that Art could get a grasp on the milder sensation before he fully sealed his lips on the spot and rubbed his tongue against Art's shaft. Art made a started sound since he was shocked at the feeling of hot and wet, and Adriel moved his mouth around the base without breaking the light suction or stopping his tongue movements. Art dropped his head back into the pillow and threw his arm across his eyes because he was unable to watch anymore out of embarrassment, but he bucked his hips up which allowed Adriel a split second to tug the pants down low enough to expose the balls. Adriel finally had Art where he wanted him, and he moved his head down to suck each ball into his mouth and rolled it around for a few seconds each before he started to lick his way up Art's shaft to clean up more of the sticky mess on it. His sacrifice tasted even better than he had hoped, and the overwhelming mix of embarrassment and want that Art was exuding while trying not to make a sound or buck up again was heady. Adriel wanted everything of Art he could get since Art was the most delicious human he had ever encountered in so many different ways, and he was very very glad that he had not just taken Art in the dark and dirty place he had been summoned to (it had not always been dark or dirty... Adriel remembered it once had the smells of incenside, thick furs, a carefully made fireplace for some light, and a bowl of scented oil with a wick that worked like lanterns would come to work later on.) because if he had done that, Art would never have trusted him like he currently did. By the time Adriel licked the whole thing clean, Art was panting in short breaths and his hips were minutely twitching out of how much he wanted this even if he couldn't verbalize it and was too apprehensive to show his enjoyment. Adriel pulled back only to lick his lips clean as he positioned his face above Art's penis, and he sucked the head into his mouth then began to rub his tongue on it as he felt out what spots felt good for Art. Art barely managed to choke back a moan as his hips lifted up off the bed by half an inch, and Adriel cupped Art's balls in his left hand and moved the right one to lightly begin to tweak at Art's left nipple. He sucked as he pulled his head back a little, and Art's hips went up just a bit more with a small sound of protest. All of the previous sacrifices knew how to receive and give oral techniques - they had to experience it to learn how to give it and what might feel best on another person, and getting that kind of experience was a good way to teach a person sexual endurance without taking away their virginity. Yet, Artemio had never experienced it! His beautiful human had never felt real sexual gratification until the previous morning! Adriel had thought the previous night on the couch together had felt wonderful, but Art felt even more with this and feeling what Art was feeling was nearly as overwhelming for Adriel as it was for Art. He bobbed his head back down and took an extra quarter of an inch with the movement, and decided he would stretch this out for as long as was possible without denying Art anything. Art suddenly became so scared that he did not try to encourage for more like he had the previous night - as Adriel sucked and licked, Art had realized that Adriel really could eat him now if he wanted to. Adriel moved his left hand to Art's inner thick to rub comforting circles in there without stopping what he was doing since Art was wanting what was happening just as equally despite his terror of becoming God Chow™ which was why Art froze. Both feelings combined to make things feel scarily good to Art, but then the window shattered and Art felt a punch in his chest and realized he couldn't breath. Adriel snarled in anger as he jerked up and threw himself on top of Art so the follow up bullet bounced off of him, and then London began to rumble with an earthquake. A thought had the window completely sealed off, and Adriel immediately started tending to Art who was looking absolutely scared as he made choking sounds then coughed up some blood. A quick check told Adriel that the bullet had gone through Art and was now embedded in the floor under the bed, so he healed his sacrifice then sat him up and cleared out his lungs, then he possessively held Art to himself as he threw out his consciousness to find who was responsible. Two snipers that were now afraid because they were on top of building that were shaking. Art was sobbing as he curled up against Adriel's chest - he had no idea what had happened or what was now going on, but he knew he had almost died, Adriel had saved him, and now Adriel was holding him and would keep him safe from the earthquake. Adriel couldn't do more than hold Art since he was busy forcing the dead wood in one building to return to life, and it killed all fifty six people inside of that building while the first sniper whose bullet had hit Art had his limbs stuck inside of the trunk of a great tree that had suddenly seemed to spring into existence and was now a hundred feet or so up in the air. The second sniper that was going to finish Art off with a head shot (the shattering window had deflected the first bullet enough that rather than through the heart, it had gone into Art's right lung) saw what had happened to the first man and left his weapon behind as he started to run for the trapdoor down, and Adriel hit him with a curse that would make him insatiably hungry, but anything he touched to eat would turn into dust and everything he tried to drink except for water would burst into flames. That man would slowly starve to death, but he was also the one that Adriel yanked the knowledge from on who else was part of the plot that almost killed his sacrifice. The two officers that passed down the order suddenly found themselves coughing, and it would go on for the whole hour it would take for them to cough out their lungs. Their commander, an undersecretary, and a communications officer that were all part of it were in the same room with them, and the commander's tongue was turned into a snake for giving the two men orders to grab their best snipers and to report to him. When he turned his head to scream at the secretary for help because he felt the change in his mouth, the asp shot out and bit the secretary's face which was good since the secretary had been the one to deliver the order to that commander straight from the minister's office. The communication officer had been the key piece in the whole operation that got Art shot, however. He was the one that voiced the 'ok' that the commander had given to the two snipers, and he was the one the snipers had been coordinating with to set things up for the best chance at a kill shot that nearly succeeded. Yes, Adriel needed to be in the world to reassert himself and his siblings within it once again, but nearly losing Art made him realize that Art just might mean a little bit more to him than the other consorts and spouses ever had - Art was a one of a kind human that he absolutely did not want to lose, and he loved Art a lot more than he had loved any other creature he had made or interacted with before. The communication officer's scream joined that of the commander and the secretary as his body and limbs twisted in unnatural ways, and the new flow of people rushing in to see what was happening could hear bones break and muscles tear as Adriel brutally changed the man into a horrific parody of what he once was. The final touch was razor sharp teeth that immediately sliced off the creature's own tongue, and it was followed up with a deep hunger for human flesh and a command to eat the commander first. If the commander survived his fate, he would be stuck with a snake that struck at any he tried to speak with, and he would have to eat twice as much food since the snake would pick the best parts of any meal he ate. "Stop!" Adriel heard Art cry out just as his attention moved towards the Prime Minister who had given the orders in the first place. Adriel paused, then looked down at Art. "Please, Adriel, stop the earthquake! I'm ok, don't be angry you saved me it's all okay!" Honestly, the earthquake was a very light one in Adriel's opinion - it only toppled over the weakest buildings and caused cracks in the foundations of others. The death count had not even hit the four digit numbers, though it likely would when some succumbed to injuries and others were not dug out in time. However, Art was crying and his priest had just burst in through their apartment door in a panicked state, so he willed his own robes on and wrapped Art in his bloody blanket and tightened it right before Titus burst in. Adriel stopped the earthquake then and glared, and Titus threw himself down on the floor to prostrate himself. "Is Art okay?" he gasped out. He was out of breath, but he had caught sight of the blood on the bedding, Art's tears, Adriel's anger, and the unnaturally long earthquake in a city that did not get strong ones. Titus placed the one they had gone through at around 6.5 or 7 with the damage it had done. "Does he need potions?" "I healed him," Adriel said in a curt tone as he clutched Art even tighter to him. " They shot him with a bullet through his right lung! The second shot was to go through his head since the window had stopped the first one from being an immediate death shot like they had been ordered to do, and I stopped it with my own body since it could do me no harm." "Ordered to k-kill me?" Art asked, stuttering over the kill word since he didn't want to die! Art understood last night that he was what kept Adriel tied to a physical form, but he did not know until this very minute that it really was dangerous despite the warnings he had been given about assassinations since those were things that happened in stories or to important people, not to Art! "You are very important," Adriel said, barely keeping himself from snarling or growling since he was very angry. Art was not the target of his ire - the prime minister and the chief warlock were. "You are more important than kings and emperors are! Titus, you are to get the humans around us out of their homes by any means necessary. Have it done before the sun is at its apex since any left behind will die. I was kind to offer three days of grace, but they ignored my good will and tried to take away the dearest person to me. The border will start at the street where Artemio's precious library is to the north, but I want nine complete blocks with the block south of this one being the middle point, and then five more in a row right past that so the shape will be that of an offering pedestal. Go, and collect whoever you want to assist you, but don't be slow since you have noon." "But the schools!" Art cried out as he wiggled in the blankets he was burritoed in, but Adriel was holding him too tight for him to get his arms out. "There's the secondary school and-" " I don't care about the schools!" Adriel finally snapped out, and Art cringed away in fear. Adriel sighed and started nuzzling Art's neck with his cheek. "I don't care about the schools," he said in a more gentle tone. "Almost half an inch to the left and they would have nicked your heart. A touch more, and it would have pierced straight through it. I will have you protected in a fortress of my making, precious, but to make amends and show the common people that I do not blame them for what their leaders did, the waters on our temple ground will be able to cure many ailments if they bathe or drink from it and any can come even if they do not worship me." Art sniffled as he twisted enough to look at Adriel with large and sad eyes. "But there are children in school right now," he quietly said, trying to plead on behalf of the people that Adriel seemed too angry to care about at the moment. "Summer vacations don't begin for another few weeks." Adriel pursed his lips a little bit as he checked the validity of Art's statement, then turned his head to look at Titus who had not seemed sure if he was allowed to leave or not while feeling very uncomfortable about hearing what sounded like a private moment between two people. "Start with the school," he ordered. "There are not many students there yet since it is barely seven thirty, but have you and those you collect begin with the women and the children. My sacrifice might be able to convince me to grant you more time, but work with your deadline set to the sun's highest point since he also may not be able to convince me. I want him secure, so there is very little he could offer that might sway my decision. Make sure that everyone knows that my sacrifice is the only reason I've stopped the earthshake. Leave." Titus gave a quick nod without looking up, then he scooted backwards to the doorway before he stood up and left the bedroom. "How can I convince you?" Art asked as he continued to unintentionally give Adriel puppy eyes. Titus got to the front door and locked, closed, and warded it behind him as he left the apartment. "I don't want innocent people to die because of me." Adriel held Art even tighter and buried his nose in Art's hair to inhale his scent now that they were alone and he was not busy with immediate retribution. The final two who were at the top of Adriel's list could sweat - the prime minister just got the news of everyone's fates and he was terrified. The chief warlock had been home and suspected something had gone horribly wrong, and was now packing things up into a truck to flee to America. "Name the three worst punishments you can imagine to befall someone - fates that are worse than death - and I'll give you an hour," Adriel finally said as he kept a mind's eye on the wizard since America actually would require travel. "Don't feel bad - they tried to kill you. They can pay for the insult against us, and it will give you time. Not negotiable for more time." Art sighed and then considered what Adriel wanted. Adriel knew Art absolutely did not want to sentence anyone to the things his imagination could come up with, but Adriel could see those cogs turn. He felt a bit of sadistic glee at some of the half or even fully formed thoughts Art was coming up with and discarding, and he began to punish Morgan Runcorn.The wizard stumbled when he felt his body grow weak due to the shriveled up muscles, and rather than strip the man of his magic, Adriel forced it to turn against its wielder. His family and those that he loved would slowly wither in the same way he had, and while he could still use his magic, it would only be for the weakest of spells while the bulk spread his curse to everyone he was close to. Birds would flock to the man during the day to peck and eat at any exposed flesh they could find, but his magic would regenerate the damage from the birds every night while cats, rats, and insects would plague the man at night in the same way. He would be stuck in a cycle of life and death until he died of old age since nothing else short of things like the veil of death would kill him now. The Prime minister was then hit with a curse were nobody would ever again take him seriously, obey any of his orders, or look upon him with any kind of respect, affection, or love. He would be a clown to be mocked and derided, and no place would want to hire him except for the most menial and disgusting of jobs like cleaning out the pig pens. His favorite foods would forever taste like coal, and alcoholic drinks would turn into vinegar as soon as it entered his mouth. There would be no escaping reality for him either - he would be impervious to weapons, starvation, drugs, and diseases so that he could not escape his fate, and his life would also be a long one. Mosquitos would be attracted to him at all hours of the day during all of the seasons, and if this man truly wished to die, it could only be by swarms of mosquitoes that might be able to drain enough blood to actually kill him. Adriel planted that last bit into the man's mind, then loosened his hold on Art just a little bit since his sacrifice was beginning to feel uncomfortable from the tight squeezing. "They have one hour," Adriel murmured as he began to nuzzle Art's hair with appreciation, and Art did a mental doubletake so Adriel explained it further. "You thought up many creative punishments, and I picked a few and feel calmer now that the ones who tried to kill you are neutralized. Two hours, then... Don't be upset that I heard your thoughts. I like what I hear and there is nothing shameful about having a morbid and dry sense of humor or being able to think up sadistically creative things. You have zero intentions of carrying anything out and are a very sweet and innocent person. Yes, you are - keeping to yourself and distancing away from others was only done out of survival. Shush your worries and your upset about your creativity, you bought the people around us two hours when my intentions were to let them flee or die because of two stupid men who thought it would be a good idea to kill you to be rid of me." Adriel completely released his hold then and ran his fingers through Art's hair. "I'll leave so you can shower, but if you start feeling too guilty about thinking just because of my prompt - something you can't help but do since you are smart - I will march into your shower and kiss you until you forget those thoughts. Yes, even if you are naked with shampoo in your hair. Best not feel bad then." Art scowled at that last one since he couldn't help but feel bad, and Adriel lowered his head a little bit to suck on Art's neck for a couple seconds. "A little bit bad is ok, but don't feel guilty," Adriel corrected. "They were warned and still chose to go after you. They will all learn that you are sacrosanct and to be treated with respect, caution, love, and fear." "I don't want that," Art grumbled, and Adriel patted the top of his head before moving to get off the bed. "I just want to be a librarian and an archeologist to study history and find lost cities and tombs." "You will get those things too, love," Adriel said, then smiled at how Art looked at him in shock. "Yes, I love you, and losing you made me realize that I love and cherish you most. No, I know you need to learn about me the normal way which takes time before you might even begin to match the depths of my feelings for you, and no, it is not too soon for me to decide this since I know you better than you know yourself. I am a god, Artemio, precious sacrifice. I accepted you before, and now I hold you dear. You will love me back one day, and we will marry when that happens. No, I am not predicting a future - I am chaos so there is no predicting when it comes to me. But I will try my best to show you how cherished you are so you can't help but love me back I hope." Art was blushing red by that point, so Adriel smiled at him again before he left the room. There were no more windows in the bedroom, and Adriel reformed the walls for the rest of the house so that there were no windows elsewhere, either. Wood, stone, and plaster were all then hardened to the point that not even a dragon could crush it, and Adriel put up a protection with a wave of his hand as he flopped onto the couch to protect their space from magic. Then he finally let himself pout because those stupid idiots interrupted his morning plans with Art! He would probably be starting over from almost scratch - Art would no doubt allow the kisses and the cuddles without any of the fussing he did at the start of it, but he would probably be scared for a time to do more or drop his guard that much with how he had been hurt. On second thought, though, that might be a good idea. Art was able to draw his attention so much that he paid almost no notice to the world around them, so it was best for them to have a safe area that was so secure that London could be destroyed and Art would remain safe. A maze deep underground reminiscent of the Minoans should suffice. They had loved his second sibling so much that they worshipped only her for the most part and had acknowledged Adriel only peripherally as their 'father.' Art started up his shower and began to undress, and Adriel stretched himself out on the couch for a good sulk. There were definitely going to be baths in their temple - beautiful legendary temple baths. Ones that could rejuvenate skin and make people genuinely look younger, help minimize or do away with scars and more. He turned his attention back to the first sniper that was trapped by the tree he had grown around the mortal and was pleased at the screams for help the man made. With the earthquake, most people were far too busy to notice the giant tree or the man too high up to really be seen or heard, but just in case, he hardened the tree and protected it similarly to what he had done with Art's apartment. Adriel decided to honor the ones who died so that the new tree may live by having vines begin to grow from the ground. He noticed there was a survivor trapped in the roots, and he shifted and nudged things around so that one of the new plants could wind itself around her and carefully pull her out. The woman was left on a grassy spot before the plant withdrew to climb up the side of the building with the others, and then all of the vines began to bloom. They would not be able to reproduce - that was his second sibling's realm - but he made sure they would attract butterflies from all over London for their sweet scent and delicious nectar. Then he cursed them so that any that plucked the plant would suffer an injury that day, and if they dared to pluck the plant three times or took too much, they would fall dead at the roots. The exception would be ignorant children, but they would be chased away by the nearest bee or wasp. It occured to Adriel about then that Art might not like the retribution he had carried out... His sacrifice was so amusingly cruel but exceptionally gentle as well. He considered not telling Art at all for a split second before realizing it would be monumentally stupid to try to keep him in the dark about it, so he decided to ask when his sacrifice was done washing himself. The poor man was crying in the shower since it had finally hit him that he really did almost die, and he was starting to wallow in the feelings of honestly being hated by everything in the world. It wasn't guilt, but Adriel decided Art needed some comforting so he got up, walked through Art's bedroom to get to the bathroom door, and sat down next to the door. "Artemio, I love you, very dearly," he said in a tone loud enough to be heard through the door and over the water but still conveying sincerity through it. "Titus likes you also. The people that tried to kill you don't hate you, but they are afraid of me because the chief warlock convinced the prime minister that I was a devil come to take over England. The silly mortals don't understand that I just want to be loved and I'm not interested in ruling whatsoever. Governments and the like are all mortal concerns, not mine. Anyway, you are nice and clean now, so stop scrubbing the imaginary blood off of you before you scrub yourself raw. Come now, I want you in my arms where I know you are nice and safe and unharmed, and I will continue to protect you. No, I already know you don't want to do other things right now so I will not be touching you like I did this morning and yesterday, and yes, I know you are safe and unharmed, but having you in my arms keeps me calm." "Just give me another minute," Art shouted out. Adriel could tell Art was upset about being interrupted and that Adriel knew he had been crying and upset, but Art was also feeling grateful for the comfort and that Adriel would not be doing anything to him. "Get out of my room! I need to get dressed after!" Adriel stood and looked at the foot of Art's messed up bed and noticed there was a change of clothes there - a full set of clothes that included a vest and a jacket, and Adriel was not having any of that. His sweet little sacrifice deserved better than those things on the bed, so he waved his hand to clean off the bedding and turned the clothes into thick velvet robes and comfortable and loose pants. "I'm going, beloved, but you will wear the clothes prepared for you on the bed," Adriel said, irritating Art immensely, then stepped out to wait in the living room again. Despite the giant tree being out of the area that Adriel had claimed for himself, Titus' little group had apparently found themselves distracted by it. The injured woman was being healed by one witch while a man started trying to figure out how to get the soldier in the tree unstuck. A third one plucked a flower with the intent to study it, and a loose brick from the building fell and broke his shoulder. Adriel sent Titus a mental message to warn his friends not to touch the cursed flowers, then left them to it so he could reshape the purple couch into a plush purple divan, and heard a shriek of anger just as he finished perfecting it. "I can't just wear BATH ROBES!" Art shouted through the bedroom door. "They are not bath robes!" Adriel protested. "They are plush velvet robes. There are also pants." "My underwear is GONE!" Art snarled. "These also are not PANTS! They are too loose to be PANTS! What am I supposed to do with a SCARF?!" Adriel had genuinely forgotten about the weird underwear and had provided a loincloth that Art was mistaking for a scarf, and he bit his lower lip so he didn't laugh and make Art even more angry. "That is a loincloth, but feel free to get one of your odd underpants instead," Adriel finally said while grinning with amusement. "The pants are Persian in design rather than the uncomfortable looking one you usually wear. No, I will not change it back, yes, I expect you to wear then, and I will give you a new book to read when you come out. Egyptian? I suppose I do have some papyrus scrolls I can pull out. No, they aren't kept in a pocket space - offerings like that usually get burned, but the intent behind it means we receive it if we look at it, so it becomes part of the cosmic force until we decide we want it. Yes, you can have something that was for Thoth. Come on, just think of it like a giant fluffy blanket with ties and a sleeve, then come out here. I will provide you with breakfast and tea this time, and it will also be something that had been burned as an offering. Yes, an ancient food dish. I think you will like Greek." Adriel smiled when Art came bursting out of his room a moment later while still trying to pull his robes together and looking very eager. "What kind of food?" Art asked. "Is it nectar and ambrosia? Or Aurochs? Books have also mentioned Kápros, a wild boar imported from Africa for royalty! Oh! Or maybe-" "I was thinking steppe bison," Adriel interrupted with a fond smile as he got up and helped Art tie his robe up properly. "Sadly, I cannot offer ambrosia since that is for one of the ones whose domains is in life. It is essence granted physical form, and they usually picked the best meats for it while nectar was the essence of the sweetest of fruits. Yes, life is different from creation and chaos... I would be capable of creating a creature and they would be the gardeners capable of shaping or concentrating plants into new forms with the core of the plant remaining unchanged." Adriel paused to scoop Art up in his arms so he could carry him the couple of steps to the plush divan and gently set him down. "The ones that are death are capable of extinguishing essence like you would do by blowing on a candle flame. I can change or disperse essence, or even create new forms of essence from my own, but I cannot extinguish them like that. Yes, Europe once had giant bison, but they died out in Greece about ten thousand years ago. They were too large for the land to sustain when men needed that space, and they were delicious. They also moved on to the Americas, there was some in Sussex and Wessex for a short time that were devoured by man rather quickly, and all over Europe, really. They were meant to feed all of you from the start - able to sustain large communities and provide tools and clothes - and man didn't need them any longer by the time they died off. Europe has already killed off the descendants of those bison, and there are only a few wild ones left in Russia." Art had sat himself up while looked at Adriel with eager expectation, so with a small laugh, he waved his hand at the table in front of the couch so that a platter of bison steak appeared along with a jug of citron liqueur, and utensils that he figured were close enough to a fork and knife for Art to eat with. Next was a platter of fruits with one of the sweeter yogurts that Athens made, and finally a plate of vegetables, cheese, and dolma with the dips the Greeks always loved. Art was looking rather shocked at the spread, so Adriel willed an amethyst goblet into being and poured the sweet citron drink into the cup and set it down by Art's plate of meat. "I can't eat all of this!" Art protested as he looked a little flustered at the delicious food in front of him. "There is too much food!" Adriel leaned down as he cupped Art's cheek in his hand and gave him a small kiss on the nose that had Art scrunching up his face for a moment while he flapped his hands around all flustered up. "Eat a little of everything and see what you like," Adriel said with a smile as backed away just a little bit then sat down by Art. "Drink too - it is made from citron, a very famous fruit in Greece. No, it won't be wasted, I will eat whatever is left." Artemio settled down at that and finally picked up a piece of fruit to try first before he grabbed Adriel's attempt at a fork to try the meat. Regular bison had a musky and gamey sort of flavor, but the choicest meats on a steppe bison like the one Art was served was rich and savory. Art made a sound of surprise as he chewed the first bite, then he reached out for the cup to wash it down. Adriel waited until Art was very much into the food and had just leaned back with a dolma to sample before he laid himself out across Art's lap to lounge on him and the couch. Art paused for a brief moment, but when Adriel did nothing more than that and seemed disinclined to move, he gave a mental shrug and continued to eat and drink. Then the cup started to get too low, Adriel would refill it with a twirl of his fingers without getting up, and Art was rather drunk by the time he was halfway through the second cup. "Wow, this is so good," Art mumbled around a mouthful of Greece's pita bread. "I feel like I'm eating dinner rather than breakfast, though. This morning was very scary and I didn't like being shot. You won't let me get shot again, right? I don't really want to be shot again, it is very scary but not as scary as getting eaten by vicious cats are. I like the bison though, it is too bad they are extinct. It's actually way better than beef! I wonder what bison tastes like? There were aurochs, too! And the dodo birds, were they any good? Oh! And what about a T-Rex? I blew up a whole table of dinosaur once. They were mocking my beheading display and I got angry! It was an accident though, I didn't mean for my magic to do that. I'm a little bit confused though - are you a man or a woman? I know you said it was fine, but being with a man is very bad and illegal but you keep making me feel so nice like I never felt before and I don't know if that is wrong or not." Adriel thought the drunk babbling was cute, so he smiled into the pillow his head was on. "When love is involved, it isn't wrong," he replied in a reassuring tone. "No, not the kind of love where people determine what they think is best for you, that isn't love. That is being controlling. Yes, I was very controlling at first, but I am used to saying and everyone else doing and I am learning better because I love you. Love is making sure the other person is happy - you do not love another person for your own happiness, you love them and try to make them happy. If they love you back, they will try to make you happy and minimize the sacrifice and unhappiness you might occasionally have to feel for their happiness. For example, let's say I have a spoon of ambrosia, and I know you would really love it so I give it to you even though I really wanted it instead. Maybe you eat it all, or maybe you understand that I would also like it, so you have half a spoon and give it back for me to finish even though it was so delicious that it was hard for you to want to share. You would not have shared it with anyone normally, but you loved me back enough to stop yourself from eating all of the small portion of ambrosia. Then I would take the last of it, but rather than swallow, I would draw you into a kiss so we can both enjoy it at the same time." Art was all flustered and embarrassed again with butterflies in his stomach that had him setting down the fork because he was feeling so funny, and he hesitantly reached out to touch the hair that was spread out over Adriel's back, the couch, and in Art's lap. "See! Seeeee! You keep saying stuff like that and I think I must be getting sick or something since I feel hot again. It's hot in here, right? I need to take off my robes, they are too thick! You're in the way, Adriel, get off so I can take them off!" Adriel chuckled as he drew himself back up into a sitting position aided by Art's insistent tugs on his robes, but rather than let Art undress himself, he pulled Art into his lap and held him. "If you are sick, then you should stay bundled up," he teased. He knew there was no point in telling Art why he was feeling hot and his stomach was all fluttery since Art would argue against that, but staying bundled while sick was such a common sense thing that even a drunk person might believe it would be good to not remove their clothes. Adriel knew Art would be very upset about it later, and he didn't want his sacrifice thinking he took advantage of him in a drunk state - he wanted Art to trust him to take care of him and love him properly. "So to answer another question, I am neither man or woman, but I am in the form of a man for you. Yes, we made men and women so they may reproduce, but you all are not required to reproduce at all. Yes, I know you want kids. I can provide you with kids. All of the children that you want, and they will grow up and live for hundreds of years and be powerful enough to protect themselves so you do not have to fear for their safety. All I want is for you to love me and obey me, and I will give you everything you want and need. Yes, I know you love me, but do not say it out loud until you are sober and realize it on your own. You got very drunk very fast - do they not serve wine with dinner anymore?" "Some holidays we have spiced or watered down wine," Art sadly mumbled, unhappy that he was told that he couldn't tell Adriel that he really really loved him. "I love spiced wine. That was wine? I thought it was just juice that tasted a little unusual. It was very sweet but wine is not sweet? So that can't be wine, right? It tasted more like a watered down fruit syrup - still a little bit thick but it was very yummy and can I have more of it? I really loved it. I'm not drunk! Getting drunk is also bad because people get stupid and mean and I'm not stupid or mean so I am not drunk." Adriel shifted Art around in his lap so that Art was sitting sideways rather than with his back pressed to Adriel's chest, and he let Art wrap his arms around his own neck so Art could cuddle him back. "No, you are not stupid or mean at all," he agreed with a fond smile, and Art brought their lips together in a clumsy attempt to try to kiss him. Adriel spent the next few minutes kissing Art properly, but he held Art around his waist so he could not get up to try to straddle his lap for sexual gratification. "Mmm, remember I already promised no touching like that," he said, breaking off the kiss to remind Art when Art started getting frustrated. "Shh, yes, I love touching you, don't think otherwise. You are beautiful, my precious sacrifice, but you distract me and I need to stay alert to protect you until we have a nice and safe place. Do you like the legends of King Minos? Yes? Well, let me tell you about some of that lost history - first, Minos meant King in the ancient tongue of the people you now call the Minoans, and their empire spanned across the Aegean seas..." [center[******************[/center] It took a bit over an hour of storytelling before Art fell asleep, and Adriel laid him out comfortably on the divan before he dismissed the food back into the universe. He checked on the area real quick, noted that the schools had been evacuated under pretense of 'earthquake and this area is exceptionally unstable, please move off to...' reasons. The non-magical people in charge of guarding - constables and police - and the magical aurors were now working together with the non-magicals believing the magicals to be higher government officials, and temporary homes and sanctuaries were springing up all over the city. Adriel crinkled his nose as he wondered if he might have gone a little bit too far even though it really was a mild earthquake, then he decided that no, he really had not, because they all needed to know that touching Art would lead to disasters. A check in the magical areas showed several buildings in the area had also collapsed, but Gringotts was very safe despite being deep underground because they had protections against earth disasters. That wand shop was one of the ones that was just fine as were a lot of the oldest buildings that would have still been around when Great Powers were still being through about. It was just the newer buildings only two or three centuries old that had fallen apart. The magical hospital was also one of the newer buildings being around three hundred years in age, but with it being a hospital, the magicals had protected it very thoroughly so it had suffered no damage as well. The ministry was just fine, and while the wider area had experienced the earthquake as well, it was much milder and people in other cities were just a little bit confused. Oh, and there was a giant waves the earthquake caused. Nothing he could do about the ships close to the other european countries that had sank or northern France and Germany that had a giant tidal wave sweep hundreds on the beaches out to sea, but he was able to calm down the currents forming into a tsunami that would have hit Norway, Iceland, and other distant countries. The soldier in the tree was no longer screaming, and there was a rope and ladder system set up for the wizards to give the man food and drink while they tried to figure out how to get him out. There was a spell up that hid the tree and the people from non-magicals, but Adriel tore it down. Oh, and Titus had put up a large granite stone that had writing on it to warn people to not touch the holy flowers lest they suffer divine punishment. Adriel found it cute, so he made it just as impervious as the tree was and ensured that it would stay stuck to the ground and added a curse to it that any who tried to tamper with it would be struck by lightning because his sense of humor was similar to Art's own humor. The wizards were starting to put up another concealment spell by then, so Adriel had their wands all burst into various types of flora and fungi with the magical cores feeding the fast growth until all of it withered, died, and disintegrated. Just to make sure that the wizards would not attempt that again, Adriel called a bolt of lightning down upon the rock to add another inscription below Titus' own warning. Any who would hide the misdeeds of those that suffer divine retribution will see them punished as well.
Si peccasse negamus fallimur et nulla est in nobis veritas. If we deny having made a mistake, we are deceived, and there's no truth in us.
Adriel then sighed and flopped into the armchair because he remembered that he was going to temper himself for Art's sake so that Art wouldn't later get all angry about the things he had done. Oh, how terrible... It was barely past nine now, Art had fallen asleep, and he was bored. He supposed he could leave the house for half an hour or so since he did want to see how the rest of the world looked. He yawned as he stood up, exchanged his purple robes for red velvet with gold embroidery, then grabbed one of his early crowns that had a giant raw stone of emerald, quartz, and silver micah that he favored simply because shaping and polishing the thing took the ancient African people a few years to accomplish with their stone and copper tools. According to the books from the Unspeakables, the stone's value was nearly worthless now, but once upon a time, very very few tried to do anything with emeralds since they were so hard to work with and there were many other pretty things that could be easily shaped like seashells. Adriel liked pretty and soft things, but he loved the things that had been made for him out of love and devotion. He moved over to stroke Art's forehead once to make sure he would stay asleep and not wake up with a hangover before he stepped back into Olympus and the caverns where the Great Library was. Barefoot, Adriel padded among the shelves while running his fingers over the spines of the books to sense what they were while the mortals in the other areas of the maze complex started to panic and rush around to prepare for his arrival. A dozen centuries or so though it was, they seemed to remember him - or more accurately, their records did - so his reception here would be much better than it had been in London. The library was quickly emptied without him being bothered or looked upon, so Adriel was undisturbed as he picked out a recent history book, another on the Aegean islands, and a third on magical weapons and jewelry before he headed out into the main room where the Master Scribe would normally be at. " Chaos," the Mavros that was prostrated on the floor breathed out in ancient Greek, and Adriel hummed to acknowledge the title. " We long awaited the return of the gods and never lost faith. We beg forgiveness for our disarray - many years has been spent trying to push the Ottomans out of our territory and keep them from the Hallowed Halls of the Mavros who have sworn to protect the ancient texts until Your return. How may we serve?" Adriel was very very happy with the state of things in the mountain, so he nodded. " I currently reside in the lands of the Celts and the Britons, however I wish you to seek out a young non-magical human who is eager to obey," he commanded. " One that is politically connected through blood, aged 20 as per the adult laws of antiquity, and has not had children if you cannot find one that is untouched. Present me a selection, and I will clear your borders of your invaders. Look to the north where I am beginning to stir and prepare to send me three people who shall become my priests when I decide upon my Name and Role." Something he had been putting off because he was distracted by his beautiful sacrifice and the wonders of having a physical form again. " I am starting fresh in the North with ancient knowledge there mostly lost and forgotten, however Olympus will be rebuilt to reward the dedication of the Mavros. You have a full cycle of the moon to find a few Sacrifices and pick three among you to become priests, but one more from outside of the Mavros should also be selected among your lands who is willing to also devote themselves to me. They must all be aware that it is the building of a whole new pantheon for I am Creation, and my Sacrifice's children will be the first generation of main gods as he pleases me greatly. However any female priests that wish it may be blessed with a child if they please me greatly, though that will also be at the permission of my Sacrifice for the moment. You may request a blessing now, and I may bestow it upon the Mavros for their long work and patience."The mental hive connection of these humans went still for a couple seconds in shock, and then it started to buzz like a nest of bees. Adriel was too unfamiliar with all of these people to keep up with the conversation, but he knew they were discussing, arguing, begging, and debating about what to ask among each other. The clamour was loud enough to make the man at his feet quietly sigh with exasperation, but three of the humans wrested control of the hive and began to mentally beat everyone into silence. Adriel grew bored and looked at the young man on the floor to get a sense of him. " Beige of Sacred Magics, you will be one of my priests," Adriel decided. " Your interest in Celtic and Norse magics is noted and you will learn that and more at my feet. Your council has five more minutes to debate, and then you will be laying your hat down to come back with me whether they come to a decision or not. I am very busy, my Sacrifice was nearly kill but a few hours ago, and I do not wish to leave him alone for much longer. You will be a good companion for Artemio and teach him the things he must know, but you will teach it disguised as ancient lessons and stories for he is a stubborn little thing that angers easily, is very sweet, extremely defenseless, and is filled with depths of compassion and pity towards the unworthy. Your calm and mild mannerisms will be good for my little Sacrifice."Adriel could feel how excited Beige was and how determined he would be to prove himself worthy of the opportunities Adriel had just bestowed on him. He knew that he would be a tutor to a future god and/or consort of the pantheon, and might also be elevated himself if he performed well. " Master of Chaos, you have given me my heart's deepest desire, and I will do my best to prove myself worthy," Beige said out loud. "I will do right by your Sacrifice and teach him where to direct his compassion to so that none will take advantage of his kind heart through ancient tales."
"Good," Adriel said in English jarring the man out of his overwhelmed and awed state. "On your knees and I will give you a blessing." Beige got up to his knees but kept his head respectfully lowered, and Adriel removed the bushy beard and trimmed mustache before he reached out to tilt the man's face up and leaned down to give him a kiss. Adriel gave this man longevity for an additional fifty years, and he also gave him a deeper intuitive connection to his own magic. Unlike with Titus, Adriel actually had the time to make the changes permanent since Art was not here to witness and get upset, and he made it feel pleasant so that Beige moaned into the kiss despite Beige's lack of attraction to men. That extra touch earned Adriel Beige's lifelong love and devotion, and he released him. "You are mine." "I am yours," Beige immediately agreed as dropped down to his hands and panted for air. "Set your hat to the side, and I will leave some lost texts behind as your council could not come to a decision in time," Adriel said, and Beige immediately pulled off his hat and placed it on the ground between them. Adriel knew that the Mavros had felt and heard Beige's thoughts and felt a fraction of his feelings during that process, and it was meant to be an enticement for them to put their hearts into appeasing him so they might also get to experience a blessing. He couldn't remember which sibling it was that put together the Mavros - many had left when they had stopped being summoned to find something else to entertain them - but he knew it was one of the ones that was part of the Order/Stagnation/Eternity circles. He held his hand out to Beige. "Come, let's be off." Beige shakily reached up to put his hand in Adriel's and then they disappeared. In Beige's place, there was a book of prophecies spoken by the oracles of delphi that had yet to come to fruition, a recipe book of ancient Minoan dishes, and a third book that detailed how the ancient 'underworld' passages the ancient gods had made could be repaired if they were not too broken. When they appeared at the apartment, Beige was left to kneel on the floor pillow while Adriel moved to sit on Art's old and worn out floral armchair. "That is my sacrifice, Artemio Reyes," he said as he gestured at Art. "I did not realize that a cup and a half of citron liqueur would make him so drunk, but he is sleeping off the effects. I could heal him of it, of course, but it is better this way since the magical and non magical peoples have both tried to assassinate him, and so I am in the process of taking my due. Luckily for them, I am waiting until three rather than noon to erect a temple that we will be living in - you and my other priest will be moving in as well - but I will catch you up on the events thus far..." ***************** Three in the afternoon was nearing, and Adriel was debating if he would be waking Art up or not. He sent a mental summons to Titus and noted that the only people that remained were those trying to loot abandoned houses in the wake of the earthquake disaster. Their essences would be used to help power his miracle, he decided, and all of them disintegrated into cosmic force that he kept bunched together just as Titus popped in and knocked on the door. At Adriel's nod, Beige went to open it, and both men stared at each other in judgement. "Enough of that," Adriel said as he decided he really should wake Art up or his little sacrifice would be very miffed to not get to see Adriel's first act of divinity. Well, no, the first one was the earthquake and retributions, but this would be the first non-destructive one that his little sacrifice would probably like the most. "Titus Mateo, meet Alexander Vangelis, your fellow priest. Titus was an Unspeakable, and Alexander was a Mavros. For now, Alexander will be in charge of the home front while Titus will seek to convert. How the masses react to me will determine my name, but for now I will be known as the one that creates and am part of the trinity that created this galaxy and mankind with it." Adriel stood up to move to the couch as his priests settled onto the cushions on the floor, and he picked Art up before he sat down with him in his lap, then mentally nudged him awake and fully sober. "It was always the third one that set these things up," Adriel sighed as Art slowly woke up, realized where he was, and feigned still being asleep as he tried to figure out what was happening. "I never cared if my creations worshipped me or not until the second one decided that Man would continue once I created them. Man grew to be so beautiful and intelligent with wonderful offerings and prayers to give that it drew me and the third in to nurture and help you all grow to be what you are now. Being magical means you are distantly related to our children - mine and those with similar powers born of chaos/change/creation along with a few others that deliberately bestowed magic on a human. Being of chaos, any kind of organized religion I try to form can and will fall apart since there are no others to stabilize things unless my sacrifice here wishes to take on that kind of role. However, I can and will establish a physical domain to provide new priests a safe sanctuary as your numbers grow - something that will be needed because humans do not like change and change is what chaos is." Adriel stood with Art still in his arms. "Come follow me to the library roof, Titus," Adriel said as he looked down at Art with amusement because his sacrifice was still playing possum. "You will need to step outside and bring Alexander along since he has seen nothing outside of these walls yet." Adriel took a step so he and Art were on the library roof, then he summoned that red floral armchair to sit on and set up a ward so the rooftop would go unnoticed. "Silly beloved, there is no need to feign sleep," he told Art once he settled in, but Art pretended not to hear him so he started nuzzling his neck. "They will see this if-" "I'm awake!" Art declared as he flailed with panic and looked to see who the 'they' were. Titus and Alexander popped in then, and Art sagged with relief for a split second before he twisted so he could unhappily pout at Adriel. "You got me drunk! This is too high up!" Adriel beamed at Art and leaned forward to kiss the tip of his nose, and Art pushed his shoulder and leveled an angry frown at him. "I did not know that you thought citron was juice," Adriel explained as he shifted Art a little bit so he could wave his hand to summon a pair of short and cushioned stools for the two from one of the empty houses in Adriel's territory. "I did let you nap, sobered you up, then woke you so you could watch our sanctuary be made. No, there is no reason to sulk, at least not yet there isn't. Alexander is a man I brought from Greece that will be teaching you some of the Ancient Greek stories and rituals and he will be the main priest tending the inside of the temple dorms and such. Titus will be the main priest for the worshippers. The two of them can work together to give me some ideas about what to do with the new pantheon since they are both very knowledgeable with lore and sacred magics. I'm in no rush to develop the religion - that will be the job of another god - but I am in charge of making sure my might is known as I lay down the beginning of the story. Now, sit and watch, sacrifice - you are about to see a new age begin." Art squeaked and clung to Adriel when the ground in front of them shifted thinking that it was another new earthquake, but it wasn't. The ground opened up like a giant sinkhole as deep as fifteen feet in some areas, but the edges were neatly shorn to follow the sidewalks on the opposite side of the road. All of the collapsed buildings besides Art's still standing apartment started to gather together, and Art began to shake Adriel. Or try to shake Adriel - he was shaking himself instead. "MY BOOKS!" he shrieked, heights completely forgotten. "MY CODEX! MY APARTMENT!" The two priests were staring at Art with shocked and appalled expressions, but Adriel just hugged Art to his chest with a single arm. "Your apartment and books will be fine," he reassured before Art could wail out his frustration. "I already put protections on it. See? Not even a crack on the outside walls." Art gripped Adriel's arms as he mentally fretted over his things, but then he saw how buildings and pavement was starting to combine into giant silvery blue blocks that began to stack up on top of each other. He made a pained groan when he saw that his apartment was being used as a brick in the bottom layer, altered to look like all of the other bricks, then reached out and grabbed Adriel's hair as he saw his apartment begin to sink even deeper into the ground... sink under the ground. Adriel snapped his fingers so that Art's precious codex would pop up in Art's lap, and his silly little sacrifice let go of him to clutch it to his chest with a sob of relief. Since the bottom three tiers were down, Adriel had water from a natural reservoir deep underground began to seep out from under the three forming pyramids, and Adriel released the essences he had been holding on to into the water as it began to form a muddy pool and filtered everything through a small opening in the bedrock that was enlarged. He finished the pyramids so they rose high above any other building in London, topping it at five hundred feet once the bronze dome was created by mixing and changing the metals he had available within the houses and the underground pipes. The ground was very muddy at this point with a few more pools here and there, so he began to shift the bedrock to make walls for paths that were topped with sidewalk pavement for walkways that could be used when the water filled up the hole. Space for dirt was added so there could be trees and grass alongside the sidewalks, and he neatened up other edges that had slid down from the shifting and prepared those to be planted on as well. Half an hour had passed at this point, so there were magical and mundane human crowds forming along the sidewalks that were gaping down at what was happening. Adriel was still holding on to a lot of chalk, lime, minerals, clay, and metal essences from cars and bedstone, so he allowed a large chunk of chalk to take form, added some mud and lime, then began to apply heat and pressure to it so that people could see chalk stone turn into pure white marble. On a whim, he added iron essence into it so it bled to a red color, then began to set down blocks so that the pool surrounding the pyramid would only be five feet deep when he was done. Tin from various things that had been in homes was mixed with copper so he could make bronze grates that were formed in a way to embed them into the marble so it looked like beautiful bronze patterns covered the spaces in between each block, and then walls and benches of white marble formed on the dirt walls to prevent any collapses and seal the bath up properly. Finally, he added a few more regular sidewalks so that walks for non-magical priests and suppliers would have an easier time to get to each temple, then waved at the whole area. "More will be done tomorrow," he stated, breaking the long silence that the priests and respectfully held and that Art had done only after he was able to protectively clutch on to his most precious book to absolutely know it was safe. "Alexander, Titus, you will both pop over into the buildings to begin furnishing it. Alexander, you will have access to the vault. Let those who ask know that the Gods walk among mortals again, and though I was given insult by their leaders when they tried to attack the human I had fallen in love with enough to take mortal form and did cause the earthquake out of anger from my beloved being harmed, the forming pool will have healing properties. Bathing in it will take care of many outside illnesses such as leprosy while drinking from it will help ease or even cure internal illnesses. Further, it will help rejuvenate skin to bathe in it - scars will lessen or disappear, and signs of aging will not look as severe. Any can bathe in my holy waters, and the outer region will also turn into a larger lake from which people can draw water from though they may not take from the pools surrounding the Holy Triad temples. Yes, that sounds like a good name. Let it be known that We have not deigned to give Our names yet, but We will when We are accepted. If they ask, let them know that the Old Testament god was based off the three who created Man. Oh, and please collect the house elves I wanted from the ministry before the day is out, Titus." Both men bowed from their sitting positions, and Adriel moved his arms under Art who suddenly realized he had been sitting on Adriel's lap this whole time while wearing velvet robes and loose pants, then stood and dismissed the armchair back to the apartment. "I will keep an eye on the both of you to watch over your safety, but do not take unnecessary risks," he said as Art started to flail and demand to be let down, remembered they were on a roof, and wrapped his arms around Adriel's neck instead. "Make no mistake - we are at war and everyone is our enemy. They are confused and disorganized at the moment, so we need to move quickly over the next couple days to make things inside the temples look nice. I have a lot more furnishings from the houses along with items held in reserve, so once you have decided on the design and let me know what is required but cannot be found, I will reshape them to new things you need. All of the silver and gems from the places that stood here before has already been repurposed into a sigil on the back wall." He paused to form jewelry that dropped to the ground in front of the two priests - a ring for Titus and an amulet for Alexander. "My colors are primarily red and blue, but there is always a mix of other colors and you can combine both for purple. Send the house elves to me when you bring them in." " Put me down on the ground right now!" Art finally demanded, unable to keep in his demand any longer since he was terrified of being dropped. Or his codex getting damaged! "You are too close to the EDGE!" "Just a moment, love," he told Art who flushed red from being called a pet name in front of the others, then he nodded at Titus and Alexander who were putting on the things he had made. "More things will form since I will continue to make adjustments over the next few days, but please plant trees and grass into the areas I leave bare ground on." "Yes, Lord," they both replied, and Adriel took a step to shift to the Art's apartment that now had some protection since he had stuck it inside of bedrock along with the rest of the bottom row of blocks. "There." Art was carefully set down, and Adriel got huffed at for his efforts before Art started checking his books and everything. There was a mess from the earthquake in the kitchen still since Adriel had only neatened up the bedroom and the living room, but Art was able to get all of that organized with a few jabs of his wand. Adriel moved to flop onto his couch-converted-to-divan with a tired sigh since that really had taken a lot of essence to make. "I'm hungry!" he complained out loud as he stretched. "I need to replenish some energy. Will you please make me food, sacrifice?" Art very much felt like setting his couch (and the god on it) on fire, only it would burn everything down. "I need to go shopping then," he announced. Some space and alone time sounded like a good idea to Art, though Adriel very much disagreed. "There's-" "No need," Adriel interrupted with a smile that Art couldn't see because of the back of the divan. "There's enough to make a small dish, and when the elves get here, they will do the shopping. You almost died so I am not letting you go anywhere without proper protection." Art sighed as he leaned against the kitchen counter and dropped his head with resignation. He had actually almost forgotten about that after watching giant blue pyramids being built out of nothing. And marble and sidewalks... Adriel had made something in an hour's time that would have taken humans a few decades even with the modern advancements unless magic were to be used, and even that would be a few months to a couple years. " Can't believe we are going to have slaves," Art grumbled as he started pulling out milk and flour to make some biscuits and gravy. It was something else to gripe about that would take his mind off of that suffocating/shock/ thunk/choking feeling that had been very very horrible. Then the pain after he coughed had made it worse. He had been drowning in his own blood and he didn't want to think about it. Biscuits and gravy and eggs and sausages and bacon and... What else did he have here... Fried tomatoes! And he cooked for the next half hour without being interrupted while he continued to gripe about elves and his house being rearranged and Adriel just taking all that land! And how much air did they have in his apartment or if they were going to suffocation now. Art had a lot of worries on his mind including what Adriel had been doing with his mouth that morning. He should not have been doing that since it really was wrong even if Adriel said it wasn't. He wanted to be like Athena and Artemis! Adriel just kept... All over him... And it felt too good and he should not have given into temptation like that! He finished cooking and plating up the food with a frown and went into the living room. "Adriel, we need to talk," he said, about to lay down some rules since holding was one thing but that kind of kissing was a different thing. "You can't just-" Art paused since he could now see Adriel was there with his eyes closed and meditating? Oh. No. He heard a small snort, but gods weren't supposed to sleep? He sighed again, put the plate on the table, and put a preservation charm so Adriel could eat it when he woke up. Adriel really did seem like he had been pretty worked up that day about things, and Art wondered what it would be like for him if he ever loved someone to get shot like that. As he walked to the table with his plate, he thought about a faceless wife he might get to love one day with long dark hair on his bed, frowned when his mind put Adriel there instead, then flinched when mental Adriel started coughing up blood because of a bullet in his chest only Art didn't have god-like powers to save him. It made him lose his own appetite, so he put a preservation charm on his plate, pushed it to the side, and went back to the kitchen to grab the codex where he had left it so he could work on translations. He had no idea why his brain had put Adriel in that situation, but as frustrating as the stupid god was, he was the first person that actually liked Art so Art figured that was why Adriel had replaced a wife he had yet to meet in his imagination. He stopped thinking about all of his problems as he sat down, then summoned his journal and silk gloves (he had been handing it without gloves! Nooo!) so he could continue what he had started to do yesterday. Books were less complicated than humans or almost dying was, and way way less complicated than weirdo gods that loved him and built a giant set of pyramids just to protect him.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2023 8:44:44 GMT
Chaotic SmutTake One Set in the Primodial verse Not canonical
Artemio Reyes wanted a lot of things in his life. Acceptance, a family, children, to become a famous archeologist, to be a respected historian, own his own library, and more. The only thing he had at the moment was a library, and there was a god who had accepted him and wanted children with him. Said god had also taken over his life, though! Cooking food, allowing kisses and hugs, would not let Art go anywhere without a babysitter, and forget moving Art move out - the god had moved his entire apartment and changed the whole neighborhood! And still he always wanted more hugs and kisses all the time. The only reprieve Adriel would get would be during those times he was allowed to work on blueprints for a God House - something that was slow going because the stupid god would barely give him an hour to himself each day. Art also knew he was lying - that maybe somewhere inside he enjoyed it, a little. Only a little! He would swear to anyone that asked that he disliked being spoiled with ancient texts. Being allowed not just one library at a temple, but also a second, much grander library in Adriel's God House was also just payment for services rendered thus far. The private tutors being interviewed so that Art could continue his studies was also a given saying he was far too busy keeping a wrathful god appeased with kisses and hugs. If Art had to give them as well here and there, well, he was doing all of his fellow countrymen a giant favor. Art very much did not think about how the compliments made him feel, though. He had just been fighting off a flu for a few weeks now since the stress was getting to him, of course. He also didn't think about how wandering hands and a mouth would make him drop his inhibitions until things got a maybe little bit too far... It didn't matter since he was technically still a virgin and he was going the route of Artemis and Athena, and he was very lucky in that there was always an interruption that stopped things in the nick of time. The last one had been a whole bunch of catholic priests headed by the Pope himself surrounding the pyramids to try an exorcism, and Adriel had had to run off because there were apparently some untrained magicals (muggleborn families that had said no) and enough of them with the same belief actually could cast an accidental spell. It had annoyed Adriel and given him a headache, so he had pulled the whole group into the waters to 'baptize' them. The pope and the rest coming out looking ten years younger had done a lot to make people convert to the Holy Triad temple. Today was a new day, and Adriel had woken him up with kisses before or right at dawn again. Art was an early riser, but his body felt like lead because it was way too early so he snarled and tried to shove Adriel off his bed. It didn't work, of course. The god was bigger and stronger than Art was. "You are getting too cranky," the stupid god said as Art blindly tried to make him go away. "It must be all these interruptions - you are so sexually frustrated that you are snarling at me!" "It is not!" Art protested as his eyes flew open while he felt himself get all hot and feverish. Stupid flu! It had nothing to do with Adriel mentioning their morning and even activities! "I am sick and I want to sleep! Go away, Adriel!" Adriel did not go away, of course. Art tried to push Adriel's face away, but his wrists were easily scooped up in one of the stupid god's big hands and pinned above his head and being held like that made him feel even hotter. "You know it isn't an illness, Artemio," Adriel said in a low and husky tone that had Art turning his head away and whining because it made his stomach feel all weird while his face got hotter. Art swallowed hard when Adriel's next words had hot air washing across his sensitive neck and he told his body to stay down even though it really wanted to rub up against the man on top of him. "You want me to do more than just finish things with my mouth. You are curious - always so curious - and you keep getting so angry. You were vindictively happy to see the pope and his followers almost drown yesterday!" "No I wasn't," Art weakly denied, then shivered when Adriel started sucking on his neck. He knew if he didn't get Adriel off of him, he would lose the fight. Again. "Nnnoooo, Adriel, I'm sick!" To Art's relief, Adriel raised his head. "Alright, then let's get you feeling better," Adriel said, and Art peeked over to see a playful smile that usually meant that Adriel had some kind of terrible idea that would usually end with Art wanting to yank Adriel's hair. "There's a hot spring the ancient Greek gods, nymphs, naiads, and the like all used and bathed in together. It's hidden on Mount Olympus itself - still hidden to this day - and the waters are just like the temple waters here in that it could heal. Oh, caught your attention? Yes, it is an ancient site that has been undisturbed for centuries that nobody else in the world except for the phoenix, pegasi, and unicorns can get to at the moment. I doubt any but the occasional phoenix visits since they are the only ones that would remember." Art scowled as Adriel read his mind and just answered things, but it was half hearted at best. An Ancient Greek pool untainted by humans?! "Okay," he tried to grumble - he was sick! - but it came out a bit too eager. He wiggled his hands to indicate he wanted to be free to get up so he could get dressed for the trip, but to his confusion, Adriel didn't let him go. He turned his head back to irritably demand his hands back, but Adriel pulled him up until a sitting position, and then... They were not in his bed anymore. Not in his bed at all. They were sitting at the edge of the most beautiful pool that Art had ever seen with ancient marble that had never been looted or destroyed, and Art completely forgot that he was going to tell Adriel to make sure to keep him protected from evil flaming birds of doom because he wanted to go explore those stairs and see where they led! Well, Art was sitting, Adriel was still on his knees over Art's lap just like he had been on the bed. "Alas, they lead to hallowed halls that only the gods can walk," Adriel said, and Art felt his hopes and dreams all crash. "I could bring you to the pools, but only because nobody else is here. Now, let's get you in the water!" Art was about to mention that he didn't get to grab his bathing suit before he realized that he was not in his pajamas. Nor was Adriel wearing pants! Their clothes had been left behind! They were both naked, and then Adriel fell back into the water and pulled Art in with him by the wrists. Having nearly been drowned by classmates before, Art was terrified, but Adriel cushioned the fall with his own body, the drop was not far at all, and all Art had to do was shut his mouth instead of scream and squeeze his eyes shut. As soon as he hit the water, his wrists were released, an arm was around his waist, and then he was pulled right back up to the surface. "Stupid stupid stupid!" Art cried out as he smacked Adriel on the arm with each insult. The stupid god kissed his nose, so he grabbed Adriel's hair to give it a vicious yank that did absolutely nothing but earn him a second kiss on his nose. "ARGH! YOU SCARED ME!" "Sorry beloved, I did not know that would scare you until we were both tumbling into the water," Adriel apologized while he nuzzled Art's neck and rubbed his back with his free hand. Art grumbled, but there really was nothing he could do against the stupid big headed egomaniacal god! "Hey now, don't be so upset. I brought you to a pretty place with healing waters for you to bathe in. The water is warm, there are no animals or bugs anywhere, and there will be nobody to bother you, too." Art relaxed with each point since there really were no bugs or animals at all here - it was a wild place, but a sacred grove that didn't allow for even a butterfly unless a god willed it, and Adriel wasn't going to bring in any bugs. Or he better not, anyway. "Fine," he grumbled, then tried to pull away, only Adriel didn't let go of his waist. "Adriel! How am I supposed to bathe? And you need to go to the opposite side of the bath!" Then Adriel's mouth was on his neck and Art was all too aware of Adriel's hot and hard naked body was pressed against his own skyclad one. Art whined as he tried to lean back (no, it didn't matter that it exposed his neck more - he was attempting to escape!), then he felt the hand that had been rubbing his back slide down his spine, over the arm around his waist, and then cupped his buttcheek. Adriel had never touched his naked butt before, and it made Art go still and quiet with fear of the unknown, but then Adriel was sucking at that really good spot on the right side of his neck that distracted him from his discomfort. Everything did feel very nice. The water was just a little above luke warm, it was around nine in the morning in Greece, Art was actually getting some real sunlight for the first time in a couple weeks, and the air was breezy and fresh since the waterfall kept the area from getting muggy even though the water was warm and the area humid. Art knew what was going to happen soon - Adriel was going to start kissing and licking down to his chest before making Art feel really good by sucking on one of his nipples while the other one was maybe pinched, then Adriel would probably just rub their things together until Art came since it wasn't like he could suck and kiss what was under water. Art told himself he just had to tolerate it (Adriel had started it even if Art was already starting to rub up against him) and then he could enjoy the sun and relax in the pool further upstream since this spot would be all contaminated. Sure enough, Adriel began to kiss down his collarbone, and Art used the arm around his waist to lean back completely, trusting Adriel to not let go. He felt the hand on his bum slide down the back of his thigh, and it only took a couple light tugs for Art to realize Adriel wanted it for some reason. Art shifted his weight to his other leg to give Adriel that one, and Adriel guided it to wrap around his waist so Art complied. "Other one, too," Adriel told Art as his hand slid back up, and Art was a little confused until he realized that the hand on his bum again was meant to hold him up so he wrapped his other left around Adriel's waist and found it a lot easier to lean back even more once his hands were holding on to Adriel's shoulders. Finally, Adriel's mouth was on his nipple, and Art groaned since it felt different and better either because of the location, that they were both naked which they never had been before, or because of the new position. Or maybe it was all three. Art closed his eyes and wiggled his hips until their members were aligned, then he began to move his hips since he knew by now that Adriel expected him to initiate this part for a little bit until he would take over and really make it feel good. He didn't realize Adriel was moving until he was shifted around a little bit, peeked an eye open to see that Adriel was sitting down on a bench in the water, and then his other nipple was being attacked with teeth and tongue and Art loved that since it always sent tingles down to his toes. He tightened his legs so their dicks were pressed more firmly against each other, then really started to undulate. Art felt a thrill when he heard Adriel groan, then got confused when Adriel's hand moved and a finger started to rub on his poop hole. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or not since it was just fingertips brushing up against it while his buttcheek was being stroked, but he was too embarrassed to ask. Then Adriel did a suck-and-nibble on the end of his nipple, and he didn't care about the fingers anymore - he arched his chest against that mouth with a moan, Adriel started to gentle squeeze the buttcheek, and he decided that maybe having a finger around that spot wasn't a bad thing since it actually felt kind of nice. Adriel stopped sucking to lav his tongue on the nipple, and Art whined since he knew it meant that his nipples were over for now. He presented his throat to Adriel and didn't even try to tell himself it was an accident - if Adriel was moving elsewhere, he wanted his neck and not his shoulder or ear sucked. What he really wanted was for Adriel to move his hips and help provide the extra friction that he needed nowadays to come from this method - after experiencing Adriel's mouth, it took longer and longer for this to work until only Adriel's own movements could actually finish him - but there was no way he was going to ask so he would have to be patient like usual. Adriel's mouth was on his neck now anyway, so Art wrapped his arms behind Adriel's neck and groaned an encouragement. The squeezing of his bum had stopped and one finger was pressed up against his hole since that was where it had settled at, but it felt nice to push back against it as he moved his hips. It wasn't like it was going in, and if Adriel had not noticed, then he wouldn't say anything either. If Adriel had noticed, then it was being done deliberately because it did feel nice, and he had gotten used to the 'let you feel how good things are' technique Adriel did. Art enjoyed his neck getting sucked on for the next few minutes until Adriel made his way up to his mouth and started the tickle kissing that always made Art moan. He stopped moving his hips to focus on the kissing, and realized that Adriel was actually wigging the finger on his bumhole just a tiny bit and that was what was making it feel nice. The arm around his waist started moving up his back to slowly sit him up and pull him into a deeper kiss, so that kept him distracted since it made him light headed and then he was allowed to breath. "It will feel even better if you let me put my finger in," Adriel told him in that low deep that made Art think about his father's criollo chocolate. Art groaned since Adriel was always so tricky like this - he realized his hips had started moving again at some point, but this time it was for the finger rather than for the friction. He froze when he realized what he was doing, though. "I will be nice and gentle, and you will still be a virgin. It isn't until you let me put my penis in here, or you put yours in mine, where virginity is lost." Art whined at being given that information - he had not known at what point two men together lost their virginity and now it was a very clear line. He supposed it was ok then... he justified that it would make Adriel happy. Then Adriel started to kiss down to his collarbone as the hand on his upper back slipped back down to wrap around his waist, and Art knew it meant that Adriel was going to kiss his nipples again so he leaned back for it. It felt really good to have his nipples being nibbled on while the pad of Adriel's finger pressed a little more firmly against his hole. A whole minute went by where nothing really happened except that his hole felt a little slick, and he kind of wanted to see how it felt inside if it was already this nice on the outside. He made a sound to indicate a question. Adriel stopped nibbling and sucking on his chest. "You're being dishonest with yourself when you say you are just doing this to make me happy, beloved," Adriel said, and Art stiffened up but that just made the finger's placement even more noticeable. "I want you to realize how much you want this. You already know you only have to ask and I will reconsider my retributions and my blessings, and you appease me just fine with your cooking or just by being near me." Adriel paused to roll his hips and thrust up to give Art's penis some friction with his own, and Art shivered and couldn't help but buck forward. "See? This is for you - for us - not for me. Holding and kissing is one thing, but this is actually putting something in you even if it isn't taking your virginity, so you must say you want it if you do. If you maintain silence though, we can just keep doing our normal stuff." Art knew he was red with mortification, but Adriel thrust again to give him that nice friction while that finger stayed pressed up tightly against his hole and he groaned with pleasure rather than get all angry. He could just be quiet, then! Because he didn't want it, really, he was just doing all this since he had to. Adriel chuckled as he lowered his head, and then Art's nipples were getting attention again only it came with an occasional thrust from Adriel. Art initially tried moving his hips for friction again, rubbing himself against Adriel's hard length, but the finger on his hole was a terrible distraction that diverted pleasure to that spot. When Adriel would move, it brought him a little closer to completion, but then he would stop, that feeling would drift back, and the pressure and slight rubbing against his hole was just a little bit more noticeable. Art knew he was whining and moaning when Adriel did that again for the third time, and when he stopped, Art wanted to claw off Adriel's stupid face only the mouth on his nipple felt too good for him to do that. He started sobbing because he really wanted one or the other very much now, but he couldn't actually say it because it was too embarrassing and it felt like he would lose if he did. "Shhh," Adriel said as he sat Art up in his lap again, then he starting kissing him. The finger on his bum started moving back and forth and it felt so smooth and slick like oil, and that with the kissing made his toes curl. Art threw himself into the kiss all the way as he shifted to his knees to straddle Adriel's lap, and it gave him leverage to grind them together while Adriel stroked the outside of his hole. He was so so close to his orgasm when Adriel broke off the kiss, and he gave an angry cry since he thought that Adriel was going to stop, but Adriel bucked up with his rhythm while he pressed his free hand down on Art's lower back for the extra push, and then Art was coming and moaning and forgave Adriel for everything ever because it felt so so good. Art was limp as a noodle when Adriel stood up while holding on to Art. That finger was still pressed against his hole and it almost almost went in as his weight came down a little, but then the finger was gone so the whole hand could support his bum, and Art gave a sad frown that he couldn't say anything since even the outside being played with had heightened his orgasm. He was buzzing too much to fight Adriel's manhandling as he was repositioned, and Art thought Adriel was lifting him up out of the pool except that he hadn't been lifted up high enough so his lower half was still dangling in the water. He groaned as he positioned his arms under his head to use them as a pillow and waited for Adriel to get out then finish picking him up the rest of the way. Except that wasn't what happened. Art had only just gotten comfortable when he felt Adriel kissing one buttcheek while he petted the other. Oh. Well. Adriel always did seem interested in kissing him everywhere, and he was too relaxed to get agitated or freaked out, so he sighed, turned his face so he could watch the waterfall and enjoy the warmth of the sunny marble floor. Adriel started rubbing his lower back with his right hand, then started kissing Art's other butt cheek which made him wrinkle his nose because Adriel was strange, but it was still nice and relaxing even though Art was no longer in that happy buzzing feeling he got after a session like this with Adriel. Adriel pulled back and Art figured he was done, only both hands were on Art's butt now and massaging it. Art tensed up for a brief second since Adriel could probably see his hole now, then he hid his face in his arms and whined because Adriel had probably seen it from the start. Adriel softly chuckled, and then he spread Art's cheeks apart so nothing was hidden and Art whined a protest that he knew would be ignored. "You are my sacrifice, nothing that you are is hidden from me," the stupid egotistical god said, and Art scowled even though his expression couldn't be seen. "Don't be so huffy, you know I will give you kisses to feel all better. I'll even kiss and suck you in a few minutes until you come in my mouth." Art was going to protest that he was fine now and wanted to relax, but then Adriel's mouth was on his hole and he yelped and tried to flail because that was gross! But Adriel had his hips pinned down with his hands and he couldn't really kick his legs without possibly hitting a rock. "Nooo!" he said as he managed to twist just enough to try to wiggle his fingers in between Adriel's mouth and his butt only to get a warning bite that didn't hurt but shocked him enough to yank his head back. "Adriel, that is gross! That ack! No, stop kissing that!" "Relax, sacrifice," Adriel sighed, sounding a bit put out like Art was the one who was being silly even though it really wasn't being silly! "It will feel good - just like my finger only better, okay? It's all nice and clean since this pool is sacred and cleansing, and I was rubbing it, too. I'm just kissing." He supposed Adriel kind of did have a point, except that it was still gross! But he frowned and stopped struggling since Adriel would be done in a couple minutes anyway. Adriel rubbed his sides, and Art could almost hear the ' you're so beautiful and soft' words, so he sighed and relaxed. Art didn't think it felt like the finger had - the finger was much better and now that he was actually paying attention, Adriel was kissing around the hole and not on it. Art's cheeks were spread open, and Adriel wiggled his body in between Art's legs until Art got the hint and spread them apart. Adriel then started running his tongue from the base of his balls and almost to the hole, and Art tensed up, but when nothing touched his hole he relaxed himself and realized that Adriel was running his tongue over that spot that felt good to be rubbing on in the empty space between balls and butt. Art hummed as he realized that that was the spot that Adriel had probably wanted when he had Art spread his legs, and it really did feel different than the finger did when it rubbing his perineum. It was hot and wet and thick, and Art felt that stir in his belly that always felt warm and tingly. Art closed his eyes when Adriel started the longer licking again and turned his head towards the waterfall for the delicious air it gave. Art lost track of time for a little bit, feeling very relaxed and good, and even when Adriel put his thumb over his hole to rub it again, he only breathed out a sigh of contentment. It wasn't until his hole started to feel really good like it had earlier before he started wanting more, and then he moaned when Adriel's tongue slipped up too close. Except it hadn't been a slip - the thumb was gone and now Adriel's tongue was there and he felt the very tip get sucked in just a tiny bit because his hole spasmed, and then he was on his elbows pushing back because he wanted it in. It had sent a sharp bolt of pleasure up his back and then to his head so his scalp was tingling, but Adriel wan't putting it in and he made a noise of frustration when he remembered he was supposed to say he wanted it. Adriel was so evil. Evil evil evil evil evil! His tongue was so wicked! Why did it have to feel so good?! Art wanted to get up on his knees, but he wasn't sure how to do it with Adriel in the way and unknown rocks under the ancient marble ledge, but Adriel's hands were on his hips to help lift him up, and then that mouth was off his butt which had him whining while he scrambled up so he could get his knees under him and his butt up in the air. Adriel must have known how unwelcome words would be since his mouth was right back at Art's hole, only the new position spread him out so Adriel's hands were free to roam around his body again. One of Adriel's hands snaked in between Art's legs, so Art spread his knees apart. As his balls started to get fondled, the other hand slid up and pressed down on his upper back firmly enough to force his chest down and his butt up even higher by a couple inches, and Art groaned since being held down by Adriel was always a very grounding and safe feeling. The tongue was going back and forth over his hole, and he managed to time his pushes out a few times to the tip would catch along the edge of his hole, but it didn't go in and Art really really wanted it in. Art whined for a couple seconds as he tried to find his voice, and he finally felt his resistance crumble. "Please I want it," he babbled, trying to get the words out coherently. "I want it, I'm sorry, I want it inside please?" And Adriel immediately changed what he was doing, using the tip only over his hole and pressing in which had Art moaning. "Yes, more more like that!" Because it felt ten times better than having his nipples sucked, only it also wasn't quite enough because he wanted it deeper and a tongue couldn't do that. "Finger finger finger!" Art whined with disappointment when Adriel's mouth left and the expected finger didn't come - Adriel grabbed him around the waist instead and pulled him flailing back into the water. "Nooo! Why did you-" "Love, love, it's okay, calm down, I'm giving you what you want," Adriel interrupted in a soothing tone as he helped Art find his footing in the water - help that Art actually did need since his flailing had him off balance. "Turn around to face me, that's it, and spread your legs apart. Wider. Good. Now remember, I don't need to breathe, okay?" Art was confused, especially at that last bit, but he nodded, got a smile, and then Adriel sank down into the water. Then his inner thigh was being sucked on, and Art groaned as he bent his knees outward to give Adriel more room, and he was rewarded with one of his balls being sucked into Adriel's mouth while a finger pressed up against his hole. Art groaned since it didn't feel as slick and as hot as the tongue did, but the tip of the finger wiggled back and forth and... it started to feel slick? Was that him or was Adriel doing something? He wasn't sure, but he knew women were supposed to get slick, so he accepted it as normal and was glad it was there since it made it so much easier for that finger. Art put his hands on Adriel's head for balance so he could start rocking his hips with the finger and felt Adriel switch the ball he was sucking on. Before, he couldn't really see what a man would be with a man since a woman could provide the same thing in bed, only he didn't know that it could feel so good to have something up his bum. People always made it sound like a horrible thing to have happen or to do to others, but having his balls sucked with a finger slowly sinking in felt better than no finger by a mile. Then Adriel let go of that ball, and he started licking and kissing up Art's shaft, and Art loudly groaned with anticipation since it wasn't like anyone could hear him now so he could be as loud as he wanted without feeling embarrassed. Adriel started as he always did - heat enveloped the head of Art's penis and a hot tongue rubbed all over the head while lips sealed around it. Art bucked forward while expecting the usual hold on his hip since Adriel did have a free hand, only he wasn't stopped and he gasped at what it felt like to actually get to thrust into something even if he only got half of his length in Adriel's mouth. Adriel's finger pushed in rather than that gentle wiggling it had been doing, and Art gasped again, then there was a sucking and a wiggle at the same time that made Art moan as he tangled his fingers up in Adriel's hair for a good hold. Art logically knew he couldn't hurt Adriel, but he was still careful as he started exploring the two new things. Every time he pushed into Adriel's mouth, the finger pushed in, and when he pulled out, the finger also pulled out. It didn't take him too long to abandon caution, though he was very slow about it, or he was anyway until he thrust all the way into Adriel's mouth, felt throat muscles constrict around his head as Adriel made swallowing motions, and that finger hit a spot inside that had him seeing stars. He really began to thrust in and out, and cried out every time he pushed in as deep as he could into Adriel's throat because Adriel's finger would hit that spot every time he did. Art was being very loud, he knew he was being very loud, but he didn't care because he finally understood why having sex was so nice and so good and so perfect. He continued to feel that way as he spilled deep inside of Adriel's throat while Adriel stroked that spot until he couldn't come any more, and then Adriel's mouth was off his dick and he was starting to kiss up Art's belly. Art was caught around his waist when his legs grew too shaky to hold him up, and he couldn't seem to let go of Adriel's hair since he had gripped it so tight that his fingers were stuck. Adriel didn't seem to mind though since he kissed all the way up to Art's chest and started licking and sucking on his nipple. Art groaned because he didn't think he could do a third round - sometimes he could and sometimes he couldn't - and he tried to pull Adriel's hair back only his arms were also shaky so they just stayed where they were with only his stuck grip and Adriel's head being above the water keeping them up. Art was about to say no, time to relax, break break break, only Adriel pulled back a little and breathed out water and Art had never seen anyone do that so of course he had to watch. When Adriel breathed in, Art could hear the rattling of more water that had both him and Adriel grimacing at the same time, but then Adriel breathed out more water through his nose. "I'm out of practice, that should only have taken one attempt," Adriel said. "Relax, I'm going to carry you a couple steps over to the bench, then just wrap your legs around my waist so you can rest." Art sighed like he was being put upon, Adriel chuckled, and then he was being carried to the bench only Adriel's finger was still in his bum and he wasn't sure how to tell Adriel that it he wanted it out. Adriel began to sit, and Art was forced to move his legs like Adriel said to simply because not doing so would leave him in a weird not-standing position, and he decided he was too tired after that to try to get Adriel to take that finger out because Adriel would take it out when he was ready to and no sooner than that as long as it wasn't hurting Art. "Hmm," Adriel agreed, then he leaned forward and started kissing Art's neck. This time, Art immediately relaxed since it felt nice like a thick blanket in the middle of a winter snowstorm, and his sigh was him just letting go and allowing Adriel to care for him. Adriel had shown several times now that he could be trusted for these vulnerable moments even though Art would probably be unhappy with himself for being so weak again later. That was also a later problem so it was kissed away and Art was finally able to let go of Adriel's hair and let his hands flop into the water. He was content with being Adriel's cuddle toy for the moment, even when Adriel started moving his finger around inside his bum again. "The slickness is me," Adriel told Art, and Art grunted a reply since he had not asked. "You were curious earlier, so I'm just saying it's me. Having my essence inside you like this technically isn't consummation, but it is technically giving you essence through lovemaking so I can finally bless you with longevity like I've wanted to do. Every second counts for you mortals, and I don't want to lose you too soon. Mmm, you are so in soft here... I wonder if you will want a second finger during our next round?" Even if Art wanted a 'next round,' Adriel's presumption of just deciding to bless him with an even longer life than he would already have would have made sure there wasn't. "Adriel, get your finger out," he demanded in a flat tone with the most unimpressed look he could muster despite being as limp as a noodle and fully dependant on Adriel's arm around his waist. "Sheesh, you just said you are going to make me cook your meals and keep you happy for even longer than I thought I would have to do it for! No! Finger out right now!" Adriel pouted, but he complied and just rubbed Art's bottom which wasn't ideal, but it was better than Adriel getting to keep putting whatever soul essence god magic thingy inside him and do who knows what else! "When we consummate our relationship one day, I think you will like it more if I penetrate you rather than you penetrating me," Adriel said, and Art wished he had strength to yank that hair. Adriel had just said ' when'! There would be no when! He was going to do what Artemis and Athena did! "So cranky even after I alleviated your sexual frustration... You're so adorable. Don't worry, I have more time to wait for you now, beautiful. Ah, I love this pool so much - your kiss marks are already healed again so I can make more. Such soft skin, I love you so much, Artemio." Art lovedhated the stupid compliments and declarations of love so much since he had no defense for them - they always left him with no rebuttal. So he gave a haughty sniff when Adriel started sucking on his neck, acted like he had not heard them, and denied to his very core that he was sporting a blush. It was just a fever!
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lilgiastar
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Post by lilgiastar on Oct 17, 2023 2:21:28 GMT
Akashic Library Art sighed as he walked through his library. The place was mostly empty, though there were a handful of people, sitting at tables reading their own book of their life. They couldn’t see him, or each other, or the mass expanse of books. Every book ever written in the entire world, in every language, from as old as stone tablets and papyrus to newer leather bound novels. And every persons life, recorded in books. Billions of them shelved, the dead. Billions more on the table, open and recording every single thought, every single action, a perfect record of each ones life. And Art? He was the head librarian of the library. Well, the only librarian. And sadly there… wasn’t much for him to do. The books that came in, written by the mortals sorted themselves on the shelves. The books written here of the lives of people, wrote themselves and also shelved and sorted themselves. And no one who came here could see him or hear him or touch him. And no other gods ever came here. In their realms they could watch the lives of people, have access to knowledge by watching from above or roaming the earth. He was completely alone, aside from his books. And he didn’t entirely mind, he loved the books! He spent hours walking the shelves, reading any new books that came in, or sometimes he would pick a random person and read their life. He loved them all, loved everything from instruction manuals to novels depicting futuristic worlds to those that recorded history. It was as close to knowing others, and knowing about Earth that he would ever get. Though not being able to share his knowledge with anyone was a major back fall. He also was a virgin god. Of course he read on Athena or Artemis and others, virgin goddesses. Virgin by choice. He didn’t really have a choice in the matter, but he also didn’t entirely mind that either. He was a being of knowledge, and incredible wisdom. He didn’t need pleasure of the flesh. And, even if he could touch or be touched by the mortals who came here, none of them really caught his eye or anything. None were worthy of being with a god such as he. And besides, they came here for knowledge. Art stopped s he watched a book close, and float to one of the shelves. He walked towards it, its glow faded and looking as normal as any other book now. He picked it up off of the shelf and opened it to read it. He ignored the few humans in the library, it wasn’t like they could actually take anything or do anything besides read their own book without some sort of offering. He leaned back against the shelf, engrossing himself into the book of the person who had just died. An eventful life, full of adventure, close calls, near deaths, many loves and losses… everything he would never get, trapped in the library unable to leave. The door to the library opened and he glanced up to see the next mortal who had decided to grace his hallowed halls…. His breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the most beautiful and handsome of humans he had ever had the honor to lay his eyes upon. Of course he hadn’t seen that many humans in his eons long life, a few hundred perhaps. But he… he reminded Art of Apollo himself. Of course he had never had the chance to meet Apollo, the god had never set foot in his halls like any of the other gods. He didn’t even know if other gods did exist, or if the tales of gods and goddesses from around the world were just fables. But this man could rival the most beautiful of the gods, deserved to be a god. His black hair cascaded down his back like a river of ink, his clothes practically unable to contain his physic. And how little clothes as well. Pants, in a beige color that looked to be made out of some sort of skin. But no shirt. Perhaps he was a god? Searching for wisdom? If he was then he should be able to see him, hear him… touch him even. Art quickly closed and put the book back on the shelf and strode up to the man, he himself had on lots of layers, robes and under things, sacred jewlery. He felt almost over dressed in the mans presence. “Welcome to the Akashic Library, I am the Head Librarian, The God of Wisdom, Intelligence and All Knowing, Art.” he said in a grand voice, laying his title on a bit thickly since well he never had a chance to actually tell his title to anyone before. The man however didn’t seem to see him or acknowledge him in any way, glancing around at the library… which in his eyes would be empty. Art slumped, sighing. No he wasn’t that lucky. The man walked forward, going towards the tables of books, each one open and glowing a soft gold glow, words slowly appearing on the pages. Art followed him and hoped the man went to his own book, prayed the man went to his own book. But Pray to who? He wasn’t sure. Anyone who happened to be listening? Perhaps Aphrodite? The Goddess of beauty and love. For this man was obviously one of her children. Art followed as the man sat down in front of one of the glowing books and turned to the front. Art looked over the mans shoulder. Adriel Chee. Ah, a beautiful name for a beautiful man. The man paused and glanced behind him, ‘looking’ right at him, but Art knew he couldn’t actually see him. He could probably just feel his presence. The man looked back at the book, opening it to the first page. Art watched as the man, Adriel, read his own life story. It was fascinating just watching him read. The way his beautiful black hair fell down in front of him like inky trails going from his head to the table, how his back curved forward like the letter C, how his strong and callused hands held the book so gently and carefully as if the book was the most precious thing in the world. And as Art watched he couldn’t help but want to run his fingers through the mans hair. And on an impulse he did. Or well, would if he could. His hand went through like it went through water, just a slight sensation since Adriel was in his astral body, and he also was unable to be touched or seen by the humans. Adriel again paused and glanced back as if he felt someone watching him. Art waited for him to go back to reading. And once he did, he frowned and thought. What if he wanted someone to see him? To feel him? He knew as much as others wished it it would not happen. But he was a god. He should be able to if he wanted! Slightly nervous now since he had never even thought about doing something like this, breaking the rules, he put all his focus into his hand, and thinking about feeling Adriels hair. And he reached out…. He and Adriel both gasped as he actually felt Adriel’s oh so soft hair through his fingers. It felt like the silk of some of his robes, but oh so much finer and nicer. Adriel however was not so pleased. He glanced back and Art could only assume he saw a floating hand from the scream he let out. Art pulled his hand back. And Adriel looked around wide eyed. “Who are you? What are you? Why did you… How did you touch me?” Uh oh. Uuuhhh… Maybe if he really willed it again Adriel could hear him? “I am the Head Librarian, The God of Wisdom, Intelligence and All Knowing, Art.” he said in a grand voice, willing his voice to be heard by Adriel. It also echoed a bit in the vast space and Adriel glanced around seeming unsure where the voice had come from. Though he seemed to calm down a little. “Your not supposed to be able to touch me. I’m not supposed to be able to see you or your floating hand” Adriel said in an accusatory voice. Art felt his cheeks burn and was extremely grateful that Adriel could not see him. “I am a God, I do as I please If I wish to touch you I can. You can not touch me.” he said still using a grand and godly voice that boomed and echoed in the place. And that sounded much better then simply saying he did so because he wanted to. “Why did you touch me, and show yourself to me?” Adriel asked. Art almost rolled his eyes, a hand was not showing himself. Though he supposed compared to not showing himself it was… “Your presence pleases me” he said still in a grand voice. That seemed to amuse Adriel, who smiled and leaned back in the chair. “I suppose it is nice to know I can please a god with just my presence” he said in an amused voice. Art bit his lip, Adriels voice elluding to other types of pleasure. Art leaned down, focusing on his lips but not enough to make them appear to Adriel, just enough so he could feel them as he kissed his neck, unable to control the impulse to do so. Adriel leaned his head back and hummed, closing his eyes. “Perhaps we could… please each other” Adriel suggested. Art kept kissing his neck as he thought about it. He had read every single book ever created, even the dirty ones such as the Karma Sutra. And in having read the stories of people who lived, he had read about pretty much every sexual thing one could do or even think about doing that wasn’t even physically possible. And this man was absolutely breath takingly beautiful. He wanted to run his tongue up and down his abs that were obviously sculpted by Apollo when this man was created. He wanted to run his hands in the pool of ink that was his hair. He wanted to run his hands down the rippling muscles of his arms, obviously sculpted in the image of a mountain range of some sort. And he never found anyone attractive before. It was very tempting. Except he wasn’t entirely sure he was allowed to have sex. Sure the Greek gods were constantly procreating with each other and with things, creating new things. But he wasn’t a Greek god he was…. So much more then that. He didn’t even know if he was ‘created’. He just was always here… It wasn’t like he knew of any rules against him having sex though…. Or even if such rules would exist, since no one could see or hear or touch him. Unless he wanted them to appearently. What could possibly happen or go wrong? “I have a bed chamber I could take you to” Art said in a lustful whisper, nipping and nibbling on Adriels ear lobe. Adriel let out a moan and Art suddenly felt an odd sensation down there he never felt before. And there was no way he would let this Adriel know of his… inexperience. He was a god after all! A god that appearently seduced those that came to the library. “Please, lead the way” Adriel said opening his eyes but for a moment frowned before his face went back to amusement and pleasure. “Will you show yourself to me there? I would like to put a face to the voice that is so good with its tongue” he said and Art bit his own lip to stop himself from moaning. But he also froze. No one had ever seen him before. What if he was…. Unattractive? Or horribly ugly? He never found the humans attractive before. And he looked nothing like this Adriel. What if once Adriel saw him he no longer wished to… couple? “I have not decided yet if you are worthy enough to lay eyes upon me” he said after a few moments of silence and he pulled away, standing straight and making his voice boom again so it sounded like he was every where within the walls of the library. Adriel nodded. “As you wish, God Art, Head Librarian” he said and got up “Please lead the way to your bedchambers” he said, his voice cheeky. Worthy enough to sleep with him but not worthy enough to see him. “Perhaps there I can better show my worth” he said with another amused smile. Art swallowed hard at that, wanting to know everything Adriel meant by that. Art however focused on his hands, not enough for them to be seen but enough for Adriel to feel them. “Follow me” he said still grandly and started to pull Adriel to his bed chamber. Art opened the door and brought Adriel in, it was a rather empty room, just a bed, and sourceless light that lit up the space. And nothing else. Art lead him to the bed, not bothering to close the door. It wasn’t like anyone else could see them, hear them, anything. Art sat down, pulling Adriel down onto the bed with him. Once Adriel was sitting next to him, Art leaned forward, wanting to do something he had read about thousands, millions, billions of times before but never had experienced. His lips gently touched Adriels, kissing him softly. Adriel kissed him back just as softly. However it was not long before the kiss was soon a passionate kiss, and a swirl of tongues battling for dominance. Art put his hands on Adriels shoulders and pushed him down onto his bed so he was laying on his back and Art slowly got on top of him. Art settled in and let out a soft gasp feeling his own hard length rubbing against Adriels and he latched himself to Adriels neck again, causing Adriel to gasp and gently rub their lengths against each other, though there was far too many layers of clothes between them for Art’s liking. “Let me prove my worth, I want to be worthy to see you” Adriel said softly. Art stopped his rubbing motion, thinking about that. “And how do you plan on proving yourself, human?” he asked, using the term human to make sure Adriel knew he was below him the god, making sure he sounded condescending to convey the idea of ‘how could a human prove their worth to a god’. Adriel simply smirked at him, his hand going towards their crotches and Art bit his lip to not gasp as he felt Adriel stroke him through his robes. “Why don’t you take this off so I can prove my worth? I promise I don’t need to see it to prove myself” he said with a smirk and a wink. Art swallowed hard, thinking about what Adriel could mean. He could use his hands or his mouth or even try to ride him and he suddenly had to use all his willpower to not start thrusting into Adriels hand. Art got off of Adriel, and quickly got off his outer robes “You may try to prove you worth, human” he said, trying very hard to sound condescending and godly. Once he got off his outer robes and his under things, he was only in his inner layer of robes and a vest, below his waist completely exposed. He sat back down on his bed where Adriel was waiting. He gently took Adriel’s hand in his and brought it to his hard member. He bit his lip as Adriels hand gently brushed against it and then bit down harder as Adriel took it in his hand. Art watched as Adriel smirked and while still holding onto his member, got off the bed and knelt down in front of him. Art spread his legs so Adriel fit in between them. Adriel leaned forward and Art could not hold back the moan as Adriel warm and wet tongue ran across his member. More and more moans fell from his lips as Adriel continued to lick him, and then put him in his mouth and sucked and licked. His head fell back as he moaned out “Adriel”. It did not take long for him to let a cry as he came hard down Adriels throat. Adriel sucked harder as he did, going down as far as he could, causing him to cry even louder. Finally Art laid down, gasping for breath, and Adriel let go of his hold on his member. He opened his mouth, showing not a single drop of cum was left, it had all been swallowed, before he closed it with a smirk. “So, have I proven myself worthy?” he asked cheekily. Art could not deny that had ‘proven’ Adriels worth. He was rather nervous but he willed himself to be seen by Adriel, laid out on the bed, his legs still off the side with Adriel still between them, completely exposed from the waist down. He lifted his head to look at Adriel, wondering what his reaction would be. Adriel simply smiled “I did not expect a god of wisdom and Intelligence to be so sexy” he said and Art tried very hard not to blush. Art sat up and put his hands on Adriels shoulders and leaned down to kiss him passionately, glad that Adriel also fond him attractive. Adriel got up and loomed over him as they kissed and then tried to push him, the god, down, putting his hands on his shoulders and pushing him down. As if! Art was not going to let that happen! Art gripped Adriels shoulders tighter and brought a leg up around Adriels waist and swiftly used his leg to push him to the side and used his hands on his shoulders to push him down and then rolled on top of him. Adriel pulled away from the kiss with a smirk “Or so dominate” he said and winked. “Silence, human” he said and gave one of Adriels nipples a light nip causing Adriel to gasp out a moan. Art almost moaned at that. He caused Adriel to moan. “Yes, Sir” Adriel said sounding a bit too compliant. Art pulled off of him and took a step back. “Take your pants off, human” Art instructed in a very commanding, demanding and godly voice. Adriel smirked. “You called me Adriel when your dick was being sucked by me” he teased, but he got up and started to take off his pants. Art frowned at him. “Perhaps I was wrong about you being worthy to bed with” he said in a mock threat but haughty voice. However that was when Adriels pants got pushed down and his hard and rather large and thick member came out. His own member, that had been slightly hard from rubbing against Adriels pants, was now fully hard. And oh how he wanted to suck it like Adriel had sucked his. And how he wanted it deep inside of him… “I think your dick disagrees” he said with a smirk. Art…. Could not deny that. Art slowly undid his gold vest, and set it aside, and the undid his under robes, though didn’t take them off. “Lay down” he commanded. “Yes Sir” he said almost mockingly. However Adriel sat down and then laid down but paused a second. “What about lube?” he asked. Art had indeed read about such substances. However such things did not exist here. But he was a god… could… will some into existence? Art decided to try and… suddenly he had a bottle in his hand. He showed it to Adriel, who smiled and nodded and spread his legs for him. Art moved so he as between Adriels legs and was very glad he had all the information of the universe and had read about ‘prepping’ for such activities hundreds, thousands of times. He started with one fingers on the outside, and then once there was enough lube on the outside of Adriels hole, he pushed it in and slowly thrust his finger in, constantly coating it in lube and ever so slowly and gently pushing it in more and more with each thrust but in small increments of centimeters. And then added a second. And eventually a third. And by then Adriel was a moaning mess begging to be fucked. And so, Art obliged. He took his fingers out and slowly replaced them with his own hard member. He moaned as the tip entered, it was so warm and so tight. Much tighter then Adriels mouth. It was wet, due to the lube, but that was different then the saliva of Adriels mouth. But it felt so, so good. Art just wanted to push in all the way in but he knew that would hurt Adriel. Or… would it? Since Adriel was currently in his astral body… but Adriel would feel it if it hurt. So Art did slow and small thrusts in and out, slowly going in further and further with each thrust. And finally after what felt like forever, Art was all the way in. And it felt so, so good. And Adriel was a moaning mess beneath him. Art leaned forward, capturing Adriels lips in his own as he started to thrust harder, faster. Adriel moaned into his mouth as he kept thrusting into him. Art moaned as well, it felt so wonderful, so amazing. Art brought his hand to Adriels exposed member, gently stroking it in time with his thrusts. It wasn’t long before Art came hard inside of Adriel, filling him up with his cum and a loud moan and Adriel came all over both of their stomachs with a cry of pleasure. Art pulled away from the kiss looking at Adriel with lust filled eyes, and slowed down and pulled out. He paused, watching as his cum spilled out of him. He then looked at some of Adriels cum on his own stomach and gently wiped it up with a finger and licked it off. He glanced up as Adriel gave a soft moan at that and smirked. He looked for the lube which had been tossed aside and picked it up from where it laid. He spread his legs and put some on his fingers and started to gently work on his own hole as he knelt in front of Adriel and started to lick him. “Mm I want you inside of me” he said and hummed as he gently penetrated himself with a finger. “I am up for another round” he said with a smirk. Art smirked and carefully worked himself open as he kept licking Adriels member, slowly making it hard again. Perhaps four fingers for himself, since Adriel was so… beautifully thick. Art put Adriel in his mouth, sucking as Adriel done for him as he slowly kept adding fingers and working himself open, but he wasn’t trying to make Adriel come. He just wanted him nice and hard. Adriel groaned and moaned as he kept on sucking on him. Finally, Art got a full four fingers in, comfortably and pleasurably so. He pulled them out with a soft whine and pulled his mouth off of Adriel and then slowly got up and crawled onto him. He gently gripped him and gently brought him to his entrance and slowly sat down onto him as he moaned loudly. He didn’t know which he loved more, being inside Adriel, or Adriel inside him. It felt so… full. Art rested his hands on Adriels chest and slowly started to ride him, moaning as he did so. It was wonderful, Art definitely preferred this to being in Adriel. It was too bad this would be the one and only time this happened, he doubted he would ever be attracted to anyone ever again. It had been eons, and Adriel so far was the first. Art moved faster, moaning louder, his member hard and begging to be touched between them. Art let out a gasp as Adriel took it in his hand, stroking it as he continued to ride on Adriels member. Art leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the pleasure over took him. It was almost overwhelming between Adriels large and thick cock in his hole, and Adriels hand on him. It felt so, so good though. Wonderful. Adriel was also starting to thrust up into him as he continued to bounce up and down on Adriel. It wasn’t much longer until Art felt Adriels cock explode inside of him, his warm cum filling him even more and he let out a loud moan as he too came all over their stomachs. Art bounced just a couple more times before he popped off and laid next to Adriel, both of their chests heaving. “Wow” he mumbled and turned to look at Adriel. Adriel looked back at him with a smile and nodded. “Wow indeed” he agreed and he leaned forward to kiss him gently. Art kissed him back and then slowly sat up looking at Adriel lustfully, glad he was a god so he didn’t really need to eat, drink, sleep, and Adriel was in Astral body so he didn’t really need to either. They could stay like this for… until Adriels actual body needed sleep or food. He slipped the robe off leaving himself completely naked. “Another round?” he asked and leaned forward to kiss him again, wanting nothing more then to just stay there with Adriel forever. However once their lips were pressed together Art felt as if the world was ripped out from under him. He let out a gasp and suddenly the world was spinning and he let out a groan. The world… was no longer his bed chamber. He was in…. A very dark room and could not see much. But he could feel the… what was that beneath him? His fingers scratched at the ‘floor’ and the ‘floor’ came up into his hands, though not that easily. But much easier then the marble of his library. And it felt… wet almost. And… crumbly? A groan. Adriel? Art lifted his head to see Adriel next to him. However, the man had his pants back on, that looked very tight and possibly soiled, and was sitting up with some candles around him in a circle which was why Art could actually see him. Art slowly sat up, realizing he was very much still naked aside from his necklace, and paused as he instantly got… a headache? He didn’t get headaches! He was a…. ooh. Knowledge hit him. And he knew exactly what had happened. Adriel opened his eyes and blinked and then noticed him looking at him, his eyes widening. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “We coupled. And the Library gave me a physical body, in return for my immortality. And since you took the virginity of a god, given willingly, we are now married. I am yours” he said. Adriels eyes widened. “Wait… wait. Married? And virgin? You tricked me you came onto me, and seemed far more experienced then a virgin.” he argued. Art gave a smile. “I am… was… the god of Knowledge. I had….” he paused and searched his mind “And still have thank uhh.. the Library for not taking it from me, all the knowledge in the world. Of everything. Including sex and any sexual acts. And it was not a trick. I had not known this would happen, not until I woke up here and experienced my first what humans would call a headache” he explained. He smiled after a moment “I would love a chance to try this physical body out, perhaps with a round four?” he suggested. Adriel frowned “Its… binding? And can not be undone at all?” he asked. Art shook his head. “It is not the same as your marriages done by a priest and legally done with paper at City Hall. We are now cosmically tied, bonded, entwined souls. Forever.” he said. Adriel slumped “I am… going to need time to process that.” he said softly and Art tried very hard to not be upset by that, though he supposed it was a reasonable reaction to such news. “I guess in the mean time I am up for another round” he said. Art perked up. “Wonderful! Lead us to our marriage bed, my husband” he said and stood from the… was this… dirt? He was experiencing dirt! Adriel stood and made a face, realizing that his pants were indeed soiled. “This is my Hogan, uh the sleeping area is this way…” Adriel said and started to lead Art towards it, who followed excited to be able to actually experience everything hes ever read about.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2023 2:54:04 GMT
Akashic Library: Adult Romance Section, Please
Adriel sighed as he set the candles up in his traditional hogan to get ready for another meditation session. He mentally cursed the ' Esoteric Buddhism' he had picked up that started him on this whole thing. He thought it would be easy since he knew how to meditate and do spirit journeys, but noooo... Stupid Akashic records and stupid curiosity. There was supposed to be a book out there that he could legitimately read to learn about his own soul, and he wanted to see it! Getting to the damned library that contained said book was proving to be hard though, and Adriel was getting very annoyed since he was on his second month for this. He was perfectly happy living with his grandfather during the winters until he read the book. He realized he would need personal space to take up the project, so he decided to make his own hogan using mostly Navajo techniques, but it did include some African tricks that hardened packed dirt into something more like stone for durability. He had a small desk, a little nook for firewood, a chair, and several pillows, and his bed was the only magical thing in the room. You could crawl into the small canopy spot and find yourself sprawled out on what was actually a giant king sized bed, and Adriel actually did love it. As Adriel lit the candles with a wave of his hand and settled in, he decided that this would be the only winter he would try this. Half of winter was gone, and he could have been working on his mummified mandrake, only not really because MACUSA kept a very close eye on magic done in the tribe lands and making a mummified anything was definitely something they would have harassed him over even if it was just a baby mandrake. Adriel breathed in to suck up all the frustrated feelings, then he breathed it all out and began to meditate. Mind out of the body - check. He looked pretty good today now that he could see himself. He knew the belt would go well with the pants, and the buckle was an ancient symbol for where all roads lead. The center of the universe. He wore it because he figured it would help him tonight, and it did give him an idea. The soul was supposed to be the gateway to the library at the center of the universe according to the book, and Adriel had left his body to become the soul, and he realized that rather than try to reach the center of the universe via space, he could just turn inward, twist, and it was like apparating only not and he found himself in a giant library. There was a 'door' behind him now, only he had been his own door and magic and soul magic and celestial star magic were very weird things that one just accepted and didn't think about. You couldn't put a limit on limitless after all - you would only be holding yourself back if you did that. Then it felt like there was a heavy gaze on him, studying him, and judging him, and Adriel silently sent out promises of respecting the library and the books and that all he wanted to see was his own book which was supposed to be free of charge. Adriel confidentially walked forward, unafraid of the gods that may be here. He respected them, of course, but they were not his and he knew that his own would protect him. He glanced at the shelves filled with books and the tables that had open books being written upon, but none of them felt right so he ignored them. He followed his intuition straight to a specific desk, spotted a book being written in his own secret code of cuneiforms, runes, and glyphs (it was a universal language according to the book, written in a way the 'supplicant' would feel most comfortable reading or absorbing), and took a seat so he could read. The library felt very heavy with presence, but Adriel still ignored it since he figured it was a normal thing as he flipped to the front of the book with the utmost of care and respect. He glanced behind him just to really make sure he was alone (the book had said nobody would ever be seen, that it was always empty), and reassured that the 'eyes' were just the library still, he began to read. He had only read a few pages when he felt something strange and looked up again to glance around, a little unnerved and creeped out, but... Well... The Library was a strange place to begin with so he dismissed it and got back to reading. Adriel had just started to get back into the flow of reading when somebody ran their fingers through his hair and made him gasp with surprise. Having people reach out to play with his hair was not an unusual thing - all sorts of people had been fascinated by it all his life so he was used to it. Still, there was not supposed to be anyone here so he looked back, then screamed when he saw a floating hand and found himself out of his chair to get out of it. "Who are you?" he demanded of the floating hand, then carefully set the book down as he gave it a good look and realized that it did not look like an undead hand. Maybe it was one of the invisible bookkeepers said to be the ones that filed away the books? "What are you? How did you-" No, wait, it was obvious on the how it touched him, so he rephrased that. " Why did you touch me?" There was absolutely no reason for any of the gods here to touch him after all - he was not a Buddhist or one of the devout followers of a written word. He was Navajo, and his people would actually be pretty offended if they knew this place was a real thing since writing down their rituals and tales were taboo. “I am the Head Librarian, The God of Wisdom, Intelligence and All Knowing, Art,” a voice boomed out in a grand way, the sound coming from what seemed like the whole library. Adriel had never heard an ' Art' as a God's name before, and even if it did sound like a very simple name, so was Thor or even the more uninspiring ' God.' Well, if the library was going to talk and... touch his hair? Well, stranger things had happened and it wasn't like the God was bothering him. "You're not supposed to touch me," he primly reminded the God. Or at least that was what the book said, and the book was written by a man, and men were stupid. Still, Adriel loved testing boundaries so he plowed on. " I’m not supposed to be able to see you or your floating hand!" “I am a God, I do as I please If I wish to touch you I can. You can not touch me.” Adriel wanted to snort with amusement at such a presumptuous way of saying 'I just want to touch your hair,' but laughing at a god, even if it wasn't his own, was a stupid thing to do that would have his own gods laugh at him if he was punished for that kind of disrespect. Still, it was interesting that he was getting to talk to the library, or the librarian or whatever it was, so he pushed some more. "Why did you touch me and show yourself to me?” he asked as he calmly sat back in his chair. “Your presence pleases me.” Well, nobody would blame Adriel for smiling with amusement and preening just a little bit by nonchalantly relaxing. Hair touching plus being told that his presence was pleasing meant that the god might actually find him sexually attractive, and Adriel was terribly curious and always open to experimentation. At the same time, he wondered if maybe he had fallen asleep while meditating and this was all just a strange dream since sex with gods were just things that happened in stories. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound - dream sex was just as fun so there was no point in not testing things in that direction. “I suppose it is nice to know I can please a god with just my presence,” Adriel purred in a seductive tone. He knew it was a bold statement that could also get him in trouble, but it wasn't disrespectful since the god started it first. He was rewarded when he felt soft lips on his neck, so he tilted his head back with a pleased hum and was eager to see where this would go. “Perhaps we could… please each other?” The god didn't reply and just kept pressing his lips to Adriel's neck, so Adriel closed his eyes and paced his breathing as he enjoyed the sensual feelings. It was only kept to lips - there was no teeth, tongue, or suction to it, but the light pressure and the knowledge of an invisible god or being doing this had Adriel's pants feeling tight. Leather was a thick enough material to not make things immediately noticeable, though. “I have a bed chamber I could take you to,” the god finally said in a low and husky voice, and Adriel moaned because the god was just as affected as he was, and his ear lobe was finally getting to feel a hot mouth that felt just like a human's mouth would. "Please, lead the way," Adriel offered with a smirk as he opened his eyes expecting to see the invisible person finally, only there wasn't one so he frowned with slight disappointment before giving an amused smile since the god apparently wanted to keep the upper hand. “Will you show yourself to me there? I would like to put a face to the voice that is so good with its tongue.” Flattery usually did very well against gods in the story, and he wasn't lying at how nice it was to have his ear sucked on. “I have not decided yet if you are worthy enough to lay eyes upon me.” Adriel nodded as he felt the presence draw back, but it did sound very weird. Worthy enough to go to his bedchamber but not worthy enough to see him? Maybe the god was ugly or self conscious? Or didn't look human despite the hand and the feeling of the tongue? “As you wish, God Art, Head Librarian” he said as he got up, making sure to keep his movements graceful and confident so he didn't lose this person's attention. No point in acting unlike himself since the god was attracted to everything he had seen before Adriel had even known he was there. “Please lead the way to your bedchambers. Perhaps there I can better show my worth?” “Follow me,” the god ordered as he took Adriel's hands in his invisible one, and Adriel could feel the impatience by how the god was pulling him along. Adriel would probably have opened up his mouth to make an amused comment, but whatever path this person was taking was one that Adriel could not see at all nor was it one he thought even existed. For him, it looked like the library wavered like a reflection in a pool, and then he was pulled through the surface and seeing snatches of all kinds of different... libraries? Some were the book types, then there was the ancient library in Hattusa, another library (?) that looked like a bunch of weird metal boxes with glowing lights (?), a room of crystals embedded in purple pillars that looked like stalagmites(? ? ?), and then there was a door suddenly there and he was pulled into a bedroom. A very sadly unimaginative bedroom with only a bed and a sourceless light, and then blank nothingness beyond. Adriel suddenly didn't want to go into the room, only the god didn't stop so he was pulled along until the god sat on the bed (going by sound and indentation) and Adriel quickly sat as well expecting the floor to just disappear or whatever since the god didn't need it. Only the room stayed the same as he looked at it, then there was suddenly soft lips on his applying gentle pressure like it was being cautious. Adriel kissed back just as carefully just in case there was a reason for the caution, but it didn't stay gentle and it wasn't long before they were battling with their tongues. Adriel wanted to reach out and pull the person down or feel them up, but he let the god set the pace, and it was him getting pressed down into the mattress while the god moved to straddle him. Honestly, being felt up and kissed by something invisible was just as thrilling as being blindfolded, but it was also getting unnerving because he didn't let himself get blindfolded unless it was by someone he trusted enough to not hurt him only he couldn't see this being to judge them for himself. Then the god began to grind their lengths together as he sucked on Adriel's neck, and Adriel knew he had to say something or he would probably come from how overwhelmed he felt. There was no way he was going to end so quickly and embarrass himself in his first encounter with a god! Let me prove my worth, I want to be worthy to see you,” he breathed out, trying his best not to show how affected he was. “And how do you plan on proving yourself, human?” the god asked after a few moments of silent contemplation. That 'human' was said in a way that told Adriel that the god was trying to pretend he wasn't also affected, but Adriel knew better so he wasn't offended by the attempt to make him feel like a lesser being. Adriel gave a sultry smile as he reached down to where he had last felt the God's stiff member through layers of what might be silk, palmed it to judge its shape and size, found that to be human, then rubbed it. “Why don’t you take this off so I can prove my worth? I promise I don’t need to see it to prove myself” he offered with a wink as he gave the invisible fabric a small tug. The weight on him got off, and he heard the slithering sounds of ties being undone and silk sliding off. “You may try to prove you worth, human,” the god said, trying to sound condescending again, but this god must not have gotten the memo that the Navajo were very much into sex so he could tell that it was just a way to keep their distance still. The god laid back down by him, picked up his hand, then guided it to his hot flesh, and Adriel stroked it to check it and it did feel human. So... Maybe the god was worried Adriel would find him ugly? Everything so far felt very human. Adriel got off the bed and, using the penis he was holding as a way to figure out how Art was laying down, he nestled himself into position in between two legs and ran his tongue up the penis in his hand to taste it. It tasted very clean, and the god very much liked it since sounds immediately began to tumble out of his mouth while Adriel explored and tasted the whole length to make sure there would be nothing disagreeable. The precum was surprisingly delicious - sweeter than anything from a human - and Adriel quickly took all of it into his mouth and began to greedily suck and taste more of that liquid. The flavor was good, but the librarian god's sounds made it better, and then the god breathed out his name before he was cumming in Adriel's mouth like it had been a long time since he had laid with someone. That was a feasible theory, actually. He sucked the rest of the length down his throat to milk the god's orgasm making Art cry out even more while he wondered how long it had been since the last time the god slept with someone. Well, he got the edge off of Art, so he smiled as he suckled his way off the penis, then opened his mouth to show the god he had not wasted even a single drop. "So, have I proven myself worth?" he asked in a cocky but playful tone, hoping that maybe he would get to finally see the god. The god seemed to freeze for a split second or something since he remained quiet, then a very handsome man appeared. Art lifted his head as he watched Adriel with a hidden vulnerability like he was waiting to see if he would be rejected, so Adriel gave him a more sincere smile rather than a bold or pert one. “I did not expect a god of wisdom and Intelligence to be so sexy,” he said, making it sound like a statement rather than just a compliment, and Art's cheeks faintly dusted with a little pink as the god fought off a blush. Then the god put his hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to give Adriel a passionate kiss, and Adriel slowly got up without breaking it with the intentions of climbing on top because that blush had been adorable and he wanted to take control for a bit. It wasn't to be, however. The god was apparently not going to just let Adriel do what he wanted - the hands on his shoulders tightened and a leg went around his waist, and then Adriel was the one on his back with Art on top. "Or one so dominant," he added with a wink after Art gave him a smirk of triumph. “Silence, human!” the god snapped, then leaned down to nip Adriel's nipple. Adriel moaned, totally into being dominated and light pain. "Yes, sir," he said in a compliant tone, but rather than continue, the god got up and stepped back. “Take your pants off, human.” Adriel smirked at the command. “You called me Adriel when your dick was being sucked by me,” he teasingly reminded the god as he undid his belt buckle while he stood up and started wiggling out of the pants. “Perhaps I was wrong about you being worthy to bed with,” Art threatened in a haughty tone while he frowned, but Adriel's pants finally came down and his dick popped up. Art's eyes immediately zoomed in on it, and Adriel had to swallow so he didn't snicker. “I think your dick disagrees,” Adriel said with amusement, though he actually wanted to say 'you're already eye fucking me.' Art seemed to have no rebuttal for that since he started to remove his vest and then untied and opened up his under robes while Adriel watched. Definitely nice looking, so maybe the god was just a bit shy or had a crush. Adriel hoped it wasn't the latter - tales of gods loving mortals tended to be rife with jealousy and vengeance or trials, and Adriel wasn't interested in any of that stuff. He was down for bedding, but he was not interested in anything long term even if it was a beautiful god standing in front of him. "Lay down," the god commanded. Adriel wanted to roll his eyes, but he just said "yes, sir," in an irreverent tone and smirk while he complied. "What about lube?" he asked, since it was very important and... well... the room was still empty. Art looked thoughtful, so he was very glad he asked, and then there was a bottle in his hand so Adriel smiled and spread his legs to expose himself without shame. Adriel honestly expected to just be prepared pretty quickly before getting fucked hard into the mattress with how interested but distant Art had been acting. People like that usually had something they just wanted to prove, and Adriel was fine with something hard and fast. He had not expected a gentle touch at his hole and having himself slowly and carefully opened up like it was his first time, though. His first time had honestly not been this gentle or exploratory, nor had anyone else really been this diligent with him before since he could take and even enjoy rough sex. Art, the odd little librarian god, was taking his time with this, and Adriel was finally forced to beg to be fucked because the sadistic god had kept him on edge and continued to play even after he was fully prepped and extremely slick inside and out. That seemed to be what Art was waiting for since he pulled out his fingers and then Adriel felt something hotter and thicker than three fingers at his ass. Art began to sink in and moaned, then he stopped and Adriel honestly wanted to snap or push back or something. He was letting the god control the pace, though, so swallowed down any complaints and Art began moving again. Slowly. Like he was afraid to hurt Adriel. He starting moaning to encourage more, but Art kept up his slow pace until he was all the way in. Art leaned down and surprised Adriel with a real kiss as he began to finally finally start going harder and faster, and Adriel moaned into the god's mouth while clenching and unclenching muscles to make fucking him feel very nice. Art suddenly had him in hand and started stroking him in time with his own thrusts, and fuck but it was gentle and Adriel needed and wanted harder for that, too, but Art was just keeping him on that precipice that kept him moaning into the kiss. Wet heat flooded his ass then, and it triggered Adriel's own orgasm so he came in Art's hand and made a mess on both of their stomachs while Art kept moving and fucking his own seed deeper in. Art finally started gentling and slowing down his thrusts as Adriel came down, and the broke off the kiss to scoop some of Adriel's come up on a finger so he could suck it off with a smirk. It was hot, and he figured Art deserved to smirk down at him since yeah, he really had fucked him very well after making him beg and need to be fucked. Then Art pulled out, grabbed the bottle of lube up, leaned down to start licking Adriel clean, and Adriel's eyes briefly widened with surprise when the god began to prep himself. "Mm I want you inside of me,” Art hummed, and there was no way Adriel could say no, not with how sexy that sounded. “I am up for another round,” Adriel acknowledged, smirking since he refused to look or act like he really wanted to sink into Art's ass. Well, no, he wanted to prep Art himself to explore and find a god's g-spots or prostate or whatever for a bit of a turnaround, but Art apparently intended to top from the bottom as well since he just kept prepping himself while licking Adriel's dick with his very soft and hot tongue until Adriel was hard and eager for more. That was when Art sucked Adriel's head into his mouth and swirled his tongue around his head like Adriel had done to him, and it wasn't long before Art had him distracted with a very very talented mouth that had Adriel moaning and groaning like he had been earlier. Art kept the pleasure up while not allowing Adriel to spill inside his mouth, and he was about to whine when Art whined and gave Adriel's dick a delicious vibration before Art raised himself up just as Adriel was going to come. The god crawled up then and straddled Adriel, took his cock in hand, and positioned himself so he could sink down. Adriel thought it would be more slow teasing and prepared himself for that, but the god kept sinking down as he closed his eyes and arched his back with pleasure, and it was such a beautiful show that it took Adriel everything he had to not buck his hips up and slam in all the way. When Art finally seated himself, he looked pleased at having Adriel all the way inside. Art put his hands on his chest and began to ride him, and he was as tight and hot as a virgin ass. Adriel watched as Art moaned and groaned while he rode on his cock like it was the best one he had ever felt, and Adriel finally took Art in hand because he was going to come between the tight heat and the show that the god was putting on. Art closed his eyes and rolled his head back, and Adriel finally began thrusting up with Art's timing since Art was apparently going to allow him to touch and move and do things. Adriel did not think he would last long, but he made sure to keep stroking while Art kept bouncing and moaning on top of him. Damn, Art was so hot, and Adriel came deep inside the god but didn't stop thrusting up or stroking as he prayed that Art would not last much longer. Art moaned as he came all over Adriel's stomach and chest, and he slowly came to a stop just as Adriel was about to his the point of overstimulation and then stroked Adriel's ego when he said, "wow." Adriel could only nod dumbly to the one word compliment with a 'fucked stupid' type of smile, but he found his tongue a split second later to formulate a response. "Wow indeed," he agreed, not the most glib of responses, but he raised himself up just a tad to just show his appreciation with a kiss. Art kissed him back for a couple seconds before he sat up, then he pulled the last robe completely off and dropped it to the side. "Another round?" Art offered as he leaned down to give Adriel a kiss, but before Adriel could reply, he felt a reverse feeling of that weird soul-turning-inside-out thing of getting shoved back out his gate, only it felt even heavier and he caught a glimpse of someone in his hogan before he slammed into his body with the rudest awakening he ever had. He heard a groan and groaned himself, wondering what asshole had disturbed him while he was meditating and hoping he could maybe get back to that wet dream or astral sex or whatever that was. Only after he cursed the asshole in his hogan. Which required opening his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Adriel blurted out when he saw Art looking dazed and confused and looking around his dirt hut. “We coupled. And the Library gave me a physical body, in return for my immortality. And since you took the virginity of a god, given willingly, we are now married. I am yours,” Art said to Adriel's shock. The god didn't seem bothered by that load of news, and Adriel wasn't too sure where to start. "Wait," he said as he quickly organized the order of importance. "Married?! And virgin?" Adriel could not believe what he was hearing. "You tricked me! You came onto me, and seemed far more experienced then a virgin!” Wait, he took the virginity of a fucking god? Adriel knew his gods were definitely laughing at him now. “I am… was… the god of Knowledge. I had….” Art paused and Adriel patiently gave the god a moment to continue. “And still have thank uhh.. the Library for not taking it from me, all the knowledge in the world. Of everything. Including sex and any sexual acts. And it was not a trick. I had not known this would happen, not until I woke up here and experienced my first what humans would call a headache,” Art explained, and Adriel just stared at him. Wait, so Art had been using book knowledge to fuck him stupid and had not intentionally meant to make things excruciatingly good?! Art smiled back at him, though. “I would love a chance to try this physical body out, perhaps with a round four?” Adriel pouted, still stuck on the marriage part of the whole thing. “It's… binding?" he asked, sounding dismayed. "And can not be undone at all?” Art shook his head no. “It is not the same as your marriages done by a priest and legally done with paper at City Hall," he commented, and Adriel was going to say that his tribe didn't do that stuff, either - not unless they wanted to act 'civilized' and men couldn't marry here, anyway. "We are now cosmically tied, bonded, entwined souls. Forever.” Oh. Well. That was worse than a marriage. Well, more constraining than a marriage would have been which could have come with a divorce by the laws of his own gods. There was no divorcing from a soul bond - even divine intervention probably wouldn't help. “I am… going to need time to process that,” he stated, trying not to sound upset or even more dismayed, and he saw that his words had hurt Art going by his own expression and body language. Eh. Well. It wasn't like Adriel could do anything about untangling their souls or whatever, and it didn't seem like Art did it intentionally. Not if he was being honest about being mortal now. Sheesh, but that library was strict if its own god got kicked out for having sex. He decided to offer the only thing he really could at the moment. “I guess in the meantime, I am up for another round.” Damned, but Art must have really been hard up or lonely since he perked up at the offer. “Wonderful! Lead us to our marriage bed, my husband!” Art exclaimed, and Adriel grimaced both at the title and the wet mess he was realizing was inside of his pants. Adriel noted that Art was touching and feeling the dry sand. “This is my Hogan," he explained, feeling a bit awkward about only having a dirt hut to house a god in. "Uh... the sleeping area is this way…” He reached out to take Art's hand, then extinguished the candles with a wave of his other hand so that only the moonlight seeping in from the hole in the ceiling. He guided Art who seemed blind and clumsy into the wizarding space of his room, sighed as he ducked inside, then pulled Art in and trusted that his ward to keep sand out would make sure Art did not bring all the sand he had been playing in along with him. "Stay still for a moment." Adriel clicked his tongue as he raised his hand and sent out his magic to activate the magical light orbs, and revealed the room to Art who looked shocked as he took in everything. While Art reached out to touch the silk gauze curtain, Adriel started pulling off his pants while he admired Art's naked body. Oh, and he realized he was going to have to dress the god up as well if Art was stuck here with nothing but the locket around his neck. Even if the god had a wardrobe in his locket, if it was filled with all of those gold silk robes more befitting an emperor, Adriel would still need to get him casual and formal clothing so he could blend in. Shit, he had apparently gone and gotten himself married to a god, and not one of his own, either. Lessons and tales had never included what to do if one got married to a god - not the Navajo ones, anyway. When a god married a mortal in other religions, the spouse was usually made immortal, though sometimes it would be a horrible take of immortality without eternal youth so the person would get old and petrified. Poseidon and Apollo had been turned mortal for a time, too, but that was punishment. Was there ever a god made mortal for marriage before? There were the tales of immortal beings like ningyo made mortal out of love for a human, but most of those ended in tragedy with one of them dying out of heartbreak as a lesson to not go outside your station in life. Art walked further in to touch tassels and the handmade quilt. "I thought humans were more advanced than caves," Art commented since the wall of his hogan did look a bit like a cave and was visible in between the layers of fabric Adriel had hung up. "Are you a time traveller?" Adriel had been asked many weird questions in the past because of who he was, but time traveller was a first. He licked his lips and answered Art while he stared at his naked ass. "I'm Navajo," he replied, then quietly padded up behind Art and started the man as he wrapped his arm around Art's waist and gave the back of his neck a lick. "I'm also English and well travelled, but I have never time travelled. A hogan is a traditional hut made of dirt and wood usually, but I incorporated some African tribe techniques to harden the walls so I would not need to use wood. The bed is a small canopy with wizarding space I put inside of an alcove so I could have a proper bed." He picked up Art to toss him on the bed and noted how light he was. "A marriage bed, apparently, and you are the first person besides me to sleep in it." He crawled up to straddle Art who was shocked about being manhandled in such a way. Adriel smirked, amused at the reverse in their roles, then lowered his head to suck on Art's nipples. Art gasped, then arched his back up with a moan to let Adriel suck and nip them for a minute, then he wrapped his leg around Adriel's hip again to flip them over. Adriel was caught off guard by the strength of it and found himself under Art who covered Adriel's mouth with his own to kiss him while he started to rub his erection against Adriel's hip. Adriel hummed into the kiss as he let Art control that while he noted that the god did not know how to properly keep him pinned, so he undulated at the right moment to give Art the friction he wanted and then rolled them when the god relaxed thinking he had succeeded. From there, it was a battle of nips, kisses, and thrusts as they continued to wrestle to keep the top position with moans and hisses of pleasure being the only sounds they made. Adriel had to catch Art right before he rolled himself off the bed after a bit, the god's eyes widening with panic when he felt himself hit empty air when he tried to roll them once more, and Adriel quietly chuckled as he held Art up. "Let me properly take your virginity," Adriel said in a husky voice as he pulled Art back under him. "I can show you pleasure that not even books can describe." Art groaned as he pushed his hips up to rub his erection on Adriel's lower stomach. "Okay," he agreed, and Adriel smiled before he sat up just enough to flip Art onto his belly so he was face down on the now-messy covers. "Eep!" He then grabbed Art's hips to pull them up so Art was on his knees, and without letting go of his hold on Art, he brought his mouth down on Art's ass and began to lick around the rim. Art let out an open mouthed moan, and the two of them shuffled around a little so Art could spread his knees apart while Adriel position himself in between Art's legs while he continued to lick and suck the area. When Adriel pushed his tongue in, he was surprised at how tight it was and that there was no come or anything he could taste from the earlier coupling. Hm... But that had been in his astral form and his pants were a mess so... And Art apparently had a new body. He realized then that they might not be truly married, more like engaged, but if he took Art now, it would definitely cement a bond. He groaned as he stopped to rest his forehead on one of Art's soft buttcheeks and started rubbing Art's lower back with his hand. "You don't seem very bothered about this situation," Adriel said as he settled down into a sitting position and pulled Art into his lap. Art began to pull away, but Adriel held him to his chest. "Give me a minute, we need to talk about this. Why aren't you bothered?" Art twisted his body so he could look at Adriel with an unhappy frown that clearly stated 'what?! Talk now?! Really?!' with a small glare in there. "I have been in the library before time even began - it started recording as soon as the first thing was created, and the library and I came into being at that exact moment," Art replied. "In all of that time, I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Nobody has ever interested me. I thought you were a god of beauty - one that surpassed even Apollo who couldn't tempt me to into showing myself. If I need to be mortal to be with you, then so be it." Adriel started rubbing Art's stomach with the hand that was lower down in soothing circles. "You don't know me," he pointed out. "I could have the most obnoxious personality. Marrying a man in my tribe is also taboo - whole clans have been slaughtered to put an end to the practice that we once embraced. Yes, you might be able to read about my life until this point, but reading and experiencing are two different things. You would bind us for not just this life, but if what you said about entwining our souls is right, then for eternity. I actually do not like books too much - I can read, but I enjoy oral stories more and I pick up books to read only for practical purposes or to read pure adventure fiction. You love books though, right?" Art looked vulnerable and hurt by the time Adriel finished pointing out one of the main differences he knew between the two of them. "You don't want me?" he asked in a small voice, and Adriel had to pull Art back into his lap when the god meant to get up. "No, let me go, I won't stay where I'm not wanted!" "I didn't say that," Adriel sighed out, then leaned forward to nip Art on the neck. "I am saying neither of us know each other. We had sex, but that isn't what a marriage should be based on. You should not tie yourself to me just because you enjoyed a moment of pleasure and think I look pretty. I-" Adriel struggled for a moment to say that he thought they might be engaged, not wedded, but something was holding his tongue still on that and he huffed with frustration even as he held Art a little bit closer. "If you could go back to your library, wouldn't you?" "No!" Art said with a scowl. "You don't understand - I've been there since the beginning of creation and before time began! This is the first time I have got to touch dirt floors or tasseled curtains or run my fingers through a person's hair. Books... I thought they were sufficient since they were windows into life, but like you said, books are not life and the little I have already experienced with you is... indescribable! If I don't like something about you, I will learn to love it." Art's eyes turned big and pleading for the next part. "I don't want to lose you." Adriel had given thought to marriage before. Many times. Nobody had ever quite met his needs or requirements, though. "What if I wish to bring others to our marriage bed at times," he asked as he nuzzled the back of Art's neck with his cheek. "Other women to bear children, or other men to share between us just for fun? We could not stay here, either - I would have to find a different country for us to live in since I won't risk my tribe, but I would have to return here without you for short periods since I have a duty to my people." Art didn't immediately reply - he went still and Adriel could imagine Art's eyes were probably glazed over for a moment like they had been each time he had seen Art kind of mentally drift away. "You won't... leave me for someone else if they are better at sex or because they can have your children?" Art asked in an uncertain tone. "Or leave me and not return?" "I have two different family lines to continue from two different countries," Adriel explained as he continued to rub Art's stomach. "But no, I am a very loyal person and would not leave you without a very valid reason to do so. Well... By your laws there is no separation, but by my gods there is. My people do not marry through city halls and papers. Some do for White Tribe reasons, but one spouse moves into the hogan and follows the new clan laws. Some married couples find themselves no longer loving their partner and cannot find a resolution, so they separate, but most do try their best to find that lost love before they break apart. You would be marrying into my clan and laws, so wouldn't you fall under the rules of my gods if you are now mortal?" Art shook his head no. "I'm a human now, but I explained our souls are entwined for eternity since I willingly gave you my virginity," he said, sounding upset now. "If you want to continue your family lines, I will be fine with that, and if you want to bring other people in for fun to share, then we should both approve of the person. Your gods did not come into being until long long after the library did so their laws do not supercede the cosmic laws I am under. As long as you come back, I don't mind if you need to visit your tribe without me." Art paused. "I don't want to be the reason your family dies." He paused again, then in a quieter voice he said, "And there is knowledge in the library that means I might be able to have your children." Adriel started kissing the back of Art's neck. He... Well, he really couldn't do better than a god as a marriage prospect. Ex-God. Whatever Art was. The hand on Art's stomach slid lower so he could take Art's half hard penis in hand and start stroking it slowly, their conversation having cooled both of their ardor. Hmm... Setting up a new life in Britain or elsewhere might not be a hard thing to do, either. Art could point him to a few sunken treasures, and Adriel had the skill to get it. If they set up in Egypt, Art could recreate the Library of Alexandria if he wanted with the remaining amount of gold. They could talk about where and how to live their life in the morning. "Of course you would always get a say in who joins our bed," Adriel finally replied as he moved the arm around Art's chest so he could start pinching Art's right nipple which quickly started getting Art to harden up the rest of the way and start to relax. "Monogamy is going to be difficult for me at first though. Not until I can actually fall in love with you. I may stray a few times, but I am fine if you also want to sleep with others during the adjustment period to sate your curiosities about what it might be like to be with others." "Okay," Art agreed in a quiet voice even as he began to push his ass back against Adriel's erection. "I don't think I will find anyone else interesting, but... I understand that you might not be too happy to be married." Adriel leaned back a little bit as he stopped stroking and pinching Art to gently push him forward. "Back up on your knees, husband," Adriel said, making up his mind. Art leaned forward to do so as he glanced back with sadness and worry while Adriel pulled out a bottle of lube from his pouch. "Don't give me that look - I have decided I will accept you." He opened the bottle and started pouring the oil on his fingers. "You are sexy and beautiful, and beyond that, you are considerate, loyal, and willing to give me the space I need to come to terms with this." He started rubbing the outside of Art's hole with his fingers and licked his lips. "You are also delicious, Art. I could taste and drink your pleasure every day and not grow bored of that. I look forward to learning more about you." Art blushed, sadness melting away into hope with a dash of happiness, and Adriel found himself thinking that maybe monogamy with Art would not be so difficult. Adriel dripped a bit more oil directly into the crack right above Art's hole as he gave Art a smile in return, and he slowly started to push a finger inside. "Nnn, I can take more," Art said as he pushed back against Adriel's finger to get it in deeper. "I had four in me." "So impatient," Adriel chuckled, and dripped more oil on as his finger started to slide deeper inside of Art. He let it go halfway, then pulled it out before placing two fingers there and dripped more oil on and around the area. Art flinched this time when he went to try to push back, and Adriel wiggled his fingers to help ease it in past the rim. "Relax and let me do this since I'm properly taking your virginity." Art relaxed then, and Adriel slowly began to open up his husband. Much as Art had done to him, he took his time, but he left the prostate alone until he could comfortable fit in three fingers. Despite that, Art was already moaning and had slowly began rocking again, and when Adriel started pushing in four well oiled fingers, he felt out the area until he found the right spot and curled his fingers against it. Art cried out with pleasure, and Adriel started going a little rougher while he continued to hit that spot until Art was moaning and chanting "Put it in!" over and over again. Adriel got up on his knees once he was sure that Art was as stretched as he could get him with his fingers, and he slicked himself up with what was on his hand as he lined himself up. Art pushed back as soon as he felt Adriel's blunt head against his hole, and Adriel pushed forward to sink in halfway on the first thrust making Art gasp out and clench down hard at the sudden intrusion. Adriel dropped forward then so his chest was on Art's back and he held himself up with his left hand as the right went to Art's erection, and he began to stroke that and suck on Art's neck while Art adjusted. As soon as Adriel felt Art begin to relax, he started to more gently sink in deeper until he bottomed out and let his moaning husband adjust to being filled all the way. When Art began to wiggle, Adriel knew it was fine to move so he shifted a little bit before he began to thrust so he could angle himself to hit Art's prostate each time. Having come already twice that night, Adriel knew he could last for a long time, so once Art was a whimpering and moaning mess, he stopped stroking and held the base of his dick before he bit down on Art's shoulder and really started going at it hard. Art got really loud as he cried out over and over, then he started begging Adriel to let him finish when he realized that the hand holding him had stopped an orgasm. Adriel started licking the spot he had been biting down on the whole time and ignored the begging and squirming Art was doing. It took another ten minutes of that hard pace and keeping Art in place with the cock he held before Art finally dropped down to his elbows and submitted. They were both panting hard, though Art was from sobbing and moaning while Adriel's was from the exertion, and Art's morning turned into cried of pleasure when his body relaxing itself finally pushed him into the anal orgasm Adriel was going for and fucked him through. "Good Art," Adriel panted out as he enjoyed the rippling sensation of Art's muscles spasming like they were. "That's one." "One?" Art groaned once he caught his breath, and he briefly tried to struggle again but was still shaking from it. Adriel had no intention of letting Art try to take over, so he kept him in place as he continued to thrust and hit Art's prostate until Art gave up again and was pushed into the next orgasm that had him wailing and clamping down around Adriel's dick even tighter. Adriel had to pause since he didn't want to hurt Art, but he stopped with the head of his dick against the spot he had been abusing so he could continue to rub against it and drag out Art's orgasm even longer, and once the worst of the tightness had passed, he pushed in all the way with his own groan of pleasure before he resumed his assault on the spot that must be very sensitive by now. And it was - he managed to get third one out of Art almost immediately, and he let go of Art's cock to grab his hip and started pounding deep inside of him. Art sobbed as he started ejaculating over Adriel's blankets, and Adriel held off for almost a minute before he buried himself as deep as he could go to flood Art's insides with one of the longest orgasms he had had in a long time with a guttural moan. Art was still twitching with aftershocks by the Adriel recovered, and he whined when Adriel pulled out. Adriel held Art's hips still so he could admire his work - what used to be a small pink and tight pucker was now gaping open, red, puffy, and trying to close back up. He groaned at how pretty it looked, then lowered his head to start licking while he held Art in place until Art begged for no more. He gave it one last lick to savor the taste himself, the lube, and Art, then gently moved Art so he could lay down on his side. "Drink," Adriel said as he pulled out his water skin, then held it to Art's lips and let a few drops dribble on them. Art licked his lips, then latched on to the drinking spout and greedily started drinking like he had never done that before. Maybe he hadn't - Art had been a god and Adriel figured gods probably didn't need food or drink. Especially a god of a library where a library's main rule was no food or drink allowed inside. He pulled back the flask when Art was at risk of choking from drinking for so long, then took his own drink while Art gasped for air. "You have to breathe after a few swallows," he said with amusement as he offered the skin back. "And make sure you don't breathe while you are swallowing." "I know that," Art replied with a pout as he accepted the skin back from Adriel. Adriel reached out to rub Art's legs while Art drank much slower this time. "Now what?" Adriel gently took the skin back from Art's hand and set it off to the side. "Now we sleep," he said with a smile. "Then I wake you up with more sex, you go back to sleep, and I will talk with the tribe elders while you rest. Being human is probably exhausting until you get used to it." Art yawned like Adriel's mentioning it made him realize how tired he was. "Okay," Art agreed. Adriel helped Art get under the covers before he turned off the lights and played big spoon to keep Art warm since the desert got very cold at nights. "Good night, head librarian and God of Wisdom, Intelligence and All Knowing, Art," Adriel couldn't help but teasingly whisper as Art drifted off to sleep. "I hope neither one of us as made a mistake."
The next morning after Adriel drank Art's come and Art had returned the favor with his own mouth, Adriel got dressed left his hogan and found his grandfather already waiting with an unreadable expression on his face. "I accidentally got married last night," Adriel immediately confessed to the intimidating look that always had him blurt out whatever it was that he thought he might have done wrong. "To an... esoteric Buddhist god of wisdom and knowledge. I think a Buddhist god, except he has been around longer than Earth or space dust, so... Yeah. The Buddhists probably just found him on accident at the center of the universe, but accepting his virginity meant we are married by the cosmic laws that supercede our gods?" Grandfather grimaced, the expression that meant 'no more details!' or 'how do you get into these insane situations?!' kind of thing. "He was very loud last night," was Grandfather's reply, and Adriel realized he forgot silencing charms. And that everyone probably knew he was with 'a man' last night with the way noises carried in the canyons and the dry cold air of winter. "I suppose we need to talk, then." Adriel sighed with relief since, despite the stoic look and the deadpan delivery, it was Grandfather's extremely dry humor at play which meant he had not offended the gods or commited a real taboo. He followed Grandfather to his hogan where they would no doubt be apparating out to a gathering of singers since the Holy Ones were gossipy and had probably told other Singers something about his night. Hopefully Art did not leave the hogan for the next few hours... Adriel still had to shop for clothes for him since Art was still wearing only a necklace when he had fallen back asleep.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2023 8:46:06 GMT
Artemio Reyes: Sic Semper ChaoThus always chaos
When Adriel woke up, he yawned as he swept his mind over what he had claimed and noted that his two priests were furnishing things while bolder humans were exploring the giant empty bath (the water had not risen high enough to cover the large marble blocks that had been made to a 5ftx5ftx5ft dimension), and some were gathered on the sidewalks in prayer. Oddly enough, some of those prayers actually were to Adriel as Amun Ra while others were to other ancient gods. Some were even praying to 'the One True God' as well, but all of the prayers had one thing in common: They wanted a sign. Seriously? He had raised three giant pyramids, made the biggest tree in all of London (that still had the man stuck in it which was good), dealt a painful blow to two different governments (even if one was a secret one), and they still wanted more? Adriel was still a bit tired from all of the damned 'signs' he had already sent, so he gave a mental huff of annoyance and sought out Art before opening his eyes to see that Art was sleeping at his table. His sacrifice was definitely the best sacrifice ever, and he would definitely be rubbing it in the face of all the others as they were summoned in. The universe was vast, and Adriel usually resided around the Sirius star system where he and his two siblings used to dance at when they were first creating Earth, though it was just Adriel who stayed there now. His second sibling stayed around Polaris, and the third had left a hole when they went off to a different universe. Adriel had not told Art about it, but he and his second sibling had been rather upset and hurt by their third leaving. They didn't even say goodbye - just there one moment and then off the next - but Adriel still honored their third in hopes they would return one day while his other sibling didn't want to talk or think about their third. Yes, many came and went, but the three of them had spent eons just dancing and playing together, then making man and dancing and playing with them. Adriel still didn't know why they would want to leave, but their third had been his anchor and his opposite, so Adriel had been more affected by the loss even if his second sibling was more upset about it. He sat up and smiled at the plate Art had left for him, then reached out to start eating since he needed to replenish some of his essence that had been used up. A handful of human essence really wasn't a whole lot even if it could be tied eternally to a place - he had stupidly told one of his sacrifices that once upon a time, and that was how human sacrifice beneath temples became a thing. Most everything he had done... Earlier that day? It was late night now, but yes, everything else he had done besides enchanting the pool with the essences had all used his own for fuel, and the food and sleep was going a long way to recovering. Humans were always using their essence just to breathe and live every second while Adriel just was and always would be, and that was why they were mortal while he was eternal. Theoretically, it was possible for him to die if he burned himself out, but when one had so much essence that taking mortal form meant only his consciousness was all that really resided in it, it would require way more than he could do in an organic body. The food was delicious, too. Food and physical sensations was why Adriel loved taking a physical form. He loved taking human form more specifically for the humans, but food was wonderful as was touching and kissing and holding soft things like Art. His silly little sacrifice had fallen asleep working on his book, and Adriel finished his food so he could gather the man up and checked him to make sure he had also eaten. Art had - there had been the earlier meal, but Art had also thrown together a salad and some crackers to eat just a couple hours ago so Adriel carefully picked him up to carry him off into his room. Art made tired and fussy little noises as he was carried, trying to tell Adriel to just let him sleep, but it just came out as annoyed mumbled until he was laid out on his bed. Art immediately rolled onto his side away from Adriel to cuddle and curl around his pillow, and Adriel quietly laughed while he pulled the covers over his beloved. He willed Art's clothes away - had them neatly fold themselves up on top of Art's dresser while the velvet robes hung themselves on a hook on the bathroom door - and then Adriel left Art to go up to the main temple room that was being furnished. He had elves to meet and give blood to, a kitchen to upgrade (the magazines he had read the past few nights showed interesting ovens and such that Art did not have), and two priests that were feeling a little bit lost and needed some attention.
Art was fairly pissed off at Adriel. The stupid god had trapped him in his apartment for two days, he couldn't apparate out, and he had no idea what was happening. His kitchen looked completely new and there were new books on the shelves to read, but Art rarely got to see Adriel. Art didn't get the feeling that he was being avoided - when Adriel was around, he would pull Art into his lap and do the sniffing thing before holding him for a while, then would ask Art if he needed anything. Art would ask to get to go outside, Adriel would tell him it wasn't safe, and he would say he didn't want anything and then Adriel would leave. Art understood that is was dangerous, but this made Art think of Titus telling him about how if he was only wanted for a sacrifice status, then he would just be imprisoned and kept alive. There were no more kisses and his only company were the house elves when they would deliver new food, cook him a meal, or clean things up. They were the only things besides Adriel that could get in and out of the apartment and they look and sounded exceptionally thrilled to be serving 'The Great Creator,' but they were under orders to not let Art out and not let anyone else in and they were not very good for conversation, either. When Art woke up on the third day, it was with a whole new wardrobe of things similar to what he used to have, but in far finer fabric and he wanted to burn it all. The only thing that stopped him was that it was the only clothes besides the velvet and silk robes that were also hanging in his wardrobe. There were dragon leather boots and a vest, and even a dragon leather full length coat, and the value of things in his closet was worth more money than he would probably have made in decades. "I was hoping comfortable clothes would cheer you up, sacrifice," he heard Adriel say from his bedroom door, and what happened next was pure reflex done without a thought. One of the boots was picked up and flung straight at Adriel's head, and Adriel staggered back when the heel bounced off his forehead. Adriel fumbled to catch it before it fell on the floor and turned sad eye at Art. "Oof, what did you do that? I'm just trying to make you happy!" "Because you have imprisoned me under millions of tons of bricks in my own apartment and won't let me out!" Art shouted as he stomped over and yanked the boot out of Adriel's hand. He was shocked that he actually managed to hit anyone let alone Adriel with a boot, but he kept a mulish expression up to not show it. "I want out! I want to go to the library! I want to do my own grocery shopping! I want -mmf!" Art's rant was stopped when Adriel pulled him up against his chest and slammed their mouths together, and then he groaned when he felt Adriel's tongue slip inside his mouth to kiss him in the way that sent tingles to his belly and toes. He dropped the boot to the floor when Adriel began to walk him backwards towards the bed without breaking the kiss, and then the kiss was broken once the back of his legs hit the back of the mattress so Adriel could lower him on top of his bed. Adriel started kissing and sucking at his neck while Art gasped for air, and he wrapped his legs around Adriel's waist and squirmed his body in a way to show that he wanted more like before because he realized he had missed this. Rather than rub up against each other like Art had insinuated that he wanted, Adriel grabbed the top of his pants and tugged it and his underwear down until his member was exposed. He started to flail and try to pull it up as he felt his face burn hot with embarrassment, but Adriel collected his hands and pulled them up above his head before switching the hold to one hand to pin them by his wrists. "What?" he started to ask, feeling a bit of panic now, but Adriel pressed their mouths together as he took his erection in hand and began to stroke him and Art bucked his hips up with a moan that was muffled by Adriel's tongue. Adriel's hot hand where it was felt really good, and he started sucking on the tongue in his mouth while he thrust his hips up to demand more, harder, and faster. He was extremely light headed from the lack of oxygen by the time his pleasure was about to overwhelm him, and then Adriel broke off the kiss and let go of his wrists to sink down and suck Art's member into his hot and wet mouth and Art cried out and grabbed Adriel's hair as be bucked up into the heat and came down Adriel's throat with waves of pleasure. When Art had finished coming and was still gasping for air, he realized Adriel had unbuttoned his shirt all the way and was pinching and tweaking his nipples while he gently continued to suck on Art's penis. Even though he had spent himself, those two things were keeping Art hard still, and he groaned as he bucked up to explore the feeling of Adriel's mouth down there. Their eyes met when Adriel looked up at him while he sucked, and Art gasped since he had never seen anything that... that... well, sexy was definitely the right word, he realized. He had never thought of anyone or anything as sexy until that moment, actually, and that realization made him panic and start pushing Adriel's head back because it wasn't right to think about another guy like that! Adriel pulled back thankfully (he denied that he missed the heat even if his member was twitching), but his right hand was caught by the wrist while Adriel continued to pinch his left nipple. "I already said I took the form you would find most appealing, so I don't know why you are so upset to realize that I am sexy," Adriel said in that matter of fact tone that made Art want to hurt him, only Adriel sucked his middle finger into his mouth and Art's own mouth fell open at how good that felt. He whimpered when his dick twitched again, and then Adriel moved right back up his body and pulled his finger out of his mouth to kiss Art as he began to grind up against him. The feeling of Adriel's velvet robes directly against his hard flesh had Art forgetting why he had been fighting - he bucked up and groaned into the kiss that tasted a little salty now for some reason. He started trying to figure out what the salty taste was, but Adriel tugged on his nipple to distract him and then shifted a bit to slide his other hand and started doing something with it around their bellies. A moment later, the robe opened up so Art felt Adriel's smooth and muscular chest rub up against his, and then a few seconds later, he felt hard flesh against his own before Adriel's hand wrapped around them. It took Art only a few seconds after Adriel began moving again to realize that it was Adriel's erection giving his own some friction while he held both of their lengths in his hand, and Art whimpered into the kiss when he began to squirm because he wasn't sure if it was for more or to try to get away like he should. "More, Artemio, always more," Adriel groaned into his ear after he broke off the kiss, and the wash of hot hair there sent more tingles down Art's already sensitized body that he just gave up and wrapped his legs around Adriel's waist with a loud moan. "Good, that's my good sacrifice. It has been so hard keeping my hands to myself for three days, and I'm so sorry you have been feeling so neglected and trapped. I had to crush a few more squadrons of soldiers, a couple of tanks, and then changed a plane into a giant bird and sent it flying away. They've given up for now, and I found a cambridge professor - one of my new followers - willing to be one of your tutors, love. I also made an underground labyrinth and set up some tunnels and rooms to connect to here so you can start building your library." Adriel spoke so much, but this time there were a lot of good and interesting things about it so Art groaned an agreement as he dug his heels into Adriel's ass and undulated with Adriel's thrusts. He could feel his stomach muscles and thighs begin to burn with the exertion as he panted and moaned, and he realized his left hand was still in Adriel's hair so he moved his right one to hold Adriel around the back of his neck. Adriel started sucking and kissing his neck, so he tilted his head back, and having Adriel lick, suck, pinch, and thrust all at the same time was overwhelmingly so pleasurable that he cried out as he came again. This time it was hard, so hard that it was almost painful, and his first ejaculation hit the underside of his jaw which Adriel immediately began to lick up with the others shot out onto his chest and belly. Art was so wrung out from coming a second time like that that he just let his arms flop down onto the bed with a groan when he was done, and then his legs slipped down and hung off the edge of the bed. Adriel released the hold he had on him thank goodness, and Art didn't have the energy or inclination to complain as Adriel continued to clean up the come on Art's body with his tongue while he continued to gently play with Art's sore nipple. He didn't even complain when Adriel pulled his pants and underwear all the way off as he licked Art's soft penis clean, and while Art could tell that it kind of wanted to get hard again from the licks and suckling on it, it was just as tired as he was so it didn't stir. Then Adriel kicked off his own pants, and Art stiffened up, but all Adriel did was pick him up in a bridal carry and took him out to the living room and then to the... sealed and unopenable front door? And then Adriel opened it and Art could see a cave. "This is the healing center for the pool above," Adriel said in a proud tone as he carried Art in who immediately began squirming to try to cover up his nudity because of the opening above, only Adriel just held him tighter. " That is a one way opening, Artemio - you can see the light is not sunlight. The heat vapors from the hot pool here escapes up through that opening to infuse with the water above, but nothing can come or see down here. It's actually all water and covered marble and brass, if you recall. The pool above is halfway filled already - from a different water spout under another section of the pyramid - and rumors about its healing powers is getting more people to come and see it. That was part of the reason for the armed forces - the King was trying to stop people from visiting and tried to destroy the baths since the prime minister has now retired - but I didn't kill anyone." Adriel paused and Art dubiously relaxed and let himself be carried down the right hand path though he still used his hands to cover himself up. "I just transformed them. There are unique types of small animals living in the trees growing around my temple grounds. Anyway, I tried to make some sections look like books stacked on each other! There is also a deep spot a little to the front and left from where you walk in through your front door that you should not try to swim down since it is a tunnel that leads deep into the underground reservoir that has not been touched by man." Art eeped and stopped hiding his nudity to wrap his arms around Adriel's neck when he stepped up onto the flat ground on the opposite side of the hot pool, and he wondered why the ground here looked so finished while the path from his door to this spot had been so rocky. Adriel set him down on his feet then and tugged off his pajama top which had him scowling at Adriel for his high handedness before he turned bright red and looked away because he realized that Adriel was only wearing his open robes and Art got an eyeful of Adriel's private parts. He swallowed as he heard Adriel's robes hit the floor - how could a man's bits look so good?! - and then the stupid god was quietly laughing as he surprised Art by scooping him back up and began to walk down the stairs that led into the pool. "I am not done with the area yet which is why it still looks half unfinished, but I thought it was a good time to show it to you," Adriel said as he gave Art a soft look that had Art blushing as he recalled what they had just done. He gasped with surprised then because the water was deep enough for it to start reaching him, and it was just as hot as he liked his showers and baths. The water got even deeper as Adriel walked around the large natural pillar in the center of the cavern, and on the other side of it were finished benches inside of the water that Adriel lowered him on to. Art immediately covered his face with his hands when he got a second eyeful of Adriel's parts, and he heard Adriel quietly laugh again as he sat down on Art's right side then pulled Art up against him. "Hmm, this is where I want to have your virginity since it will heal and relax your body, and shorten your recovery time." Art smacked Adriel's chest with a wet slap as he glowered up at him with a beet red face. "I am staying a virgin!" he huffed and Adriel laughingly caught Art's left wrist in his hand. "Nuh uh, I am! I want to be like -mmf!" Again, Adriel pulled him into a kiss to stop him from finishing what he was going to say, and then Adriel moved Art's hand by the wrist he was holding so that Art was forced to feel Adriel's firm chest and soft skin. Art couldn't help but lean into the kiss as his fingers brushed against Adriel's nipple, and when Adriel moaned into their kiss from that contact, Art's own belly fluttered and he realized he had not seen Adriel come yet. Art broke off the kiss first this time as he started to pant with a mix of wanting to touch and being afraid to touch when Adriel started moving his hand downward like he knew Art wanted to touch (of course he did, the stupid god was always in his head), and Adriel was sucking and kissing on his neck as he let go of Art's wrist right before his hand would have made contact with anything and Art whined with confusion since he didn't know if Adriel wanted him to touch him there or not, or if he should even do so. Being made to do so would have been one thing, but if he touched now that he was released, he wouldn't be made to do anything. "You are mine, but I am yours to also touch and explore, Artemio," Adriel said in a husky voice against his neck, and Art shivered as tingles shot up his spine. "I will not take your virginity until you say you want me to. Touching me won't take your virginity just as me touching and kissing you in different areas has not taken yours. Touch me wherever you want, skin or flesh or hair." Art was still panting as he desperately did not look into the water where he knew his fingers hovered millimeters over Adriel's thing, and it was so hard to not look even from the corner of his eye that he squeezed his eyes shut as he tilted his face to the ceiling which gave Adriel more to lick and suck on. He couldn't do it, it was too scary like crossing a boundary into dangerous territory, so he moved his hand to place it on Adriel's side opposite of him and gasped for air while he trembled from nerves and from touching Adriel's naked torso even if it was just his waist. "It's not just my waist - you deliberately touched me for intimate purpose and I am happy," Adriel purred into his ear, and he shivered again as a small whimper escaped. The situation felt so intense and Art was genuinely afraid even if his stomach was fluttering hard and he felt triumphant though he didn't know why. "I won't make you do more than you want, my lovely sacrifice. Just run your hand there and feel my skin against your palm and calm yourself. Adjust to touching me like you have adjusted to me touching you, and you will find this less scary. I won't hurt you, and you can't hurt me." Tentatively and with his eyes still squeezed shut, he started to feel Adriel's skin with his palm and how smooth and soft it was while Adriel gently sucked on his earlobe. Wondering how soft it actually was, he started touching with his shaky fingertips, and then nearly jumped out of his skin and froze when Adriel shifted a little bit. However, all he did was put his hand on Art's lower back before he started to kiss down Art's neck and to his shoulder, so Art unfroze himself and resumed trailing his finger up Adriel's side and onto his ribs before Adriel's arm got in the way. Art pulled his hand out of the water and more boldly started touching the skin on Adriel's arm, then relaxed with a soft sigh of relief while he touched and blindly explored the dips and rises of the muscles in a safer area. "That's is, that's good, love," Adriel coo'ed against Art's shoulder, and Art unknowingly leaned a little towards Adriel. Art slowly traced the right arm up and down while Adriel's left hand stayed on Art's lower back in a way that made Art feel like he was being supported, and Art wondered if Adriel's shoulder was soft. His fingers lightly fluttered on Adriel's skin as he trailed them upwards, and he cracked his eyes open a little to see what he was doing as he started touching Adriel's shoulder. His very stupid ly handsome god's skin was fascinating in texture, and Art didn't think he had ever touched something so nice before. It was comparative to creamy and smooth high quality vellum, except it wasn't dry, there was elasticity that paper did not have. Art knew it wasn't his first time touching Adriel, but it was his first time touching Adriel and he was so glad that Adriel was letting him do this at his own pace. Art's fear slowly faded away as he moved his fingers towards Adriel's neck, and he gently explored the base of that before he went down towards Adriel's collarbone rather than up the neck since that was towards the face and the hair and still felt beyond him. The smooth dip and the rigid bone at the hollow of Adriel's throat was fascinating and all too new for Art, and he practically finger walked along the collarbone itself away from the throat and towards Adriel's shoulder. When he got to the end of it, he ran his finger back to the neck inside of the dip, then back out to the should again while he marveled at how delicate it looked and felt on a man that Art would not have described as delicate until then, and Art's eyes flickered back towards Adriel's neck. Adriel tilted his head back to expose his throat, and Art's breath hitched when he realized Adriel was breathing as heavily as he was as his fingers slowly moved towards the tempting neck while he stared at the hypnotic copper-toned skin. Art was surprised when he saw both of his hands close in - his right one had moved of its own accord, apparently - but it was too late to back out so both sets of fingers began to lightly touch and trail along both sides of Adriel's adam's apple. He felt a sense of accomplishment when he heard Adriel breathe out a quiet moan as he moved his hands to the bottom of the neck, and that plus the fact that Adriel was not moving gave him courage to move his fingers back so he could trail up both sides of Adriel's neck. Adriel's heavy breathing pick up pace to Art's amazement (his touch was making Adriel do this?!), so when his fingers got to the top of Adriel's neck, Art trailed them forwards along the underside of Adriel's jaw and absently noted that he couldn't even feel stubble there as he watched Adriel let out another quiet moan. That quiet moan made Art feel very weird - his stomach completely flipped and he had the urge to crawl into Adriel's lap, only the latter was so completely out of character that he jerked his hands back like he was scalded as he started at Adriel with wide eyed shock. The hand on his lower back started rubbing slow and soothing circles as Adriel brought his head down and gave Art a smile (something inside of Art melted into a pile of goo at the look in Adriel's eyes and the smile), then Adriel leaned forward to give his nose a tender kiss that started an embarrassing squeak out of him. "Thank you for exploring," Adriel said in a voice so deep and husky that it was almost rumbly, and Art kind of wanted to put his hand on the center of Adriel's chest to feel the words only his hands where clasped and tucked under his own chin because he was afraid of what Adriel was making him feel. "It's ok, I'll take care of you now." Art barely got to wonder what Adriel meant by taking care of him when the hand at his lower back moved to his side and Adriel pulled him into his lap. He flailed at the sudden movement until he realized that Adriel's other arm was supporting him now, and then Adriel's mouth was on his chest to suck on the nipple that only got a tiny amount of attention last time. He gasped as he gripped Adriel's hair and bucked up, and then Adriel's hand was around his almost painfully hard erection and was rubbing circles with his thumb on a sensitive spot there that had Art moaning and whimpering while he wiggled in Adriel's lap. The arm supporting his back shifted which had him grip Adriel's hair harder, and he felt his right thigh being carefully grabbed and just let Adriel spread his legs apart like it had been that night on the couch. He left was on the bench, his right was hanging down between Adriel's own legs, and then Adried was stroking Art's inner thigh while he continued to circle and touch sensitive areas on Art's erection that felt really good but was also driving him crazy since there was no stroking going on. "Adriel, please," Art begged while he continued to thrust up into Adriel's relaxed hold, and Adriel replied by applying a little bit of teeth to his nipple to pinch it in a way that shot pleasure straight to his straining penis. Art quit thrusting and pushed his chest up more with a whine, and he felt the hand on his inner thigh slide up to cup and start playing with his balls. It wasn't long before Art started to feel like a musical instrument that Adriel was playing. Every pluck, pinch, squeeze, and stroke had Art crying out in different ways that echoed loudly in the cavern they were in, and he undulated and wiggled as he alternated between thrusting up a few times and then pressing his chest against Adriels mouth. By the time Adriel started stroking a spot under his balls that just added more pleasurable feelings, Art was focusing only on trying to get more of what was feeling best in an effort to climax, so he just moved his hips with that finger so it was pressing against the ideal spot while he spread his thighs as far as he could in the position he was in. When that finger eventually slipped down lower to apply pressure over his hole and rubbed little circled on it firmly, his only reaction was a "Uuunnnnn..." moan that was a new kind of sound of pleasure. His hip movements started to jerkily alternate between upward thrusts and pushes onto that finger before Adriel finally tightened his grip around his erection and Art came with a loud cry as he frantically pumped his hips up and down while the finger at his hole pressed down hard but still didn't go in like he had wanted it to. When Art stopped coming, Adriel stopped sucking so he could go limp up against Adriel's chest as Adriel leaned back. The finger was still at his hole, but it was touching and exploring and Art only scrunched up his nose a little bit because it was gross but he was too sated to do more than that. His skin felt like it was tingling and humming while he felt a pleasant buzzing in his ears, and then Adriel let go of his erection to tilt his face up and started to kiss him in a new way. It was a kiss of slow suckling of his bottom lip, and Art opened his mouth with a quiet sigh of content only Adriel continued to kiss and suck on his bottom lip until he poked his tongue out to invite Adriel's in for the tingly touches. Adriel shifted his mouth and sucked Art's tongue into his, and then there were strokes and swirls of Adriel's tongue against his that had him moaning into the kiss because it reminded him of how it felt when Adriel sucked on his erection. The hand on his butt splayed out while the finger on his hole stayed there, and then Art was being adjusted until he was standing and barely straddling Adriel's knees in front of Adriel who had scooted forward to the edge of the of the bench. Then Adriel's finger pressed down on his hole again, and Art shuffled forward while his tongue continued to be sucked on until he felt Adriel's erection poke his hip. Adriel gently released his tongue with one final twirl of his own tongue because Art had frozen up wondering what Adriel wanted. "Nothing and everything, Artemio," Adriel told him before he started to pepper Art's jaw with a few kisses. In this position, Art was taller than Adriel was, and it was a little disorienting but not too bad of a feeling. "I would love if you climbed up all the way and started to grind yourself up against me or do so much more." To Art's confusion, the finger at his hole pressed against it again, but he had no idea what Adriel meant by so much more. "This is where I would enter you, or you would enter mine. No, it is not unsanitary - especially not mine since I do not digest like you do - and I can clean your own passageway and slick it up with a thought." Art gasped as he felt like the finger could now just slip right in as he felt his insides get moist. "I could do that with mine, too, so that all you would have to do is just push into me." Art moaned at the thought of tight heat like that that he could just pound into like he had thrust into Adriel's hand. "However, entering each other in such a way is how you lose your virginity. I can put my finger inside without consequences for you if you want to see what that feels like." It was like a bucket of cool (not cold) water when Adriel told him how they would have sex one day if it happened, and Art felt conflicted with the information since he had just been fantasizing about being inside of Adriel's passage. Oh god, was there something wrong with him? Adriel's free arm went around his back and crushed their chests together, and he felt the erection that had been poking at his hip slide up and nestle into the hollow of his hip as he stopped supporting his weight to let Adriel keep him up. "Of course there is nothing wrong with you," Adriel said with a huff before he sucked on Art's neck for a second. The finger was still rubbing circles up against his hole, but it had still not dipped inside yet and he realized Adriel was letting him make the choice. "Men loving men was a very common thing in the ancient world - the decline began with the uprising of the new religions as they challenged ancient traditions and claimed that having children was a virtue, and it was only a homophobic king here in Britain during the 16th century that has made it a crime in your country. Before, some people believed it to be immoral since the church encouraged marriage and children, especially after the black plagues kept decimating populations, but that was all. It stayed restricted because it made it easier for the government to maintain social order. There is nothing wrong with you loving a man or finding one attractive." Art slowly loosened his hold on Adriel's hair as he took in the information while he tried not to get distracted by the hot length pressed against his hip that reminded him that he had still not seen Adriel come, or the finger at his bum that had started to move back and forth in a way that had him wanting to press and grind against Adriel. He reluctantly admitted to himself that he did find Adriel a little attractive (the hollowed cheeks as Adriel sucked on him earlier) and his hair was so soft and never seemed to tangle even when it was in the water. Art rested his chin on Adriel's shoulder as he watched his fingers continue to comb through Adriel's long hair and reflected on the history he knew. The recently fallen Ottoman Empire had embraced all sexuality between people that could consent, and the region still had it legal with only the religious factions and English influences trying to stop it. A homophobic king made sense, and he could see how strange it might be for Adriel to encounter Art's reluctance and fear when homosexuality had been so widely accepted all over the world until the past few centuries in was at least dozens of millenniums for Adriel. Even Achilles and Patroclus... Art's favorite ancient tales was romance, but especially those between men and Achilles had been a hero as were some gods (such as Zeus with Ganymedes, even if some religious historians were trying to paint the man as a woman when the original ancient Greek artwork clearly depicted male genitals on Ganymedes and spoke of him with male pronouns). It was fine in ancient Rome as long as the one with higher social standing did the penetration, and while Egyptologists widely debated about homosexuality in Egypt, there had been no laws against it nor anything indicating that the Egyptian gods found it distasteful so it had probably been accepted there, too. Actually, Adriel's own actions implied that it was widely accepted even among the gods, so perhaps the one being penetrated was often seen as a 'woman' since they had a third gender that people suspected was 'eunuch' despite castration not being a common practice? "Sex of all kinds was accepted in Ancient Egypt," Adriel confirmed in a tone quiet enough not to startle Art out of his thoughts. "It's just that it was not a polite conversation to bring up except behind closed doors or other spaces reserved for such activities like brothels." Adriel slipped the finger on his hole down to that spot he had rubbed under his balls, and Art sighed at how nice it felt there. "This is called your perineum, and it is a spot on the outside of your body that is close to the prostate. There is a spot even closer inside of you that can feel better than other things when stroked just right. Not everyone is sensitive there, but you are, and you will enjoy being penetrated rather than penetrating if you give yourself to me. I want to show you with my finger how good it is just as I have shown you other pleasures so you may make your decisions based on your wants rather than your fears. You yearn for companionship and your heart cried for love, my precious gem, but fear colors your actions every day and it makes you afraid to reach out and touch so you make many excuses why you cannot or should not have what I want to give you so much." Adriel's tone had been so kind, honest, and gentle as he explained things that Art couldn't help but sniffle a little as he tangled his fingers in Adriel's hair. Having the truth laid so bare while in such an intimate position made it impossible to deny, and he was grateful when Adriels finger moved off his perineum so that his lower back could be rubbed while Adriel continued to hold him to his chest. Art slowly climbed up on the bench to sit on his knees with the intention of pressing himself fully up against Adriel, but his own penis was half hard and had slipped downward rather than up so he was going to stop since he didn't have the confidence to adjust himself properly. Adriel fixed that for him before he actually settled down by slipping the hand that had been rubbing his back in between them to readjust Art himself, and then Adriel was rubbing his lower back and upper butt while Art nestled himself so his own length was snug up against Adriel's in the higher position as he settled in. Art didn't say or think anything further, but he paid attention to Adriel's hand as it slowly started to rub lower and lower before Adriel shifted his knees apart a few inches to force Art's thighs farther apart. The move also spread his butt cheeks apart and left him feeling bare and vulnerable, but Adriel just kept rubbing his butt cheeks over the space until he felt himself relax. Fingers then brushed across his hole with each rotation which had Art tensing back up, but that lasted less than a minute and then there was a finger at his pucker slowly rubbing back and forth until it and the area around it started to feel slick from the stuff Adriel had put inside him. "Do you trust that I am not going to steal your virginity without your knowledge and want to see what it feels like?" Adriel asked in a quiet voice, and Art was rather surprised when he gave a nod without any hesitation. "And you trust I won't hurt you?" Art nodded again, though this time he was fully aware that he already trusted that Adriel would not hurt him. Art felt Adriel crook his finger, then gasped with surprise at how easily the tip slipped in, and when Adriel began to move his finger in and out to the first knuckle, it didn't feel as scary as Art thought it might feel and it didn't hurt one bit. It actually felt nice in the way of having his lower back rubbed had felt nice, but the intimacy of having Adriel touch something that nobody else ever had - not even himself - gave it an extra thrill that had Art wiggling his butt for more after a couple of minutes. Adriel's finger slowly started to pump in deeper, and while Art knew a finger really didn't get too much wider, the penetration had him wanting more intimacy. His chin had still been resting on Adriel's shoulder, so he turned his head a little bit to start feeling Adriel's skin with light brushes of his lips. Adriel groaned and tilted his head a little to the side to give Art more access, so he started exploring Adriel's skin with lips, nose, and even his breath when he felt fine hairs life up with each puff out, and Adriel's finger sank deeper and deeper inside of him until it could go no further even when Art started grinding his hips down. Then Adriel pulled out his finger, but it immediately returned with two, and Art moaned when he felt them wiggle against his hole and sealed his mouth on Adriel's neck to give it a hard suck. He felt the vibrations of Adriel's moan in his mouth as the fingers wiggled their way until the tips slid inside, and then Adriel slowly pumped in deeper to the first knuckle while Art sucked and kissed his neck down to the shoulder where he bit down with a groan when he felt Adriel start to scissor his fingers since it felt more than nice, it felt good. Art could feel and hear Adriel panting with pleasure and Adriel's erection twitch against his hip and his own now-hard length, and Art pressed his groin up harder against Adriel so both of their erections were pressed together and began to slowly move up and down to provide friction while taking care not to force Adriel's fingers in deeper. Even with that care, Art sank down a little lower on Adriel's fingers each time until the first set of knuckles went in, and he bit down a little harder when he realized that Adriel was deliberately letting Art do that and they moaned at the same time. His second realization that Adriel seemed to like the bite came on the heels of the first, and he quickly untangled his fingers from the hair around the waterline to burrow his fingers into the hair at the nape and back of Adriel's head, then released the bite hold he had on the shoulder so he could pull Adriel's head back like how Adriel would do to him and bit down on his neck. Adriel moaned louder and bucked his hips up, and that plus getting to determine how deep the fingers could go made Art feel like he was in control even though he knew there was no way he could have pulled Adriel's head back if Adriel did not want that and that Adriel could take back control at any moment that he wanted to. Adriel wasn't was the point, though, and Art trusted him enough to not let him get hurt so he started pushing the fingers more deeply with every downward movement and felt the arm holding him slip down to hold his right hip like a safety measure. Art finally bottomed out on the two fingers and it had him feeling full at first as he wiggled his hips and bounced on it, but he quickly adjusted to the feeling so he licked the spot he had been biting a couple times while he lifted himself up and off of them. Art moaned with anticipation when he felt three at his hole and moved his licking and sucking to the other side of Adriel's neck, and he pushed his butt out and bit down on the top of Adriel's other shoulder when they started to wiggle at his hole since he somehow knew it would be different this time. Sure enough, the hand at his waist slid to his lower back and pressed down so their groins were tightly together, Adriel spread his knees even wider apart to provide more space between his legs and the empty area leading to Art's bum, and Art whimpered into the bite as he gripped Adriel's hair tighter when he felt a slight pinching/burning/being filled up feeling at his hole while the three fingers slowly started to ease their way in. Art realized that had this been anyone else, he would be terrified now, but it was Adriel so he relaxed against him and let Adriel have control as he was stuffed more and more full. He started moaning and couldn't keep his bite hold, so he let go of Adriel's shoulder and nuzzled and kissed the exposed throat, and Adriel started to slowly move his hips up so that they were both getting some friction. Art didn't pay attention to his own erection, though he did distantly pay attention to Adriel's erection since Adriel was still panting and 'mmm'ing and moaning. Most of his focus was what was happening with his butt and how slick and full he felt, and then Adriel touched a spot that had his vision white out for a split second then stayed there and kept rubbing. Moans tumbled out of his mouth and against Adriel's neck as did drool every time he sucked on a new spot to encourage Adriel to not stop. Soon, he worked his way up to Adriel's mouth, and he swallowed Adriel's next moan as he thrust his tongue inside and flavored it with his own moan of pleasure. He had already come three times that morning, so he didn't feel a need for another, but what Adriel was doing now felt so good that he didn't want it to stop so he kept trying to push his butt out for more while he fed Adriel he needy sounding moans. Adriel was the one that had to break off the kiss so he could breathe, and then he felt Adriel bite down on his shoulder with just the right amount of pressure to make him shove back with a cry. He immediately realized that his move pushed in a fourth finger because it burned and filled him up even more, but it just added more to everything rather than made him want to stop. Art didn't think he could feel more full than he already was, but that was until he realized that Adriel had only been a couple inches deep until he felt the larger knuckles on the hand hit his rim. Adriel was biting and sucking his neck and shoulders everywhere while he encouraged it with the hold he had on Adriel's hair, and he was still shoving himself back on Adriel's fingers to feel the fullness slide back and forth over that spot that Adriel had shown him. Art realized he was babbling then about how good everything was and how he needed more and for Adriel to please give him more while he started trying to work the knuckles in himself, and he didn't even care that he was babbling in between his cries because Adriel was also moaning and bucking up so Art could feel that beautiful erection rubbing against his lower belly while his own had moved off to the other side at some point and was now neglected. Adriel took control again when he pressed Art back up against him, and then the four fingers were spreading his insides and Art felt his whole body tighten up as he teetered on a precipice that led to something big. He put his trust in Adriel as he let himself fall, and he could feel Adriel's erection pulsating against his body as his own clamped down around Adriel's fingers and it felt like he was coming only it was so intense that he had to arch his back and scream to relieve some of the tension and pleasure. Adriel's mouth was then on his nipple, nipping and sucking on it hard, and while his body stopped spasming, he was still dancing on that edge of pleasure and the knuckles were starting to get past his rim. Art hung on to Adriel once again while he moaned up at the ceiling and let him play with his body. There was another wave of intense pleasure when the knucked finally popped in and were slowly worked in and out of his rim until something there finally gave so that there was no longer any strength to keep the knuckles out, and then Adriel started reaching even deeper while Art gave more encouraging cries that was almost coherent enough to sound like 'more!' His other nipple was attacked when the first started to feel too tender and his nails were digging into Adriel's scalp, and when Adriel got as deep as his fingers could go and he began scissoring them once more, Art spasmed and ejaculated with another scream while he yanked on Adriel's hair because it was too much now. Adriel pulled his head back off of his chest and started holding Art while making shushing sounds and rocking him until Art slumped up against Adriel with a groan. The fingers... and half of Adriel's palm was still in his bum, but since they weren't moving that was ok. He scrunched up his nose as he noticed the milky film of ejaculation in the water around them, but it was more reflexive because he couldn't even feel grossed out by it. He just felt exhausted and complete, and like he had just had a positive life changing experience that he never expected to have at the literal hand of another person. Then again, Adriel wasn't a person... He was a god. Ugh, a stupid god that was apparently right about how much Art enjoyed having something inside of him. At least Adriel never rubbed it in when he was right, or he had not rubbed it in so far, anyway. Art wasn't going to say anything out loud about it, though. He still couldn't quite come to terms with it even if he was beginning to admit to himself that maybe, just maybe, he might like men. However, he was so comfortable that he did not want to move, and he didn't want Adriel to move his hand out of him, either.
By the time Adriel carried an exhausted and sleeping Art from the bath, he had taken Art through another round of anal orgasms that he managed to extend out even longer because Art's penis had been fully spent and the balls too empty to ejaculate again. He precious sacrifice had managed to make him come twice as well, even if it was unintentional on both of their parts... Adriel had just wanted to be inside of Art so bad (and plant his seed inside, not that it would take right now) that he had released his essence while Art had been in the throes of his own pleasure. Art had babbled a lot, too. He had told Adriel he wanted him inside, not just his hand, and that he didn't care about his virginity and things like that. Adriel knew that it was babbling, though, and that Art was not even aware of what he was begging for so he didn't accept it. By the time Art passed out from exhaustion and pleasure in his arms, his butt had been so loose that Adriel could have started fisting him if he wanted to. That experience was far too much for Art, however, and probably would have scared him later on. Adriel had regretfully pulled his hand out at that point and massaged Art's butt cheeks while spreading the hole open and closed so the water could enter and heal things up. Once the pucker was almost all the way tightened, he had picked Art up, dried the both of them with a thought, and then carried Art into the living room and laid him out on the couch. He gave Art's lips a gentle kiss that had Art moan and lick them in his sleep, and then Adriel stretched before he called for two of the house elves who popped in and immediately bowed and did not look up at all. "Okay, it's time to furnish Art's bedroom properly," he said as he stroke into the bedroom and looked at all of the rickety furniture with distaste as he waved his hand to make the room's dimensions larger to suit his goals. "I want the bathroom doors to lead out onto a terrace that overlooks ancient Egypt, and change the doors into something more beautiful. I will handle the magic to make it look like it is overlooking Egypt - if Death were here, I could have it actually looking over it but I'll have to wait until he is summoned. Just resize it so that there can be several lounging furniture and a table with a proper sun blocking canopy over it. The regular room windows can overlook the countryside out here somewhere. Remember that he likes neutral colors like blue and grey, but make sure it is very elegant if simple in taste. Oh, and his bedding needs to be in the shade of beige he currently uses - that one is very very important. He will probably be cranky when he sees the changes so don't take it personally - he will be cranky at me and he won't truly dislike the new things. Tasteful, new paint, sanded and resealed floors, a nice rug, and a wall to wall closet on the opposite side of the bed which should be large enough for the both of us and then some." "Yes, Lord Creator sir!" the two elves cheerfully said as they exchanged excited glances with each other, and Adriel walked over to the closet, grabbed a white set of robes and pants, then gently touched the top of each elf's head with the tip of his fingers as a sign of affection and thanks as he walked back out to the living room and quietly closed the door behind him. He willed the pristine robes on to Art before he gave in to the temptation of touching his sleeping sacrifice, then he added the windows that were once in the room and enchanted them in a one way view so that Art could overlook an undisturbed waterfall on an uninhabited island in the Aegean sea, and he had the one in the dining area overlook the Acropolis from a distance above and added the ability for Art to be able to zoom the view in closer and around those ancient ruins. Finally, he walked into the kitchen, added one way windows over the sink, and had it overlooking a tropical Mayan ruin before he walked over to the stove and began to prepare to cook. A hearty Atlantean stew, an ancient sumerian beer bread, and a Greek salad sounded like just the thing that Art would need to recover.
Art woke up with a quiet moan and wondered why his throat was sore while the rest of his body felt so limp and relaxed. It was the least tense he had ever felt in his life, and even the constant underlying anxiety he felt about waking up to a new day was not surfacing like it usually did. Had he recovered from a bad flu and was waking up from a fever dream? And what smelled so delicious? He didn't want to crack open his eyes since he thought that he might hate what he was waking up to and he felt so good if he didn't think about his throat, but he did and he wasn't too sure where he was. The room looked nice and... Oh, that was his red floral armchair in front of a window that... showed a waterfall? Memories of waking a god, being chained to him, cooking for him, being imprisoned by him, and then... Oh, that might be why his throat was sore. Art gave a brief and small smile as he also remembered that Adriel loved him and wanted him, and how good he had made him feel to make up for the past few days of inattention and neglect. Of course, he did not get a proper reason for why Adriel had practically ignored him for days, only the feeling that Adriel had not wanted to since he had said it had been so hard to keep his hands off of him. And to prove it right, it only took a tiny bit of encouragement for Adriel to be all over him, have Art in his mouth, and then drive Art crazy enough to kiss and bite and touch him back. Art gently touched his chest as he remembered his nipples being on the painful side of sensitive and was relieved that they felt fine, and a slight shifting of his hips told him that his insides still felt a little slick and maybe loose, but there was no pain there. He recalled Adriel mentioning that the pool was a healing one, but he craned his neck towards his room door when he heard a sound from that direction. "Beloved, you are awake," Adriel said, and Art turned the other way to see Adriel walking in from the kitchen with bowls and plates coming out of it and setting themselves on the table. He forgot the quiet shuffling he had heard in his room when Adriel pulled him up into a sitting position, then leaned in to give him kisses while he slipped his hands into Art's open robed to touch and rub Art's sides. Art hummed into the kiss, amazed that he still felt so relaxed and comfortable, and then Adriel pulled back and started to lift him up into a standing position. "I have you, precious, just get your feet under you. You might feel a little wobbly - I am so sorry I pushed and tempted so much earlier. Mmm, you are so beautiful like this with your big and beautiful eyes and innocent look despite what I did..." Adriel leaned forward and gave him another kiss on the lips, though it was a more chaste one, and Art grabbed Adriel's upper arms since his legs were indeed still a little shaky and he still had an urge in his belly to rub up against Adriel. "No, no, you need to eat first, and then I need to take you up to the temple to meet your potential tutor since it is a little bit past lunchtime and you missed breakfast." Art blushed harder when his stomach growled at that point, and Adriel smiled at him before helping him to the table. Art noticed that the window there looked out over the Acropolis, and his jaw dropped as Adriel helped him sit on the chair that had the best view of it. He wanted to get closer to see details, and then the window slowly moved in, but Adriel tapped his nose with a finger, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then he put a spoon in his hand and Art noticed the bowl of stew and freshly baked and buttered bread slices next to it and he started digging in because he was absolutely famished. "Atlantean stew from the lost city of Atlantis, though the people called it a different name that should remain lost to time," Adriel explained as he took his own seat, making Art look up with wide eyed disbelief. "They worshipped the great sea god and earth mother - my second sibling and I - and they respected the third as the sky god. Our last unaging child moved there - she was one of the humans created before Death gave his gift to the generations of humans after - but after a couple millennium she sought to overthrow us because she angry about the people she loved dying and had grown bitter and hateful in her grief. Some of her own children fought her and summoned us for help, and we were forced to put her and her followers out of their misery as humans now say since she could not let go which is part of what is needed to live for eternity. Her name was Lilith." Art had stopped eating as he listened to the tale given in a bittersweet tone, bittersweet because Adriel trying to hide how sad it still made him behind a gentle smile as he pointed at Art's bowl. "Eat up, my jewel," Adriel said, and Art grabbed a piece of bread to nibble on it and was surprised at the taste since it reminded him a bit of soda bread. "Don't worry, it was a long time ago and only really sad thing about it was that it took humans another many thousand years before they could rebuild enough to have a second attempt at building a greater civilization beyond farming and mud, stone, and clay houses. Anyway, as I was going to say before I side tracked myself, the stew was usually made from seafood, though the very poor made it using sea birds since they did not have the means to fish or buy fish while seabirds only require a good aim in the mornings as the catch it being brought in and cleaned. This one is made with chicken since you are unfamiliar with seafood. The bread is an ancient egyptian beer bread - called such because it was made with the yeast at the bottom of a beer keg after fermentation which gave it a rich, savory, and fizzy kind of taste, and the salad is something that any regular Greek person modern or ancient would have eaten with the olive oil and vinegar mix in it. Yes, I cooked all of this myself just for you, precious." Art had glanced down at the salad that he had not noticed until Adriel pointed it out, and then he blushed when he was told it was for him and still felt too shy to talk after what they had done together. Rather than curse Adriel for being able to know what was on his mind like he normally did, he was glad that Adriel knew since he could not find his voice, so he turned his eyes back to the stew and started eating it with the bread and wondered about the window. "It shows the Acropolis in current time," Adriel replied, and Art could hear the fond smile in his voice. "Nobody can see in since it is more like a set scrying mirror, and it is the same with the Aegean island waterfall in the living room and the Mayan city ruins in the kitchen though only the Acropolis one can be manipulated and moved around so you can see wherever you want on top of the plateau. I know that being without sunlight or any outside exposure has been making you feel boxed in, and I'm very sorry for that, beloved. I had a lot of things to do to finish setting up the temple including making an underground labyrinth deep within the bedrock and below the underground rivers but above the reservoir so it wasn't just pushing away the silly little king's attempt to try to stop my worship. His parliament and the people are now growing angry at the king's military actions within London itself since the bath is proving its ability to heal even the lepers, and I've had to stop a few covert assassination attempts of my two priests a few times from the wizarding side of things. Not the actions of the ministry, but apparently the Unspeakables have broken up into factions, and it's the one against 'ancient dark and evil powers' that are the ones trying to figure out how to stop the new era I want to bring in. Had they left you alone from the start, I would not have started my plans since you would have kept me occupied and distracted for a few years at least." Art was still blushing a bit by the end of Adriel's chatter, and he had peeked up a few times while Adriel had talked to sneak in little glances to admire how nice Adriel looked. At some point while he had slept, Adriel had dressed himself up, and Art realized that Adriel had probably dressed him as well. He looked down at himself to see what he was wearing, frowned when the motion made some of the stew on the spoon he was about to eat splatter down into his lap, then blush again and peek up at Adriel when it disappeared and Adriel quietly chuckled at the brief upset he had caused himself. They both settled in to quietly eat their meal together, and even though Adriel looked relaxed and content, the butterflies in Art's stomach got stronger until he finally pushed away his half eaten food and started to nibble on a slice of bread while he sipped the juice (he sniffed and made sure it really was juice this time) Adriel had also served him. Adriel finally finished his food as Art finished nibbling on his bread, and then Art was being helped up and his open robes were being tied shut before a jewel encrusted gold belt appeared in Adriel's hand and was wrapped around his waist. Oh god, oh god, was it a gold marriage belt that some higher nobility used until the past century or so? Oh... Noooooo, it was worse! There was a Herakles knot studded with either garnets, glass, or rubies and a few rows of triangles filled with emeralds and he was wearing and ancient Greek gold belt and what if he broke it or lost it and why would anyone put something so important on him and- "Because you are important, beloved," Adriel said. Art looked up with surprise, and then his mouth was covered in a kiss with tongues that helped abate his panic only a little bit but his hands were still flapping because he thought it was a really really bad idea that he wore it with his clumsiness. "Nonsense - if it breaks, then I will fix it, and even if you lose it, I can just make it return to me like I just did since it was dedicated to me. Now, come along. It is time to meet your Cambridge tutor, yes, in what you are wearing, and oh, you do need shoes, don't you." A pair of soft silk slippers with leather soles appeared on Art's feet, and Art frowned up at Adriel as he suddenly remembered why he was always so irritated with the stupid god. He didn't want to meet anyone dressed like this! Only Adriel took his hand and then Art found himself in a large room with large doors that led out into the sunlight (outside the temple! Freedom!) and Alexander tending coals to the side and pouring in herbs which explained the incense smell (Adriel apparently got his incense altar after all) and sitting on one of the many comfortable looking pillows on the floor was Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge... Art started hyperventilating because that man had been knighted earlier that year for his study in Egyptology, technically worked for the British Museum but was so good that it was more accurate to say that he was associated with the British Museum because the board approved just about anything he requested, was so busy with events and digs that he was rarely seen outside of events unless he was had something to take care of real quick at the museum or he was giving guest lectures at Cambridge where he had graduated in five years studying semitic languages... He had been learning cuneiform and Egyptology since the age of five at the museum itself, though, and he had been sponsored by two other historians from the museum to go to university! And yes, he was a muggle, but Art had followed his career and even read the book that had just been published also this year that was his autobiography about his travels in Egypt and the Mesopotamian region on behalf of the British museum and there were very few other people that Art would not want to be standing in front of like how he was dressed so he twirled himself behind Adriel before Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge could look up from the scroll he was currently reading! "Ernest, I have brought the person I wish you to tutor, however it seems like he knows of you and has gotten shy and is now hiding behind me," Adriel said, and Art grabbed two fistfuls of Adriel's hair and gave it a good yank as he mentally screamed at Adriel for daring to tell anyone he was being shy because he wasn't being shy and the stupid god didn't even budge or indicate that he could feel Art's yanking! "Ah, I mean is is embarrassed by his attire even though I dressed him in something appropriate for an acolyte..." Adriel then had the nerve to reach behind him and drag Art out, and he was forced to let go of Adriel's hair before he embarrassed himself more! He kept his face down and hoped that his no doubt furious blushing was not noticed, and he heard the older bespectacled man make a quiet grunt as he rose up because he was of pretty hefty weight and sitting on the floor would be difficult for most muggle men in their sixties. "Hmm, he looks a little familiar..." the man said, and Art hoped he did not remember him hovering and peeking any time the Ancient Egyptian cases were being changed out. "Ah, yes... The archivist trainee! Quite a job change to go from that to a temple acolyte. Your name... I recall it had something to do with Greece? Do you have Greek heritage? You must, since that lovely belt is from the sixth century BC." "His name is Artemio," Adriel replied for him since there was no way that Art was going to try to speak since he knew he would stutter or his voice would crack or he would squeak or something. "You are something of a hero to him - he loves Egypt and has admired your work for the Museum. The belt is also mine like the hymnal scroll is, but I do give my favored ones gifts or blessings. Go on, Artemio, say hello." Art just wanted to disappear since Adriel had put him in the spotlight, but he took a deep breath to brace himself. "Hello," he said in a quiet tone as he peeked up, then immediately looked back down when he saw that Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was looking right back at him. "Thank you for agreeing to give me lessons." "Mmm, well, I have to say that I can see why the British Museum wanted me here so urgently," the historian said with a quiet chuckle. "Not necessarily to give lessons, but this place is quite unusual - I would have said impossible before until I saw it with my own eyes, really - for a giant structure of many ancient influences to suddenly crop up in the middle of London along with a miraculous pool that heals all kinds of ailments. I don't think they expected me to make a decision to stay here for a year or two, but as long as my wife can come along I do not mind moving in and learning from your priests while I teach one of your acolytes about ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and archeology. You said he is going to be in charge of your sacred library?" "He will be, yes," Adriel replied, and Art really wanted to disappear when he felt Adriel card his fingers through his hair. "I may also be taking him as consort to begin my pantheon, so please treat him with respect and care. He is very gentle and innocent, though he does have a temper when it comes to his books and such, and he has many hidden talents that are still buried and waiting to be brought to light." "Sounds like a talented young man," Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge said in a diplomatic tone, though Art's stomach kind of sank since he suspected that Adriel talking about consort might have put off the historian since being gay was so taboo. He dared not peek up because he was terrified that he would see distaste in the eyes behind the glasses. "It also lines up since several ancient religions had male gods married to each other, though I am surprised to hear you say that out loud here in England where the penalty for such things is quite harsh." "I am neither male nor female," Adriel said with a haughty sniff that gave Art a tiny bit of hope that he desperately held on to. "I can also be both if I so wish. I have already said that I am creation and evolution, Ernest, so you must put aside those mortal ideals." To Art's surprise, he saw the old man bow since it was low enough for him to catch even though he was staring at the floor. "I beg pardon if I have cause offense," the man said, and the back of Art's robes was grabbed when he started to take a step forward because he didn't think such a distinguished man should have to bow like that. "I have traveled wide, and such things were common in places I visited in my journeys so I have personally shed that kind of prejudice even if most Englishmen would not see it that way. I would never dare to offend an ancient and immortal being by presuming I could pass any type of judgement on them. Please forgive me." Art wondered what the heck had happened the past few days for Adriel to get spoken to like this even by a muggle. Surely it couldn't just be the healing pool, right? Though... He had heard that the man's wife was sick and dying. "I understand you only misspoke, however, as I said, Artemio is very delicate and takes such things very seriously which is why he has pushed away my advances despite my attempts to bring him to my side," Adriel said, sounding solemn at first but a bit resigned at the very end. Art peeked back, and saw that Adriel was looking at him with a fond smile, so he finally relaxed and looked forward properly as the old man finished straightening himself up. "Bring your wife, and Priest Titus will assist you with your items as well. She will be cured, and I will guarantee another ten years of healthy life as long as my acolyte is well treated and taught. Artemio will also provide you with limited access to the library once he has set it up so that you may study resources you will not find elsewhere for your next book much like the scroll I provided to you while I had collected him." Art was mortified to hear that Adriel had Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge waiting up here the whole time he was doing things to Art and then Art fell asleep and then had lunch and he turned and glared up at Adriel with a scowl that immediately dissipated when he heard the historian chuckle behind him. "Ah, I see... Artemio has enough spunk to try to glare down a god even though he is soft spoken," Art heard the old man say, and he immediately tried to make himself small so that maybe his red face would not be noticed. "Don't worry, lad, I was very careful with your scroll and acknowledge it as a genuine thing even though is it just as impossible as this pyramid or even your own belt is. Despite the Herakles Knot now being thought of as a marriage and fertility symbol of Greece and Rome, it actually originated in Ancient Egypt and symbolized health and protection. Yours is an older Ancient Greek one, and the triangles means a balance with body, mind, and spirit, and that they are isosceles triangles means that it was a dedication to Poseidon while the emeralds mean love and the ruby could be war, strength, passion, or even just nobility since the ruby was a highly valued stone. I'm not too certain about it since Ancient Greece is not my specialty unlike your high priest over there, but I think I have it right?" Art was very relieved that the historian thought he was angry over the idea of a scroll... Wait, an ancient scroll he had not got to read first?! He looked at Adriel with hurt betrayal, and Adriel just smiled at him and patted the top of his head. "Rubies on the knot dedicated it to Ares while the triangles of Poseidon and the emeralds signified that it was for battle on the seas," Adriel explained, and Art looked down at his belt to study it better without daring to touch it. "It was for the Battle of Sybota where Corinthia had to fight off Corcyra and Athens for several reasons, and that was the battle that was the final catalyst for the Peloponnesian War, however all of them fought a sea battle using land methods because none of them wanted to risk their ships, so Ares deemed all of them unworthy of victory and the battle ended in a stalemate even though Corinth managed to destroy most of the other side's ships and killed off a lot of the soldiers. Corinth was unable to take the northern seas for trade routes like it wanted as punishment even though they had the larger fleet. Corcyraeans ended up destroying a good portion their fleet in the next battle, and both regions ended up locked in a bloody war that engulfed most of Greece as city states took sides, democracy was still being fought about, and aristocrats kept trying to take back their power." Art pursed his lips as wondered what side donated the belt. "Ah, and it was the Corinthians that donated the belt - the Athenians made a donation to Poseidon which upset Athena since she was the patron Goddess of warfare as well as wisdom and he had been her main rival over the city. And Poseidon was also angry that they fought with land techniques using hoplite soldiers and boarding actions rather than a proper navy battle that should have including ramming and maneuvering tactics. Well, no, Athens hovered on the fringes of the battle and only provided support and aide, but yes, the battle very much angered three major gods." Art wondered who Adriel was portraying at that time and only got a small smirk. "Fascinating perspective to ancient history," the historian said, and Art had the feeling that the man had been as engaged in Adriel's explanation as he had been because he had nearly forgotten that Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was there. "I still cannot believe the ancient gods are actually real even though I know one stands in front of me. Ah, no, I do believe you, I just mean that my world has been turned upside down in the past two days as I've seen impossible feats continually be performed. If my King calls me, I am no longer sure whose commands I would follow since surely a divine being's word is greater than that of a king!" Art couldn't believe he just heard someone who was just knighted earlier in the year declare their wavering loyalty of their own king, and Art wondered again just exactly what all he had missed. Adriel gently tugged him back, a move he went along with since he was feeling that flipped world feeling again just like his 'new tutor' apparently was also feeling, and felt a little bit lost as Adriel held him against his side and chuckled. "Artemio has also been feeling the same way, though my priests have accepted and are fully committed and loyal to me," Adriel said. "Not that Artemio is disloyal at all, but he is still trying to figure out the new world view. He has been adjusting pretty well, but he still gets caught off guard since it has been a little under a week for him." "Ah, yes, I imagine that being courted by a god is very bewildering for a young archivist apprentice," Sir Ernest said as he adjusted his glasses and peered at Art who gave a small nod of agreement that was returned with a gentle smile that made Art feel relieved since it let him know that the man did not automatically dislike him like most people did. "I will say you look a lot happier than the times I caught glimpses of you this past year, though." He did? "There is a glow of content around you and your eyes are not guarded like before. I always did wonder why you did not enter the Egyptian displays when new things were being moved in despite your obvious interest. My field needs more passionate and curious young men like you, though your new calling is far more important I am sure." Art vehemently shook his head no. "I'm still going to be an archeologist," he declared, and glanced up at Adriel as though daring him to contradict that statement but Adriel just smiled back at him in a way that made him blush and look away. "I will," he said in a quieter grumble, and then blushed harder when Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge started to quietly chuckle. "I will be very glad to help you achieve that goal, then," the old man said, and Art leaned into Adriel as he peeked over at the historian and realized he had not been laughed at because Sir Ernest was still smiling at Art kindly. "Just keep dreaming big like that and work hard, and I am sure you will go far."
Titus had very good timing when he came in to escort the old man out, and Adriel had whisked Art deeper into the temple because he could feel that Art was struggling to stay focused with how overwhelmed he was. Adriel knew the man was of Cambridge and was sent by the same museum Art had worked at, but he had not known how much Art had looked up to the man as an idol. He himself had liked the man because he was so well versed with both Egypt and Mesopotamia, but as far as he could tell being knighted was just something that was an honor not even reserved for warriors and valor any longer so he had not thought he would be that impressive to Art. Adriel had Art sitting on a cushion at a table in one of the interior visitor rooms and sipping some juice when he mentally summoned Alexander to come, and the man came in and bowed a minute later. "My god?" he asked. "You will be giving Artemio his Ancient Greek lessons, of course, though those will need to wait until we have more people to care for the temple besides you and Titus," Adriel said. "My sacrifice's head is feeling all fuzzy and cold juice isn't helping him. He's feeling very confused and overwhelmed because I might have given him a little more than he could chew - I did not know that that man was so important to him. He has gone through a large range of emotions and I think he is in a little bit of shock, but I'm not used to being the one to handle such things. How do I fix him?" Adriel could tell that Alexander was not immediately replying because he was trying not to laugh at that question, and he pouted for a brief second but wiped off the expression when his priest stood up to reply with a straight face. "What you are doing now is fine, my lord," he replied. "He just needs a little bit of time, but you can also hold him and it might help him feel more grounded. It should not take longer than half an hour for him to come out of it." Adriel nodded as he gave Art a worried look. "Thank you," he said. "I'm used to seeing worshippers act that way when they see me as a god, but they had family members helping them or the priests would help guide them out if they were this stunned. Likewise, it has happened to some sacrifices when I would be summoned, but they were also trained to the point where they could follow proper rituals even in their sleep so they still acted until they recovered on their own or someone else could come in to tend to them. The only coherent thought I can catch from him here and there is ' Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge believes I can go far!' and he hasn't responded to anything I've said except to drink the juice once I set him down!" Alexander couldn't hold back a snicker, but he clapped his hands over his mouth and hung his head while his shoulders shook with silent mirth. Adriel blew out a sigh of exasperation, but there was relief in there since he understood that his worrying was apparently over nothing serious and that he did not break Art after all. He had thought it might have had more to do about the sexual things he had done to Art, but he couldn't talk about that at all or Art would be very angry if he found out since he was already so touchy about the subject. As it was, Art would probably be giving him an earful about mentioning 'consort' once they were alone together in a place that Art didn't have to worry about being overheard. Art was definitely the most complicated sacrifice he had ever had! "Oh, fine then, you are dismissed back to the temple proper. Go on and laugh out there, you disrespectful priest." Alexander managed a low and respectful bow before he turned and fled, but Adriel still heard the echoes of laughter since they had burst out before the priest could get to the temple area. Adriel turned back to Art all the way and made the pillow his sacrifice was sitting on larger without disturbing him, and then he sat down behind Art and draped himself on Art's back while his arms went around his young love to hold him around his stomach. "I wanted to take you to one of the forgotten stone circles further up north to kiss and play with you until your robes were dark with mud and you were sated and happy again, but you are so delicate," Adriel sighed as he started nuzzling and sniffing the back of Art's neck. "Mmmm, but now you smell a little like me and faintly of sex, so holding you is nice. I made all these plans to go out with you today to surprise you this afternoon, but you don't seem to like surprises too much so I'll tell you what I have done for you this time while you are aware enough to listen but too stuck in your head to reply. You know how I made scrying windows in your rooms? Well, your bedroom will have a balcony that will overlook various time periods of ancient Egypt as I remember it - even the building of the Sphinx which supersedes the pyramids, King Khafre, and ancient Egypt as you know it by a long, long time. You see, the Sphinx was not initially a sphinx, it was...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2023 4:39:37 GMT
The Barbarian and the Bookwyrm Part One Adriel Chee ran through dense jungles, his footing sure despite the blurriness of his vision from exhaustion and the pain from the many wounds that littered his body. He could hear the sounds of his pursuers calling out in bird shrieks and other sounds of the local fauna. They were a local tribe of Central American natives known to be highly aggressive and territorial, and Adriel had skirted their borders since he was aware of them, but the hunting party that had found him had been outside that line and chased him in despite his attempts to evade and get away. It had been a game of cat and mouse for two days since he dared not use apparition to escape since their curses were a sure death sentence. The tribesmen knew they could not use magic on non-magicals except out of self defense, so the only thing saving him from the spells of their shamans was that they thought him non-magical and good fun to properly hunt. They had managed to keep on Adriel's tail even though he tried every trick he knew to make tracking him difficult, and they had caught up to him an hour ago... Or rather, three of their more eager members had. Adriel hated killing young men on what was most likely a warrior initiation rite, but it was them or him and he managed to win while fighting a running battle before the rest caught up. Individually, the injuries he had sustained would not have been a problem, but there were almost a dozen all over his body and he could not stop to wrap any of the wounds. Worse, the need to stay on the move while going over, under, or around rough terrain meant that they kept tearing themselves open after they closed up on their own so he was starting to get dizzy from bloodless. Now the whole group was practically on his heels - he had managed to stay just far ahead that he was out of sight, but with the blood trail he was leaving in his wake, he knew that they would probably be on him in the next ten or so minutes. Thwip.Or less... The dart from a blowgun aimed at him had come so close that he heard the sound of it passing by his ear. Adriel's eyes darted around looking for anything that could help him get away when he saw what looked like a giant cave opening halfway up a cliff to his right. Growing up in the canyons meant he knew how to scale anything short of a sheer cliff, and there was enough greenery most of the way up to it that would provide cover. He silently prayed to Coyote and the Spiderwoman as he started up the steep slope for a defensible position within the cave that would give him enough cover to bandage up and down a quick blood replenishing potion while keeping them back with a bow. If he killed enough, they would retreat for more warriors, and he could try to sneak out at that point. Adriel was almost up to the yawning gap when he felt a sharp pain on his right thigh. A glance showed there was a short javelin that had no doubt been thrown by the young man at the base of the cliff embedded in his leg, so he hung on a rock from his left hand, pulled the javelin out, and returned it back to its owner as the stupid boy started to scale up to follow him. Aided by Adriel's superior position of height, the javelin flew true, and the boy screamed out with pain as it went through the top of his shoulder and came out of his side. Adriel grimaced since it would be an agonizingly slow death - he had hoped to pierce a major organ - but he focused on resuming his climb which was made more difficult since his right leg would no longer support him. A couple arrows shattered on rocks around him just as he got over the lip of the cave entrance, and he groaned as he pulled himself up and rolled in to avoid the next volley of arrows. A quick glance showed that it was indeed a cave, but the opening was large and there was very little cover. He was thinking about going deeper inside the cave despite not having any light on him when his vision went double and then triple. Adriel's last thought was a silent curse when he realized that the javelin he had been hit with had probably had poison coating it. Well... Four warriors for the price of one that took two days... Adriel didn't think he did too bad. **************************************** Artemio was very very annoyed at whoever it was that was interrupting his reading at the entrance of his home. He had gotten to a good part in his book - Isis had found all of the pieces of her beloved husband Osiris and was piecing him back together - and now there were annoying screams and the sounds of battle echoing inside of his cave. He was going to ignore it initially, but they sounded like they were getting closer, and he was not having any of the local humans in his cave with his precious books! They were savages, and they would use them as kindling if they got their filthy little hands on them. He stomped to the entrance of his cave just as he saw some tribesman scramble up unto his cave. They couldn't see him - he was in the shadows and they were blind by daylight - but that didn't seem to matter since they jabbered with excitement before one started to lift up a spear. They were no doubt here to fight the dragon as some kind of warrior ritual or something, and Art was having none of that. He spit out a fireball at the one with the spear, the man screamed in pain as he stumbled back, and then the man fell out of his cave to plummet to what was likely his dead. The other three screamed as they backed away, and Art roared as he started to charge forward. They started to backtrack as they stared with terror filled eyes, and when Art felt the warmed of the sun on his beige colored scales, he knew the men could definitely see him now. One immediately turned to jump out and risk dying from a fall than by dragon, but the other two were apparently paralyzed with fear since he could smell urine and... Ew, had one of them shit themselves? They weren't moving, though, and Art was very annoyed since he wanted them out. Art did not like killing, and the only reason the first one had been torched was because he had raised a spear to attack Art first. He bared his fangs at the two terrified men and gave a low growl, and that seemed to be enough since they snapped out of their stupor and followed the last one's lead by throwing themselves out of his cave with screams. Art heard a few more jabbering on the side of the cliff, so he roared while blowing out flames for good measure to make sure no more would come in, and it seemed to work since the ones outside his cave also screamed in terror before there were orders that were obviously along the lines of 'RUN AWAY!' since that was the usual and natural response to a dragon. However, the flames from his mouth also showed him that there was another person on the floor of his cave, so he moved closer with the intention of also batting it out of his cave since he didn't want the humans trying to come back to retrieve their dead clansman. Only... The person on the ground was obviously not one of the savage tribesman. Despite the obvious wounds and dirt off over the human's body, Art could see how pretty the human was and how their clothing was not made of leather and feathers. No, this human had very long black hair, was wearing a dark green shirt and black pants - both of which were also ripped and bloody in many areas that just made the person look that much more pretty because they looked vulnerable - and they smelled very strongly of poison. Art wasn't sure if they were male or female, though. Art would have flushed with embarrassment if he could when he realized that the spear he had thought was meant to be raised at him was probably intended for this human. He figured the human was probably dead anyway since he knew the local tribesmen were very efficient and deadly which is why he had moved in a month ago - humans and wizards rarely came here and the local tribe lived on the other side of this craggy hill which meant he was supposed to be isolated. He reached out to pick up the human to also chuck it out, only it groaned when his claws brushed against it and he jerked his hand back with a snort of surprise. Oh! It was alive! Art reached out, only it was so he could roll the human onto its back to get a better look, and he hissed since he could see how many wounds was all over it. And even with all of those wounds, it was still pretty! Well, all the other intelligent dragons might make fun of him for his hoard being made of books, but he was still a dragon that collected treasures. His was just usually books. And comfortable things he could lay on to read said books. And crystal chandeliers and such so he would have good lighting to read said books. Gold statues to use as bookends to frame his books. And ancient artifacts, also, but that was only because he really loved history books. Or very ancient and rare books that could not be found anywhere except in his collection. His collection could do with a pretty human to polish and dust his library. All he had to do was make sure that the human didn't escape and tell other humans about him.
Adriel burned and hurt for what felt like eternity. He thought for sure that the Christian hell the missionary people liked to tell him about as a kid was real, only there was an angel that he would catch glimpses of that helped cool him down or quench his throat with delicious water. His angel looked so sweet and blushed when he called him angel or beautiful, but those respites were very brief and then he would go back to burning and pain. Adriel wasn't too sure how long he was stuck in that state, but eventually the torment lessened and he gained enough lucidity to realize he had been fighting a fever brought on by infections from the numerous wounds he had sustained and had no idea why he was still alive. The last thing he recalled was that he had been poisoned by a javelin, but now he was in a genuine bed in a dark room and... He was tied to the bed? He tested his hands and feet to affirm that yes, he was tied to the bed, and he was also naked under the covers on top of him. In a very dark room. He started to more seriously test his ties since he had no idea who saved him or where he was, except that he remembered there had been a young hispanic looking man with pale skin meaning of higher status, but he wasn't sure if that had been a fever dream or not. "Settle down, I'm trying to sleep," Adriel heard, only it sounded cranky, tired, and most of all, huge by the sound of exasperation it gave. "Stupid human, better be worth all this trouble. Maybe I should get rid of him... But he's so pretty..." Adriel realized that whoever it was holding him captive thought he had been thrashing around in his sleep, and while he still felt weak and hot, the worst of his fever was broken. However his fever had probably been severe enough that he had probably thrashed around a lot, so they did not realize he was awake yet. Adriel sighed in his head as he wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into this time even as he debated about saying anything or trying to feign sleep until whatever it was fell asleep so he could get out of these binds and then sneak away. Or, well... That had been his plan, anyway. Adriel succumbed to his exhaustion as he listened to the mumbles of his captor wondering out loud if he was going to be kept or not. The only thing Adriel knew was that his captor/savior was not human and probably didn't intent to eat him? Or, well, that was the logical thing since there was no point in healing someone they were planning to eat. ************************ Adriel slowly woke up as he felt a cool and wet towel cleaning the right side of his neck, and he faced left to give that wonderful coolness and soft fabric more space to work with a moan of appreciation since it felt nice. However, he heard a quiet eep as whoever it was that was wiping him jerked their hand back out of fear, so Adriel forced his heavy eyes open and saw the latino angel from his fever dreams looking at him with wide eyes. "Huh, angels are real after all," Adriel rasped out, then grimaced at how sore his throat felt and gave the man who looked poised to run while a blush spread across his pale cheeks a pleading look. "Water? Agua?" The man thankfully didn't run, and Adriel was going to use his hands next to offer a universal tribal sign of peace only to realize his wrists were bound. He groaned as he craned his neck to look since the movement started a throbbing headache, and he sighed as he noted thick fur lined cuffs on his wrists, and a glance around showed that he was in a... well lit and furnished cave? Temple cave? He was fairly sure that the 'fireplace' keeping the subterranean cavern warm was probably an artifact from the crusade period. And the chandelier above him was from the French revolution? His bed was definitely dark or middle age European of some type... And then the large openings lead out to more caverns that he could not see very well. Adriel didn't bother with trying to figure out what the other stuff in the room he could see was, but they were definitely gold, old, and unusual. Except for the ivory statue of what looked to be a Chinese guardian lion on top of the dresser. Oh... more glimmers of gold in the darker areas of the cave, too. He focused on the hispanic (?) looking man since his surroundings were too bewildering to try to comprehend with the headache he had going on. "The... dragon... put you in the shiny room?" the man offered in a quiet and timid voice. Oh, and he was speaking in English... which was good since Adriel could speak in Spanish, but he wasn't fluent. Just enough to get by for average daily things. Except... the words the man didn't make sense. The order of them did, of course, but dragons were beasts that didn't collect shiny things - that was a non-magical fairy tale type of myth. "I'll go get some water!" "Wait!" Adriel rasped out as he tried to grab for the hispanic person, but he forgot about the cuffs and the man ran out of the room. Since he was alone, he took a moment to figure out where he was, except he only remembered stumbling into a cave, waking up in pitch blackness at one point to hearing something large muttering about keeping him... And he guessed he was being kept now since he was cuffed to the bed? And the person who was probably not hispanic and might instead be from the mediterranean or European region had left a wet towel on his neck and had probably been tending to him. A servant, maybe? Or a healer? He was feeling a lot better though he did want a bath really badly at this point. Maybe he could ask the shy and awkward person for one and try to press for details as to where he was. If the man came back, anyway. A few minutes after he had left and while Adriel was going over options on how to get information or escape, the man came back only it was with an ancient Egyptian alabaster chalice that depicted the Ogdoad god Heh, and it was filled to the brim with water while the man's hands were wet. Adriel had seen another chalice similar to that one and figured it was a replica at first glance, only he leaned back as the cup came near him because he realized that it may not be fake. "Is that a genuine an-," was about as far as Adriel got before his dry throat violently contracted and had him in a painful coughing fit. Up until this point, the other man had not wanted to touch him since he had woken up, but Adriel felt a surprisingly strong arm slide under his bandage wrapped torso and partially pull him up into a sitting position before the chalice was at his lips and he was given slow and careful sips in between coughing fits. The wet towel that had been left at his neck fell onto the bed behind him, and he got his throat under control after a couple minutes as finally got a better drink of what tasted like cool and clean natural spring water before he paused to catch his breath. "Ogdoad Heh?" he gasped out as he tried to get a better look at the prayer glyphs around the rim. "Oh, you know this and can read it?" the man asked in an excited tone, and when Adriel gave a small nod, he was fed more water from the chalice while the man started to babble. "It's great, isn't it? Beautiful piece of art and it was found at an auction two hundred years ago! Er... The dragon saved it, he loves history, just like he saved a lot of other historical artifacts before they were destroyed, looted, or melted down! And so many books! Do you like books? You will be allowed to read them if you know how to handle ancient texts properly. You should feel honored since he never lets anyone handle ancient books, but you can read the chalice! Are you a historian? I noticed you spoke Spanish! Can you speak any other languages like Latin or ancient Greek? The dragon knows several ancient tongues, even Ancient Egyptian, and he would love to talk in them I am sure since he rarely ever gets intelligent conversation!" Adriel wondered why this person kept speaking about a dragon like it was intelligent as he finally got a chance to read the glyphs and noted that it was a prayer cup for eternal life. He had checked it for magic during the second sip, fearful that it might be cursed after hearing that it was genuine, but whatever magic was once on it was exceptionally faint meaning that it had been broken many decades ago. "Latin, but I read all cuneiform, runes, and glyphs," Adriel quietly said in a hoarse voice just barely above a whisper so he didn't set off another coughing fit. "Speak at least the basic of most modern languages and several tribal tongues around the world. Where am I? I remember falling into a cave with the local tribe on my heels, but I passed out from poison or blood loss." "Oh, the dragon chased off the tribe," the man said, and Adriel wondered what exactly fooled this person into making him believe it was a dragon. Maybe a witch follower of Agadzagadza, even though that was further south in Nigeria? Or a Native priest of Quetzalcoatl? "They won't come back. Three of them chose to jump off the mountain to their death after the fourth was uhm... accidentally set on fire when it was about to kill you with a spear?" Adriel wondered how someone could be accidentally set on fire. "Are you a follower of Quetzalcoatl?" he asked, since that was the only 'intelligent central american dragon' he could think of. The Amyru was further south in the Andes mountain as far as intelligent dragons went, but Quetzalcoatl was more a winged snake that could take the form of a man than he was a dragon. "Or the Quetzalcoatl priest?" Which would explain this weird gold temple setting as well. "What is your name?" "Oh... Uhm... I'm... Jose?" the man said in an uncertain tone, then started feeding Adriel more water. "And the dragon's name is Artemio, not Quetzalcoatl. He likes the ancient Greek gods more than the Mayan or Aztec ones despite living here. He hired me to heal you? It isn't like a dragon can bandage you, right?" Adriel finished the last of the water as Jose gave a nervous laugh and warily eyed the man since he was very very obviously hiding something. This man was so bad at subterfuge that he could easily lose an entire stash of poker chips to a five year old playing Go Fish with them. His name was obviously a false name while the 'dragon's' name had been honest along with the 'dragon' liking Greek gods over the local ones. He also figured the 'dragon' had healed him, but this man was ordered to take the credit for some reason. Probably magical reasons. This person was probably non-magical and the 'dragon' was a wizard or magical creature that was controlling, coercing, enslaved, tricked, or manipulated this poor man into servitude. Most likely one of the latter two since there was no fear when Jose talked about the dragon. "Jose... Dragons are not real," Adriel said in the most gentle tone that he could. "The myth is based around dinosaur bones that have been found. Where are you from? You are far too well spoken and appear too upper class for this region." 'Jose' blushed at the compliment and gently lowered Adriel before he started to fidget with the cup. 'Er... Well...," the man hesitantly said in a nervous tone that people often used when they were debating on what to say. Which meant the next part would probably be another mix of lies and half truths. "You probably don't know but... There is a whole magical side of the world that is hidden." Adriel was surprised to hear the wizarding world so easily mentioned. "There are magical humans and magical creatures including dragons. I know you are a mug-normal human, but it is true! And even in that world there are secret magical beings like intelligent dragons that stay hidden since they would be killed by magical and non-magical humans if someone found out about them. But Artemio is harmless, I promise! He just... wants to read his books. I usually do the er... human things for him. Like buying books or healing people like you. Not that I am a magical human - I don't have a wand and wizards need those - but... You probably think I'm a nutter, now." Adriel sighed since the man looked so downcast at the end, like he expected Adriel to laugh at him, only Adriel knew better since he was a wizard. As a Navajo, he also knew there were sentient creatures and people hiding from the magical communities like certain tribes, skinwalkers, and most likely the fae that might have once lived in the UK since there was always a grain of truth to myths and the fairy rings did exist. "I don't think you are crazy, just maybe being... misled by this Artemio person," he said in a gentle tone again. "Who says they are not a wizard, shaman, witch, or priest using dark tribal magic to trick you? I've seen strange and unexplainable things in my travels, so your story is as good as any other, and I have seen voodoo witches and witch doctors in Africa actually do unusual things. You helped me heal, right? I can help you escape in return if you are being held here against your will?" 'Jose' looked up with sad and guilty looking eyes, and Adriel sighed in his brain since it probably meant that he was going to be told no because this man was completely under this 'dragon's' thrall. "Your cuffs are magical so only the dragon can remove them," the man said in a quiet and apologetic tone before he looked away with a blush. "And... He uhm... Thinks you are pretty and shiny and wants to keep you and have you tend to his collection and stuff." Adriel blinked since... Well, it actually explained some of that weird muttering he had overheard. From a giant creature. Adriel tilted his head a little bit as he considered the possibility of there actually being an intelligent race of dragons hiding from wizards and normal people alike. Oh. Jose had almost called him a muggle earlier. And used the word 'nutter' which meant that he was definitely European or had schooling in England. Maybe he was a British squib? "If this 'dragon' collects pretty humans, it does explain your presence," Adriel couldn't help but say as he tried to figure out what were truths and lies in among all of these explanations. Something fishy was definitely going on, but he wasn't sure what it was. His stomach interrupted his thoughts with a hunger pang and a growl, and he sighed as he looked turned his head to look at the cuffs. "Is there any food?" "Right, food," 'Jose' said as he eagerly grasped for the first excuse to flee again. "I'll go make some stew or soup! There's plenty of cookbooks... I should have already had some prepared... I'll be back, just rest." Adriel quirked a smile as he watched the younger man start backing out. "I can't do anything else for the moment," he said in an amused tone as he wiggled his wrist so the bronze chains connected to the bed rattled. "Thank you, Jose." The young man gave him another guilty look before he turned to run off with the chalice, and Adriel started to test the cuffs. He grimaced when he realized he was laying on top of the wet cloth when he started to wiggle up so he could inspect for runes as he felt that the cuffs did indeed contain magic, but even that bit of movement hand him exhausted by the time he managed to drag himself up. At least his ankles were no longer shackled like they had been when he had woken during a fever break, but he didn't want to meet whatever being or wizard it was that was wanting to keep him because he would make a 'pretty servant.' *************************** Art had not expected to talk to his new human today as he tended to him in his human form, so he had not prepared a proper explanation or anything ahead of time. And he forgot to get the pretty human's name even though the human managed to get two of his four names out of him! Art went over the conversation as he started trying to cook a peahen soup that was popular in this region for special celebrations from a cookbook he had purchased a couple years ago while wandering around a small seaside town simply because the book had looked shiny and had been filled with some very nice artwork and pictures and it had been his first time seeing a glossy book made of thick paperboard pages meant to be resistant to spills like that. The pretty human got so much information out of him! Like what his hoard was, how there were magical people and creatures, the ancient languages he could speak, and so much more! He kicked himself for the excited babble just because he found a pretty human that could read ancient tongues (and while Art had never learned cuneiform, this human had! And all of them, at that, and Art knew there were four major version and countless regional versions!) and had explored and very obviously knew a lot of things! Though Art had no idea what all this human knew besides that he could recognize the significance to the things in the room going by that shocked and speechless expression as the man took in every new thing, the way he identified the chalice (it was one of Art's favorite artifacts that his mother had given to him as a hatchday gift when she was trying to entice him towards treasures rather than books like a proper dragon should have had), and he apparently was widely travelled, had seen African magic, and knew a lot of modern tongues. Which meant that if he could get his pretty human to stay, then he could go to private auctions in countries where Art could not speak the language at and buy him more books! Except... He had gotten so nervous that he lied and said his human form was Jose and his dragon form was Artemio. He had figured the human would wake up while he was in dragon form since he only turned into a human to tend to his new shiny treasure like he did with everything that was delicate and important, only it had woken up while he was cleaning all the sweat off of it. The first thing he had done was bathe the human since he had to make sure the wounds had been cleaned to minimize infection, and he had even made poultices that he had read from various books to further his human's chances at survival. Except his human had still gotten very very sick and he had thought for sure the human was going to die, and he had almost contacted his mother for help, only he knew if he did, his sister Sarah would know, and she would mock him for picking out a muggle rather than a magical human like dragons usually picked to be servants since they could be bound under oaths of silence. Except... Art was terrified of magical humans because they would probably kill him since he wasn't a fighter. Or capture him, and then he would be forced away from his hoard and he would have to act like a dumb dragon beast so that he didn't give away the secret until his people saved him or killed him to keep their existence a secret. So he debated about letting his human go back to its own civilization where it had a chance to survive in a hospital, only when he woke up the next morning, the fever had broken. It had been two more days since and he had waited as a dragon after he had set up a room that made his pretty human look even nicer, but he was stupid and thought maybe the human might want to wake up clean of sweat and... He panicked. Then babbled. Then ran away! And now he wasn't too sure what to do. His new human thought that he was a human who was trapped here and offered to help him escape, and now he wasn't sure how to introduce the 'dragon' since it wasn't like he could also be there. Maybe he could feed the human then say he had to leave to run important errands in... Greece? Greece was far enough away for 'Jose' to be gone long enough for 'Artemio' to get the human to like him, right? Sarah was mean to her little 'pets' after she forced them into servitude, but his gentle baby brother always said that if he was nice and treated them well, a magical human would serve loyally like his own did. Oooh, why did his dragon instincts have to kick in and decide that this human was a pretty and shiny one that belonged in his treasure hoard?! Was it because it was a special one that knew so much about history? It would be nice to have someone to talk to about things he had read... And maybe take him to those places? And protect him from other humans since his human form was so weak and defenseless? His new human did have all those muscles that looked even better than some of the Green and renaissance statues and painting that he owned... Honestly, staring at his new treasure made him want to learn how to paint or draw so he could have something to remember that perfect body by since it wasn't like he could preserve it like he could preserve his relics, artifacts, and books. Or maybe he could? He had several books on alchemy and there was the alchemist's stone said to grant eternal life. Or the holy grail for eternal youth. He would need to do some research on how to preserve his perfect human because it was too beautiful to wither away from old age and then die... Humans had such horribly short lives, and Art had around another ten centuries or so to live since he was barely a few decades into adulthood. First he had to cook the soup, though. His poor little human was wasting away, and potions and dragon magic could only do so much to sustain treasure. At least he had adopted what should be a fairly harmless muggle... Wizards were too terrifying to collect.
Adriel figured at least a few more days passed as 'Jose' spoon fed him soups, then hearty stews, then things like rice porridge filled with meats and vegetables and other such things that would be easy on his stomach. However, after that first meeting, the other human was less forthcoming about information though he did ask Adriel a lot of questions about himself. Most were harmless things like what he did for a living, the places he had been, where he was from, and his hobbies. So he was easily able to evade the magical side of his knowledge while he talked about the non-magical contracts he had taken from museums and universities and entertained the other person. Any questions about where the 'dragon' was was clumsily deflected with answers like it was busy or hunting but would be back soon. Adriel did accept a deal to wear a collar that wouldn't let him leave the cave to get out of the cuffs that he had determined had their magical runes or enchantments obscured by the magical wolpertinger fur since a collar would make those things more easy to spot, and he was starting to wonder if there was even a dragon as he downed a venison steak sandwich (his first really solid food!) now that his hands were free when Jose finally brought it up. "Artemio should be here tomorrow morning, but I need to leave tonight because there is an artifact auction in Greece I need to attend to see if there is anything that the dragon might want," Jose said, and it was so sudden that Adriel forgot his sandwich to pay attention. "You should be okay here for a night alone, right? I... uhm, oh goodness, I forgot you need clothes. I should go buy some real quick at a market? What do you like to wear?" Jose was blushing very hard and could not look at Adriel at all as he got all flustered like he only just realized that Adriel was not wearing a stitch of clothing and the only thing keeping him modest was the silk sheet in his lap. His bedding had been changed every day with fine silk or high quality cotton sheets in white, grey, gold, or a combination thereof, and Jose had wrapped the old sheets around him then pinned it with a new (and ancient) brooch or pin (his favorite had been a 10th century Ogham brooch in silver so far though there had been others had been more valuable with gems or gold in them) before he changed everything out. Of course, Adriel did notice how the cute little Latino (half Guatemalan, apparently, but had gone to Oxford for a time was about all he had gotten on his heritage) had practically drooled every time he saw his exposed torso which was why he had never brought up clothes, but the man was apparently oblivious about his own attraction or was just too inexperienced since his flirting would be met with blushing, a change in subject, and if Adriel pushed even a tiny bit more at that point, a retreat. "Don't worry about clothes," Adriel said with a casual shrug and an innocent smile. "I'm sure a 'dragon' won't care one bit, but if it -rather, he- does, I'll just turn one of the sheets in the dresser into a toga if you leave a pin for me to use. I liked the silver Ogham one if that one is ok?" Jose looked a bit distraught at something about his suggestion as he turned to critically (and possessively?) eye Adriel's body up and down, and Adriel took another bite from his sandwich since he knew it that whatever was going through this man's mind could take him several minutes to work through. This time, it took three minutes and forty four seconds. "I'll make sure there are several other sheets in other colors you can use," Jose said. "If you wear red, it should be with a gold brooch without gems, and blue or purple should be matched to silver. Purple should include gems! And a gold sheet should be matched to one of the large rubies, sapphires, amethysts, or any other large and deeply colored gems with little to no of the metal showing, and a white sheet should be a gold brooch with gems. Oh! And matching jewelry, of course!" Jose suddenly blushed furiously and dropped his eyes, and Adriel smiled with amusement as he chewed. "The uh... Dragon would want that. Artemio. He likes to make sure his treasures look their best." And that reaction right there was what made Adriel think that Jose was attracted to him. The blushing and the fluttering and the adorably shy attentiveness with the sudden withdrawal and even more flustering. Then trying to pin everything on a dragon that Adriel wasn't too sure even existed. Well, something apparently did exist if Jose was actually leaving, and he was still tensed up with worry. "Don't worry, Jose," Adriel said in a reassuring tone. "I'm actually a warrior - it's part of why I am a guide and how I survived being chased by a tribe trying to use me as an initiation to bloody their next generation of warriors. They caught me alone, chased me into their territory, then tracked me for almost two days without rest which is why I was on my last legs, but I did manage to kill four of them myself. If you are worried they will sneak in tonight while I am alone, I can take them now that I am rested and healed." Rather than reassure Jose, though, the man looked even more alarmed. To Adriel's surprise, Jose actually reached out and grabbed his arm and looked very frantic. "Please don't hurt Artemio," Jose started to babble as he squeezed his arm in both hands. "I know he is a dragon, but he really is intelligent and just likes to read books and won't hurt you, I promise! He's... He's my friend. My only friend! Well, you too, I hope?" Jose looked relieved with Adriel nodded, but he didn't give him a chance to speak before he continued to defend 'the dragon.' "He's beige in color and doesn't like to hurt anyone! Like I said, he set the one person on fire on accident, but only when the spear was raised and about to kill you! He saved your life, okay? So please please just give him a chance? I know I haven't been honest about his location, but... He wanted to get you something to welcome you. As his latest treasure. He will take good care of you, I promise! Just like he does his books and his artifacts! Don't hurt him, okay?" Adriel was starting to wonder about Jose's sanity, but he nodded an agreement. "Alright, but I won't hesitate if this Artemio attacks me first," Adriel warned as he reached out and carded his fingers through Jose's hair like he had been wanting to do. Jose looked at him with wide deer-in-the-headlights type of shocked eyes, and Adriel smiled back. "Sorry, I've been wanting to do that. Your hair actually is as soft as it looks. You should be careful in Greece - with the current depression going on, there are a lot of thieves and cutthroats in the cities, so you should hire a local guide that can double as a bodyguard or don't go out at nights or wander off the main streets alone. Be especially careful of any ploys of children trying to lure you away saying their friend or family is hurt and to please help - they are hired by thugs to try to draw unwary visitors to an empty street so that the person can be mugged, murdered, or sold to human traffickers. No, I'm not saying it to scare you, it is a genuine warning and a common occurrence at the moment since Greece is on another inflation collapse that will probably bankrupt them in the next five years or so. If you have any demarches, spend them all since they are becoming worthless very quickly." Jose was looking at him with a mix of fear of what he had been told, but there were also stars in his eyes again as he looked at him with that possessive adoration like he was admiring a beautiful painting or something. He nodded an agreement as one of his hands started to move along the muscles of Adriel's bicep to explore with touch, only Jose seemed to realize what he was doing before going no further than an inch and he jerked his hands back. "Sorry!" Jose said as he turned beet red with embarrassment again, then got up off of his chair. "I'll just... Go get the brooches. And some new fabrics for proper togas. And jewelry. I'm sorry!" Then the little Latino fled, and Adriel admired that cute ass as he smiled with amusement. ******************** Art whined as he fled into his main treasure room where the gold he collected to pay for books was along with his valuable antique jewelries and most other objects made of precious metals and gems. It wasn't as impressive as a regular dragon's hoard was, but his books easily made up the difference because unlike his siblings, he was smart with his money and had business investments that were still moving along just fine despite the wall street crash. He didn't feel so smart picking up Adriel anymore, though. He had touched him! It was an accident... He had grabbed him out of fear because... Well, he really should have thought about what all those muscles meant! Of course Adriel was a warrior! A very strong muggle warrior! One that might be able to hurt him as a dragon since it wasn't like he could bring himself to hurt his treasure, so if he was attacked, he would have been hurt because he would not have fought back at all! But then touching his treasure while it was awake and active and seeing and feeling the muscle ripple under his hand had fascinated him, and he couldn't help but touch. And then Adriel had touched him back! It felt like he had been hit by lightning, but in a non-painful way, and he ran away! Again! He really needed to shed his human body because his precious treasure could easily pick him up and toss him around. Only he might get punched in the snoot! Or have his tail chopped off if the human found his antique sword collection that had stuff as far back as the bronze age. Or maybe his wings would get chopped off so he couldn't try and run away before his human chopped him all to bits and pieces! But Adriel had said he would not attack Artemio the Dragon unless he was threatened first, and Art was going to go out to get his precious new treasure something pretty and shiny for his beautiful hair since he did not have any appropriate hair decorations to really showcase that beautiful and soft hair that he had been allowed to brush every day... Which he would not be able to do once he was a dragon. Why oh why did he lie about his human form from the start? If he had just told Adriel the truth from the beginning, he would be able to have his human around both forms! And if he had come clean about the dragon earlier before Adriel had recovered enough to be mobile like he was now, then Adriel would have had time to adjust to him as a dragon before he could hurt him! But after that first lie, he kept telling himself it was too late, Adriel would not trust him, and he needed to gain his trust first. "I'm so stupid!" he wailed to his piles of treasure even as he carefully selected the best pieces that would look very good on a toga and on his human. "I should just tell him, only it's too late! Again! I'll just have to brush his hair tonight until it shines the prettiest it has shined before I leave... At least he likes looking pretty and having his hair brushed. I wonder if I could get him to sit for a sculptor to have a marble statue carved... So pretty and shiny... Stupid hoarding instincts! Focus on the problem!"
Jose had been rather clingy before he had left, but Adriel had not minded the extra fussing or hair brushing he had gotten. Jose had started to say something several times, but he kept backing out and Adriel figured that the poor little Latino was trying to confess his crush but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Adriel had pulled the shy and awkward guy into a hug with an affectionate cheek rub while thanking him and wishing him a safe journey, let him go because he had stiffened up and then stumbled back, and before Adriel could apologize or explain his actions, Jose had fled like the hounds of hell was nipping at his legs. Adriel didn't chase after him since it would have made the guy feel caged in - he could only hope that the poor guy's nerves calmed down for him to apologize and explain when he returned from his trip. With the whole cave to himself, Adriel decided he should explore while he could. He wanted to get a proper lay of the land just in case something did happen tonight or there really was a dragon tomorrow and it attacked him because Jose might be a little bit delusional and have a pet dragon. Or... Well, that was outlandish, but it was a logical theory in a rather illogical predicament where he was being treated like a princess to be pampered. He also wanted to find a mirror so he could see what kind of runes might be on the silver or platinum collar around his neck. Feeling it out only told him there were gems and magic in it, so he was sure that whatever runes that imbued the magic was small, scribed, or embedded in the gems since his fingers could not pick up any trace of anything regular carvings. If it was runic like he was pretty sure it was, then the master runesmith was no doubt very talented with jewelry... But there was a chance that it was spellforged by a master magical smith like a goblin or a Hephaestus smith though that was quite a fortune to spend on a single human since Adriel could tell that it had been attuned to him specifically. And with Jose needing to make a sudden trip to Greece, Adriel would not be too surprised if it was a Hephaestus Hill creation. Especially with his very strange luck where a flip of a coin landed on the edge rather than a heads or a tails, and he had to keep up with its downhill roll until it finally decided to come to a stop on one side or the other with every tiny rock causing a huge upheaval that means predictions were impossible. Like now. He was either being trapped by a madman with an obsession and an imaginary dragon (unlikely so the edge of the coin), there was a dark creature of some type pulling the strings (heads), or there actually was a an intelligent dragon on its way that considered him part of its treasure hoard which really should not be possible by everything the magical community knew about dragons, but that's what the non-magical said about magic (dragon tail side of the coin). He was not sure which option out of those was the preferable one since they all sounded dangerous, but it was marginally better than the sure death at the end of an aggressive natives' man-hunting spear was. The first thing he had encountered as he got to the main opening that Jose had regularly taken was what was an impassable sheer cliff unless one had magic. He backtracked to his room and climbed up the wall high enough to peek out of the other large opening, but it was yawning darkness beyond, so he went back to the first passage. Obviously there had to be some kind of magic a squib could trigger unless Jose had lied and he was actually a wizard, so Adriel carefully padded out along the narrow ledge on his left until he got to the large gap about ten feet wide. He could feasibly leap into the water below, only he didn't know the depth and could see there were some areas with rocks right below the surface which hinted at even more rocks that could not be seen only slightly deeper down by a foot or so but he decided his situation was not that dire. Adriel didn't want to pull out his own wand or use any magic since that was an ace up his sleeve and he had no idea if it would be caught... But he did have other stuff in the medicine bag that Jose could not see since he had not pointed it out to him. That was plan B, though. Plan A was touching and feeling the walls in this area to feel it out for latent magic. Except that all of it felt like very powerful and borderline ancient magic that had him immediately jerking his hands and magic back since it indicated very strong wards and protections. The sudden movement had him teeter on the edge of the ledge, and he reached out to grab the wall and winced as he tore off one of his nails on the rough granite face. He did save himself from certain death, however. He sighed as he looked in the direction of the bright light coming from the other ledge, then knelt down to start checking for tracks on the ground. Only... The ledge did not look well traveled at all. On either side of the gap. A false lead and trap? he backtracked to his own room's ledge so he could look at the other set of rocks in the slightly softer limestone layers, but it didn't look like it was traveled at all and that first flat rock would definitely need to be jumped to. Another look at the ledge on the left had him noticing the odd lines, so he padded out a bit to get a better look, noticed that the lines matched up to gouges on the wall, and realized that they looked like talon marks from a very giant beast. It made chills go down his back since they looked relatively fresh, and he slowly backed away into his room that no longer felt safe with the yawning black hole on the wall behind the altar-turned-fireplace. Right. So heads and tails was definitely looking more likely. Jose had been a weird mix of adoration, awkwardness, strange devotion, half truths and omissions, and obsession, but he hoped that those were just strange personality quirks that an intelligent dragon might find endearing rather than enforced personality traits of someone insane from being under some kind of cursed enthrallment by a dark creature for so long. Central and South America had many unexplored regions with hidden magical creatures, and a terrible history of cannibalism and human sacrifice on a a genocidal level that had created all kinds of monstrous dark priests that shed their humanity altogether. He turned to the dresser with the jewelry box that Jose had left him and decided to open the lid to see if there was a mirror in there. There was, but no matter how hard Adriel looked and felt around, he could not find a single rune that he might have been able to decipher and pull apart. It was probably a spell forged slave collar... He was terribly fucked. ************************************* Art had fled the cave and had leapt off the ledge before having his wings form as he had done every other time to glide to the other side so he could get away. He had no idea why, but his heart was pounding so hard and everywhere that Adriel had touched with that hug burned and tingled even through his clothes. His precious treasure was dangerous! As he ran to the entrance, Art reasoned that it was probably having his face so close that had his danger/flight instincts take over though... Predatory animals like dragons simply did not bring their faces that close to each other unless there was absolute trust and Art didn't even like his own parents doing that to him. He knew his parents would never bite his face off, but it had always made him uncomfortable. Sarah didn't even try since it was the only time he had ever actually snapped his larger teeth at her, but she had run crying to their parents with her fake tears and whines and it had been so annoying. His baby brother, Di, allowed it, but he never initiated it except with his recently acquired life mate. The only reason Art didn't snap at his parents like he had with his sister was because he really did love them. Art fully transformed into a dragon and leapt out into the dark skies while scanning the ground below for any movements that could hint at the savage tribe mounting an expedition to come after him. It had been something he had scouted every evening after he fed Adriel once it was dark enough that his pale hide would not be noticed, and he had done a second pass right before predawn started to turn the skies grey and make the morning fog. Certain that there was nothing around, he tilted his wings and headed towards an abandoned Mayan city he had seen from above that had been forgotten by humans and still had the scent of gold deep underground that Art had not pilfered to add to his collection yet. As he flew, he realized that Adriel rubbing his face to him had not made him want to snap like it did around his family. Oh, right, because he was a precious treasure. He would never hurt his books or his artifacts, so of course he would never hurt his recently acquired precious and most delicate treasure. That he was leaving all on its own in his cave. A cave that was very protected while wearing a collar that would not let his treasure leave the cave complex, but also ensured that he could not be hurt by anything in the cave and that his enchantments would protect just like it would protect his books and artifacts and everything else. He didn't need to feel panic about leaving it to its own devices for a whole night. He just hoped his treasure took a bath in the warm spring below his room since sponge and clean towel baths only went so far. Except... He had forgotten to tell his precious treasure that he was safe with the collar because he had run away. Again. "I'm so stupid!" he wailed out into the empty night sky. It was too late now to backtrack and explain... Hopefully Adriel wasn't too upset since he had told him it was find to look around. Or Adriel could figure it out on his own maybe? He didn't seem the type to give up.
Adriel had gone into an alert half doze off and on throughout the night as he plotted out what could be used in the room as a weapon if he had to fight whatever would be coming in the morning. A pillowcase had been picked apart to use as a loincloth for modesty, but he didn't dare to make a toga since he wanted the mobility if it came to a fight. The leftover thread he had pulled out had been loosely knotted into a thicker cord just long enough to tie his hair back, and even though he had decided that breaking the antique furniture apart was only as a last minute resort, he did realize that the fire was actually a Gubraithian Fire cast on a fossilized branch of some ancient plant and... Well, he hated the thought of possibly hurting an amazing fossil, but most beasts feared fire unless they were dragons or phoenixes, so it was his best bet. Probably. Unless it was some kind of dark and twisted priest of the ancient Aztec sun god. And so the bed ended up being pushed as close to the doorway as possible so that he would have even more room to maneuver in, and it could serve as an obstacle to whatever came in. Unless it was a dragon, and a dragon could easily move it aside. Unless the twisted and evil priest was one for Quetzalcoatl... who also needed sacrifice as the Aztec god of life and death. Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, was also the god of war and sacrifice, but... Well, the Aztecs had periods of fucked up insanity where a priest would convince the people that the end was close and so sacrifice was needed to provide the power of life. Some of them actually did believe the portents of doom, but some of them used that power to twist themselves and... Well, he really needed to stop thinking about it because he was twisting himself up into a paranoid and neurotic mess. He still had his hidden magic, his hidden pouch with hidden weapons and poisons, and the eternal fire branch he had refused to let go. He needed his rest, so he continued his vigil in a light doze in a part of the room that would allow him to watch both doorways while keeping himself far back so he would have at least a second to react. It paid off since Adriel was immediately on his feet as soon as he heard the scrape of claws on the ledge outside of his room along with a splash of water, and then there was silence for a couple of seconds. A beige colored head of a giant dragon that was at least the size of an adult Hungarian Horntail carefully poked in, but it didn't do anything but study him with... a bit of fear in its eyes? The giant dragon was afraid of him? Oh. Dragon. Right. So... Tail side of the coin. Adriel didn't drop his guard, but he did lower the branch a little bit. "You are Artemio?" he asked in a cautious tone, feeling a little bit silly talking to a dragon, only it nodded which surprised him even though Jose had told him it was intelligent. "Can you talk?" He realized that that was a stupid question since this was obviously the giant beast he had heard muttering that night in the dark. "I mean, will you please talk? I think I recall hearing you while I was running a fever." "Hello, will you please put that back in the fireplace? Gently? Because that black coral is actually part of my hoard and I usually use it to hang my favorite necklaces from, only I thought it it would look very pretty as part of a kind-of fireplace so you would be comfortable because you are prettier than the necklaces are and it is very difficult to find one that looks like a tree branch since they are so delicate and usually break or get broken off into more manageable pieces. I promise I won't hurt you - I don't hurt my hoard. I preserve it and keep it safe. I also brought you a present? Did you find a hair tie? Are you wearing a pillow case? It looks pretty on you, but I think I want to see you with necklaces of gold and pearls since both would look so nice against your skin tone." And then the dragon gave a dreamy sigh as it stared at him in a longing fashion. Which made Adriel feel very very underdressed and he wished he had taken Jose at his word and dressed in a toga. Only he wasn't going to show the strange dragon how weirded out he was by its behavior, so he carefully walked towards the 'fireplace' without showing any aggressive body language though he kept a wary eye on it, then knelt and gently put the burning coral back where it had been. And then the dragon gave another sigh that sounded happily content. "I hope you bite your tail, Coyote," Adriel grumbled under his breath as he stood back up, then turned to the dragon and bowed in a respectful way like he would to a hippogriff or a ruler. "Hello, and sorry about that. I'm Adriel Chee of the Navajo tribe just north of Mexico, and I was very worried that your... servant? Jose? That he was cursed and controlled by some kind of dark being that the wild and unconquered lands are known for despite the White Tribes denying existence of such things. I was wondering if you will remove the slave collar and let me go free? My tribe does believe in peace and cohabitation even with secretive beings like yourself, and I will swear to tell nobody of your existence." "Slave collar?" the dragon asked, sounding very confused. "Oh, you mean the safety collar? Jose was supposed to tell you that with it on, you could go anywhere in the caves without being hurt - even if you fell a hundred feet - and that if anything was around that threatened your safety, the magic I have imbued my den with would lash out and destroy. It won't force you to obey like a slave collar would." Adriel tilted his head a little bit as he considered the new information, then sighed since he had apparently scared Jose off before he could be told that when he had hugged him. "Don't be upset at Jose, it was my fault since I accidentally scared him off," he explained. "Ok, so it's not a slave collar, but it is keeping me imprisoned in your cave." "Unless I let you out and you stay within a hundred feet of me," the dragon said. "It's so keep you from being stolen since you are part of my hoard now. That includes keeping you from stealing yourself away from me. Can I come in? You won't hurt me? I can't hurt you since you are my treasure, so I would really appreciate if you don't attack me, please?" Adriel felt like he was dealing with a giant child... Was this dragon young? It was acting like a lovesick teenager. Or maybe all dragons got this soppy and obsessive over their 'treasure'? It reminded him of Jose only on a much higher level. Jose had mentioned Artemio was his only friend, though, so perhaps he had mimicked his weird behavior from this dragon. He had seemed naive and lonely enough to do something like that. "I'm not an object to be owned, Artemio," Adriel explained in a patient tone even as he nodded at the request to come in. "I'm a sentient person. You would not like it if a human came along and declared you a pet to be kept on a collar that had an invisible chain, right?" "If it was you, I would be fine with that," Artemio said in that dreamy tone before he shook his head like a dog would when water got in its ear, then made a grumbling sound as it entered and carefully started to move the bed back towards its original spot. "Sorry, we all have a type of treasure we usually obsess over, and mine is history and books. Especially history books. And shiny and pretty historical objects and treasures. I met with Jose last night and he told me you work a lot with history, and I theorize that plus how pretty you are is what attracted me. And we usually take humans as permanent servants... Usually magical humans since they can be sworn into servitude on their magic, but wizards are scary because they can cast spells and are dangerous, and I didn't know you were a scary warrior either until Jose also told me that but I can't let you go even knowing that because it would be like you chopping off one of your most precious parts of your body. You are the first human I've actually taken as part of a hoard even though I am over two centuries years old because I never wanted a human before you. I promise to take very good care of you and keep you happy." Adriel warily eyed the dragon that he was pretty sure was bigger than any other dragon he had ever seen or read about as it rambled out of nervous fear. How could it be scared of him when he could be crushed under one of those claws? Only the dragon had candidly (and stupidly) admitted that it couldn't hurt him which meant it would not fight back even to defend itself from him. And it was terrified of him but couldn't let him leave because of some weird nesting or hoarding instinct. It would be even more terrified if it knew he was a wizard... But he somehow doubted that even that would allow him to be freed. Or maybe it would? He could explore whatever bond the dragon spoke of and attempt to break it if it was a magical connection? Well, it wasn't like he would be able to hide it forever. "So about that," Adriel said, and paused to wait for the dragon to look away from the bed it had been obsessing over in an attempt to avoid looking at him. It took a dozen seconds, and then he cleared his throat which finally did have it look at him while its body shifted in a way to let it quickly back out of the room. "I'm actually a wizard," he admitted as he stretched his hand to the black coral he had thought was a fossilized tree branch and willed a bit of the eternal fire to jump off the branch and dance on his fingertips. "Jose didn't know... The tribe that chased me didn't know but that's because if they knew, they would have added curses that could possibly have tracked me even if-." Artemio curled up into a ball and used his wings and arms to try and hide his face. "Please don't eat me!" the giant dragon begged in a terrified voice. "I know how wizards like dragon steaks! Please please don't eat me or use my heart strings to make wands or drain my blood for potions and alchemy! I don't want to die, I am too young to be eaten, I haven't accomplished my dream of having the best library in the world, and I'm so DO~OO~OOMED! I'm so sorry I made you into my hoard, please forgive me and don't eat me please!" Adriel immediately stopped playing with the flame had tried to stop the dragon as soon as it started begging, only it didn't listen and started sobbing when it announced its doom and begged while it continued to quiver. He silently cursed Coyote in his head since his patron deity was no doubt having great fun at his expense now that his life was not about to end. "I'm not going to eat you," he said in a tone loud enough to cut through the sobs. "No, hey, I promise I'm not going to eat you, okay? Or attack you. Navajo prefer fruits and vegetables along with mutton or old goats and small game animals. You are young so even if I did eat dragon, I would not eat you for many reasons even beyond your youth. Eating a sentient being is worse than enslaving a sentient being, we don't eat the young of any creature we do hunt, and we waste nothing so killing you as food would be exceptionally wasteful to the point of selfish taboo even if I ignored the taboo of the sentient part of it." The dragon let out a large sniff as it cautiously peeked at him through its wings. "However, I admitted to being a wizard because I specialize in ancient magic, so I was going to offer to explore this hoarding or nesting bond or whatever it is that was forcing you to keep me even though you are terrified of me, and break it so I can be free and you can live your life without being afraid that a human will attack or eat you." "But what if it isn't a magical connection?" the dragon asked him in a wobbly voice that showed that the dragon could easily break down into terrified sobs again. "Because we believe it is a connection of the soul that sustains us mentally and physically as well. As long as we have a healthy hoard, we don't need food and we don't get sick. A dragon that doesn't take care of their hoard obviously has a mental or spiritual illness that has eaten at them hard enough to affect their ability to care for themselves and their treasure. The size of the hoard determines how magically strong we are, and since I'm the only Bookwyrm, I actually have a huge hoard despite my young age which means my magical defenses are strong enough to keep out most things to protect my hoard. My life is at stake! What if you kill me? I don't want to die!" Then the dragon broke down into another wave of sobs as he hid his head in his wings again, and Adriel sighed as he walked towards the dresser to get himself dressed up in a red toga with a gold brooch like he had been instructed while he waited it out. He had time to add a gold ancient Egyptian collar necklace and then pulled a bracelet of colorful stone beads from his pouch to add a bit of color to the outfit and tied it to his right wrist so that his non-verbal gestures might distract or accentuate his verbal points. The dragon still showed no signs of calming down, so he pulled out a string of more colorful beads that was supposed to be a double wrapped necklace that was meant to hang low, only he wrapped it once around his forehead like a circlet and then twisted it down his ponytail until it could go no further at half the length. "Shiny," he heard the dragon hiccup out, and he turned to see the dragon slowly unfurl its wings as it looked at him like a zealot might look at a prophet they just about worshipped. "Precious pretty treasure, red is so pretty and all of those beads accentuate your hair and I brought you presents for your pretty shiny hair from a Mayan temple. Beads of gold that were intricately designed but the leather that had held them had long since rotted away so you will need to string them. Except you look pretty with all of that color even though the stones are cheap... I should find you a string made of pearls, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and all of the precious stones that will make you shine even brighter than you already do. Can I take you to a sculptor and have you pose for a full body marble piece to forever immortalize your beauty?" Adriel had only meant to distract the dragon from its woes, not get it to outright forget about them and have it offer him treasures of all kinds. That last bit was flattering, however. In most cases, it would be laying it on too thick, only he could see the earnest and innocent honesty in the dragon's eyes as it look at him with single minded adoration. That also made him realize that the poor dragon was apparently a victim in all of this as well, so he sighed for the umpteenth time since he met the strange strange dragon and he walked towards it while keeping his body language open and calm. "So graceful and the toga doesn't hide your beautiful muscles much," the dragon said in a dreamy tone as he got nearer, and he pulled out a clean hand towel from his pouch as he walked right up to the head that was raised only a few inches from the ground. "I want to watch you swim and dance and pose like the Greek statues do." He reached out with his hand in the towel and started cleaning off all the snot around the dragon's nose. "And have you painted so I can have it framed in gold and hanging above the bookshelf with my favorite books. But only after the statue... The statue is more important. You humans age so fast, and I need to figure out how to immortalize you properly as part of my hoard so I can keep you nice and safe." "I would really rather not be an immortal since almost all of the techniques I know of are horribly evil, twist a person into a monster, don't work like people think they do, or are impossible," Adriel said in a gentle tone as he started cleaning around the other snout. His words seemed to bring clarity to Artemio's eyes and the dragon froze as its body tensed up in fear again. "It's ok, Artemio... I'm taking care of you also right now to show I don't want to hurt you. Or kill you. Or eat you, either. I don't want you to cry and be so scared of me. We will properly research the bond and try to fix things in a way that won't hurt either one of us, okay? But don't try to make me live forever, please. Bad things happen to those that try - even Nicholas Flamel with his stone of gold and immortality is stuck at an age so old that doing almost anything has him in constant pain even if it hasn't cost him his soul or his humanity." Adriel let the snotty towel fall to the floor and he pulled out a new one. "I could look for something that's like Idunn's apple, granting you eternal youth as long as you redo it every year?" Artemio offered in a hopeful tone as he stayed still for Adriel to finish cleaning up his face. "Wait, why are you being so nice even though you don't want to be my treasure? Shouldn't you be angry and attacking me? That's what humans do. My sister Sarah takes a lot of joy in subjugating her wizards before making them swear an oath. My brother Di says kindness is better, though. Is that what you are doing?" "Your sister sounds like a terrible person," Adriel stated as he made sure the last bit was mopped up, then let that towel drop to the floor as well. As much as he hated waste, there was no way he would be able to reuse the things unless there was a way to properly wash it, only he didn't think there was. Unless cleaning charms could work. But even then, he would want to wash it just to make sure because giant dragon boogers were no doubt very unsanitary. "Your brother Di sounds better, but it sounds like he treats his like pets rather than slaves." Artemio nodded an agreement. "You are not my pet just like I am not your slave and so should not be owned, only you can't help your nature and are as much a victim to it as I am. If it isn't a magical connection that can be carefully broken, then we work together to try to fix things through trust, compromise, and hard work. Your nature is to collect history and books, while my Navajo upbringing means I try my best to understand and not judge too harshly or hate to keep a balance with body, spirit, and mind. Like Ancient Greece's equilateral triangle for harmony within one's self, except we are taught harmony with the living and all the elements around us. The first step is getting to know each other since once you see someone as friend, it makes it harder to hate them. To do that, we should ask each other questions with the option to decline answering something and have a different question asked instead. For now, let's start with the easier questions... What is your favorite food or drink even though you don't have to eat?" *********************** Art almost felt sick after three days passed because of all the mental and emotional loops he had been doing with his precious treasure. He was absolutely terrified of his human wizard, but couldn't bear to be apart for long because he would worry. He didn't like being touched, only he couldn't say no and the weird human seemed to always want its hands all over him which sated the worry itch if he had stayed away too long but left those areas feeling like they had been burned. He was supposed to be honest or frank enough to say he didn't want to say or do something, but he felt so guilty for lying about Jose which meant he would not say no to almost anything. Finally, his human was so pretty and shiny that he was always thinking about what in his hoard would look pretty draped on his human, and rather than immortality books or books on soul or creature bonds, he kept finding himself looking through books that would give him ideas about what else he could go out and buy that was not in his hoard and could accentuate Adriel's prettiness even more. Really, the only thing he spoiled this much were his favorite books (they had the beautifully carved and jeweled shelves with book covers made of rich fabrics and bookmarks of thin gold or silver and so much more). He was used to being entranced and delighted with his books. His books were safe to adore and devote as much time as he wanted on them. His human was not safe, though. Not safe in any way, so every time he came out of one of his little episodes after spewing poetry or compliments while admiring Adriel, it made him flee and started that vicious emotional loop above that ended in another episode of adoration until he was too tired to fight it at the end of each day and just let his brain do all the adoring it wanted so that he could sleep in his own den every night. Adriel would tell him that it was ok and he wasn't offended and things took time to figure out, only Adriel did not understand that the longer they took, the shorter his ability to push away his hoarding instincts got. If things kept going on at this pace, he would want to keep his shiny treasure so much that he wouldn't want to part, only Adriel was not safe to adore like that! Not only was he a terrifying warrior wizard that liked ancient magic despite its ability to easily kill man or dragon alike, his treasure absolutely did not want to stay and was as wild as any creature in the jungle. It needed to always be moving, so much so that Art had been startled (dragons startled, they didn't let out terrified little screams despite what precious treasures said) many times when the human had seemed to just appear out of nowhere. His cave walls and little holes and footholds poked into it from how his human explored every inch of space. And worst of all, his beautiful gorgeous human liked to swim nude in the pool every chance it got with its long hair freely rippling like silk threads in a light breeze, and its tempting beauty always had him wanting to join him to properly clean Adriel the same way he would obsessively do with his favorite artifacts. That last one was so horribly dangerous because Art was terrified he would lose himself if he gave in to those urges and then absently turn himself into his human form to brush that hair or make sure that even delicate spaces like the ears or the crotch were perfectly clean. It reminded him of how that bicep had slightly flexed under his human hands with every breath Adriel had taken, and how fascinating that had felt and how he had almost given in to the urge to start touching all of the other muscles. Art had been so terribly relieved to know his human did not have a mate and he had felt so guilty that he was keeping his human away from his family, and Art was supposed to be the book researcher while Adriel was the magic researcher except Art kept getting distracted and couldn't focus, especially when he would see Adriel scribble out matrixes made of various ancient characters and symbols as he tried to figure out what kind of ritual could be made to ease or break apart whatever bond it was that they had. At this rate, he would have to beg Adriel's forgiveness for so many things. Spying on him while he was bathing like he was doing right now (he suspected Adriel knew that part since he always invited Art to join him before every bath), not doing his share of the research, trapping him, lying to him about Jose, and then having him also do the book research like he was planning to dump on Adriel's shoulders as soon as it was safe for him to show his face. Except his wards suddenly started to scream at him that something else had just entered his cave entrance, something huge and potentially dangerous to his hoard (and most of all his precious and beautiful human who was oblivious) and he dove out of the shadows he was hiding in and straight into the large cave opening in the water that would incline upwards out of the water and was the fastest way to the entrance cave. "Arty~!" he heard Sarah's voice practically sing out. "I finally found your new home! I'm here to tell you that mom and dad want you home for the feast - you have been skipping it the past few years with the excuse that you were looking for the right den! Only you found yourself a stupid cave in the middle of nowhere rather than a nice castle or-" Art pulled himself up out of the narrow hole that a bulky dragon like his sister would struggle to get into as he roared a challenge at the interloper, and it the look of shock on his sister's face would have been funny were he not seriously in the middle of leaping onto the dangerous enemy that he needed out of his territory because his precious human was naked and weaponless in the water, this was Sarah who thought it was funny to break or squish humans, and Sarah also thought it was funny to threaten his books and his artifacts because she didn't consider any treasure valuable unless it was made with the best noble metals or gems. Catching her by surprise meant it was very easy to get her muzzle trapped in his mouth which meant she would not be able to bite or breathe flame, but she was fast to react and very strong besides so she almost managed to bat him away until he clamped down harder and made her yelp with pain. Soon they were tussling with him trying to sink his claws into her or rip out her scales, except he was terrible at fighting, and she was more carefully trying to pry him off since even though his claws and attempts to tail whip were ineffectual, his teeth were still very strong as was his jaw so he could do damage to her precious pretty face. He was giving it his all to try to get her out with his (unthreatening) growls, but she just sighed with exasperation. Art knew he was about to lose. She was about to lose her patience and slam him into a wall that might break a wing bone (again) or rip off some of his scales, but he was going to make sure he made it painful enough to force her to retreat. Only the stupid human he was trying to hide and protect made the both of them freeze when it spoke up. "I'm not sure who you are or why you are here, but Artemio wants you out so you have until the count of three to remove your claws from his hide before I shoot my arrow through your eye," Adriel said in a terrifyingly cold voice that Art had never heard before. "Then you can back your scaly fat ass out of the cave and leave. Art, there is a terrified human tied to that dragon's back, will you please snap the harness to rescue her?" He had not noticed that Sarah's claws had pierced through his scales until Adriel's orders drew attention to the burning sensation in his sides where she had been squeezing him a lot harder than he had thought she had been, and he could tell she was hesitating and was probably about to hurt him so she could squish the audacious 'human' (his treasure!) and maim it to teach it a lesson. Only Adriel loudly and calmly started to count down with a voice that didn't have a smidge of fear in it, and his sister carefully pulled her claws out of him and took a step back which had him immediately let go of her snout. "Well, aren't you a handsome little human," he heard his sister purr in that voice she always used that would get her her way, and Art sniffled and curled up with defeat because he knew there was no way he could keep his treasure from being stolen by her. "You can come home with me and I can protect you a lot better than the runt can. Artemio is considered-" "Shut up and release the human on your back," Adriel barked out. "I've been hunting since I could draw a bow at the age of seven - two years younger than anyone else in the age group of my tribe. I also hit the bullseye nineteen out of twenty times. Would you like to risk your left eye on a five percent chance? Keep talking down to my friend here, and I'll let you gamble since there is still a second eye to threaten. You don't need two of them." Art and Sarah both recoiled and stared at Adriel in fear, and to Art's shock, his sister started to unbuckle her harness. "I won't forget this," Sarah hissed directly at Adriel. "I'll have one of my pet wizards cast the darkest curses I know on you, you stupid muggle." "Curse breaker and ancient magic expert, so good luck with that, bitch," Adriel said after the new human fell to the floor. "Rune, offense, and defense master, Adriel Chee. Also the Navajo prince, so if you think about finding and targeting my tribe, know that we are the largest and richest tribe on American lands... with a lot of hidden magic. I dare you to try to seek revenge. I'll take your wings and leave you an overgrown lizard rather than just threaten your eyes." Art could smell how terrified his sister was as she started to back away to the entrance, keeping her body language as unthreatening as she could while trying her best to hold on to her pride. "Brother, keep your pet human on a proper leash!" she hissed at Art who cringed again since his sister could hold a grudge for decades before she struck at the most opportune moment. "The dinner party is the next full moon to celebrate my engagement to Smith, which means I'm marrying close to the noble line. You should seek a proper match also rather than play hermit in father's native lands - I love him, but mom made such a mistake marrying a low born dragon like him. And get rid of your human - it is too savage to keep." "Go away, Sarah," Art sighed. "I'm not marrying any of those vapid gold digging dragons. And stay away - I will bring my magics down on your head next time." Which he should have done this time, only he forgot he could do that. Sarah started to bare her teeth at him, only there was a twang and an arrow shattered on the wall close enough to Sarah's face that she was forced to close her eyes so that the shrapnel didn't get in the right one. Art finally looked directly at Adriel and saw that he was only wearing a towel around his waist and already had an arrow notched and ready to fly even though it had barely been a second or two. The muscles on Adriel's body were straining in a different way than he had ever seen before, and Art forgot all about Sarah. "Apollo... So pretty and shiny... God of Archery... Or Ares for war. So beautiful..." "Not now, Art," Adriel sighed, though he didn't take his attention off of the larger dragon that was apparently Art's sister. She was looking between Art and Adriel with dawning horror. "Leave, Sarah, and send a dinner invitation letter next time." "He's claimed you as hoard?!" Sarah exclaimed. "He's always been a freak, but-" Adriel let loose another arrow aimed at her tongue, and she leapt out of the cave and into the air with a scream of pain followed by a large fiery breath to burn the wood shaft that had her tongue pinned down to the bottom of her mouth. "Ahw'll wemembe' dis!" she shrieked, and Adriel watched as she turned and fled. Art was enraptured by the graceful way Adriel pulled out a new arrow out of thin air since he was still very unaware of the pouch, and then the fast and smooth movement to notch it to the beautiful white ash longbow. Oh. And the arrows were made of pretty and shiny volcano glass! It looked like a perfect neolithic bow that would no doubt have been used only by the best hunters and warriors, and he sighed as he suddenly yearned to see Adriel decked out in beautiful and ancient seashell jewelry and bead jewelry like neolithic people wore. Only in a more grand way that included pearls in black and gold rather than white, ivory hair sticks inlaid with mother of pearl designed carved out by hand, and a proper leather and fur quiver with a full set of those beautiful arrows that should actually be fletched with red phoenix feathers rather than the brown feathers of a turkey. Oh, and if Art found a gold bow and gold arrowheads, Adriel could pose as Eros... Both the elder primordial version or Aphrodite's son. No, definitely the elder since Adriel was far too wild even if he did have the lighter playful side, but in this moment, Art could see him as something more primordial with the confident and dangerous way he had just chased his terrifying sister off with... Terrifying sister. Adriel chased Sarah off. He wailed out as he snapped out of his daze and hid his head in his wings out of shame. "I'm so sorry!" he cried out to Adriel, the new wave of guilt finally smashing him down and making him feel so very very horrible. "I am a horrible dragon! A freak! A weakling that can't protect my treasure! And you had to protect me! I'm so so sorry! You should have gone with her, she is strong enough to protect you! I'm the worst dragon and I'm actually-" "Art," Adriel firmly cut off. Something he didn't want to do, but the person on the ground was moaning in pain. "We need to help the person Sarah left. Don't apologize, though. Remember, focus on friendship, not feelings of ownership, and it is ok if you cannot protect me since I just showed you I can protect myself and you, right? You are also way better at research than I am and can breathe fire and fly, things that I am not as good at or outright cannot do under my own power." Adriel smoothly put his bow and arrows back into the pouch, pulled out a wizarding robe, then put on as he had reassured Art then started walking towards the human. "Oh... It's a woman, not a man. Miss, are you ok? Hablas Espanol? Boreís na milás elliniká?" Adriel was about to rattle off French next since she looked mediterranean, only she gave a small nod at the last part while she moaned in pain. "Are there potions or bandages, Art? I need to look her over for broken bones and the like." "I'll go get it," Art said in a miserable tone as he fought off his tears since the human his sister had probably tormented then forced to use magic to find his home really did take priority at the moment. "Be careful, Adriel. She might already be under oath to serve my sister." Adriel looked up at Art with worry since Art sounded so terrible, but the dragon was already moving into the passageway and didn't see it, and the young woman groaned with pain so he was forced to pick her immediate needs. He pulled out his wand to start diagnosing her and decided he would be speaking with Art the first chance he got.
Art was very very miserable now. The human that had been left behind was actually a very pretty and young woman, and Adriel was spending all of his time nursing her since she had a severe concussion along with a sprained ankle and was traumatized, too. He also couldn't follow what they were talking about because it was in Greek, and he only knew ancient Greek which meant he could pick out some words that sounded close or most likely shared root meanings, but it was all gibberish to him. Adriel told him that his sister had kidnapped her just a few days ago and had not made her swear an oath because she knew ancient tracking spells and promised to use them in exchange for not being hurt. Art did not trust that, nor did he trust the girl that was now using the bed that was meant for Adriel, and Adriel was using the pile of blankets and mats to sleep on the floor he had meant for the girl to use. Art could see it, too. The woman kept looking at his treasure with possessive eyes, and she was named Athena and was also a very smart researcher which meant Adriel would no longer need him around. She worked at a magical library while Art only had his private library that would not match up to any but the smaller public libraries even if there were rare tomes that would have historians drooling, and all of that made Art feel a mix of despair and anger because his precious treasure would definitely leave him once he was no longer a treasure and Art would go back to not having a friend, either. She was also a charms and magical theory mistress, and Adriel had asked him if it was ok to talk about the hoarding bond with her, and Art had flat out said no because he did not like the thought of her knowing anything that could potentially be used against him like that. Art actually hovered on the cliff outside of either openings to spy and make sure that she did not dare to try and remove the collar from Adriel since it was probably the only thing keeping him here now. He saw them kiss on the second day, and then he saw her spread her legs for him that second night and it made him hurt so much that he wanted to run away, but he couldn't bring himself to do that because his treasure looked so beautiful as he mated with an unworthy human that was probably trying to seduce Adriel to take back to his sister. He tried to warn Adriel when Adriel went to the pool to swim and get clean once the female fell asleep, but Adriel just waved off his concern. "Don't worry about it, Artemio," he had said. "We are just having a bit of fun and there is nothing more to it. She already knows that I'm not interested in anything long term and that I am busy working on a project with you." Except Art knew all the romance stories. He knew that the man always fell in love with the damsel he had rescued. He could tell she was already in love with him because he had saved her. And he was a prince but had never told Art that! Art didn't dare to confront Adriel about it because it wasn't like he had asked when they played their questions game (something they had not done ever since she had come into the picture). Art had deliberately kept the whole Jose thing a secret even though he had wanted to confess it right after Adriel had chased Sarah off, but Adriel had stopped him and now it was too late again because Adriel was going to marry the woman and never come back! Women were also wiley and got confessions from 'pillow talk' according to a couple books he had read, so she would find out about the collar and then figure out a way to get it off and Adriel would definitely marry her for freeing him from the cave. Wait. There was still Jose. Maybe he could get Adriel to fall in love with 'Jose' so that he did not leave? Adriel had hugged him but had not hugged her yet and had rubbed their faces together in the universal sign of a dragon's love and trust. Which meant that Jose probably had a good chance to get that love to deepen more. Only... Art had no idea what to do to get Adriel to fall into bed with him. He couldn't understand their words, only that Adriel's tone was often reassuring, soothing, or playful, and hers was usually sad or coy and shy. He would not have been able to tell even that much just a month ago since he knew very little about human habits which had left him a social outcast when he had gone to Oxford, but he had been watching and studying Adriel for weeks in his obsessive way to learn about his treasure so he was pretty sure he had at least those basics down even if he was still missing a lot. Adriel had used soothing, reassuring, and playful tones on him, after all, and so much more. However, he would need a good excuse to leave the cave as 'Artemio,' then he would need to wait a couple days before coming back as 'Jose' so that Adriel wouldn't get suspicious about why the two of them were never seen together. It was a good thing he had research duties. He could explain it as needing to find some rare tomes that were referenced in a few books that might have more answers. Then he could find a rare tome or two over the next few days, zip back as Jose, and then 'Art' can spend a week or two longer looking for the tome while 'Jose' stayed with Adriel and tried to get him to fall in love. He would need to come clean on the truth at some point, though. In the stories with love triangles, the one who was dishonest with their intentions was the loser in the end. He wasn't interested in Adriel's gold or anything like that - he truly just wanted Adriel always and forever in any way he could, and he didn't want Sarah's potential catspaw to steal or kill him. The decision to leave for a couple days was going to be hard... Or Art thought it was going to be hard, anyway. Except that they continued to mate on the third day with only small breaks to eat, rest, or for Adriel to take care of her, and Art absolutely had to get away from the sounds she made or he would bite her in half to eliminate the competition which would make Adriel extremely upset and either kill him or really run away to let Art suffer the consequences of losing a treasure in a horrible and careless way. Art had no doubt that if Adriel really put his focus and efforts into breaking out of the collar, he would succeed or die trying, so when Adriel was swimming in the pool during one of the girl's rest periods, he told Adriel that he had to search out some rare tomes that could take him a few weeks to find. Adriel agreed in a friendly tone that made him ache for the affection he saw Adriel give the female... And Jose... then he made sure the pantry and cellar was fully stocked to support two for at least a month before he flew off when night fell. **************************************** Adriel felt bad that he had not had a chance to talk to Art after the battle, but Art had pulled away so he had entertained himself with Athena while he waited for Art to settle down enough to talk about what was bothering him so badly. Only Art said he had to leave for more books, and since he knew how much Art hated leaving him 'alone and defenseless,' he acted as confident as he could as he gave Art the okay and promised he would still be here when Art returned. The dragon had obviously been very upset and mopey still, but Adriel figured he just needed a little bit of space and time after being harrassed in his own home by his overbearing and aggressive sister. A bit of questioning that first day together had him learn that the females of their species were usually larger than the males, but he had not realized just how much bigger they were. Art was apparently on the bigger side of the male spectrum, but he was very thin (sleek and lith, he had corrected) and females preferred the bulky and muscular males. Sarah had been about a third more of the size than Art had been, however, and he had been so shocked to see Art biting down on the bigger dragon's face while it looked like it was going to snap Art in half. He had immediately gone into protection mode and had apparently scared both dragons, only Art recovered a lot quicker since he had been living on the edge of adoration and terror for days by that point. On the fourth day, he had carried Athena down to the pool and helped her bathe, and that led to another round of sex. Adriel knew she was getting too infatuated so he would need to cut off his time with her if it went any further, only he realized then that with Art gone, there was no way to get Athena to a magical community so she could get back to Greece. Jose would probably return from his trip to Greece sooner than Art would since it sounded like a quest for rare tomes was difficult and time consuming, but he had never gotten a time frame for Jose's trip. Which meant he might be stuck in a cave with a woman that was falling in love with him and had admitted to giving him her virginity almost two days after the fact. Virgins were terrible to get involved with for more than a one night stand. He had no problem with picking the cherries from men or women that were looking for a fun night specifically to get rid of them so they could see what it was like, but they fell in love fast and hard and were the most heartbroken ones that usually caused a lot of drama when he had tried to move on if he had kept one around for a week. Very fast. He had one start to talk about kids and marriage on day three, and that was when he swore off anything more than a one night stand with one. Only he was stuck with Athena for up to a few weeks. When she tried to engage him in more sex after a nap, he had told her no and he had to work on the project he had been putting off and pulled out his coded journal to work, only she tried to drape herself on his back where he was working at on his own mats on the floor. "Athena, I said no," he said in a stricter tone as he twisted to look directly at her. "I don't have time to play around with you tonight - I've been putting off my work with Art who has been working really hard and researching material for our project. You shouldn't be walking around right now, either, not if you want to possibly hurt your ankle again." "Who cares about a dragon," Athena scoffed as she tightened her arms around him. "Now that he isn't here, I can say they are vile and terrifying beasts, and I am going to report them to the ministry as soon as I get back to Greece." Adriel went still. "Sarah was cruel, but Art has provided you with safety and healing potions along with food and some new robes," Adriel reminded her in a factual tone. "If you report them, you would be condemning an entire species of beings over the action of one cruel dragon. Would you like to be condemned by an entire species over the actions of one dark wizard? Oh... Wait... It already happened and that's why the witch burnings got so out of hand." "You are defending a dragon over me?!" Athena said, and rather than anger like he had hoped, she started with the waterworks. "I love you, Adriel! You save my life and you have been the one to take care of me and I gave you -" "Athena," he cut in. "Don't try to use the virginity card on me. I didn't even know about it until yesterday. With the way you came on to me, I figured you had some experience, and it's not like I check the sheets for blood after a fling. I don't return your feelings, and I already told you that from the beginning. I think we need to end what we have been doing right now - you are already fooling yourself into believing that gratitude and lust is love." Athena buried her face in his hair and sobbed into it, and Adriel grimaced since he would probably need to wash snot and tears out of it later. He would need to ask Art or Jose to gather some of the soaptree yucca leaves native to Guatemala so he could make a new batch of soap soon. "H-how can you say that?" she sobbed out. "My feelings are real! I can cook and clean, and I know basic English and am willing to learn! I know how to be a proper housewife and I will give up my job if that is what you want, too! I'll do anything to prove that I love you!" Day four declaration of love... Which did not break the day two record, thankfully. Five was more average, but she was Greek and women in Greece were not as independent as those in American or Britain. That day three person had left the worst impressions since they skipped right over the talk of love and went straight into the talk of living together in her fantasy mind. Athena was more talking about being willing to do anything for the long term goal of marriage rather than assuming it was a done deal, at least. "I'm not interested in a partner I need to change - when I fall in love, it will be with someone for who they are," he said in a kinder tone, then he stood up while he twisted around so he could support the sobbing female rather than let her tumble to the floor. "Maybe you do love me, but I do not feel the same. I am going to put you to bed, then I will leave the room and only come in to check your ankle now that there is no need for me to stay because of a concussion. I'll also make sure you get home safely either when Art or his hired help comes by so that the cave is not left unattended." He lowered Athena on the edge of the bed then had to gently pry her off of him as she continued to weep and cling. "You should sleep, the heartache will hurt less in the morning and you will eventually get over it. You are a very sweet and beautiful woman and should find a man that wants to settle down with a family... But make sure he is someone who supports your own love of libraries and won't chain you to the hearth." He turned to grab the jewelry box since he didn't want to leave such an expensive thing here unattended and was able to leave without another attempt by Athena to keep him there. He had not apologized to her since he was not at fault for her feelings, nor would he try to force himself to pretend he felt something for her when he had not. She was not even a friend, and he did not trust her at all since Art's warning had stayed in the back of his mind. He knew she was not faking her feelings, but if she was under oath, she might betray even her own mother to save her own life just like she had immediately caved from threats (delivered by a dragon that almost everyone would be afraid of, so there was nothing he could hold against her for that) and used spells she had learned from the library archives in the great Library of Athena to find Art's cave. She had also never explained how exactly it was that Sarah had abducted her... So no, Adriel did not trust her at all. Journal in one hand and jewelry box in the other, Adriel took a running leap to clear the ten foot gap to the opposite side of the cave, and then he started walking towards the deepest area of the maze-like passages that Art had taken him down when giving him a tour. There were many smaller passages that branched off that he couldn't recall where they went or it had never been told to him, and some others he was told to not go down because they were too unstable or dangerous, but he knew the way to the kitchens, Art's library, and the pool. The library was where he was headed since there were sofas there that he could nap on, and it was a logical place to find him if Jose came back before Art but only saw Athena and she told him that he was working on a research project.
Art nervously tugged at the new clothes he was wearing once he had shifted back to his human form in the mouth of the cave. He had not noticed it the night he had left - he had been too anguished to check his lands - but it seemed like the local tribe was either worshipping him or trying to appease him since there had been a giant headdress made of the most colorful and beautiful feathers sitting at the base of his cliff along with pots of honey, a large bundle of dried meat, a nicely woven blanket, and some kind of fruit alcohol. Those things were set to the side at the moment since he had no idea what to do with them, but he thought Adriel might like those things. He would let Adriel know about them and pick what he wanted, and it gave him a good reason to interrupt any... activity that might be happening in the bedroom. Hopefully the woman had not sank her claws too deep into his treasure in the last two days, and since 'Jose' did not know her, he could act unhappy about finding another human in the room to also draw Adriel out who would probably want to explain things in private. He had spent two days of flying, searching, and shopping making a proper plan based around all of the stories where the protagonist won the heart of the person they loved! Of course, he did feel a bit guilty since he was doing this more because he wanted to keep Adriel from running away, but what was love if not his hoard? He loved his books and his historical stuff, so there was nothing with loving his precious and shiny Adriel. He still didn't know how mating habits between men worked, but the magical tailor he had purchased his 'mugglewear' from in Mexico City (the black market there had such lovely books and artifacts in magical and muggle sectors often) was a gossip and had a boyfriend, and he had learned from the man that men loving each other was perfectly normal in magical communities even is a lot of the non magical ones condemned it. He asked about tribal practices for it, specifically Navajo since he knew it was just north of Mexico which meant the man might know, but he said he was not sure and that every tribe had their own rules about it but that was all he knew since he was Mexican, not an Aztec tribe. Art didn't bother to correct the ignorant man that the Aztecs had called themselves Mexica which was the whole basis of the country even though he had really wanted to. He had learned back in Oxford that humans, just like dragons, reacted very badly to anyone correcting them on their ignorance. Except for Adriel. Adriel loved to hear the ancient stories and practices he knew. He in turn told Art stories he knew about Greece and Egypt that were not found in books but through oral traditions. His treasure was so special. And strong! And more terrifying than Sarah only he was so nice to Art! It made Art feel so special when he realized that as he reflected on things for the past couple days. Getting to Adriel's room revealed that there was only the woman there, and no Art. She was also quietly crying and getting his sheets all dirty which was annoying, except he supposedly didn't know her so he couldn't show that. "Where is Adriel?" he awkwardly asked, then took a step back when her head snapped up and she clutched the sheet to herself and screamed. "Get out of my room!" she wailed. "ADRIEL! SAVE ME!" He did not understand a word of her Greek except for Adriel's name... He had completely forgotten she could not speak English. He backed up to the ledge as the woman continued to screech like a banshee, and he wondered how Adriel could stand anything like that. Only... he saw Adriel come out looking annoyed after a few minutes, so maybe Adriel did not like her behavior, then he actually looked happy and relieved to see Art standing there. "Jose!" Adriel exclaimed as he ran out onto the narrow ledge, and Art flinched as he saw Adriel just leap across the huge gap because there was no way he could do something like that without his wings so he thought Adriel might fall only that was silly since he was protected by the collar. "I thank the holy stars that you are here! Do you think you can get her to Mexico City or Brasilia where the safest magical communities are so she can get a portkey out of the country? I will obliviate her since she is threatening to tell the ministry about Artemio and give her a sack of a hundred galleons to make sure she can get to Greece, but I can't leave the cave to apparate her myself and she doesn't know any of the magical communities outside of Greece so she can't apparate herself." "Isn't she your girlfriend?" he asked, scrunching up his nose at having to use the last word. "I figured that is why she is in your bed?" "No," Adriel said to Art's relief, and it was even said with a note of distaste which bolstered his spirit a lot. "Artemio and I saved her from his sister when she came to visit a couple days ago and we fooled around for a bit, but I told her I wasn't interested in anything with strings attached when she came on to me, only she decided to declare her love yesterday so I've been avoiding her and staying in the living room except for when I need to feed her and check her sprain. The concussion she had has been completely gone for a few days, and she is perfectly capable of moving around as long as she is careful or uses a crutch or a cane to assist her. I tried to explain to her that I don't return her feelings, but she keeps sobbing and begging every time I go in and it's getting tedious. I don't mean to sound callous, but Art and I are busy with a project, and she knew I was only in it for a bit of fun before I got back to work since there wasn't a whole lot I could do without the notes that Art is probably working on and also probably took with him since I could not find anything. So I've been trying to read books, and I actually think I did find a lead in the theoretical area of compulsion runes. Maybe. The section is hard to understand since the idea is plausible, but their runic arrays are incorrect because the dunce that wrote them out was obviously copying someone's original work that they didn't understand or properly copy out. I've been trying to figure out what the real matrix is supposed to be so I can find out if the theory is right." Art froze, feeling very very guilty again. Because apparently his planning was all for nothing, Adriel was now doing research that Art had not been able to do because he was so distracted, and the only good news was that Adriel wanted her gone as much as he did only he could not apparate. "I'm not magical, remember?" he said, grasping at the first excuse that he could. "I can't apparate or make portkeys." Adriel looked very confused. "How do you get in and out of here, then?" he asked. "I figured you had some kind of magical method of travel since it isn't like you can walk in and out of a jungle, especially dressed like you currently are." Oh. Art felt very stupid now. That was not something he had even considered! He looked at Adriel with large and guilty eyes as he debated if he should come clean now, only his plans were all ruined before they started in what should have been a good way but for his lie. "Uhm..." Art said when he realized the silence had stretched for too long because he couldn't figure out what to do. "You know what, nevermind," Adriel said with a tired sounding sigh as he looked past Art and at the room that Adriel should have been in only it had the dramatically wailing girl instead. "I'll go take care of her. If something is a secret, just please say you can't talk about it. Gods, this whole thing is turning into a nightmare. We both need to go to the room since the ledge is too narrow to pass." Art nodded as he looked down in a dejected way... He was making things hard on his precious treasure. So hard that he was now feeling like being in the cave was a nightmare. He turned and trudged into the room, then stayed quiet as Adriel and the girl started to talk only Adriel sounded very irritated. Art peeked up... And he felt even more guilty. Adriel's normally shiny and pretty hair had probably not been brushed in at least a day, there were ink smudges on his face and his hands, and his clothes were rumpled because he had obviously slept in them. He... needed to do something. "Adriel?" he said in a quiet voice, then thought he might have to repeat it louder since the girl was still being loud only Adriel shushed her and looked at him with an encouraging smile. "If you want, I can tend to her bandages so you can take a bath, change your clothes, and get some rest. I... Can take her. To mexico city. But you will have to obliviate then put her to sleep and not watch because my method is a secret. I probably won't be able to get back until tomorrow evening." "You can't obliviate me!" the girl suddenly said in accented English as she paled. "I don't want to forget you. Please Adriel, I love you! Don't send me away, I promise I won't interrupt your project or speak ill of your dragon friend or tell anyone about his sister dragon!" Art was rather annoyed since she pretended to not know English, and going by Adriel's expression, he looked annoyed as well. If Art had blinked, he would have missed the next part, but it only looked like Adriel had pinched his fingers and pulled out a wand the same way he did his arrows, and then there was a red beam and the girl was passed out on the bed. "Bloody hell, virgins are so difficult," he heard Adriel mutter as he approached the bed and started to circle the wand around her in more silent casting. "Tsk, too bad she didn't say anything that first time or I could have healed the hymen and ended it then. She waited for three days instead, so I was going to cut it off on the fourth, only it was too late and she thought for sure I was her one and only. What parts to properly obliviate though... Can't leave her with a whole week or so missing, and she might be oath sworn to Art's sister. Fuck, this is so messy." Art stayed quiet as Adriel bitched and realized that the last of his plans to get Adriel to fall in love with Jose was up in flames because he was a virgin only Adriel seemed to not like them for some reason even though he was sure that virginity was supposed to be a virtue that most people wanted. He rubbed his chest because it was aching as he tried not to cry... At least Athena would be gone tonight. And Adriel was still here. He would just need to make up for his mistake by actually helping with the research... Which meant he would get to be with Adriel and his book collection which would be nice. Adriel and his artifact hoard was already amazing, so watching Adriel read his books while wearing his artifacts could only be better. And he could brush Adriel's hair again. Maybe even style it with the gold beads carefully threaded into the hair and held in place with simple ties. Or "Jose?" Adriel said, interrupting his daydream, and he blinked before he blushed and averted his eyes with a nod for Adriel to go on. "I'm done... Sorry you had to see me like that. She had just been strumming on every last nerve and made everything so difficult and annoying. Anyway, I did some discreet obliviations by replacing the image of Sarah, me, and Artemio with disguised humans, had the jungle set as the Congos rather than here, then obliviated the implanted memories but a little poorly so if she does try to find a dark arts practitioner or an ancient ritual to restore her memory, it should restore the implanted ones so she doesn't go looking any deeper. It's the best I can do unless I want to addle her mind, and I really don't since even though she ended up being annoying and didn't respect boundaries, she was a victim in all of this. I just need to write her a note to apologize for her missing memories and request that she doesn't go looking for them since she got caught on in a terrible mess that could get her killed if she knew more. And that it would be best for her to just continue to live her life. And an apology for her lost virtue, and I'll let her come to her own conclusions on how she lost that." Art nodded as he wondered at how Adriel just seemed to come up with really good plans out of the blue, then watched as Adriel pulled out a nice paper and fountain pen, then started to write while using the dresser as a writing table. He noticed the jewelry box was missing, but a quick check of his wards showed that it was safely in the library, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief since it seemed like Adriel at least didn't leave it in here with her. That made him wonder why, though. Maybe Adriel wanted the pins so he could change in the library? Only he had obviously been in what he was currently in for far too long. "Where is the jewelry box?" he asked in a curious tone, tying his best to not make it sound like an accusation in any way. He had already messed up, so he didn't want to give Adriel more reasons to think he might not trust him when Adriel will probably think that the reason he didn't tell him about Jose from the start. "Artemio didn't trust her, and it belongs to him so it would have been inconsiderate to leave it here when I moved to the library," Adriel explained, and even though the explanation was only made with half of of Adriel's attention because he was busy writing, it made Art feel warm and fuzzy that Adriel had been thinking about him. That warm and safe feeling he got was finally the incentive that he needed to tell Adriel the truth. "I have something to confess," Art said as he guiltily looked at Adriel who turned to give him a puzzled look. "Just... Let me tell you the whole thing without interruption, please? Or... I will probably end up afraid again." TBC... In part two.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2023 5:01:56 GMT
The Barbarian and the BookwyrmPart Two Left: Adriel+Artemio(Art's dragon size) Right: Jose/Artemio (Not true dragon size)
Adriel sat in the cool waters of the warm spring as he gently washed his own hair and tried to deal, but his usual attitude of 'roll with it to land running on his feel' was not working out. Up until his father's death two years past, everyone had thought he had a 'devil may care' attitude on the surface, a thrill seeker right below that, then a philanthropist, but he always knew he wasn't a very good person even though he did try. This summer was him trying to get back on his feet, and he had been collecting apparition points all the way down to South America since he had wanted to add Central America to his list of places he could qualify for. He had planned for all sorts of trouble, but... Well, nobody could really plan out a way to not be kidnapped by a highly intelligent and youngish dragon to be added to its hoard when a dragon like that should not exist. Or for the dragon to have a human form. Or for the dragon to put them in a collar that they couldn't easily escape out of. Or for that dragon to trick them into thinking they were a dragon with a human servant. Art, or Jose, or whatever the dragon's name was had told him the truth that night right after he had obliviated a girl (gods, and didn't he feel like shit for the way he had stunned and obliviated her, but he really could not listen to another puppy-crush declaration of love and hysterics), and had Adriel nodded, wrapped Athena up in a sheet, carefully secured her with ropes, then gestured at the bundle he had carefully put together in a way meant to be carried in talons. He had known that Jose had been hiding things, but... Nobody could have guessed that it was a secret that big. Adriel had thought his secret was a crush, but nope... Just the dragon obsessing over him. The dragon had left with a dejected expression and her after he said he needed some time alone and that he had no response for the moment. He was glad to have the whole night and then day to think things through in peace, though. Yes, he thought he might be able to figure out how to get out of the collar through brute force and then apparate away, but from what he had understood, it could cause the dragon a lot of harm. He could also see how his interactions with Athena had freaked out Art in hindsight, too. He had taken the jewelry box to the library because he had figured that the dragon would not want it around someone he did not trust, only he did not consider how that logic could also apply to him as 'treasure' and the dragon had watched him while he had been with her. Honestly, he had gotten used to being watched by the dragon so much that he had thought it had just been more of that. He knew the dragon had been upset by the encounter with Sarah, but he thought the avoidance had been from that and had felt reassured when he would catch Art's presence here and there. He figured Art was researching in his library during the times he couldn't sense him in the vicinity, and Athena had just been sex so he could get rid of some stress to relax and refocus on his own portion of the task. Only he had not thought about how Art would feel having him being pawed at. In his defense though, the dragon was horrible with communication. First thing he would need to do when Art/Jose or whatever the dragon's name was was to actually get his name. It was probably Artemio since even Sarah had been using the name Art, but it could also be Arturo or Arthur. Then he wanted a full assessment of the dragon - what happened if he lost his hoard, what else he could shapeshift into, what dragon magic entailed, and all of those things since it could be vital to figuring out how to break the bond. Art had admitted that he had been able to do very little research because he kept getting distracted by him, so it meant that Adriel would need to do all of the research. Which kind of sucked because even though he had told Sarah he was a curse breaker, he wasn't quite a cursebreaker in the proper sense and was more a hodgepodge of various tribal and primitive magics with hands on skills learned from real curse breakers so he could make a mistake that might hurt one or the both of them. Most importantly, though, Adriel needed to get out for a while. He had been trapped in the cave for weeks, though he had been fighting a fever for a good portion of that time, and Artemio had said that Adriel could leave the cave but only if he was with him. He needed to hunt and he needed to forage for soapweed and any other supplies he could find in the jungles. He also needed to learn what the date was and get a message off to his tribe because he had not checked in and Grandfather might try to track him down. Grandfather had been very wary about him leaving since he had completely disappeared for a majority of the first year and late last year, and he had promised to send updates on location while in South America since it was just as dangerous as Africa - even more since he was going solo rather than with a guide like he did in Africa. Adriel wasn't mad at the dragon/Jose/Art, though. Not exactly, anyway. He was... reserving judgement on how upset he would be or not until he got some answers. But if Art/Jose had stayed there while he continued to look at him with big eyes filled with guilt, possessiveness, fear, hope, and sadness, he would definitely have lost his temper since his composure was in absolute tatters after dealing with the female. He had to keep reminding himself that Art was not human, he was a bit of a basket case, and he knew next to nothing about the type of dragon that Art was so Adriel couldn't judge until he understood everything. It was very hard, though, so he was very glad that Art had left with Athena without trying to beg for forgiveness or make stupid promises of being willing to do things like Athena had been doing. The bath was also improving his mood... He didn't dare to take one while she was still up there because it was one thing to see the dragon's eyes on him - Art never made him feel uncomfortable when he did that since he was just a dragon. If she had stared while he tried to get clean, it would have made his skin crawl because she definitely did not have permission. Art's gazes made him feel like a beautiful art piece or... Well, he couldn't quite explain it, but even 'Jose's' staring had just been thought of as adorable adoration but was easily dismissed with a bit of teasing. Art didn't try to control, manipulate, or possess him, but Athena had, and that was the biggest difference. Well, no, Art did see him as a possession, but he admired him as he was and had not tried to change him or make him do things. Except stay in the cave which was very chafing, but that was non-human instinct and it was Adriel's own choice to actually stay rather than try to actually escape. He had not even tested to see what would happen if he actually did try to leave the cave now that he thought about it, but he highly doubted that it would be anything painful and he very much suspected that if staying had caused him pain, Art would sacrifice his own happiness to let him leave. That last bit was how he knew that Art's decision to lie about the whole Jose/Artemio thing had not been done to hurt Adriel. Art had been illogical in his fear, and he knew the dragon was absolutely terrified of him. He also knew that if he had reacted violently to the news, Art/Jose would have taken it as 'punishment' and Adriel didn't think it was right to punish him. Art was very obviously young - his human form looked like he was in his early 20s, but his eyes and actions said he was younger than that and Adriel really thought he should probably still be at the nest or whatever as a young adult. Adriel sighed as he slipped into the deeper waters so that the gentle currents of the spring could rinse out the soap in his hair while he floated and relaxed. So. Name first. Then more about what having a hoard meant and what would happen if Art lost him. Then more about him, his sister, his parents... Pretty much how the whole hidden dragon thing worked out. Finally, go outside to hunt and forage... Outside of the aggressive tribe's lands since he didn't feel much like fighting for his life at the moment. ************************ Art sobbed almost the whole time he flew north, though he did compose himself right before he touched down outside of an Aztec territory that he sometimes had dealings with. There was a priest of Quetzalcoatl that knew about his people in there - something about one of his father's ancestors once acting as an avatar during ceremonies and judge in exchange for gold - so they often acted as a middleman for him when he needed something in the magical community because it wasn't like he could get in himself without a wand. Some dragons had wandless magic, but Art did not, so he had to approach the tribe in human form with... A girl wrapped in a sheet. That he needed to carry. It was only a mile, so it should be hard, right? Art was wheezing and panting and sweating and feeling sick and shaky by the time one of the Aztec hunters stumbled across him. He had gotten about halfway there and it was just past dawn, so he didn't think he did too bad for an hour long journey. He was happy to let the hunter take him out of his arms even though the man was laughing at him, and then he collapsed to sit on the ground to try to catch his breath. "I am looking for Cuetzpallee," Art gasped out in Spanish while he made a feeble gesture at the girl. "Found her hurt... Carried her here... Need to talk to witch doctor." The hunter stopped laughing as soon as Cuetzpallee was mentioned, then he slung the girl over his shoulder and gave Art his hand. Art looked at it wondering what the man wanted, then he started rummaging in his pockets until he found a 500 pesos coin and dropped it in. The hunter looked surprised and amused, but it went to a pouch at his waist before he offered Art his hand again and Art wondered if that had not been enough even though he was pretty sure that that would have paid for a dinner for four people. "I am offering to help you stand up," the hunter helpfully explained, and Art tentatively reached out for the hand before it was gripped firmly in a way that reminded him of Adriel (his precious treasure absolutely hated him now! It hurt so so so much!) and then easily pulled him up into a standing position as he tried not to start crying again. "Come with me." Art staggered along behind the man who looked back and slowed down several times for him, and just as he was sure he was done for and wouldn't be taking another step, he saw stone houses with thatched roofs and people going in and out of the village carrying food and water and the like. It was very early, but these people were already looking very busy, and he saw things like looms and stuff being brought out of homes by older women while younger ones were plucking chickens or doing other preparation with food stuff. It wasn't Art's first time in the village, but he usually came at night when there was little to no activity so all of this was brand new in some ways. He was seeing stuff he had only ever read about, and it was fascinating! London didn't have things like that nor did any of the regular human cities he had been in, so it was enough to help distract him from the horrible pain he was feeling. Adriel had looked at him with such a neutral expression after the explanation that Art would have preferred anger to it. It was like he had closed himself off completely from Art, so when Adriel asked him to please take Athena that night, he quickly agreed and turned into his dragon form so he could pick her up. Adriel didn't say anything, just watched him, so Art retreated and took off, but he was sure that whatever trust or friendship they had built in both forms was absolutely ruined because he was stupid. He had hurt his precious treasure, and now he hurt even worse than the time that Sarah took one of his books from him when they were both still hatchlings, declared his hoard was stupid, then laughed as she burned it. He was in pain for days from that, and all his parents did was lecture her about how wrong it was to hurt another dragon's treasure. It had not been one of his favorite books, but if it had been, it would have hurt even more and probably have made him want to die like he did at the moment for hurting his precious human. It something actually did happen to Adriel, he probably definitely would die because he was so attached, but he knew he would have to take off the collar that kept his beautiful human safe when he got back to the cave. He obviously could not care for or protect a human properly, so he had to let it go before Sarah sank her claws into him because Sarah was very angry and will try her best to hurt or kill Adriel. "Cuetzpallee, a guest," the hunter said as he walked into one of the largest stone houses, and Art followed behind him to see it was all one large room that was probably used for meetings and ceremonies. "He said she is hurt." The witch doctor Art knew squinted in his direction, and Art realized the man could not see him since his back was to the light, so he stepped to the side out of the doorway and the man stood up and smiled since he recognized him now. "Chocoxtic!" Cuetzpallee greeted, and Art stayed still and gave a nod as his shoulder was clapped, and then he was guided towards the center of the room. The Aztec witch doctors always called him that, and he figured it was because his father's side of the family owned a Criollo farm in Guatemala. Oh... Maybe his precious would want some chocolate? He would need to get some on the way home. He just couldn't eat it in the library. "Totchlee, you can go, I have known his father a long time. Sit, Artemio, and tell me what is wrong." Art like that about this old man - he never beat around the bush even when Art had met him when the man was still just an apprentice to the last witch doctor. "She belonged to my sister," he said as he sat on the soft sand and watched the hunter that had helped him leave. "My sister used her to track me, but she was kidnapped in Greece by her. My... house guest? He made it to where she won't remember things even if she tried to recover her memories, but she needs to go back to magical Greece only I can't take her to the community." Cuetzpallee was studying him the whole time while he struggled through the explanation, and when Art finished, he pulled out his wand, conjured up a bowl, filled it with water, then pulled out a handful of maize kernels from a pouch at his waist. "There is more to the story I can tell, but I will not pry," the old human said as he tossed the maize into the bowl, and Art sighed with relief. He wondered what the witch doctor was doing as he watched the man stare at the kernels, but he figured it the man was preparing his breakfast or something. "I will take her to the city in your stead and say we found her just outside our lands bewitched and unconscious. However, when the hungry coyote devours the rainbow, bring him here." Art was very confused, and the man smiled at him. "You have found Netzahualcoyotl and he would be good for a ceremony, but only after he becomes one with the rainbow. You will understand my words as long as you do not forget them." Art thought it was very strange, but it sounded like a prophecy and he had many prophecy books so he nodded an agreement. "Thank you," he said, then tried to stand up, but his legs were so wobbly that he ended up right back down on his butt again with a groan. "Stay, eat with me, rest when I leave, then resume your journey," the witch doctor told him. Art unhappily frowned as he tried to stand again, but the same thing happened so he gave a reluctant nod. "Good, good... I was wondering who my surprise guest would be for the last few days! So, tell me how you come to be here without your father?" Art figured he had nothing else to do for the moment and the old man was letting him rest his human legs, so he started talking about how he decided to move to Guatemala recently where he could have some peace and quiet, only that story then led to how there had been a battle in the entrance of his cave and how he had nursed his house guest to health. The old man didn't even do or say anything to encourage him, just nodded at the right places and looked at him in a way that made Art feel like he understood, so the whole tale ended up coming out except for the bit about Adriel being his treasure and wearing a collar. "And then he didn't even tell me he was a prince of the Navajo tribe! But he shot Sarah right in the mouth when she wouldn't leave, and now I'm very worried that Sarah will come back and kill him." "Prince, you say?" the witch doctor said, looking surprised, but Art solemnly nodded. "The Navajo do not have princes, not royalty ones, but prince or princess is a loose translation of an endearment they use so he probably means he is held in high esteem or beloved by the tribe rather than just his clan. We do a lot of trade with them, do you know his clan name?" Art had no idea what a clan name was. "Uhm... His name is Adriel Chee?" Art offered, and to his surprise, the old man chuckled. "Ah, I see," the man said with amusement. "He is indeed beloved by his tribe even if he does cause a lot of trouble according to the rumor mill us witch doctors have. His grandfather is a very powerful and respected medicineman, and he has been trying to get his grandson to follow a certain path only any plans that the tribe has tried to make for him has always fallen into a chaotic mess. Still, somehow things always turn out alright for him and sometimes his methods have results even better than what the tribe had expected, but he is a very powerful warrior and sorcerer so you need not fear that your sister will kill him."Art had a feeling that Cuetzpallee knew a lot more than what he was saying, but breakfast was over and the man stood up. "Well, I shall take her in, but there are mats in that corner over there. You can lay a few down and take a nap, but I thank you for your tale and wish you luck with your guest. He can be a handful since he tumbles into trouble all the time." Art nodded and watched the old man effortlessly lift Athena up and then head out, and the hut suddenly felt a lot bigger and emptier now that he was alone in it. He realized that he was not feeling as bad as he was before, though, so he felt grateful to the old man and got up to wobble to the mats and just used one as a pillow as curled up on top of the soft sand.
Adriel had just finished putting away the last of the sheets he had washed after spending the day doing laundry in the pool when he heard the clatter of talons on the ledge outside his room. He moved back to see if it would be 'Artemio' or 'Jose' that was coming in, and it was apparently the dragon since a giant head cautiously peeked in just like Artemio had done the 'first time' Adriel had met the dragon. The eyes were filled with fear, but the sadness also in them meant it was fear of rejection or anger rather than fear of Adriel himself. "Come in, I just finished cleaning," Adriel said in a friendly tone though he couldn't bring himself to smile since he had no idea how much of this whole thing was a lie. "Thank you for giving me some time, I needed it." Art came in all the way, and Adriel noticed there was a bag around his neck that he pulled off and gently put on top of the bed. "A present, but I'm not trying to bribe your forgiveness," Art said, sounding very nervous to Adriel's ear. "I am also willing to take off your collar and fly you where you want to go. I can't take care of you - I am too weak - and it is very wrong and will hurt you if I try to keep you while Sarah keeps trying to find a way to hurt you or something. It's better to let you go and run free than..." Art sniffled. "Than to force you to stay. I'm so sorry! You can take anything you want with you - the pins and necklaces and chalice and-" "Don't try to send me off without talking first, Art," Adriel sternly cut in as he folded his arms across his chest. "I want some answers before I make my own decisions. First, what is your real name?" Artemio hunkered down and it made him look like a kicked puppy, but Adriel knew he couldn't just relent even if he did want to. "Artemio Jose Miller Reyes," he said in a small voice. "I didn't lie about my name, I just didn't give all of it. At the same time. And I am half Guatemalan, too. I didn't lie about that, either. I only lied about being two different people." "What would happen if I leave?" Adriel asked. "Or if your chalice were to break? Or your books were to burn? Or your artifacts were stolen?" Art cringed at each question, and Adriel quietly sighed since it didn't sound like it would be very good. "I... don't know," Art mumbled. "Sarah burned a book once, one of mine when I was about a century old and it felt like I was burned and it hurt for days. Ever since then, I learned how to enchant my stuff for the best protections because I don't want to know what happens. I have heard about dragons that have killed themselves or went completely mad and had to be put down because they lost their hoard. I also know that sometimes a dragon will give away their treasure to someone, though, but only under special circumstances or favors. So... I could give you to yourself and I will be fine." Art might have made that offer, but Adriel suspected it was a partial lie. Or rather, a Art trying to convince the both of them that nothing bad might happen. "The more stuff you have, the stronger your magic is, right?" Art nodded. "Is protection magic the only kind you use, and how do you use it?" Art shifted so that he could properly settle down rather than hunker down in that half cowering way he had been doing. "It's instinctual like the magic of a phoenix's song is or the invisibility of a demiguise," Art said. "Our hoard is our all, so we imbue ourselves in it is the best way to put it. I breathe on or lick what I am trying to protect, but some dragons apply it by tapping on it or sleeping on it or whatever it is that feels right to us. Sarah rolls around in her coins, but she holds the more delicate jewelries clasped in her hand before she drops it into the pile so it won't get crushed. I'm one of the few that can do more than just prevent things from being burned or crushed, though. I can keep things from being stolen, coat the walls to alert me to dangerous things, make the walls crush the dangerous things, make my den so magical that me or mine won't get hurt in it at all no matter what unless I am dead. There has to be a mental and emotional connection for a spiritual or physical connection to form, though. When I first saw you, I could have walked away, but it was the first time I ever felt fascinated with a human and I didn't want you to die. I didn't realize that a bond had formed while I was nursing you until it was too late, but I kept trying to fight it so I could send you away as soon as you could travel. Only... I wanted to be able to meet and talk to you properly first. So I made up this room and continued to wait for you to wake up, and... Well, you know the rest. I panicked and couldn't say I was a dragon if I was going to just send you away, and I had meant for you to meet me as a dragon first so I could offer to fly you to safety instead." Adriel breathed out another sigh, though this time it was one of relief, and he dropped his arms as he started walking towards Art who immediately went into a half cringe and quivering position. The dragon obviously wanted to run away, but he was forcing himself to stay, and he squeezed his eyes shut when Adriel reached out to pet his muzzle with shushing noises he would use on a scared animal. "Look, we all make silly mistakes when we are afraid," Adriel said. "The best you can do is apologize and try to make amends, and that is what you are trying to do when you apologized and offered to let me free even though you don't know if it will hurt you or not. I will accept the removal of my collar-" Art whimpered and looked at him with sad eyes "-but I will remain while we figure out how to fix this so that you are not hurt. I need the option to leave since I would like to roam further than a hundred feet from you. I want to go hunting tomorrow and gather some supplies to make soap and stuff since I'm running low and I need to stretch my legs out properly. Yes, I want you to come with me, and if the offer of flight is an option, I would like to hunt outside of this tribe's lands and would love to see what it is like to ride a dragon." "You don't hate me?" Art asked in a small voice, and Adriel smiled at Art as he shook his head no. Art then burst into tears so Adriel tried to hug his face and comfort him, only Art lunged forward a little, knocked him down and rubbed his face all over him. "Thank you thank you I'm so sorry precious I will do better and take care of you better!" ****************** Rather than retire to his library like he usually did when Adriel went to sleep, Art stayed in the room all night and watched his human. He had removed the collar, Adriel absolutely loved the chocolate and made the same kind of moaning sounds he had made with Athena when he ate it that made Art feel all weird but happy this time, and then Adriel told him he would need some books on eighth century norse religion, more specifically on Frode Haraldson. Art didn't know who that was off the top of his head since he liked runes and mythology but didn't particularly care about politics, and Adriel said he was a priest that was able to broker peace in the name of Freyr but died a bit too early to make a big name of himself because he was on a ship that sank off the coast of Germany. His human was so perfect. Adriel was right, Art should never have tried to put a collar on him. Not that Adriel had said that, but Art knew from the start that he was wild, and seeing him draw that bow, mate so freely, be very warm and understanding but also have a cold and ruthless side, and pad around in only his skin when Art was a dragon and seemed unfazed even when Jose was around and only covered for 'the other human's sake' really should have told Art that Adriel would never have been happy with that collar on. Art never wanted to be looked at like how Adriel had looked at Sarah when he had threatened her (such a terrifying tone, but that expression was would have looked perfect on a statue of an emperor leading his men into battle), or worse, how Adriel had looked at Athena right before he stunned her - like she was not worth his time and had wasted too much of it. Adriel had also told him he had been very pissed off when she interrupted their conversation to speak English when she had deliberately been pretending she couldn't until then. Art's thoughts drifted towards his morning and back to the witch doctor - he had thought about the old man several times since he left that village. How would a coyote eat a rainbow? And if there was a rainbow-eating coyote, how would he carry it all the way back north to pay off his debt? It was a horrible riddle he had been left with, and that was one of the many reasons why Art didn't like divination. You could never tell what it meant until it already passed, so there was no point to it! There were so many tragedies that circled around prophecies - sons killing fathers, fathers eating their own offspring, gods punishing men who would then rise up for revenge, and so much more. If he were to have a prophecy, he would like it to say 'The next time you see the bust of Emperor Septimus, press on the wall to the left side of it and it will open up into a hidden library cache of books and parchment that was saved from the Library of Alexandria.' That would be a good prophecy. Clear cut. No way to misunderstand it. He would probably be too busy with his snout in a book to notice a hungry coyote - it wasn't like it could chew through the scales on the very tip of his tail. No mundane animal could hurt him, so he never paid any attention to one, and he wasn't even sure what a coyote looked like except that maybe it was a small brown wolf. Or a large brown dog. Or was it grey? Orange? He didn't even know! "Art, if you're goin' ta stare so hard, get your ass in here with me," Adriel sleepy grumbled as he shifted to face him, and Art's wings nervously shifted at the offer. It wasn't like he could fit on the bed! "As Jose. Keep wakin' me. Easier if you jus' lemme cuddle." Art thought about it and figured it made sense, and since he didn't want to leave Adriel's side yet after coming so close to losing him, he shifted forms then frowned at the rumpled suit he was still wearing. He looked at Adriel longly, but he didn't want to make his precious treasure all dirty, so he left the room to get a new set of clothes before he took a quick bath in the spring. He yawned as he pulled on the Guatemalan pants and tied the sash at the top, then he popped out his wings and flew up to the ledge before he made them disappear so he could pull on a dark blue tunic with criss crossing patterns. He entered the room and then padded to the bed, only once he got there, he wasn't sure what to do. Was he supposed to just crawl over Adriel? Or wake him up and ask him to scoot over? Or crawl in on the other side of the bed? He started to turn to do that, but something - Adriel - grabbed his tunic and yanked him over, and he yelped as he felt himself fall. Then he landed on Adriel's chest, realized his treasure was naked under the sheets, tried to squirm to the other side, only Adriel growled and he froze for a second. Suddenly, the world spun and there was shuffled fabric sounds and copper skin and sheets in dizzying flashes, then Art found himself on his back and his treasure half on top of him with his left leg entwined in Adriel's legs and Adriel was snuffling and rubbing his face on Art's tunic until he pillowed his head on Art's left shoulder and wrapped his arm around Art's chest and pulled him in so there was absolutely no space between them. Art remained frozen for almost a whole minute out of shock and fear, but nothing else happened except that he wanted to shiver because Adriel's exhales kept puffing against his neck. He knew his face had to be very red because he could feel Adriel's hard body against his entire left side, and even Adriel's reproduction organ was pressed up against his left hip and Art needed to stop thinking because it was getting very hard not to make a sound. Or no, he was making sounds. A raspy breathing that was very fast and short, and he took a deep breath and held it to make it stop. Art wondered if this was that Di's treasure chest plushie felt like that Di literally hugged the stuffing out of several times. Their mom had to fix it often until Di got old enough to use his dragon magic on it. Every hatchling got something on their birth like that that they got to drag around because it would inevitably break, the parent would fix it, and the cycle would repeat until a hatchling's own yearning for their favorite toy to never break again made them perform something protective. Usually. Art's own thing he clung to was E. Nesbit's ' Five Children & It.' It was a book about five kids that found a fairy that would grant them a wish a day, but the wish would always cause loads of problems that the kids would also have to fix. And then Sarah burned it, so it couldn't be fixed, but now he had the best enchantments ever because he never accidentally cast a spell after that day. It had always been deliberate with a goal in mind since he never ever wanted his hoard to be hurt. Since he had practiced on books - something even more delicate than fine jewelry - he was pretty confident to say that nobody in his age group or even his parent's own age group could outdo him in protections. Thinking about that book made him compare it to his situation with Adriel, though. Adriel was like the wish the fairy granted him, only it had been causing the both of them loads of trouble. Adriel had been trying to fix it... And Art had been messing it up. A lot. Not that Adriel hadn't either... Adriel had also apologized for letting Athena paw all over him because he had not thought about how it would make Art feel to have someone else touch his treasure. He had thought about the stuff in the jewelry box, but he had not considered himself as part of that. He had also said that if they couldn't fix anything at all, as long as Art let him journey out to do his jobs, he would return. He explained that he couldn't stop working because he supported his mother and his clan, and he also had family in Ireland that he needed to see for at least a week every year because he was the only one left directly related to them. Plus, Adriel really loved his job. Art knew that - Adriel had told him many stories about his adventures into tombs and dangerous cities. Stories about interrupting smuggling rings, learning to survive in the congos with only a leopard for company, and running free with the wild horses on the Great Plains and attacking cowboys out to kill off the herds. Adriel was a protagonist unlike Art who just stayed in the library all day... But Adriel also made Art want to be a protagonist with the stories he told. He wished he could also journey with Adriel into ancient tombs and hidden temples in the jungles. Art had been in those things - the beads he got for Adriel were from a Mayan temple after all. And there had been plenty of ancient graves and tombs that had been long forgotten where he had sensed historical artifacts from. He usually left those alone unless he had a reason to go to them - like the Mayan temple for Adriel's beads - but... It felt different. His own magic and hide protected him from curses or anything icky that might be in there, but Adriel didn't have those things and his battles were part of the adventure. Art wondered if he could go along with Adriel on his jobs sometimes. Maybe as an ancient language and history expert? He had Oxford credits... Though he would have to do it again since it had been a couple decades ago. Would Adriel even let him if the bond was broken, though? He- -Squeaked because Adriel squeezed him tighter and was nuzzling his neck with a humming sound. Art realized that maybe he should have gone to the library... Adriel was bigger and stronger than him in his human form, and he was so small and squishy! And he couldn't control his breathing! And he was red again! It was going to be a long night...
Adriel was in very good spirit towards the end of the next day. He had a brace of rabbits, found a wild field of soapweed that had probably been a farm for it decades ago until the natives had been press-ganged into slavery so was able to obtain a whole plant rather than a few leaves that he had originally planned, and got to ride a dragon! That last one was actually the highlight of his day even if Art was flying like an old grandma dragon despite him begging Art to go faster, higher, dive, do loops, or any other suggestions he was shouting over the wind even now as they got close to Art's cave. However, he felt Art stiffen under him, so Adriel went quiet and started to search the area ahead for what Art might have seen, and when he saw a dragon at the top of Art's cliff, he used his thighs to grip the base of Art's neck where he was sitting so he could let go of the spine he had been holding and free up his hands to pull out his bow just as Art let out a trumpeting sound that was very different from the angry growl with Sarah. The other dragon called back in the same way, so Adriel went back to holding the spine with one hand though he didn't put his bow away. Art banked so that he could glide to the top of the cliff, and Adriel briefly grinned since he loved the way the drop made his stomach flip. However, he made sure he had his game face on when they landed, and he immediately leapt off before Art had gone completely still so he could pull out an arrow and positioned himself so that Art was between them for Art's state of mind, but also so he could shoot even though he had not drawn his bow back or notched his arrow. "It's ok, Adriel, this is Manuelo, my father!" Art said, and Adriel leaned around Art so he could get a better look at the other dragon. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Adriel realized that Art must have gotten his slimmer build from his father - the man was much more serpentine like the Mayan dragons were known to be. He also had some colorful scales on a small area around his neck where the feathers of a 'feathered serpent' would be, but otherwise he was a milk chocolate brown dragon. The dragon's scales were also small like dimes unlike Art's medium sized scales the size of quarters or Sarah's large scales more suited to a regular dragon. The dragon also had whiskers like Kukulkan did, but they were very short and made him think of a mustache rather than a catfish. "Your sister came home a few days ago with a tale about you having a savage human in your hoard that shot her in the tongue and threatened to blind her," Art's father rumbled out in a deep voice. The dragon was also looking at him, but Art looked back without any sign of remorse or shame for his actions. "It seems like you take after your Guatemalan side more than your English one. We need to speak since there are things I must tell you, and your human should stay here for this." Adriel noticed Art crinkling his snout to show his distaste for a brief second, then he turned his head to him and nudged him with his snout. "Get back on Adriel, we need to go inside," Art said in a sulky grumble. "You are invited, father, and also invited for dinner if Adriel doesn't mind." Adriel had tucked away his weapons and was halfway up Art's shoulder, so he waited until he was all the way up and seated before he replied. "I have half a dozen rabbits, so I don't mind," Adriel said. "It will be a couple hours since I was thinking stew. Art said he missed spicy foods, so I picked some wild peppers and a few other herbs as well." Manuelo made smacking sounds and he licked his lips. "I have not had wild rabbit stew in a long time," he said in an eager tone. "The British love beef and pork, and Artermio's mother is no exception to that. Game animal is far too ignoble even though hunting is a sport even the nobility enjoy." Adriel snickered. "You can go to the pubs in Ireland and find the occasional one that serves rabbit dishes," he said. "Out in the country, you will find those that serve quail, pheasant, duck, deer, feral sheep and goats, and hares during the appropriate hunting seasons. Not sure what they serve in Scotland and Wales, but it would probably be similar, and there are the countryside pubs in England where you might find farm raised rabbits and deer being served." "Come on," Art grumbled out before Manuelo could reply, and then he hopped up into the air before making a sharp turn that had Adriel whoop with joy before he dove right into the cave. Adriel dismounted, but he started walking towards something shiny that had caught his eye since the sun was at a good angle to light up a spot that had been in darkness that morning. Art's father landed right behind Artemio, and both dragons shifted to human form. "Oh! I forgot about that!" Art said as he bounced forward, and Adriel paused to let him pick up... a skirt of bright leaves? Adriel realized it was feathers, very bright feathers, just as Art put the headdress on him. "The tribe left that as an offering," Art explained as he adjusted it while looking at Adriel with adoration. "There's also honey and fabric and dried meat I meant to tell you about. There! You look so pretty! I knew it would be gorgeous, just like an ancient Mayan king, and-" Adriel and Manuelo both cleared their throats at the same time, and Art furiously blushed as he stumbled back, and Art had to reach out and catch him before he fell. "Why don't you grab everything, and I'll meet you and your father in the kitchen," Adriel suggested with a smile as he made sure Art was steady. Art nodded, so he reached out and patted the top of his head before he started down the dark tunnel with a wave at Art's father as he passed him. "He is a handsome young warrior," Adriel heard Art's father say in Spanish. "Where did you find him?" "Dad, he can speak Spanish!" Art wailed out, and Adriel had to swallow a laugh. "Don't be embarrassing!" Adriel ignored whatever was said next since he could smell the water, and he had to focus for the next part. He didn't have wings, and the tunnel came out at the pool, so he had to do his water walk-ish while carrying half a dozen rabbits until he got all the way out of the tunnel and could climb up the wall. Adriel kept one hand on the wall for balance as he walked on the water. If walking meant sinking down anywhere from his ankle to halfway to his knees with each step, anyway. It was like walking on thick mud, to be honest, only there was a lot more splashing rather than slurping sounds since it was his poor attempts with water manipulation that was making the water 'hard' enough to walk on so he wasn't dealing with waist deep water. He was almost at the opening when he felt eyes on him, and he gritted his teeth so he didn't lose focus and managed to make the last two clumsy steps before he could get to a spot where he could climb up to the second level. Earth poking was easy, so he scaled up quickly like a lizard would. He was at the top when he saw Adriel and Manuelo fly out over the pool. Their bodies were human but their backs had dragon wings, and it was Adriel's first time seeing a partial transformation state like that. Art blushed when he realized Adriel was staring, but Manuelo looked amused, and Art stumbled as he landed so that Adriel had to catch him while Manuelow landed and chuckled. "I thought you were Indian, but Art says you are Navajo?" Manuelo asked, and it took Adriel a second for him to realize that the man meant India kind of Indian rather than the native American kind. He nodded. "With some medicine man training if you are doing water walking tricks, too! Why did you shoot my daughter?" Adriel blinked. "She barged in uninvited, I heard fighting, and I rushed out to assist Art," Adriel said. "She had her claws dug into his sides and was much bigger, and it looked like Art was outmatched so I evened the scales by threatening her to back away and to let go of the terrified human on her back. Some words were exchanged and I came out on top in our verbal altercation, only she turned and spat out such vitriol to Art that I shut her up the fastest way I could while forcing her to leave. I made sure that I would pin her tongue rather than make her choke on my arrow - I just wanted her to shut up and go, not cause permanent damage. Her tongue will easily heal, and I won't apologize for my action in defending Art who saved my life." "Ah, those two have been fighting pretty much since Sarah popped out of the egg and spit fire into his eyes," Manuelo said with a shrug. "I was not looking for an apology, only wondering what exactly had happened. I love my little girl, but she likes to tell tall tales. According to her, you were a blood soaked dark wizard that used a magic bow made of bone to get past her defences and were probably controlling Artemio since he actually attacked her for the first time." Adriel burst out laughing. "Oh, that is funny because I met Art as a human at first, and I thought he was being controlled by a dark creature, witch, or twisted ex-human that tried to attain immortality through evil rituals since he acted so strange and insisted that there was a talking dragon that I would be meeting that had decided to keep me," he explained. "No, my bow is made of holy white ash, and the arrow I used on her was a simple pine shaft with an obsidian head and turkey feather fletching. No need for more than that since I can hit a bullseye from one hundred feet, and she was only twenty feel away." "Adriel, you should start cooking since it is going to take a couple hours, right?" Art said before Manuelo could reply, and Adriel wink at Art since he looked very mortified now. "We will be in the dining room!" Adriel chuckled again as he gave Manuelo a nod, then turned and headed to the kitchen. One there, he used magic to get everything prepped and chopping, then he cleaned and trimmed the rabbits before deboning them, broke each bone, and dumped them along with the skull and the brains into the boiling pot. Some of the herbs he had picked up was added in next along with the seasonings, then he mixed the meat up with cornstarch, salt, and pepper before browning them on the cast iron skillet. The grease was drained from the pan, the meat was set to the side to cool, and then Adriel chopped up the wild hot peppers, scooped out the seeds, crushed the seeds with a spoon, then added the crushed seeds into the pot before he walked out and followed the short passage into the next cave that Art used as his dining room. "Why won't you just tell me why you are here and then go?" Adriel heard. "You are embarrassing me and I am trying to fix some mistakes I made!" "I'm here," Adriel said before the conversation could go further so that he wasn't eavesdropping. "But I can go back if you two need some more time?" "Yes!" "No," Manuelo said at the same time, then he gave Art the patented 'Dad look' that always got their own kids to back off. Even David had it, though it only worked when Adriel had actually managed to get on his very last nerve. "He needs to know, Artemio, just like you do. I am sorry, please have a seat Adriel." Adriel took a seat where there was an empty teacup meant for him right by Art, then he started to reach out for the teapot only Art snatched it up first and filled his cup. "I'm guessing this has to do with me being his hoard?" he asked, and when Manuelo nodded Adriel shrugged. "Well, I'm looking into it right now. If it's a magical bond, I could probably break or move it to-" "No!" Manuelo said, sounding panicked, and it made both Adriel and Art stare at him. "That is to say, my son is taking after his grandfather in this." Manuelo looked away from Adriel's eyes to search Art's eyes, then nodded. "I do not speak of him except to say that he left my mother shortly after I was born, and you know she is only half dragon that cannot change and my younger brother is full human. What I never said is that she used to be full human, but my father attempted to change her through ritual because he loved her strong enough to form a bond with her. It failed because she was scared of dragons and it made her reluctant, but for rituals like that, you need to be fully devoted or it will fail." "Humans can't become dragons," Art said with a scowl. "And I don't understand what that has to do with Adriel being my hoard. I love him like I love my books!" Adriel thought he understood where this was going. "Art, your father speaks of ancient magics where things like what he suggests is possible," he explained. "Possible, but so rare that it is probably an oral tradition or secrets locked deep away. You should listen." Manuelo nodded an agreement with Adriel's statement, so Art settled back but it was with an unhappy pout. "You know that when your mother and I first saw each other, we immediately knew that we were a love match," Manuelo said, and Art's attitude changed so that he looked wistful as he leaned forward agan and nodded. "Ancient Mayan lines like your grandfather... Well, had my blood not been so diluted, the bond I share with your mother would have been much stronger. I never told her about it or you kids about it since 'love at first sight' is plausible, but Mayan dragons are primeval and their blood is volatile from centuries of channeling ancient magics for human ceremonies. It leaves them with gifts, son. Gifts and curses. Unlike the Europeans, the Mayans do not keep magical people as servants. They were avatars of the gods and centerpieces of the rituals, and humans respected them as such, but they could also be the ones that stripped flesh from bone or make an entire sicken and die. There were good dragons that defended the people, and there were evil dragons that demanded sacrifice, only a dragon could also be good for one ritual and evil for another ritual. They did not enslave the humans - the humans did that to each other. There was no need to enslave a human, not when they worked with and among them, and were classified as beings so high above a human that the concept of good and evil did not apply to them." Adriel was very intrigued, so when Art looked like he was about to make another temperamental comment, he covered his mouth with his hand and nodded at Manuelo to continue. "Sorry son, I am getting there, I promise," the older dragon said with a chuckle, and Adriel removed his hand to pat Art on the top of his head. "Your grandfather left, but he was slaughtered shortly after. He left to protect my mother and I, and though he did not know it, my younger brother as well. The Mayan dragons bond with humans, not with each other, but ever since the whole region was defeated by the Spanish, they only bond to pure South American wizards. Ah, your Navajo knows what I mean with that comment. There are pockets of hidden cities that the magical natives fled to with their gold and artifacts from all of the civilizations, and the Mayan dragons are one of the few who are allowed to travel in and out as freely as they wish. "However, dragons live long lives, and the elder dragon council is very bitter even now about the loss of their homes," Manuelo said with a sad smile. "My father explained these things to me just in case I ever showed signs of their abilities or bonded with a witch doctor in this region which would have made it very likely that my children would definitely continue the line. When I bonded with a European dragon, however, I didn't think it would apply so I never talked about it. One of the main rules was that a Mayan dragon was not allowed to try to transform a European 'shaman' into a dragon, but your grandfather thought that your grandmother being non-magical was an excellent loophole in the law. She had less than a quarter of Native blood in her, and was probably another reason why the ritual failed. She did not believe and she was reluctant and she did not have a firm enough connection to these lands. And you barely have a little over a quarter between her blood and his, so you might be able to enter into one of those cities without penalty. I do not know, it is a question for one of the witch doctors in this region." Manuelo paused to shake his head since Art was still looking mulish and confused even though Adriel knew for sure what was going on. "Son, you formed a mate bond with Adriel, not a hoard bond," he said. "Think for a moment... If you were about to lose your favorite book or Adriel and could only save one, which one would you save?" Art peeked at Adriel who was watching him, so he was able to catch how Art's eyes went wide with shock before he turned red and ducked his head. "Exactly. And these things are not of magic, Adriel. They are of the heart and soul. Trying to change or break it would-" "-lead to terrible consequences," Adriel finished with a grimace. In other words, Art fell in love with him at first sight, but did not even realize what he had done and had mistaken it for the same feelings that he had for his hoard. He was very much aware that to break that kind of bond through magic could leave one or the both of them emotionally crippled at best, or turned into some evil creature at worst. Saying no and leaving Art would break Art's heart, but it was something he would recover from eventually. On the other hand, he could be a fully sentient dragon being, but that would mean he would have to try to love Art back and... Art made a small choked sobbing sound and Adriel looked down to see that Art had curled up inwards and was trying not to cry. He glanced at Manuelo and saw the man also looked pained as he met Adriel's eyes, and Adriel knew that Art's father knew that Adriel did not feel the same way about Art. Adriel shook head head as he reached out to ruffle Art's hair. "Don't just give up, Art. Or think you are worthless, either. No, I don't feel the same way, but I did not even consider it since our species are vastly difference and I didn't even think it was a possibility so I was working on friendship with you. Anyway, you speak more with your father and I will work on the stew and give you both some privacy." Art nodded as he stayed curled up, so Adriel got up to go cook. He didn't even make it into the kitchen when he heard Art finally let go of his heart broken cries, but he kept going forward since he knew he would only make it worse since the only thing that Adriel could say to make things better was to also confess to feelings that he didn't have. Art's father would be able to console his son and explain the hint that Adriel had dropped about maybe being willing to see if things were possible between them. *************************** Art felt like someone had kicked his chest so hard that his rib cage had collapsed as he shook and sobbed so hard that he couldn't respond at all to his father who had gotten up to hold and rock him back and forth as soon as Adriel had walked off. He felt betrayed that Adriel had left, but he was also relieved that Adriel couldn't see how pathetic he was. He was over two centuries years old, and he still needed to be held like a baby and he was so stupid that he didn't even realize he loved Adriel until it was too late. All because he was a dragon. And Adriel might have told him not to give up, but Art already knew that Adriel didn't want to be with a virgin and didn't like them, and Art could never lose is to someone unless he loved them. It was definitely over, and there was nothing he could do about it. His father scooped him up and carried him out of the room while he continued to sob, only he was still crying so hard that he couldn't breathe either. His dad switched over to the draconic tongue of growls, rumbles, and subvocal vibrations and Art could finally hear him through his cries. "Son, Artemio, my most gentle child," Manuelo rumbled in a very sad tone. "Why do you think yourself so worthless? Why did you never tell me you felt like that? You are the best child, my favorite one though I should not have favorites, and were always so smart and so eager to be independent and on your own. He said he did not even consider it a possibility, and he is right that most humans that do not know of us would never consider loving or marrying a dragon. Or even befriending one! He has already been trying to befriend you, so you should be trying to woo him to show you can be a good and attentive match for him. I can already see how dedicated you are to him!" Art managed to swallow down his sobs as Manuelo set him down on the ledge by the water and sat down next to him. "He doesn't like or want virgins, dad," Art choked out in a quiet voice. "There was. That girl. She was here that Sarah had. And Adriel was sleeping with her. And then he got upset when he found out she was one and tried to stop being with her. And she loved him! But he obliviated her. Because she was upsetting him. And so that she would not tell anyone about us. Maybe he will obliviate me if I ask so I can just forget. It will be better." Manuelo looked horrified by the story, but then he frowned in a way that told Art that he was thinking, and Art pulled the bottom of his tunic up to sob into it so the sound was muffled. "I think maybe there is a misunderstanding here, Artemio," his father said in a gentle voice as he put a hand on his shoulder, only Art jerked away because he was tired of nobody believing him and just cried even harder. "No son, I am serious. Your Navajo said not to give up. He was honest with the girl when he rejected her. He is telling you he is not rejecting you even if he isn't accepting you yet. You can easily shed your virginity on your first night with him, but you should at least ask first if it is a problem. He could have been upset because he did not want to take someone's first time away from them when he could not love them, and reacted in anger because he felt guilty even if it was consensual on both of their parts. All people and animals get illogical when angry, guilty, or fearful. You need to ask him if your inexperience in the bedroom will be a problem before you give up." Art was surprised to hear his father say almost the same thing Adriel had said about fear making people illogical because Art had been very illogical when he pretended to be two different people and kept up the lie despite his guilt. It didn't stop his sobbing, but it did ease it a tiny bit. Then his dad told him he should ask Adriel that question, only he shook his head no because it wasn't proper since he wasn't married to Adriel and how could his father ask him that when his father told him he should not talk to anyone about sexual things unless he is married to them? Only... Well, Art had spied on Adriel doing that. And now that he realized he was a pervert because he had spied on Adriel and Adriel was not his hoard! He started sobbing harder and completely missed what his dad said. It took him a few minutes to realize he was even alone out here on the ledge, and he figured that his father must also have given up because Art had pulled away and ignored him. And then there was warmth at his back and arms going around his stomach, and he was relieved since his father didn't leave him after all. Except it wasn't his father's voice that spoke up. "Dear gods, Art!" Adriel said, and when Art tried to wiggle away and just fall into the pool since that was the only direction to go, he was sighed at and pulled back against Adriel's chest. "Nuh uh, you aren't jumping down here. There is a rock directly below us, and you will break open your silly head and your brains will spill out everywhere. Brains you currently are not using, by the way. Your father had to tell me what the issue was, and I ran out here as soon as he finished. Sheesh, when I said I don't like virgins, I meant I don't like sleeping with them as flings because they get clingy like Athena did unless it's just a one night stand situation where the other person is just wanting to get rid of a pesky hymen or find out why people talk about it so much." Art had not really cared that there was a rock down there, but Adriel wouldn't let go of him and he finally wore himself out enough that he couldn't hold his arms up, let alone squirm. He had to turn so he could sob into Adriel's shoulder to hide his face. "Really, you are making a mountain out of a molehill," Adriel said, and Art sobbed even harder because he knew Adriel had been very annoyed with Athena's crying and he was sure that Adriel was annoyed with his and would leave soon. "Look, you loved me this whole time, right?" Art nodded against Adriel since he didn't have the breath to say anything out loud. "Now, I thought 'Jose' had a crush and I thought he was cute. Athena, on the other hand, was just supposed to be a bit of fun and relaxation - there was no emotional connection there on my part. For me, sex is just an activity to do when both people want to have a bit of fun together, and I told her very clearly I was not interested in an emotional attachment with her and she had agreed. She tried to say that she loved me so much that she 'gifted' me her virginity to try and make me feel obligated to return her feelings, and I'm not down with that kind of manipulation when I already state my boundaries. People who are not experienced... They can fall in love very fast and cling to the person that they slept with for the first time because it is an intimate act, so they think there is more to it than that if I stick around for more than a day or two. Not everyone is like that, but enough of them are that I don't like to get involved in flings with them because they will get so upset and try to draw other people into the drama." Art's sobs had quieted a bit since Adriel had started to rub circles on his back and he was trying to listen - something very hard to do if he was too loud. "However, you already loved me, and I was still wanting to be friends with you even though I thought you had a crush," Adriel continued, and Art nodded again. "Honestly, I think it might be pretty neat to be a dragon as well. However, I'm not going to try to trick you into thinking I love you just so I can be a dragon. I mean, I'm already a horse-" Wait, he was? "-so it isn't like I'm inexperienced in changing my skin. I might be willing to try to see if I can return your feelings, but I need a bit of time to think about it since it is a big decision. Literally life changing. Even if you were not a dragon, falling in love with someone is life changing. Don't forget I have duties to family in two different countries, too, so there is a lot of thinking to do. But you gave me my freedom, Art." Art felt Adriel shift, and then there was a soft handkerchief and Adriel was trying to lean back to clean his face but he wrapped his arms around Adriel because he didn't want the snot and the puffiness to be seen. "Come on, silly dragon. Let me clean you up a little, it's ok." Art struggled, but he was still tired so Adriel easily pulled him back a little and his face was getting mopped up while he hiccuped. "You have no idea how important freedom is for me, and not being chained down is the biggest reason why I am not interested in relationships yet. You have proved you are willing to accept that and I really do have a thing for latinos, so just give me a few days to think and talk about boundaries and how things will work if we want to proceed, okay? Blow your nose." Art scrunched up his face and blew out his nose, and Adriel wiped it off to his embarrassment. But. He realized Adriel was not rejecting him like his dad said and sounded like he wanted to be a dragon. Except how could he if his roots were not tied to these lands? "What if you end up failing the ritual?" he asked with a look of anguish. "Then you won't be a dragon and will leave me and-" "Shush you," Adriel said while he rudely cut him off with a new and even softer handkerchief to clean his face. "First, if I do the ritual, it is only because I love you enough to want to spend centuries with you. That would be hard since I will have to watch my clan grow old and die for many generations and see my English family's end, too. However, it means I would love you enough that I am willing to go through such pain, so if I fail the ritual, I won't resent you or leave you because I am doing it to be with you. It also means that I will need to make a human child for my father's side of the family so the English line does not die with me, and that means I would have to watch my child grow up, grow old, and die as well. How long do you live, anyway?" "Ten years is like one, so a thousand isn't uncommon," Art mumbled and he dropped his eyes, suddenly feeling ashamed since he realized how much Adriel would lose and why Adriel had told him no so strongly when he had mentioned he was looking for a way to make him live longer. "Eight or nine centuries is more common to die from old age." "Oh, stop getting yourself worked up," Adriel said, and Art looked up with a sad frown thinking he had annoyed Adriel and was confused by the smile that was there instead. "It would be my choice. Just give me a couple days to think it over. It really would not be a hardship to fall in love with you since you are very cute, have a nice ass I've admired several times, and you try so hard to care for me despite being pretty clueless about such things. Oh good, you are blushing again so you must be feeling better. Come on, let's get you up, and you can spend more time with your father while I continue to make the stew. He flew all the way here from England, so make sure you ask him all the questions you can about Mayan dragons and what other stuff they can do since he mentioned blessings and curses. Let's go, then."
Almost three years later... Art had learned many things since Adriel had come into his life half dead and flipped it upside down. He had learned that it was not unusual for Mayan dragons to collect religious ceremonies or knowledge, though they had collected oral tales or sacred tablets rather than books since books were not a thing in the Americas before the white man came. He learned that he probably had a curse of some kind deep inside his blood to balance the blessings of a mate he received. His father had warned him to be on the lookout for it, and Art thought he had it figured out. He had also learned his treasured human was very much not perfect, could be a brat, had more energy than Art could keep up with, didn't care too much to read 'dry texts' and 'boring stuff' like theories that Art loved, was definitely very fussy about clothes, was also messy with said clothes once he actually moved in a few months ago (Art would find them in weird places. Why had there been a shirt stuffed into the corner of a top shelf that Adriel would have had to literally climb up to to reach?! Art had found that one yesterday when he went to grab a book!), refused to common foods including garlic, would eat very strange foods like fried bat wings, and he could be very very annoying during monsoon season when he couldn't leave the cave for days at a time. Oh, and he could wear Art out in bed. Very much. A lot. Hours. It was very hard to keep up with Adriel in almost everything, and Art's once very peaceful life was no longer peaceful at all. However, Art did not regret any of it. Except during monsoon season when Adriel was trapped inside and would either interrupt his reading with talking, or Art would get drawn into sexual activities even though he didn't mean to because Adriel seemed to always know exactly what to say or do to distract him from his books. And then Art would be exhausted, he would fall asleep, and what was once one of his most favorite reading times was now spent practically in bed with Adriel unless Adriel was running around the world somewhere. The worst thing about Adriel was the adventures Art had once thought was interesting. It only took Art joining in two expeditions before he decided that his poor heart could not stand it. He had to be human for them, and while normal animals stayed away and were cautious since they could smell the dragon under his skin, he was a dangerous magical creature magnet. Manticores and hydras in Greece tried to nom him and Nundus and Antlions in Egypt thought it would be good fun to have a go because he could not change into a dragon while he was with a team of humans. It had been horrible to have giant teeth so close to his squishy flesh, but it had been even worse to see Adriel fight those things as a squishy human to keep him safe. Then there was the wild beastial dragon the time he had visited Adriel's grandparents and met the two females that were carrying Adriel's human offspring. Who expected a wild Welsh Green to pop out of nowhere? The bloody thing had smelled Art and had challenged him for the poor lambs Adriel had been introducing him to (and they had been too young to be afraid of him! Fluffy and warm and soft!), and Art had been unable to do anything. Adriel had used a very powerful shield to protect them and the baby lambs, and then he had kept the dragon at bay until the aurors came and subdued it. Art was done with those adventures. Adriel loved them, and if there was a choice between a safe option or a fun option, Adriel would often pick the fun option unless it might endanger others. Oh, and there was Adriel's very very annoying 'apprentice' Amon that joined Adriel recently, too. Art absolutely hated him. Wanted to bite him in half every time he opened his mouth. The two of them avoided each other like the plague since Adriel would get annoyed when their bickering got out of hand, and Adriel's temper was scarier than a wild Horntail's temper sometimes. Art had no idea how Adriel could stand the disrespectful little asshole that was apparently going to be running a criminal empire in Egypt. Amon's name was not allowed to be used in his cave. Art was still better when it came to research and knowledge, but Adriel was very very good at putting what he knew to use. His father had not been able to tell him how to perform the ritual to change Adriel into a dragon, but he had been able to tell him that he might be able to figure it out in the Kukulkan temples. After he had 'retired' from adventures the first year, he had spent the second searching out abandoned temples while Adriel was running around doing his death defying stuff around the world, and then Adriel had introduced him to his tribe. He had learned that skinwalkers must have thought he was yummy, and he was very very grateful that Adriel told him to never ever follow any voice he heard if he could not see the person calling for him, even if it sounded like him. Four different times he had heard 'Adriel' or his mom shout for him from inside canyons or out in the woods, and every time it happened, Adriel would come running out from the opposite direction of the voice and start chanting and throwing ashes and herbs, and it terrified him to know that there was something evil always lurking just outside of his senses and view. Art was a magnet for scary stuff when he was a human, so he preferred to be a dragon unless Adriel was by him now. Yes, the dangerous and evil creatures of the world were his curse, but the blessings of his precious Adriel was that he could protect him from them. Adriel had a couple of scars from the battle with the hydra since there had been something in its venom that made magical healing almost impossible, but Art had learned non-magical field medicine as well as potions and poultices to assist Adriel. He thought Adriel was still beautiful with them, but Art had been really terrified by that Horntail encounter so he had collected all the information he could in every Mayan temple he searched, then translated and laid it out for Adriel who knew and understood ancient rituals on an instinctual level that Art could never learn through books even if he studied it for five hundred years. He asked Adriel to please figure it out because Adriel was almost twenty seven, and between that and the dangerous creatures, he didn't want to lose him. They spent the second half of winter in his cave (the first half had been on tribe lands with the scary skinwalkers) pouring over the information together while Adriel asked for various tales that he might know that seemed random at first, only Adriel was able to put it all together like he was solving a very complicated riddle. Art had felt very guilty about asking Adriel to abandon his family for him, but Adriel intuited it, explained that he had already been making preparations which was why he had three children using potions and surrogates (one for the tribe and two for the Penningtons that were all boys to Adriel's disappointment since he had wanted a girl for his clan, but there was one on the way from the same Navajo mother that Adriel was hoping would be female), and he loved Art and had already made his choice over a year ago. He apologized for not making it clear verbally while Art had cried out of a mix of happy guilt, made Art feel better (through sex), and then they looked over all of the abandoned Kukulkan temples Art had found before they settled on one that looked like a giant hole dug into the base of a cliff because smugglers had looted everything including the stone bricks. Art could sense a protected magical altar the looters had missed hidden deep inside that Adriel was able to reveal, and there was very little besides an altar with a statue of the winged serpent god in the tiny alcove. Adriel had told him that it was kind of like picking out a wedding venue while Art had helped him pull everything outside because the waterfall was what had attracted them to the location, and Art couldn't help but feel very warm and oozy inside at the comparison. There was to be vows of binding their lives together, declarations of love, a sacrifice of blood and life (Art had wanted to back out until Adriel had said that it wasn't a death, it meant that he was shedding his human skin for a dragon one), and then Adriel would transform. They had set the date for Adriel's birthday since three and nine were good numbers, and Adriel was turning twenty seven, and after that comment, Art urged Adriel to change from his dirty jeans and old work shirt into something pretty while he finished setting up the ritual space. Adriel was amused, but he complied, and Art got to watch Adriel take a bath in the waterfall (so so beautiful) before he decked himself out in strings of rich gems and a two toned Italian velvet cloth that looked purple or red depending on the angle and light that was wrapped up like a toga - all things Art had gotten him. Adriel even added the Mayan headdress Art had given him that the tribe that had adopted him as their winged serpent guardian (and had accepted Adriel's presence because of it), and then Adriel had woven a garland of flowers long enough to go around Art's dragon neck. Adriel had added colorful stone bead bracelets to his horns, kissed his snout, then bounced back to the area Art had finished setting up to double check his work. Finally, it was time for the moment that Art both anticipated and dreaded the most. They had set everything up at the top of the twenty foot high waterfall in a small clearing that had not been taken over by the jungle simply because it was rock that only moss and fern could grow on. Adriel was looking the most radiant that Art had ever seen, and he made sure to take a few pictures of Adriel who then insisted that he wanted pictures of Art. They were both very careful not to put the altar setup in the background since Adriel insisted that it should remain unknown, but soon they were exchanging vows and declaring their love while beseeching the lands and the ancient magics to open a way for their bond, and finally it was feeding the land their blood. Even while under attack by a feral wild Horntail, Art had never felt as small as he had when something old and powerful seemed to stir and put him under scrutiny. It scared Art worse than the skinwalkers had, and it was only Adriel's reassuring smile that kept him from bolting out of their ritual space. He could tell that Adriel was also feeling whatever it was since there was a strain in his eyes, but he stepped forward to kiss Art on the end of his snout and Adriel's touch and love felt like it drew away the attention from him since he could breathe once again. Then Adriel dropped to the ground with a scream of pain. Adriel didn't scream when the Hydra had slashed open his ribs. Or when the manticore had chomped down on and broke his arm. Art had never heard Adriel scream in pain like that, and he tried to scoop Adriel up so he could fly them both away, only his legs were cemented to the ground and his body was frozen and he could feel something sucking out his magic. He tried to stop it until he realized that his magic was going towards Adriel, and then he urged it to go go go in the same way he pushed his magic into his books and everything to protect them when he licked his treasures. Art heard bones snap and saw skin split open, and there was a lot of glistening red and bulging flesh that could be seen in the opening of the toga, and he felt himself start growing tired from the amount of magic he was straining to pour out to protect Adriel who was clawing at the ground and trying to get up on his knees while he continued scream. Art was starting to wonder if he made a horrible mistake and that the Mayan magic had rejected Adriel and was intending to rip him apart as punishment when he was blinded by a misty wind of colors. It took him a split second to realize what was happening, but the rainbow from the waterfall had twisted itself up like a giant serpent, and now it was rushing itself inside of Adriel through his nose and his mouth. Adriel's screams turned into wet gurgles as Art lost sight of him, and Art roared and flamed the rainbow to try to stop it from drowning Adriel. It just set it on fire though, all of it, and Adriel turned into a giant fire that grew larger and larger until Art was suddenly released and he leapt forward intending to pull Adriel out of the fire or die trying. Rather than heat, it felt like cool mist, and he plowed right into something hard and soft at the same time. He went tumbling to the ground with the red and colorful flames, only the fire and flickered out and Art was confused and panicked and trying to untangle himself. "Adriel! Adriel!!!" he cried out while he tried to find his precious human. "Ow, Art, back off!" he heard, Adriel groan, and Art was immediately flooded with relief at the sound of Adriel's voice. It took him a second to pull himself back enough to actually see what he was tangled up with, and it was... A very colorful dragon. Who was looking at him in irritation. Irritation he was very familiar with! They had done it! "No really, please get off, you're squishing a wing and it hurts!" Art yelped and backed up very carefully, and he realized that some of the colors was actually Adriel's wings. No, a majority of the colors were his wings. Feathery wings unlike Art's own wings that were the European style. Adriel actually looked a lot like a mayan dragon, only he had no whiskers and was large and muscular which was probably because he was half English. He was so pretty! Shiny and pretty! Like he had eaten a rainbow! Oh! "You're the hungry coyote!" he shouted with glee, excited that he finally figured out the stupid prophecy riddle that had plagued him for almost three years. "You ate the rainbow!" "I almost drowned in the rainbow," Adriel groaned as he clumsily got himself up while trying to figure out how to move his wings. "Torn apart, drowned, and burned alive. They missed the hanging part of the execution." Adriel's crankiness and trying to figure out how to move looked so cute like a hatchling that Art's heart melted, and he must have been giving Adriel a soppy look since Adriel chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, your hair!" he gasped. "It shimmer and changes like a rainbow!" "Oh yeah?" Adriel asked, then he sat down and puffed out his chest while he stretched his wings and grinned at Art. The grin made him think of the Coyote grins which should have been impossible with a dragon's muzzle, but Adriel played the part of Coyote in his tribal ceremonies most of the time and was pretty much considered to be the child of Coyote by his tribe so Art was not too surprised by it. "How do I look?" Art had only one answer to that. "Perfect," he breathed while he silently thanked the magic, the heritage (that he was once ashamed of), and the land with every bit of gratitude he had. Art had figured Adriel would be red, and he was, but he could never imagine Adriel with wings or anything because none of it had looked right. No type of dragon Art imagined felt like it would the right one for Adriel, but this one really was perfect for him. Maybe now Sarah would stop trying to pick fights with Adriel at every family dinner - he was not as bulky as she was, but every bit of him was muscle and strength and boldness, and his claws were shorter than hers like his own were, but they looked razor sharp and like they could rip through a dragon's hide like butter. And his tail! It was the longest tail Art had ever seen that got really tufty towards the end! It might look soft, but Adriel would be able to bludgeon the most armored antlions to death with it! And some of the scales where chest and wings met looked like feathers, but the way they poked out made Art think of spiked collars that guard animals wore that was both a defense and offense. And those beautiful colorful horns that at first glance looked delicate and elegant had sharp edges and tips meant to slash and stab at anything that tried to attack the back of his head or neck. Every bit of him was perfect and beautiful and strong and Art wanted a new statue of Adriel in this body and- "Art? Artemio? Earth to Artemio Jose Miller Reyes!" Adriel said, and Art snapped out of his thoughts only to realize he had been rambling out loud. "Oh, there you are! So, since we have the cliff right here, want to give me some quick flying lessons? Or should I just leap off?" Oh, right. Adriel Chee was not perfect, not if he thought that leaping off a cliff before he even learned how to move his wings was a good idea. That would be the fun option. "No, bad Adriel!" he scolded with a frown. He would have to make sure Adriel was going to take the safe options, especially after that horrifying scare of seeing Adriel in so much pain that could have ended in death. "You will not hurt my pretty precious treasure! First, you need to learn how to fold your wings..." The End
EpilogueArt had told Adriel that it could take him a few decades to figure out what his hoard was, but Adriel wasn't too fussed about figuring it out. When Art asked him why he didn't seem to care when every other dragon he knew would tear things apart to try to figure it out while looking adorably confused, he rubbed their cheeks together which was the equivalent of a kiss (Adriel had been highly amused when he found out that Art had thought he had dragon-kissed him as Jose) and said that he was just happy being a dragon since he could spend his life with Art. That had led to other more fun activities (Art might have been inexperienced on how to do anything as a dragon, but he was always willing to try something at least once so it made sex great fun), and Art didn't ask him again. Adriel still loved the things he used to love. He had his wardrobe of silks and velvets and all sorts of wear for all sorts of countries, he had his collection of 'pretty trash' like colorful and empty potion or wine bottle, broken and cheap costume jewelry he would repurpose for other things, crafts items, the rune tools he was collecting to be a rune master (and he could still use a wand!), and the assortment of colorful junk he would see and obtain just because it caught his eye. His birthday had been in March, and his summer was being spent learning to fly and do things as a dragon rather than work. Oh, and the local tribe absolutely adored him now. They thought he was one of the ancient gods reborn. Rather than him being some kind of priest like they had considered him as before with the way he was always accompanying or riding on Art, they prostrated themselves anytime they spotted him flying overhead, and Adriel was petty enough about how they almost killed him to enjoy being treated as such. However, he knew it was dangerous for humans to know about intelligent dragons because even remove tribesmen might end up telling a stranger, so he 'blessed' them by laying down wards to hide their territory from the rest of the world and had a beautiful blanket that depicted him and Art entwined together in the sky as a gift in return. Art was confused about why he seemed to enjoy interacting with the local 'savages' that nearly killed him, and Adriel said that he decided to adopt them and keep the whole tribe since he would need to cut off contact from a majority of his own. Adriel's grandfather knew about him and Art as did the Elder Singer council and the Lorekeepers, but that was all. Adriel's mother and clan were unaware, and so were the Penningtons and his own children. He planned to keep track of his family lines during the upcoming centuries and be the 'unknown great uncle who died and left them something in his will' or the equivalent of if any of them encountered hardships, and he was already plotting out business ventures that would make 'donations for the Navajo tribe' that he could start once he saved up money for it over the next decade or so of work he could do until he had to fake his death. It meant he wouldn't be able to by the baubles and the clothes he usually grabbed because he would need to hold on to his coin, but not having to eat was a boon for savings. Nine years of saving exactly half of his yearly income would be enough to make two businesses, and he would make one of them magical and the second one non-magical. He liked technology, math, and his puzzle boxes, so he figured he would do engineering for the non-magical side, most likely for household appliances, and he would do toy making for the magical side. Toys for children and for adults. Runes were lovely, so he could make little armies that would obey basic commands, plushies that could be 'trained' like dogs, puzzle boxes for children and adults of varying difficulties, and other toys that would be fascinating even to magical people. Almost no rune master went into business with toys since contract work paid a whole lot more, and toy makers could not afford a rune master unless they were very high grade upper class toymakers for the filthy rich and the nobility, and so Adriel would have a pretty good chance to make a name for his brand. He wanted to name it 'Gewgaws and Doodads' since it was a cute enough name to attract people of all ages. Art was amused by his ideas and his prototypes for both things that he worked on in between flying lessons and learning how to hunt and stuff as a dragon. There was a small section for him in the library now filled with diagrams, runic arrays, engineering plans, mathematical equations, rough sketches, and little wooden miniatures of a general from a few ancient civilizations. Art pointed out a few inaccuracies in his Pharaoh Ramses III war chariot which meant he had to redo that, so that was also sitting in his messy workspace half carved out, and Art tried very hard to ignore the mess though he would get snappish if there was a single woodchip outside of the lines he had drawn on the cave floor to clearly show where Adriel needed to keep his mess limited to. Adriel was very very careful to not let any of his mess get beyond the line when Art banned him from sex for a week after the third time it happened because it was the only thing that could get Art really worked up that did not include Adriel getting hurt because of a stupid or dangerous choice he would make. Oh, and after the one tiny little explosion that left a small fist sized hole on his work table, he was not allowed to test runes inside the library. Ever. Or in the cave. He had to fly out into the jungles by at least half a mile and test any new array he made or was copying until it was safe. He was in the process of building a hogan to use as his outdoor work shed. He might have moved in at the beginning of the year, but he had not actually settled in until April so they were figuring out rules and boundaries on how to co-exist in the same cave. Adriel didn't mind since runes could be very dangerous to tamper with. He himself had insisted on rugs and furs on the floors and was decorating the place up properly and hanging bead or seashell curtains in all of the cave openings. And mapping out the lower levels Art had pretty much been ignoring since he had not needed them. It was July when Art declared he was good enough for a long flight, and he said the first place they were going was to meet a witch doctor that Art had to pay a debt for. Adriel knew the whole story, of course, and he was very eager to meet the man. They left the next night (no long journeys allowed during the day where they might be spotted since disillusionment spells did not work on their hides. Even Adriel's own spells only worked for a few minutes after he transformed back into a dragon.) and Adriel actually was sore and exhausted unlike Art by the time they were a couple miles outside the village, so he was very glad to land (practically collapse) and rest while Art took joy in teasing him about being able to physically outlast him with flight. Adriel just groaned in reply before he shifted into a human, and his shoulders were so tender that it felt like he had carried a hundred pound anvil over his head for half a day without a break. He was not looking forward to flying home and hoped that Art was willing to stick around in Mexico for a couple days so he could recover before doing another overnight flight. Meeting Cuetzpallee was worth it, though. The old man reminded him of a more primal version of his grandfather in a way. The old man actually played poker with his grandfather actually. They had started getting together after the witch doctor learned his name from Art. Cuetzpallee had contacted the clan to ask about him, Grandfather had been worried about him, they met up, and Grandfather was delighted that Adriel had got to meet the 'Mayan Dragonfolk.' Playing poker with Cuetzpallee actually explained very well why Grandfather had not seemed shocked at all when he had introduced Art to the clan eight months ago and then privately told his grandfather that he would be marrying him. He had not needed to explain that Art was an intelligent dragon since it was something Grandfather already knew, but he had thought that Grandfather's casualness about marrying a dragon was just grandfather acting like a wise old man. Grandfather was still ahead of Adriel by several steps since he actually had known. He didn't tell Art all of those implications of what 'Oh, I know your grandfather very well! We play poker every few months in Arizona. Good man, very good poker face.' Cuetzpallee had 'thrown the maize' and figured out that Adriel was Art's bonded before either of them knew, and he also knew that Adriel would be 'the perfect channel for the Panquetzaliztli festival' once he became a dragon. Adriel was asked to come back in October to learn the Dance (the ritual steps) and he would need to learn them as both dragon and human. That the current dragon that performed it was getting too old in age to continue, but the maize said that Adriel could perform the deeds since he was already trained in the ways of channeling holy powers for sacred ceremonies. Then, he dropped the last bomb that actually had Adriel and Art lean back with shock. "There will be a human sacrificed to signify the death of the old dragon to make way for the new," Cuetzpallee said in a very serious tone. "I risk a lot by informing you of this ahead of time since I do not know you and you could report it to the government and have our ceremony banned. However, the maize claimed you would be the next in line, and it would be even more of a risk to not inform you at all. Your Grandfather has warned many times to not rely too much on any divination that involves you since you are the Son of Coyote and to involve you in our rites could be very risky for us, but he does not know what it means to channel Coyote while you do. You know it is not a gentle thing, and the dragon gods are not gentle either. We no longer make sacrifices lightly since it could spell disaster if outsiders know about it, but there must be a death to bring in a new dragon." Adriel understood where Cuetzpallee was coming from and knew that the witch doctor was extremely worried despite the poker face he had up. He was in a ' damned if you do, and damned if you don't' kind of situation where Adriel could report them, or they could have just done it without saying anything. The latter would definitely have gone very badly for them since he would have killed to defend someone being sacrificed if they were unwilling, and he would have left the ceremony and flown off rather than finish it if the sacrifice had been willing. Informing him ahead of time was a wise decision. "Would they be willing?" he asked, and Cuetzpallee nodded so Adriel sucked on his lower lip for a moment as he thought about it. Could he do it? He had seen many deaths, and a lot of them were a lot more gruesome than a single willing sacrifice could be. "Would it be a quick death?" Cuetzpallee nodded again, his stoic facade cracking a little so that Adriel could see the hope in the man's eyes. So the questions now was if Adriel could stay focused as a person was sacrificed while he was channeling powerful and chaotic magic through his body, and even if he could, if he was willing to participate in something like that. The answer to the first one was a yes. He could do it if he had to do it. He had had to redirect destructive magics at the last minute to save people in dangerous places while they were running for their lives or dodging physical attacks. Not losing focus or footing was very doable for him as long as the distraction wasn't something like being outright stabbed or tackled. Being willing to accept someone dying at his feet? He was not so sure about that. Before, it would have been an outright no. He was Navajo, and he knew his place with his people. However, his people were now the dragons. Art's father had explained that Mayan dragon gods were neither good nor evil, and the same qualified for the Aztec and Incan ones. They could protect with one hand and destroy with the other, and the people that worshipped them would accept either and continue to try to appease them and their whims and beg for favors. Kind of like what the old man was doing directly right now. It felt very weird to realize that the witch doctor - a person whose many duties also included being the go between between humans and supernatural/divine forces - was actually performing a duty by asking him that. Art clung to his arm and looked up at him with large eyes that worried for him, and Adriel leaned in to brush his cheek against Art's to reassure him that he was fine. Despite the realization of him now being 'Other' to someone he once would have looked up to as 'respectable Elder to learn from,' he really was fine. It was his own choice to be 'Other' so that he and Art could complete their bond, and the two way connection their hearts shared was more than worth it. He had just not realized that he needed to be witch doctored until that moment, but now that he realized it, he was adjusting to the new perception quickly. "I need some time to decide, this is not a choice I am willing to make here and now without proper thought," he stated. "Would I need to make the kill myself?" Cuetzpallee hesitated. "You or the elder dragon, but it would go better if you did it as an acceptance of your new role," he replied. "You would not need to eat the flesh - most dragons find that distasteful and the ones that don't serve the dark tribes. They will cut themselves at certain intervals, and you would make a killing blow as a human, swipe the blood over your heart and your forehead, then shift and cremate the body with your flame." Adriel clenched his jaw since it meant involving both blood and death magic. He did not mind blood magic despite how most believed it to be evil, but death was the worst thing possible to the Navajo and he had a very very strong aversion to death magic. He had literally leapt away from things containing death magic like a regular person might leap away from a striking rattlesnake, so now he wasn't too sure if he could stay focused on the Dance while doing something like that. "I need some time, but even if I decline, I will not report this to any authority," he said as he stood up, then turned to pick Art up off the ground as the old man breathed out a sigh of relief. "I appreciate your bravery in informing me ahead of time, and I am sure you understand what you are asking of me." To completely shed his human skin. Cuetzpallee nodded, stood up, and they shook hands while Art awkwardly stood where he was. "Thank you," he said. "Know that if you accept, all gifts to Quetzalcoatl would be yours. The ceremony is more about gifting the god, dancing, holding foot races, and eating, and there are many elaborate things that are gifted. I understand it does not mean much for the price extracted from you, but new dragons have found their hoards in such ways though it is rare. There will be maguey thorns covered in blood along with butterflies and hummingbirds, but pottery, flowers, art, jewelry, and other hand crafted items are more common. The maguey thorns are apologies for sins through blood sacrifice, so that is also plentiful since nearly everyone gives at least one. Most all of the non-magicals will embibe peyote or other hallucinogens since the ICW does occasionally police us, and the only way that everyone can participate is if the 'no-majis' can walk away obliviated or thinking it is all just part of the hallucination of drugs." He paused. "There is an optional dance at the beginning as well that you may choose to participate in or not - this dance is performed by a man acting as Quetzalcoatl in the creation story." He paused again, and Adriel was curious and feeling a little bit of dread since whatever this one was also worried the shaman. "In it, our god sheds blood from his penis which is part of what creates man. We symbolize this with a piercing that the representative does themselves during the dance." Adriel snickered since it was nowhere near as bad as he had imagined, and when he got identical confused frowns from Cuetzpallee and Art at the same time even if for different reasons, he couldn't help but outright laugh for a few seconds. Art frowned harder but Cuetzpallee relaxed at Adriel's reaction. "If I agree to human sacrifice, I'll agree to that as well," he said with a smile and a dismissive wave of his hand even as Art clasped his hands over his own crotch and cringed away because Adriel had kind of agreed to it. "I was thinking an 'optional dance' would be much worse than that. I will want proper instruction beforehand so I do not hurt myself since it does sound dangerous, but pain does not phase me nor does nudity. Art will not appreciate anyone touching me there anyway, so it is best I do it myself." Art paled while he looked at him with sad eyes, and he figured he would need to talk to Art about why he agreed. It was a pretty simple reason - if he was going to be this village's avatar for Quetzalcoatl, then he had to prove it with his actions and that meant spelling some of his blood for them since they would be spilling their blood to him often. One piercing, one dance, and he would have the respect of the whole village for his dedication. Not just that, but if he ever needed something that required blood magic, he would have all of those thorns to use. They were literally entrusting him with their lives and souls by letting him carry off the maguey thorns. Adriel reached out and pulled Art to him as the old man bowed in thanks, and he apparted them straight to the magical district in Mexico City. Hotel room, delicious food, talking, and hopefully some fun with his beloved while he rested for a few days and came to a decision. ******************************** Adriel ended up accepting after several conversations with a more reluctant Art about the importance of traditions and the responsibility of having power. Adriel was not Navajo any longer, and he had recognized that as well in the hut that day as part of the whole realization of being 'Other.' Oh, he had no doubt that he would always be welcome among the Singers and the Elder Council and such - they raised and trained him and he was born to the tribe. He had children that would grow with the tribe - a boy and a girl - so he had roots there even if he was no longer the same plant as the rest were. His roots might be in the Navajo lands, but he was a Mesoamerican being now. He might not be fully fluent yet, but he was picking up Spanish quickly since he had already known the basics and was adding his savage little tribe's tongue (they called themselves The True People in the way that meant they had kept themselves pure and untainted from all European lines. Ironic since both dragons were half British, but better than Spanish and they were ignorant of Adriel and Art's roots. They were one of the tribes directly descended from the Mayans, a tribe of elite warriors and hunters according to their legends, and Art had been happy to hear that they were Mayan but unhappy to hear that they believed it was their duty to keep killing off all outsiders) along with a smattering of Aztec and Portuguese. Adriel learned his colors were impressive even to the elder Mayan dragon - Quetzalcoatl meant 'The Serpent with the precious feathers' in the literal sense, but actually meant 'The wisest one in the world.' Adriel had the feathers part down, but the old dragon was over nine hundred years old and Adriel felt like a baby compared to that. Very not wise. He might have begged for tales like a kid asking for a bedtime stories. Daily. Thankfully, the old dragon thought it was cute and had indulged Adriel in between dance lessons. He said it was stories Adriel would need to know for future generations anyway, so it was no different from having Singer lessons in the end except that he had to learn how to incorporate his wings while moving on all fours. He soaked up all of the dances very fast, so Adriel also got to learn the ancient dances that were no longer used, including some of the actual Mayan ones that the dragon's own teacher had taught him since the dragon had been born at the end of the Mayan civilization. While Art was he beloved partner, Itzcoatl was his Elder and teacher that he quickly started to look to for guidance. Art was a bit jealous at first, but he explained that the dragon was to him like a high priest might be to an acolyte, and Art settled down and demanded to know the stories also. For historical purposes. And he promised he would only carve it on stone or tie it in thread like the Aztecs did, tie it in thread like the Incans did, or draw it in murals with ideograms and hieroglyphs like the Mayans did. Then he begged the ancient dragon to please please teach him how to read and write like the ancients did, so the dragon finally invited him and Art to the hidden city, promised they would be accepted and unharmed, and they could all go together after the ceremony. Art was over the moon and idolized the dragon more than Adriel did which made Adriel a little grumpy since Art was not paying much attention to him for days by that point. When he complained, Art made up for it by going out on a date with him on a Sunday which was the only rest days Adriel had for the month of training. Festival day came, and piercing himself was not a problem. Adriel was so enthralled with the dance that he didn't notice the pain at all since everything felt beautiful and right, even the thorn and the blood. Sure, he had been intimidated when he had learned that piercing was not done with needle and had fretted that he might chicken out at the last minute because seriously. A thorn. But it went smooth and he had a new piercing in his nether regions that he could heal with magic after the night was over and then buy future jewelry for it. He was even more nervous before the main dance of the evening - to the point where he actually had a panic attack that Itzcoatl had to talk him through because nobody else was allowed in the ritual hut except for the two of them - but once he walked out on cue, everything fell into place and he didn't bat an eye over the death of a young woman who wanted to give her life to the new avatar so the gods would not die. Adriel had already been channeling ancient magic with his dance while the blood magic from the woman twirled around like gossamer threads that he had to weave into the magic he was slowly being given complete control over as Itzcoatl danced his death while Adriel danced his birth, and her death tore away the last of Itzcoatl's control and Adriel used the last of her blood to bind it to himself through heart and through mind, and then he honored her death with the cleansing flames of her Gods so she could join them with a pure soul. The powers that Adriel wielded were laid down to rest within the earth with his last dance steps that required him to rip the ground open with his talons, and when it was over, he felt exhilarated and filled with energy rather than exhausted like he had been warned that he would probably feel. "Well, you have found your hoard then, hatchling," Itzcoatl said when Adriel returned to the hut looking so excited and happy. "I have rarely ever met another dragon so suited to this task like you are. I'm sure the other dragons will be glad to share their dances with you since you will probably end up becoming one of the preservationists. Go collect your offerings, sleep with your mate, then sleep - we have a long flight tomorrow." It had been a wonderful discovery to learn what his hoard was, however the dance was only a part of it. When he went to work the following summer to start saving up for the businesses he planned to make, he found out that it was ancient and raw magic that was his hoard. He could sniff it out like Art could sniff out artifacts and books, and it also included objects and texts that contained or channeled ancient magic. However, the instinct and need to take his finds home almost caused a lot of problems since objects on expeditions did not belong to him - the first time he reluctantly handed over an Egyptian scepter that had been cursed, he had not realized the danger and the person who got it aged ten years in two seconds before he snatched it back and held it to his chest with growled warnings at everyone else to stay away because it was his. The team had thought he had been possessed by the object as he fought to keep it, and when they finally wrestled control from him, he writhed in pain for days with fever and pleas to give it back. Again, they thought it was because of a curse and tried their best to keep him comfortable and tried to break the 'curse,' and he let them believe they managed it once he recovered enough to be on his feet though he was extremely depressed over his loss. Accepting his loss was what had broken his fever and pain, and when he realized that, he realized what he could do so that he didn't have to quit his line of work even if he could no longer work on teams since he was immune to most curses while the humans were not. He went home early that year since he got monetary recompense for being 'cursed' and for saving the expedition leader from dying since the man would have died of old age had he held it for several more seconds. Art was very understanding about his upset since he had lost his book to Sarah as a hatchling, and he abandoned his books to spend time with Adriel for the couple weeks he needed to get over his depression. There was a lot of cuddling, grooming, and going on a few dates to some small restaurants, and Art would tell him stories as well. They played some American board games then apparated up north to Los Angeles, and Art let him dress him up and drag him around to a few speakeasies until they hopped over to the east coast so that Adriel could take him to Broadway. Then that winter, Adriel applied for and received permits for magical and muggle archeology, and Art applied for apprenticeship to join him on it. That next summer, Adriel struck it out with only Art as his partner. They bought a boat that was magicked up into a small house, Adriel fidelius charmed one of the rooms so that Art could keep some of his hoard on him with several empty shelves for Art to put new books into, and they went out to look for Atlantis. While taking a break on Naxos, they looked around, and both of them knew there was something in the Cave of Zax when they visited it. Adriel knew that that would be a good place to test his theory - if he was wrong, then he had a place to store his new loot, but he was pretty sure he was right about his theory. He 'figured out how to open it on accident' and reported it to the local ministry, and to both of their surprise, there was an immediate and vehement four way battle among the officials that ended up a five way battle when a Mavros popped in, and then a six way battle when the Mayor of Chora heard about the commotion and demanded family rights. Athena Alley had closed down but a few years earlier and it had fractured the balance of the twelve communities and there were three factions demanding to be the new leaders. Zeus' Zone, Poseidon, and Hephaestus all believed they should be the new government leaders while the Ministry argued it did not work like that, Mayor Dramallia said that they could not use a family heirloom to determine who would lead, and the Mavros were the ones to suggest that they allow the 'finders' to determine who won. The Mavros won. Nobody else could compete with their library archive of ancient magic and books, but Adriel put in a stipulation that while the Mavros could keep political balance, the Mayor and ancient oligarchy that had maintained the temple for centuries should be the ones to house the scepter. And if he gave up his position in the non-magical politics, he should also get to lead Demeter but would not try to become another faction that wanted control of the government. Everyone agreed, so Adriel and Art opened the cave all the way, was delayed by the sudden surprise of Nemean Lions that could definitely even eat dragons, Art ended up with a fear some something else besides wizards that could eat him, and then there was a giant temple snake when they thought it was cleared out. Nobody wanted it after the Lion fiasco, so Adriel adopted it as his and Art's pseudo baby since it adored them unlike most other animals that ran away or tried to eat human Art, and since it was so bright, colorful, and scaley like Adriel was, Art accepted the decision when the snake always tried to give him dragon kisses. The scepter was removed, and Adriel and Art got a Medallion of honor out of it. Art was confused as to why he didn't get upset at all by all the artifacts being moved and him being able to sense them without attaching to them, and Adriel explained that they had already 'accepted' that they would not be keeping it before they even got attached, and the payment in books and magic had definitely put a buffer there as well. He put up a lot of protections that night so he could talk to Art further, and he explained his plans for when they found Atlantis - a place that Art had long been fascinated by in books and one that Adriel had drooled over at the potential ancient magic within even as a human. He and Art would own it. They could get other dragonfolk hidden as humans to back them up along with forging a goblin alliance, however they could 'rent' it to everyone since the legends said that was the birthplace of all magic and magical creatures with a lot of caveats. They would be guardians of the place and could share it with the world, and between Art's protective magic and Adriel's affinity with ancient magic, they could keep it preserved better than anyone else. Being a neutral party also meant that no single government or agency could try to use it or its potential weapons against anyone else. Art was very happy with the idea. So happy that he didn't bother to reply - he expressed his enthusiasm by jumping Adriel for a very passionate night that had Adriel feeling very very smug the next morning. They left Naxos once the books and gold was delivered and the Medallion ceremony was over, and after a week and a few false positives (wherein they found more ancient artifacts and gold for themselves to squirrel away in the secret room), they found Atlantis. They found Atlantis, and they found out that it had been built by the ancestors of dragons, humans, and goblins working together. The goblins were very happy to back them up once they found out their heritage was tied to it, but they decided not to ally with any dragonfolk until they won the ICW and magical ministry battles that would no doubt occur. It took almost a dozen years to finish the lawsuits, and they were very public figured by then. So public that people began to wonder why they did not look like they had aged hardly at all in those years. The dragon council tried to pounce them then on charges of revealing dragonkind, only Adriel held an interview where he told people that he was an ancient magic expert and he had tied himself and his partner to the city with ancient magic so they could be proper caretakers rather than risk it falling into the wrong hands. That they also were not immortal, but he figured they would probably have two or three times the lifespan than they normally would which would give them plenty of time to find successors. The dragon council could do nothing since they had not revealed anything, and Adriel was spiteful enough to refuse them investments and access, though he didn't bar all dragonkind. Only the council and those trying to use the council's authority to get in. Art let him deal with the politics since he had no head for it, and when they tried to complain to him, he said political matters were purely up to Adriel since it was in the contract that he didn't have to deal with it if he didn't want to. And they tried to put him in jail, so he very much didn't want to. Over the years, people tried to break into Adriel and Art's cave home, only the blood magic from the Aztecs and the hidden tribe had allowed Adriel to build a pool of ancient magic beneath their lands that would have required a full team of curse breakers willing to head into a D6 zone to try to break through. Being allied with Gringotts, nobody could gather that that requirement, so many met their deaths on Adriel's vicious protections, and their blood and deaths just made the pool deeper and stronger until an assessment ranked it at a D8 and people decided they really weren't that suicidal to keep going with it. Art knew that Adriel had protected their lands, but he had no idea that that was what was happening. He only commented that the air would get staticy sometimes (when three or more died), and Adriel would have to smooth the excess buildup down with a Dance and a few thorns. Art was just happy that nobody would ever be able to burn or steal his books, and while Adriel had made exceptions for Art's parents and his brother to come visit if they roared at the edge of the boundaries, Sarah was not allowed in. Ever. Nor was her husband. He had made a snide remark about Art while they were fighting to keep ownership of Atlantis, and now he had scars on his throat from where Adriel had retaliated and forced him to apologize on pain of death. Even Sarah had learned to direct her attacks and insults at him rather than at Art, but Adriel ignored them when he was forced to interact with them. He took on their sibling rivalry, and Art was able to relax around the rest of his family. Because of the 'ancient magic' excuse, Adriel didn't have to bow out of the lives of his family or children, either. Art ended up adopting them as his, too, since he actually loved children come to find out. When they were being quiet and eager to be read to, anyway. He and Art discussed having a surrogate mother for their own nest of hatchlings a few times, but Art decided he would not be a very good full time parent and Adriel was still hopping around the world. It took another century for Adriel to settle down enough to be willing to parent, and their nest consisted of eight eggs for them to watch over. Normally, one or two out of ten eggs would survive to hatching. Dragon eggs were very very delicate things that easily cracked, cooled too fast, or got too heated up, and dragon parents had hoards to tend to so they would look away for an hour or two and sometimes in that time an egg would die. Art, however, kept the eggs in the library where he could read books to them and watch over them, and he imbued his protections with his love and they had five colorful little hellspawns to watch, and one quiet little light pink one that took after Art. Art promptly names him Apollo and adored him, and Adriel was left to chase around five excitable little gremlins that could not stay still for longer than an hour and were always getting into stuff or chewing holes in rugs and in drapes. Adriel complained, but Art was pleased since he no longer had Adriel always climbing all over him like a giant gremlin needing attention since they took most of his attention and finally gave him reading time that did not include long distances away from his precious treasure. Adriel gave his five little hellspawn Mayan names with Art's approval, and one of them was named the Aztec name of Itzcoatl after the mentor both he and Art both respected. Itzcoatl was a boy like Apollo was, but the other four were girls, only Adriel have given them Mayan king names since he had no idea how to check their genders and by the time they started talking distinctively enough for him to know, it was too late. Art laughed at him since he had thought it had been deliberate in the same way his parents had named him after a goddess. His mate was oblivious about him calling them with male pronouns. It was sad. His little princesses didn't seem to mind one bit, though. Each of them were determined to rule the world when they grew up and were already splitting up who got what countries between them with Central America belonging to 'Daddy and Papa.' They very much believed they deserved their Mayan king names, so they also laughed at Adriel when he offered to rename them to Queen names. Adriel never regretted shedding his human skin even if he lost his horse form.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Oct 31, 2023 0:58:18 GMT
*Dies*
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Post by The Dark Lady on Oct 31, 2023 18:09:45 GMT
Not Quite Haunted1987 Adriel loved his grandparents and his father, dearly, but sometimes they were just a bit much. Not that he held it against them or anything of the sort, but who decides to buy a 19 year old a house on whim? Mind the house was not new and it was not large... It was actually a little over two centuries old, was two bedrooms and one bath, and needed repairing and updating since it was so outdated that it had gas lines for lighting and the plumbing pipes were lead-based which had been illegal for ages. However there was several acres of wilderness and three acres of grazing fields, plus there was one of those fairy rings that Adriel was absolutely fascinated with. His grandfather had never allowed him to tinker with the one on their property, but this one would be fair game. They had purchased the house for him since it had been dirt cheap and the other person looking to buy it had made a very bad impression with the small town. The man had bragged about his intention to bulldoze the home to build a refinery on the land, and the locals were not interested in either thing. The previous owners had died of old age and had been well known in the community to have the best cheeses in the county, so the daughter of the couple who lived in London decided her parents would prefer it stayed with the community they had loved. His grandparent's bid was accepted in the silent auction simply because they were locals who would also want to keep the countryside pristine. So yes, it needed a lot of work, and his family thought he would love the project and his own space during the few weeks he was in Britain every year. They weren't wrong, exactly, since Adriel did like projects, but he did not want a house. Or he didn't think he did, anyway, until he actually started working on it and updating it while keeping the old style of thatched roof rather than tile or tar and learning the ways of making plaster so that he could redo the interior walls like they should be after he put in electric wiring and changed to copper pipes. He found himself deciding to skip out on work and travel for the spring and summer so he could focus on the house, and the old folks of the village were glad to give him tips and advice on how they used to work on the houses in their own childhood. It was while Adriel was working on the floors that he stumbled across what used to either be a cellar or an ancient well. He decided he would explore it, fetched his grandfather to stay in the house above while he climbed down a rope to the bottom, and it definitely looked like a cellar. A cellar with a very thoroughly bricked up passage. Adriel stared at it for several minutes as he stayed by his rope. On one hand, ancient treasure or artifacts or who knew what else. On the other hand... Bricked up things were bricked up for a reason, especially one that was sealed up so well. Adriel didn't bother to really feel for any magic - these lands were very saturated with ancient magics that slumbered - but he could tell there was no active magic and he didn't sense any traps, either. Still, the longer he stood there and stared, the more his skin prickled, so he summoned his patronus and called up to his grandfather that he was going to look further ahead. Tearing down the wall revealed a passage, however it, too, had been deliberately filled in. He backed away and decided he needed to do more research on the property because it was outright creepy, and he went to his grandparent's house to sleep that night because there was no way he was going to sleep in a house that had a mystery like that. They teased him a little bit, but his grandfather had also stated that even if he were physically capable of climbing down the rope, that narrow hole alone had scared him so he could not blame Adriel for staying with them. The next day in town, Adriel found out from the same old timers that had taught him the plaster recipe and old techniques that his house was 'new' in comparison to some of the other homes in the area which were easily over three hundred years old. His house was built on the foundations of an old one that was supposedly built on the foundations of an even older one. The earliest consensus record taken in Ireland was in 1831, so nobody knew how old the foundations or the town was, but everyone knew that it all went back to the time of the celts simply because there were so many fairy rings and even an ancient henge with five foot tall ogham stones scattered around the region. They also told him to be careful with the tunnel since it might have been one that collapsed. Adriel had seen the cracked slab, but he could tell the difference between a cave in and a tunnel that had been deliberately filled in, so they suggested that it could be an ancient catacomb or druid place, but either way that he should be careful since areas like that could be quite queer. None of them discouraged him from digging further, however, so Adriel decided that it would be worth it if it could potentially have secrets from the druids hidden within. He went back to his house the day after that, and his grandfather again waited in the house above as he went to the cellar below. Nothing looked touched, but it felt like something else might have been in the area. Adriel chalked that feeling up to nerves, and keeping in mind the warnings of a cave in, he started putting up wood braces along the walls in the tunnel like miners did, and then he began to clear out the dirt in small portions with banishing spells just to make sure nothing was mixed in with the dirt. It was just dirt - no stone tools or trash or anything - and it was dirt for a good twenty feet before he got to an even older stone tunnel that was half the height of the current that he already had to stoop to move along for since it was only five and a half foot tall. He would have to crawl in a three foot high tunnel, and he didn't like the idea of that, but a quick check of his senses showed there was no active magic nor was there a danger sense. There was only the feeling of tons of dirt and rock above his head, and the feeling that he might not be alone though he did not feel like he was being watched. Were this a movie, Adriel knew that he would be shouting at the protagonist to get the fuck out, close up the property, and don't go in. That going in would be stupid and suicidal. Except the people in movies were not wizards, and Adriel had been wandering in things like tombs and ruins for years now. The thing that had him hesitating was that he usually had a team at his back, but if he kept going down the passage, his grandfather would not be able to hear him scream. He decided he would at least peek ahead before he backtracked, dropped to his knees, then sent his light on ahead and around the bend before he crawled in. It wasn't until Adriel was all the way around the bend and looking down that straight passage that he realized he had made a terrible mistake. The thought or idea of backing away now sent danger signals to his instincts - screamed danger, actually - and the only safe way was forward. Even looking back was a terrible idea, and Adriel stayed frozen where he was for a solid minute in terror. Slowly Adriel forced himself to crawl forwards, and were he to see himself, he knew the whites of his eyes would be very noticeable because of how scared he was and how wide they no doubt were. He kept his breathing steady and his movements silent just so he could hear anything, but it was so quiet that the absence of sound started feeling noisy. He wanted to make noise, almost needed to make noise, but he listening to his own heartbeat and the rush of blood he could hear and stayed on course since he didn't want to alert whatever might be ahead. At the end of the tunnel, he saw it took a sharp turn right, and while he had not noticed it because of his own light, he could see there was some light seeping in from whatever was around the corner now that he was close. Adriel swallowed hard as he slowly leaned forward to see what might be around the corner, and he gaped at the giant cavern he saw with an opening to the outside right beyond it. The single pillar with the stalactites were set up to resemble a tree, and while that was the first thing he noticed, it was quickly dismissed as he realized the ancient clay pot facing him definitely had a presence, and it was an angry one as it glared at him from the position it was set at eye level. " I come in peace and respect," he said in Gaelic, and it felt like the pressure was lifted just a little bit. He glanced around the room, swallowed hard again, and carefully crawled out all the way before giving the tree a bow of respect. Adriel was careful as he edged his way towards the exit. Touching any of the pots or stone carvings was a big no according to his senses, and so was the thought of glancing at the passage that he had crawled out of. Freedom was just ahead - or the sky was, anyway. It felt like he was heading towards deep waters, but he had no other choice at the moment. He figured he had a better chance at getting out of the woods and circling back to his home from outside, though. He was loathe to turn his back on the cave by the time he got to the opening, so he moved out sideways. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and twisted to step back to dodge the incoming attack, only he stepped back into another set of arms that firmly grabbed him and he yelped with fear as he tried to twist out of the grip. His attempt was unsuccessful, and the first person he had tried to dodge was in front of him making him freeze out of shock. They had two arms and two legs, a face, a body, and no extra appendages, but whatever it was was definitely not human. Their skin was milky white and flawless, and the eyes narrowed suspiciously at him were a beautiful purple amethyst in color, but those were also the only nice quality Adriel could see. Their face was sharper than a humans face - sharper and more delicate - and the expression was a very cold one that could easily twist into hate or disgust. Its hair was shoulder length and black, and it wore armor that looked like it was made of chitinous or lacquered material. Some might have thought their faces an ethereal kind of beauty, but it was far too unearthly for Adriel to consider it such. Then the being spoke, and while he could not understand what it said, he could see it had very sharp teeth and he could feel there was magic in the words that made him hiss as he blocked it with his own. He was very smug at the look of shock he got, but the one holding him shook him like an adult could a child, and he was about to snarl with anger except the purple-eyed one suddenly looked joyful as it said something to the one holding him which got the shaking to stop. Adriel twisted and managed to free one arm which allowed him to look at the one who had held him, and this one had gold colored eyes with curly auburn hair and wore an identical armor as the first. Then there was a sharp blow on the back of his head, made by the purple eyed one, and Adriel was knocked out. Adriel wasn't sure how long he was unconscious for, but he figured it wasn't long since he was being carried on the shoulder of the one with black hair. His wrists were secured with a strip of ribbon, and Adriel twisted his body and tumbled to the ground as he tried to snap the delicate cloth. It didn't break even though it looked like it was made of mesh silk, so he figured it was magical, but he rolled to his feet as the two creatures turned to face him, and he stayed in a low position that would allow him to dodge or attack as he spoke. "Let me go," he warned in Gaelic, and when they didn't seem to understand him but looked wary as they spread out to his sides, he repeated it in English and then Latin as he started to back away so he could keep an eye on the both of them. The delicate mesh around his wrists remained firm though he tried to weaken it with heat, and he saw the two creatures exchange a quick glance before they tried to pounce at the same time. Adriel dodged the Gold one and rammed the Purple one with his shoulder to knock it aside, and then he was bolting through the woods while trying to gnaw on the ribbon. It didn't seem to have any edges to it, and his teeth just slid off, but he definitely tasted the magic on it. He glanced up at the sky to see what direction he was headed, but there was no sun. He stumbled as he tried to crane his neck to look at the sky behind him, and that allowed him to see Gold right on his heels. Adriel had no time to do anything as Gold snatched up his braid, and that was followed up with Purple jumping in from his blind side to clothesline him and knock him on his back. It all happened so fast that it felt like one second he was looking for the sun, and the next he was on the ground and choking on nothing because the air had been knocked right out of him. Purple rolled him onto his stomach, and it and Gold put him in a hog tie even though he tried to struggle while he tried to get air in his lungs. Both creatures had been completely silent as they had chased him, and Adriel realized that they could run faster than him as well. "Tuatha Dé Danann?" he gasped out, hoping he might get an answer, but they did not reply at all even to speak with each other. Gold grabbed his braid instead, and Purple seemed to have no problem with lifting him up and slinging him onto its shoulder. Right, beings that were superior to him in many ways, apparently. It was an extremely uncomfortable hour or so of Adriel being on this thing's shoulder. His stomach felt bruised up, and his shoulders and back hurt from being in such a position while being hogtied like he was. Gold seemed to take delight in yanking on his braid if he tried to adjust to lessen the pain and discomfort, and Purple was apparently annoyed since it didn't try to stop Gold like it had when Gold had shook him. He didn't even realize he was in a town until Purple stopped, and he saw a white hart being ridden by another being in similar armor and then Adriel grunted in pain as he was tossed up on the large white stag in front of the new person like he was a sack of grain. The three talked for a minute, and then Gold and Purple flanked the deer and they were moving once again. Adriel would have appreciated the beauty of the the area a lot more if he were not in so much pain that he was struggling to breathe. Being on a stag with its bouncing gait was a lot worse than riding on Purple's shoulder. There were beings as small as his thumbnail to as large as giants roaming around, and they came in an assortment of shapes and sizes. Many stopped to gawk at Adriel like he was an oddity... And he probably was to these creatures. He very much regretted opening up the passage, and he hoped that nobody tried to come down after him. Adriel was wheezing for air by the time they got past some gates and entered a garden that led to a giant mansion, and then Purple pulled him off and he groaned with relief and just stayed as limp as he could as he was carried over Purple's shoulder and into the building. The floor inside was made of obsidian, only there were no seams or anything that Adriel could see as he stared down at the ground and tried not to drool while he struggled to keep his breathing even. Or no, there were inlays of black fire opal discreetly set close to the walls, and Adriel could feel the magic from the runes they formed though he did not recognize the runes at all. Now that he had a little bit of oxygen, he could feel that the whole area was rife with wild magic, and he intended to use that energy source as soon as they threw him in the dungeons. Only, he was not taken to dungeons. He was taken to a room filled with barely clad beings similar to his captor, and similar to his captor, they were androgynous so he could not assign a gender to a single one of them since what was worn did cover the privates properly while everything else was sheer fabrics. He gasped with pain when he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor, and landing on his side made his left shoulder pop out of its socket after the strain of being hogtied for so long. Gold said something as Adriel moaned in pain then rolled onto his stomach, and he felt stuff being snapped around his wrists and his ankles before the ribbon was pulled off. It sucked to be released so suddenly. His limbs burned as they flopped to the ground, and he cried out when he was maneuvered and then jerks around so his shoulder was popped back into place. He was very much going to stab these two assholes as soon as he could move his arms and could get to his pouch, but for the moment he could do nothing while he was stripped of his clothes by the others that suddenly flocked in. Gold and Purple watched him while his braid was undone by what were most likely servants, then Purple reached out and yanked his medicine bag off of his neck. "No!" he shouted, shocked that they could see it, let alone touch it without his permission. Purple ignored him and tossed it into the pile of his clothes, and the servants carefully picked him up and carried him to another part of the room while Gold followed. He was dumped into a decently sized pool, and then the servants piled in with cruel laughter as he spluttered after he got his head back above the water. He tried to push them away as they pawed at him while he got his feet under him, but he was far too weak and they easily shoved him down. He snarled and bit at any hands that got too close, but they handled him in ways similar to how a person might give an angry chihuahua a bath. It was very much a bath, and he tried to use a cutting hex next, only his magic would not come to his call and he looked at the bracelets around his wrists as they warmed up after his third attempt. They were silver in color and looked like very delicate chain, and Adriel could see more of the unidentifiable runic writing on it. He tried to pull then gnaw them off as his hair was scrubbed, but much like the silk mesh, nothing he did put a scratch on them. Gold's cold eyes gleamed with amusement when Adriel glanced up, and he snarled only to yelp when his hair was yanked and he was dunked into the pool. When he managed to pop back up again, it was to hear the creatures around him laughing, and he was half drowned by the time he was dragged out of the pool since they took great delight in making a game of how long he could stay underwater for. They laid him out on a stone slab that looked like marble, only it felt like soft soapstone and was warm, and he didn't bother to fight as they rubbed oils and other stuff into his skin while chattering more freely with each other. He could feel the tingle of magic in the stuff they were using, but he had no idea what it was doing until he found that he could breathe easier once he was pulled up into a sitting position so they could get other areas while they started working on his hair. He watched as the bruises on his chest and stomach from the clothesline and then the carries slowly started to fade away, then the sight was blocked as a couple of them started holding fabric up against him while with chattering each other in the age-old fashion of debating colors and style. Adriel sighed as he decided to go along with things for the moment since he couldn't do anything until he recovered and figured out how to get the chains off, and when he saw a red one being held up, he pointed at it and nodded. There were squeals of laughter and they started patting him like he was a dog that had just performed a neat trick, and he realized that the servants probably saw him as something like an interesting beast since they had only seen him snarl or try to bite. He made a sad sounding whine as he peered through his lashes with sad eyes to test their responses to that, and it got him more soothing pats with gibberish he could not understand, then one of them ran off. Gold said something in a sharp tone, and the one that had been holding the red fabric turned towards him and they started to quabble. Adriel continued to look as sad and as docile as he could as he took notes on reactions, then Gold said something else and the one working on his hair sighed with exasperation. He wished he knew what exactly was being said and what was going on since several of them more gently laid him out on the stone on his back while the hair person carefully moved his hair around, and Adriel noticed there were silver chains and bells and gems being woven into his hair while he 'meekly' went along with what was happening. He didn't stay meek when he felt them start pinning him down, but there really was not much he could do once then got a good enough hold that he could not twist anything around except for his head, and then even that was stopped by the hair stylist holding his head still. He figured the one that had been holding the red fabric was the leader since they were now the one ordering the others around as soon as the argument with Gold was concluded, and they were also the one to fetch a wood box that contained rather large silver needles in it. Adriel tried to fight even harder as soon as he saw those, but much like Gold and Purple, they were stronger than him and he could do nothing as Red grabbed a nipple and stabbed a needle through it which made him yelp more out of shock rather than pain. The needle was hollow, and he saw a straight silver bar with a ruby at the top get pushed into it before the needle was pulled all the way through so the jewelry was left there, and the process was repeating with the other one. A third went into his belly button, and then a long chain of silver with three more rubies was pulled out. Each ruby was pressed to the bottom side of the bar where they stayed, and Adriel could not believe they had just done that to him. He was being decorated and he had no idea why! While he gaped in shock, something was pushed into his mouth. He was about to spit it out, only it tasted divine, and he looked up to see that the servant that had run off after his puppy eyes had returned with a bowl that looked like it was filled with sliced pieces of fruits. His stomach growled and reminded him that he had not eaten since breakfast and that it was probably close to dinner, so he hummed with approval as he started to chew and felt unguents get rubbed on the still throbbing piercings he had gotten that immediately made the ache start to disappear. He opened up his mouth for the next piece of fruit and got it, but when he felt his member get grabbed, he started to protest around it and tried to struggle again. He knew it would be futile, so he squeezed his eyes shut to endure the piercing, then started snarling and cursing when more followed it because they were making a Jacob's ladder down there. It hurt, and even the unguent after didn't soothe his temper. He continued to swear in every language that he knew as his ears were done next from the bottom of the lobe to the very end of the top of the curve, and he refused any more food throughout the experience. Red said something to Gold, and the being came over and reached out to grab his face, and he waited until the last second to chomp down on the hand hard enough to draw blood and was slapped silly with one blow as Gold shouted in pain and then backhanded him with the other hand. The cold touch of metal clamping down on his tongue pulled him out of his stupor, and Adriel whined and whimpered as he tried to get his tongue back, only Red used a pair of silvery tongs to pull it out far enough to push a needle through it before dropping a weird thing into it. The bottom of it was capped with a small silver disk, and then weird tasting liquid was dripped onto his tongue before it was finally released and Gold let go of the jaw he had painfully been holding open. Adriel knew his eyes were wet as he looked at Red in betrayal, but it was kind of hard not to lose a couple tears when very tender areas were getting poked like the tongue and the genitals. Red looked upset, and they gestured at him as they turned to argue with Gold again, and Adriel rolled the weird and bulky thing in his mouth around very delicately. His tongue felt tender and there was a coppery taste, but it no longer throbbed because of whatever it was that had been dripped on it. The bar felt very solid, but the thing felt squishy like an overripe fruit though chewing on it did nothing. Then there was another piece of food at his mouth, but he let out a sad sniff as he turned his face away then growled when he heard one of them giggle and felt them lightly tug on the chain at his chest. The arguing between Red and Gold had grown heated while Adriel avoided the fruit the servant was trying to feed him with noises meant to offer comfort, then Gold snapped out something sounding annoyed and stomped back towards his corner while Red looked very smug. Red turned and said something to him that he could not understand, but the tone sounded reassuring and then he was let go. Adriel pushed himself up and immediately tried to figure out how to take the jewelry out starting with the one at his belly button since it would be the least sensitive about being tugged, but he could find no screws or anything and noticed there was another one of the runes cunningly hidden inside of the ruby that was only visible at certain angles. "Oh, come on!" he started to bitch, but opening his mouth got food shoved into it that he wanted to spit out, but it was too delicious to do so and the coolness helped his tongue feel a lot better. He started sensing at the magic within the ring, and much like everything else, he could feel it but he could not identify it. The magic was far too alien and wild for him to grasp it or pull it apart to feel it out better. Purple walked in while he was being fed and his hair was being toyed with, and his medicine bag was dangling from the being's fingers. It smirked when it saw that Adriel's eyes had immediately gone to it, and he stopped trying to figure out how the jewelry worked as he started to plot out a way to get around the gaggle of servants to snatch it up. Only he didn't have to - Purple said something to Red who was ordering the fabric to be measured and cut, Red turned to take it from Purple and Adriel eagerly leaned forward to have it put around his neck since he would need it to escape. Only... The magic of his pouch was all wrong. He tried to yank back as soon as he realized it, but the stylist at his back grabbed his shoulders to keep him still and his protest as well as his attempts to push the pouch away was ignored. Rather than feeling his pouch, it felt like a heavy collar was clasped around his neck, and the illusion it had been under broke so he could see that it was a collar necklace kind of in an Egyptian style, only it was made with silvery metal and rubies just to match him up to everything else. Honestly, it looked like something he would find shiny and pretty, but it was not his pouch and he tried to pull it off while he scowled at Purple. At the same time, Red looked thoughtful, and Gold said something that definitely had that 'I told you so!' type of tone that had Red turning towards them to make what was probably a rude gesture. There was no latch in the back, instead there was some kind of padlock. Adriel tried to turn it around, only it was 'stuck' was the only way to put it. Stuck in the way of something being placed at a 'fixed point,' only said fixed point was where the padlock was at rather than space. It wasn't stuck to him, and he couldn't feel any magic on it or the collar, but he couldn't move the lock though he could lift up the collar or put a finger between the lock and his neck. Then Red pulled out a long length of the delicate silvery chain, and Adriel still couldn't move away at it got 'stuck' onto the collar with the end that looked like a medallion and he couldn't tug it off at all. From that point, Red used the chain to pull him around and they put a 'shift' type of formless shirt/dress on him in that sheer fabric. He wasn't given anything to cover his privates, and they stopped trying to hand feed him fruits when he attempted to take the finger off of one of them while he continued to fidget and prod at the collar in an attempt to get it or the leash off. He ignored the food as they finished playing with his hair, then Purple took the chain from Red and turned to leave, and Adriel nearly fell when he tried to dig his heels in only to get yanked forward. Adriel sulked as he started walking, and Gold moved to follow behind him. Figuring the collar was a bust since he couldn't feel magic in it, he started checking the bracelets more carefully since neither of his captors seemed to care what he was doing. The mansion was huge, and he took note of the statues made of precious gems and metals as they passed them because materials aside, the craftsmanship was so perfect that it looked like the purple rose they passed was made of one solid stone even though it was obviously a green sapphire stem, dark green emerald leaves, and a deep oriental amethyst flower with petals that were individually carved and polished so well that it could have passed as a genuine flower were the gems not reflecting light. Ok, so the rose distracted him for a moment, but he went back to trickling his magic into the bracelet as he tried to figure out where the holes in it might be and how much power could be squeezed past it. Passive internal magic was possible, so he thought that turning into a horse was a possibility. He could cycle the heat in his body anyway to keep the chill away or cool himself down, but he could not even connect to light which was his best element to use wandlessly. He thought he might be able to direct his magic to heal things internally, but that would have to be something he tested later since he had never attempted something like that before. His mental defenses were also safe, and he had felt nothing trying to enter his mind the whole time he was around these people. Adriel was distracted when Gold said something behind him, and Purple made a sound of annoyance before he turned around to face him. Adriel stopped and tried to side step to put his back to the wall, but Gold grabbed his arms and held them behind his back so he went still. Purple looked him up and down in a way that made Adriel feel uncomfortable, but he proudly held his head up to look down his nose at the being so he didn't show how nervous he felt. "Be good," Purple said in very broken Latin, and when Adriel started to sneer, the being reached out and grabbed his still tender genitals in a vice-like grip. "Cut if bad." “Podex perfectus es!” Adriel hissed back, since Purple really was an asshole. Rather than get angry, Purple looked amused, and he let go then did something to the chain so the long length was suddenly only three feet long. Gold let go at the same time that Purple tugged, and Adriel was forced to move forward only at a much closer distance to Purple while Gold practically walked on his heels. "Loki or Lugh, you suck," he bitched in Navajo, and they turned at the next corridor to head towards a pair of large doors. Coyote couldn't move him to different lands, but Loki could. "Spiderwoman, weave me a ladder so I may climb out of this Underworld." That was as far as he was allowed to get with his prayer - the giant doors in front of them opened up, and he was tugged into a large receiving room that had an assortment of gifts set to the side, and a bored looking man setting little gold fairies on fire by flicking a flame from the candles at one while another burned out on the floor. Purple dropped to a knee and bowed their head as did Gold behind him, and Adriel's leash was yanked down which made him choke as he was forced into a bow, then Purple turned his head a little to glare at him before he let go of the leash. There were three little balls at the end of the leash, and as soon as they left Purple's hand, it felt like a two ton anvil yanked him down. Adriel yelped as he crashed to the floor with the balls, only they made a light tinkling sound of a bell when they landed and he barely caught himself with his hands before he could faceplant on the ground. He reached out to grab the little balls, but they were very firmly stuck to the ground in the same 'fixed point' way his collar was, and he could only get up on his knees into a sitting position since the chain was too short to do anything else. By that point, Purple was talking while Gold stood behind him, and the other person was not a man as Adriel got a full look at his face. The eyes were jeweled without a pupil like the others he had seen, and his ears were also lobeless. His skin looked almost human because there was actually color, but it was too flawless. His expression looked interested in whatever Purple was saying as he stared at Adriel who frowned back at him, and then he looked delighted when Purple gestured at him. The man stood up, and Adriel started tugging on the leash again to try to back away as he came forward. Gold spoke up before he could get too close, and the man pouted for a brief moment as he came to a stop just outside of Adriel's reach and practically devoured him with his eyes. "You speak Latin?" he asked in fluent classic Latin, and Adriel frowned as he gave a curt nod. "Oh! What is your name? Or do I need to name you? I should probably name you, right?" "Most definitely not!" Adriel protested in Latin as haughtily as he could and jerked his head back as far as the chain would allow. He enunciated as clearly as he could around the thing in his mouth, but there was still a small lisp. "These two have done horrible things and I want to be released to go back home." The person suddenly looked upset, and he turned to jabber at Purple. Whatever was said made Purple shake his head, and then he reached out to grab the end of the leash and yanked it hard enough to force Adriel back down to the floor. Purple spoke as Gold tried to leap forward, only Adriel managed to roll and plant his foot in the creature's face and make him crash to the floor off to the side, but Purple yanked again, and Adriel's collar was suddenly so tight that it squeezed his air passage shut. He clawed at the collar as he tried to scoot closer to Purple to have some give, but even without the chain held taut, he was still being strangled. Purple grabbed his jaw when he started trying to gasp for air while fighting off panic, and he tried to twist away only Gold was on top of him and pinning him down while looking exceptionally pissed off. Adriel let go of his collar to grab Purple's wrist, but Gold was faster and grabbed his own, then Purple said something while he held his free hand up and the man still standing looked thoughtful, then he spat into Purple's hand. The world was starting to go fuzzy at the edges while Adriel tried to buck Gold off or close his mouth, but Gold was not holding back his strength and Purple just squeezed tighter and then the other person's saliva was being spread in his mouth to his disgust. Gold immediately backed off and Purple let him go, and he rolled to his side to try to spit it out except Purple clamped his hand over his mouth to keep it shut. The collar was suddenly loose and he noisily inhaled through his nose, and he realized there was something sweet tasting in his mouth. He writhed in an attempt to get free to spit out whatever it was, but Purple held on with a grim look, and the taste kept getting more sweet and he realized his tongue ring was secreting some kind of fruit juice that was going to drown him if he did not swallow soon. Whatever it was supposed to do was already happening since the mouth absorbed things quickly and his body was beginning to feel warm like he had had a few shots of rum, and then he started choking because he inhaled through his nose just wrong. Purple still refused to let go so Adriel reflexively swallowed before he choked even worse, and the asshole finally let him go. Adriel gasped and coughed as he struggled back to his knees, then he tried to make himself vomit only it didn't work. He did spit out whatever was left in his mouth, but the world was starting to brightly come into focus in a way that had him aware that he was already drugged and it was fast acting. By the time he managed to clear out his lungs, there was a small puddle of drool and whatever else the fruit or whatever in his mouth secreted on the floor, and the world was swaying in a weird way while he found the chain that was on the floor again very fascinating. Having experience with all sorts of hallucinogens and the like because of various tribal practices, he knew he was high and it was in a very vulnerable position, so when something bright and fluttering came into view, he snarled as slapped it and felt something get crushed in his hand. The room was very quiet as commanded his brain to open his hand, and it slowly complied so he could see what he held. There was crumpled up gold wings and smears of orange liquid, and the crushed remains of little gold fairy in his hand, and he stared at it for either a brief second or for several minutes before he looked up and recalled that there were little gold fairies floating around. He heard laughter and turned his head to look in that direction, then found himself very fascinated by brown jeweled eyes. He didn't notice anything else, not even his hand being wiped clean. "Feeling better?" he asked in Latin, and Adriel realized it was directed at him so he gave a slow nod since he was feeling pretty good at the moment. "So who are you if you do not want me to name you?" "Adriel Chee, Prince of the Navajo," he slowly said as he tried not to slur on his tongue ring. "Got stuck in a tunnel. New house. Outside my lands." "Oh, a prince!" the man exclaimed, then he jabbered to the others with a large smile that he did not think the man usually used since he didn't have any smile lines on his face. Actually, he didn't have any real lines on his face, and Adriel originally thought he was around his age, only he might be a few years older. Or younger. Actually, it was a bit of a timeless face. "I am Artemio Reyes, prince of these lands. Today is my birthday, and my two closest guards brought you back as a guest. You will stay and celebrate?" Adriel gave a slow blink as he absorbed the quickly spoken words, and then he reached up to his pouch with the intention of giving a birthday present only his medicine bag was not there. "Purple took away my bag from me," he said with a sad pout as he gestured at the man. "Then tricked me with this collar. I should give you a gift if I stay, but he has my stuff. Can we take off the collar? I don't like it. I would like my pouch back - it has holy items that are very dangerous if anyone but me were to touch them." Artemio started talking to Purple then, and Adriel waited... he wasn't too sure how long he waited, but it felt like forever so his eyes were drawn towards the gold fairies once more. He blinked, and he found himself sitting on a comfortable cushion on the floor next to Artemio's chair, and he hummed as he felt fingers burrowed deep against his scalp while he watched someone opened up a gold chest in the spot where he had been at before with Purple and Gold. The creature looked differed with bat wings instead of arms and a snake's body with a goat's head, but it reached into the box with his its pseudo hands and... Artemio was cooing his name and he looked up only to have something that tasted of honey pressed into his mouth. It was fluffy like cake but chewy like freshly baked bread crust, and he hummed as he glanced over to see what the snake thing had brought only to see what looked like a group of wood nymphs presenting a large wreath with silver threads and jewels weaving in and out similar to a dreamcatcher, but the wreath was woven out of a living tree with no roots to sustain it. Then Artemio's soft had was pressed to his cheek and he learned into the touch with a shiver and... Brown jeweled eyes were so close, and he could feel Artemio's breath on his lips. He was on his knees and leaned up against the chair, and the prince and was leaned down towards him while he held Adriel's leash right at the collar. He felt a brief flicker of distaste for the leash, only Artemio quietly said his name, and Adriel surged forward and up and a moan just for a taste of a kiss and it was sweet sweet sweet... A light tug on his leash, and Adriel look around as he noticed the room was empty. Or no, Purple and Gold were standing behind Artemio a ways, but they had always been there. "Adriel, are you hungry?" Adriel licked his lips and could taste the remnants of something sweet (drugs!), but it was so faint that whatever he ate must have been long ago since he was extremely hungry. He nodded, and Artemio called out something before he reached out and touched Adriel's shirt. Shift? Why was he wearing such thin fabric? "Are you having fun with the celebration?" "I... can't recall much of it," Adriel admitted with a confused frown. "Do I have my pouch? Did I give you a gift?" Artemio lightly laughed and then he lightly ran his finger over Adriel's bottom lip which made him lick it because it tickled. "You being here today is the gift to me, Adriel," Artemio said. "There are only a handful of princes in the realm but plenty of princesses, but I don't like any of them since they are so boring. You are not, though! I love reading about human civilizations. What year is it that you come from? Who is emperor of rome?" Adriel was very confused at the question. "Rome fell over fifteen hundred years ago and it is currently 1987," he replied. "Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor, and he was deposed in 476 by the barbarian troops of Italy after they killed Emperor Orestes. There have been several other empires since then, and the common tongue of Rome is now Italian, and Latin is mostly used by the Catholic clergy." "Are you Catholic, then?" Artemio asked as he looked confused. "I thought you were a witch priest with your mention of holy items." "No, definitely not," Adriel replied with an unhappy frown. "I am Navajo which is a tribe in the Americas. I would be considered a witch priest in my tribe, but not a fully trained one since I spend much time wandering the world and am too young besides. Maybe in a couple decades will I be knowledgeable enough to actually be a Singer, but I honestly do not want to be one since I already have a lot of duties to the tribe. I have been training to communicate with the world since the age of six and have studied warfare and politics that span thousands of years. I speak Latin because my father looked for magic in religions and I speak many other modern tongues, but I can only write ancient languages. You have runes here I have never seen embedded in gems and floors and everything." A servant entered then, one of the same type of servants that had bathed him though not one that Adriel recognized which meant it did not work in the baths. It was carrying a large silver platter, and a couple of other younger looking beings entered behind that one carrying trays and pitchers of drinks. "Oh good, they come," Artemio said. "Well, gift me with another kiss... Yours taste so sweet. Then we will eat." Adriel looked back at Artemio while wondering why he suddenly felt a little wary, only he was caught up in his beautiful eyes and his worry melted away as he watched light dance within them. He got up to his feet though he had to hang on to the chair for balance, then he swooped in to give Artemio a kiss because it did taste very sweet. He moved his hand to Artemio's waist to pull him in closer with a moan of pleasure and... "May I touch you, Prince Adriel?" Artemio asked, and Adriel looked around to see they were both sharing a Roman divan together though they had probably started at their own going by the remains of the meal they had. He licked his lips as he wondered what the food had tasted like, but he felt far too full to reach out and take a nibble so he turned his attention to Artemio and gave a nod. Artemio immediately slipped his hand into the large arm hole opening of his shift, and Adriel moaned as he felt both of his nipples get pulled when the chain connected to them was tugged. "I always wondered what it would be like to kiss or touch a human. Like I said, the others on my rank are far too boring for me to bother with, and our borders were closed to humans when I was too young to consort with one. Lay back, there you go, I want to properly see you. I can touch anywhere?" "Yes," Adriel breathed out as he arched up into Artemio's exploring hands. Every touch burned in the best of ways, and Adriel didn't think he had ever felt anything so sensual in his life before. Art removed his hands, but it was only to get up on the divan rather than perched on the edge of it, and Adriel spread his legs open to give Art a place to settle down at while he planted his feet and lifted his butt up so he could pull his shift up without tearing it. He moaned again when he felt hands lightly touch his shaft and curiously explore the bars there (had they always been there?) as he tried to tug the shift over his head, but it got caught in his hair and the chain and then he felt Artemio's tongue giving his leaking cock a taste and he felt his balls give a warning contraction. "Oh gods, don't do that Artemio or I'm going to come. Help me please?" Art jabbered something in his native tongue, and Adriel felt hands help him up and his leash was moved and then he writhed and moaned loudly while somebodies tried to pull off his shirt and Artemio licked his cock again. He caught a glimpse of purple eyes from on and auburn curls from the other as he was freed from his shirt, and then he was being pushed back down while Artemio started to touch his stomach which made him arch up again while his wrists were held down. He idly wondered if he was in an orgy as he felt... "Adriel, I want to be inside you, how do I do it?" Artemio asked, and Adriel groaned as he held the other man's hips while he rolled his own up to continue to give him pleasure (continue? Wait, where were the others?) "I can be inside you, right? And you are fully male so you won't get pregnant?" Adriel wondered what kind of question the last one was then hissed with pleasure when Artemio gave the chain on his chest a sharp tug. "Oooh, you like that? Can I be inside you? I can't come like this though you have twice now." Adriel had? How embarrassing. Or wait, maybe not. "Back up a little, luv," he purred as he let go of Artemio's hips. "Normally we need lubrication for this, but I want you inside me too." He reached up to his belly to gather his come on his fingers, then he reached down and smeared it all over his hole before he scooped more up. "Watch, this is what is usually done with oil or lubrication." Artemio watched, his hypnotic eyes focused, so Adriel drew his knees up to his chest to that the other man could watch with nothing in the way, and he inserted his ring finger first to push his own come inside, pulled it out, then pushed in his middle finger second and groaned since his body felt so sensitive. He didn't pull that one out all the way when he pulled it back, instead, he added his pointer finger and started to carefully push it in while he impatiently stretched himself open with scissoring motions. "Is olive oil okay?" Artemio asked as he reached out to touch Adriel's fingers and the area around the hole, and Adriel made a sound of agreement that had the other man reaching out to grab up a small clay pitcher which he started to drizzle over the spot. Adriel found it a lot easier to push his fingers in deeper, and then he moaned with approval when he felt Art start to also try to wiggle in a finger, too. It wasn't long before all three were buried deep, and Adriel pulled out his fingers. "It's so soft and warm in here... I think you run at a higher body temperature than we do." As much as Adriel would love to let Artemio just touch and feel, his body burned with need. "Okay, now you put some oil on your dick - enough so it feels very slick with little to no friction, and then you can push inside me, Artemio," he panted out. "You push in a little at a time the same way you saw me do with my fingers." "Oh... Uhm, okay," Artemio said, sounding a little unsure now for the first time, and Adriel kept his knees up while he listened to the wet sounds of Artemio trying to make sure he had as much as possible before drizzling a little more over Adriel's pucker to his surprise. Artemio's brows were furrowed with concentration as he lined himself up and rubbed the head of his cock over the area, then Adriel moaned when the painful burn of being a bit underprepared began. "Oh, this feels so good, way better than I ever imagined. So soft and tight. You will sit on my lap for the rest of my celebration. Oh, I can't hold back!" What started off as a careful push in turned into short and fast nudges as Adriel heard Artemio get more excited, and he felt a little flicker of disappointment since it sounded like Artemio was about to come only he wasn't even halfway in. Artemio slammed in all the way making Adriel tense up and shout with pain as he tried to squirm away from the brutal invasion, only Artemio leaned forward and down so that he was nearly curled onto a C shape and earnestly began to fuck him hard. Adriel was about to deck the man above him who looked like he was blissed out, only his wrist was grabbed, and his other one was pinned before he could do anything with it and Artemio's eyes popped open when something was said to him. He paused as he looked down at Adriel with an unhappy frown, and Adriel snarled as he tried to buck him off. Artemio sighed with exasperation as Purple said something, then he slammed their lips together and attempted to kiss him while he tried to squirm out. When Adriel refused to kiss back, Artemio yanked his hair back, and when Adriel opened his mouth to tell him to get off because that had just been plain rude and inconsiderate, Artemio swept his tongue in and the kiss was sweet sweet sweet... Adriel moaned with pleasure as he rode the cock buried in his ass. He was seated in Art's lap with some kind of odd skirt on, and Art was seated in a larger chair. He glanced behind him when he heard a whisper, and he noticed there were three beings that kind of resembles Chinese Fireballs only they were four feet tall and currently were on their knees as they snuck small peeks at Adriel. He felt Art suck a nipple ring into his mouth which immediately pulled Adriel's attention back to him, and he was fairly sure that he should be pissed off, only bright gem-like eyes looked up at him with delight and a hard suck that had him clenching his ass tightly around Artemio's cock as he came with a long moan. Artemio lightly bit down on his chest which forced his nipple to get stretched out because of the bar, but it was released before it could get truly painful (that had been several trials and errors, hadn't it?) and Artemio started talking to the people behind him while he gripped Adriel's hips and kept him moving through his orgasm. Adriel panted as he willed his body to calm down to get past the overstimulation like normal (normal? He had not learned that technique yet though he had planned to try it at some point), and after a couple of minutes he felt something cool get slipped inside of his mouth that tasted better than anything else he had tried yet while gasps of shock were made by those behind him. "It does taste delicious, doesn't it," Artemio said with amusement as he slipped a slice of peach (peach? simple peach did not taste like this at all!) in his own mouth. "A hundred years is simply not enough, so I decided to give you one thousand. You are thinking a little clearly right now, right?" Adriel sighed with relief when Artemio pulled him down all the way to sit, and tried to get his quivering thighs under control. How long had be been riding the other man to get to this point? The last thing he remembered... Adriel snarled as he recalled being held down and used so painfully, but the grip on his hip was tight and he realized his arms were bound very tightly behind his back. "Let me go, Artemio!" he shouted while he tried to get free. It was futile which his arms the way they were and his legs on the brink of collapse like he had run up a mountain. "What have you done to me? How long has it been?" "It is still the same day it was when you came to me, though you have aged almost a year if the older texts about these things are accurate," Artemio said in a tone that conveyed that Adriel was being very unreasonable. Adriel didn't think he was being unreasonable though - he had nearly lost a year of his life doing gods know what, and his family was no doubt worried. "Anyway, one of you wander in, and when you are found by your people, you have aged a hundred years in one day. If you are found at all... most don't wander back out. I could let you leave now if you wish, but you could be stuck in your lands for a thousand years. Or you could stay here so that ten days passes in your land. After you ate your first bite of food, I'm afraid you cursed yourself, so you really do not have much of a choice." Adriel stopped his feeble struggling and tried to get his sluggish brain to start working. A hundred years... Oh. There were many tales like that all over the world. Sometimes the human would age a hundred years, and sometimes the world would go forward a hundred years. He twisted to look at the miniature dragons with a look of horror. "The Jade Emperor's peaches," he gasped. His mind raced more as he turned to look out the large window where... There had been no sun when he ran in the woods. He was in the Immortal Realms - not the Underworld or Heavens where the gods resided, but places like the Summerlands, Underhill, the Wilds, and so many other names from almost every land and mythology there was. It was the theoretical cracks in the world where magic hit higher dimensions and made pockets of space that worked off of completely different rules than the normal world had. A fourth dimension being (humans) in a fifth or sixth dimension might be able to survive with assistance (the peaches), but if they were to pop into the first or second dimensions, they would automatically die as internal organs and skeletal structure and everything collapsed while the third would be a complete time stop of the person affected and they would appear to just disappear for everyone else as time continued to move forward. One of the rules in these lands was to never look back when traversing the space in between, and another rule was to never eat the food. His instincts had him avoid breaking the first rule, but why had it not worked for the second? Oh. They were stabbing him with needles so his instincts had probably been all over the place. "You are offering me freedom after a thousand years with only ten days going by in my world? Why?" "Because as good as your body feels and as talented as you are with it, it's the little snippets of conversation that has intrigued me now that I've figured out how to do these things without hurting you," Artemio said. "Ever since that banquet with my first time, you get violent if I let your mind clear at all." (Purple and Gold, always hovering, always pinning him down. Watching watching watching.) "I would rather try to bargain since I want to hear about new empires, what man has been doing all this time, and about you." Adriel blinked because he caught a faint flush as Artemio added that last bit and then he scowled which had Purple and Gold both tensing up. "A thousand years in here is a long time that would change me," he pointed out, then tried to get up only Art's hand did not budge. "And I want to be able to say no to being used. If you are more eager for words than for sex, then you have to respect when I do not want sex." "Allow a human to dictate anything to me?" Artemio scoffed. "That won't happen. That can't happen. I am a fairy prince and only follow my own whims. I'm just looking for conversation in between times like this. Having you wanting and willing is not an issue." Adriel looked away before he tried to bite that stupid face and started piecing together fragments of his memory to figure out what Artemio had been doing. It only took him a few seconds to realize it was the kissing since he was first drugged after Purple had shoved Artemio's saliva into his mouth. "So my choices are a thousand years in the mortal realm, or a thousand years as a sex slave," Adriel said in a tone of disgust, then he straightened up and looked down his nose at Artemio. "I'm a Navajo prince. I would take a thousand years in the mortal realm before I submit to one day of slavery." "Well, you already agreed to stay for my birthday celebration, so you have no choice for the remainder of this day," Artemio said with a disdainful sniff. "So..." Artemio continued to speak, but Adriel tuned him out to pull on his memories. "I offered you a gift from my pouch, but I never agreed to stay for your celebration," he interrupted after he went over their older conversations. "You declined my gift and said my presence was gift enough for you, but I did not agree to give you that gift." He paused and then went with his hunch since he trusted himself. "You also didn't get me to agree even after drugging me with your kisses." Artemio demeanor went stiff, but Adriel saw how his eyes widened a little with surprise and then look up at him with a silent plea even though he tightened his mouth like he was annoyed. "Why must you be so difficult and keep trying to fight the inevitable?" Artemio asked in a disdainful tone while his eyes begged Adriel to just give up. "How about a test?" Adriel raised an eyebrow as he realized Artemio actually needed him to give some kind of permission to do anything to him. "How about not," he said in a dry tone. "Can you lie to me?" Artemio swallowed as the light in his eyes dimmed a bit. "Fairies don't lie," he informed in a terse tone, and Adriel was very glad for the tales he collected stories. "We can lie, but we do not lie." Adriel glanced around the room and noted that everyone was watching their interaction. "What is the curse from eating the food here, then?" he asked. "The inability to go back to the mortal realm for a hundred years, but the peach might bypass that since it is supposed to fix all afflictions." Adriel let his lips curl up into a cruel smirk similar to the ones he had seen the other fairy here direct at him, and he noticed that Artemio glance away for a split second. "Ah, so getting lost in the cracks between the worlds is a third option," he said, and while Art scowled up at him, there was no heat behind it. "How cold of you to be willing to 'let me go free' and not tell me that ahead of time. You do realize that in such places, my entire existence could be wiped out to the degree that I never existed even for you. You would condemn me to such a fate if you could not have me?" "No!" Artemio vehemently denied, then grimaced since they had an audience and continued speaking in a more even tone. "No, that is not what I was thinking. I was thinking that you would come back after a few decades or even a century or two. You've already changed. The mortal realm will forever feel but a shadow of what life could be." Adriel tsked in annoyance since he suspected that that was very true. The thought of a burger or a steak was unappetizing compared to the food he had been eating here - what bits of it he could recall, anyway. He knew that more must have gone down while he was drugged, and even if he didn't remember it, his body would know so that would make other things lackluster as well. Scents, maybe music, even the feel of magic here. Especially the feel of magic here. And, loathe as he was to admit it to himself, nobody else would ever have beautiful eyes that could compare to Artemio's eyes. The eyes focused on him attentively as he thought things over, and the eyes that had been attentive from the very moment Artemio had seen him. "You said you could not let a human dictate to you, but you have also admitted I have changed," Adriel said, and Artemio gave a nod of agreement. "Is there a way I could stand on equal footing rather than get looked down at as an object?" Adriel could see nervousness and hope in the depths of the pupiless eyes as Art kept his expression as neutral as he could while he gave a curt nod. "You could make a petition to the Queen's court and request to be my consort, but we would have to be together for a minimum of three days," he replied in a serious tone as he tried to search Adriel's eyes for a reaction. When Adriel just kept a stoic expression up, he tightened his lips then forged forward. "You would have a good chance to be accepted if I petitioned with you... Which I would." There were plenty of tales of fae, spirits, and fairies falling in love at first glance, and Adriel realized that Artemio was one of those. The bored noble that was burning little fairies to ash with an unhappy expression had pretty much disappeared as soon as he had seen Adriel practically get dragged in, and Adriel tilted his head as he wondered if the fairy might have felt guilt for keeping him drugged and using him as he pleased. He had not seen a speck of remorse or guilt in Artemio during their conversation so he doubted it, and he suspected that the fairy had probably taken his drugged decisions as consent. Still, it seemed like the fairy was trying to be kind in his own way. The whole situation kind of sucked since had he been given a real choice, he might have picked all of this without coercion or drugs. Except he had a choice now, and Artemio was holding his breath as he waited to see what he would say. "What would my choices be if it were denied?" he asked. "Would I be allowed to roam unmolested for my remaining seven hundred years until I could leave? Visit you as I please and leave as I please? Would I get to keep my memories?" " Yes," Artemio breathed out as he gripped Adriel's hip tightly. "Yes to all of those and anything else I can grant in my lands. Even if you are granted entry." "What about now?" Adriel asked, then shook his head when Art's eyes flickered with pain. That meant no, but it was because he was a human and couldn't dictate for the next three days (three hundred years), but there was a compromise. "Let me choose when to give you kisses. They taste sweeter when I give it to you, right? And you've yet to see what I can do for you without an addled mind." Artemio's eyes began to sparkle once more though he appeared thoughtful at the offer. Adriel stayed still even though Artemio let go of his hip to slide his hand up to Adriel's belly and tug down on the chain there to pull his tender nipples. He knew Artemio couldn't appear to be too eager to accept the offer, so he flexed his hips to tighten up around the cock inside of him, and Artemio licked his own lips as his eyes grew heated. Adriel slowly got up while keeping his muscles tight to milk Art's member, then he relaxed and dropped right back down since instincts told him that Artemio loved to shove in deep and fast, and Art's groan proved him right. Adriel had no doubt that there was a difference between being bounced in Artemio's lap and using his internal muscles the way he had, so he continued to move and contract like that until Artemio was panting under him and had his hands placed on Adriel's waist. Adriel groaned and started adding hips rotations every time he came down all the way since his body still burned and ached for more because he was still buzzing from the drugs even if his mind was clear enough to think, and it got even better when Artemio started to thrust up every time he came back down. They both forgot everyone else in the chambers (except Adriel could always feel Purple and Gold watching him like a hawk. Always watching. He wondered if they had participated at all.) and Adriel used several small tricks he knew for the position he was in and didn't hide the moans of pleasure that spilled out of him. Artemio was watching him with fascination and dawning realization (there is a difference between being forced to take through trickery and willing to accept through consent, and Adriel conveyed with his body language how accepting could look and feel), and the fairy prince looked startled when he started coming inside of him. Adriel moaned as he relaxed his own self control so he could also release, but rather than go still, he clenched his muscled tightly so his contractions milked Artemio, and he undulated while keeping the prince deep inside of him. Artemio held his waist tightly and he pulled him down on his lap with short sounds of ecstasy, and he pushed his hips up several to extend his orgasms before he pulled Adriel into a tight hug to come down from his pleasure. Adriel wasn't allowed the same reprieve since Artemio buried his face in his chest and latched on to a nipple to roll the bar around, but he was used to it and enjoyed it (he did?), and Art ripped another cry of pleasure out of him as he wiggled his hips to feel Art and his seed inside of him. Artemio stopped sucking and lapped at his nipple a couple times which forced Adriel's hips to jerk with another whimper. "You giving kisses would be very sweet," Artemio groaned out. "You will stay here for three days, then-" "I have not decided if I want to be a consort," Adriel breathlessly interrupted, then gasped when Artemio squeezed his waist just a little too hard. Thankfully, the hold loosened up as soon as he showed that sign of discomfort. "I still have the option to leave since I made no agreement to stay. I want to be courted so that I can see what our future might be like. You are cruel, even when you do not mean to be, but that is fine since a consort should be the one to be kind to balance things out. However, I won't be treated cruelly - I should feel special and be the exception to the rule, but you have kept me too drugged to know if I do or not." Artemio looked up at him with a mix of frustration, anger, and yearning, and he gave a curt nod. "You will love me before the three days are out," he boldly stated, then turned to say something to the others. Adriel made a note to himself that he would need to pick up their language quickly as he looked behind him and saw the three miniature dragons give a low bow before they turned to leave, and several servants also started to file out. "Stay still and make no threatening moves while your arms are untied. I wish to explore our agreement even further." Adriel turned back to give Artemio a slow smile of amusement as Purple stepped around them. "Of course," he agreed as he felt bindings begin to loosen up. "I think we should take a bath and get cleaned up. I want to kiss and suck on your penis to show you what my mouth can do next." Artemio groaned and closed his eyes briefly as the last of the bindings came off of him, and he started to rub his arms to get blood to properly circulate in them. "You are more cruel and seductive than any fairy I've met," he sighed as he looked at Adriel with lust, then pouted. "Tricky with your words, too." Adriel shrugged, then smirked. "Just making the best out of a shit situation and trying to turn it into a good thing," he said in an honest tone. "The effects of the peach or the food cannot be undone, but even if it could be, I'm not sure if I want that." He reached out to cup Artemio's cheek who looked surprised at the gesture. "Your eyes draw me in... I see the other fairies, and I think how alien they look. You I find beautiful..." Then he leaned in to brush his lips against Artemio's slightly parted ones while being very careful not to allow any saliva into his mouth. "I do need to be carried to the bath, though. I don't think I can walk on my legs right now. Or get off, for that matter." "I, yes, of course," Artemio fumbled out with another small blush he almost managed to suppress. "I'll carry you!" Adriel could hold a grudge, and he made sure he kept Artemio's own leash as short as his was for the three days (three hundred years) he stayed by refusing to make any promises or agreeing to anything that might sound long term. It wasn't until he was standing before the Fairy Queen and announced that if his petition to join the court was accepted, he promised to love Artemio for as long as they lived. The Queen could see how much her oldest and most antisocial son looked at the human like he hung the stars and the moon, and she could find no reason to deny the petition, so she agreed to it. Adriel and Artemio lived happily ever after once Adriel was allowed to return back to the mortal realm to give his goodbyes to everyone there.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 1, 2023 8:57:47 GMT
The Vampire and the Scribe
The mansion had taken a year to get rebuilt, but Jacob had made sure it was fully furnished to his tastes and every modern convenience that he could want was put in despite the wards that kept his English home hidden. His insistence on wanting television and internet was what took so long, but he had not minded. The year had been spent wooing his shy little scribe and keeping him protected from idiots who thought to use him as a weakness, and his efforts had paid off since Artemio looked at him with adoration and now leaned into his careful and light touches. Adriel had made no overt sexual moves at all on his chosen companion. The hispanic man was very easy to startle and shy away from things, and getting him to talk without going silent or getting upset halfway through a conversation had taken a month of patience. During that time, he made subtly encouraging comments to bolster Art's confidence to talk, and once he was holding full conversations without needing it to be coaxed out of him, Adriel had started dropping little comments about how nice he looked that day in certain things or that he wished to take Art to see one location or another in the future. Art unconsciously began to wear the things that Adriel would comment on more often, and the reserved hesitation when around him slowly turned into a yearning look. His little scribe had started to want by the end of the second month, and by the end of the third, he was timidly asking for what he wanted and Adriel would provide just to reward him. Adriel continued his slow manipulation to coax Art out into the open in that pattern and enjoyed watching every bit of change. Art had fully come out of his shell a couple months prior, and he was a fascinating creature just as Adriel had suspected. There were nights where Adriel would have to go find someone to nibble on or fuck because Art began to make his mouth water. His innocent touches began to linger when he would reach out to gently steer Art by the shoulder or place his hand on the little scribe's head to tell him he did a good job, and he saw how Art's pants would tighten if he leaned up against him to reach for something and how admiration slowly started to change into something more. Some people would call Adriel crazy for enjoying his subtle little game with a single human who didn't even to be aware of his own feelings for Adriel, but Adriel had lived for thousands of years. Having someone that could fascinate him for a whole year was a year to be treasured, and he was tempted to draw it out even longer except that his 'little nibbles' on occasion had become a nightly thing any time he spent it around Art. His scribe might be unaware on a conscious level about what he wanted, but he had started wearing the nicer clothes and kept an open collar that would draw Adriel's eyes to his throat, and Adriel in turn started to wear more unusual and form fitting clothing that the 'Bohemian goths' and 'Steam punks' wore in this period since Art's own eyes would be drawn to it. Adriel still dressed in a respectable fashion when in public, but informal or private settings with Art were different. Artemio knew that Adriel would be showing him around his mansion that night, and when he went to pick him up, Art was dressed and groomed in such a way that Adriel knew he would be making his first move that night. He gave Art a tour of the house to show him everything with the first floor meant for visitors and short term guests, the second floor had rooms for long term visitors and a more informal and private family room, the third was for residents - or would have been had he had a coven, and the fourth was more his own personal rooms, a private library with ancient and esoteric texts that he could see Art have a physical reaction to, and... " This is your room if you would move in with me," he purred in a low tone while Art gaped at the bedroom he had been exceptionally picky over before he turned to open the door on the opposite side of the hall. "There is a study here for you as well. Before you start worrying that you might be imposing on me - I told you when we first met that I always pick a companion to spend my time with since a long life can be very lonely. I have a large house, but nobody to fill it with, and I told you that I wished to have you for a companion. Getting to know and become friends with you this past year has only increased my desire to have you by my side, and I would care for you until death from old age or sickness takes you away from me. The only thing I want from you is your company, conversation, and occasionally a small drink from your neck - not even enough blood to make you light headed or need a blood replenisher." Artemio looked uncertain and overwhelmed, but his eyes were peeking between him and the bookshelves as he nervously raised a hand to his neck. "Will it hurt?" he asked in a quiet voice that had quiver so subtle that Adriel caught it only because of his hearing. "I know you have said it doesn't have to but..." "But you are afraid of things that can eat you," Adriel finished with a gentle smile that didn't show his teeth since his fangs had dropped with anticipation. Vampires had three different types of venom. The first one they were born with was one that caused enough pain to paralyze their prey while their jaws often crushed throats that prevented their chosen victim from screaming. Young fledglings were clumsy like that, but as soon as they learned to gain control and developed the rest of the way over the course of a month or so, they could produce a venom that would numb the area. If that one was done gently enough with the correct timing, it was easy to take sips that felt like love bite nips and left marks almost similar to it. After a century or two of that cautious and controlled type of feeding, a third venom would slowly develop that could cause pleasure. Adriel rarely used the third one since it could easily turn things very intimate and become mentally addicting for the person he was feeding on, but he wanted to keep Art. "If you would like, we can test it out now. Just a spoonful is fine since I don't need to feed, and you can get a sense of what it is like." The little scribe he had worked so hard on building into a man who was confident with his intelligence, looks, and skills blushed and looked away - something he had not done for a few months since Adriel had not pushed for that reaction because he wanted Art to be confident rather than bashful. "Now?" Art asked. "Where? Here?" "It's better if you are sitting, so we can sit on the bed together if you are comfortable with that, or you can sit at either the desk in the bedroom or the study if the bed is too intimate for you," Adriel offered in a mild tone. "But yes, now is best so you don't toss and turn about it for days. You can spent those days deciding if you want to move in and be my companion or not." "Study, please," Art requested as he peeked up at him, and Adriel gave a reassuring smile as he stepped back so that Art would have plenty of space to walk past him and into the other room. Art looked between the large red armchair and the smaller blue desk chair, then he walked to the red one and took a seat before he looked up at Adriel and fluttered his hands nervously. "What do I do? Can I see it first? Your fangs, I mean." Art glanced away with a furious blush, and Adriel smiled at him. "Just unbutton the top button of your shirt, then after that you tilt your head back and to the side a little bit to expose the spot you don't mind being bitten on," he explained as he stepped up to the chair and then knelt down in front of Art. "Some people have a preference on the side they want bitten. I do not have a preference on which side I nibble on. You can look at and even touch my fangs if you wish, but be careful since they are as sharp as a needle since it minimizes the pain enough that a skilled vampire can make it painless." The little scribe leaned forward after Adriel tilted his head back and opened his mouth. "I thought they would be large like human teeth, but they make me think of snake fangs a little," Art quietly said after a few seconds. He sounded relieved, but he still sounded afraid, and Adriel hummed in reply as he closed his mouth and looked up at Art with another gentle and encouraging smile. Art flushed a little, then gave a small nod and unbuttoned the next button before he started tugging on his right collar. "Just a little bit to... to see." "Just a little bit," Adriel agreed as he got back up to his feet, and Artemio tilted his head to expose his throat with a shaky breath. Adriel could smell the fear as he leaned in, but there was also a faint scent of arousal that began to bloom as his mouth got close to Art's skin, and as he pressed his lips to Art's neck, he felt his little scribe suppress a shiver. He sucked to taste Art's sweat while his tongue felt for the proper spot, and by the time he sank his fangs in, the scent of arousal was overpowering the scent of fear. Still, Art quivered as he whimpered because he had expected pain, but Adriel's venom washed away the last of that expectation on a wave of pleasure, and Art gasped, stiffened as he choked down a moan, and Adriel pulled out his teeth and laved the spot with his tongue to heal the bite with a careful application of magic before he pulled back and crouched so he could smile up at Art and pretend he didn't notice the glazed look in his eyes. "Mmm, you taste delicious. It didn't hurt, did it?" Art opened his mouth to reply, closed it and swallowed hard, then shook his head no. "Would you like to move in, then?" he asked, inwardly amused that he had affected Art enough that his little scribe did not trust himself to speak. "I will gladly assist in moving your items here, or have the work crew move them here for you so you can just relax and adjust to the house while they do all the work. Don't feel guilty about allowing them to do so - they are werewolves and the like who are glad that they have a steady employer that pays well. They are on salary, so I am paying them regardless if they work or not, so you are not making me pay extra by having them move your stuff in." Art blushed and looked away as he realized he was staring, and Adriel smiled again. "Ah, and you are welcome to read my private library, too. I feel like that will help you adjust quicker. If you wish to move in, anyway." "I do," Art said with a deeper blush as he stared at the drapes like they were exceptionally interesting. "I do. That didn't hurt. So I will move in. How much is rent?" Adriel chuckled as he stood up and put a hand on top of Art's head which got the historian to look up at him. "Your company, your conversation, and occasionally a little nibble," he said with a wide smile that allowed his fangs to peek out a little bit, and Art turned beet red. "There is already food in the pantry specifically for your needs. I will cook you a meal while you relax and recover from your fright. Browse the books in any room that you like, Artemio. None of the house doors will be barred to you, though the basement is off limits until I am willing to show you my sanctum. The only rule I really have is that curtains on the side that the sun is on must be drawn shut. In the mornings, the east facing curtains should be closed, and west curtains for the afternoons. I am old enough that I can move around during a good portion of the daylight hours, but direct sunlight will still burn me." "Okay," Art quietly agreed as he peeked at him. Adriel winked, then removed his hand to go cook for his little scribe. "I'll bring dinner up and we can eat in the private lounge," Adriel said as he walked off, then added the next bit in Ancient Egyptian. " Be good, little scribe."
As Adriel had hoped, things changed between them over the next week. Art was a lot more aware of his casual and lingering touches, and he could hear how Art's heartbeat would speed up or his breath would hitch when he leaned in close for various excuses. That weekend, he truly fed from Art for the first time on the couch after he coaxed Art into his lap for it. Even though the young man tried to hide his reaction, Adriel only made his punctures deep enough for blood to slowly well out even after he pulled out his fangs, and he licked rather than sucked until Art had plastered himself against his chest and was panting as silently as he could. Adriel gently held Art around his waist like he was supporting him as he healed the spot, then apologized for making Art 'a little light headed' and let his little scribe stumble off to his own room after an offer to assist Art there was declined. The next evening, Art's room had smelled of come, and by the following weekend, it got strong enough that Adriel knew that Art had probably masturbated three or four times. He had to coax Art into his lap again, but one there, Art presented his neck with a very strong scent of arousal while he 'casually' hid the evidence with a book in his lap. Adriel fed slowly once again, but he let his fangs stay for several seconds longer so that Art was pressing up against him before he started to lick. His hands went to Art's waist in a way meant to provide support, and he could feel how taut Art was holding himself as he tried not to squirm or moan. Adriel hummed like he was appreciating a fine dish, and he felt Art gasp and jerk just a little bit as the salt scent of come filled the air. Adriel cut his meal short and healed his scribe with discreetly applied magic once more while Art held his breath and quietly shook in his arms, then he chuckled as he made a comment about Art being one of the type of people that got woozy very easily at blood donation places. Art jerkily nodded at the conveniently given excuse, and then he said he was feeling tired before he pulled away, caught the book before it slid out of his lap with a blush, and then stumbled off to his room. Art approached him in his own study that following Wednesday during the early evening shortly after he woke up. "I have an idea," the historian mumbled, and when Adriel looked up from the laptop he was using, Art looked away with a blush. "Since I get lightheaded. I thought. Maybe? A mouthful a few times a week would be better?" Adriel knew his eyes were gleaming as he licked his lips, but Art was very focused on the rug so it was fine. "I would be amenable to such an arrangement," he agreed as he made sure his expression went back to a more friendly one. "I wouldn't want to hurt you after all. How often would you prefer?" Art shrugged and couldn't even look up, so Adriel gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, I cut off my feeding a little over the halfway point this last weekend since you seemed to get woozy in my arms, so how about twice a week? We can to Wednesdays and Saturdays or Thursdays and Sundays. Do you care which? We can start the new schedule this weekend rather than today or tomorrow if you prefer." "I can do today," Art mumbled, and Adriel heard his heartbeat pick up. "I mean, it would only be fair since you didn't get a full cup last weekend because of me. Wednesdays after work? Like now so it is before dinner?" "Here?" Adriel asked, and Art gave a small nod as his breath picked up that Adriel found cute. He pushed his desk chair back with a dubious look and patted his lap. "You will need to straddle me if you want to do it here, but I can hold you from the start so you keep your balance." Art froze as he seemed to realize that he would be sitting facing Adriel directly rather than sideways with his legs to one side, and Adriel thought he might have been a little too bold with the suggest and was going to offer for Art to set while he bent over him except that Art nodded as a blush spread across his cheeks. So Adriel scooted his chair a bit more, opened up his arms, then helped the awkward historian settle into his lap, except Art was already plastering himself to Adriel's chest to hide his erection by pressing it up against his stomach. Subtle Art was not, and he was terrible about hiding anything about himself. Adriel waited as Art fumbled his button open, but he didn't manage it after two attempts so Adriel reached up to slip his fingers among Art's own and popped it open. Art froze as soon as their fingers had brushed against each other, and Adriel gave Art his usual reassuring smile, then he peeled Art's collar back and leaned forward while he wrapped his other arm around Art to keep him in place. This time, Art moaned as his fangs sank in, and his arms dropped to limply hang down. Adriel let go of the collar since he no longer needed to hold it, and he brushed his hand down Art's chest until he reached his waist and held it like he had the last couple of times in a supportive way. He adjusted his torso like he was getting comfortable enough to start to feed even though it was to provide some friction to the hard dick against his belly, and Art moaned again before he started to minutely twitch his hips to continue to give himself more friction, and Adriel pulled out his fangs and began to lick as he pressed Art harder up against him. Art's position and his little movements had his ass rubbing up against Adriel's own erection, but Adriel kept himself still and lapped at the delicious taste of blood flavored with sexual pleasure and hummed. Art panted and raised his hands to grab Adriel's shoulders, then he dropped his head back all the way which made Adriel groan with appreciation. He healed the bite spot, sucked on Art's neck hard enough to leave a love bite, Art bucked his hips with a whine, and then Adriel sank his teeth in and Art forgot all about discretion with the new wave of pleasure. He held on as Art rolled his hips up against his abs with a low moan that could never be mistaken for anything but sexual pleasure, and then Art was making quiet little 'ah ah ah' sounds as his hips stuttered while he came. Adriel pulled out his fangs and healed the new puncture wounds while Art gasped for air, and then his little scribe froze as he came to his senses enough to realize he had very loudly and obviously got off on Adriel. "Absolutely beautiful, my little scribe," Adriel quietly coo'ed while using the ancient Egyptian term of endearment for him. "You taste so delicious when you are happy, and I am glad you can gain pleasure from this. In the future, you may want to change into cotton or pajama pants that is easier to wash than dress pants are just in case this happens again." He sat back against the chair and pulled Art along to rub soothing circles on his back. "No need to feel embarrassed or upset, Artemio. I have already said many times that you look very handsome, so I am delighted to help a beautiful creature like you achieve pleasure. It can be natural for some to feel overwhelmed when being fed on, especially when it is an older vampire of at least a century in age doing the nibbling, so your reaction is not unusual to me. Please don't be upset and say something?" Artemio was still gripping his shoulders, and Adriel heard him open his mouth, try to say something, but only managed a small whine that was immediately cut off so he made soothing noises as he continued to hold the historian. Art swallowed hard and tried again with better success this time. "I need to go to my room and clean up," he said in a strained voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I don't know what I was thinking!" Adriel applied a kiss over Art's pulse point where his heart was frantically beating. "You were thinking it felt good, and I was thinking how good you tasted," he said as he nuzzled Art's neck while taking a share of the blame for himself. "I don't feed from the same person consistently unless they are my companion because it can feel intimate. You don't need to apologize at all - as I said, you are very beautiful, and you taste like the finest of dishes and wine when you are enjoying yourself." He gently let go of Art and pressed another kiss to his neck. "And as I also said in the past, a companion doesn't have to mean sex, though it often does lead to it. There is no pressure, little scribe. Enjoy yourself, indulge with the books, and relax - there is no need to hide from me since you will be spending your life with me. Go on and think about it, and let me know if you wish to go back to once a week or continue to do this twice a week." Artemio's face was completely red as he pulled away and let go of his shoulders to hide his crotch. He gave Adriel a small mortified nod as he climbed off his lap, then turned and fled out of Adriel's study. Adriel watched Art's ass as he left and wondered how long Art would hold off on or if he would give in at all.
Artemio decided to keep to the twice a week schedule once he had calmed down, mulled over the words for days, and was found himself far too eager to feed Adriel that Saturday. One he informed Adriel of his choice, Adriel ordered an assortment of ancient egyptian themed pajama bottoms and left it at the foot of his bed with a note attached that said ' For feeding and/or for comfort. I love the internet. ~Adriel~' and Art began to wear them every Wednesday and Saturday, though it was with a blush for the first couple weeks until he adjusted. Adriel silently encouraged Art to rub up against him by making sure his little scribe was straddling him and then holding him the same way each time. He was only taking a few small sips each encounter since he didn't want to give Art anemia while he seduced him with pleasure, and that meant he had to feed on someone else every two weeks to make up for the difference. There were plenty who were eager for a quick coin in the White Wyvern since it had been his regular feeding ground before Art agreed to move in so it wasn't an issue, but he did make sure to only use his numbing venom so that it could be cycled and concentrated to keep his third venom from running dry. Technically it was all the same venom, but they all matured differently and got stored into glands farther back, and the shift from the first glad to the second was only a new component added, but second to last was a filter, and venom only moved back there when there was movement in the second gland. He would probably have to start biting oranges soon since he was biting Art so much, but he hated doing that because it made his fangs ache to sink into things that were too warm or too cool. He would have to ask Jacob if there was any kind of teething ring or something that had been created just for vampires since he didn't like using small animals or pets for that purpose. It was bad for livestock, too. Biting them too often made their milk run dry and lowered their chance to reproduce. By the end of the third week, Art needed very little encouragement to seek his pleasure after Adriel's many many encouragements and explanations that it was perfectly normal and Art was doing nothing wrong. He tapered the amount of venom he used in the fourth week, and when the fifth Wednesday rolled around, he only used enough to give Art an initial rush of pleasure, then stopped his venom so that Art would find it very difficult to complete in time. Art whined with complaint when Adriel was done before he could come, and Adriel asked if there was something wrong. Art shook his head no and then fled saying he needed to clean up, but Adriel figured Art was going to take care of himself in the shower. The next two times, he gave Art plenty of venom to find his completion and then some, then he again withheld it on the sixth Saturday and Art was so close that he continued to rub against him even after the feeding was done. It was almost two months since Art's first orgasm, so Adriel figured that with how close Art was, he could nudge things forward a little. "I could stroke you to completion if you wish," he murmured into Art's neck. "Just my hand in your pants so you don't need to expose yourself." Art thrust his hips a couple of more times as he hesitated to replay, then he groaned with frustration. "Yes, please," he mumbled, and Adriel let go of Art's waist to lick his palm real quick, then he slid his hand into Art's pants and groaned when he felt no boxers and sticky precum in the area before he encountered Art's penis. Art gasped as Adriel wrapped his fingers around it, then he rubbed his thumb over the leaking slit and started to nip and suck on Art's neck. Art moaned and impatiently bucked his hips up, and Adriel started stroking while he sucked and licked down to Art's collar bone. " Ah, this feels much better." "It could be better than this if you trust me, little scribe," he purred. "Just pull down your pants to your thighs, and I can make you feel so good." Art let go of Adriel's shoulders with a whine of indecision as he flapped his hands for a few seconds, then Adriel ran his thumb over Art's slit again and that was enough to help Art make his choice. He raised his hips and jerked his pants down, then squeeze his eyes shut as his face went red. Adriel twisted his body so he could lay Art down on the sofa, then he scooted back and opened the hand that been holding Art's penis for the move so he could lick off the the next bead of precum at the tip. "Ah!" Art yelped from surprise and the jolt of pleasure, and he opened his eyes in time to meet Adriel's eyes as he put the head of Art's cock in his mouth and swirled his tongue around like he was trying to taste every bit of is. "Oh!" Art gasped out, and then he thrust up deeper inside of Adriel's mouth as he came with that look of shock. Ah, and that first spurt was almost a mouthful on its own as it painted the inside of his mouth. He hummed as he quickly swallowed as a second shot came out, then he swallowed Art's dick all the way and sank his fangs into the base of Art's penis just barely enough to let his venom out. Art screamed with ecstasy as he threw his head back and grabbed Adriel's hair, and Adriel withdrew his fangs and sucked and swallowed the mix of blood and come while Art furiously thrusted up and gripped Adriel's hair tightly until he completely emptied himself out and nothing was coming out anymore. Adriel pulled back when Art went limp with a weak groan, and he licked the tiny punctures to heal them up then continued to lick the area clean. Once that was done, he carefully pulled Art's pants up again, then reached up to gently pry Art's fingers loose from his hair. "Mmm, you tasted divine even that way, little scribe," he purred, then pressed a kiss to the inside of Art's wrist before he got up so he could pick Art up in a bridal carry. "Alright, let's get you tucked into bed. If you wish to let me enjoy that that more often, you only ever need ask." Art moaned an agreement, and Adriel barely got outside of the private family room they were in before the latino fell asleep. Adriel grinned down at Art with an affectionate look despite the fangs he could not retract for the moment because of how much more he wanted from his companion, but he tucked Art into his bed as he said he would, then turned away to go shower and take care of his own problem with a hand. Art approached him the very next day and offered to 'feed' him more often like that with a blush. Normally, Adriel didn't let Art lie to himself like that - vampires fed from blood, not come, and Art had convinced himself that it was fine since he was just feeding Adriel at the same time. However, that was exactly what Adriel wanted this time, so he thanked Art with a gentle smile and said there was no need for a schedule for that, though he would like to keep to Wednesdays and Saturdays to nibble on his neck. Art agreed, then he started offering to do that almost every night, and he brewed up some lubrication the ancient Greeks regularly used and began to carry it in his pocket. Three weeks went by, and it was two and a half months after he brought Art to an orgasm the first time. He had finally started visiting Art in his own bedroom for feeding time the previous week since he had pointed out that there was no reason for Art to wear clothing for it and make them messy for no reason. He had also politely asked if Art would mind using grooming spells to painlessly remove his hair around his genitals since it would keep hair from getting stuck in his teeth, and Art had quickly agreed with a look of embarrassment. Adriel corrected his scribe's misconception and told him that there was nothing wrong or dirty about body hair, and that is was just Adriel's own personal preference, and Art calmed down and nodded as he said he didn't mind. This was another Saturday since Adriel had determined that the weekends were a good time to introduce new things to Art because he worked during the week, and Adriel was wearing silk bathrobes as he had just come out of the shower to make sure he was very clean. "Did I ever mention I can feed from your inner thigh?" he asked Art as he approached the bed where Art was naked from the waist down but kept himself covered with the sheets. They only came off when Art was wanting a blowjob, but Adriel planned to start changing that tonight, so he gave Art a gentle smile when Art shook his head no. "There is a major artery in them, and some people get self conscious about the mark being on their neck where it is visible at and prefer to be nibbled there. Would you like to see if you enjoy that area more?" Art licked his lips as he looked up with anticipation and nervousness, but there was no hesitation when he gave a shy nod. He laid back on his pillows the same way he did when Adriel was going to suck on him, and Adriel pulled down the sheets with a reassuring smile before he sat on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Art's ankle. "I need you to spread your legs with your knees out like a frog so that your thighs are up," he said in a gentle tone, then started assisted Art with the position he meant and keeping his eyes on the task since looking at his scribe would mortify him even more. He turned and climbed up as soon as there was enough space between Art's legs to do so, then finished adjusting Art appropriately. "Shh, want me to suck you off first to ease your anxiety?" "Yes, please," Art said as he averted his eyes to the side since Adriel had finally looked up to give him another reassuring smile. Adriel ran his hands up Art's inner thighs from the knees he had been at and nodded. "Just keep yourself spread open then, little scribe," he said as he began to lower himself. "If this doesn't clear away your anxiety, there is something else we can try, too. You know how you like your perineum rubbed?" Art gave a nod while looking interested but too embarrassed to say anything. "It's actually attached to your prostate, and that is easier to reach if I directly finger it. It would mean a finger in your bum, but I promise that the only discomfort is adjusting to having a finger there and that there is no pain. Would you be willing to try that while I suck you? Then I can keep my finger there and keep rubbing until I am done nibbling. Or I can start sucking until my finger is in, nibble, then finish you off. Or suck now, nibble, and suck again after just in case you end up not liking my finger. Which would you prefer? It isn't too different from what a doctor does when they do a prostate exam, only those are uncomfortable while this is pleasurable." "Whatever you think is best," Art choked out while he refused to make eye contact. It was the first time Adriel had given him a list of options rather than a yes/no or A/B, so Adriel understood that it was difficult. "I trust you." "Okay, but make sure to give me a couple minutes with my finger since everyone's prostate is in a different spot," he replied, and smiled when Art gave a small nod. "If you still don't like it after I have found it, you can tell me and I will stop. Raise your hips, it takes a moment of preparation so nothing gets messy." Art looked confused, but he raised his hips and Adriel pulled a hand towel out of his robe pocket which he spread out under Art so that any lube would not get on the sheets. He pulled out the potion bottle and began to coat his fingers with the liquid. "This is an Ancient Greek recipe that men would use when engaging in activities with each other," he explained. "I will gladly teach you the potion recipe if you wish - it's been lost to the ages since male love fell out of fashion for centuries, but maybe you will publish it in the future one day. Just stay still for a minute since I need to make sure you are slick so there is no friction." Art quietly obeyed with wide eyes and a blush so hard that it reached his chest while Adriel started to quickly and efficiently rub the potion against his hole. Art's heart was beating furiously, and he could smell nervous anxiety mixed with Art's musky scent of arousal. By the time he was done, there was so much oil on his fingers and around Art's crack that he figured he could start with two fingers rather than one, and he gave Art a nod. "Okay, you can drop your hips now," he said as he applied a bit more oil onto his hands before he capped and pocketed the vial. He felt himself get painfully hard when Art quietly obeyed, but he lowered his head and started licking Art's penis and pressed his fingers to the hole and started to rub against it. Art tensed up at first, but when Adriel did nothing except lick and rub then suck on his balls, he slowly started to relax with the familiar and good sensations easily overcoming the unfamiliar touch. Adriel pushed two of his fingertips in and held them in place as Art gasped and tensed once more, but he kissed up the shaft then started to lap at the tip then cleaned up the puddle of pre-cum on Art's lower belly. "Just relax, little scribe," he murmured in a low tone. "I won't hurt you." "Kay," Art quietly agreed, and it took a minute of Adriel tonguing at his slit and around the crown of his head, but he slowly relaxed and Adriel began to rub the inside of Art's rim to get it coated and loosen it up as he began to swallow Art's cock. Art groaned since Adriel was using tongue rather than suction to tease and make it feel good, but not good enough to start the climb towards a finish, but he didn't complain since it wasn't Adriel's first time and he knew that building the flames would make the completion feel even better. Soon, he was quietly panting and making small upward thrusts in a silent plea for more, and Adriel started to pump his fingers to carefully open Art up. Art tensed up, but Adriel sucked, and Art moaned as he relaxed and let his virgin hole get penetrated. Adriel started to lightly trail his fingers on Art's inner thigh at the same time he gave another suck, and Art twisted and bucked as he let out a strangled moan from the tickling sensation mixed with the pleasure. He then splayed that hand out on the spot he had tickled to soothe it, and when Art relaxed with a happy sigh of pleasure, he pushed his fingers in deeper and began to rub against the upper wall. The historian whimpered at the weird sensation, but he didn't tense up, and Adriel found the spot he was looking for shortly after that. Art's gasp revealed that Art had also felt that, and Adriel pulled his mouth back until only the head remained so that he could lazily suck and lick that area while he began a rhythmic stroke against Art's prostate. Art began pushing back on his finger rather than thrusting up to Adriel's delight, so he completely freed his mouth of the appendage and started to kiss his way to Art's inner thigh. Art moaned as he brought his knees up a little bit more to spread himself open as much as he could, and Adriel groaned as he sank his teeth into the inner thigh opposite of the one he had been holding and withdrew that hand. Art was definitely making sounds more than enough sounds to drown Adriel's quiet moans out as he slipped his hand into his robes to stroke himself, and he watched Art reach out to grab his own cock, except it was at the base to stop himself from cumming. Oh, his little scribe was a delight, and Adriel rubbed his prostate a little harder and pulled his fangs out to drink deeply from the artery he had punctured. Up until that point, Adriel had never actively sucked on Art while drinking, so Art bucked up with a loud cry while he gripped his cock harder and squeezed the fingers inside of him tight. Adriel moan as he imagined his cock in there and nearly came on the spot, but wrestled himself under control so that he could heal Art because he had taken a few swallows and was definitely at his allotted amount. He kissed his way up Art's inner thigh by an inch, then sank his teeth in and started to work in a third finger. He barely got it past the first knuckle before Art began to shake then cry out as he spasmed around his fingers, and Adriel grunted as he came inside of his own robes and he pressed his fingers hard against the prostate to milk his scribe's orgasm out while he came down from his own pleasure. His fangs ached as he pulled them out and licked the new bite clean while he healed it, and he knew he had just about run out of venom despite the oranges he had been mangling lately. He started to kiss up Art's hip while he wiped his hand clean on the outside of his robe, and he began to unbutton Art's shirt with that same hand before he got impatient enough to try and pull it up. "Adriel, please, your mouth," Art begged as he rocked back to get the third finger inside. "Waiting for you, please!" Adriel licked his lips and fought for control as he stopped pulling up Art's shirt. "Do you think you can hold on for a little bit longer, little scribe?" he asked in a strained voice. "You are so beautiful... I want to be inside of you so bad. Let me kiss your chest while I rub your spot to control my urge and then I will suck on you after." Art gaped up at him with a dazed expression at his confession of how much he wanted him, and Adriel pushed his third finger in with the rest and Art arched his back with a gasp of pleasure. "Yes yes whatever you want," he moaned, and Adriel was immediately on him to tear open his shirt so he could latch onto a nipple and Art cried out from the new feeling. Adriel knew he was starting to overwhelm the historian with pleasure since he had apparently used a lot more venom on him than he had before, but he didn't stop himself from biting since it had been over three months since he laid with anyone just so he could focus only on Artemio. He had never wanted someone so bad before, but he had never had to work on someone for so long, either. It had been over a year since he decided to play the long game with what he had thought was a librarian, and most reticent people either gave in by three months or he lost interest in them by then and moved on. There was a small sting of pain with every shallow bite he made before he numbed the spot, and he fucked Art with his fingers like he wished he could with his cock. Art writhed, moaned, and whined under him and appeared to enjoy what was happening since he kept babbling and urging him not to stop, so Adriel continued until Art's chest was peppered with little beads of blood which he was then able to lick up and heal before he kissed his way back down to Art's waist. He bit deep into a safe and soft spot there and moaned with relief as he finally let a mix of his first two venoms go, and he started scissoring his three fingers to push then in all the way so he could then curl his fingers so that Art felt stretched as he resumed his rubbing there. Art was no doubt feeling a low burning sensation because of the mix of venoms in his belly, and while normally it would be a bit uncomfortable for most, his little scribe was in a very good space so it seemed to add to the pool of lust that was also felt there. He kept his teeth buried as Art thrashed with another orgasm, and when Art started to come down from it, he removed his teeth as he tugged on Art's wrist, then swallowed his cock in one smooth motion before it was completely released and hummed do Art felt the vibration of his voice all the way to his roots which immediately triggered an ejaculation. Adriel greedily sucked and swallowed without letting up on Art's abused prostate, and Art bucked up into his mouth with loud wails as he came as hard as he did the first time Adriel sucked him off. By the time Art stopped coming and Adriel could pull his fingers out of the tight hole without hurting Art, his poor little scribe was twitching with aftershocks. Adriel placed his cleaner hand to the bite on Art's side which elicited a slightly pained moan so that he could heal it, then he sat up with a groan and got off the bed to head to the adjoining bathroom. Adriel washed his hands real quick, then grabbed a soft wash cloth and made it wet with warm water before he wrung it out. He padded back to the bed and wiped down Art's neck and chest to clean off the sweat and smears of blood, did his side and inner thigh next, then wiped down his cock and belly before he started wiping Art's crack clean. The towel was banished to the laundry room with another small bit of wandless magic, then he did that with the messy towel still under Art before he carefully rolled Art onto his side. Adriel slipped out of his robes and let them fall to the floor, and he crawled in behind Art and pulled the covers up over the both of them. He made a reassuring shushing noise noise when Art whined with confusion as Adriel curled up against Art's back and spooned him, then he started kissing the back of his neck and his shoulders while he cuddled him. "No, I'm just holding you and I expect nothing except for what we already did," he quietly reassured Art even though his little scribe said nothing. "Not that I wouldn't accept even more if you offer it, my beautiful little scribe. I lost my self control tonight because I wanted you so bad, and I have wanted you since the day I met you in the library and coaxed you into providing me a tour. Every touch you allow me to give you is a gift, and it is an addicting one that makes me want you more every time. By your reaction tonight, I am guessing we are each other's addictions, my heart. Still, I will not push for more no matter how much I want you until you ask me, and while I will happily take control like you enjoy it and make sure you find pleasure in our activities, I will continue to expect you to always ask and approach me since I won't try to initiate things with you. If it were up to me, I would have you as often as possible, but it would push you far too hard and you would burn out. So you control the pace, and if you need to back out or slow down, then do so since I want to savor you for the long term rather than take as much as possible for a short term." Art slowly relaxed as Adriel spoke, and by the end, he was leaning back against Adriel's chest and made a content sound of acceptance. Adriel licked his lips, then he began to sing some Ancient Egyptian hymns he knew as he stroked Art's hair back from his cooling forehead, and he waited until Art was deeply asleep before he slipped out of the bed, tucked Art in better, grabbed his robes, then left the room. Art didn't approach him for sex of any kind for the next few days, but his little scribe unconsciously fluttered his lashes while blushing a bit any time they spoke and was happy to be by his side even though he did not start any conversations. Adriel filled in Art's usual chatter with tales about Athens and what a twat Plato was. Socrates was infamous and vastly disliked by the majority of the people of Greece to the point that there were numerous insults based around him, and it was very common for parodies to depict the despicable man as a joke and a menace. His little minion, Plato, was cut of the same cloth, only he whined and complained and tried to victimize himself and his master so while Adriel had not like Socrates for the many political upheavals he had caused or was the catalyst for that got many many people killed, he explained he found Plato absolutely unbearable because he was trying to be that, was falling short into the 'whiny bastard' category, and because some of his works managed to survive, a lot of people thought he was famous even though he was considered a nuisance and a potential problem of the known world similar to Trump. Art was in stitches as he recounted the many jokes and parodies based around Socrates and his disciples from back then, and Adriel threw in several stories about the idiocy of the Romans as well. Art did not request anything for Wednesday's feeding, so Adriel kept it respectful and clothed and only used a small amount of his third venom before switching to his second one so that it felt good and painless for his little scribe, but it didn't drag Art in for more. He did end it on a small kiss on Art's lips - a chaste and gentle press of their lips - and Art ended up wobbling back to his room the same way he had the first time he had come untouched on Adriel's lap. Adriel was very pleased since the lack of sex and their sweet little interactions meant that Art had not just realized he had fallen in love with Adriel, but he was no longer trying to deny those feelings because he knew that Adriel returned those feelings. Art was still testing the boundaries of what that meant which was also why he was not engaging in anything - his little scribe needed to feel safe while he explored his feelings, and he was doing that by making sure that Adriel stuck with his word. The next few feedings with the same way, and Art didn't approach him until the Sunday two weeks after their encounter while he wore his Egyptian bottoms and nervously tugged on a soft shirt three times his size. "Adriel?" Art asked as he shuffled into his study, and Adriel hummed in acknowledgement as he continued to write his accurate contribution to Wiki about the founding of the Ottoman Empire with facts traced to various bits of evidences he had specifically searched out for to increase the chance of his article being accepted. NANcivet, his username, was getting to be a bit infamous and controversial as historians started to take note of his edits - even the ones denied for not enough proof - and more people argued about the validity of his submissions because some wanted to go by what was already known while others argued that- "I'm sorry, what was that?" Adriel asked as he looked up from his laptop. "You were too quiet and I was a little bit too focused on the latest topic I have been writing about." Art blushed hard but he raised his head so he could more clearly speak and maintained eye contact even though he very obviously found it difficult to do so since he still glanced away for a split second. "I was wondering if I can have a kiss," he said, then glanced away for a split second before resuming his eye contact so he could continue. "A proper kiss. Like... Like the movies. If you are busy, that's ok, we can-" "No, no, I am never too busy for you," Adriel said, interrupting Art before he could babble himself into withdrawing or talk himself into a rejection. "I would love to give you a kiss, too." Adriel smiled as Art's pink tongue darted out to self consciously lick his bottom lip. "Like the movies, yes." He rose up out of his chair and closed his laptop at the same time. "I love to taste any part of you that you would allow, my little scribe." Art blushed hard as he dropped his eyes to the floor, and Adriel approached him so he could cup Art's cheek and tilt his face up. "Here? Or are you hoping it might lead to more and want to go somewhere more comfortable in case you do want more?" Art's lips parted as his breathing picked up like his heartbeat did, and Adriel was assaulted with a strong blast of arousal. "Here, please," Art breathily said in a quiet voice despite how he felt. "Just. Just like the movies." Adriel gave Art a slow smile as he stepped in, wrapped his arm around Art's wait, and fitted their bodies together. "Yes, because I love you," he agreed in a low and silky tone, then he swooped in as Art's eyes widened with shock, and he felt Art shiver as he slipped his tongue in to tease Art's tongue while he molded their lips together. He hummed in approval when Art began to timidly move his tongue back, and his hum triggered Art's own moan before the younger man wrapped his arms around Adriel to embrace him back so that Adriel could deepen the kiss. Adriel only kept it up for a few seconds before he pulled back enough to suck on Art's lower lip, and Art breathed heavily a couple times before he pressed in to initiate the next kiss and battled Adriel's tongue for a few seconds before relinquishing control with a second moan that Adriel matched. Art was not a very good kisser, but that was a skill that would come with time and practice. Adriel moaned because he enjoyed the taste of Art and Art's reaction to him, and he made sure to map out Art's mouth and every type of stroke Art seemed to enjoy with a series of several short but deep kisses that allowed Art a little bit of breathing room, but still left him panting for air at the end. "I hope I met your expectations?" he asked with a smile as he looked at a heavily panting Art. "Though to be honest, I would prefer to have exceeded them." Art breathlessly giggled, and Ariel wondered what he had said was so funny. "I think you would get an O and a mastery," Art said with a bright smile. "I don't think it could have felt more perfect than that. Was I... Did I do okay?" Adriel chuckled at Art's little joke, then used the thumb of the hand still cupping Art's cheek to rub the lower lip Adriel had sucked on. "I would give your OWLs an O and offer to teach you so your NEWTs can also be an O," he said with amusement. "I'm sure we can get you a mastery very quickly if you want to practice more." "I think I changed my mind, can we practice more in my room now?" Art shyly asked as the musky scent of arousal thickened even more. "I mean, I want more. Than just kisses, but kisses also. I want to try... I liked it when... It felt so good and I want to have you inside me again. All the way. Without biting because I am curious..." "If it can feel just as good without?" Adriel asked as he scooped Art up into his arms, then started carrying him out of the study when Art gave a bashful nod. "I can make it so much better even without that nobody else will ever compare, and it will be my pleasure to do so. Expect to owl in sick tomorrow morning, he who shines the warm sun upon my heart."
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 2, 2023 7:10:56 GMT
Bad Art! Thought of this because of the one time Adriel telling Art that he was bad, and Art being so so sad.
BDSM/RP Art was tossed through the cabin door, and he stumbled into the lounge room in the boat before he fell to his knees with a yelp of surprise. The only thing that kept him from being hurt by the fall was that the floor was thickly carpeted with layers of rugs, but he was aching from the long trek through the wild Aegean island that they got back from. "Bad Art!" Adriel snapped as he stomped in after him and slammed the door shut. A couple of spells were sent to the door to make sure nothing came in, then he put his hands on his waist and angrily pursed his lips down at Art who had frozen at the reprimand and then craned his neck back to look at Adriel with wet eyes filled with remorse. "No, don't give me that look. I keep telling you that when I say get to the boat, you run or apparate to the boat!" Art drooped, and Adriel got more upset. "No, that isn't working this time, Art. You were very bad." "I'm sorry, Adriel," Art said as he hung his head down and sniffed. "It's just... I couldn't leave you behind! What if you got hurt?!" "I can take care of myself, and I am not accepting a verbal apology since you keep doing this over and over again," Adriel sternly said. "You aren't learning your lesson, so you need to be punished." Art sadly nodded an agreement without looking up. "Strip." "What?!" Art asked as he jerked his head back to look at Adriel in shock, but he quailed under the angry expression Adriel wore and cringed back. "That's not - I can't just strip!" Adriel unbuckled his belt. "You will strip, or I will belt you," he threatened as he pulled his leather belt off, then folded it in half so the end were in his hands. "Well? I need to make sure you learn your lesson so you stop running towards danger, and if that means you need a spanking, then you need a spanking." Art sniffled as he hung his head, then he sat back with his head hanging down with shame as his hands hesitantly went towards the buttons on his outer shirt. "What do I need to take off?" he asked in a meek voice. "Everything including your shoes," Adriel snapped. "You ran around like a chicken with its head chopped off, and I need to make sure you didn't run through poisonous plants and the like." Art looked up with panic, then dropped his eyes since Adriel looked very upset still and quickly started removing his clothes. He wanted to argue that he could check himself, but Adriel was a lot scarier at the moment so he struggled out of his shirts, pulled his shoes off, then unbuttoned his pants. He hesitated when it came time to pull it off, but Adriel was still scarier with the belt in his hand, so he stood up and pulled them so that he was left only in his boxers. He kept his head down as he flushed with embarrassed humiliation, then held his hands up so that Adriel could check him over. "I said everything, Art," Adriel said. "Then you are going to get back down on your knees, raise your arse in the air, and I will spank you with my hand rather than with the belt before I check you over." Art quivered in fear as he dropped his hands to cover his crotch with his hands, and he watched his flush of humiliation begin to creep down his chest since he didn't dare to look up at all anymore. "I-" he choked out, then bit his tongue since he didn't want to risk getting spanked with a belt. He whimpered, then slowly went down to his knees and began to wiggle out of his boxers while hoping that his position and his angle wouldn't show Adriel his privates by pulling his boxers down over his ass. He bent all the way down so his face was on the rug to curl up his body, then he wiggled his boxers off down to his knees. He nearly lost his balance as he worked to get it off past that, but he caught himself with his hand just in time and felt relieved that he didn't topple over since Adriel would have been able to see his genitals and he was trying to keep them hidden. Adriel sighed with exasperation as Art trembled on the floor, then he took the few steps he needed so get to his partner's side and dropped to a knee. "I swear, I have to do everything myself," he grumbled, then put one hand on Art's ass to keep him steady as he reached out and yanked the boxers off the rest of the way. Art yelped, and Adriel gave his bum a light smack. "Shush. Hopefully you will obey me next time. Now, what all did you do wrong? I want you to list them out so I know you are thinking about about why you are being punished." Art squeezed his eyes shut as he whimpered - Adriel had not removed the hand on his bum, and it was very close to the crack and his hole. Another light spank forced a second yelp of shock out of him and made him focus on what Adriel told him to do. "I didn't run away when you told me to," he mumbled. "That isn't all you did wrong, Art," Adriel sternly told Art as he lifted the hand with the belt and moved his left hand to grip Art's hip and keep him still. "You did several things today that led us to the situation we were in. Name them." Art flinched when he felt leather against his skin, but Adriel had him firmly held so he couldn't move away. Not while he was trying to still cup his groin and had his cheek mushed against the rug, at least. He could abandon modesty, but the belt was only laying against his skin, and it was a warning there only as a continued warning rather than an outright threat. "I got upset over something stupid," he whispered, then sniffed. "And ran off instead of helping you break camp. I should have worn the hat with the bug netting. I tripped, then yelled and blamed you for it, and then ran off again. Then I didn't listen when you told me not to run into the cave. And then I just screamed at the sleeping bear and woke it up. Then I still didn't run out of the cave so you had to come in and stun it." "You also froze up with fear despite all of the training I have been putting you through," Adriel said. "You are doing poorly with controlling your temper. You are not meditating every morning like you are supposed to be, and you threw a fit when I told you to meditate which is why you got upset. You are acting like a five year old when you do these things, and you are putting us both in danger because of it. What if there had been a Chimaera or a Lamia in that cave rather than a simple bear? Or another giant snake that could swallow you in one gulp?" Adriel paused to trail the leather belt over Art's quivering muscles. "Since you are acting like a spoiled kid, you can be spanked like a spoiled kid. How many spankings do you think you deserve? List an amount for each infraction between two and five, and I will add it up." Art whimpered and squeezed his eyes so tight that it forced the tears out. He was terrified of the belt he could feel and was nearly paralyzed with the thought that Adriel could lash out with it at any moment, but his thing was also suddenly getting very hard from the tickling feeling from the belt that left a trail of goosebumps where it touched. It also made him very very aware that his naked arse was up in the air, and Adriel was right next to it to he could see his hole and probably his balls. "Five for each time I got mad," he choked out since he knew that Adriel got very upset when he got mad and lashed out at him. "So at the camp, and then when I tripped. And five for screaming at the bear. And Five for running into the cave? Two for forgetting the hat and three because you had to stun the bear." He whimpered as he tried to count up what he had said already, only he was so scared that the numbers kept slipping around, and he only knew that it was a lot. "And three for not meditating and two because I froze. And... Four because I blamed you for tripping." "Do you think you deserve thirty spankings?" Adriel asked as he lightly tapped his belt on Art's butt, then petted it with the leather when Art gave a miserable sounding yes. "Well, you are your own worst critic, but I will be nice and knock off ten since this is the first time I'm punishing you like this. Now, you can take twenty from my hand, or you can take ten from my belt. Which would you prefer?" "Hand!" Art exclaimed with panic, then sobbed. "Please, your hand, not the belt!" Adriel saw Art breath a sigh of relief when he moved the belt to the side and dropped it on the floor, and he shook his head with a feeling of exasperation. "Some rules, then," Adriel said, and he watched as Art began to shake from hear again. "You will count out each spanking. I will not hit hard enough to leave bruises. If you lose count, I will demand you start at the halfway point - so if you lose count at ten, I will tell you to count starting at five with odd numbers being rounded down. You will keep your arse up and uncovered the whole time, but if you need a break to catch your breath, you politely ask with a please and a thank you. I will not exceed forty spanks if you keep losing count - probably less since I don't think you could manage forty either way. Then you can apologize to me after - both for your stupidity today and for making me spank you. Do you think I want to hurt you when I try so hard to keep you safe? How do you think I feel now that you have forced me to do this?" "N-no," Art sobbed out. He had tried not to cry, but when Adriel said he could end up with more spankings if he lost count, it had him trying to keep silent as tears began to pour out. And now he felt very guilty because Adriel didn't want to spank him, except Art never listened even though he was supposed to when it came to his own safety. "I'm sorry you have to do this, Adriel. I'll be good from now on, I promise!" Adriel sighed and shook his head. "We don't spank children in our tribe, not like this, but the British do," Adriel said before he patted Art's butt. "I'll be gentle, but you need to learn your lesson so that you might keep your promise in the future." Art sobbed and nodded, so Adriel rubbed the butt cheek before he gave it a sharp but careful smack. Art yelped, and Adriel rubbed a soothing circle over the stinging spot. "Don't forget to count." "O-one," Art sobbed out, then yelped again when there was a second slap in the same spot. "Two! Three! F-four!" Adriel paused to soothe the spot to let Art sob and catch his breath for a few seconds, then he spanked the other buttcheek just a little bit harder than he had the first one. "Five!" Art yelped out, then wailed when the sixth one was in the same spot and just as hard. "S-six! Seven! Ow! Eight! I'm sorry, please I need a break!" Art sobbed hard as Adriel rubbed his arse, but he had begged for a break because that last smack had jolted him forward and he had accidentally crushed his very hard member in his grip and it had hurt. It had hurt, but to his confusion, it had felt weirdly good, and the heat spreading across his bum had him wanting to push it back against Adriel's hand. He choked for a second when a moan almost came out, and thankfully it sounded like a strangled sob since he didn't want Adriel to know how this was affecting him. "Thank you," he whimpered as he carefully readjusted his hold on his penis. "Ready?" Adriel asked, and Art whimpered again as he nodded. Adriel made the next blow come firmly down on the first spot he had spanked, and Art yelped but didn't count. "You are starting at four again." Art cried and nodded, and tried to stay focused. "Four!," he loudly counted when the next spank came. "Five! Six! Seven!" And then Adriel paused to rub the spot, and to his mortification, he groaned and felt drool try to leak out of his mouth. "I'll give you another break," Adriel said as he continued to rub the bright red buttcheek. It was no hardship since Art had a very nice arse that was toned from all the trekking he had had to do, but it still looked soft because of all the sitting he used to do. "Poor thing, have you never been spanked before?" "N-no," Art stuttered out, flushing and feeling even more embarrassed at the question but feeling warmth bloom in his chest from the concern he could hear. "I was never bad enough to get one." Sarah got spanked a few times before she learned how to cover for her lies and bullying. "Good grades and I stayed home and read books." "I have some medicine I can apply after we are done, but it is a rectal one and if you want it, you will need to thank me for the spanking as well," Adriel coo'ed as he started massaging Art's butt. He might not be able to see how hard Art was, but he see a long string of precum that started from the covered crotch and was connected to the floor. He planned to take advantage of that since Art's cherry red and plump ass looked so too tempting to ignore, and Art was straining to not push his ass back into the massage. "Would you like that? It will help your arse feel better though you will still be feeling sore for a couple days." Art swallowed several times so that he could stop drooling and keep himself from moaning at the burning heat and the butt rub he was getting. Adriel was offering to also help him after, and he sniffled since Adriel was always taking care of him only he didn't deserve such kindness especially when he had been so bad that he was getting spanked. Except he knew that he would upset Adriel if he tried to say he didn't deserve it, and Adriel no longer sounded so angry at him, so he decided to accept it because it would make Adriel happy and he really didn't want Adriel to stop rubbing his butt. "Kay," he agreed, then squeezed his eyes shut and breathed out to try and get through the rest of it as quick as he could so that Adriel would hopefully not notice that he was kind of enjoying his punishment even though he should be hating it. "I am ready." Adriel raised his hand and gave Art a firm enough spank that his whole body shook with it. "Eight!" Art whimpered. "Nine! Ten! Eleven! T-twelve!" Adriel smirked when the last one was almost moaned out, and he paused to rub soothing circles and allowed his fingers to slip along the crack of Art's ass. Art had barely started to relax when Adriel started spanking the second cheek, and it forced another yelp out of Art. "Thirteen! F-fourteen... Please break!" Art whined when Adriel began to massage his bum again, and he tried his best to make sure it sounded pitiful rather than a needy one. His hands trembled as he suppressed the urge to stroke - he could feel how slick his dick felt now, and he wondered how the heck he would get away when it was all over without Adriel seeing his front at all. The blows had hit this time so that he was pushed forward, and it had felt too good. Almost like he was about to explode. He had to stop for a break so that he didn't come all over the floor and mess up Adriel's rug. Except he wasn't getting a break because Adriel was massaging and spreading the heat out, and his fingers got close to certain areas that almost touched spots in his crack that he intuitively knew would feel good, but it kept missing and he kept swallowing whimpers. "Shh, you don't need to hide your crying, Art," Adriel said as he watched Art struggle and swallow down his noises. Art was such an adorable submissive, and he couldn't help but enjoy taking the other man apart bit by bit. "Your bum is very red right now. I can apply some of the medicine now if you want?" "Yes, please," Art gasped out in a begging way. Anything to extend his break! "I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I will be good!" Adriel removed his hands and pulled a bottle of cinnamon lube out of his pouch. "You need to stay still, relax your arse, and spread your knees apart a few inches," Adriel said in a gentle one, and watched as Art clumsily tried to comply without removing his hands from his crotch while he poured a good amount over his fingers. "It might be better if you keep your knees spread a bit further apart - yes, that's good, you are doing a very good job and being very brave to take your punishment. That position will help you keep your balance for the rest of your spanking. Now, I need to pour some of this potion on the outside since I don't have an applicator on me, so don't flinch or you will waste it when it spills." Art felt very exposed with his balls hanging freely like they were now rather than sandwiched inside of his thighs, but he thanked god that Adriel was was next to him so couldn't see it because of the angle. He whimpered when he felt the potion Adriel mention get poured at the top of his asscrack, and he found himself distracted even though he tried not to pay attention when it slowly started to slide down closer and closer to his hole. He didn't realize that Adriel had moved behind him until he felt hands right above the back of his knees that forced them apart another couple of inches, and he yelped and nearly toppled over because he wanted to close his legs except that Adriel was right there and his hands were busy hiding his shameful erection. "Tsk, Art, I need to apply a little more since you tensed despite my warning and it dribbled down," Adriel lightly chided, and Art struggled to force himself to relax as he whined because of the new position. He wasn't sure if the anticipation, the fear, or the humiliation was stronger, but he gasped when he felt another dollop of the potion get poured at the top of his crack. It started to quickly move down now that there was already a trail of wetness that went all the way to his balls where he could feel a warm and soothing burn, and he smelled cinnamon so he thought maybe it was a muscle relaxing type of potion. Adriel's thumb caught the new application right above his bum hole, and he whimpered again as he realized how compromising his decision was and began to second guess his agreement. "Now, it's just like the doctor when they put a thermometer in your butt. I'm going to use my smallest finger, so stay still and relaxed." Art opened his mouth to ask if it would hurt, only Adriel's finger slipped inside because everything was slicked and he choked on his words. "Relax," Adriel said as he gave Art's ass a light smack that forced his hole to spasm and allowed Adriel to push until his finger was halfway in. "You will feel a light burn, and it might be a little itchy, but that just means the potion is working." Cinnamon would do that. He licked his lips when Art whimpered and began to comply, then rubbed one of the very red buttcheeks. "There, that's good Art. It doesn't hurt, right?" He started to pump his finger in and out. "I'll just rub it in, and it will start to feel good in a minute. It's ok if you make some weird sounds - the potion does that to some people. It will help if you rock back into my finger, too." Art panted out of his mouth as he was assaulted with a burning itch in his bum that Adriel's finger was soothing. It felt good, but that was very bad since his penis was starting to hurt from the strain of not letting it release. He squeezed the base to stop his impending orgasm and whimpered, then he gave in to the urge to push his arse back like he had been wanting to for a while and Adriel had given him a good reason to do so. He could blame that on the potion. He could also blame the moans he could no longer hold back on the potion, too. Adriel had said so. And then there was a certain spot that felt very very sensitive to the burning itch, and Adriel seemed to know since he started rubbing that spot specifically, and Art would be extremely embarrassed by the sounds he was making except it was all the potion's fault. No matter how much Adriel rubbed there, though, it didn't feel like enough, and then he cried out with protest when the finger just pulled out. "Shh, I'll finish putting in the rest of the potion after your punishment, Art," Adriel said as he admired the little pink hole that was fluttering in front of him. He reached out and started to massage Art's ass again, only this time it was firmer so that he could spread the cheeks apart and press them together. "We will do the rest real quick. Do you remember what number we were on?" Art whimpered because his burning bum was distracting him too much. "Fifteen?" Art whined out. "Fourteen," Adriel sighed, and the disappointment in his tone made Art wilt and start crying again. "But I understand you were a bit distracted, so we will start at ten rather than seven. Make sure you count, and let's try to get all of them at once without a break." "Okay," Art agreed in a thick voice since his nose was starting to get stopped up. Adriel smacked his butt and he felt it jolt through his body, and the sting combined with the burning in his hole and seemed to send it in deeper. "TEN!" he wailed out. "ELEVEN! TWELVE! FOU-THIRTEEN! FOURTEEN! FIFTEEN! SIXTEEN! S-S-SEVENTEEN! OOOW - EIGHTEEN! NINE... NINTEEN! P-please, Adriel! OW! Twenty!" "Good job, Art," Adriel coo'ed to the sobbing and snotting man who was pushing his butt back towards him and wiggling it. "Yes, I will apply the medicine, but you need to thank me first." "Thank yooouuuu!" Art cried out in a voice that sounded like he was begging rather than thanking him. Art's bum needed to be rubbed again, but he moaned with relief when he felt a cool finger slide inside and pushed back to get it as deep as it could go. He whined when his ass met palm because the itchy burn was deeper since the spanking had forced the sensation to go really far inside. "I need it more inside, please! H-hurts!" Adriel had used a light mint lube to offset the cinnamon burn, and he smirked at the lies tumbling out of Art's mouth. "Well... I can't go deeper, but I can use more fingers?" Adriel offered. "You did very good, so I don't mind using more of the potion on you. I don't want you to hurt too much, but you needed to learn your lesson. Have you learned your lesson properly?" "Yes, I'm so sorry, please more I'm very sorry I was bad and I will be good just more fingers please," Art babbled as he pushed his ass back, then sobbed when finger was pulled out since the burn seemed twice as bad now. He didn't have to beg for more forgiveness though since there was pressure at his hole, and he eagerly rocked back and moaned as it stretched and burned in a different way that felt cool and good and a relief to the itch. "Yes yes I'm sorry I will be good!" Adriel set the mint lube down in front of him next to the cinnamon one, then started to rub and squeeze Art's buttcheek as he slowly began to wiggle and push in three fingers. Art was gagging for it so hard that he knew he could take it as long as Adriel was careful, and he leaned over so he could see what Art's hands were up to without worry at getting caught peeking because Art was drooling and moaning too much to notice. Art was holding the base of his cock so tight that his penis was an angry red, but his other hand was stroking and rubbing the oozing head and he didn't think Art realized what he was doing with his hands at all. He settled back to focus on Art's beautiful ass, picked up the cinnamon lube, and dribbled a bit of it above his fingers so that it could pool around the rim and get pushed in. "The spanking must have hurt so much," he coo'ed in a sympathetic voice. "I don't like hurting you, Art, but I will always take care of you just like you try to take care of me by learning how to heal and stuff. Is it feeling any better?" "N-nooo!" Art lied as he pushed back more because there was still so much burning itch that only the ends of Adriel's fingers was relieving as it sank in deeper. "Don't stop! Please don't stop it hurts so much! I am sorry and I will pay for the medicine thank you thank you!" "Ah, this is a special tribe medicine so you can't pay for it I'm afraid," Adriel sighed out as he watched Art work himself past the second set of knuckles and admired how greedy that hole was. "I'm also using my fingers so I might not be able to get it as far back as it can go. I could try using something a bit longer, but it is a little bit thicker, so I don't know if it will hurt you or not. Would you like to try?" "Oooh, yesss," Art moaned out. "More!" Adriel smiled as he thought about what he had on him. "Well, let me work with my fingers for a little bit so that I can try to stretch it out so the tool doesn't hurt. Just be patient." Art groaned out an agreement that ended with a whine of disappointment, but it immediately changed to moans of pleasure when Adriel began to spread apart his fingers. When he opened it up for there to be a bit of space, he swiped a finger from his free hand up Art's balls to collect the excess cinnamon oil, then pushed that finger in, and rubbed it against Art's prostate to coat it in a fresh layer as he applied pressure firm enough to trigger an anal orgasm that had Art wailing out and pushing back for more. He pulled out his fingers at the same time, though, and rubbed Art's butt. "I'm sorry, I must have hurt you," he apologized as Art's wail of pleasure turned into a cry of devastation as his ass contracted around nothing. "I should stop since I don't think you can-" "No, please don't stop!" Art begged, and he pried his eyes open and craned his neck so he could look back at Adriel to show how desperate and sincere he was. "It didn't hurt, I promise, I swear it didn't hurt so please don't stop! It's helping, I swear!" Adriel gave Art a dubious look, but he pulled a wood dildo from his pouch. "Are you sure?" he asked as he showed it to Art. "This is a pestle I haven't used for anything yet, and it is pretty thick and long. If my fingers hurt you, then this won't be-" "No, please, that is fine," Art quickly said as he stared at it with wide eyes. It looked intimidating, but it also looked like it would hit all of the itchy spots and he was desperate to have something inside of him since he felt so empty that the burning itch was absolutely horrible. "Please, I will be fine, it didn't hurt!" "Alright, but you have to stay still and not let the potion tell you it is a good idea to push back," Adriel said in a reluctant tone, then he reached out to lightly tug on Art's spasming rim with a crooked finger which made Art moan and his open hole flutter with another contraction. "I suppose it might fit, but you have to stay still and relaxed or it could hurt. It will probably pinch anyway." He removed his finger, picked up the mint bottle, and dribbled it on the dildo to the second ridge. "Think you can do that?" "Anything," Art moaned in agreement, then he laid his head back down, took a deep breath, and relaxed his butt. Adriel used cinnamon for the rest of the length, then he pressed the blunt and thick tip to Art's hole and carefully began to press up against it. "Wiggle your bum, Art, and help me ease the end in," Adriel said. " Carefully. If it looks like I hurt you even a little bit, we stop." Art whimpered at the thought of stopping, so he was very careful as he wiggled his butt. The cool and blunt end felt good rubbing against the rim that felt like it was on fire, and he covertly began to push back as he wiggled and moaned with pleasure because he could feel his hole begin to spread open. He completely relaxed his butt muscles to coax it in deeper and he moaned even louder. "Doesn't hur'," he drooled out just in case Adriel mistook his noise as pain. "Feels so good I swear thank you thank you don't stop!" Adriel grinned at Art's mumbled moans and watched Art's ass as he wiggled and pushed himself back against the dildo. Honestly, it was impressive how Art's ass was slowly accepting the wide end, and as the rim engulfed the end and the hole swallowed it to the first ridge, he imagined it being the head of his cock being sucked in like that. Adriel carefully pulled back the dildo with his other hand planted on Art's cheek so that he could worked the rim loose, and he heard splattering noises hit his carpet and leaned a bit over to see what it was. Art had come all over his floor as he moaned and stroked his penis, and he was still furiously wanking himself while he drooled and made guttural sounds of pleasure. Art's noises changed from guttural to a higher pitch when Adriel pushed and sank it in deep enough to start working in the second ridge - he was moaning like a Knockturn whore and Adriel struggled to keep his breathing even since he wanted to get past this and start working in the area that had cinnamon rather than mint on it. He fully intended to fuck Art after he finished with this thing - that tight little hole would be gaping so much that he would be able to hilt in one thrust and Art would love it. The best things took time, though, and he wanted to make sure that Art would be very very happy despite being unable to walk for a day or two after this. He finally got the second one pushed in, and Art was beginning to buck back as he pushed it in and out so that the mint ridge would alleviate the cinnamon burn at the rim. When Art looked like he was about to ejaculate again, Adriel stopped. "Are you still doing ok?" he asked, and Art whined. "Art! I need you to pay attention! Should I stop now?" Art froze as the stern tone snapped him out of his haze of pleasure, and he gripped his dick as he turned bright red with embarrassment. Did Adriel know? Oh, god, his hands were covered in a mess! Had he come? All over Adriel's floor? How could he hide it? He would have to try to clean it up himself, too, since he did not want the house elves to know! They belonged to Adriel and might tell him and- "Art," Adriel said in a more gentle tone and wiggled the dildo in Art's ass. "Does this hurt? Has the burning stopped yet? Should I pull it out and check you over since you aren't answering?" "No!" Art yelped since he did not want Adriel to check him over or he would see the mess! "No, stay there please! It doesn't hurt, and it still burns deeper inside." Art paused, and in a more sincere voice that leaked his frustration at suddenly having to stop in the middle of what they were doing, he told a bit of the truth. "I don't want you to stop, please!" "Really?" Adriel asked, letting a bit of disbelief color his tone. "Normally you don't want to get naked or anything in front of me but... I'm technically not a doctor even if I know what I am doing. Are you sure you don't want to stop and-" "No, no, I don't want you to stop," Art quickly interrupted. He was mortified as Adriel pointed out what they were doing, but his brain was hit with a clear image where his ass was up, Adriel was using that big wood thing in him, and he knew he should stop while Adriel was offering, except the image and the way the already pestle felt made him want that thing all the way inside and then maybe Adriel would push it in and out so every one of those bumped would... "It's ok," he groaned as he shut his brain up. "I trust you, and you won't uh... Tell anyone, right? About this or the spanking? Or you don't think I'm..." "No, I won't tell anyone," Adriel reassured in a gentle tone, then he patted Art's butt. "I also already warned that you might make weird noises, so I'm not going to tease you about this or anything. I understand it might be a bit embarrassing, but I also need you to be more aware of what we are doing or you might get hurt, okay? I don't know how deep you need me to go and it has all those bumps on it, so I'll need to pull it out on occasion and apply a bit more of the medicine or some lubrication. The lubrication is the minty thing you might be smelling, but I can't use too much of it or the medicine will be neutralized." Art felt his mouth open into a silent oh and he gave a small nod. "I didn't know," he mumbled. "I'll pay more attention. I'm sorry." "It's ok, just let me know when your arse no longer hurts, and I will neutralize the rest of the potion with more mint, okay?" Adriel said with a squeeze of Art's butt. When Art nodded, Adriel began to push the second ridge in all the way, and watching the rim go over it then seal around the lowest point of the next dip had him wanting to touch it. "I need to touch to make sure there is enough lubrication before I begin to apply the medicine, so stay still." Art squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, and Adriel began running his thumb all around the stretched out hole, then rubbed it to soothe the burning cinnamon that was still lightly around it though it was beginning to thin out. He grabbed the cinnamon lube and poured enough out so that it dripped around and then down Art's balls, and Art whimpered and tightened around the dildo in his ass. "Shh, it's ok, I'll rub until you relax." Art's felt fingers from Adriel's left hand start massaging around his hole a moment later, and he moaned since it felt really good even if it increased the burning feeling. Then the pestle in his butt was twisting around so that the mint rubbed his inside, and he relaxed and pushed back with a lewder sounding moan. It felt so good that when Adriel's thumb dipped down to massage under his hole, he arched his lower back down to pop his ass up as much as he could, and then he was lost to sensation once again when the thick and hard end started to go in deeper. His hole was getting stretched out at the widest point when he felt a flutter of panic and squeezed his dick since he almost came all over the floor because that really sensitive spot was nudged, and Adriel began twisting and pouring more oil which made his hole more slick but burn even more while the blunt end rubbed and stretched and cooled that spot inside. He cried out as his body began to shake from the need to ejaculate, but he held on tight because he refused to make a bigger mess on the floor that he would need to clean up. He was about to reach ecstasy again, only this time he would definitely be filled for it, except Adriel stopped and he wailed with frustration. "What? WHAT?!" he shouted since he knew Adriel wanted something again! "It doesn't hurt! It was feeling good! Why did you stop?!" Adriel spanked Art's ass firmly. "No, bad Art, you are supposed to be paying attention," he chided, then rubbed the spot when Art began to sob with frustration and upset. "Shhh, there there, it's ok. You don't get to make demands since you are silly and always hurt yourself. I stopped though because you are squeezing your penis so hard that it's turning purple. No, no, don't hide or feel ashamed - when something feels good like a massage or medicine that helps with pain, we often get hard because of relief. You are going to cause yourself damage, though, so remove your hand and I will put a cover on it and a tie so that it should stop you from embarrassing yourself - oh dear, you already made a mess on the floor, but that is ok. If it happens again the cover will catch it. No, don't cry or feel embarrassed - it isn't any worse than what we are already doing, and we are both guys and you already know that I very much understand these things. Just let go... Good Art, that's good, shhh, just put your hands up by your head and I will quickly take care of that. Just a condom and a ribbon, that is all, and it will make sure you aren't making a mess." Art sobbed with humiliation since he was caught, but he obeyed and stayed still as he felt Adriel's strong fingers begin to roll a rubber on him. He cried even harder as his hips bucked into Adriel's hand, and he came hard before the condom was on all the way and couldn't stop himself from thrusting for more while the dildo in his ass wobbled and pressed against that spot with each bounce since Adriel was not holding it. He was crying out apologies, too, but he couldn't help himself because Adriel's hand around his dick was so slick from the potions and the rubber was so tight and there was so much heat and closeness. Then Adriel was rubbing his back and making shushing noises, but he continued to sob and kept his eyes shut since he couldn't bear to see Adriel with a look of disgust on his face. Except... Adriel was apologizing? "I'm so sorry Art, I didn't realize you were this sensitive or I would have done this for you sooner, don't cry, it's not your fault and I'm not mad," Adriel comforted as he rubbed Art's back. "Just calm down, and I can put a new rubber on you since you filled this one up quite a bit. You must have been holding it for a while, but it's normal and you should feel better now that the worst of the pressure is relieved. There you go, you're calming down, and you are still hard so getting a new rubber on will be easy now that you are done." Art hiccuped and nodded, and Adriel pulled off and tied up the condom before he grabbed another one and started to roll it on. Art had came before he could get the other one halfway on, and it had been so hot that he had to work hard to not kiss Art's back or neck or do anything overt except to stroke while Art furiously rutted into his hand. "If it helps, I can put a blindfold on you, too," Adriel offered as he pulled out a ribbon. "That way you don't give yourself a headache by squeezing your eyes so tight, and I can make it a soft cotton fabric that will soak up your tears if you cry anymore so they don't get puffy and sore." Art nodded an agreement again as Adriel tied off the ribbon around the base of Art's cock to secure the new condom and prevent him from coming anymore, then he pulled out a long strip of soft cotton and a handkerchief. He cleaned up Art's face real quick first which had Art blushing while he stubbornly kept his eyes closed, and then Adriel wound the strip around Art's head several times before he tied that off in the back and ran his fingers through Art's sweaty hair. "I'll help you take a bath after this - no, no protests. I've already seen and touched every bit of you, so there is no point in being embarrassed unless you want to go to sleep covered in sweat, potion, and lubrication. Just say 'yes please' and 'thank you' unless you prefer falling asleep all dirty?" "No," Art croaked out through a tight throat. "I don't want to sleep dirty. Yes please, thank you for helping me." Adriel looked down very smugly at Art who was now blindfolded and had a makeshift cock cage on. "No more touching your genitals, Art," he warned in a gentle tone as he continued to card his fingers through Art's hair to help him cool down, and Art flushed but seemed a lot calmer now that he felt like his face was hidden. "You should know that a purple appendage is dangerous, so trust the ribbon, but if you make a mess anyway, there is the rubber to stop it from spilling on the floor. If you touch yourself again, we will either need to stop or I will need to tie your hands until we are done. Would you like me to tie them now so we don't have to stop again?" Art sharply inhaled since he absolutely did not want to stop again, but at the same time, he would not be able to run. But... It wasn't like he needed to run, right? The boat was probably one of the safest places in the world and he trusted Adriel absolutely with his life. He also didn't trust himself to not touch that area since he had been... Well, he made a mess on the floor. And Adriel wasn't angry and just helped him make sure he wouldn't embarrass himself again. "Tie my hands, please," he quietly requested as he stretched them up over his head, then whimpered when his movement made the wood thing in his butt bounce against the spot. "I don't want to stop again. Uhm. Because I want it to stop hurting." Adriel grinned at that terrible terrible lie, and he pulled out one of his silk ropes then he studied Art to see how it should be tied. He had to make sure it was tied in a way that would allow Art to use his elbows for balance but stop him from moving his hands down, so he opted for a tie that needed a couple wraps around the chest and lengthened the rope from the back a bit more than usual so that Art could have his hands comfortably over or under his head a bit. "You should be able to untie that yourself with a bit of effort, but it will keep you from unconsciously doing anything that you shouldn't be doing," he told Art as he knotted it right below the wrists. "If you need me to stop at any time, just say 'red' and I stop. If you need me to slow down, say 'yellow' and I will slow down and ask what you need or want. If you are fine, say 'green.' I will ask you what color you are at, and you need to pay attention to answer. If you don't answer if I ask twice, then I stop." Art wiggled at the ties as Adriel explained things, then folded his arms at the wrist and pillowed his cheek on the back of his hands with a sigh of relief since the carpet was starting to feel rough. "Okay," he agreed while rolled his neck so that the rope fell over his left shoulder since he didn't want it in his face, then swallowed a moan when the thing bounced again and sent another spark of pleasure out. "I'll pay attention. Can we start now? It still burns inside." "Of course," Adriel agreed in an easy tone while he admired his work. The only thing better would be if Art was also covered in teeth marks and love bites, but Art pretty much gave him the keys to the kingdom so he was very pleased with what he had. "Let me get back into position, just stay how you are and relax. Let me know when your butt is no longer hurting and you want the mint to neutralize the burn." Art nodded an agreement, and he listened as Adriel shuffled back. His bum was honestly not hurting at all anymore except as a mild warmth, and he missed the stinging pain. He was not sure if he liked the burning potion or the minty lubrication more, and he was glad that it was both of them since it felt really good when the cool lubrication hit the burning spots. He heard the clink of vials, then liquid was poured on his bum again, and it was warm so he knew it was more of the medicine. Both of Adriel's hands were on his bum and rubbing around his stretched out hole, and he moaned and relaxed his spine to pop his ass out to expose everything again. Adriel smiled since Art was doing a lot better and seemed content to let him play, so he massaged down and rubbed the perineum with both thumbs for a bit. Art sighed and quietly moaned, and he moved his right hand back up to the dildo and started to work it in. Art rocked back to match Adriel's slow and easy pace while his mouth fell open with a louder moan, then Art continued to breathe out quiet moans in between swallows, then Adriel pushed in the next ridge and rubbed around Art's ring to get the muscles to tighten around the dip. From that point, Adriel used plenty of cinnamon lube as he gently stretched and worked the dildo in deeper. He called out for color, and Art immediately groaned out a green, and he quietly tugged at the drawstring of his pants before he pulled it down and exposed his dick. He began to stroke himself as he got on his knees, and when he was about to come, he pushed in the final small ridge and held his breath as he aimed and shot all around Art's hole and painted it and the next part of the dildo white with his come. "Deeper?" he asked as he wiggled and pressed the next bulby part against Art's hole to make sure his spunk provided enough lubrication, and Art obliviously groaned out a green so Adriel watched as Art's eager and hot hole easily swallow up another inch along with a good portion of his come. He began to work the dildo in and out on that spot to push more of it inside, and Art moaned and whined as the ridges rubbed against his prostate. "Green, green," Art moaned out as he shuddered with pleasure. The warm feeling potion didn't burn this time, and he figured it was because of the new texture, and that along with the ribbed feel of the pestle Adriel was using rubbing against the very sensitive spot had him about to finally push him over the edge. " Oh, Adriel! Thank you thank you thank you!" Adriel plunged the dildo in until the next bulb was pressed against Art's hole since he knew Art was about to come, and he watched as Art's ass and hole contracted and tried to suck the thing in deeper along with the come that had remained on the outside. He let go of his dick so that he could press his fingers against Art's rim and feel the contraction while Art wailed and pushed back for more, so Adriel fed the grasping thing the last bulge until the handle was pressed against Art's rim, and Art's cries turned shrill with a few choked out "Green!" Adriel released the dildo as soon as it was in all the way, then he grabbed some more cinnamon and poured it over Art's hole and began to massage it around the pucker so that it was also sucked in with the contractions. Finally Art went limp with a whine at the back of his throat, and Adriel grasped the dildo and slowly pulled it out all the way back to towards the end. Each time Art's rim dragged over a high point, he twitched and whimpered, but he kept his ass popped out. "Green," he moaned out at the halfway point, then he whimpered and said "Yellow," towards the end which had Adriel pause. "I think you should push it back in and then out a few more times?" Art asked in a quiet and uncertain whine. "Just to make sure the potion is in all the way." Adriel triumphantly grinned for a split second before he cleared his face so that it wouldn't show in his voice. "Hmmm... Actually, if I pull it out, I could probably pour some directly inside and then put it back in," Adriel said in a thoughtful tone. "It would be better than the applicator since it would get in the ridges and rub it in well. But are you sure you are still hurting enough for that? It might be a little drastic and I thought this would be enough by now..." Art whined at the thought of stopping and shook his head no. "It hurts," he quickly said. "But it's getting better! I think it will be best if we do your idea. Please? Green please?" "Alright," Adriel agreed in a reluctant tone, and he stopped fingering Art's rim so he could grab the cinnamon bottle. "Take a deep breath, then completely relax yourself so you stay open after I pull this out. Then I will pour some in and immediately push the end back so that it hopefully doesn't spill out. Tell me when you are ready." Art took a deep breath through his mouth, breathed out through his nose, then slowly breathed in as he reassured himself that he could do this. He could definitely do this. He really wanted to feel that go in and out of him since just having it go in had felt so good. If it was too much, he could beg for the mint after, but so far the burn had not been painful, it just made him really need to be stretched and rubbed and the stretching and rubbing was so wonderful. "Okay," he breathed out. He whimpered but kept himself relaxed when cool air hit his inside after the wood pestle was removed, then he had to work to not twitch when he felt liquid get poured in because it was a completely new feeling. Some still spilled out, and he heard Adriel say something in Navajo, then the blunt tip was at his hole and he eagerly wiggled and pushed back and was surprised by how easily it went in this time around. Then the burning feeling started to build and he gasped. "Okay, I am fine, just - oh!" Adriel pushed, and he moaned as he felt the ridges smoothly slide in, and the pleasure was almost blinding when it was deep and he felt the two thick bulbs at the end go in. "Green green yes!" Adriel noted that very little lube came out when he pushed in, but it was definitely messy and there were some faint streaks of white come that began to leak down Art's thighs when he pulled out the second time. Art was very much enjoying himself as Adriel carefully fucked him with the tool since he could hear Art babbling out his greens and begging for more, and he slowly picked up speed and watched Art's hole flutter over every dip rather than seal around it as it loosened up all the way. Art whined and started to beg for it to go faster, and he obliged since there was more than enough lubrication for there to be no friction that could hard him, and when he saw Art's balls begin to draw up, he pulled it back then pushed it all the way in and Art orgasmed with a loud scream that Adriel continued to fuck Art through. Adriel watched as Art tried to get up on his hands a couple times while he wailed, but the rope prevented it, and the little ass slut pushed back hard instead to try to get get even the handle in. Adriel allowed that extra inch so that Art's ass was being stopped by his hand, and he made sure to twist his wrist each time Art's ass backed into his hand so that his knuckles rolled along the rim while he reshaped Art's insides. He pulled the dildo out completely as Art nearly finished his orgasm, then he shoved four fingers in and extended the orgasm by curling his fingers up and rubbing his first knuckle joints against Art's prostate. Art's scream turned shrill like a woman as he called out a green while he yanked and tugged on the rope, and Adriel rubbed Art's insides while he felt the spasms until Art's voice almost got to the breaking point. He pulled his hand out so that Art would not get hurt and gave the fluttering hole a small lick. Adriel set the dildo down, and he started rubbing the gaping rim while holding it open with his thumbs and made some shushing sounds. "Do you need mint?" he asked when Art quieted down to whimpers. "I can give you mint, was that too much potion?" Art had been handing the burn just fine, but the cool air that Adriel's hold was allowing in had made the burn turn into an inferno. "Yes, yes mint please," he moaned as he wiggled his butt. "Oh, too much potion I need mint!" Adriel removed his hands and pulled out a handkerchief. "Alright, I need to clean you up first and get another tool out that is about as long as the pestle was - maybe a little longer," he explained in a calm tone as he wiped his hands clean. "The pestle was about six inches, maybe seven, and this one is eight or nine but is not as thick." He grabbed the mint bottle and started to slick himself up with it. "Just give me a minute, Art. You need to stay still for the mint since it needs to be carefully applied so that I can make sure to neutralize as much of the burn as possible." "Okay," Art agreed with a small whimper, then grimaced since his throat was very sore. He couldn't help but shift his hips a bit as he became aware of how messy the back of his legs, arse, and inner thighs felt, but then he felt Adriel's thumbs at his open hole and they felt so cool. Art moaned with relief and went still while he prayed that the new thing Adriel was going to use could easily slide in. Then there was something blunt, cool, and soft poking around the area, and he groaned when it suddenly sank in while Adriel held his hole open. The cool wash of mint felt so good against the burn as he felt his arse get filled up once more. Adriel quietly breathed through his mouth as he rocked his hips and slowly fucked Art's ass. He was very careful to stop an inch or so before the end so that he did not make contact with Art's ass, but it felt soft and tight despite the wide dildo he had used because it was puffy from irritation inside. "There you go, Art," he coo'ed. "This feels good, right?" Art moaned an agreement and started to try and rock back, but Adriel kept Art's ass still by the hands planted on his as and the thumbs inside of his butt. "No no, stay still. You are all irritated inside. I'll have to do this for a while... There was too much potion like I had said. Is your bum feeling better from the spanking?" "Yes," Art gasped out as he wiggled his hips. "Oooh, this feels so good. I don't care if it takes a while, it is helping with the potion." "You are a virgin, right?" Adriel asked, then swallowed to keep his voice steady when Art groaned an agreement. "You are taking this so well for a virgin. All of this must be new and confusing for you, but you have been so good and brave. Did you make a mess inside of the condom, or is that fine?" "No mess," Art promised as he started to undulate to get the mint to hit new angles, then moaned when he accidentally made it hit the itchiest and best spot inside. "Oooh, there, can you do it there? Please?" "Let me finish the deeper area first, Art," Adriel said, straining to keep his tone even since Art's movements were getting him close to finishing. "Then I'll need to apply more lubrication and I will work on that spot with a fresh coat. You want that, right?" "Oooh, yes," Art moaned since it sounded perfect. "Deeper, please, and faster." Adriel breathed out and stopped talking as he thrust faster, and Art wiggled more with sounds of pleasure that Adriel couldn't make himself since he had to keep silent. Soon, he was finishing inside of Art with a quiet groan that couldn't be heard over Art's own moans, and he fucked his come in as deep as he could while Art made his delighted little noises. "Good, I'm going to pull it out and add more mint, but it is going to take a minute since I need to clean it first," he said, sounding a little bit out of breath. Art didn't seem to notice since he made a sound of disappointment when Adriel slid out, then he let go of Art's rim and used the handkerchief to wipe himself clean before he put more mint on it. "Are you sure you like this? You are aware that what you are feeling is also how sex is, right? We can stop if you want... One application should-" "No, no, I don't mind," Art protested, sounding a little panicked. "I promise I don't mind. You said you won't tell anyone so it is fine, and if I need something like this again because I am bad and need a spanking, we can do it some more after? I mean, if you don't mind? We can use the stuff that stops me from making a mess at the start, too." Adriel was slowly stroking himself as he listened to Art begging for more, and while he wished he could immediately plunge back in, he needed to buy himself a bit more time to recover. "No, I won't tell anyone, and... Well, I was hoping that the punishment would stop you from running out into danger," Adriel said in a disappointed tone. "It sounds like you might want to deliberately be bad to earn punishments, though. Are you... enjoying this?" Art made a choking noise and went red. "I didn't mean it like that!" he yelped. "I mean, it feels good now, but the spanking is scary! I will be good, I promise, and I'm very sorry and I will run when you tell me to and I will try to control my temper more and meditate every morning. Please don't be mad?" Adriel hummed and applied a bit more mint lube on himself. "I'm not mad but... I do prefer to reward for good behavior rather than punish for bad behavior," Adriel said in an unhappy tone. "That is why I give you chocolates and such, remember? But if you like this, I could... Do it for you when you are good and obey? It can be our little secret, and you want to be good, right?" Art whined and wiggled his butt. "But... This is for medical reasons?" he whimpered. He very much wanted it, just like he was now, only Adriel was right that it was kind of like that, and that was wrong. "I won't need to do this if I am good?" Adriel got back up on his knees and plunged two fingers into Art's hole to make sure it was still nice and loose, and Art moaned at the fresh wave of mint. "Well, I could spank you when you are good then use the medicine, and spank you when you are bad but not use the medicine," he offered in a tone that made it sound perfectly reasonable. "You could think of it as a special type of training to teach you not to flinch away from pain, too." Art started panting as he imagined it, then moaned again when he felt the mint tool at his hole. Then Adriel pushed his thumbs in and spread him open and it sank in then started to jab around close to the spot he wanted it at. He undulated and wiggled to help it, then moaned when it hit. "There, yes," he moaned when it hit the spot again, and he stayed absolutely still so it kept rubbing there until it stopped after a few times. "Green?" "You still haven't answered if you want good boy spankings," Adriel chuckled out. "We can do this without the spankings, too. There are other potions like nutrient ones that can be taken rectally, and they all feel different. Nutrient potions will feel zesty and tingly, for example, and there is another cinnamon-based medicine that helps prevent colds and infections if you like the burning feeling." Adriel began to move his hips to stroke Art's prostate once again. "We can keep using a blindfold if it is embarrassing and do it in the showers on a rubber mat so we won't make such a big mess on floors and carpets. You can even leave your privates free if we do this in the shower rooms at the Greek bath area, then we can soak and relax together after a quick rinse. I can set up one of the bathrooms specifically for this activity to reward you when you are good. Don't you think you would be more willing to run to the boat if you have that to look forward to?" Art whimpered as he imagined it and felt his ass trying to flutter shut around the minty tool that actually felt a lot more soothing than the other thing had. The pleasure was building up slowly, and he thought he preferred that more than having those ridges rip screams out of him. Or... Well, both had their bonuses. "Can we use both of these things for that?" he asked. "The pestle for the burning ones and... What is this one?" "It's a length of softwood I usually use for carving - wood from fruit trees are great for making figurines and the like, but I will have to toss this one out after since it isn't sealed which means it will absorb things and not be clean," Adriel explained after a split second of thought. He had plenty of softwood in his pouch, so it was a great excuse. "I collect a lot of it so it doesn't matter if it gets tossed out after each use since sealing it would make it hard which isn't so good if your insides are inflamed. But yes, we can keep the pestle for your use only in the shower room. Also, the softwood is raw, and that is another reason you need to stay still since it could splinter if we go as rough as we did with the other one. In the shower, we can use rubber goggles with black lenses or we can use cotton strips." "Cotton strips," Art moaned, then began to wiggle his bum with each prod to make it dig deeper. "Ooooh, yes, I will be good and we can use rectal potions. Our secret, I want that, and I will be good all the time. Ah, please please don't stop! Do we still need colors?" "I don't need to ask for a gentle time like now, but if you need to say yellow or red, you can always use them," Adriel breathed out. "You sound very happy and close to feeling good again. I am so glad I can make you feel good - hurting you makes me feel terrible, Art. You have been hurt enough, but you scare me when you go running into things that can kill you and I care about you too much to see that happen. A little bit of spanking is a lot better than a bear mauling, but be good and I will do this for you." "I promise," Art quickly agreed. He felt terribly guilty because he had been so bad, only Adriel was making him feel so good despite that because he cared. "I'm sorry I scared you. Thank you thank you for spanking me and then helping me, I'll be good I promise! Ooh, so close, like that yes!" There were two more hard jabs that caused stars to burst in the darkness of the blindfold, then he keened as he spasmed around the softwood then felt it slide in deep and furiously pump in and out. It felt way way better than the pestle had because it didn't cause pain and pleasure. It was soft and soothing and only good - all good! "Yes yes!" Adriel panted as he rolled his head back and enjoyed the contractions around his dick. Ugh, it felt like Art was trying to suck him in as deep as possible, and he nearly let himself release. The only thing holding him back was the stronger want to stay inside even longer, so he rode it out while Art continued to beg for more, and he didn't stop when Art went limp with a moan though he did slow down a little. He let the silence between then stretch out with only the squelching sounds of a very lubricated ass making noise, then Art stirred and wiggled his hips again with a moan. "Hnnn, this has to be better than sex," Art mumbled. "That stuff sounds boring and pointless, and... I tried to in the shower a few times but it never really felt good. This feels so good, Adriel, so it isn't like sex at all. I know I'm only supposed to talk about these things to a - aaah - a partner, but we are business partners and I'm never getting married so it's ok, right?" Adriel shallowly panted a couple times then swallowed hard. "Yeah, it's ok," Adriel agreed. "It's fine between best friends. You hear locker room talk, after all. A best friend won't tell secrets like this, either. But sex can feel this good, Art... You just need the right person or motivation. It isn't just for babies, it's to feel good like this. Best friends do these things sometimes, too, but it's a secret for them." "Oh," Art said with surprise, then he moved to stretch his back a little bit and groaned as he relaxed. The burning was soothed, but it still felt so good that he didn't want to say anything to make it stop. "That makes sense since I don't want people to know, either. Mmm, so it's ok that we do this? More often? Or only when I am good?" Adriel suppressed a shudder and plunged in to come deep inside of Art again. "A little tiring," he breathed out real quick, then nudged his hips a few times as Art sighed with pleasure without seeming to know was the new rush of warmth in his bowels was. "I need a small break and you need water." Adriel swallowed a groan as he carefully pulled out his thumbs then squeezed Art's butt cheeks together as he began to soften. "Your throat is sore too, so you might want to lick on some of the mint lubrication. It actually works wonders for sore throats and allergies." "Okay," Art agreed, then whimpered when he felt the warm wood leave his bum. Adriel massaged it, though, so he relaxed and felt his hole flutter and try to close. "How long has it been?" "I started spanking you over an hour ago," Adriel said in a strained tone while he worked to get his heavy breathing under control. "Give me a minute, I need to see if anything comes out." Art made a content sound of agreement as he continued to massage Art's ass, and a moment later, Art's hole began to leak out his come so he used a finger to push it back in. "I'll need to use the pestle to keep everything in, then I can give you water and mint." Art hummed another agreement, and he heard Adriel shuffle around a bit then the sound of something being wiped off followed by the quiet glugging sound of something being poured out. He felt the hard wood at his hole, and he relaxed and wiggled and felt the stretching burn as it slowly sank in. When it nudged past that spot inside, he moaned, then he sighed with pleasure every time another ridge bumped past it and pushed back with a moan to get the thich bulb he very much liked past his rim. "I don't know which wood I like more," he gasped out as he felt full one more, but there was no feeling of mint or of burn. "Why doesn't it feel minty?" "I used a neutral lubrication since too much mint can also feel uncomfortable," Adriel explained as he carefully wiggled in the last bulge while Art quietly moaned. He pulled out his wand and spelled his half soft dick clean, then he added more mint to it before he crawled over to Art's head and pulled out his water flask. "Open your mouth, then suck on the mouth piece," he instructed as he placed the wood spout to Art's mouth. "It draws directly from a natural spring." Art messily started sucking and gulping down the water since the first taste of it let him know he was very thirsty. It felt like the had downed a tall glass in one go by the time Adriel pulled it away, then he sighed with relief when he heard Adrien mutter a spell and his bladder felt empty. "Thank you," he mumbled, too relaxed and sated to feel embarrassed anymore. He figured there was no reason to feel embarrassed even if he had energy, though - they agreed to a best friend secret, Adriel had had his fingers in his bum, and Art had even accidentally done that in Adriel's hand when Adriel was trying to help him not hurt himself or make a mess. Then he felt something soft that smelled minty bump his lips, and he licked then wrinkled his nose at the weird flavor of slightly salty sweet mint. "What's that?" "That's the lubrication - just lick for a bit," Adriel explained as he tugged his cock a couple times then touched Art's lips with it. "The lubrication won't make you sick, but it's best to not drink it. You can suck on the applicator if you want, but don't bite down since I'm using a magical leather that's supposed to filter liquids in very slow drips. It is delicate and tears easily, so lick, or you can gently suckle if you want to do it quickly." Art tentatively licked around it a few times, and he was intrigued by the texture. "Why is it warm?" he asked. "It is for alchemy?" "It could be used for alchemy," Adriel agreed as he contorted himself in a way to let Art lick his shaft, then pulled back a little to rub the oil still on his hand over his head. "I use it for potions, though. Open your mouth and I'll guide it in so you can see what it is like. You need to open up wide since it is big, but if you also stick out your tongue, I can gentle rub it so that there are small drips down your throat." "Okay," Art agreed, then he opened up his mouth and stuck his tongue out. Adriel guided his head in and started rubbing it against Art's soft tongue, then Art hummed and gently sealed his lips around it before he started to suckle and tongue and explore what was in his mouth. Adriel quietly breathed through his mouth and stayed still as he slowly began to harden, and Art opened his mouth for a brief second and moved his head forward to get more of it in with a sound of approval. Adriel watched Art's face as he carefully sucked and licked with a delighted expression, then he opened up his mouth and let it fall out. "I think I sucked all the mint out?" Adriel rubbed his hand over his cock again. "Yeah, the filter is very slow, but let it rest a few seconds between sucks and it will be minty again," Adriel explained to his blind friend. "Want some more or is your throat better?" "More, I like how it tastes," Art said, then immediately opened his mouth and sealed his lips around Adriel's cock and sucked on it some more with humming sounds. Art was very talented and Adriel loved the expression Art would make when he hollowed his cheeks at the end to suck off every last bit before he opened his mouth so Adriel could pull it out and apply a bit more. He was very hard by the sixth time, and he chuckled as he pulled it out, and Art whined since he thought it might be over. "No, are we done with that? I liked it!" "I only put a little bit inside so you wouldn't have too much, and you no longer sound so scratchy," he said. "I'll put a bit more in it on the next break so you can suck on it longer. Are you ready for more or are you done and want to get clean? You sound like you have a second wind so you could feasibly clean up alone." Art wiggled his ass. "More, please," he requested. "My bum is starting to feel a little sore, so we can use a bit of potion?" "Of course," Adriel agreed in an amicable tone as he scooted back to get in between Art's legs again. "Give me a moment to mix it with a little bit of the muscle soothing potion. Your current soreness sounds like it is from having the pestle in for too long." Adriel pulled out the potion and a small bowl, then poured about a spoon of it in and half that of cinnamon. "Ready?" he asked. "I'm going to pour it in again, but I'm going to use the softwood since it will be gentler." "Okay," Art agreed, and he made sure he was relaxed as Adriel started to feel around his hole. There was comfort in not being able to see what was happening but being able to trust someone enough to let them take complete control. Art hummed with contentment since he knew Adriel could take care of him, then moaned as he felt the pestle pull out and rub all of his insides as it did. He whimpered when he felt cold air flood his insides, then sighed with pleasure when he felt it get filled with that warm cinnamon potion. He stayed absolutely still for the next part like he knew he was supposed to do, felt Adriel's thumbs hook to keep his rim open, then moaned the whole time the cool feeling softwood slowly sank in. It stayed deep like that and he felt a fresh wave of the potion spill out of his hole, then it pulled out and sank in again. It felt so soothing this time that Art thought he would be able to fall asleep like this, only it started to rub up against the spot he enjoyed so he moaned some more and let Adriel help him feel good. Adriel thought the break went very well since Art was completely calm and happily accepted what was happening. He made sure he hit Art's prostate with each shallow thrust and enjoyed how mint and a dash of cinnamon combined together to make it feel sensual. Art was loose after holding the pestle for so long and the muscle relaxing potion kept him nice and open, so Adriel was able to watch how his head shallowly plunged in and out of the liquid filled hole with quiet sloshing noises while Art moaned and sighed beneath him. That same relaxing potion would have Art staying at a nice edge of 'feels really nice' without pushing him towards 'needing to complete,' so Adriel happily took his time to alternate between shallow thrusts and deep penetration and watched as his first two loads rose to the top of the pool and turned into a creamy froth that bubbled out so he could no longer see what was happening. "You are being so good right now," he coo'ed to Art, and the sudden compliment after over ten minutes of silence had Art's hole tighten up when Art tensed with surprise. "Very good when you are being nice and happy and following the rules. You like being good, don't you?" "Yes," Art moaned as he popped his ass up a little higher. Adriel's compliments always made him feel warm and good, and being complimented while this was happening made it even better. "I want to be good for you, always Adriel. Thank you so much for being my best friend, I looo-ike you so much." Adriel plunged in and fucked hard and deep as he grinned at Art's near-mistake. "Well, I love you and care about you," he purred, and watched Art shiver then arch his back down and moan. "Friendship is a very deep bond for me - just as much of a bond as a family or relationships can be. I don't do halves or shallow friendships I said before, and I am very glad that you have worked so hard to be such a good and beloved friend. There you go, tighten up your bum - it will feel good. I'm going to remove my thumbs, Art, so squeeze as much as you can when I do so we can work the potion in deep." He carefully pulled his dick out all the way so the frothy come/potion/lube mix filled up the space he vacated, then he placed his tip just inside and watched a drop of pre dribble in before he removed his thumbs. Art whimpered as he struggled to figure out what to do which made the hole flutter open and closed around his crown, but slowly it sealed itself around him and he massaged Art's ass while he waited for the rim to tighten. "You're trying so hard, but don't push or you will push the potion out. Squeeze your buttocks together - very good, just like that. Flex it and relax it a few times for me, then I can push the wood back in so that the potion goes in all the way." Art moaned since his butt already felt full of potion with the sloshing feeling inside, but he listened and flexed and relaxed for a few minutes before the wood sank inside. He felt an embarrassing need to fart, but Adriel started rubbing over the spot he like best and the feeling faded away. He moaned and flexed his butt cheeks, then gasped because it felt so good being rubbed while he did that. It was a struggle to keep his muscles taut, though, and after a couple of minutes, he couldn't keep it up. He rested for several seconds and tightened up, and it felt even better so he began to flex and release with the rubs and cried out. Coaxing Art into experimenting was well worth it as Adriel felt the pleasure of the Art going tight and loose over and over. He kept his thrusts shallow not just for Art, but to also make sure that the mixture he had pushed in would not get past his dick as Art's ass slowly started to recover around his cock with Art's assistance. It felt really good to know that he completely wrecked Art's ass - there was so much inflammation and puffiness that it looked like he was fucking into pouty red lips rather than an ass, and Art loved being used like this so he didn't feel bad and might even apply more 'medicine' later that day. Then Art bucked and wailed as he began to orgasm around Adriel's cock, and Adriel began so slowly fuck even deeper while Art tried to push back. Adriel was very close when Art's contractions began to slow down, so he leaned forward a bit then pulled the ribbon on Art's cock off to release it. He gave the erection a few firm strokes as he slammed in all the way in. Art came with another loud wail, and Adriel knew that Art was not paying one bit of attention to his ass for the moment. He thrust as deep as possible with his own groan when he came getting drowned out by Art's own cries, and Art pushed his ass back and ground it against Adriel's crotch as he tried to get away from the overstimulation of Adriel's continued stroking that he only stopped once Art's ass sucked everything deep inside. Adriel pulled out while Art whimpered and shook, then he carefully rolled him onto his side, pulled off the condom, and started to lick and suck it clean. Art jerked and whimpered even louder, and when he tried to bring a knee up to curl himself up, Adriel pushed Art's leg down and rolled him all the way onto his back then held his thighs spread apart to suck his balls into his mouth. Art bucked and wailed, but Adriel had a strong grip and Art's wrists were bound so he could not get anywhere. All his twisting and bucking was making the stuff in his ass start to spurt out, though, so Adriel released one thigh, lined his softening cock up against the abused hole, then used his fingers to force it in to plug him up. "Be good, Art," Adriel snapped since the struggling was making it difficult to get his dick inside, and Art froze long enough for him to succeed. He pulled Art's hips down and leaned forward so his torso would keep Art spread open, then he latched onto Art's nipple with a groan while he ground his crotch against Art's ass to encourage his dick to get hard. This time, Art's squirming aided in the endeavor, and he bit down on the nipple he was sucking on just a bit which made Art arch his chest up and cry out. "No, No, Adriel!" Art sobbed out. "Too much! Ah! I can't! No!" "You can and you will," Adriel growled as he started to push hard against Art's ass to give his hardening dick a bit of friction. "You want to be good, right? A good boy? Then keep your ass nice and tight since it's my turn." Art wailed as he tried to twist and squirm, but Adriel started pounding inside of the abused hole hard enough to make sure that Art would not be able to grab the ropes to undo his wrists. They were definitely within reach, but they were complicated enough to need careful working, and rough tugging like Art was trying to do would not work. He started sucking on the other nipple as he pounded and ground into Art's ass, and Art started sobbing as he arched up into Adriel's mouth which got his ass nice and tight. Art couldn't catch his breath as Adriel used him hard. Every pound kept knocking it out, and Adriel's mouth was all over his chest nipping and sucking and stinging. He felt himself grow hard, and his overly sensitive dick kept brushing against Adriel's abs and then Adriel was forcing one of his tied up arms to make room for his head and then there was biting and sucking on his neck. His ass burned and spasmed as well since it was feeling sensitive, but all the stuff inside of it kept it from hurting which was Art's only reprieve from the sudden assault. He finally gave up his fighting out of exhaustion, and Adriel began devouring his neck as he continued to pound inside of his body while Art sobbed. Suddenly, Adriel's mouth was on his and his tongue was down his throat, and Adriel stole the last of his breath which made Art begin to struggle once more. He tried to yell, but that was impossible with the tongue practically in his throat, and to his horror, that sensitive spot inside of him flared to life with a burst of pleasure when Adriel's thrust hit it and he choked out a moan. Adriel pulled his head back to let Art gulp down air in between his cries and sobs. All the struggling had tightened him up very well, and Adriel moaned since Art felt so hot and so good. He started making more love bites on Art's shoulders, unable to stand any unmarked areas, and he moved a hand down to grab Art's dick and just held it in a firm grip. "No, no, don't touch that!" Art sobbed out as he tried to get solid purchase for his feet so he could shove himself back, but Adriel seemed to intuit it since he got up on his knees then forced Art's body to curl so they just flailed in the air. He yelped when he felt his side right under his armpit get sucked on hard since it tickled and stung and was so unexpected, and then Adriel latched onto his nipple, thrust against his prostate, and stroked his penis at the same exact time. Art screamed, and this time his voice did crack and break. Adriel came with a moan he didn't need to hold back because Art went as taut as a piano wire and practically strangled his dick, and a second stroke had Art coming with an expression that looked like pained ecstasy since his ass was spasming with another orgasm. Art's cock had only a few dribbles left in it, so shooting dry probably did hurt, but Adriel was too busy emptying the last of what he had inside of Art to pay attention as he continued to stroked Art's dick so Art couldn't relax his body. When Adriel finished, he settled back down as he released Art's dick to hold his hips and make sure his quickly deflating dick stayed inside. Art went completely limp and looked very fucked out with a bit of drool leaking out of the side his face had lolled to, and he reached out to quickly pull apart the rope and rubbed on Art's hands to get blood to circulate. "Art, baby, are you ok?" he asked with concern. "You didn't say red, did you forget?" "No," Art whispered out, his voice unable to get any louder because that last scream would need a potion to heal from. "Too good, thank you I love you." "Well, I'm glad that you seem to have gotten really into your first roleplay," Adriel said with amusement as he started undoing the blindfold. "But if you really are interested in setting up one of the shower stalls with a blindfold, a few toys, and a rubber mat, I'll make sure to ward it so only you and I can enter. You are such a masochistic sub, sweetheart, and I love it." Art hummed with content, then squinted when his eyes were suddenly assaulted with light. He blinked several times, then looked up at Adriel with eyes still damp from tears and saw he really did look concerned even though he was using an amused tone. He reached a weak hand up to cup Adriel's cheek, and he was so glad when Adriel seemed to understand what he wanted. Adriel's lips touched his, and they shared a gentle kiss as Adriel started to rub his arms. "Yes, I love you too," Adriel said once he pulled back a little, then peppered Art's cheeks with smaller kisses. "You were so fucking hot that I broke character at the end because I absolutely had to fuck you properly. Fuck though, we are going to need to heal you up and get you rested before your family dinner tonight. And I swear to god, if your grandfather tries to weedle cash out of us, I'm going to bitch slap him this time because it's getting ridiculous." Art huffed out a silent laugh, then raised his hands up so Adriel could pull him up and set him in his lap. He grimaced when Adriel's cock fell out so that all the lubrication and come started to spill out, but Adriel didn't seem to mind since he only held him closer and started to nuzzle him with his cheek. Asking Adriel to date over a year ago and then being persistent with his affections until Adriel gave in and started a relationship was one of the best things he had done in his life. It was honestly right up there with Atlantis, and he was so happy that he felt safe enough with Adriel to experiment and push his own limits like this. He also hoped he would get to see his grandfather get bitch slapped by Adriel. That would make dinner tolerable and this day perfect.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 5, 2023 13:08:19 GMT
Brat Art Bad Art pt.2 Art whined as another sweat bead tickled his forehead on its way down to the hard counter of the kitchen island his cheek was pressed against. He could hear Adriel humming as he cooked dinner behind him, and he had occasionally seen him for the last couple hours, but he had been ignored for almost two hours and he was very very sorry for his little tantrum. Unfortunately, he could not say that because of the O-ring gag keeping his mouth open and his tongue depressed, and the most Adriel had done to acknowledge his existence was to occasionally drip some mint water in his mouth when his breathing grew raspy. Art probably should not have demanded sex before their dinner guest that night then threaten to not attend if he didn't get his way. Adriel was usually very patient with him, but he did have boundaries and one of them was that no meant no. Art had thought it had only applied to him since Adriel was always so willing, but being told 'wait until tonight' was the first time he had been declined and he did not take it too well. Adriel in turn had seemed to give in and told him to come to the kitchen with him, except it was for punishment rather than for sex. Usually Adriel's punishments included sex, but he had been restrained for so long without it now! Now, not only did he have an O-ring gag in his mouth with his arms tied very well behind his back, but there was a spreader bar tied right above his knees and another one at his ankles with ropes going around his ankles and up to his upper thighs to keep him in an ass up and chest down position on top of the counter. There was a very large plug in his arse that occasionally vibrated, undulated, or pumped, but his penis was in a cock cage and he was not allowed to come at all. Even orgasms were out since the plug was spelled to stop before it could happen, and Art really needed release. He wiggled his butt and whined, then got a firm smack on his rear. "Stop being a brat, Art," he heard Adriel say, and he whined again even louder. "No. I told you you are waiting. You would have ruined dinner tonight if you didn't get your way despite how we planned everything out, so you will learn your proper place and get what you need rather than get what you want." Art groaned, when whined to express that he really really needed release since it had been at least two hours, but it just earned him another firm spank. He whimpered when he heard the sink start to run, but Adriel just ignored him. It wasn't fair - he had learned his lesson! And Antoine would be here soon. Adriel would need to let him go so that he could get dressed before dinner. "Mon cheri!" Art heard, and he was facing the hallway so he could see Antoine practically skip into the kitchen. "Mon- Oh, my, ees zat dezsert?" Art whimpered since Antoine was staring right at him in his very compromised position. On one hand, it was flattering that seeing him had surprised Antoine into a thick French accent, but he had expected to meet Adriel's unfairly sexy friend while dressed and groomed, not covered in sweat and drool and shaky from enduring his punishment for so long. "Nope," Adriel said, and Art despaired. "He's the appetizer." And Art felt thrilled. He eagerly wiggled his butt while he gave Antoine his best sad eyes but Adriel smacked it again. "Don't be a brat, Art. You don't get to demand things. Feel free to use his mouth - I just need to pull out the turkey in seven minutes then it needs to rest." Art whimpered and Antoine gave him a look of sympathy. "Oh, I have accidentally pushed Adriel too much," he admitted as he stepped over to Art, then Antoine had two fingers in his mouth while he carded his other hand through his sweaty hair and Art gagged a little since his mouth was too dry. "Some lemon water would help, but after. You are being punished after all." Art heard Adriel whistle and craned his neck so he could look up, and he saw Antoine accept a vial that he sniffed before grinning at Adriel. "You are very sweet to your darling." "He's been there for around two and a half hours - his punishment started when the turkey went into the oven," Adriel explained while Antoine unbuttoned and undid his pants. Art was relieved to see a penis about the same size as his, and he was unsurprised that Antoine did not wear underwear the same as Adriel. The Frenchman was also hard, and he started to slick himself up with what Adriel had given him as Adriel continued to speak. "He was very impatient and didn't want to wait until after dinner, so I have been denying him any orgasms and kept him on edge so he is nice and ready for you. Isn't that right, Art? You want to make our guest happy?" This was to be Art's first threesome, and Art had really been looking forward to it. After his punishment, though, he was desperate for it so he whined as he nodded then squirmed so that his chin was on the counter rather than his cheek. His mouth was immediately filled with Antoine's penis, and he groaned with relief since whatever the potion was, it immediately started soothing his dry tongue, and as Antoine pressed into his throat, that as well though he couldn't help but gag. "Oooh, his mouth is very nice," Antoine said as Art felt Adriel touch his plug to make it begin to vibrate. "It is too bad about the gag, though. I would like to see if he is talented." "Take it off then," Adriel said, and Art knew there was a dismissive wave with that. Then he was slid forward so his face was smooshed against Antoine's groin, and he really started to gag since Antoine began to slowly thrust in and out of his throat without warning. "He's been looking forward to seeing what another person's come tastes like, so make sure you coat his tongue rather than shoot into his belly." "Mmm," Antoine agreed, and Art felt the buckles on the back of his head get undone, though Antoine didn't stop thrusting until it was undone. He only pulled out for a second which allowed Art to suck in some air, then it started sliding into his mouth again. Art stroked the glans with his tongue and sucked while he heavily breathed through his nose, then hollowed his cheeks and looked up to see is Antoine was enjoying it. Their eyes met, and Antoine started running his fingers through Art's hair with a wistful smile. "Oh, you are both so lucky to have each other. Thank you for inviting me to dinner tonight! I memorized all the rules, mon beau." Art relaxed and was very grateful to hear that. His biggest rule had been no kissing between Antoine and Adriel - he had seen the two of them kiss before he had managed to rope Adriel into a relationship, and he still felt insecure even though it had been a year and a half since they started dating. Art had come a long way from how insecure and hesitant he used to be in the beginning, but there was chemistry and time between the two men and Art knew they had been very involved with each other until he came into the picture. Antoine was beautiful, charismatic, and elegant, and Art still had no idea why Adriel was dating him over the French man. Despite that, Art had gotten to know Antoine fairly well, so he had wanted him for their first threesome rather than some random stranger found at a speakeasy like Adriel had suggested. "Oh, and you cry so pretty," Antoine coo'ed at him, then brushed a tear from under his eye. Something Art had not been able to help between his thoughts and the deep throating he was starting to do again. It didn't help that the vibrating in his ass was beginning to feel good and he knew it was enchanted to stop before he could orgasm. "You are so good at this that I will come soon, then I will feed you some drinks." "Hold off until he starts moaning," Art heard Adriel say, and he choked on a whimper which made Antoine's thrust stutter while the blond gasped with pleasure. "You will like it when he is desperate." "Hmm, you always do good training in a week," Antoine said to Adriel. "I wonder how Artemio is like with training for so long." Antoine looked back down at him. "Do you want two cocks in your ass tonight?" Art moaned at the idea of being so stuffed. It had been a 'maybe' on his list, but with the orgasm and coming denials and the vibration in his bum really feeling good, he wanted anything that could get him off at this point. He showed his approval by bobbing his head into the thrusts and swallowing when it was at its deepest and moaned some more, then his head was being yanked back by his hair as Antoine aahed and began to flood his mouth. He swallowed as fast as he could, but the vibration stopped, he whimpered, and some of it spilled out of his mouth then out of his nose when he choked a bit. His head was gently lowered back down and his hair smoothed where it had been pulled while he coughed and tried to clear his airways, and he could feel Adriel rubbing his butt while Antoine rubbed his back until he could properly breathe again. "Feeling better?" Adriel asked, and Art nodded. "Good, you can lick the counter clean. Don't waste our guest's come since you wanted to taste it." Art wrinkled his nose since he had sweated on the counter, but the island hand been cleaned before he had been tied up on it so that was all there was. He obediently began to lick up the come and realized it tasted very different from Adriel's. Adriel's was barely salty and had a sweet undertone to it, but this one was definitely salty though there was still a sweet undertone to it. Adriel did say certain fruits made a person's come sweet, like pineapple, and he guessed that Antoine probably followed that kind of diet but also ate garlic and onion and meats. A few seconds after he finished cleaning it up, there was a straw by his lips and he could hear Adriel pulling the turkey out of the oven. "Definitely one of the best oral sex I have gotten," Antoine told him while he sucked down lemon flavored water that soothed his parched mouth and throat better than the potion or the come had. "You are just as good as Adriel, or thereabout. Adriel tells me that you are completely bottom, so I will be helping to take care of you, too. I only bottom for Adriel when he wants me to, but I won't lower myself to let anyone else top me so I know what you need. Feeling better?" "Yes," Art gasped out while he panted for air. "Thank you." Having a second person promising to take care of him made him feel warm and fuzzy, especially since he knew that Adriel would be there for all of it. He hissed a little then since Adriel had made the plug just a bit bigger inside of him, then it started to undulate and he shuddered and moaned. "So beautiful," Antoine said as he started running his fingers through Art's hair, and Art flushed at the compliment while he squirmed and stayed silent since the O-ring was because he wouldn't stop begging for release. "I think I might be a little more jealous of Adriel having you than I am you having Adriel. Adriel, may I?" "Of course, mon petit chou," Adriel said, and next thing Art knew, his mouth was being plundered by a soft and velvety tongue unlike Adriel's long and strong one, and it made Art want to feel that on his body. Antoine's kiss tasted like minty fruit, and the other man breathed in his moans and sucked out his breath so that he was left light headed and panting for air by the time he was released. He groaned since he felt even more stretched which meant that Adriel had resized the plug while he was being kissed stupid, then the soft mouth and wonderful tongue was once again ravaging his own. "Yes, I know my Artemio is delicious, he is very sweet when he is not being a brat or has his nose stuck in a book. I only make sure he is eating and sleeping properly when he goes on one of his studying binges since he can get cranky when interrupted." Art found himself moaning and gasping for air since that kiss had brought him so close, then crying out when his plug stopped again. Antoine was a better kisser than Adriel was, and he felt a little bit guilty thinking that. "Maybe I can entice him to me with my library," Antoine said, and Art made a wordless sound of protest since he loved Adriel and would never leave him! "Oh, I am teasing, mon bijou, worry not." Art was happy to take the offered straw though he looked at Antoine warily while he drank. "I would try to steal the both of you for a few weeks of fun at my chateau, not just you alone. I know Adriel would not come unless you want to, so I can offer access to my books which include a few copies of scrolls from the library of alexandria. Oh!-" "Antoine, don't bring up books now, darling," Adriel said sounding exasperated. "Let Art find out first if he enjoys a threesome, then you invite us for fun in a few months, and when it is time for us to leave, you try to entice him to stay longer with the library. Otherwise we will go, and he will just stay in the library the whole time and ignore the both of us except at meals." "I wouldn't!" Art rasped out with a blush. Well, if it was on offer first and something caught his attention or was part of a project, he might. But it was actually very hard to ignore two beautiful men, one of whom he loved with all of his heart. He had to get extra cranky when he was doing research or he would never get any work done. "I could set up a schedule?" Because he really wanted that library. Adriel and Antoine both laughed, and Art blushed harder as he felt his butt get patted while his hair was smoothed back. "Oh, he is so sweet and adorable even when his face is messy with come and looking so debauched!" Antoine exclaimed with glee. "Adriel, you lucky man! When I first met him he looked so cranky, but he is very poupette, oui? Such a doll. I will help set the table, you should take care of your love." "I will get him cleaned up then," Art heard Adriel say, then felt the cuffs connected to the spreader bars start to come undone. "And dressed properly for dinner, too." Art felt his ankles get freed, then Adriel pulled him up and then he yelped when he started to feel himself fall back except Adriel properly had him securely in his arm and was kissing him while the second set of straps was being undone. In his new position, his cock cage was clearly visible, his ass was clenched around the plug, and Adriel was the only thing keeping his balance so he couldn't struggle at all and protest how embarrassing it was for Antoine to see his everything. The straps came free, but there were ropes to undo, and Adriel only stopped his kiss long enough for Art to gasp in some air. And unlike his usual lighter and ticklish kisses, these ones were very domineering and Art moaned into the second one because it felt like Adriel was absolutely trying to claim him and he liked it. The ropes tying his ankles to his upper thighs were pulled free, and Adriel easily pulled him into a bridal carry before breaking the kiss. "Twenty minutes at most, mon cœur. I will not leave you alone without our adorable companion for long." Adriel carried him off while Antoine laughed with delight, and he couldn't say anything since he had been gasping for air. "I didn't want him to meet me like that!" Art whined as Adriel carried him up the stairs and into Adriel's room rather than his own. "Why are we going in here? The clothes I intended to wear is in my room!" "And you would have been able to wear them had you not been a brat, but I am not undoing your arms or removing your plug so you will be wearing something else," Adriel replied, and Art scowled up at the fond look he was being given. "Ah ah, don't give me that look or I will just increase your punishment." Art immediately cleared his face to puppy eyes and Adriel laughed as then entered his walk in closet apartment. "No, I will be dressing you up nice and pretty, and we will be hand feeding you, Art." He was set down on one of the ottoman chairs and he pouted as his head was patted since he couldn't stand after being tied like he had been for so long. The plug felt like it pushed in even more in his new position, and he had to sit with his back straight and chest out because of it. "Trust me, love, you will have fun." Then Art's face was wiped clean, and Adriel pulled out a cape that hid absolutely nothing and made Art somehow feel even more naked, then pulled out a hair brush. "I don't want to wear this!" he protested as Adriel began brushing his hair. "I had a nice grey suit picked out for tonight!" "First, you look absolutely delicious in this, Art," Adriel purred as Art leaned into the hair brush a bit since it felt good after all the sweating he had done. "Honestly, I want to bend you over this ottoman and make you come until you cry. Antoine will absolutely salivate when he sees you and he will have a hard time getting through dinner since he will want to ravish you even more than I do. This is as much for your sake as it is his, and you want to make a good impression, right?" Art whined since he very much wanted to be ravished and made to come many times. "Second, don't be a brat. You will be getting what you need and what you want, but you are not allowed to ask for it unless one of us tells you to. We are taking care of you tonight, so just be a good little sub and you will be rewarded, okay?" Art miserably looked up through his lashes as he nodded. "I'm very sorry for upsetting you today," he said with a sniff. "I'll be good but..." He closed his mouth and swallowed his request since he was told he wasn't allowed to ask for things. "Go ahead and ask, what do you need?" Adriel asked before he leaned over to kiss his nose which made him lean into Adriel. "I might say yes as long as you are not asking for anything sexual right now." "I would like something to cover my private area," Art mumbled as he looked up with an unhappy expression. "Even if it is just a towel, I don't care, but just the... drape? Whatever this is? It's making me feel more naked than being naked did." "That is a Bolivian wedding cloak," Adriel said with amusement which had Art blushing hard as he walked off. "Hmm... I do have a lace slip that would match." Adriel pulled out a complete see-through skirt that had Art feeling even more embarrassed, pulled out his wand and tapped it to resize it, then came towards him. Art did say anything, so he swallowed his protests as Adriel knelt to pull it up to his knees since he couldn't do much with his legs, then he pouted and leaned against Adriel's chest for support so he could be picked up while they were carefully pulled up over the cage keeping his penis hard while preventing it from coming. "Beautiful." Art scowled at the ceiling as Adriel picked him back up, then toned it down to a pout when his nose was kissed again. "Just try to look sad and watch Antoine's expression when he sees you." Art was carried out and he had no problem changing his expression to sad and embarrassed since he was still felt a bit guilty from earlier and he didn't quite believe what Adriel said about Antoine finding him ravishing in this. However, they got to the dining area that used to look like a bar until Adriel replaced the crate tables with a nice dinner table for eight, and Antoine fumbled the fork he was setting down while he gaped at how Art look and Art burrowed into Adriel while he blushed harder. " Mon rêve!" Antoine exclaimed, and Art hid his red face in Adriel's chest and clung as Adriel tried to set him down on the couch. "How will I eat dinner with that beautiful creature by me?!" "Well, I was thinking we take turns feeding him bites," Adriel chuckled as he gently set Art down while Art whined to stay in hiding. "Do you need a blindfold, precious?" Art grabbed the offering like a lifeline. "Yes, please!" he begged. He logically knew that wearing it didn't hide him, but at least he didn't have to see and be embarrassed by the looks he was getting! Art settled down and refused to look up even though Antoine was speaking. "He looks absolutely stunning," Antoine coo'ed, then he saw the strip of white cloth and stayed still for it while feeling relieved. "It highlights his innocence while hiding nothing of his beauty. It is too bad that I cannot film him, he would be a fine one to add to my collection of arts." "Maybe he will allow it in the future, but I doubt it," Adriel said as he tied off the cloth. "He doesn't even like regular photographs, let alone wizarding ones. There are very few wizarding photos where his picture self isn't glowering or sulking, so I treasure the few good ones I do have when it catches his excitement and the like. He's yet to allow me to take any nude photos of him." "Pity, he would be a beautiful model," Antoine said, and Art flushed even harder. "Well, I suppose I should sit. On his other side?" "Of course," Adriel replied, and Art felt him slide in right next to him. "We both will be feeding him after all." Antoine slid in on his other side, and Art was sandwiched between both men. His breathing picked up, then he felt a mouth on his and moaned when he felt Antoine's soft tongue slip into his mouth and leaned left towards him. It ended just as quickly as it had started, then he felt fingers covered with sweet yam slip into his mouth and he sucked it off before Adriel pulled him into a kiss next. That was how dinner proceeded - one man would kiss him or suck on his neck, chest, or nipples while the other one fed him with their fingers and they usually did it in turns. The softer food like yam and mashed potato had him sucking, licking, and swallowing the fingers like he would a cock after a bit, and then Adriel activated his plug which made the meal that much more intense. He knew the other two were also eating, and sometimes fruits were slipped into his mouth through kisses, but other times he would feel something get spread on a nipple by one person and licked or sucked off by the other while he licked that person's fingers clean. Art never knew that dinner could be so sexual, and eventually everything had him moaning with want. Art got to the point of sated, not quite full, and extremely horny by the time he felt himself get grabbed and moved around by two sets of hands. His mouth got guided to a cock - Adriel's cock by taste and size - and he felt Antoine grab his slip and gently ease it down. He moaned as he spread his knees as far apart as he could on the bench and popped his ass out to encourage touching, and he felt Antoine's tongue lick his perineum before he started to suck on his balls. Then Adriel leaned over him a little, and he whined when he felt his plug start the pumping option and stretch him out a bit more. Bobbing his head in this position was all but impossible, so the only thing he could do once Adriel's dick was in his throat was to swallow and move his tongue around while he kept his throat relaxed and paused to breathe every few seconds. It took him a couple minutes to realize Adriel was speaking because Antoine stopped sucking on his balls and started rubbing his perineum with his hand, but Adriel must have cast a silencing spell on him since he couldn't hear anything they were saying to each other. He didn't mind too much since he was more focused on not suffocating or choking while the plug made him moan, and then he whimpered when it stopped. It was suddenly shrunk and pulled out, then there were several fingers in his hole and he moaned as he started being manually stretched out and pushed back into the hands. He felt Adriel chuckling even if he couldn't hear it, but he found out that he could rock his body using his knees so that he could push back and properly start sucking Adriel off when he pushed back harder. He whined even louder when the fingers pulled out right before he was about to orgasm, then his ass got a pinch that would have made him yelp if the pain had not also made him push forward and swallow Adriel all the way. Then he felt Antoine's hands grab his butt cheeks while Adriel shifted so his body was twisted towards him rather than the table, then Antoine was quickly but carefully rocking him back and forth and he had to hold his breath since Adriel was also pushing into his mouth with the movement. Antoine was using him to get Adriel to come, and Art found himself loving it even though Adriel had never used him like this before. His butt was slapped hard, he choked on his yelp, and then he felt Adriel coming while he struggled to breathe before Adriel pulled out and Art felt warm come splatter on his face and into his mouth. "Don't swallow," Art heard Adriel say as he was about to do so so that he could breathe, and Art choked then held his breath so he could obey and not swallow or cough. He was pulled up into a sitting position as he relaxed his throat to breathe through his nose, then Antoine was licking his face clean before he plunged his tongue in his mouth with a moan. Art moaned back into the messy kiss despite the awkward way his body was twisted for it, and he heard Adriel chuckle. "I also enjoy tasting myself on Art, and I enjoyed tasting you on him earlier as well. I suppose we are not getting much more food in any of us tonight, so go ahead and pick him up and we can retire to my room." Art swayed when the kiss broke off since he was starting to see spots from how little oxygen he got for over a minute, but Antoine had his arms around his chest and was slowly sliding him back. He felt a bit nervous since the only person who had picked him up and carried him around was Adriel, but Antoine was very gentle and easily lifted him into a bridal carry before he stood up. "He is very light, too," Antoine commented while Art continued to gulp down air, and he felt them start to move. "I thought he would be heavier. Should we grab the slip, too?" "No, leave it - the elves will be glad to grab it," Adriel said, and Art blushed though he doubted anyone would be able to see since he was probably very red from what had happened. He hated leaving things like underwear and stuff for the elves to wash, especially since Pekky was still a bit skittish about touch. "I'll take him off your hands when we get in my room, though." "I miss filming in your room," Antoine wistfully sighed. Filming in Adriel's room? "I try to recreate it in my castle, but the lighting is never right." "What do you mean by filming in Adriel's room?" Art asked in an unhappy tone. "I thought Adriel did not act in your movies?" "Oh no, not in the movies," Antoine quickly said in a reassuring tone. "Just for my private collection. It is beautiful to watch him torture his partners with pleasure, though there has been no new filming since he has promised loyalty to you. It is also beautiful to watch him come undone." "Wait until you see Art," Adriel said in a smug sounding tone, though Art was not really paying attention since he remembered how Adriel had looked the time he had walked in with Kon. Adriel had not even been undressed and he had looked and sounded beautiful. "It gets better. He is very enthusiastic and so sensitive. Beautiful as always, my prince." "What I have already seen so far is so much more than I expected," Antoine replied, and Art was shifted back over only this time he could feel bare skin separated only by the thin gauze cloak he was wearing and it made him whimper with anticipation and fear. "So beautiful, and so beautifully gift wrapped. I have no doubt you have taken him in every way possible and then some, but he still looks like he should be a virgin bride even when he is eager. Oh yes, that... The blushing is part of it, but I am sad to see his eyes being covered so." "Don't worry about that," Adriel said, and Art quivered since he wasn't sure if it meant he would be allowed to keep it or not. "Go ahead and get in bed. Art, you will straddle and he will put himself inside of you, okay?" Art felt his empty butt clench, and he nodded. "Okay," he quietly agreed, then felt Antoine carry him until his balance got a little wobbly which meant they were on the mattress. Still, he was not dropped like he was afraid he might be, and then Antoine paused to adjust his hold so that Art had to wrap his legs around Antoine's waist, and then Antoine sank down so he was in his lap before his legs were adjusted so that he would be straddling Antoine after he laid back. Antoine reached around him, and he lifted himself up a little while he pushed his butt back, then nervously swallowed. "I haven't done this with anyone else before. I'm doing ok? Not messing up? " Comme il est mignon!" Antoine groaned, and Art felt the penis head guided by Antoine start rubbing against his hole. "Your expressions, Artemio! Non, you are doing just fine. Just help me get inside you - Adriel assured me you are very slick and I felt so earlier. You want to be filled, oui?" "Yes," Art breathed out, then he pushed his butt back when he felt the head was in the right place and sank down to get it in with a moan of relief. After being filled for hours and then finding himself suddenly empty without reaching any completion, the last ten minutes had been almost unbearable, so he wiggled his hips once he had taken all of Antoine in to enjoy having something in him then began to bounce. One hand slid up his inner thigh while the other that had gotten the erection inside of him provided support and better balance by holding his hip, but he was unable to get the stretch or the friction he needed after having been stretched out so much and began to bite on his lower lip as he arched his back and clenched his muscles tight. "Oh, Adriel, you are so right," Art heard Antoine say, only his tone sounded weird to him. Like wonder? It was breathy, but not with pleasure. He had heard that tone used when new and impressive artifacts were brought in to the museums. "Oh, the lighting with the cloak spread around us and the way he moves... So magnifique!" Art had completely forgot the cloak, and he nearly jumped when he heard Adriel reply just inches away from him. "It is very hard to live with such a siren at times," Adriel said in a deep and husky tone that always made Art shiver since it promised wonderful things. "Come love, lean forward and give Antoine some kisses while I slick you up." Art easily let both men guide him down since he really liked Antoine's kisses. "Good, now just kiss and relax." Adriel let go of the hold he had on his bound arms once he was eased until he was chest to chest with Antoine and they were kissing, and when he felt Adriel's fingers at his hole, he moaned and shifted so that Adriel could start slipping his fingers inside even though Antoine was already in there. There were pinching feelings as Adriel ran two fingers around Antoine's shaft, but both he and Antoine started moaning into the kiss since they both very much enjoyed having Adriel touching and prodding around there. When it became three fingers, Art whimpered in pain, but Antoine started to pinch his nipples and nudge his cock in and out a little with minute nudges, and he relaxed and resumed moaning with pleasure again. Eventually, he adjusted to it, but then the fingers were gone and Antoine slid his hands down his sides to firmly hold his hips still. "Be still, beautiful darling," Antoine mumbled into their kiss before he gently broke it off. "Relax and trust Adriel." Art was about to twist to look behind him even though he couldn't see anything, except Antoine nipped his lower lip and pulled him into a new kiss. They rocked a little as weight on the mattress shifted, then Art felt another thick and blunt head at his hole. Oh, Antoine had been serious?! He whined into Antoine's mouth since Adriel was big, but he reminded himself that Adriel stretched him a lot and often so he didn't need to be afraid. That Adriel wouldn't do this unless he knew he could take it. And as Adriel's head breached him, it hurt, but it wasn't too much pain. Just a lot of stretch and some burn without the pleasure that Adriel usually gave him that made both things feel really good. Antoine was moaning like it felt really good, though, so Art relaxed as much as he could and broke off the kiss to suck on Antoine's neck, and Antoine eagerly tipped his head back then groaned and bucked when Art bit down. Antoine's move caused an intense feeling of pleasure as the crown of his head rubbed against Art's prostate, then Art's butt got smacked by Adriel. "Both of you behave," Adriel reprimanded, and he and Antoine both whined. "Art, you will hurt yourself, so stay still and be patient. Go back to kissing and relaxing, love." This time, rather than passively enjoying the kiss as he had been doing, he and Antoine came together with teeth, tongues, and groans since they were both desperate to have Adriel sheath himself in all the way for more. Antoine had the upper hand in that he could guide the kiss by letting go of one hip to grab the nape of his neck, but Art had been battling Adriel's tongue for way over a year so he could be very aggressive when pushed like he was being pushed at the moment. They didn't break off until Adriel was in all the way, and when they both pulled apart, it was with red and swollen lips and a dazed expressions, and then Adriel leaned down to bite the back of his neck while he reached out to twist one of Antoine's nipples, and Art clenched around the both erections inside of him from pleasure while Antoine arched his back and moaned which made both dicks inside of him shift and settle. He and Antoine panted to catch their breath from that unexpected bout of pleasure on the heels of their kiss, and Art slowly adjusted to having both men inside of him. Then Adriel pulled him up a bit, tossed a ribbon on Antoine's chest, and touched the runes on the cage so that it came apart. "Tie that on his cock - best not to let the cage hurt either of you," Adriel said to Antoine as he tossed the four metal pieces off to the side. Art moaned and squirmed since being moved around caused movement inside of him again, and he was very eager to get to feel more of what he did earlier. "My darling is about ready." Art felt Adriel's hand come up under his neck to grab his jaw, and Antoine let go of his nape and his hip and he felt the ribbon getting looped and tied at the base of his dick. "Rather, you've been ready for a very long time, haven't you, Art. You've been needing to come for hours, but you were being punished. Are you ready to be a good boy?" Art shivered and moaned. "Yes," he agreed. "Yes yes, I want to be your good boy. Please let me show you how good I can be? I'm sorry I didn't respect your no earlier, I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to be bad." " Praise kink," Art heart Antoine breathe out, but he was listening to Adriel who was speaking at the same time since he needed his approval. "Of course you can show me," Adriel said directly in his ear, and Art felt the ties on his arms starting to get tugged off. "I want you to do the work to ride the both of us to show me how good you are. You are allowed to orgasm as much as you want, but no coming and you can't stop moving so pace yourself rather than overstimulate. If you really want to show me how good you are, you will take off your blindfold so I can see your pretty eyes. You know how much I love your eyes, darling. Be my good Artemio." Art moaned and arched his back to lay his head on Adriel's shoulder as Adriel rubbed his arms. Antoine put his hands on his waist, so he slowly and cautiously raised himself up an inch, then wiggled his hips as he came back down to make sure that both slid in. When he pulled up next, it was a little higher, and he worked on that until he got to the point where he could feel Antoine's crown right above his prostate. He got feeling back in his arms as he worked on speed, and he reached his hands up to untie and pull off his blindfold so that Adriel could see his eyes and how much he loved him. "There's my good Artemio," Adriel coo'ed, and Art felt his cheeks flush with happiness. "Don't forget to look at our friend, too - he thinks your eyes are beautiful and he is here to take care of you. You should tell him how good he feels and make yourself orgasm, let him see how much pleasure he gives you." "Thank you," Art said as he looked down at Antoine who was looking up at him with a stunned expression that made Art blush harder even as he began to make sure that his prostate was getting brushed. " Aaah you feel very good. So good! Thank you thank you for letting me do this." Art moaned as he put his hands on Antoine's chest for better balance so he could start pushing back harder for quicker movements. "Your head keeps mmm pushing against me and I see fireworks. Ooooh god this feels so good!" Then Art felt his world shatter with one of the most intense orgasms and he shouted his pleasure, but he continued to move even as he contracted around Adriel and Antoine, and he felt that at least one of them had come since there was suddenly more lubrication inside of him. Probably Antoine with the sounds he was making and the tight grip on his waist, but it could also be Adriel since he almost ripped off the cloak as he untied it and tossed it to the side. It became very jumbled up from there for Art. Adriel's teeth was in his shoulder and Antoine was pulling and twisting his nipples, then he was sucking on Antoine who was sitting up while Adriel pounded into his with a finger buried in his butt to directly rub against his sweet spot. There was a time when Art was limp on his back when Adriel sucking his dick while Antoine was buried inside of Adriel, and then Art felt his own cock sink inside of Antoine's butt while Adriel was in him, and Adriel set a hard pace that had both him and Antoine moaning under him. Then they were both inside of him again, except it was with his back on Adriel's chest and Antoine on top of him making him orgasm painfully hard and then overstimulating him while Adriel coo'ed in his ear that he was so good, and finally Art found himself relaxing in Adriel's hamam and watching Antoine straddled on Adriel and riding him while they both soaped each other down. The last thing he recalled was Adriel carrying him back to his bed with new bedding on it, and when he woke up, he hurt everywhere. Art was being spooned by Adriel who was still sleeping, but Antoine gave him a lazy and sleepy smile when Art blinked awake. He was naked - they were all still naked - and Adriel had apparently been very satisfied last night since there was nothing hard up against his back like there usually was on most mornings unless Adriel was sick, completely exhausted, or very satisfied. He blushed since there wasn't even a sheet to cover him - they had all fallen asleep on top of the bedding apparently - but he really hurt and didn't think he could lift a finger to cover up even if the King of England rode a prancing goat into Adriel's room. " You are an absolute vision of beauty, especially last night," Antoine said with an amused smile. " I can see why the man I love has fallen for you so hard. That, your devotion, and your intelligence - he loves all three qualities in a person. I have it, too, but he also likes hispanics more then French. Non, I am not jealous though I am envious, but I do not begrudge you since you make him happy. I do hope you will come visit my castle though. That offer is also sincere. And if you are interested in polyamorous relationship, maybe we can find a way to work things out for all three of us together. I am already half in love with you."Art blushed hard and had no idea what to say, but thankfully Adriel replied for him. "Antoine, it is too early in the morning for declarations of love," he grumbled. "Mmm, wait until Art is awake and put together better and has some time to process last night. Some time meaning around a year, but he is probably interested in visiting your castle and not just for the books. How are you feeling, Art?" Art wrinkled his nose since he wasn't too sure. "Hurts," he mumbled since that was really what he was processing the most. "Everything hurts." "I can massage him," Antoine volunteered, and Adriel mumbled something that Art couldn't make out before he pulled away from Art and patten his butt. Art opened his mouth to say he was fine, except Antoine rolled him onto his belly which made him suck in air from pain, then pressed a thumb down hard on a spot a couple inches above his tailbone that had the air woosh out of him with a groan of relief with an edge of a whine of pain. "Now, there are over three hundred points in the human body that releases tension and relieved pain, mon ciel étoilé." Another spot was dug into, and Art let out a pained whimper before it felt like something snapped and the pain melted away. Then another spot was painfully pressed before he could catch his breath. "Now British do not understand things like massages and thinks them hedonistic and excess, but Asia is half the world and they adhere to it as does several other countries in the western world including the Anatolian countries. No no, my leetle coconut, just stay still. So..." Art had no idea if Antoine used his 'over three hundred points' or whatever on his body, but he was barely able to breathe throughout the process that started off with pain and ended with relief each time. But Antoine had two thumbs, so when one was causing pain by starting a new point, the other was causing relief as it finished with its last point so it made his head all fuzzy and tense. It was horrible awful torture, but by the end of it, Art's body was so limp and felt so loose and without pain that he couldn't complain. Then Antoine was the one spooning him, and he fell asleep in that relaxed state while his neck was being nibbled and sucked on. He woke up again at another point and found himself being cuddled by both men, and when he actually woke up, it was to him bundled up under soft covers with Antoine lounging next to him and reading a book, and no Adriel in sight. "He's cooking breakfast and says you were such a good boy that he is serving you breakfast in bed so you are not to move," Antoine said as he turned his head and winked at him. "I have to agree with that. We all slept over twelve hours, but Adriel hit us all with the bathroom charm some hours ago so he expects you to stay here no excuses. I am under orders to keep you here, so if you try to leave, I'm afraid I will have to pounce and kiss you. He wants you to have a couple healing potions with breakfast." Art nodded since he didn't want to move anyway, but he eyed the book so hopefully that Antoine smiled and offered it. He was just wiggling out his hand to reach for it when Adriel sighed. "None of that, Art," he said, and Art looked up with a heartbroken expression and saw that Adriel had a couple of floating trayed that moved around him and settled on one of the tables on the other side of a curtain which Adriel moved towards to pull back. "Nope, it's time to eat, not read. You can read after you have eaten and taken potions. Breakfast, Antoine! I will collect my burrito while you get comfortable." Art sighed like he was going through a terrible ordeal, but he was very happy about getting to sit in Adriel's lap with a blanket wrapped around him and being fed breakfast with a proper fork. Adriel and Antoine talked about politics in French which Art couldn't really keep up with, but Adriel peppered him with kisses here and there in between bites. Adriel's care routine for him after heavy sessions was something he loved since he didn't have to think or do anything for several hours if he didn't want to, though Adriel was probably going to take care of him all day since the night before had been more intense than usual. But when Antoine stood up to fetch the book while he was being fed, he realized that both men were actually going to care for him that day, and it reminded Art about what he was told... Halfway in love with him? Someone as pretty as Antoine was? He would think about it later. Much later. Far into the future later. Probably at least a year like Adriel had mentioned type of later. Though he definitely wanted to visit that castle.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 6, 2023 4:24:30 GMT
Adriel stayed where he was at and panted for air for a minute until the left passage ahead echoed out a voice. "Oh, hey!" Paul exclaimed. "There's a new cave opening! Should we explore it?" "I will flay the skin off your back if you dare!" Adriel bellowed out to the opening, and he heard Leopold bark out a laugh from below him. He groaned as he pulled himself up to a sitting position, and saw Beige helping Art up who looked like he had been roughed up a bit, then he heaved out a breathe. "Status report, Paul!" "Uhm... There was a lot of rumbling so we evacuated the cave right quick!" Paul eagerly called out. "Cyril and I are here to check things now that it has been quiet for a couple minutes!" "I am updating Hazel as well," Sepia said, loud enough for Adriel to hear but not loud enough for it to echo down. "I saw the cave opening, then heard you! And that's about it. No injuries and Gretel is safe also." "Continue what you guys were doing!" Adriel called out to Paul, then he ruffled his hair as he looked down at a pale looking Art and tilted his head a little. He felt very connected to the cave that in turn also felt connected to Art, and he sucked on his lower lip for a second. "Art and I are holding the wards now," he called down to the rest of the team. "Art, you probably haven't held wards before, so don't go poking about internally to figure it out. We can keep the cave like this and the magical traps are disabled now, but not the mechanical ones. I'm going to clear the rest of the way up of any mechanical traps, then I'll let you know if SEET is still needed, Quinn. If the cavern above onl has the scepter, then we don't need it, but it would be good to have a mobile lift if there are things that are needed to be brought down since the path going up is very steep and narrow. We also have an exit out, but Art, if you want to take charcoal rubbings of the stairs to wear I am, you are safe to do so. I guess you won't have to go to the library after all, but I do want to make sure it is safe above, then we can start pulling out the pots while the Mavros do their diagnostics and such before anything gets touched." They all hammered out the details of what was immediately needed which had Quinn building a pulley system that would be set up right outside the door to the first room, and Beige stayed with Art to help him with charcoal rubbings that he would spell to keep them from getting smeared or torn up. Adriel carefully checked steps for traps as he climbed up to the new walkway, then backtracked and checked the new cave opening for traps. While the stairs had been fine, the passage to the main cave was trapped with small holes that would expel a cloud of poison dust aimed at the cave. Adriel had to paint the thin silver wires that had been enchanted invisible so that nobody could trip them, asked Quinn to anchor some pipes around them so that they couldn't be triggered, then he made his way up the narrow path. There was more than just glowing runes, so he went back down to collect Art's camera from him and went up again to snap photos from the safety of the top of the path. It was a large chamber - much larger than it should have been - but not as big as the main cave. There was chests made of wood with bronze bands, and he carefully checked each one for danger before he opened it and snapped pictures of robes and other textiles stored inside of them with fresh sprigs of lavender. They all looked like they had just been put away a few days back because of the preservation charms on the chamber, and he walked around and took pictures of one foot tall gold statues with ivory accents of various Greek gods, older statues that depicted The Great Mother of Minoa, Cycladic statues of men and women that he had no doubt were also holy in some way, then crude stone carvings of animals and other things of the same nature. There were ceremonial bowls of marble, ritual daggers of obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, silver, and gold, pots containing prayer beads and charms, religious jewelry of regalia of gold, beads, ivory, pearls, stone, and other such materials, and even slates from various regions and some that had ancient Greek writing that he snapped pictures of for Art to read. He hummed with amusement when he uncovered slates of latin and skimmed over them to see they were blessings to Roman nobility that were able to make high donations for such privilege and guessed the others were similar, then he took pictures of the glowing runes for Art to look over as well. Finally he took multiple pictures of the scepter from multiple angles, then he tucked all of them away before he went back down and gave Sepia the all clear to take readings and pictures as long as she didn't remove or touch anything. Adriel collected Art who was still taking charcoal rubbings while giving the narrow walkway yearning looks and promised he would get all the pictures once they were done with the pots. Paul and Hazel were called in and told to mind the pipes at ankle height, and Quinn told Cyril to continue work on the walkway but to start it from the passage. Leopold moved to assist Art with notes while Beige went to assist Sepia up above, and the next few hours were gruelling back breaking work for Adriel and Paul who were very careful on moving the pots which Leopold and Quinn would pull out then unload. Art got to record details about the artwork on them, date them, and check the contents inside since Hazel was taking pictures, numbering them, noting their position, and also checking and recording contents since everyone had agreed that the contents were important enough to do double observations on them. Quinn built a new walkway in the passage that would go over the pipes as Art carefully packed things into crates himself, but only three crates were filled by the end of the day with less than a quarter of the pots below being removed. Everyone was sweaty and exhausted after all the the manual labor and heavy lifting, so they all walked out. Adriel thoroughly cursed the entrance with Leopold's help, then Maroon set up the fidelius charm and informed everyone that the maze charm was already up and surrounded the entire base of the mountain. Adriel passed the secret of the location to everyone at the site, then he carried Art down the mountain and apparated them directly to their hotel room. Art got the pictures, his camera, and a chocolate with a smile, then Adriel stumbled off for a nice, long, and very hot shower. Once he was out, he pulled his hair up into a ponytail, put on a nice dress shirt, then shrugged on heavy dark red wizard robes that he left open before we left his room to walk Art to his appointment. The last part of the day was the most terrible one, and he sighed as he met Silver outside who introduced himself to Adriel, and Adriel couldn't help but sigh again as he looked the man up and down then shook his head. "If only you were a few decades younger," he lamented, which got a laugh out of the Mavros, and then he was side-along apparated to a political meeting in which the third party had no clue they were about to be ambushed. Just as Adriel had predicted, the man was exceptionally angry at the start. His temper was soothed when he found out that the Mavros were outside the ministry government and were very willing to work with the secret oligarchy and even assist them in rebuilding in the future for the magical side of politics is the man was willing to leave non-magical politics for it. Adriel also apologetically explained that he had no idea about the magical history of the oligarchy, only hints of the non-magical one, but he was willing to give up full rights to the side chambers of the cave to them as long as Art got to house some of them in the magical resort town that would be on the uninhabited east side of Naxos island and he got to figure out the trap mechanisms and ancient magics. That news was met with more anger until he found out that it was an ancient Mycenae city that the Mavros were actually going to be restoring and was going to be private property, not a community that was part of the magical side of Greece. It was magical, but it was more of a large property that would have workers and attract tourists which in turn could help bring business to the non-magical side since other locations like the Portaras would no doubt want to be viewed, and with Naxos being hit with the depression though not as bad as others, the infusion into their economy would help in a couple years when the muggle side of things might begin to collapse once again. Adriel mentioned the snake, and Mayor Dramalia was very glad to hear that it and the lions were being re-homed with no chance of either escaping and roaming around Naxos itself, and then Silver had to negotiate the rest of the cave except that the Mayor absolutely refused to let it be removed. Adriel intervened and suggested that it be portioned off in the same way that MACUSA did, and further suggested that there should be a magical tour of the location that could be used to upkeep the cave, and maybe the Mavros could work with the oligarchy to figure out how to reconstruct the lost ancient rituals together. It was a verbal agreement, but a contract could be written by the goblins based off of it once they haggled out all the details. Both Adriel and the Mavros would be glad to see a magical oligarchy of Naxos one day, and the Mavros still had records of the ancient magical families even if it was generally in consensus and their historical archives. With the fractured political climate, magical Greece might be able to pull itself together with a new player from a Mavros-acknowledged resurrected line, and hopefully the other lines would also get magic infused back into their families one day so they could be active in magical Naxos and Cyclades once again. It was ten by the time Adriel got out of the hours long meeting, and he asked Asky to pick him that day's pub special and meet him back in his room. He sighed when he recalled he still needed to fix the floors in there once he apparated back, then knocked on the door connecting their rooms before he plopped onto his desk chair and waited for his meal to come. ---- A) Should Adriel just nom then go sleep cause Art is already sleeping? B) Art answers the door and they tell each other what they did that evening before going to sleep C) Different suggestion
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 20, 2023 5:51:18 GMT
The One Thing Art Hates About Dating AdrielAlso one of the many reasons Adriel loves dating Art "Adriel, we're going to be late!" Adriel heard Art shout from the living room as he did the last part of his kohl eyeliner. "You've made me bloody dress up for this rather than let me stay home!" "I'm coming," Adriel called out, very amused by how annoyed Art was with him. They had been dating for a few months, which meant he had been without a bed partner for a few months, but he was pretty sure Art would relax about that soon. Art was very enthusiastic with the heavy petting, but his adorable and high strung boyfriend was a bit too scared to take that final step still. He put away his makeup kit and headed out to join Art with a smile, gratified to see how Art's eyes dilated as soon as he had seen him. "You know they would hold our reservation even if we were a bit late, right?" Adriel loved winding Art up, and his casual comment didn't disappoint. "It doesn't matter if they will hold it or not, it's improper to be late!" Art snapped, looking even more offended now that Adriel had snapped him out of whatever thoughts he had been having. Seeing Art all cranky was so adorable, so Adriel leaned in to give Art a small kiss on his nose and got his arm smacked for the effort. "We don't have time for this, either!" Adriel hummed as he crowded closer to Art who immediately stepped back and found himself up against the wall. "Just a kiss, you look handsome tonight," Adriel purred. And Art did - he was wearing a short sleeved dress shirt under his dinner jacket with one of his colorful bow ties that Adriel itched to pull off. Adriel wasn't one to hold back from something he wanted, either, so he swooped in to kiss Art before the Latino could protest, and Art tried to keep it chaste. A sweep of his tongue on Art's lower lip had Art reflexively licking the spot Adriel had tickled with tongue and breath, abs Adriel immediately sucked it into his mouth and placed his hands on Art's waist. Their kiss got deeper when Art moaned and put his hands on Adriel's chest to feel out the muscles that Adriel knew Art loved, so he removed one hand from Art's waist to pull out his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants in an open invitation, and Art accepted out by sliding his hands inside to get a better feel. Now that Art was sufficiently distracted, Adriel broke off the kiss to start kissing Art's neck, and he shifted so his thigh was in between Art's legs to rub up against Art's growing erection. "Nnnn, Adriel," Art moaned as he shifted to also grind his hip up against Adriel's groin. "We shouldn't. We need to - ah!"Adriel had lightly bitten down then sucked on Art's neck to keep him in the here and now, and Art stopped his feeble protest so they could grind against each other more. Adriel's hands slid up Art's chest, have his nipples a small tweak that had Art arching into his touch and baring his throat now, and Adriel wasted no time in making more love bites that had Art squirming and not paying any attention at all to how his bow was removed or how his buttons were being undone. Adriel slid a hand inside of Art's shirt to directly rub and pinch one of the hard nubs, and he went back to sealing their mouths together for another kiss that quickly turned filthy as they touched and rubbed against each other. Art came first, but Adriel followed after just from the beautiful sounds Art was making. Adriel gentle his kiss and any back to Art's neck to brush his lips against each mark he had made, and he heard Art thunk his head against the wall with a groan of frustration. "I hate you, " Art bitched, though he made no motion to move away. Rather, he was still stroking Adriel's abs, so Adriel knew he didn't mean it. "You airways do this to me, and now I need to check myself in the mirror again!" Adriel smugly smiled as he began to button up Art's shirt once more. "Nonsense, just a quick cleaning charm on our pants is fine," he said as he redid all the buttons save the top one. "We're already five minutes late, so we need to go, but you still look handsome. Besides, it's just a book dealer, so it's expected that we make them wait-" "Book dealer?!" Art asked, snapping into focus as he pulled his hands out of Adriel's shirt to straighten his jacket. "What book dealer?" "Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm getting you an early birthday present today?" Adriel asked as he slipped the balled up bow tie into his pocket and pulled his wand out in the same move. A couple swishes had the mess in their pants cleaned out, and he offered Art his arm. "I found someone willing to sell that book on the seven lost cities that you have been searching-" Art grabbed his arm. "Oh!" Art exclaimed as Adriel ticked his shirt back into his pants. "Let's go let's go!"" Adriel chuckled as he apparated them out to a small town on the northern coast of France then popped them to the magical quarter of Marseilles. Another five minutes later had them walking into a decent restaurant Adriel had set the meeting up in, but Art jerked them to a stop as they passed the first decorative mirror they passed. "I really hate you, " Art said as he scowled at Adriel's reflection. Adriel had barely a hair out of place, but Art realized he was without a bow, his shirt wasn't buttoned up all the way, and his hair decibel look tussled up. Plus his neck was covered in red bruises from their short snogging session. "Am I going to find this tie in the cold box next to the lettuce?" Adriel gave Art another smug smile as he leaned in to kiss Art's temple before he started guiding Art to follow the maître d' to the private room. "No, but if the dinner goes well, you might find it being used as a gift ribbon," Adriel said in a cheerful tone. "You look very nice so stop fussing. Anyone looking at you would know that I'm just marking as mine. " Art turn beet red, and was took flustered to say anything snappy back. Adriel really loved taking his boyfriend out on dates like these even if he was going to get yelled at when they got back to Art's house. That was fine, since those arguments also ended with a lot more heavy petting and kisses. Maybe he would get to give Art his first blow job tonight if he managed to buy that book before they got home.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Nov 23, 2023 7:20:35 GMT
A Dream Catcher's Nightmare Art had snuck back to the cave late that night to continue to work. He knew he was not supposed to - Adriel said nobody was allowed to be there overnight alone. He had a sense of urgency that made him not just want to ignore Adriel's warning, it made him absolutely HAVE to go! Even though he had to walk up to the cave in the dark and alone and was more walking rather than crawling and then he almost slipped and fell but tumbled into the cave somehow. It was a little confusing, but he didn't ponder on the impossibility of falling into the cave. As long as he wasn't falling OFF the MOUNTAIN he would not question his good luck. However, he had to go up the stairs because the pull was too strong, only Adriel had been the one to get him up on the 'fourth step' every time since that was a four foot wall and he couldn't do it on his own without a lot of scrapes and bruises. He had to walk past the opening that led back out of the cave on the third step where the spider used to be, but rather than the welcome glow of lanterns like there usually was, it was pitch black. And Art knew something was waiting for him in it. He couldn't stop his feet from wandering in, though, and he knew it wasn't going to lead him back out to the mountain. As soon as Art took an unwilling step into the passage out, he tripped on one of the wires. The wires Adriel had warned was a trap! And there was supposed to be a walkway except there wasn't and now Art was inhaling something that made him choke and choke and then suddenly, he was being pulled out of the smokey fire by strong arms. His rescuer shouted something that he couldn't understand, he was too dizzy to understand, then he smelled horse (was it Adriel?) as he was tossed up on something and then he blacked out to the sound of thundering hooves. Not before he caught a glimpse of Adriel in leather armor and the area being engulfed in flames. Next thing Art knew, he was on his knees in the middle of a large room and he was facing an empty throne. He went to try to stand up, but he couldn't get off his knees. He looked down and was mortified to see himself wearing only a sheet?! No, a skirt? One of the ancient ones? And nothing else!! He jerked his head up to look around for a place to run off to, or look for his clothes or anything and the room suddenly had people in it who were all staring at him! And then Adriel... In front of him. Sitting on the throne. Art found himself turning completely red and immediately sat on his heels and clasped his hands over his lap to hide his thing. It was acting up again! At the worse time while wearing almost nothing! He was hyperventilating - he knew he was hyper ventilating - and then Adriel said something but he couldn't understand it! That metal band around Adriel's waist made his brain niggle a little bit, though, and he glanced around the room once more. Everyone had tight gold belts like that, but even the women were topless and they wore bell skirts. He squeaked and shut his eyes and ducked his head because there was so much skin showing everywhere, but his brain also popped up the dancing statue of The Great Mother he had gifted Adriel and he realized he was somehow in ancient Minoa! His eyes flew open at that realization, but he nearly fell back since Adriel was right in front of him and was reaching out to touch his face while looking curious! "What are you doing, Adriel?" Art frantically asked as he leaned further back to get away from being touched, and twisted a bit to look around them in a panic. Except there was nobody else but him and Adriel now, and Art wondered where everyone had gone when they had only been there but a moment before. Before he could look back, there was a hot mouth on his neck exactly where Christos had kissed him but dark hair and a happy sounding hum told him it was Adriel and he fell back since his hands were still hiding his thing so he had no way of catching himself. Adriel caught him before his head could hit the floor with his right hand, and Art felt smooth skin against his chest as Adriel continued to lick and suck on his neck. Art weakly cried out even as his traitorous body arched up, and he felt Adriel's left hand help his right leg get unstuck from the floor so his position was no longer as painful as it was. Then Adriel's mouth was on his, his was carefully laid down, and his other leg was readjusted and guided to Adriel's waist as Adriel nestled himself in between Art's legs. Everything felt hot, and Art's legs moved so he could lock his ankles at the small of Adriel's back, then Adriel was grabbing his hands and pulling them over his head and now Adriel knew his thing was hard because it was poking against Adriel's belly while he tried to struggle to keep hiding it. Art was nowhere near as strong as Adriel was, though, so it was easy for Adriel to pin his wrists above his head in one hand. Adriel stopped kissing him to start kissing the other side of his neck, and Art could feel his fingers start to cramp up from the strain of trying to get free. Except every wiggle and squirm was causing his thing to feel really good, and Adriel was undulating his body to make his thing feel even better, and he was making those embarrassing sounds he heard Adriel make with Kon. He squeezed his legs even tighter as he felt his skirt slide up around his waist from Adriel's movements, and then Adriel's right hand was around his thing to stroke it like he had tried stroking it as a teenager. Unlike his teenage years, though, Adriel's touch felt amazing and then... He yelped right after Adriel yelped, and the weight on him was very solid but now the room was dark. Adriel groaned, and his hand was no longer around his thing, but Art had been so close that it took him flexing his hips up only once before the pleasure climaxed to the peak his body craved. Art came with a silent moan because he couldn't suck in a breath to make a sound with the weight on top of him and the pleasure he was feeling, but he could feel Adriel moving and... "Ugh... Did you have another nightmare, Art?" Adriel asked in a sleepy mumble. "You dumped me out of my hammock." The tone grew concerned. "I didn't hurt you, did I? Are you okay? Did I knock the breath out of you?" Art squinted as light flooded the room, and Adriel was above him one hand and his knees and looked very concerned. His right hand had a wand that had turned the light on in the room, and Art realized he had been dreaming. He turned very red as he realized he had a mess in his pajamas bottoms, and they were in Naxos, and Adriel was not an ancient Minoan king or prince or whatever, and he was laying in his bed. His cramping fingers were stuck in Adriel's hammock, and he also couldn't reply. "Art?" Adriel asked, sounding a lot more awake, and he tucked his wand behind his ear. Art flinched as he felt Adriel's right hand cup the side of his face then slide up to his forehead. "You are flushed and sweaty, are you running a fever? Or it could be a sun sickness. I keep telling you that you aren't drinking enough water! Are you dizzy?" Art grabbed the excuse with both metaphorical hands and nodded. "YeAH," he agreed, his voice cracking in the middle of the word. He cleared his throat and wanted to scoot back, except the blanket was the only thing hiding the evidence of his weird nightmare. He had never had a dream like that before! Oh gods, and he had rubbed up against Adriel after Adriel had fell on top of him! And his fingers were still stuck in the hammock and Adriel's mattress was still in it but his pillow and blankets were also on Art's bed or floor and Adriel must have narrowly missed ending up on the floor. "You need a cool shower - not a cold one," Adriel said as he scooted off the bed, but when he reached out for Art's blanket, Art grabbed it with his free hand and looked up at him with panic as he shook his other hand free from the netting. "Shhh, it's ok, I'm just going to help you to the-" "NO, no!" Art yelped, his voice cracking on the first word again. "I can do it! I just need a minute alone, please?" A shower for a sun sickness was the perfect excuse he needed to clean himself up and hide the evidence, but he needed Adriel out! "I will be fine!" Adriel looked very skeptical, but he nodded as he grabbed his pillow off the floor and the blanket off the bed. "Alright, I'll step out real quick, but Pekky will be keeping an eye on you in case you fall in the shower," he said in that tone that Art knew he would not budge on. Art gave a reluctant nod. "I will grab some grapes outside, and I expect you to eat them when you are out of the shower. That and a glass of water. I know you won't skip the cave in the morning, but your parents are coming in in the afternoon as are the other people for Saturday's ceremony so you will eat and drink when and what I tell you to so that you don't make this worse." Art nodded the whole time in agreement - anything to get Adriel out - but when Adriel gave him a pointed look, he realized that Adriel was expecting a reply. "I promise," he agreed as he averted his eyes out of sheer embarrassment for a split second before he turned his eyes right back because he knew people that didn't make eye contact were thought to be liars. "I will eat and drink whatever, and I'll take a shower now and eat the grapes and everything." Adriel gave him a weird look, but he also smiled a second later so Art was relieved. "Alright, I'll be back then," he said, then pulled out a piece of chocolate. Art automatically reached out for it, but he couldn't give back a stone since that meant he would have to get out of bed so he started to feel a little bit panicked. "No, no, that is a bit of sugar to give you a boost for your shower, Art. Eat that first, then shower, and Pekky will immediately get me if she hears you fall or anything. Take your time and I will be here when you come out." "Okay," Art agreed, almost in tears with how bad he wanted Adriel out and how relieved he was that his problem wouldn't be caught. "I'll be careful, I promise." Then Adriel patted his head which made him freeze for a second, and finally he walked out. Art slowly opened his chocolate and popped it into his mouth as he waited to make sure that Adriel wouldn't suddenly walk back in, and then he scrambled out of his bed and almost ran right into the bathroom door in his haste to get inside. He had to clean up! And forget about his strange nightmare. That the dreamcatcher didn't protect him from! Except maybe it did since his dream had kept shifting around as things turned scary, but then the ending! His hand went to his neck as he remembered that Adriel had sucked on the spot that Christos had, only it didn't revolt him like it did when he thought about Christos. Actually, his thing was starting to misbehave again, so he jerked his hand off of his neck to strip. Right, best to not think about it at all. He pushed it down where he pushed down all the other stuff he didn't want to deal with, but as he showered, it didn't stay down. Nor did his thing. He made the water as cold as it could get, and that did help. Maybe he was sunsick a bit after all.
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Post by The Dark Lady on Dec 9, 2023 19:25:12 GMT
The Beast Within Beauty and the beast inspired Once upon a time, there was a beautiful scholar that was known to be the most intelligent man in the land. Many came from surrounding kingdoms with gifts of gold, family tomes, historical artifacts, and other riches just to have a problem solved by him, and he was thought virtuous because he could come up with the answers for forgotten mysteries. However, he also did not want to waste his time with simpler problems, so he made sure his services were something to be valued, and he did not help the common folk with simple problems like farming that could have been solved with the many irrigation techniques or crop rotations he knew about. As such, he was also known to be cold and aloof, and only something worthy of his time would get him to work on a problem that came before him. One day, an old crone wearing rags came to his athenaeum to beg for an answer on behalf of her people. They were too poor to afford to pay, but she spoke of starvation and sickness and beseeched him for compassion. He scoffed since it sounded like peasant ignorance - something he thought they could fix themselves if they just put some effort into it - and he turned her away. She begged again, claiming that her people would all die out within the next year or two unless they had an answer to fix their problems, and he snapped at her to fix it themselves since all they had to do was to be more civilized then ordered his servants to drag her away. As the servants approached, she spat at his feet. "I curse you, Artemio Reyes! If my people perish, you will no longer be able to read your books. You will be as ugly without as you are within! Everyone that respects you will turn away from you when you become useless to them! You love nothing, so nothing you will have!" He scoffed again since there was no way that a simple old crone could cast a powerful curse such as that, and it wasn't the first time a bitter and stupid peasant had said similar things to him. However, that winter was a hard one, and shortly after the new year, his life was cast upside down. He woke one morning to find claws rather than fingers, his body was twisted into that of a beast covered in bristling hair, and his eyesight was also changed so that he could not read letters any longer. His staff also changed into objects, and in a rage, he completely closed off his library to all and refused to see anyone. If he could no longer handle or read his beloved books, then nobody else could either. He then sent off one of his stable servants who had turned into a transport carriage to take food and gold to the village with instructions to offer it to the crone if she would break his curse. He waited for an entire month, but when the servant returned, he came bearing bad news. The entire village was in ruins with everyone dead of a plague that had affected man and beast, and the hard winter had killed the last of them off quickly since they did not have the medicine needed to fight it. And so Artemio completely closed off his lands to everyone and resigned himself to this curse. ********* Six Years Later ********* Adriel had heard tales of a legendary library that had recently been lost to the outside world. Some type of powerful magic had obscured it to the outside world, and nobody knew where the missing scholar or archive was at. Even the scholar's name had been lost! Adriel wasn't interested much in the books or the scholar, but he was interested in the magic. His father, on the other hand, was very interested in the books, and he had sent Adriel off to go find it as his summer project. This place, wherever it was, could not be found on any maps - even the maps that had once showed where the library once stood were blank. Even the people that had gone there could not tell him where it was since it had been wiped from their minds. The best he got was that it was deep within a forest nestled in a mountain valley, and so he had set out in his horse form to find the few locations that matched that description. It was at the second destination when he came up on a dilapidated road that had a powerful aura to discourage all people away that he thought he might have found his destination. Being a horse, he was able to ignore the compulsions to turn aside, but he was very cautious as he went down the road since the forest grew thick and seemed to steal all light and warmth from the area. It was a good thing that Adriel had been cautious, too, since he was ambushed by a pack of dire wolves. Were they normal wolved, he knew he could have fended them off even as a horse, however dire wolves were twice the size of the largest wolf on average, and the largest one in the pack was just as big as he was and he was a very large stallion. And so he ran with them right on his heels with silent prayers to his gods for safety at the end of the road since he wasn't sure if he would have the stamina to outrun them. It was a harrowing run down the overgrown road for a few hours, and in that time, he had been hurt a couple times. Mustangs were known for their speed and stamina on par with or even better than that of an Arabian horse, but on an unfamiliar terrain and after weeks of travel, Adriel was ready to drop when he finally spotted gates. The gates were a blessing and a curse - they were nearly twenty feet tall which would keep the dire wolves out, however he would have to transform into a man. With the monsters snapping at his tail, he knew his chances to get inside were slim since he would have to scale the fence which would give the wolves a good opportunity to swarm him. Well, audentes fortuna iuvat as the Romans said and all that. He was better at thinking on his feet, anyway. He leapt as a horse and transformed into a man in the air before he hit the fence, and he managed to grab the wrought iron bars as he slammed into it so he wouldn't fall down into the pack. It put him halfway up, and his transformation had confused a lot of the wolves, but not the large one. It had leapt up as well, and its powerful jaws clamped down on his right leg which made Adriel scream in pain. Still, the heel of his over foot came down on the pack leader's sensitive nose with a loud crunch which meant Adriel had probably broken a bone in its snout, and it released his leg and he was able to pull himself up towards the top before another could grab at him. There, carefully entwined among the sharp spoked at the top, he rested and panted for air as he watched the wolves alternate between milling below and trying to leap up themselves. Being a man again had its own set of problems, however. The oppressive and dark magic he was able to ignore as a horse came down hard on him, so all of his hairs were up with the sense of impending doom and to flee flee flee. The only things that stopped him from obeying was his mental training, the dire wolves below, and the fact that he was too damned tired to give a fuck. He gave so little fuck about it that he was able to scrape together enough willpower to mentally tell it to fuck off, though that didn't do much, and then he looked at the grounds on the other side of the fence for a landing point. Something that would be difficult since he wasn't sure how bad his leg was, knew he was bleeding from other wounds when the wolves had managed to graze a hit on him during the run, and he would need to leap rather than climb down since the wolves could snap in between the bars. Adriel stayed at the top of the fence for a solid ten minutes to rest and try to figure out a way down towards (dubious) safety - the thick magic in the air was setting off all of his warning signals which was what made it dubious - and he was seriously just considering just staying on the fence because anything else was probably his doom. His silent prayers had at some point turned towards silent curses for the predicament he was in, but it was interrupted by some other even worse monster that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. The creature leapt at him in a single bound, and Adriel yelped when he tensed to prepare to fight on top of the fence since the movement had made his everything scream in pain. However, it went over him and right into the middle of the wolf pack, and Adriel watched it and the dire wolves tear into each other. It took him a minute to realize that the creature, whatever it was, might be fighting to keep Adriel safe, and it took several more seconds for him to realize that it was probably going to lose against the wolves since its movements was more like a girl trying to slap away something bothersome. Like dog paddling in the air. With its eyes scrunched closed. If it just properly fought, Adriel had no doubt that it might have been able to chase off the wolves since its smacks were powerful, but the wolves were targeting the beast's legs and arms, and others were beginning to flank behind it to bring it down. Adriel grit his teeth to push himself up and pull out his bow from his pouch. He didn't have the strength to pull back the string all the way, but he still drew his arrow back as far as he could and let it fly. At such a short distance, he didn't need the full draw strength, and the first arrow sank into one of the flanking wolf's throat. The next one went into the soft side in between ribs and haunch of a second wolf, and the third one went through the pack leader's ear though he had been aiming for the eye. That seemed to be enough for the pack leader, however. It had a bloody snout, part of its ear was torn off, there was a huge beast attacking, and there were arrows raining down from above. The wolf and its pack backed away, and Adriel's last arrow sinking into the earth between its paws seemed to be enough to get them to run off. When the beast didn't follow them (it was still blindly flailing about), Adriel notched an arrow, and aimed at it though he had no intention of shooting it unless it came after him. What was one to say to a blindly flailing (oh, and it was whining with fear, too) creature that might have either rescued him or might have chased off the other predators to eat him? It was nothing he recognized, though if he really really had to guess, he would say it was an animagus transformation into a... Well... Maybe if Fenrir and an Am Fear Liath Mòr had a child that was then raised by a tiny fairy with a fear of violence. He couldn't watch the terrifying-looking-but-actually-painfully-pitiful beast continue to flail and whimper with its eyes scrunched closed. "Er... They are gone," Adriel said while wondering if it could understand him at all. He guessed not since it was still failing around, so he gave a sharp whistle that made it flinch and look around with panic in its eyes before it sagged with relief when it saw there were no more wolves. Then it looked up at him - and the arrow pointed at it - and froze. Adriel felt very guilty for putting fear into its eyes, but he didn't know if it was going to eat him or not so he pushed the guilty feeling down. Still, he had no idea what to say to a creature that didn't understand him, so he figured maybe a soothing tone would work. "Shhh, it's ok, I'm not going to shoot you if you're not going to eat me. have no idea what to do since we are a bit at a stalemate, though... and I'm stuck on the fence and feeling rather cornered." "Ew, no, I'm not going to eat you!" the creature exclaimed, and Adriel fumbled his bow before he had to let it and the arrow fall to the ground so he could grab at the fence before he fell off. "I was saving you! I also thought you were a girl because I could only see your hair, but I guess not." Adriel frowned down at the creature. It wasn't the first time he had been mistaken as a girl from behind because of his hair, but still! "So if I was a girl, you would have eaten me but you don't eat male human flesh?" Adriel asked out loud. "No!" the creature said, then stalked towards the gates and pushed it open. "I don't eat people at all! Cannibalism can cause certain diseases like Kuru, though calling it a disease is incorrect since it is actually a twisted protein that twists healthy proteins and ends up affecting the motor functions of the human brain until the contaminated person dies after a year. That one stemmed most likely from someone that had died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, however who knows what kind of diseases or conditions you or anyone else might be housing that could end up being twisted into something just as terrible or even worse!" Adriel stared at the ranting creature as it closed and locked the gates, then it looked up at him with a scowl. Wait. Cannibalism? "You are a human, than?" he asked, just to be sure, and it gave a curt nod. Right. So maybe the spell turned all of the humans into were-dire wolves? Or some other weird kind of lycanthropy? Oh. Was the land itself cursed? "This is the cursed library, right?" A bigger scowl and a curt nod. "Is the land cursed or just the people?" "What does it matter to you?" the creature snapped. "If you're looking for the library, the master of the athenaeum will kill you. It's closed off, and we no longer take any petitions for questions no matter what you bring." The creature looked him up and down. "Not that it looks like you bring much, anyway." Adriel would feel insulted, but he was too tired to feel insulted. The only thing keeping him at the top of the fence was how wrapped up he was in the bars, but he did give the bow on the ground a worried look and hoped that it wasn't cracked. "Actually, I'm here over the powerful curse," he said in a dry tone, trying his best to not let on to his exhausted and injured state. "However, you once being a little librarian does explain that awkward little slap contest you were having with the air. Still, I thank you for risking your life because you thought I needed to be defended even if the only reason is that you thought I was a female. I came to study the magic, so it really should be you or your master giving me petitions and payments for risking my life to get here since I might be able to break it." The being scowled at him even harder as it crossed its arms over its chest. "I chased off the wolves!" the other person defended, and it took Adriel everything he had not to snort at that statement. "I saved your life so you owe me!" "Actually, I saved yours," Adriel huffed as he pointed down to his bow. "I shot three of the wolves - the two that were flanking you while you were blindly flailing about, and then the leader of the pack. I was just sitting up here to catch my breath and was going to continue on to the athenaeum, as you call it. Yes, the wolves chased me up here, but I've been fleeing from them for a few hours so I needed a break before I jumped down. You did try to save me, though, and that's why I thanked you." That earned him a glare so strong that the creature - no, human's eyes glimmered red, but he just gave an innocent smile in return. "Anyway, I guess I could leave if I'm not-" "No, no, don't go!" the person quickly interrupted, holding up his hands as he did. "Yes, we want the curse gone! You can have answers whenever you want for whatever questions you need if you can break it!" Adriel raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be better if the master of the athenaeum makes the payment offers rather than a librarian like you?" he asked. Not that he came expecting payment, but his father would probably be very happy to have this kind of thing available for his research projects. "If he would kill someone trying to get into the library, than I highly doubt he would appreciate one of his underlings offering up his services." The cursed person below froze up, and Adriel figured it was from fear. "Er, right, well I'm his master archivist so I speak on his behalf," the person said. Something about its body language was off, like it was very nervous or wary, so Adriel figured it was probably afraid of the master scholar. "He doesn't leave his private wing anymore, and nobody else is allowed into it except for me and the head servant. Who was turned into a large tome. All of us were turned into something different, and the master had the worst change of all. If you are worried that you will transform, you won't since you weren't here for the curse. You... aren't afraid of me?" Adriel gave the person a deadpan look since it was rather hard to be afraid of someone who flailed in a battle, started ranting about cannibalism and protien diseases, and the worst trait it seemed to have was being a know-it-all brat. "If you aren't going to bite me out of fear of weird protein diseases and can't do more than flail, then there is no reason to be afraid of you," Adriel said with a snort of amusement. Gods, he was so tired and his head was getting a bit fuzzy. "Look, I need help getting down since I don't know how badly mangled my leg is, then I need to tend to it and I would like to rest. Is there a room available that I can use while you talk to your master?" "I'll get Charles - he's the maintenance guy that got turned into a ladder," the person said. "I'm Art. The others will also introduce themselves as they come across you, and I'll talk to you over dinner in a few hours?" "Sounds like a plan," Adriel said with a sigh of relief. Oh, thank the gods, he could finally relax his guard since he wasn't going to be devoured by a librarian-turned-beast. Art seemed like the kind of person that could never ever eat even a chicken if he found out it had a name. Ah, he should give Art his name just to be on the safe side... and for manners. "I'm Adriel. I specialize in magics of all kinds all around the world, and my father is a theology historian who wanted me to look into this place. Dinner in a few hours sounds good. Thanks, Art." Art gave him a look he couldn't really understand due to how monstrous the face appeared, but if Adriel were to guess, he would say that Art wasn't used to being thanked and was a bit weirded out. There was also no reply, Art just turned around and stomped off into the giant cathedral-like library-palace-athenaeum place, and Adriel laid his cheek down on the cold iron bar. He wondered how long Art had been working here to be confused over a thanks, but it did lend credit towards the scholar being a cruel man that had been cursed because he had allowed a whole village to die. Maybe it was best that the 'master' stayed in his own rooms and that Adriel could just interact with Art - if Art looked so twisted just for being the master archivist which would have put him as a second in command, the scholar was probably some kind of eldritch horror of the sixth dimension variety. ************* Art's POV ************** Art rushed into the athenaeum feeling all kinds of panicked. He had lied! Why had he lied?! And he had probably looked stupid rambling about the possible consequences of cannibalism! It wasn't his fault, though - Adriel was the prettiest person he had ever seen! There had been lords and ladies, royalty and wealthy, and nobody had looked as pretty as Adriel! Not that Art was interested in men, but still! There was nothing wrong with admiring a person who was so beautiful that they could inspire epics like the Iliad or myths like Psyche who was so beautiful that Aphrodite had sent Eros to kill her, except he fell in love with her instead! Art sighed with longing since Adriel should be painted or have marble sculptures made by the finest artisans of him, and Art really needed to stop thinking about how perfect his muscles had looked or how soft and full his lips had been! Adriel might be able to break the curse! And for that, Art would give just about anything because it would mean he would be able to read again! As soon as he was inside, he started shouting for his servants. He had to tell them to keep the fact that he was the master of the place a secret, to treat the magic specialist like an emperor, and if everything went well, their curse might be broken! Oh, and robes. He needed to start dressing up again. He couldn't wear his favorite clothes in this ugly body and had quit wearing them altogether since claws made putting on most things almost impossible, but he did have robes he could wear. It was very embarrassing to realize that he had met someone so pretty while he was naked! **************************************** Thankfully, the wolves had not done irreparable damage, but Adriel walked around with a limp for a couple days since wounds from a dire wolf apparently healed a bit slow even with spell and potion assistance. Art was a constant companion who would ramble or tell stories, then apologize profusely, and then run off and hide somewhere for an hour or two, but getting used to sentient inanimate objects that could move had honestly been traumatizing. Especially when they expected him to drink from a teacup named Chip who was actually a kid who had also been stuck in the curse. That last bit was part of what made their first dinner together a bit disastrous, to be honest. The poor little teacup boy had been told to mind his manners and be silent around Adriel, but he was an energetic kid and Adriel was sensitive enough to magic that he poked at the cup when it had hopped over to him. It giggled, he had to swallow a scream as he leapt away from the table, the teacup situation had to be explained to him, he had to calm down a sobbing teacup and promise that he had no been bad, and then Adriel had to scold a teapot over child labor and body autonomy which should be respected even if it was technically a teacup and... Well, teas were now a self serve affair with non-sentient cups and he had a chatty little teacup that also liked to bounce around and follow him when he wasn't working. The working part was also not that great. Being inside the property meant that he no longer felt the impending sense of doom that kept people away, but the lines of magic that ran all over the place to keep the curse intact was beautiful in effectiveness and design but ugly by what it did. And while Art and the staff did confirm that the curse was brought about by the scholar allowing a whole village to die, nobody would give him details, and everything seemed centered in the wing that the master occupied that was off limits to Adriel. Grudge curses were honestly a tricky thing to work with since it was technically powered by human sacrifice and nobody knew the number of people that had been killed by the scholar's refusal to help. Not knowing the number would have been a near-impossible setback to someone that relied on arithmancy, but Adriel's setback was his inability to get into the master's wing. Not that he wanted to go in there... That part of the cathedral felt like a cursed tomb, and Adriel really hated dealing with the undead. Forget an eldritch horror... Adriel was suspecting it was some kind of necromantic transformation that the master had gone through, and Adriel wanted even less to do with that. So he was scouring the whole property to follow the twists and strands of the curse, and he mapped it out in his own room using string in various colors. The room itself had been extremely sumptuous, something that a king would have, but Adriel had shrank everything to make the room barren to work in and set up a hammock in the corner for him to sleep in. Art had honestly been a bit upset about the whole thing and promised to give him a work room if he wanted, but Adriel honestly didn't need all the fancy stuff. Except for the bath. He really loved the large bath that could have comfortably fit four people into it. It was a private bath connected to the room, and Adriel preferred to have his magical mapping up in his room so he could build on it more and study it at night once he had retired. By the end of the week, Art had gotten to be a bit distracting, though. Art was almost like a puppy - eager to please, socially awkward and constantly fumbling, very happy over any kind of praise, and finally becoming more comfortable finishing the stories without breaking off and apologizing about them. Adriel in turn told Art stories about the places he had visited or worked at, and Art was very fascinated by the stories of the outside world - especially the historical sites. Art apparently had always wanted to visit the places he had only gotten to read about, but he was also afraid of the outside world (diseases had only been the tip of the iceberg) so he had never left the athenaeum before. Art was honestly filled with a lot of insecurities and fears which made Adriel realize that him throwing himself into a pack of dire wolves had been exceptionally brave. When he had pointed that out, Art had kind of flapped his hands around - a habit Adriel had realized was made from embarrassment and would probably have had a blush were it not for the fur - and then he fled for around an hour before he timidly came back while Adriel had been studying the strands in a storage room. His work had slowed down during the second week because of Art's company, but Art didn't seem to mind and the mysterious master had nothing to say about the time Adriel was taking. However, by the 16th day, he finally had to say something over dinner. "Art, I need to get into the library to map out the curse lines in there," he said out loud over steak dinner. Every dinner had been sumptuous like that with Art's meat being rare, and Adriel had to apologetically indicate that he was not used to heavy dinners and would prefer fruits, vegetables, and cheeses with only small portions of meat after the third day when he had realized he would be there for a while because of how complicated the curse was. "Since I'm not allowed into the master's wing, I'm trying to map everything out so I can get the overall configuration, but I need to see the library to do that." The table went dead silent for several - even Chip didn't speak. "It hasn't been opened since the day of the curse," Art said in a small voice. Almost like he wanted to cry. "I don't think... I can't..." "Shhh, Art, I'm not going to be upset at you," Adriel said in a soothing tone as he set down his eating utensils to give Art his full attention. "If need be, I can write a letter to your master so his anger is directed at me. I am hoping to not interrupt or invade his wing, and in order to do so, I need to see how the magic is woven in the library. I have no interest reading anything in there, and you can be with me the whole time to make sure I don't do anything bad. I know how to handle books - my father is a historian don't forget with ancient texts of his own - but some of the books might have spell anchors in them and if there is one, I might need to pick it up. I will not trample on or disrespect his space, privacy, or the courtesies he has given me by stealing or reading anything I don't need to look over to see the curse." Art sucked in a shaky breath. "No," he said, then picked up his napkin to wipe his claws clean. Art couldn't hold utensils at all with the hands he had, but Adriel had never mentioned or stared at how Art daintily ate with his hands. "I mean - no, you don't need to write a letter. I will... I'll talk to the master. About opening the library. None of us can read - the ability to read was taken from everyone from the grounds. Even me. I just... Please excuse me." Adriel gave Art a sympathetic nod since it sounded like Art was about to cry. Poor guy must have really missed his books since Art had gotten upset a few times when he had talked about other aspects of the curse, but this was the first time he actually sounded outright torn up and heartbroken. "Okay, but if you want me to read any books out loud to you, I can do so with the permission of your master," he offered in a soothing tone. Art gave a small choked sound and quickly stood up. "I'm sorry if I offended you?" Art shook his head no, then turned and fled. Adriel was left with Gregory - the head servant which was now a giant log book - and Mrs. Potts. "Oh, don't worry about Art, dear," Mrs. Potts said. Mr. Potts was the head chef and had been turned into the giant cast iron stove that cooked the meals. "I'm sure he will turn the place upside down to get the library open just for the privilege of having a book read out loud to him." "What if the master of the place says no?" Adriel asked with an unhappy but small frown. "I have some books on me that I could read out loud to him if he wants, but I do need to see the library." He paused. "I might have to see the master's wing as well, but I would really rather not. The dead have centered their grudge in there." Gregory turned towards him with the sound of ruffling pages. "What do you mean?" he asked. "The athenaeum has no ghosts." Adriel furrowed his brows in thought as he settled back in his chair. He thought about not answering, but these people were victims to another man's hubris so he thought they should know. "There are spells powered by human sacrifice, and a grudge curse works parallel to that branch of necromancy," he said in a quiet voice. "One man cause the anguish and deaths of many others, and one old witch knew how to set up a curse. It can't even be called a spell though - not in the way you all know about magic. It's something based off intent and death, pushed forward by a concept of karma, and structured by the lingering feelings of those who had died. Every string I have mapped in my room is probably the death of a person... But it's the old crone's string that is probably in the master's room. As the creator of the curse that was formed by her intent and will power, it is probably sentient in a way, but not as a ghost. More akin to an inferi, I would say, but in magic form rather than physical form." The teapot and the logbook shivered while Chip cowered. Adriel reached out to pat the teacup. "That's worse than a ghost story," Chip complained. "What happened is worse than a ghost story, but all of you shouldn't have to suffer from one man's lack of compassion," Adriel stated. "Don't worry, Chip. I'll try my best to break the curse on you all, even if it means breaking the curse on your master, too." "He's a changed man," Gregory said as Mrs. Potts also turned to face him rather than continue to look at the doorway that led to the master's wing that Art had fled down out of. "He has many regrets, and you coming here has changed him more. He has hope now rather than despair, and he has been learning how to be more in touch with his human side." Adriel blinked since he hadn't even met the master, nor had he felt anything like scrying spells on him. Maybe Art's reports were helping, though. That and the hope. "Well, I don't particularly want to break the curse on a man who deserves punishment, but if it will free the rest of you to do so, I'll have to trust your word on that since I haven't met the man," he said in an unhappy tone before he picked up his utensils to finish dinner so he didn't disrespect the cook or staff. "You think he will be more compassionate to be willing to answer questions for those in need, in danger, and are too poor to afford his service?" "If anything, your own willingness to work even though everyone knows you don't have any question and still haven't asked for pay is a good example I think he will follow," Mrs. Potts said in a kindly tone. "We know you came here to investigate the magic, but you have stayed here to try to save us and have been very kind. It would be impossible for the master to ignore the future suffering of others after having suffered for years and then seeing your generosity first hand." Adriel made a face as he chewed on his steak since he didn't really see things that way. He came here for the magic and didn't want to abandon the friends he had made, but he wasn't a saint or anything. "Oh well, I suppose I can curse him myself if he lets people die again in the future when he could prevent that," Adriel said out loud just to remind them that he wasn't some kind of fairy godmother or something equally as ridiculous. "I'm going to try to talk Art into working somewhere else, though. Or drag him out into the world for a while so he knows there are other options available. That shouldn't be so hard since he wants to see places like the Valley of the Kings and the Island of Delos if I can get a friend in France to get us a private tour." When the others dissolved into giggles, Adriel was a bit confused, but he shrugged and kept eating dinner. The topic stayed on Art for the most part, and he was rather surprised to learn that he was actually Art's first friend and that Art had been brought here at a very very young age specifically to train for his role because he was so intelligent. It made Adriel even more annoyed with this mysterious master since he took away Art's childhood, but he could scold the man later. When he finally got to meet him. *********************************** Art did get the library opened up, and Adriel did get to map it out. Unlike the previous days, he made sure his work was quick and efficient since he didn't want to linger or anything, but Art also demanded that he pull out certain books when they got to specific sections or shelves. He did that, and by the time he called the day to an end early so he could set up his strings, Art had a dozen large books he was toting around which Adriel was confused by. "What are you going to do with those?" he asked Art once they were wandering towards his room where he intended to put up more strings. "I thought you couldn't read?" Art stopped, and Adriel stopped and turned to face him when he realized Art had stopped. He noted that Art looked very upset - his face was scrunched up like an dog getting ready to bare its fangs and his eyes were starting to get bright red like they had that first day when Adriel had deliberately antagonized him. "Nothing," Art said in a curt tone, but when he turned around to flee, Adriel stepped forward and grabbed the back of his robe. "Let go!" "Not until you tell me why you are so angry all of a sudden," Adriel said, confused and irritated since Art's brattiness had been a thing off and on the past couple weeks, but he didn't see why it surfaced to bad over a simple question. "If you are upset that I brought up your inability to read, I am sorry." "It's not that," Art said as he tried to pull away, but Adriel kept a tight hold on the robes. "Let me go!" "If it's not that, then what is it?" Adriel demanded as he took a step towards Art so he could grab on to the robes with his other hand to make sure Art didn't run off. "Look, sometimes you running away is cute, but not when you get this angry and won't tell me why. I can't read minds, Art, and even if I could I wouldn't." Art hunched over his books as he clutched them to his chest and refused to look at Adriel, but Adriel waited for a reply. "I'm not cute," Art growled. "I'm a monster! It doesn't matter anyway!" Adriel mentally sighed since Art's brain had apparently gone off in some weird direction. "You are not a monster, you are cursed," he said, making it a simple statement of fact rather than one of opinion. "I also don't know how you look as a human, but I can say that you usually act very cute when you aren't being a brat like you are being right now. Tell me why you are so mad and stop trying to change the subject." Art had hunched over his booked even more, but this time it was with an air of angry embarrassment. Then he mumbled something in a low voice, but Adriel couldn't catch it. "You are going to have to repeat that more clearly," Adriel said as he took another step closer so that there was almost no space in between them just in case Art tried to bolt. He was still holding on to Art's robes, but being so close, he had the urge to reach out and pet him to see what the fur was like. An urge he had had many times but had shrugged off. "You mumbled into the books." Art brought his head up with the intention to glare at Adriel, but the motion put them almost face to face. Something that Art was not expecting, and the top book wobbled before it began to fall. Adriel had to let go of Art with one hand to catch it, and he grinned at Art's look of shock. Art snapped his jaws close in response, but the bright red began to dull and he nervously backed up, a motion that Adriel followed with one hand still holding on to Art's robe. "I said you said you were going to read to me," Art mumbled, though it was clear enough for Adriel to hear since he was mumbling to him rather than down at the books. "Last night during dinner." Adriel raised an eyebrow, then smirked since Art backed himself up against the wall which made him a lot easier to keep in place. "I did," Adriel agreed in a friendly tone as he carefully set the book at the top of the stack Art was holding, then placed both his hands on the wall to hem Art in. "And I intend to. However, I asked what the books were for because there are a lot of them, and it isn't like I can read them all out loud in one night. Unless the library is only to remain open until I am done and you hope I can read these out loud over the course of a month? That is about how long it would take me to get through them reading out loud a few hours a day." It was very amusing to see a man trapped in the body of a beast trying to look away because he was terribly embarrassed over an awkward encounter they caused and obviously wanted to run, but couldn't. "Oh," Art said out loud. Adriel waited a moment to see if there was going to be anything more, but Art remained silent and must have found the hall very fascinating since he refused to look at Adriel. "And I need to put up the strings first, of course," he continued, ruthlessly taking advantage of Art's embarrassment. He wished he could see the blush that was no doubt there with the way Art was trying not to squirm, but he could do that in the future. "Still, I think I should get something out of this arrangement, yes?" Art cowered down a little but peeked at sideways at Adriel for a brief second. "Do you want a question answered?" he offered in a small voice, then swallowed when Adriel shook his head no. "Then what do you want?" "You can say no and I will still read to you, but I want to pet your fur and see what you feel like," Adriel said in a cheerful tone, and grinned when Art made a quiet squeaking sound. "Yes, I know you are a man, but I have really been wanting to touch you. My only wariness at first was that I didn't know what you were, then I didn't ask because it does sound rather inappropriate. However, I'm used to touching and hugging my friends, and appearance doesn't matter for friendship. I know too many who can turn into animals or are not human at all to worry about appearances." "I'm your friend?" Art asked. It was a question Adriel found strange but endearing since it was the first thing Art had asked out of all of that, so he toned his grin down into a kind smile and nodded. "But... I'm a monster." "Nope, you are a fluffball that loves books, easily gets embarrassed, runs away when you get upset or too flustered, and can be very adorable," Adriel disagreed in a cooing tone as he kept Art in place. "You are socially awkward, can be a brat, assume things because you are used to getting answers from books rather than people so you don't ask personal questions, and you are adorably shy, naive, and innocent. However, if you are not comfortable with letting me touch you, that is okay and I won't be upset. I just wanted to ask the question if I can or not in exchange for reading out loud to you, and if you don't know yet, you can think about it while I'm working on the strings. And no, you can't run away this time because I want to read out loud to you after I set up the next set of strings." Art's body language screamed that he wished to be anywhere else but trapped where he was at the moment. "You don't know me," Art denied, then he began to panic. "You don't know me and I'm a monster!" "Shhh, it's okay Art," Adriel immediately said to try to calm Art down. "Here, breathe with me. Don't be bothered - you can forget I asked the question to pet you if you want. Just slow down your breathing. You might think you are a monster, but I really don't see a monster. I see my friend Art who just wanted me to read to him and got upset and hurt when he thought I wasn't going to read to him. You jumped into a pack of dire wolves before you even knew me, Art. I was seriously on my last leg there at the end, was working I would break my leg if I leapt down which was my only option to get off that fence with the wolves too close for me to safely climb down, and you tried to fight them even though you were obviously terrified and have no idea how to fight. Those are not the actions of a monster." "No, I am a monster!" Art argued as he looked back at Adriel. His eyes were wide with panic, but there was a frantic anger in them, too. "I lied to you! I'm the monster that killed off an entire village because I thought their problems were too simple and annoying to bother with! I'm the master of this place, the scholar that got us all cursed!" Adriel took a step back out of shock since it was very hard to reconcile the innocent and naive Art to the tales of the cruel and heartless scholar, and Art took that opportunity to break loose and run. "Art, wait!" Adriel called, but Art turned a corner before Adriel could gather himself up to give chase and disappeared. He cursed and then started running to catch up, but Art was nowhere in sight when he looked down the next hall and he had no idea where Art might have disappeared to. The place was filled with many hidden doors and passageways on top of practically being a maze, and Art knew it all like the back of his hand. Adriel knew he could search for days and Art could easily elude him. He had strings to put up, but he could catch Art at dinner. Hopefully Art would be calmer after a few hours apart, and they could address the new twist then. Adriel needed some time to get his world view in order as well. ***************************** Three days. It had been three days and Art had avoided him altogether. Honestly, Adriel was the injured part in this, but Art's avoidance made it seem like he was the one injured by the truth that had been blurted out during a moment when Adriel was explaining that they were friends. However, it had also clarified that odd conversation he had had with Mrs. Potts and Gregory over dinner as well. Ah, and most of the staff was also avoiding him now that the cat was out of the bag. Everyone except for Chip, anyway. The little teacup was the only reason why Adriel had not gotten himself lost as he continued to map out the curse in the library, and with a child's innocence he had said he was sorry then said that everyone felt terrible about keeping the master's secret. Adriel praised Chip for being wise when the little teacup said it was stupid for everyone to keep being mean by avoiding Adriel when all they had to do was say sorry like he had. Food still came, of course, but it rather sucked to take meals with only a teacup-child. Mrs. Potts was there to direct the dishes (magically animated rather than being people turned into dishes), but she was also quiet out of a sense of guilt. Adriel hated how everyone tiptoed like they were on eggshells around him, and he didn't like that nobody would tell him where Art was, either. So by day three, he was fed up enough to go down the mysterious private wing where the curse was at its worst to look for Art. The hall was creepy. Anything with a mirrored surface was covered in cloth or had been painted with black paint. There was a shredded portrait hanging on a wall, and most of the doors along the hall had claw marks gouged into them or had been completely torn down. The rooms he could see were also rooms meant to have once been family quarters and there was a study, but furniture had been destroyed and curtains had been shredded. Everything was covered in thick dust as well which meant that the destruction had occurred long ago, and it had not been cleaned up at all. The only door that remained whole was the thick and heavy wood doors leading into the master's quarters at the end of the hall. Adriel pursed his lips as he got to it, and he grabbed the knocker to knock. "Art, get your furry ass out here!" he demanded. "We're supposed to be friends, and as such, we're supposed to talk things through!" There was no answer, so Adriel frowned and knocked on the door with his knuckles. With the harder force, the door creaked open and Adriel frowned. "Art?" Now he was worried since Art might have hurt himself which was why he was not replying. A cautious sniff of the air didn't have the scent of death, though there was the scent of food going bad, and he peeked in and noted that the previous night's dinner was sitting untouched on a cart right inside the doorway. The room itself was curtained off right past that. "Art, I swear I'm going to come in if you don't come out!" Not that he wanted to, though. The feeling of being in the center of the curse was like having ants crawling under his skin, and it tasted of black rot and had that sweet and acrid smell of gangrene. He closed off his magical senses before he could hear the magic screaming in a warped tone like these ones usually did, and he stepped inside when there was still no response. "Art?" he asked in a more worried tone as he crept towards the thick curtains. Still no reply even after he called out his name a second time even louder, so he pushed the curtain aside to peer into the room. Unlike the other rooms in the wing, this room was fully intact. Thick curtains kept the room nearly pitch black even though it was noon when Adriel came in, and there was a very large bed that could be used for an orgy for several people. The mirror on the dresser was missing and had obviously been ripped out with the broken supports still visible, but that was the only real damage he could see. There were other things in the room, too, but it was the large wooden chest right by the bed that drew Adriel's eyes since even with his senses turned off, he could feel the grudge pulsating inside of it. Feeding and devouring, it made Adriel shudder with dread, but he hesitantly walked towards it because it was the heart and the mind of the curse he had been studying for weeks and he had to know. Adriel had dropped to his knees and had reached out for the clasp when something grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him away with a growl that shocked him out of the morbidly focused state he had been in. "I told you that you aren't allowed in here!" Art snarled down at him as he fell on his back. "You can't touch that! I let you in my library and everything, and you said you wouldn't invade my privacy! You lied!" Adriel scowled up at Art. "I came in here because you have been avoiding me for days," he growled right back as he stood back up. Art taking a fearful step back annoyed him even more and he started stalking towards him. "Three days, Art!" Art began scrambling back and Adriel kept up with him. "You were the one that lied to me! And I still came looking for you! And whatever you are hiding in that chest is what is binding your curse! You are an idiot though - I came here because I was worried! Stop running!" Once again, Art was backed against the wall, and he cowered when Adriel punctuated his last remark by slamming his hands down on both sides of Art. And to make sure Art didn't run away again, Adriel pressed his body up against Art to make sure he stayed trapped there. Art was opening and shutting his mouth out of speechless shock, so Adriel decided he would just continue his rant until Art either argued back or apologized. "Your staff have also been avoiding me, and nobody would tell me where you were!" he continued. "Only Chip apologized and stayed with me so I wouldn't get lost in your bloody castle! I had just talked to you about not running off and properly talking, and then you ran off and didn't speak for three days! You didn't even show up for meals! And what's the first thing I see when I come in your room? An untouched dinner! And you have known this entire time that you had something cursed in that chest and you didn't-" "I didn't know it was cursed!" Art finally retaliated with a snarl, though he seemed too scared of his own claws or something to try to push Adriel away since he was doing that useless flapping thing he normally did when embarrassed. "It was a reminder! At first I told myself it was a reminder that even peasants could have powers, but it became a yoke of guilt to remind me that it's my fault that people died and I and my staff was cursed! It was just small things that had remained in the village - things like a child's doll, a locket, and other stuff like that. We were already curse by then, so how was I to know that it fed the curse?!" Adriel couldn't believe the stupidity of some people. "Those small keepsakes are all property of the dead!" he growled right back, then blinked when Art whimpered in fear and cringed away. Right. Little librarian normally despite the body. He needed to tone down his snarling and growling for Art, and it explained why Art had backtracked away from him, too. He was not going to unpin Art from the wall, though. He would probably run off again! "Those keepsakes all belong to the dead," he explained in a calmer tone. "It is no wonder they continue to be angry and your room is the center of the curse. And how it remains so powerful. You effectively stole objects from a cursed tomb, Art. Even if the dead don't become ghosts, their feelings linger, and something like what is in your chest can create an evil entity made of bitter hate, pain, and anguish. You can't keep it." "But..." Art said, sounding a little lost but still flapping his hands like he was nervous. "Just get off me! Get off get off!" "Nuh uh, I can't trust you not to run off," Adriel huffed. "You ran off last time, too!" "You backed away out of disgust!" "I backed away out of shock!" Adriel countered. "You probably haven't heard the stories from the outside, but according to the tales, you are supposed to be cold and cruel with a heart of ice that only does things out of self interest or greed! Instead, I get a socially awkward brat who just doesn't know how to act around people! And I was expecting some kind of undead eldritch monster between the stories and how much you hyped up the 'forbidden wing' and 'the master of the athenaeum' thing! So yes, I was shocked that my fuzzball friend that wanted to be read bedtime stories was not a genocidal terror of doom!" They stared at each other for a second. "We are still friends?" Art asked first, but his fur bristled up and Adriel realized that Art was not wearing robes today. "Wait, I wasn't asking for bedtime stories! Didn't you understand a single title from the books I had you pick out? They are classics! One of them is the Iliad, the tale about-" "The Trojan war with Achilles," Adriel interrupted with a sigh of exasperation. He angled his body to the side to grab Art's wrist, then turned and began to pull Art away from the wall. "Come on, lets get you fed. If you aren't comfortable in robes, you don't have to wear them around me, either. I don't care if you are just-" "I'm NAKED!" Art shrieked, and he pulled his hand back to try to escape Adriel. Adriel refused to let go of the hand, though, and they both tumbled down to the floor in a tangle of limbs, and Adriel managed to land himself on top to keep Art from escaping. "No, I need to get dressed!" "Art, calm down," Adriel said as he grabbed up the other flailing wrist to keep him from accidentally clawing either one of them while he flailed on the floor. "You are wearing fur!" Art froze for a second, and Adriel straddled him to make sure he stayed down so he could frown with disapproval at Art properly. "Sheesh, when I'm a horse, I don't expect to wear robes! Really, clothes are not important anyway even as humans. I'd offer to strip so you wouldn't feel so self-" "No, no no no no no no no!" Art whined as he looked away. This time, the dresser was the most fascinating thing around. "You don't need to strip! Mrs. Potts would be very upset if you stripped! She's married to the oven, you know." Adriel burst out laughing since it sounded absolutely ridiculous even if it was true. "Fine, I won't strip for lunch," he agreed, then snickered when Art sagged with relief. "Though it isn't like I have anything you haven't seen before." Then Art tensed right back up again and started squirming under him. "And I've already seen you fight dire wolves without wearing anything. However-" Adriel stopped and Art let out a long and embarrassed whine. "It's nothing!" Art denied. "Just give me a minute, please? I promise I won't run, I just need to get dressed!" And Adriel very much wanted to twist around to look at the member that was most definitely an erection poking at him, but Art sounded so humiliated that he refrained. However, it had been weeks since he had gotten laid, and he was pretty sure Art was either asexual or gay since a lot of the stories he had told had focused on men like Achilles and Patroclus. Plus, like he had told Art a few days ago, he saw Art as a cursed man, not a beast. Something he thought he should probably remind Art about. "You are a man, Art," Adriel murmured in a deeper voice as he lowered his head to brush his cheek against the side of Art's face where his cheek was. He pinned Art's wrists to the floor harder and noted how Art's breathing picked up with arousal rather than with panic. "I very much see you as a man and a friend despite your outer appearance. If you are interested, I would enjoy exploring." "Exploring?" Art gasped out, sounding adorably confused and very turned on. "Interested in exploring where? I'll take you anywhere in the castle you want to go, just give me a minute?" Just like everything else, Adriel realized he would have to spell it out very clearly for Art. So he shifted his body down a little with one of Art's squirming moves and lowered himself so that their hips aligned. "Exploring each other's bodies," Adriel said as Art froze and hissed at the feeling of pressure against his erection. Adriel was very careful to not provide any friction to give Art the opportunity if he wanted it. "Or even sex, if you want." "I - but - we are friends," Art whimpered while he stayed still, aborting whatever the first two things he started off with before settling on the third. "You're only supposed to do that with married people!" "Achilles and Patroclus were not married," Adriel pointed out as he began to nuzzle Art with his cheek again. "I have had sex with a couple of my other friends, too. There are many all throughout history who have had relations without marriage - Helen of Troy is another example from the Iliad - and I heard that you once accepted five virgins as payment." "They are maids!" Art denied as he began to squirm again only to completely freeze and loudly swallow. "I didn't do anything like that with them! They were five maids!" Adriel almost choked. "Five maidens," Adriel corrected, half teasing and half wondering if Art really was that innocent. "That means five virgin females for a harem, Art. But I'm guessing you weren't interested in a single one of them. Are you interested in me?" That last question had Art reflexively buck his hips up, and the scholar couldn't hide the groan of pleasure and frustration that escaped. "No, no," Art denied, this time with an edge of fear to his voice. "I don't do that stuff! I only like books!" Adriel dearly wanted to continue to tease and seduce Art, but he couldn't keep ignoring that malevolent magic at his back that came from the chest. "I think you are lying to yourself," Adriel coo'ed as he nuzzled Art a final time, then he released Art's wrists and sat up while keeping Art's erection under him so neither of them could see it. "It's okay if you are interested in me - as I said, I see you as a man and would absolutely love to have sex as you are. However, you skipped dinner and breakfast at the very least, so I will step out and I expect you to join me in the hallway in ten minutes. We will eat and discuss the chest over lunch." As soon as Adriel had released Art's wrists, Art had covered his face with his hands. "I'll be out in ten minutes," Art swore without addressing anything else Adriel had said. "And we can eat." Adriel chuckled as he moved off of Art, and even though Art kept his eyes shut and his face hidden, he didn't sneak a peek as he stood up. "Ten minutes, Art, then I will use all my tracking skills to chase you down," he warned, then left to wait for Art in the ruined hallway. ************************ That evening after dinner, Adriel took the chest out to a secluded area of the property and put up several wards before he laid down sand. He had to put the restless souls back to sleep, and that meant cleansing everything with the blessing of the Star People and then burning the objects once they were clean to prevent the creation of an evil entity. That was all it would do, however - while it had been the heart of the curse, it was not the mind of the curse. The chest had only made the curse stronger and would probably had possessed Art and killed everyone in the castle had it become what it was trying to be. It was a long night. A terrible night. Adriel hated working with the dead, and having to cleanse dozens of objects one by one had taxed him. He staggered into his room as the skies turned grey smelling of ash and grief, and collapsed into his hammock without bothering to bathe. He just stripped down and rolled himself up in his blanket, and he passed out. Art came in at lunch to wake him up, and Adriel groaned since he didn't want to get up. "You already skipped breakfast and gave me a lecture yesterday about skipping meals!" Art protested when Adriel just whined. "Do I need to pick you up? I can pick you up and carry you, you know!" Adriel huffed at him and rolled over to give him his back in reply. "G'way, m'tird," Adriel grumbled, too exhausted to bother with half of his vowels. Then his blanket was rather rudely pulled off, and Adriel twisted around enough to give Art an unhappy glare before he saw that Art was just gaping at him in scandalized shock. Adriel glanced at himself as he wondered why, realized he was naked, and recalled he had completely stripped and Art was now staring at his ass. His unhappy glower turned into a smug smirk as he woke up a little more. "I didn't go to sleep 'til the sun was almost rising, 'n I was doing a powerful ritual all night t' take care of your chest. Clothes smelled like smoke and fire and was too tired to change." Art didn't seem capable of replying to his explanation, so Adriel undulated into a sensual stretch as he started rolling around with the full intention of showing Art all of his body. Art snapped out of whatever state his brain had been in when he realized what was happening, screamed as he threw the blanket he had been clutching back on Adriel, then ran off. "That was rude," Adriel grumbled out loud as he fought with his blanket to snuggle back under it. Still, he was in a good mood as he let himself fall back asleep again, and this time he was left alone for it. It was nearly dinner by the time Adriel woke up, bathed, and got dressed, and he was in a good mood as he strolled through the halls to the dining room. He had no idea where Art was, but he figured Art would be coming along when dinner was ready so he settled into his usual chair with a book on non-Euclidean geometry and read until Art he heard Art shuffle in half an hour later. He looked over his book at Art and gave him a bright and shameless smile. "Sorry I slept in so late," Adriel chirped. "I know you tried to wake me up for lunch, but I really needed to sleep. Of course, my schedule is all messed up now, but that does mean that I'm open for reading to you tonight after I scout your room to make sure I got what I could. However, we can all it even now! I invaded your privacy yesterday, and you invaded my privacy today." Adriel had gotten pretty good at Art's tells, and Art was definitely the most embarrassed he had ever seen him with the way he went stiff and made swallowing motions that almost completely hid a whine. It would have hidden the whine, except that Adriel was watching him very closely since Art's reactions did amuse him, so he could pick it up at the very edge of his hearing. "I'm sorry," Art managed to get out, then did his nervous hand flap thing. "I won't do it again." "No, no, don't worry about it," Adriel said as he snapped his book shut, then shrank it so he could tuck it into his pouch. "I already said yesterday that I have no problem with you seeing me naked. The scream was rather rude, though. Did you do that because you think I am ugly?" Art choked on nothing and started to have a coughing fit. Adriel was going to get up to pat his back, but that was when Mrs. Potts and Chip came in with the dinner cart, and Art's coughing calmed down and he looked very relieved. "Mrs. Potts!" Art eagerly greeted like the tea pot was the single person in the whole world that he wanted to see the most. That, of course, made the tea pot startle, but Chip giggled. "And Chip! Thank you for bringing dinner! You are both staying, right?" "Of course," Mrs. Potts said as she looked between Adriel and Art, then picked up something from Adriel's satisfied smile and Art's frantic greeting that made her giggle like her son was. "I always do. Unless you both wish to serve yourselves and be unchaperoned?" "Sure-" "No!" Art said, then turned his head to try to glare at Adriel for saying a yes that he interrupted. Art was too embarrassed to manage any type of glare, though, so Adriel got a look that a panicked doe might make. "I always appreciate your company, Mrs. Potts! Adriel and I don't need to be alone for dinner." "I suppose Art is right," Adriel agreed in an affable tone that didn't fool the tea pot one bit though Art began to sag with relief until the next bit. "We are going to spend plenty of time together in his room after dinner, and your company is always a pleasure Mrs. Potts." The tea pot laughed and began to serve the meal as Art closed his eyes and grimaced with despair. "Okay boys, well, today we begin with a sea urchin salad..." Dinner proceeded like that with Adriel putting out many innuendoes though almost all of them flew over Art's head. The few that did land had Art acting like he didn't get it or had perhaps misunderstood it, and nobody disabused Art of his self denial since Adriel and the teapot found it amusing, and the tea cup was too young to understand what was being said below the more innocent surface level of the conversation. Things like 'maybe I can have some sausage and a cream pie for a late night snack tonight' had Art nodding an agreement when it was taken at face value, but the ones like 'you know, it took me all night of being on my knees before I was finally worn out' that had Art averting his eyes and shifting in his chair. Mrs. Potts was highly amused when she cheerfully bade them a good night once dinner was over, and Adriel got up to follow Art to his room. Art was jumpy as he glanced back at Adriel a few times, and when he followed Art into his wing, Art stopped and faced him with a frown. "I'm going to bed," he said in a curt tone, but Adriel gave a cheerful nod which made Art's confidence falter. "So you should be going to your own room?" "Art, did you forget that I need to finish cleansing your room so I can map out more of the curse?" Adriel asked as he innocently widened his eyes. "Plus, you want me to read to you! You can take a bath or whatever while I work on your room, though I will be opening up your windows since I will be burning herbs and incense. Unless you want to leave me in your room all alone? It's your personal space, and I don't want you to be paranoid that I might take the opportunity to invade your privacy even more." Art stared at him with wide eyes and swallowed. "Right," Art agreed since Adriel didn't leave him with any other choice, but his eyes darted around like he was looking for someone. "I should get Mrs. Potts or Gregory to join us." Adriel clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels to appear as harmless as possible. "Are you saying you want a chaperone with your friend?" Adriel asked with a pout. "Mrs. Potts will be busy cleaning up after dinner, and it would be a bit rude to ask Gregory to stay for at least half the night. He will be dead on his feet tomorrow! I promise I will only cleanse your room, map out the curse, then read for a bit to you. I won't invade your personal space like yesterday unless -" "Okay!" Art yelped as he jumped back when Adriel brought up what had happened the day before. "You can come! I will shower in the morning!" Adriel gave an innocent blink. "Well, I understand that you are nervous over the chest since it was personal space, but I just said I won't invade it if you do want to shower," Adriel replied. Art really looked like he wanted to melt into the floor when Adriel insinuated that he was talking about the chest rather than the whole being straddled and teased bit. "If there is anything else, I'll let you know first before I touch." Adriel grinned when Art gave a stiff nod, and his movements when he turned to walk to the room was almost robotic. He was rather pleased that the last innuendo about touching wasn't lost - Art didn't seem to get any of the food references and cruder remarks, but the innuendos like being on his knees or things that hinted at touching were the ones that affected Art. "I'm surprised you don't have a portrait of Zeus and Ganymede," Adriel commented out loud, then he had to grab the back of Art's robe when the scholar tripped on nothing. Or rather, tripped at the insinuation of male lovers. "You okay?" "I'm fine," Art quickly replied, then shrugged of Adriel's hand to more hurriedly continue down the hall. "Just lost my balance for a second." "If you are tripping on your robes, it's fine if you want to take them off," Adriel said with a smile as he kept pace right behind Art. "Anyway, you seem to like Greek legends, and the one I mentioned is one of the more popular types of paintings. Unless you prefer the aesthetics of Artemis and Callisto or Orpheus and Eurydice. I personally prefer the ones of Dionysus, Pan, or Apollo." The main three gods very well known for taking many male and female lovers. "We're here," Art abruptly announced as they approached his room as though Adriel wouldn't know. Teasing Art sexually was even better than teasing him as a friend, though Adriel knew he was starting to push his luck and that Art might snap at any moment. He did want Art to lose his composure, but not in the angry way. Just frustrate him enough to make him forget even for a second about his cursed form. "I'll clean up and you do your ritual thing." "Hm, not much into classical paintings then?" Adriel wondered out loud as they entered the room. "How old are you?" Art seemed to be totally caught off guard by the second question, and he looked back to give Adriel a look of irritation. "I like paintings just find, and the torn up ones were of me before I was cursed," he bit out. "I was eighteen when I was cursed." Adriel held up his hands in a plea for forgiveness since Art had completely taken his last two questions wrong. "Both were questions of interest and in no way was I thinking about your cursed form," Adriel said in a gentle tone. "You do seem very young about worldly matters, and I was asking about the paintings to see if you preferred men, women, both, or none. If my attraction to you for you who are is unwanted, please let me know and I will stop flirting with you." The only warning Adriel had was a snarl, then Art had him in the air by the front of his shirt. Honestly, it should have terrified Adriel to be handled in such a way by someone obviously much stronger, but it was the opposite and he had to tell his libido to calm the fuck down because Art was angry enough to forget that he wasn't weak. "I am a monster!" Art growled as he slammed Adriel back up against the wall. Adriel gasped with a mix of pain and pleasure, then he was falling because Art abruptly released him with a remorseful keen. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Adriel looked up at since he had landed on his ass rather than his feet like he normally would have. Art was flapping his hands and looking very guilty with his large eyes beginning to glimmer with tears. Brown eyes. Adriel had seen it in various shades of red from brightly red when Art was angry to nearly black when Art was exhausted or morose. This was the first time he had seen them brown. "You should be apologizing for calling yourself a monster," Adriel wheezed out. "Not for hurting me." Adriel sucked in a bit of air so he could speak as he reached out to grab the bottom of Art's robes just in case he tried to run. "Fuck, Art... You picking me up and pushing me against the wall like that is foreplay for me. But not when you are calling yourself a monster. I see you as a man, dammit! I'm friends with a man! I'm flirting with a man!" And Art tried to back away, except Adriel dug his heels and planted his ass on the floor to hold on to the robes. Art only froze when the sound of fabric beginning to rip broke their silent battle, and they both stared at each other since they were stuck in a stalemate. Art's eyes were beginning to fade towards a dull red, though, and Adriel didn't like that one bit. "Even if I were a man, you shouldn't flirt with me," Art finally said in a heartbroken tone. "You shouldn't even be friends with me. I break and ruin everything. Please let me go. I just want to get clean and I don't want you to read to me or anything, so map whatever you need to map then leave. I'm tired." Adriel gripped the robes tighter for a brief second before he let them go when he could not find any words that might break through the amount of self loathing and defeat in Art's voice. "I'm sorry I upset you," he said, but Art turned and walked to the bathroom without replying. Adriel sighed as he kicked himself for pushing Art so hard - he had been going for a genuine reaction and he had gotten it. That it wasn't the reaction that he was striving for was his own fault since he knew that Art was very sheltered. He had been honest when he had said that he had not been thinking about Art's cursed form, though. He had been pushing and had completely ignored that aspect of Art, and now Art had completely withdrew into himself. Adriel had fucked up pretty bad, but he wasn't ready to give up. He decided he would quickly work so that Art could have the privacy he needed, and it would give Adriel the night to think of a new approach to get to Art. Art had not said he was uninterested in Adriel after all. Adriel could look past the beast, but Art could not, and that was what Adriel had to work on if he wanted to help Art and make amends for what he had done tonight. ****************** Art's POV ******************* As soon as he entered his bathroom, Art turned on the faucet before he sat on the edge of the tub to quietly weep. He was cursed, and he didn't deserve anything good. Adriel was funny, nice, strong, smart, and beautiful, and he didn't want Adriel to want something as disgusting as he was. Art's own staff had kept a pretty healthy distance from him until Adriel had come along and interrupted all of their lives with a pack of dire wolves right on his heels. Now Mrs. Potts and Gregory actually spoke around him, and there was no more furtive whispering going on. Even Chip who used to hide behind his mother was laughing like a happy child! All of it was because of Adriel and how everyone seemed to like him. Even before the curse, nobody liked Art. He was only useful, so he also made sure that he got something out of that. Nobody cared about him back then, so why should he have cared about anyone? He barely even remembered his parents at all since they had gotten rid of him the first chance they got. He was too smart back then, teaching himself math and letters at the age of three, and nobody understood the things he did except for the local scribe since it had been a tiny farming village that didn't even have a school house. The scribe had books, though, and he knew his parents had sold him because he had seen the exchange of coins outside of office through the window when they all thought he had been reading. Then he was bundled up and shipped off here where the old scholar trained him as his successor and told him to never do anything without accepting some form of payment or his knowledge and ability would not be appreciated. All he had done was exactly what he was told to do. He learned and studied everything and got lost in his books since he had no company and couldn't understand people anyway. He didn't even know what Adriel was doing was flirting! How was he supposed to know that Adriel was flirting?! What part of all of that had been flirting?! Flirting was supposed to be music and poetry and compliments, but it wasn't like Art had beautiful hair or pale skin. No. He was covered in disgusting fur! He started yanking out the fur on his arms even though he knew it would be futile. It would just grow back by morning, and he would be as monstrous as ever. For the first time, he wished he had never let Adriel into his home. Having the curse broken was not worth the pain in his chest. Heartbreak. Something he had read about in the love stories, but he never knew it could actually be felt. Art couldn't even try to hide from Adriel either because he knew that Adriel would track him down like he had threatened to do. He couldn't avoid the source of his pain. The curse was already bad enough, but now he had to deal with this additional torment, too. All because his stupid body did that weird thing yesterday that made Adriel think he wanted sex, and Adriel was probably only offering more because he felt sorry for Art and thought they were friends. They weren't friends, though. Art didn't have friends.
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