title: Mellowing Out aliases: [] tags: [FA] author: [FAAS] id: [49615431] date: 星期一, 十一月 14日 2022, 4:10:12 下午 modified: 星期日, 十一月 20日 2022, 1:54:13 下午

[TOC]

Mellowing Out

Author: FAAS Source: Mellowing Out (1/2)

The Worm Moon

“D-doctor, I can’t let you proceed,” the apothecary's apprentice refused his master, struggling through anxious breaths. James might have been a coward, but he had grown close to their patient over the weeks of treating him. The wolf might have suffered from the moon’s blight, but he had also treated James kindly, a form of interaction the apprentice had longed for after years of being trodden over by nobility. He wasn’t ready to let his master's hubris kill one of the few people that made him happy, not for a stupid experiment.

The wolf lay gagged and bound to a table, panicking — for good reason; it was the night of the worm moon and Hector was in violation of his hippocratic oath… again.

James continued to beg, “The church should be handling the curse, not us.”

Hector, James' master, aggressively shoved his assistant aside. “I’ll let them handle things when people stop getting mauled in the streets.” The boar was sick of the church’s ineffective attempts at handling the monsters and knew a solution would land him firmly in the queen’s favor again, an obsession of his since he fell in the ranks of society, a result of his negligence in treating a local lord, leading to the noble’s death. Hector had barely escaped execution through some skilled dueling, but would never fully recover his reputation.

“Master, I looked over your notes-” James began.

“YOU WHAT?” Hector yelled, his attention temporarily wrenched away from their patient.

“You’re just going to-” James tried to reason, only to be cut off again.

The boar pointed a scalpel threateningly at his apprentice, the sheep cowering back a step. “I gave you no such permission. Know your place for once you vazey ratbag!”

The sheep knew that arguing with his master would only lead to insults and violence, and so ignored the anger, trying to stick to his warning.

“You’re just going to make the ailment worse!” James shouted out as quickly as he could.

“Everything you are doing will feed the lycanthropy!”

Hector gave a gruff snort, withdrawing his scalpel and placing it back on the table, taking his assistant by the collar of his shirt, and easily hauling him across the room with one hand. “That’s the point you dullaert. Instead of fighting the curse, I intend to make patients embrace it.”

The wolf's panicked struggles redoubled. Everyone except Hector himself had realized he’d gone mad.

“I take it back, you’re not going to kill the patient, you’re going to kill all of us!” James whimpered, struggling to free himself from his master's grip.

“Stop prattling on about things you don’t understand!” Hector shouted, tossing his apprentice, slamming the sheep against the wooden door. “The frenzy of the beasts is simply a disagreement between mind and form, a complete acceptance of form will finally steer these beasts back to sanity! But you-” Hector kicked his lab door open. “will not get to experience any of the accolades I could have shared with you. I am done with your disobedience. Find a new master, or return to the slums, either way, you are not my apprentice anymore!

James was thrown forward once again, roughly skidding across the ground, quickly hauling himself upright despite the painful impact. He made one final attempt to return to the room to save the wolf but just as he tried, the door slammed shut and locked, barring him entry. The sheep changed tactics, running off for help from the church… sadly he would be far too late…

The light of the moon inched closer with each minute, framed by the lab's only window, bound to fall over the patient within a few minutes. Hector knew he would need to act fast to finish preparations, especially now that he was working alone. Luckily, most of the work was already done; he simply needed to begin an intravenous drip and wait.

The apothecary grabbed a dromedary bag of wolfsbane tincture, corrupted and tainted, its original purpose now turned on its head. “Don’t worry, my friend, we’re here to make you better.” A large hand roughly slapped on the wolf’s shoulder. “Just take a deep breath and wait.”

The boar was more than strong enough to pin the wolf's arm in place, making it easy for him to find a vein. The liquid instantly began to flow and the wolf screamed in pain.

“We’re almost there,” the doctor comforted, in his delusion seeing this as a kindness to his patient. “The best medicines sting a little.”

The light from the window began to drift over the wolf, first striking him on his left side, and gradually moving across him. The patient’s panic almost instantly subsided in the moonlight, replaced by a hollow and blank stare.

The doctor was immediately pleased; a fundamental difference had already appeared in the transformation process; instead of the blood-red eyes of a beast, the eyes had shifted to a pale white, and the typical struggles and pain of transformation were replaced by quiet unease. The patient’s fur ruffled, and his body expanded, taking on the iconic beastial appearance of the cursed, but the wolf continued his stillness throughout the process.

The silence spread beyond the patient and seemed to consume the room — the street… the town… the night.

An aura emanated from him, tempering the doctor’s madness. There were no sights, sounds, or smells that encouraged the growing sense of dread, just a feeling of knowing. The moon would never complete its pass across the wolf as the sky went dark, leaving only the gas of the street lamps flickering to light the world. It was the beginning of a truly dark night, the first of many… Hector pulled the needle from the wolf, realizing he needed to cut his losses, preparing to flee.

It wasn’t long before the patient started to move, calmer and more composed than any beast before him. His teeth cut through his gag, swallowing the cloth with disinterest. His arms and legs began to follow, shattering his bindings with little effort as Hector struggled with his key in the lock. The doctor would leave through the door long before the patient — the wolf — the monster — could get to him. But Hector's scent was left behind, strong in the air.

The monster stared downward, his mind turning, plagued by curiosity and hunger. He didn’t recognize his arms, his hands, his legs… himself. No memories of his past were left to haunt him, no name left to burden him. He tested his legs, taking a few steps, each movement with more strength behind it than a town of men could muster together. The wolf gave a strong kick to the table he had been pinned to, shattering it into shrapnel before it could even impact a wall.

The beast's thick, wicked teeth shone a bright white as he cackled, enjoying the fragility of the world around him as he would soon repeat the act on anything within reach, seeming to never grow bored of the explosions of wood and metal. However, one by one, the room was depleted of playthings.

‘Is that all?’ the monster thought to himself, the entirety of his known universe lost to him from just a few minutes of play.

A predatory voice growled throughout his mind. ‘There’s far more,’ his instincts spoke to him. It told him that despite his confines, there was more to play with, and despite his already abundant strength, there was yet more to be had. It told him the moon presided in him now… and its will was enduring.

The wood beneath the monster's feet warped and cracked, the monster's instincts telling him he could expand and consume, and his own mind demanding it be so. The walls and ceiling closed in on the beast, before slowly running off his back and sides as he grew through them, providing no more resistance than the pattering of rain.

“Oh, there is so much more,” the monster spoke to himself excitedly, struggling to form understandable speech through his bass growls. He shook himself, clearing his coat of debris, sending stones flying for blocks, raining down like meteors. The wolf could have stood taller — his instincts had told him so — but he felt complacent for now, finding the demolished lab about his knees, now standing at over three stories tall.

His black fur made him nearly invisible in the night which was maddening to those who looked up to investigate the rumbling and destruction, already panicked by the light of the moon disappearing. The only things marking his existence were a silhouette of missing stars, two moon-like pupils, and a fissure of eager teeth.

With exception of the doctor, none had yet to flee, the beleaguered crowd far too confused to know better. Luckily for them, the same was true of the wolf, for now.

A jet-black, inky hand scoured the street, fishing a green panda from below at random, plucking up the struggling form between two fingers.

‘Prey,’ the monster's instincts spoke to him.

“Pleasentry,” a small voice from his past rebutted.

“Hello,” the wolf greeted, his mouth overflowing with saliva, the screams of ‘prey’ getting louder. “Do you know who I am?”

All his question did was amplify the captured man’s screams. “I guess not,” the wolf replied, gently placing the man on his tongue before swallowing him down, finding the act a natural and unquestionable good. It was just the natural order of things, after all.

The destruction began to move deeper into the city as the wolf walked forward, following the only scent familiar to him. The cobblestone road beneath him exploded with each step. His growth had resumed, and his curiosity was abundant.

His search for the familiar scent was littered with distractions, him playfully chasing the tiny people below whenever they managed to form too large of a group, creating a temptation he could not resist. He enjoyed seeing how even at his slowest, they could not outpace him. The people had begun to look like insects, and smeared beneath his tread in the same way. His instincts yelled at him for wasting food, but praised him for asserting claim over his territory.

By the time the wolf found the doctor, the wolf's feet had far outgrown the roads, crushing large sections of buildings on the edges, and the people contained within. Something from his past life had told him to stick to traveling on the streets, and something of his current one took pride in the fact that he could not.

The worst of the wolf’s destruction began when he chose to bring himself closer to the doctor rather than pluck the doctor from the street. The monster fell to his stomach, sending a wave of crushing wolf hide over the world below him, and a shockwave that shattered windows. The least lucky would find themselves pinned beneath the beast, waiting for his weight to shift and finish them off.

The beast didn’t immediately address the doctor, instead choosing to thrust lightly into the blocks trapped beneath him, feeling destruction and fear against his sheathe for the first time. He adored it.

“Hi,” the wolf jovially laughed at the speck, the charming smile from his past bubbling to the surface. There was a natural friendliness to the way he carried himself, it stood in harsh contrast to his current existence. “Do you know who I am?” the beast asked for the second time today, the question clawing at him.

The boar screamed belligerent demands. It amused the wolf. He considered the doctor's words a joke, a jester pretending to exist far above his status on the food chain. The wolf chuckled, blowing the doctor over on the cobblestones.

“That’s adorable,” the monster explained, “but I grow bored. Answer the question- please.” The wolf noticed his accidental addition of ‘please’ to the end of his demand. His instincts told him it was unbecoming of him to add such kindnesses to his words when speaking to specks, but his old self had told him it was only natural.

His instincts won, and told him it was more important to reestablish his dominance than to dabble in trifles such as his past identity.

The wolf sat up, taking to his knees, and scooped up the land mass containing the doctor. He brought it to his sheath.

‘You expect us to breed with this whelp!? Halt this nonsense at once!’ the wolf’s instincts sternly yelled at him, the doctor screaming similar and more panicked sentiments. However, carnal pleasures were often a far more influential force than instincts, and as he tipped the doctor onto his cock, the wolf was more than happy to ignore his instincts… this time.

The monster’s shaft quickly began to emerge, the dot of the doctor slowly shrinking in comparison, the creature’s moon-like eyes squinting down, struggling to make him out against the pink flesh. The knot slowly forced its way from the sheathe, the thick orb struggling to fit through its intended passage.

“You won’t last very long,” the wolf kindly tried to explain, “but do make sure to be thankful before your passing. Few get to breed with a male as superior as I am to you.” His voice came out as a seductive coo, talking more like he was about to tenderly fuck a lover than end the life of someone while pleasuring himself.

The wolf’s toes tensed as he gripped his shaft and began to rub, the submissive cries of a lesser only adding to his amusement. There was something inherently attractive about being on top, of having all the power in the world, and to have that power ever growing within him. However, he was a curious beast, and he was constantly looking for ways to experiment with his new body.

He dropped his shaft, shattering the ground as it fell, and he began to pound the ground like a feral beast, rutting buildings and blocks out of existence. The doctor was surely ground to a paste by now, but the wolf never even noticed, distracted by novel and more pleasurable sensations.

It didn’t take long for the monster to climax, as he was overloaded by all the new sensations, releasing a deafening howl as he came. Each shot plowed through distant districts, flooding and drowning people caught in its way, forming small lakes where his orgasm fell.

As the monster collapsed, rolling to his back, and milking his cock for every last drop, he did nothing to stop his growth, letting the slow consumption of buildings and life beneath him add to his afterglow. His instincts were proud of him once more. ‘Your scent will be on these lands for years. They all belong to you now.’

It wouldn’t be the monster’s last orgasm of the night, nor the most destructive. It was his time to shine, not just as a ruler of this city, but of this world. His moon-like eyes constantly surveyed the city for toys, meaning doom wherever they stopped, a giddy grin following behind them.

By the time the sun began to rise, the once-thriving capital had been reduced to a third of its previous population, the remaining survivors still shaking and terrified. The beast gave a smug grin as the sun bathed him, only providing heat to his fur and no sign of a return to his old form, the thing all the citizens below had been praying for.

With the return of light, he could eye over his craters and lakes with pride, feeling his ascension to demi-god status solidified. He licked over his fur, cleaning it of debris and bodies. He had decided to avoid any more destruction for the day, not seeing a point in completely removing his property from this planet. However, ‘avoid' was a term used lightly, as he also saw no purpose in putting any extra effort into sparing his lessers.

He swiped a finger through his toes, crushing and removing survivors that had gotten stuck between them, licking them off his finger tip with each one, halting only two before the end. He smelt something… something familiar… singular people were beyond his sight at this point, but not his nose. He knew something important was there.

The monster began to do the unthinkable, something that his instincts raged against him for doing. He began to lose size, quickly reducing downwards in scale. Something at the back of his mind yelled at him that he needed to see what was there, and it was more important than looming over his lands. Besides, once he was done, he could just go back to the massive stature he had already become accustomed to.

He went from a mile high to a dozen yards in the span of a few minutes, a sigh of relief washing over the town. The people assumed the sun had worked, that it just needed time.

The monster squinted down, finally sized appropriately for the task, his heart instantly struck by a pang of joy, a dumb smile hitting his face. There was a sheep between his toes, unconscious and hurt, but very clearly alive. He had no idea who they were, but the wolf was enamored with them, and the sheep made him feel something these insignificant toys hadn’t made him feel before, compassion.

He continued to lose height, and with care, began carrying the sheep. Without a moment of thought, he had decided in an instant, that he would take care of him, despite his instincts telling him to enjoy his prey instead.

The beast returned to his old stature, barely over six feet tall, eyes dulling from white to yellow. The sheep still remained light to him, and his arms had never held something more caringly. Despite the sheep’s injuries, his instincts told him the ex-apprentice would be fine — given enough care. His old friendly smile returned once more, honestly representing kindness for the first time tonight.

Love For The Mundane

It had been nearly a decade and repairs were still far from completion. The damage from the night the moon died was something that would still require years to repair materially, and centuries to heal from mentally. The only good news was that without the moon, its blight had vanished as well, its last demonic creature seemingly dying with the rising of the sun. This of course was not the case. Felix — as his beau James had renamed him — had just found a new pleasure to distract himself with, being with his anxious sheep lover.

Felix felt no regrets about that night, still craving to rule his dominion, his instincts haunting him daily to do so. However, he had also regained something of his old self after finding James. His old self told him that to live a life with the sheep, he’d need to hide his identity, claiming a new one; there was no way they could live in peace if he was known as the monster from the night the moon died, and there was an even smaller chance that James would accept him.

Forming a new identity was a surprisingly easy task given how common black wolves were, a dime-a-dozen species, allowing him to hide similarities to his past self behind coincidence. His new identity would be the only identity Felix would let James know, his honest case of amnesia making it easy for him to maintain his lie, providing a singular answer any time James questioned his past.

It was only after just a month of healing that Felix attempted to romance James, a relationship the wolf did not understand to be taboo in their society, but one that James still happily accepted. A few years later, they would be unofficially married.

The two of them had built a happy yet mundane life together, living in a small reconstructed house, founded on the arch on the inside of a paw crater Felix had left years ago. The wolf now filled the role of a homemaker as he knew no trades. James, on the other hand, was able to find a new apprenticeship, successfully finishing this one, providing the funds for a comfortable life for the couple as a proper apothecary.

They were happy together.

‘CRUSH THE OVEN, HUNT DOWN ITS PROGENITOR, CULL THEIR BLOODLINE FROM THIS EARTH!’ Felix’s instincts screamed as he took the cakes from the oven. They had cooked unevenly, leaving the bottoms burnt.

‘You can probably just scrape it off and hide it with some frosting and decorations,’ a far calmer voice from his past explained. Despite the meekness of this old voice, the wolf had become accustomed to listening to it, rarely giving into the perverse requests of his instincts, despite a longing to do so.

He patiently finished each cake, and plated two slices, carrying a set of tea cups with him. A heavy set of footsteps signaled Felix’s descent, the weight behind them far greater than what a wolf his size should possess.

The wolf looked about for a few seconds, unable to find his lover on the ground floor, the small shop area for visitors to buy their medicines. The couple's housing was found on the second floor, his husband’s shop here, and his lab below that, in the basement.

“Working hard again I see,” the wolf cooed as he descended a second flight of steps. “I hope you don’t mind a mild distraction.”

The wolf set down the refreshments far from the sheep, on a table he’d been instructed to use many times before. James had told him that it was dangerous to allow food or drink too close to his work.

The sheep seemed surprised by his wolf's appearance, though he should not have been; his doting companion often hunted him down. The beast's nose let him track his companion for miles, leading to plenty of ‘coincidences’ in their lives. His instincts had told him if he would not eat his prey, he at least needed to protect his property, while his old voice told him to enjoy some unexpected romance, a rare consensus in action between them.

“You scared me!” the sheep sighed. “We need to get you a more colorful outfit, the black suit on black fur on a dark stairway makes you a bit too stealthy for my liking.”

“Afraid your big bad wolf is going to hunt you down?” Felix joked with a massive grin, having hunted down more people than his cute little sheep had ever known.

‘YES HUNT HIM!’ his predatory voice roared. It had gotten louder and more abrasive as it had been ignored. The wolf settled for munching on his cake instead.

“Ehh, you’re too defanged to be a threat,” James teased his husband. “I’ve seen more threatening lambs.”

‘IMPUDENCE!’ the wolf's instincts yelled.

Felix wrapped his arms around his sheep’s soft frame, delivering a tender kiss to his head fluff. “Are you still able to meet with our friends tonight?” the wolf asked, James having a habit of cancelling plans to overwork himself.

The sheep gave a nervous murmur, “I would but-”

A deadly glare struck James, pierced by a sudden look from his husband, the wolf’s instincts speaking through his eyes since nothing else would listen. They said, ‘If you don’t listen, I’ll tear you to shreds.’ Felix would of course never execute that voice's threats, but the eyes were still very convincing.

“-but I just need to finish cleaning up!” the sheep chuckled nervously. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

Felix tended the shop while waiting for James, knowing, ‘in a moment’ was sheep for another hour at least. That was fine though, the wolf had adjusted to that eccentricity long ago, always telling his husband events were starting long before they were.

The wolf was a diligent worker, greeting every guest with a smile, helping them how he could, handing over their medications before issuing a friendly goodbye. His instincts told him such tasks were beneath him, but what was truly beneath him right now was his husband, toiling away in his lab, a better inspiration than any voice in his head.

Felix’s latest customer had just left, leaving him to daydream about his past, of returning to glory, of treating his husband to a kingdom to rule with him. Of… smelling incense. The wolf rolled his eyes in annoyance, sensing a church official long before he entered the store. It was an inquisitor, a broad and, to most people, intimidating lion. The beast of a man stood a head taller than Felix and eyed him with spite.

The holy man showed no interest in the shop's remedies and potions, nor in civility. Like most of his kind, all he was interested in was following orders and advertising the church’s power. He was likely here on the former, and he wouldn’t be first. The two of them had been investigated for heretical behaviors by the church several times now, customers frequently reporting them, the wolf refusing to hide his affection, an action a relationship like theirs demanded. ‘A creature so far above them shouldn’t need to cater his desires to their petty morality,’ his instincts had told him, one of the few times the voice had consistently won.

However, there was some regret the wolf felt over it. James was the one who was faced with the consequences of Felix’s affections. He only remained free and his shop open due to the occasional bribes he made, to holy men like the man before Felix.

A broad, gauntlet-plated hand slammed down on the desk, the man waving a document with his other. “Twenty-three,” he growled, patiently waiting between his words to gauge the wolves reaction. “That’s how many reports we’ve gotten of suspicion of sodomy from this store alone.” The inquisitor began brandishing the paper around like a sword. “And yet, here your store remains…” He waited once more, obviously expecting a strong reaction… He didn’t get one, all except a muted snarl. “I think we both understand that shouldn’t be the case. Might you have strayed so far from God's light to practice witchcraft, corrupting my men into shirking their duties?”

The inquisitor stared down at the wolf the same way the wolf stared at his prey. He would have torn the man in half for such an offense if it wouldn’t have bloodied the shelves his husband had worked so hard to stock. However, that did present a problem, he wasn’t just talking to a typical idiot of the church, but a prideful idiot; this was the type he’d worried about, one too deep in scripture to look at any other paper, especially the ones that would get the inquisitor to leave him alone. Felix didn’t dare attempt to offer the bribe his husband would have.

“I can assure you the church has nothing to look for here,” Felix explained, ignoring the constant screaming of his instincts to assert himself. He instead chose to lie, hoping that a few well-chosen words would free him. “We just got in a fight with a local guild member over prices, and he is attempting to resolve it in the pettiest way. I am afraid the sin falls instead on his hands as well as the hands of his guildmates for bearing false witness.” The lion’s attempts to intimidate with his documents had revealed them several times, and Felix chose a name near the top to accuse, hoping they’d send a more bribeable inquisitor next time. “It’s just Clyde and his rabble.”

The lion looked over his orders, having at least enough diligence to investigate his claims. Many others would have simply asserted the church’s inherent correctness in the matter and proceeded with his arrest. There was a moment of surprise that flashed in the lion’s eyes before a smug grin exposed his teeth.

“The only Clyde on here is the bishop that sent me.” The lion shook the document accusingly once more. “You’re a clever one, but not quite clever enough, using your witchcraft to draw knowledge from my sheet. Luckily, God’s light has left you dazed and confused.”

The wolf only bore the accusation with annoyance. They were right to call him monstrous and demonic, but merely by coincidence. The wolf crossed his arms, maintaining his composure, continuing to restrain himself. He knew that the punishment of the church for such sins was death, but with some begging to the right officials, it could be lessened to a life sentence. “So, where do we go from here?”

The lion did not even bother to draw his sword nor to verbally answer, finding the smaller male far enough beneath him to handle unarmed. Instead, he drew a pair of cuffs from his pocket, a new invention to more humanely transport people to much less humane ends.

Felix sighed, walking towards the exit, instantly triggering the lion to grab him, to prevent the wolf from running. Instead of stopping the wolf, the inquisitor and his armor were uncaringly dragged behind the canid across the shop, clattering the whole way. This put panic on the lion’s face for the first time since they met, but it wouldn’t be the last.

There was a light click as the shop's door closed and locked, sealing the lion inside. Felix whispered to himself, “James, forgive me for this.”

‘It’s been months,’ the wolf’s instincts cheered, ‘Finally! MEAT!’

The inquisitor appeared to change his mind on the necessity of his sword, backing away, standing up, and drawing his blade, all in one fluid motion. “The devil's cheap tricks can’t defeat a man of god. Surrender and face his judgment!” the lion demanded, though doubt crept into the corners of each word.

Felix’s hairs stood on end, his eyes returning to a bright white. He charged the inquisitor with a few quick steps, and before the lion could even yell, he was tackled to the ground with a solid thud, his muzzle held shut by one hand, his sword-wielding arm pinned with the other. The wolf's teeth shone a bright white, a light chuckle emanating from between them. Any time both his voices could be in agreement, he was ecstatic, and they both wanted this man gone, one for a meal, and one to protect his James.

The wolf’s thick hand-paw expanded over the inquisitor, the canid's clothes ripping apart, a flood of relief washing over him. He hadn’t gotten to give a proper display of power in some time. As he grew, he required less of himself to maintain his control of the inquisitor, eventually keeping the man in place with a single hand, the ceiling of the shop rubbing against his back as he stretched out.

The moment was only slightly ruined by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. How he wished he could show James his power, pamper him with it, but he knew better. All he needed was a single finger to barricade the door.

The handle shook a few times. “Felix, is everything okay?” The sheep’s voice was mildly panicked. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

The wolf did his best to lighten his voice to a friendly tone and hide his bloodlust. “No need to worry, I just had a shelf fall over, I’ll get it right back into place.”

The man who had invaded the couple’s home now found himself screaming and biting and clawing at the wolf’s hand, every attempt muffled by the thick paw. Felix decided toying with his treat was too risky and closed his grip.

Before the inquisitor could say anything, the wolf's maw closed around him, careful not to pierce his armor or flesh with his teeth, knowing better than to leave any evidence behind. It took a few swallows, but the man finally found his way down the wolf’s throat, slightly distending his stomach. The little prey that he’d devoured since his turn to the mundane was typically too light to show through his stomach, but the inquisitor's armor proved slightly too much to completely hide, and while his voice was muffled, it was not completely muted.

The wolf tightened his abdomen, crushing the man into silence, and releasing a solid belch.

“Gross,” the sheep laughed through the door, evidently ignorant of the morbid source of the noise.

“Hah, sorry,” Felix chuckled back, hiding a grunt of pleasure as he felt the last kicks of the lion. “I don’t think that cake sat well in my stomach. You know what herbivore food does to me.”

A final audible gurgle of the wolf’s stomach and the evidence was gone, a deep sigh of pleasure and relief escaping the wolf, his eyes once more mellowing to a friendly yellow, and his stature shrinking.

He still held the door shut in one hand, making sure the room was safe for his sheep to enter. “One moment, sorry to take so long, I’m making sure I don’t break anything when I flip this back into place.”

Claw marks — he had spotted a hefty gash in the wood left by his claws, like an idiot. The wolf balanced on one leg, keeping the door shut with the other, growing just enough to reach the carpet and shift it over the injured wood.

Felix returned to normal once more and audibly shook a nearby shelf a few times, making sure some of the merchandise fell or became disorganized.

“Aaaaaaand- there we go!” he shouted, faking exertion and releasing the door.

His sheep stepped through, eyeing the room curiously, sensing something was off… like his husband being naked in the middle of the shop.

“What are you doing!” he yelped, covering up the wolf’s arousal, Felix having had too much fun with his prey for it not to show. “You can’t do things like that in the shop,” he sheepishly whispered.

Felix chuckled, playing it as casually as he could. It’s not like a little thing like devouring someone would stay on his mind for more than a few seconds, and there was a handsome sheep in front of him. “The doors are already locked, and I thought we could have a little fun together. We’re already late, after all.”

The two would not be late; they still had a half-an-hour before they even needed to truly leave. However, a good portion of that time would be spent by the wolf destroying his sheep in the most loving way possible, the wolf’s prey churning and sloshing in his gut with every thrust. He liked to think that every calorie the invader had provided him was spent on their love making. That every moan from the sheep was a desecration of their attackers life, and that every soft ‘plap’ of the wolf’s massive balls were a token of his loving protection.

“Am I walking strangely? I feel that I am,” James remakred nervously, glancing about. He was raised as a good Christian lamb, and now found himself haunted by paranoia in his adulthood. He feared that every action, twitch, scent, and stray hair would give away his sinful lifestyle, especially after any of their ‘mating’ sessions occurred, a crude term Felix insisted on using.

The wolf did not share any of his husband’s fears. Any judging stares were returned in kind, daring them to burden him with even the smallest grievance, an offense that hadn’t served his previous meal well, and wouldn’t serve them any better.

“Not at all; stop worrying!” Felix howled with pride. “I tried to be gentle, if I had been any rougher, you would use it as an excuse to renege on the event.”

The sheep made himself smaller as he hid his face in his hands, turning red from embarrassment. “Do you have to be so crass?” he cried.

“Of course.” Felix grinned smugly; it was his town after all, his scent still marked its very air, a source of pride for the wolf.

The couple ascended a set of steps built into the valley walls created by Felix’s paw a decade earlier. Exiting its depths, the wolf helped carry his sheep when he grew tired halfway up.

“We need to get you out of your lab more often. You’ve grown even more frail than usual,” Felix castigated.

The sheep took a few seconds, still panting, before he responded. “Most people reach the top of this flight tired. These are the steepest stairs in the city...” he huffed. “It’s not like you get any more exercise than I; you spend most of your time baking. You’re just… lucky!” James merely feigned the anger; he had long adored his husband’s shows of power, and the sheep’s accusations were just an excuse to dwell on the subject of Felix’s virtues. Felix offered a friendly threat, “If you complain too much, I’ll carry you back down.” “And then carry me right back up?” he asked, with large pleading eyes.

“A few times,” the wolf agreed. “In hopes that some of the effort will rub off on you.”

James playfully nudged the wolf with his elbow, which felt more like he was striking a brick wall than a person.

‘AN ATTACK!’ the wolf’s instincts shouted. ‘Defend yourself!’

Felix ruffled his husband's wool with a happy grin, before searching for another subject with which to pass the time along their walk. “How are your experiments going?”

The sheep's ears folded back and his genuine smile turned forged. “Oh-” James laughed. “The experiments were… they’re going well,” he belated sheepishly.

‘LIES!’ Felix’s instincts growled, though he could ascertain this without their help; it would not be the first lie James had told him, nor would it be the last, but Felix was queerly at peace with this. If they both had their secrets, things would be more even between them, the wolf less guilty as for his own lies.

“Well, don’t overtax yourself,” Felix comforted. “I am worried you are overworking yourself, locked away in your lab. You’re more than worthy of a joyful life, you don’t need to prostrate yourself for it.”

James gave a shy smile. “Everyone is,” he responded. “But it’s also not that simple.”

“I can make it that simple,” the wolf offered, an implication which held meaning beyond the sheep’s understanding. “The dominant can shape the world into whatever they desire, and I desire to make the Earth heaven for you. Any worriment of yours, I can repair… if you let me.”

Perhaps the sheep understood more than the wolf thought, as fear entered his eyes. “T-that’s tempting, but-” He looked away from the wolf. “I understand that you are strong, but that type of strength doesn’t matter these days. Coin and connection are what allows one to make those kinds of promises.” The fear faded and a kind smile returned. “If one considers it, that is what I offer you. As such, the dominant one in the relationship… would be myself.” The sheep puffed out his chest with pride.

‘PROVE HIM WRONG! DEVOUR HIM!’ the wolf's instincts yelled.

“Try me,” Felix rebuffed. “Just request something. Let me show that I can provide in my own way.”

The sheep giggled, “You already provide plenty, even if you do burn your cakes sometimes.” The wolf did not laugh. “I mean it, call on me for any task.” The offer of kindness had turned into a command.

“Oh- um…” the sheep nervously spoke, having trouble finding words on such short notice. “Just… keep protecting us,” he asked, with no small embarrassment.

The wolf was a natural bodyguard, keeping the sheep safe, casting a watchful eye on his husband as consistently as the tolling from the belltower. Crime was common in the city, and the few thefts to which the sheep had fallen prey had — unknown to his lover — ended with Felix chasing the assailant through the streets, never to be seen again.

“That isn’t what I meant,” Felix growled. “You’ve clearly been stressed, anxious. As a matter of pride, I have to set that right.”

James moved to comfort Felix, before pulling away just short; the sheep was too shy to be the one to act, to show his affection where others might see. “Don’t take it so personally. It’s just the nature of work, and it’s as unchanging as the mountains. The best we can do is lighten the burden, and you do a magnificent job of that already.”

‘SO WE JUST MAUL THE WORK, THEN OUR PROPERTY WILL BE PRESERVED!’ the wolf’s inner voice screamed, unable to settle between eating the sheep or simply owning him.

“Do you want me to maul your work?” the wolf asked.

“What?” the sheep replied.

“I mean-” He let his old voice massage the question into something more meaningful. “You should stop working then, I can support you instead.”

James laughed the hardest he had today. “I don’t think so. Last time I let you earn money for yourself, I found you in scuffle after scuffle…”

The wolf had a rare moment of being flustered, the sheeps laughter stinging the wolf’s pride.

“You’re saying that like I mugged people! It’s a respectable sport!”

The sheep waved dismissively. “If it’s so respectable, why was it only found in the least respectable, most dilapidated taverns.”

“Because I-”

“Actually,” the sheep cut him off. “You’re apparently more quarrelsome than the regular lurkers of those drinkeries, since they kicked you out.”

‘WHAT IS THE POINT OF BATTLE WITHOUT BLOOD?’ The wolf’s inner monologue was furious.

Felix knew better than to tell James why he had been kicked out, or the fate of his opponents, something he’d consider too shocking for his sheep. However, the most shocking thing was how many people the public houses let him go through before he was banned.

James looked around for a few seconds, avoiding prying eyes, before giving his wolf’s arm a hug for just a moment. “I like my life, I like my job, and I adore you. We don’t need to upend things because of one or two blemishes, not when everything else is wonderful!”

The wolf’s tail flicked in irritation. He was better than having ‘one or two blemishes.’ He could bend the world to his whims, and all he needed was his sheep to ask. The rest of the world was little but a game of naughts and crosses for him to shape into their paradise.

The walk was long, and the wolf was stubborn. While the topics varied over their journey, there was a certain sapor to every word: Felix was growing increasingly restless in this life and that the only thing fastening him to it was his lover.