[b][u][center]Perks of Desperation Part 7 for a-lycotonum by Draconicon[/center][/u][/b] Vitus emerged from the Cinnas' bedroom with a groan and a slight soreness between his legs. Oddly, the pleasures that he had been forced to 'suffer' from behind were not so bothersome, perhaps from the sheer elastic and goo-ish nature of Pollius's body, but the many orgasms that he had been pushed through had left his balls slightly sore and his shaft more than slightly reddened as a result. The heat and friction had been enough even to make the hellhound side of his nature wonder if it really needed to go that far. That said, it wasn't as bad as it would have been for a human, and that was something to be thankful for. He still groaned as he made his way through the convoluted passages that connected their bedroom to the rest of the manor, shaking his head. "At least we'll have a ride to the Leontina manor," he muttered to himself. "Even if we have to wait for a little while..." Pollius had promised to furnish him with the means of getting there, as well as a way of bringing back whatever he needed from the remains of the place. He didn't know what, if anything, would be there that he'd want to keep, but at the same time, having the resources to bring them back was a hell of a lot better than going there on foot. Even the fact that he'd have to wait a day for it to be ready meant that he had time to plan what he wanted to do when he got there and ensure that the rest of his pack would be ready for the trip as well. The realization that he had used the word 'pack' rather than 'group' hit him a few steps down the next set of stairs, and he froze with a soft sigh of regret. There it was again. He was shifting, sliding, getting worse, and there was no stopping it. [i]Just hold on where you can and try not to worry about the rest.[/i] Trying to keep that in his head, he continued down the stairs. He had just set foot in one of the main hallways of the manor when he felt the tickling heat prickling the back of his neck, and Vitus stopped in his tracks once again. The floor felt warm beneath his paws, and he gritted his teeth as he smelled the thick scent of sulfur and worse rising in the air around him. Before he could dart into one of the bedrooms, Melchiresa appeared. She was little more than a shadow of a dog, but even that silhouette loomed large before him, looking down at him the way that a wolf would look down at a squirrel. Even with all the power that she had granted him, there was still that feeling of utter disdain that she could direct his way without even trying. She outmatched him, outmatched Orlov, outmatched everyone just by virtue of being what she was. Anything that she wanted, she could get. "You are wasting time." The accusation wasn't entirely wrong. He cleared his throat. "I was...gathering intelligence." "Is that what you call rutting all night?" "They told me -" "They told you something that matters not." She took a step forward, or perhaps she only seemed to. There was a moment when she was in front of him, and then she was standing at his side, looking back down the hall. There was no movement, just a sudden shift in location. "You have a task, remember. You were told to hunt, to grow your pack." "..." "Why have you failed?" "I've only been here -" "Why?" "...I don't want to hurt someone," he muttered. "You do not have a choice. You will do what you are ordered to do, or I will take you. Properly." Vitus swallowed hard. While he didn't know what being 'properly' taken by a Demon Lord would involve, he doubted that it would end well for him. He had a very limited amount of freedom left, and that was mostly due to being useful. Whatever stubbornness he had to be spent in intelligent ways, and it couldn't be wasted. "I understand." "I don't care if you understand, so long as you obey." She nodded. "Now, there is a task for you. One that has to be done swiftly." "...What is it?" "A servant of our enemy is in the city. A creature that bears one of his spirits, and who searches for you." A shiver ran down his spine. If someone was in the city - They hadn't been found yet, he knew that much. If someone had found out that they were there, then there would be more than just reward posters in inns. There would be bounty hunters at the gates, or guards to take the Cinnas into custody for harboring fugitives. Even then, there might be some hope, considering that anyone that wasn't directly under Brundir's thumb would probably be more interested in seeing what they could get out of the Aasimar back in Absalom rather than just sending them back for the sake of doing him a favor. Only an agent would be willing to kidnap them and then try running; the devilish authorities would have a different idea of what was suitable punishment for their presence. But either way, it was better to nullify it before someone could track them down. He nodded. "Who is it?" "A human woman. She has the scent of a scaled being upon her, with the spice of feathers upon the edge of her spirit." "That...doesn't tell me much." "No?" Melchiresa smiled, or at least, showed her teeth in what seemed to be amusement. "If you cannot track her from that, then you are a poor hunter, indeed." "What do you want me to do?" "Kill her." "You -" "Or convert her to your pack." There it was. He didn't know if Melchiresa was doing this to him on purpose, but he was almost sure that she was. There was no way that even a Demon Lord more focused on hounds than humans didn't know what she was doing. She knew that he was holding back, trying not to break too many at once, and now, she was giving him a horrible choice. Either he killed someone that might not deserve it, or he forced them into the pack [i]now[/i] to avoid them dying on him. And with an agent of Brundir, that probably wouldn't go over well. She would have protections, wards that would keep her from being utterly taken the way that a normal person would, which was both good and bad. He would have someone that had the strength to maintain some hint of themselves, but if they did, they could be powerful enough to stab him in the back... Damn. Damn, damn, damn. "It is your choice, my hunter...make it a good one." With that, she disappeared, taking with her the heat and the sulfur in the air. He coughed, waving his hand back and forth in front of his face to get rid of the worst of it, but it was barely effective. Katya had probably felt the presence of her master, and that meant that they'd need to talk shortly. He'd need to talk to Robin, as well, and Piers, too, just to make sure that they were all on the same page. The day before, he'd felt some magic coming from Robin's quarters, so he had a good guess of where the former professor was, but if those two had been acting something out, then Piers was somewhere else. The where, however, escaped him. Vitus groaned as he rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. There were complications, a great many complications, and he'd have to deal with those when and as he could. For now, he needed to see what the former professor and the former Guardswoman were up to. It didn't take long to get to the guest quarters, but even before he approached Robin's door, he could smell what had been happening. The raw reek of feminine juices poured through the cracks of the door, and his cock all but leaped from his sheath as he stood beside it. It hurt from its sheer need, but thankfully Pollius and Marco had managed to drain his balls enough that he didn't feel like giving into the urge. At least, not yet. He pushed the door open, not entirely surprised to find Katya straddling Robin's face. The were-rat's features were on full display, her bald pink feet hanging off the end of the bed while her muzzle was buried between Katya's furred thighs. The older woman was riding her face, whispering something, and magical runes hung in the air between them. They glowed with a fiery light, almost but not quite infernal, and Katya groped herself as she kept whispering her magic spells. Even with his limited knowledge, Vitus could tell that half of the runes weren't even the sort of magic used by wizards. Some looked more sorcerous, and others were almost draconic with the way that they had to be shaped with claw-like motions. Some were devilish and some demonic, while still others were like wild magic. They were varied beyond measure, and he had a moment of silence just from the sheer impressive number of magical disciplines that were on display. Then Katya opened her eyes, and there must have been something on his face that called her back to the moment. Her breath, ragged with pleasure, suddenly evened out. "You had a visit." He nodded. The older woman groaned, slowing her hip-thrusts before dismounting Robin. He walked around the bed to look down at the rodent and saw that her eyes were glazed over and that there were red sigils that were slowly sinking through her fur and into her flesh. "What did you do to her?" he muttered. "Nothing of note. It was mostly a test." "For what?" "If there was anything in her that we needed to worry about. If she had any magic talent that might be triggered by the spells around her." "..." "Do you not trust me?" "Frankly, I don't know if I can trust anyone these days," he said, shaking his head as he leaned over the lust-drunk rat. "Is she going to be okay?" "She will be conscious again shortly." "That wasn't what I asked." "Vitus. She will be fine. I was making sure that we wouldn't have to deal with any wild magic coming to life, anyone else suddenly needing magic lessons, or some trap from Brundir waiting in her. All of these things were possible, but I had to ensure that they were not going to be an issue. Do you agree that these needed to be checked?" "...Yes, but then...why do that? Why -" "I have gone unattended since we arrived. I believed that I was due something." "So, you just decided to take it." "And take a moment to train her for the future. If not in magic, then in obedience. A good soldier is better than a questioning servant." Vitus didn't like the idea, but at the same time, he knew better than to question Orlov too hard. She was his teacher, even now, and she had a point. "So long as she keeps her mind." "It is too valuable a tool to take." "Glad we're on the same page about that..." Patting Robin's cheek eventually brought her around, and the were-rat sat up with a groan. Vitus expected her to start blushing when she realized that she was completely naked and sitting in a puddle of her own juices, but instead, she just seemed to take it in her stride. Oh, there was a hint of red in her face, but she smiled instead of frowning, and she looked almost as if she was a little miffed at being interrupted rather than bothered at being seen like this. Such a change. Such a powerful change. "What's going on?" Robin asked. "First, has anyone seen Piers?" "He hasn't come back yet?" Robin asked. "Not that I've seen. Katya?" "I'm afraid that I have not seen hide nor hair of him since he departed yesterday." "That's not good," Vitus muttered. "Do you think -" "I will keep an eye out for him. What is the matter?" the older woman asked. "Something's happened." "Yeah...yeah, something has." Piers would have to get the information later. For now, they needed to get this sorted, and fast. "I have a thing that we have to do. There's an agent of Brundir in the city. Don't have much of a description besides a scent, but I think I might be able to track that these days. They're looking for us, and I was told to pick whether to kill them or convert them." He waited for their reactions, half-expecting Robin to immediately jump in about doing neither. The were-rat, instead, blinked and shook her head. "Well, it's going to have to be converting, then." Vitus clamped down on his shock, managing to keep it to nothing more than glancing at Katya in a way that promised a conversation later, as well as a demand for answers. This had been far more than just obedience training. Something else had been done, and he wasn't sure that he liked it. But what was done was done. They had to move forward, and Melchiresa was likely watching. His own freedom was at stake, and he couldn't risk that for now. "Converting was my thought, too, but I don't know what kind of target we're going to be dealing with. I don't want us wandering all over Westcrown -" "Smart," Katya said. "But I don't want to be doing this solo, either. I will need someone around to help me out. Robin?" "Of course." She nodded as she pulled herself out of bed. Once more, he expected to see her struggle, but as she closed her eyes, the fur of her rat form was already pulling in once more, folding down against her flesh and disappearing into it. He opened his mouth, then closed it, cutting off all the questions that wanted to come rushing free in that moment. Whatever had happened, he needed more time than he had to actually ask about it. "I want you to stay here, and if Piers shows up, tell him what happened," he said. "I am happy to do that." "And if he has any arguments -" "I will deal with that, too." "...Not too...roughly." "I will do what I must for the cause. And for us." He had little doubt of that. He didn't like it, but it was probably the best course of action. Whatever Piers had been doing all night, it meant that they were short a pack member - a team member - and that meant that they were operating at less than ideal capacity. When Vitus got his hands on that one-armed Guardsman... Shaking his head, he waved for Robin to get dressed, and turned to go back to his quarters to do the same. However, Katya grabbed him by the arm on the way out, pulling him back. "You know this is a test." "...I know." "And you know what she expects." "Something that proves I'm going to follow orders." "Yes, and more," his mentor said. "She wants to know that you can be cruel, when the time comes for it. The hunter is not only there to keep the hounds fed. He is there to ensure that the pack is protected, and sometimes, that means being terrifying enough that nothing will dare interfere with it. If you must convert...you may find that killing was the easier option." "...I won't go that far." "You may not have a choice." He pulled his arm free, trying not to think about the implications, but they forced their way in anyway. Vitus sighed as he left the bedroom. Things were getting worse and worse. # As they walked the streets of Westcrown, Vitus took regular breaks to tilt his head back and sniff for the scents of scale and feather. He didn't know quite what the smell of either was supposed to be like, but he was apparently supposed to have the ability to pick it up. He just hoped that he'd recognize it when he found it. He and Robin were back to looking human. She had fully transformed back to her human self, wrapped in a cloak that went down her back and all the way to her ankles, while he had put an illusion on his furry self to keep from being so obviously inhuman. Vitus was all too aware of the weaknesses of such a spell - it was a relatively low-level sort of spell, and someone with a sufficient willpower could probably see through it - but it was better than nothing, and at least it didn't cost him the same energy to keep it going that the full transformation would have required. Despite that, he still felt awkward as he walked through the city, all too aware of the eyes on him and, worse, on Robin. She didn't bear the same slave sigils as the other, more public 'servants' of the rich people moving about on the streets of Westcrown, but she did walk behind him in the way of someone subservient. He remembered how the Customs offices had asked if the Adairs were slaves, and where he would put the slave glyphs and all that, and he had to push the anger down into the depths of his heart to keep from fuming about it. They were [i]pack.[/i] They might have been under his hellhound form, but that didn't mean that they were slaves. Even if - No, not even if it was a pleasurable thought. Even if it was, that was all the more reason to be pissed off and dismiss the possibility. He didn't really want that. He was just horny, and horny thoughts were too often the final results of a great deal of stupidity. Shaking his head, he put it out of his mind as they walked past another row of stalls selling goods for the morning shoppers. He tilted his head back for another surreptitious smell - [i]Feathers on her aura...[/i] Something like dust but lighter caught his nose, and mixed with it was the rasping, dry-musk-heat that came off of scales in the summer. They were faint, barely present in the way of a perfume that had been dabbed from across a busy hall, but his nose had managed to catch it. He lowered his head and turned to Robin. "You caught it," she said. "That obvious?" "Fairly. Where are they?" "This way." He cocked his head to the side, gesturing to the left of the main crowd coming down the street. They got off the main thoroughfare, darting down a side alley and following it to the other side of the market street. He sniffed the air again, continuing to follow his nose. They passed the market by and eventually came to a pub, one that had more than a dozen horses tied up just outside. The sigils of Chelaxian Hellknights were emblazoned on each saddle. Vitus and Robin gave each other a look of concern, but the smell was still coming from inside the pub. They didn't have a choice in the matter. "You want to check?" Vitus asked. "If I'm a slave, they'll want to see my owner." "...You're probably right." "And you'll want someone to deal with the horses." "Do you have to keep being right?" She shrugged, but he smiled to take some of the sting out of it. He hoped. But she was right, and that meant that he had to take the lead, much as he didn't really want to. Taking a deep breath, he walked around the horses tied up outside and made his way through the front door. As expected, the Hellknights loomed large in the pub. Their helmets were off to the sides, and they ranged from those that were merely devilishly-altered humans to those that had a little more of the infernal blood running through their veins. Their officer seemed to be a tiefling, and his tail twitched from side to side as he ate and drank. Vitus did his best not to look any different from anyone else as he walked through the door and cast a casual gaze around the room. Aside from the Hellknights, the room was surprisingly empty. There were few that had come here this early in the morning, save for an elf that looked like she had been brought in for labor - or for the pleasure of those that wanted to buy her - and a minotaur that was standing around looking tough, and - And her. There was a human woman that was putting something up on a notification board on the far side of the pub. Near all the other contracts that were pinned up were more of the bounty notices that were going up everywhere else in Westcrown for him and the rest of his pack. His illusion was just enough to keep him from looking like the face on the poster, but it was dangerously close to his own look. Someone had updated it, he realized, and that meant that either Brundir had some sort of enchantment on him still, or the man was able to scry him and find out what he was looking like from moment to moment. The woman putting the poster up didn't look like her scent. There were no scaly features to be seen, nor any feathers sticking out of her bright red hair, but there was something there. It was mostly in her spirit, he realized, something that had been embedded in her rather than brought out of her. [i]His way of keeping control...his way of having some kind of insurance...[/i] And a way of giving this woman a battery to empower her and let her fight back against others, fighting far more strongly than anyone would suspect her of being capable of. Damn, damn, damn. She turned, revealing a face that was surprisingly soft and eager, earnest like one of those first-year students at the Arcanamirium that believed that simple hard work and dedication would get them everything in the world. He remembered another classmate just like that before reality came in and chewed them out, but this woman - this girl, almost, as she seemed so young that she might have been a most recent graduate indeed - hadn't had that hard lesson yet. She was going to get it hard, he was sure. She was going to get it hard, indeed. [i]Kill or convert...[/i] The reminder of his task hit him hard. Now that he'd seen her, he couldn't imagine himself doing either of those things. He couldn't bring himself to maul her throat out, or even kill her in a gentler way. At the same time, no matter how hard his cock might get at the idea of fucking someone into the pack - [i]You have to do something.[/i] But neither option was any good. They were evil, horrible. "Excuse me." The young woman had seen him. He had to say something. Vitus looked up with an expression he hoped was only mildly curious. "Hmm?" "Do you mind holding this up for me? I'm almost dropping them." "Oh, uh, sure. No problem." "Thanks." He held the parchment to the board for her, staring at the faces. They had massive rewards for their return. Those rewards might even turn the heads of the Hellknights, though it would probably never come to anything. If he did this right, nobody would ever know he was here. "I don't suppose you might have seen these people?" the woman asked, nodding at the posters. "I can't say I have." "You sure? I know that they're here." "Heh, you seen them yourself, then?" he asked, biting back a surge of fear. "Um, no, I haven't, but my master has!" "...Has he?" "Yes! That's why he's asking me to put these up," she said, unrolling a piece of parchment with Orlov featured front and center. "He says that they're here, and if I can find them, then I will be given a great reward. He's already proven that he delivers on his rewards, and I know he'll do that for me. Particularly if I can find this one." She tapped the image of him. Scruffy, almost dog-like, just like he had been on the boat during his practice making humanoid illusions. He suppressed a shiver, but only just barely. "See, that one? He was one of the master's favorites, but he ran off. He spurned the gifts the master offered, even going so far as to decline the master's love. He betrayed my master." "So...you're here to punish him?" Vitus asked. "I want to be, but the master wants him back." She narrowed her eyes. "The traitor that he is. If it were up to me, I'd see him brought to the brink of death for what he did." The frenzy in her eyes told him that killing her would probably be the safer choice. This one was more than just a follower of Brundir, more than an agent. She wanted to be with him in a way that was entirely unhealthy, and he could only imagine the sort of obsessions that were bubbling just below the surface. There were many rumors of the sort of things that an Aasimar could inspire in their followers, but this? This was something that was well past the realm of the sane and reasonable. But at the same time, he still couldn't bring himself to truly imagine his jaws around her throat, or worse. The idea of her blood on his hands was enough to make him sick to his stomach, and yet, the thought of converting her - both the act and the danger of her continued existence afterward - didn't feel much better. Melchiresa had him in a corner. Either he had to do something that would make him hate himself for the rest of his life, [i]or[/i] he would surrender his free will even further, and then she would do it anyway. "Thank you," she said, and he realized that they'd hung all the posters that she'd pulled out. "I guess there's probably no point asking the knights about this, but there's still a few more taverns to check." "You're going to go all over the city for this?" "I have a lot of ground to cover. I know he's here. I just have to find him. I have to make my master proud." "I...understand." "Oh, by the way, my name is Neena. Neena Mattas. Who are you?" "Vi. Vi Onti." It was a stupid, stupid sort of alias, but it was the best that he could come up with off the top of his head. She cocked her head to the side, looking him up and down at the obvious sort of feminine name, but she smiled afterward. "Well, you're doing a great job of passing. I've got to get going, but good luck with...whatever you're doing, Vi." Vitus slowly nodded. She walked out of the pub, and he looked back at the Hellknights to see that they were looking at him. One of them had a raised eyebrow, almost like they were trying to place him, and that was enough to tell him to get going while the getting was good. He emerged from the pub to find Robin waiting for him, the other woman's eyes drifting from the redhead in the distance. She nodded her head in Neena's direction, and Vitus nodded. "Well, that'll be easy to track, at least." "That's not my biggest concern." "How do you want to do this?" "...I don't know, but she's going to be putting posters up all through the city. It won't be hard to follow her, and we might get lucky and follow her into one that's less packed." "You lead, I'll follow." That was not the Robin that he entirely remembered, but at least she wasn't complaining. Considering how his conscience was aching at the knowledge of what he'd have to do, he didn't think that he'd be able to see this task through if she demanded an explanation, or tried to push him to not go through with it. He almost wished that she would dig in her heels and stop him, because he wasn't sure that he could stop himself. # Katya Orlov had put together a collection of cushions on the cold stone floor that covered the entry hall of the Cinna manor. Knowing the layout of the great house, she knew that there was a possibility for Piers Adair to come through one of the windows in the back, or through one of the holes in the wall elsewhere, but she knew him and knew he would do no such thing. He was a man of law and order, of the 'right way' of doing things, and he would not deviate from that. And she was right. He walked through the front door, his one arm swinging back and forth in a jaunty jog through the entryway. While he lost some of the clear joy on his face when he saw her, he kept his smile on his face as he approached. "Where is my wife?" he asked. "She is out with Vitus. Taking care of some of the work we came here to do," she said, retracting from her meditative lotus to sit on her knees. "And you and I have words, Commander." "..." "Come. Sit." "I will stand," he said, narrowing his eyes. "And I don't think that either of us have anything to say to each other." "And that is where you are wrong." "If Robin isn't here, then I will wait for her in our quarters." "You may wish to wait out here. It stinks in there, and there are things that I want to know." "...What did he do to her?" "It was not his touch this time. It was her own." A half-truth, to be fair, but not a full lie. Robin had been touching herself extensively during the time that they had been 'training' in her room. Almost all of the scent had come from her touching and masturbating herself while eating the older woman out. Still, it was sufficient to keep him from leaving her alone. He sat cross-legged, grumbling. "Now, where were you all night?" Katya asked. "I don't think that's any of your business." She sighed. "Piers, I don't have time for this. I can scry on what you've done, or -" "Don't." "Are you that ashamed?" "No...but it will not do us any good if you do." She arched an eyebrow. If that was the case, then he had done something truly stupid. There were few that would make scrying outright dangerous, and they were limited to the clergy, the casters, or - "...You were involved with a Hellknight," she said. He didn't meet her eyes. It was all but a confirmation. “Well…that is interesting.” “I didn’t say anything.” “You didn’t have to. My, my, my…” Katya shook her head. “Vitus is going to have to know about this.” “It’s nothing. It happened once, and it won’t happen again.” She highly doubted that. Katya knew the powerful temptations of the Hellknights, and she knew that this man of law and order would be particularly tempted by them. They offered more than just the pleasures of their deeper places, more than just the infernal delights that were beyond the power of mere mortals. They offered their own strange sense of honor, and he would have been drawn to that like moths to a flame. Yet…there was a potential there. If he was corrupted by them, then it would save her the time. She needed only to reach out when the time was right and twist him to the fold, to bring him in as Melchiresa demanded. Provided she didn’t wait too long, the Hellknights would do the job of corrupting him for her. “So long as it doesn’t happen again, I will not tell Vitus of your…slip. And provided that you do not jeopardize us.” “As if I would.” “Mm-hmm…” [b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b] Summary: Vitus receives a command, and goes out to take care of a few things for Melchiresa. Tags: F/F, Nudity, Facesitting, Masturbation, Wet, Musk, Human, Hellhound, Rat, Magic, Fantasy, Series, Cheating, Mind Control, Corruption,