[b][u][center]Special Teachings from Special Professors Epilogue For a-lycotonum By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b] A month had passed since the ending of Melchiresa’s plans to corrupt the Arcanamirium, and in that time, many things had happened. Too many, in Vitus’s opinion, but at least they were all good. He stood in his room as the golems tromped about, ostensibly supervising the packing of his possessions for the upcoming trip. In reality, he was letting them do what they wanted as his brain went elsewhere, thinking of things that had nothing to do with his time outside of the great academy. [i]Who would have thought that I would have actually passed the tests?[/i] Not him, that was for sure. He had fully expected to be dismissed from being able to take them, forced to leave the academy entirely when it came time for his exams. After all, despite all the other evidences of his transformation disappearing after the destruction of the altar, his… Well, [i]that[/i] had remained entirely canine, and he’d been sure that someone would have picked it up and called him out on it. Yet, nobody had. Nobody had, and he had taken the tests, and it had been… Vitus lifted his hand, watching as the colors of magic shifted beneath his skin. It wouldn’t have been visible to anyone else, of course – even another mage would have had difficulty seeing that unless he was actively pulling on his power – but he could see the rainbows just beneath his flesh. The colors of power, the strands of existence, the connections between the physical and the magical… It was all there, and it was so, so, so much stronger than it had been before this whole mess had started. He put his hand down before the temptation to play with it got too strong. The last time he did that in practice, the warding spells on the practice room had been put to the test, and then some. Having the janitors and some members of the security team coming down, muttering about there being some rogue mage in the area as he snuck away, had driven home just how important it was to keep his head down about this. [i]How, though? How?[/i] That was the part that he still didn’t know, and what he was most worried about. If it was what he feared – “Are you alright?” He turned around, blushing. “I’m fine, Hazel. Just…adjusting to everything.” “Adjusting, or…’adjusting?’” His cheeks burned as he looked down, just to be sure. His bulge was still fairly innocuous, thankfully, though he doubted the golems would have minded or questioned what was going on. They were pretty absorbed in their tasks, just as they were supposed to be. Though, if someone had come by… “May I come in?” Hazel asked. “Of course. I mean, it’s not like I have anything to hide from you anymore.” Frankly, he was amazed that she still spent any time around him at all. Ever since that night…Even though he’d been demonically possessed, or the next thing to it, it still didn’t excuse what he did. The half-elf walked over to stand by his side. She was still far skinnier than he was, despite the diaphanous robe that she’d taken to wearing since that night. The marks of Erastil were upon her, a reward for the work that she’d done in banishing the demon from the university. “The church still insisting on keeping it a secret?” he muttered. “They are. No surprise, really.” Vitus nodded. It was probably for the best when one came right down to it. Demon-touched as he and Hazel were, it would take a miracle for the two of them to get jobs anywhere if the whole of the event was on-record, and considering that the Church had managed to get one of the best priestesses that it would ever have out of the whole thing… He glanced down at her, unable to help but stare down the front of her robe. He blushed as he did, certain thoughts bubbling up to the surface before he clamped down on them. They were not for the now, and they were not for them at the moment. Even golems would report some things back to their masters. “So, you’re actually leaving, then.” Vitus nodded. “Why?” “I don’t…feel right here,” he admitted, shaking his head. “Never have, and after what happened with Professor Orlov –” “Just Orlov, now.” “Yeah…After what happened with all of that, I don’t know if I want to stay here. It’s too…wizard-y for me.” “Heh. Just when you’re starting to get it, you decide to drop out. Just like a sorcerer to dodge the work.” “Just like a priest to lecture,” he countered, chuckling. Still, he didn’t regret the decision. He had gained some control over his powers, more than enough to actually merit some jobs in the outside world. Having the certificates that came with being an accredited mage would stand him in good stead out there, give him what he needed to get a job that paid well enough to support him. Support him and Hazel, if all went well. She leaned against his arm as the golems continued packing up around them, pulling down the little wall-art that he’d bought, rolling up his certificates and putting them in one of many boxes. They folded up his mattress and tossed it in another. Everything was going, and the room was getting more and more bare. Despite himself, he could still smell a hint of the sulfur that had come with all the hellhound business. It had been buried among the musky smells that he’d been perpetually putting out, but now that all of that was washed away, it had started to come out. He rubbed his nose, shaking his head. “I’m not going to miss this place. That’s for sure.” “I suppose I can’t blame you. Will you miss anything?” “You. Until you come back.” She blushed, shaking her head. “Oh, you…you know that you’re only saying that because…well…” It was almost adorable to him how she could actually blush about that, now. She’d been so clinical, so efficient when she’d been helping him through the curse, but now that they were actually thinking of being together? She couldn’t refer to what he had between his legs without her cheeks bursting into flame. Then again, it was…a bit embarrassing, still. “Do you, uh…” he started asking. “You don’t have a bed.” “You still do.” “Yes, and it’s still pristine, thank you very much.” “Are we talking pristine, or ‘pristine?’” “…No comment.” “So I’m not the only one still dealing with ‘stuff.’” “Shut up.” “Just saying.” She slugged him in the arm for that, and he had to admit, he deserved it. For his part, he was just glad that the raw lust that had come from being a hellhound in transition was no longer there. Thinking had been downright impossible even before he’d been fully converted. Afterwards, the only thing that kept him focused was the demon lord peering down into his skull and calling him on his every erstwhile thought. The fact that he still had a dog dick meant that he was more easily distracted by it than most men were with their cocks, but it was far and away better than it had been. The golems finished packing up his stuff, turning to the door and walking out. He let them pass, then shut it behind them. “What are you going to tell them?” “What do you mean?” “The Church still wants a full report, in-person. What are you going to tell them?” “The same that I already did. There was a demon infestation in a teacher and a student. The student was not at fault, and did everything that he could to avoid spreading it further. After an attempt to forcefully convert a third person, they were stopped by me.” “They’re going to be happy with a story that barebones?” “Other than giving them names, they don’t need anything else.” “Then why do you have to go there at all?” “I’m going to guess because they want to make sure that I’m not lying. Or see if there is anything demonic left behind.” “…And you’re sure that’s the only reason that you’re going?” “…Most of the reason.” “That’s what I thought.” He leaned against the door, crossing his arms. The robes he wore, black streaked with red, felt almost too much like the hellhound fur he’d worn. He tried not to think about that. “What’s the rest of it?” “It’s…personal.” “Personal? You’re using ‘personal’ as an excuse after what we did?” “…” Hazel kicked the ground. “Just…something I’m still figuring out. I promise, I’ll tell you when I think it through. Okay?” “…Okay.” He opened his arms, and she walked right into them. They hugged, pressing tight to each other, and he felt her tense at the same time that he did. It was hard for him, even after the transformation back. There was still a hint of pleasure that came from touching her that wasn’t right, the need to take her, to rut her, to fuck her like a bitch. His cock throbbed in its sheath, pushing to come out, and he had to force all his attention on it to keep it down where it belonged. Even then, he felt the mental images coming. The urge to fuck her, to claw her, to mark her. The hellhound possession instincts, the urge to be top-dog, alpha, were still there, and he swore that those instincts were twined into his powers, too. Whenever he used them, the urge to take it further, to show off, to be the best… It took him almost a minute to be able to let go of Hazel, and both of them were shaking when he finally managed it. “I should go,” she said before he could say anything. “It’s not you, it’s…I need to think.” “Okay. Just…say goodbye before you leave tomorrow?” “I will. And you tell me where you’re moving, so I can find you after.” “It’s a deal.” They shook hands on it rather than risk another hug, and then she was gone. Vitus looked around the room, his eyes panning across where everything had been before he let out a long, slow, hissing sigh. He slid down the door, eventually slipping down into the fetal position on the floor. [i]What a mess…what a goddamn mess.[/i] While the Arcanamirium didn’t know what had happened down in the tunnels, there was no way to completely hide the fact that demonic magic had been involved. The seals that Professor – no, just…Orlov – had laid on the vortex had kept the worst of the demon energy from getting out, but there’d still been some for the security staff to find when they checked it the next day. He didn’t know what had happened, but Orlov told him, before she disappeared, that she’d been offered a choice. Chase down ‘those responsible’ for defiling her office and lecture hall, or be banished. It was clear to both of them that someone had the brains to think that Orlov had been part of it, but not enough to determine that she was the only one of the cult left in the school. She’d left in a hurry, disappearing before anyone could say goodbye. He still didn’t know what to think about it. On the one hand, she’d been the whole reason that things had gone to hell. She’d been the one to infect him with the curse, she’d been the one to make him rape Hazel on the altar, though Hazel kept telling him that it wasn’t exactly rape, whatever that meant. Orlov had been the one to set the whole thing in motion…and she’d been the one to save them from it at the end. Hazel had saved his soul. Orlov had saved his life. [i]How the hell do you figure this sort of thing out?[/i] he wondered. [i]You can’t like her, but you can’t hate her, either, so what the hell do you do?[/i] He didn’t know, and it hurt to admit that. One thing was for sure, though. He might have passed his exams, but he wasn’t sticking around the Arcanamirium any longer than he had to. Whatever power he’d gained through the whole adventure, he was going to use it to make sure that he never had to rely on someone else to save him again. He was [i]not[/i] going to rely on luck, nor the kindness of strangers. Most people weren’t like Hazel. He couldn’t rely on running into another one like her. # Hazel groaned as she shut the door behind her, glaring down past her breasts at her belly, feeling her insides twisting about. “Stupid…stupid…” She glared at her midsection, fighting the urge to hit it. She’d done that once before with the urges that remained, and she did not like the results then. There was no reason to think that it would produce any better results now. Shaking her head, the half-elf walked up to her bed and sat down on the edge of it. She leaned forward, arms wrapping around her stomach as she looked down at the floor. [i]That stupid…stupid curse. Why couldn’t it take that, too?[/i] It wasn’t like she had been throwing herself around since the situation was resolved. The worst of the corruption had been purged in the first ritual, and she’d gotten most of her body back in the second. Most of it. She hissed as she felt another contraction in her lower parts, feeling her sex clenching down on nothing. It did that, sometimes. Occasionally. When she was with Vitus and felt…that. [i]Ugh. Stupid body.[/i] She knew that there was no point in fighting it. Checking the door and making sure that it was fully locked, Hazel pulled her robe off and set it to the side. Ignoring her breasts, she spread her legs and looked down between them. Though no longer as inflamed and puffy as it had been when she was first infected, nor as stretched as it had been when she was getting…knot-fucked…on the altar, her sex was still stuck in the shape of a bitch’s sex. She saw it flex, twitching as it waited to be played with. It did not react like this to humans. Not [i]once[/i] had it reacted like this when she saw a nice-looking elf visiting, nor with some of the other humans that she had once had some attraction to. But anything…canine… It wasn’t even her sex that was demanding attention, but her womb. It felt empty, and it begged for something to satisfy it, something that would take away the empty ache that meant it was ready for…seed. [i]He gets to keep a dog penis…I get trapped with the spade of a bitch, AND a bitch’s heat.[/i] It hardly seemed fair. Vitus had been the one responsible for it all, and Orlov had gotten everything but her hooves taken when she was the one that kicked it all off. Why did [i]she[/i] have to have the most demonic effects left behind? Hazel took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts out of her mind. She knew that they were only pieces of anger, little bits of resentment that demons loved to feed on. She would feel better than this when she had relieved her situation. As she took a few deep breaths, holding her hands up and at her sides, she let herself drift in momentary meditation. The pulsing between her legs continued to demand her attention, but she was able to forget about it for a time, letting herself float among her thoughts rather than among the fumes of her lust. The time spent as a partial hellhound hadn’t been a complete waste, she reminded herself. There were few people, whether in Erastil’s priesthood or outside it, that had managed to come to such an understanding of the demon lords as she had. There were few that bothered to research the minor ones, either dismissing them as less dangerous – which they [i]weren’t[/i] – or believing that they were too weak to actually pose a threat. They were neither of those things, but there was something else, too, something else that she imagined very few had ever bothered to examine. Hazel knew that a part of her knowledge came from the demon’s temptations, but there was a logical connection between the God of the Hearth and Community and the demon lord of the pack. They both focused very intensely on their communities, their little collective, as it was. There were things there that could be studied, perhaps even brought into the church in bits and pieces. She wasn’t a fool. She knew that some of it was merely a way of getting her to accept the demon into her head, and she wasn’t going to just lift it wholesale. However, she saw no reason to completely reject it, either. And perhaps it was merely the heat in her belly at that moment, but she wasn’t sure that she would be completely against being a…breeding bitch. Hazel’s cheeks burned a bit more at the phrase, but there was no denying that there was some appeal there. She still thought of Vitus on top of her at night, remembering how that knotted cock had felt so amazing inside of her. She still recalled how it had forced her open, how her body bent to the will of the bigger male inside of her. There was something so…intense about that sort of surrender, about the ultimate giving of herself to the purpose of another. Not merely serving their needs, but taking on their line, their legacy. [i]And then doing it again…and again…and again…[/i] Hazel’s mind was awash with the mental images that the fantasy so easily provided, swimming in them for a moment or two before she finally got a hold of herself. She gasped for breath as she felt a sudden, hard clench between her legs, her juices running down her thighs. “Mmmph…damn it…” There was no more holding back. She needed to deal with this clenching, this need, [i]now.[/i] Sighing, the priestess crawled up her bed to the pillows. She squeezed one, then another, then – [i]There you are.[/i] Fondling the inside for a moment, she grasped something long and smooth before pulling it free. Not wood, but metal, and so very heavy. She ran her fingers along the cool tip, shaped roughly as she remembered the dog cocks had looked like, and she shivered as she brought her fingers down to the knot at the base. She knew that this was going to be a stretch, but she also knew that her body could take it. It had done, and it would again. Hazel leaned back on her bed, spreading her legs as wide as she could make them go, and she brought her shaking had down to her sex. The heavy metal phallus loomed over her sex, missing her spade a few times as she tried to line it up before she finally caught the pointed tip in the center. And then…she let go. Gravity did the rest, yanking the heavy toy inside of her faster than any human male would have been able to thrust, and the hard [i]punch[/i] that hit her womb was just what she was looking for. “Mmmph…fuck…” The curse word left her lips before she was aware of it, but it felt so right that she said it again. “Fuck…fuck…oh fuck…” She grabbed the base of the toy again, lifting it out of her, finally satisfying the itch she’d been denying for the last few days. She lifted the toy until the tip was the only thing left inside, then dropped it again. A hard smack, a slow grind as the knot tried to slide in but couldn’t. She grabbed it before it could fall out and lifted it again. Thrust. Smack. Grind. Thrust. Smack. Grind. The pleasure of the slow, rough sex was just what she needed, and she could feel her tension easing away. It wouldn’t be gone until she’d cum a certain number of times, but at least she would be free of these breeding cramps after that. Until she saw Vitus again, that was. Or, worse, a stray dog. She clenched around the toy more than she should have at the thought. # Katya Orlov. It had been a long time since she had dropped the ‘Professor’ from her name, and nearly as long since it had meant anything to her. To others, perhaps, but never to her. The older woman looked down at the rock in her hand, the floating chisel over her shoulder stopping so that she could look at the details that she’d been working on for the last hour and a half. [i]Almost ready. Needs a few more details in the eyes…[/i] She couldn’t believe that she was doing this, on some level. Losing her position in the Arcanamirium had been inevitable, and she knew that. Once the tunnel was discovered, anyone that let her stay would have shared the same fate that she was eventually given. Exile. They could pretty it up as a hunt as much as they wanted, but it was still exile. The chisel tapped away as she remembered the last month. Running her hooves off as she left the school, remembering the golems that they’d released to make sure that she didn’t try and come back. Not one of her books, not even a portion of her library on her back. Maybe twenty gold coins, half of which had been paid for the emergency-speed travel out of the city before someone decided to come looking for her properly. The boat had taken her many miles away. Not quite to another continent, but almost as far away from the Arcanamirium as one could get without actually going across the world. She had been… She’d been content. Katya paused in the chiseling, thinking about it for a moment before shaking her head. How odd to think that that, of all things, had been something to strive for. Her ambitions had been so high for so long that she had almost forgotten what the small things could give her. The chiseling began again, working over the eyebrows just above the eye-holes on the stone. It was rough, but the imitation of what she needed was almost done. She would be able to cast the spell soon. The hand holding the stone clenched hard, the temptation seizing her, as it had a number of times in the last week, to throw the rock away. She could abandon it, forget it, leave it behind. She had done that with everything else. Except…she couldn’t. Not this. Not anymore. Sighing, she lifted a candle with her free hand, looking down at the details once more. It was almost done. Three more chisel strikes, and it would be ready. The cave wouldn’t be dim for long. Clink. She flashed back to the Arcanamirium, remembering the first day that she had tormented Vitus. He had grown greatly through the adventure, and when she left, she almost felt proud. If she had been responsible for his growth in the slightest, perhaps she would have felt something more than that. Clink. She thought of Hazel on the altar, and remembered the blast of light that had severed Melchiresa from the altar itself, breaking apart most of the demonic power in the room and giving them the freedom to act. Clink. And she thought about how both Vitus and Hazel had been able to free themselves, while she could only replace her shackles. “Melchiresa…I summon you.” The cavern turned red, and shortly after, the presence of the great master of the pack began to fill it. The walls were crimson, the air thick with the stench of wet dog. Katya trembled as she felt the corruption of the demon lord surround her, pressing in on all sides, shackling her to the floor just above her hooves. It all came from the dog-head rock in her hand, which even now was slowly morphing into something more akin to the shape that had adorned the altar. Her crude work had been enough to summon the likeness of Melchiresa, and now the demon lord could do the rest of the work. As the corruption pressed around her, Katya wondered if she could have fought this. She had felt the urges in her, the remnants of the old demon still clinging to her. It had filled her two weeks ago, reminding her of the power she’d held, of what she could have been, of the ease of taking whatever she could hunt and hold. She’d fought it, held it at bay for a week, but the demon kept coming to her in her dreams…and there were no defenses against that. Eventually, the urges became too strong, even as her regrets became too weak. The pressure of the demon lord squeezed at her scalp, and she felt the words of her old master sliding in again. [i]Orlov…I knew you’d return to me again…[/i] The pressure came with the feeling of a clawed hand along her throat, squeezing her from behind. It was not the only sensation she felt, but the others stirred her older bones far more than she wanted to admit. “You wouldn’t leave me be.” [i]Why should I? I have few enough servants…[/i] “If you’re going to punish me, get it over with.” [i]Heh…you assume I summon my huntmaster to punish her?[/i] “I failed you…I defied you…” [i]In that scheme, perhaps. But your efforts hid the greater parts of my involvement in the Arcanamirium. Nobody knows why I did what I did. Nobody knew who else was involved, either, aside from a god that will tell no one.[/i] “You…” [i]Demon lords know more than anyone suspects, Orlov…and the master of the hunt, the mistress of the pack, sniffs out all that can be found…[/i] A shiver ran down her spine as the touch of claws was replaced by the nibble of teeth, working up and down the sides of her neck. The sensation was…not unpleasant, but not safe, either. One false move, one sudden twitch, and her throat would be lying on the floor and her head flying in the other direction. “What do you want?” [i]I want my huntmaster to return to the rest of the pack.[/i] “There is no-one else.” [i]The one called Vitus. The one called Hazel.[/i] “They’re free of you. They’re not pack.” [i]They still carry my mark, do they not? Or were you too busy trying to flee for your life that you forgot to purge them of my power?[/i] A chill ran down her spine. The last remnants of the demon lord’s power would allow him to touch them, to reach out and spread his taint if he so wished. It would be harder, yes, and it would take years for it to build up to the point where it had been at the Arcanamirium, but it could be done. “Why? What can they do for you?” [i]Hazel is lauded as the greatest new priest that the Church of Erastil has seen for generations. She will be welcomed among them, listened to in ways that no novice has ever been attended to in living memory…and she is tempted by me. There are corruptions left in her that will spread far, if encouraged correctly.[/i] [i]And Vitus, he is likewise touched. A sorcerer that has made good for himself in the Arcanamirium? There are few enough to have done that. He will attract notice from others, those of the mage-blood. They will seek him out, and if he is likewise encouraged, then the demon worship will spread through those like him.[/i] She had never considered either of those possibilities. The idea that Melchiresa could be defeated so utterly in the demon’s attempt to take the Arcanamirium, yet still have such a way to spring back… [i]I am not a mere demon. I am a demon lord. We do not dwell in defeat.[/i] The hands of Melchiresa returned, rending the clothes from her and leaving her naked. She gasped as she was pushed to the floor, her legs spread for the touch of her master once more. His infernal shaft pressed against her sex, and she could already feel the fur growing in along her legs once more. [i]And you…will remember your place, huntmaster.[/i] “Nnngh…” [i]Remember me…[/i] The first slow thrust nearly knocked her unconscious as she was spread wider than she had any right to be. Her eyes tried to bug out of their sockets, and her legs tried to collapse. Her arms did, dropping her chest against the stone floor as the tapered tip of a hellhound cock – ghostly as it was – pushed inside of her. [i]Remember me, and become my huntmaster again.[/i] The heat of Melchiresa’s corruption poured forth, and Katya Orlov let out a wheezing gasp. Her humanity fled with it, and her eyes started to glow red from the power of the demon behind her. As the fur grew in, she felt her fingers prickling, the beginning of claws at her fingertips, harder to hide, but a greater mark of her lord and master. She felt his power pouring through her, and knew that, this time, she had greater strength to bring to bear. Just as Vitus had his link with Melchiresa through his penis (even though he didn’t know it), she had her link through the entirety of her body. [i]Hunt for me again.[/i] “Yes, Master…” [b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]