08-01-2024, 02:25 PM (This post was last modified: 08-01-2024, 02:57 PM by Keileon.)
1a - The Meeting
Jude
Midday.
It had been several years since he'd taken this "anonymous" mission--in reality, it could have been one of twelve in particular that sent him all the way out here--to retrieve some unknown entity that he was barely given a name for, let alone a matching description. He'd canvassed town after town, trying to stay on the trail of this Jason, but, so far, Jude had found very little luck in his quest to track this individual down. He'd, of course, extracted some additional information on this person from locals, preferring to simply cast them aside after they'd given him what he wanted, so he had a rough idea of the man he was after, and a rough trail to follow--hard not to know the handiwork of an adolescent dragon when you see it, after all--but the trail had more or less run cold as he'd arrived at this lake.
Stepping up to its clear surface, one could get a very clear picture of our man. This was Euthora, and Jude was very much not from here; standing just over seven feet tall with a muscular build to match, Jude was, in fact, a Lycan from neighboring Ferona, of arctic wolf morph. Aside from his teal skin and inner ears, though, there was definitely something else off about him: he possessed a pair of glowing blue eyes and, more terrifyingly, a set of long-ish, protruding hooked fangs. Yes, we were dealing with a vampire, and a rather well-dressed one at that. He wore a pair of armored boots, simple white pants that were adorned by a sash trimmed in bronze with a bronze triangle in its center, held up by a fancy belt with a hexagonal, sapphire-studded metal buckle matching the bronze bracers on his arms, all topped by an ornate mantle with the same triangle motif and a smaller armband on his left bicep.
His expression, however, was one of a bored man. Unimpressed, discerning, half-lidded all rolled into one, as if he'd reached the end of some journey and found it all... wanting. Picking up a rock, he approached the shore and skipped it along the water's surface, each jump displacing far more water than one would think it should. Where is this 'Jason'? he thought to himself, looking around for any signs of movement, I was sent to this backwater rock to find someone, yet all I have found is boredom and a populace not fit to tend my paws. His expression became more bored and unimpressed as that thought crossed his mind. I have half a mind to simply conquer this rock and be done with it.
Jason
He might have approached already if it wasn't for a pervasive unease surrounding the situation.
By what seemed to be chance, Jason had caught his own name spoken in a nearby town, and cautiously investigated to find that a strange, tall wolf-man-- a creature he knew to be called a Lycan, from a neighboring planet-- was looking for him. Feeling both cautious and curious, something had driven the Shapeshifter to follow him, though the other voice in his head had warned him against it. Granted, that voice was attached to a very real entity-- his Familiar and bonded dragon, Mimring.
Jason had gone into town to restock on supplies he couldn't get out in the wild or from wayward travelers, and Mimring had of course stayed behind. The dragon wanted Jason out of the city as quickly as possible, to evade this strange Lycan, and yet here Jason was at the lakeside, crouched under some brush in wolf form, downwind from the man who was seemingly looking for him. There was something strange and bitter to the Lycan's scent that warned the back of his mind not to approach, but something drove him to step forward anyway, cautiously and quietly slinking out from under the bushes.
Jude
Rustling. Something had caught wind of him being here, and Jude turned his head to try to figure out what it was.
His eyes tracked over and locked with a pair of meek, uneasy and glowing green ones, set in the face of a rather interesting-looking wolf that had chosen to approach him. The eyes roughly matched what some locals had told him of his quarry's appearance, and he caught the faintest twinkle of something behind them, but he had to be sure before playing his hand.
Letting himself relax and his pupils open a bit more, Jude turned his full attention to this wolf, kneeling down and opening his arms invitingly. "Come closer." he offered, tone genuine and comforting, "You have nothing to fear. I will not bring any harm to you."
Jason
The wolf's head cocked slightly, and Jason slowly took another couple of steps forward. The bitter scent was getting stronger, but also changing, becoming sharper in undertone and piquing his interest, beckoning him closer. His ears twitched backward and he took another few steps, just out of the Lycan's arm-reach, sniffing the air about the man as if trying to get a better read on the scent. His tail relaxed, and he lifted a paw to close the distance--
Jason, stop, a voice interrupted him, and the Shapeshifter paused, paw held off the ground, as if he had forgotten he was taking a step.
You felt uneasy when you first saw him, Mimring continued, and Jason lifted one ear as if to listen while keeping his eyes on the Lycan. Your instincts are not prone to being wrong.
Jude Excellent. Jude thought to himself, This may be easier than I thought.
He gave the wolf a warm, but neutral expression--didn't want to scare him off with a smile, after all--and continued insisting he come closer. "Are you Jason?" he asked, reinforcing his invitation with a tilt of his head and shake of his arms, "There is nothing to fear, if so. I simply wish to get to know the man I was sent here to find. Come, come."
Internally, the vampire was ecstatic. He knew from the spike of confusion he'd felt that his essence had made an early impact. He just had to keep up the act for just long enough for it to work its magic and render his quarry content, meek and pliable. And, of course, deal with any hangers-on he might have brought with him, though that was far less of a problem for someone of Jude's incredible power.
So the Lycan bade his time, waiting to see if the wolf approached further.
Jason
The single step Jason took forward into the Lycan's reach was punctuated by the sound of something heavy landing on a nearby treetop.
Looking up would reveal a large, brass-colored dragon with faded red markings, sharp plates, and a bladed tail perched on the now-bending-and-groaning upper third of a tree, protesting under the dragon's weight. The dragon had both wings spread out, both for added balance on his precarious perch and for a more intimidating silhouette. Mimring scanned the situation briefly; Jason had entered the stranger's reach, but paused at the interruption again. The dragon whipped his head to give his permanent scowl to the Lycan.
"Who are you?" Mimring demanded. "What business do you have with us?"
Jude
His right ear swiveled to catch the sound of a rather large newcomer perched on a branch that clearly couldn't support their weight.
Letting out a dark chuckle at that fact, Jude continued trying to convince Jason to approach and explained himself at the same time. "Apologies, where are my manners?" he began, "I am Judas Numidius, 211th Ambassador to the Source. Explaining what exactly it is I do will take aeons, but the short of it is that I represent Ferona's pantheon to other worlds in times of peace, and am tasked with gathering allies to assist in the protection of Ferona and the system it is situated in."
He cast a glance to Mimring, finally directly acknowledging the dragon's presence. "Which, incidentally, is why I am here. I know not why, but one of my superiors sent me to find and retrieve Jason, giving me little explanation of who I was to find." He then fully focused on Mimring, and cocked his head. "And you are..?"
Jason
"I am Jason's Familiar and protector," the dragon stated flatly, adjusting his left hind paw as if for a better grip. That tree was holding surprisingly strong. "Memiring Atirifámi, Jason simply refers to me as Mimring." Speaking of the Shapeshifter, he'd finally closed the distance, and Mimring had to stop himself from casting his master a worried glance. Instead he kept his eyes focused on this "Judas", catching the edge of another spike of confusion from Jason, who seemed to no longer be listening to the conversation, just sniffing at the Lycan intently. "What is it you intend to do, then?"
Jude
Jude blinked. "Offer him--and you--a better life, of course." he assured. Jude actually wasn't certain if he was genuine or not, and that gave him a bit of pause. He wasn't here to be nice, he was here to take this Jason and make of him a personal slave and toy. what was he saying? Still, it served him well enough. "I can tell by his unease and your obstinance that the two of you have not exactly had the best time of it." A quick glance back at Jason, who he noted was getting more and more confused. Good. "I hold quite a lot of influence on my homeworld, Mimring Thunderscale." he added, placing particular emphasis on the name to show the dragon his understanding of their language, "Enough to give the two of you a new lease on life. A new territory, even. If you would accept."
Jason
The dragon tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at Jude in suspicion, but he couldn't ignore what was going on with Jason anymore. The Shapeshifter was now just standing in place, seemingly relaxed, still trying to take in the Lycan's odd scent. Finally Mimring dropped down from the treetop to land with a rather heavy thud on the grass and soil, the trunk springing back upright with a great rustle. He glanced at Jason, then refocused on the Lycan. "What did you do to him?" His voice was deceptively mild.
Jude
"Oh, nothing too outlandish." Jude assured, "I tend to have this... way with people. They seem to relax more the more they spend time around me." And become my slaves, never to see the light of day again. he thought to himself. "It sometimes helps with my line of work, as you can see." A gesture to Jason, knowing full well what was actually going on. "Nothing foul, that much I promise."
Looking back at Mimring, Jude cocked his head again. "Why suspect anything?"
Jason
Mimring was about to answer with something flat and unimpressed, though he wasn't sure what, when a lucid thought broke through Jason's confusion and crossed their link.
His breath smells like old blood.
The dragon closed his jaws, glancing at Jason, who had started to back away with the realization but somehow ended up sitting down instead. Mimring narrowed his eyes again and gave Jude a sidelong look.
"Because Shapeshifters have an incredible sense for potential danger," he ended up saying, "and his instincts have been warning him since you appeared."
Jude
A brow was raised.
"Well yes, of course, I know that much about Shapeshifters--we have our own population at home, as it were--but why--" He sighed, and it dawned on him. "Is it my bearing? My fangs?" he asked, shaking his head, "Yes, I am a vampire, but we are not all evil, you know. I had this curse foisted upon me as I was being created, I require the blood of sapient creatures to survive." He sighed again. "But that does not mean I would attack someone I was explicitly sent here to keep safe."
Jason
"We have learned that while they may seem sensitive, Jason's instincts are never incorrect," Mimring stated somewhat flatly, approaching the two slowly. "We have little reason to trust your word, your intentions, or your motives. Even if you are nothing but benevolent, we would be fools to trust blindly." The dragon dipped his head down towards Jason to use his snout to nudge the Shapeshifter away from the Lycan, or at least back to a standing position.
Jude
A nod.
"You have no reason to trust me, that much is true." Jude admitted, looking to Jason as an idea crossed his mind, "So, let me prove that you should." With a simple gesture, he beckoned Jason over. "Come closer, Jason. There is nothing to fear from me." he encouraged, a nearly-imperceptible note of something in his voice, "Come to me and show me who you really are."
He knew what he was doing, he just had to hope the effects from earlier hadn't worn off.
Jason
There was something to that encouraging voice that Jason just couldn't refuse. Even as Mimring herded him away from the vampire, the Shapeshifter stood and ducked around the dragon's head to walk towards Jude again. As he walked, finally, he started the process of transformation and mid-step went from wolf to human. Lanky, thin, and wiry, but at the same time athletic and decently-built, in a sort of ropey way. Here, his age was apparent as young adulthood, late teens to early twenties, by human standards.
Jason kept moving forward until he was in touching distance of Jude, then stopped. After a few seconds he looked over at his mildly-baffled dragon and shrugged.
"What exactly does that prove?" Mimring demanded.
Jude
"That he, at least, trusts me." Jude assured, "Despite his instincts." Looking back to Jason, Jude gave the Shapeshifter a nod of affirmation and proceeded to spur him on. "Go on. Come closer." he whispered loud enough for Jason to hear, "There is nothing to fear. Here--" He reached down to his belt and removed a waterskin, popped the lid and offered it to Jason. "have something to drink. I promise it is only water."
Jason
Casting a nervous glance to an equally-uneasy Mimring, Jason hesitantly stepped closer, as close as would be polite in a conversation between strangers. That scent. Something about it caught his attention, and kept it. Some intoxicating quality that drew his focus and prevented it from going anywhere else. Suddenly he was holding a waterskin, and only distantly realized that Jude had offered it, and Jason had taken it. The Shapeshifter gave Jude a confused, somewhat unfocused blink, before taking a sip.
He almost spat it out, an overpoweringly bitter taste permeating it, but... he didn't. He did grimace in mild displeasure, but swallowed anyway. It'd be rude not to.
"It's bitter," he finally said, looking inside. "Has it been stagnating?"
Jude
"No--" Jude began, letting out a muted chuckle as he proceeded to subtly guide Jason back towards the waterskin, "Well, perhaps for a while, yes. Not many sources clear enough to refill from, at least for my taste." A subtle nudge of the container. "It is still water, though, and you need some." he prodded, "Go on, drink."
Jason
"We are standing next to a lake," Mimring protested, but Jason was already following instruction and continuing to drink. The bitter flavor had that same sharp undertone as the Lycan's scent, keeping his attention and interest and almost making him want more of the unpleasantly bitter water. Distantly Jason wondered what was actually going on; this wasn't normal by any means, but his instincts were finally starting to quiet down and he was relaxing more than he had at any point in recent memory.
Before he knew it, Jason had drained the waterskin of its contents. He spent a few seconds trying to extract the last dredges of the water before he suddenly, involuntarily dropped the container, blinked at it, then bent forward to pick it up and ending up stumbling forward, tripping on his own feet. Mimring stuck his head forward to catch Jason's fall, giving him a worried look before glaring at Jude again. "What did you give him?"
Jude
Jude's demeanor changed and his face took on its usual bored, unimpressed expression.
Leaving Jason to rest, he raised his free hand without even looking at Mimring, summoning up a strange blue power recognizable as magic to anyone with a passing knowledge of it. A small ball of blue magic floated above his raised ring and index fingers, which he immediately wrenched backwards, making immediately clear what his intent was.
Immediately, Mimring's tail lit up with the same blue glow and was shoved back away from Jason. "I would thank you not to try." he chided, getting up to face the dragon, "My initial intent was pure, but you... you had to believe you were entitled to an opinion." Pulling the magic back into his palm, he clasped his hand shut, causing restraints made of pure magic to wrap themselves around the dragon's tail and legs, and something resembling a muzzle to appear on his snout. "I simply gave him a bit of help relaxing. He seemed to need it, especially with you getting in the way."
His focus remained on Mimring. "Do not bother trying. Not even dragons can break my restraints."
Jason
Jason fell to the ground as Mimring was yanked away from him. Not unconscious, but in no state to do much more than groan in some form of discomfort, probably from the movement of falling more than the actual pain of impact.
Mimring, for what it was worth, struggled and thrashed in his bindings, flapping his wings to little effect aside from kicking up dust. After a few seconds he seemed to give up, only to growl and glare daggers at Jude. There was the crackle of something static, electrical, but nothing happened. Yet.
Jude
Jude didn't even flinch. Instead, he tapped his paw in a strange form of bored amusement and glared right back. "Whatever you are trying, it will not work." he stated flatly, extending his right hand and setting up for a finger snap, "There is no escape." Those words seemed to echo in the dragon's mind as the Lycan snapped his fingers, causing the magical restraints to give the dragon a powerful, near-incapacitating shock to bring him to heel. "You are dealing with a power far out of your league."
Jason
The growl turned into a hiss as Mimring jerked back slightly, rearing his head and gaping his jaws as much as the magical muzzle would allow to show his teeth in a bit of displeased dragon body language. But upon recovering from the shock, instead of going back to glaring at Jude, the dragon shot Jason a worried look. The Shapeshifter was still on the ground. Breathing, not otherwise moving. Seemingly unwilling to move, even if he was able.
Jude
Jude couldn't help but crack a smile. This pathetic excuse for a beast thought it was threatening. Adorable. The gaping mouth, however, gave Jude a positively delightful idea.
"Oh?" he poked in tauntingly, "You demanded to know what I gave Jason, yes?" Holding his hand out for a bit, a small vial of a clear liquid formed from mist in his hand. "How about I give you a taste?" With that, he wrenched the dragon's lower jaw open with his telekinesis, making sure to let the muzzle stretch just enough, and popped the cork on the vial. "Have a nice nap, beast."
Then, he reached back into the dragon's maw, knowing full well his power was holding it open, dumped the contents out on the back of his tongue and pulled back in a flash, dark laughter welling up and echoing in Mimring's mind.
Jason
Before the liquid even touched Mimring's tongue, a plume of fire erupted from seemingly nowhere and everywhere in the dragon's mouth, evaporating it into fumes and risking a burn on Jude if the vampire wasn't quick. The fumes weren't much better, as it turned out, and the impromptu fire combined with the likely-toxic vapors made Mimring cough and gag for a few seconds. But he gave Jude a defiant glare all the same when he was done, letting a low growl rumble out from his chest.
Jude
Thankfully, Jude's sheer agility pulled him out of range of the Firedrake's flames. Amusing that this lowly animal thought it could hurt him. Amusing enough, in fact, that he decided to make some fun with it. First, however, he had to show the dragon what happened to those who willingly defied him.
"Adorable." he teased, "But I do not tolerate defiance, as gratifying as your token resistance is." With a wave of his hand, the muzzle and other restraints tightened to the point of being painful, and more importantly, completely sealing the dragon's maw shut, trapping the fumes he'd created within. "When I bid you good night, you go to sleep, beast." he chastised, leaning forward to tap Mimring on the nose, "Now breathe deep. Breathe deep and sleep."
Jason
Most of the fumes had already escaped into the air, thankfully, but what was left was enough to make Mimring's head spin. Lightheaded and dizzy, he put his head down with a soft growl, letting his eyes half-close. Some sort of potent drug, clearly, but the dragon was neither knowledgeable enough nor of clear enough mind to puzzle out what it could be. Jason was stirring slightly now, and all Mimring could do was give a soft mental prod to make sure the Shapeshifter was still okay. Sleep did seem easier, and his master was okay in any case.
Jude
Jude frowned. The dragon was falling asleep, but too slowly, and the Shapeshifter he came here for was stirring. He needed them both asleep and in the early stages of addiction to his essence for what he planned to do next. Placing his hands on his hips, he craned his neck and inspected his handiwork with Mimring, frown not leaving his face. As he finished, he summoned in another vial of the strange essence in question--this one with a spray cap--and proceeded to spritz both the dragon and the Shapeshifter a couple times to make absolutely certain he would face no resistance.
"Excellent." he stated, returning to his full height, "I have retrieved my quarry. From this day forward, both he and his pathetic dragon belong to me." He then leaned forward again. "Hear that, beast? You are mine." Raising a hand, he pulled himself upright yet again, and the familiar blue glow of Jude's magic reappeared, enveloping everything around them. "I said I would give you two a home, and I intend to keep to that." he continued, "I care not whether you like it or not. From this day forward, you will live with me, and be subject to my whims."
A glare at the dragon. "Any complaints?"
Jason
Mimring only responded with a weak, tired, yet still markedly defiant growl, but it was so soft that it was nearly drowned out by a nearby rustling disturbance. Turning around would reveal shifting leaves, a brief flare of violet and blue, and what looked to be a faint heat-shimmer of air... for only a few seconds, and then it was gone.
Jude
Jude caught the strange disturbance out of the corner of his eye, but paid it no mind, instead continuing to lord it over his catch. "Good." he added, his voice full of venom, "I may have had to punish you much more severely for such insubordination." Reaching his left hand out towards Jason and making a lifting gesture, he used his telekinesis to lift the addled Shapeshifter off the ground and bring him closer to his dragon protector. "How adorable." he taunted, "Like proverbial peas in a pod. Shame, then, that this will be your last moment of shared freedom. Savor it, because as soon as you are at your new home..."
A dark, sinister smile spread across the vampire's face.
"You are property of a god, subject to my will and mine alone."
Then, in a flash of blue, the three of them disappeared.
08-01-2024, 02:58 PM (This post was last modified: 08-01-2024, 06:03 PM by Keileon.)
1b - Awakened
Jason
He had no idea how long had passed, but his head hurt.
Jason awoke on an uncomfortable surface, which on further inspection was a rug on a cold stone floor. Sitting up slowly so as to not worsen his headache let him look around-- he was in a smallish stone room with a closed door, and the next two things to simultaneously hit his senses were the wonderful scents of cured and smoked meats, and the soft hiss of a ventilation system that didn't seem to match the antiquity of the room. It was also a little too bright, but maybe that was the headache. Same went for his slow, foggy, confused thoughts.
The smoky scent of the meat was strong enough that he almost didn't notice there was something else in the air that it was masking, but he didn't care. Struggling to his feet, then swaying on the spot, Jason was saved by spotting a chair right next to the table where the smell was coming from: loaded with food and drink, ranging from salted nuts to buttered bread to entire stacks of cured meat, pitchers of water and other drinks that had a faint sweet, fruity smell to them. Their host wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Mimring was apparently asleep, so Jason slowly eased himself into the chair and poked through the bowl of nuts... before skipping the appetizer and going straight for bread and meat.
Jude
Indeed, their ruler was nowhere to be found in the room, nor seemingly anywhere in this wing of his expansive palace-temple. This was, after all, a room dedicated to getting new slaves acclimated to and hooked on his essence, hence the hiss of its vapors being slowly released into and flooding the room. Besides, Jude didn't need to be here. As long as new toys were on the grounds, it was as if the Lycan were simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. To some extent, he was the palace and its extensive grounds. No, the first time Jason would hear his new master's voice, it wouldn't be from anywhere nearby or even a specific point in the room. It would be, via his mind and perception, from seemingly everywhere at once.
"You are awake. Good." the disembodied voice of Jude boomed, some level of excitement piercing through his usual tone, "And you have found the meal I have laid out for you. Please let me know if it is to your liking." The room then brightened a bit, showcasing the ornate structure and relief of the room's walls. "Welcome to your new home, Jason. Take some time to get situated and eat, because this place is where you will be living out the majority of your days." he continued, "Oh, and worry not. Your dragon is here as well, safe and sound."
A dark chuckle seemed to literally fill the room.
"Nothing can enter or leave the grounds without my express permission."
Jason
The Shapeshifter startled at the disembodied voice of Jude, looking around as if to find the source only to realize it was some form of... telepathy, maybe? It had a different feel to it, but the effect seemed to roughly be the same. Jason let his shoulders relax as he took a bite of the cured meat and buttered bread he'd picked up, looking around more calmly now. Something in the back of his mind was needling him, but he couldn't focus on it. "Can you hear me from where you are?" Jason asked at conversational volume, only to surprise himself with how dozy his own voice sounded.
Jude
"Oh, I can do more than hear you." Jude's voice assured, its tone sinister, "Far more than just hear you, in fact."
Not long after those words trailed off into a blur of echoes, Jason would feel an overwhelming presence well up inside his mind; Jude had been inside his mind from the moment they'd arrived, biding his time until the Shapeshifter woke up, just waiting to make himself and his power known. I am in your mind, Jason. he continued, I know everything, often before you do. Your thoughts, your feelings, even your deepest fantasies. Everything. It all belongs to me now. A dark chuckle. Not only do I know all, I also command all. But, as long as you do not entertain anything untoward, I will have no reason to use this power. Of course, that was a lie, but Jason didn't know that.
Jason
That needling feeling was becoming an antsy nervousness, but it was muted. His thoughts were getting less ad less sharp, more unfocused, and Jason slowly stood, impromptu open-faced sandwich still in hand as he took a few steps away from the table. Pacing always helped him think, but it was struggling against this brain fog. Instinct carried him towards the door as he kept talking, head tilted. "I... I don't remember how we got here," he admitted, the nervousness accompanying the surprisingly passive tenor of his voice. Jason reached for the door handle. "Mimring's asleep. Did I fall asleep too? Why--" but he interrupted himself and stopped speaking suddenly. The door was locked.
Jude
"Oh, you did." Jude's voice rang out from everywhere once again, "Measures had to be taken to get you and that dragon of yours here. But now that you are here..."
A long, eerie silence.
"... know that there is no escape." He paused, chuckling at some thought or another in the back of Jason's mind. "Oh, I will let you out of this room once I am satisfied. Just know that once I am satisfied, neither you nor your dragon will be leaving the grounds. In fact..." He picked up the edge of another thought, this one to do with the door itself, and simply erased it wholesale. "... not only will you not be leaving, you will also be mine to do with as I please." A snort. "Well, as you no doubt just felt in your mind, you are already my property."
Jason
Jason frowned, trying the door handle again as if forgetting he'd already done that, only to find it locked. This time, though, he seemed to decide to try to get out anyway, and instead of struggling with the lock he chose to slam his right shoulder into the door. To little avail, as it turned out, as the door didn't budge or so much as make a noise and the Shapeshifter's shoulder was left sore.
He backed away from the door, food forgotten, and paced a bit more. "Why?" he ended up asking, though he couldn't bring himself to put any fire into his voice. What was keeping him so calm? This was hardly the time or place for that.
Jude
"Why?" Jude asked in response, framing it as a rhetorical question, "Because I was only told to find you. I was not told what to do with you afterward. I simply assumed that meant I had ultimate discretion. Now..." His voice took on a far more commanding tone, and the hissing seemed to pick up in speed but not volume. "... finish your meal. Including the drink. I will hear no complaints."
Jason
The Shapeshifter flinched as if struck, and without really thinking about it sat back on the chair and started nervously nibbling at his food. The strange scent was stronger now, competing with and even overpowering the food, and somehow it made it hard to think. He had to put the food down for a minute so he could lower his head and massage his temples. "What's that smell?" Jason asked, distractedly, his enunciation losing clarity. A thought was trying to form, trying to tell him the word or phrase for what was happening. It had to do with the vent, but he couldn't pin it down. The smell was filling his brain. He just wanted to put his head down.
Jude
"That is precisely my secret to keep, Jason." Jude teased, "Try not to worry your feeble little mind about it. It would be unbecoming if you used the last of your energy resisting." As those words leaked out of Jude's mind and echoed throughout the room, a new series of thoughts would surface in Jason's subconscious, slowly becoming harder and harder to ignore.
Head up. Drink. the thoughts rang, their character commanding, controlling, I'm thirsty. So thirsty. I need to drink.
Jason
He was thirsty, probably dehydrated from being knocked out. The cured meat likely also wasn't helping. Jason reached for the pitcher of water and didn't even bother with looking for a cup; he was the only one drinking this, after all, and he was thirsty enough he may well finish the entire thing.
Tipping the pitcher to spill the water into his mouth, his first impression was that it was refreshingly cool, and his second impression was that it was overwhelmingly bitter. He had to put the pitcher down again and cough, not expecting the chemical taste that his body seemed to actively be trying to reject. It wasn't a taste he normally encountered, though he wasn't sure why. His tongue stuck out for a moment, face in a grimace as he processed the taste stuck on his tongue... but as the seconds went by, while the taste didn't fade, he slowly stopped caring about it. Was he being drugged?
Did it matter?
More water sounded good, paradoxically to chase away the taste. He was still thirsty, anyway.
Jude
Jude was pleased, very pleased. His new toy had taken well to his specific brand of compulsion. He hadn't bothered to question whether the thoughts working through his mind were his own or not, he simply believed them. Good, this Shapeshifter would make an excellent slave and particularly devout worshiper, with time. He was already almost completely under his god's thumb as it stood. Once he had made a thrall of him, the only one left was his pesky dragon. The vampire was content to toy with the scaled beast, though; better to break such a prideful thing slowly.
Still, if the dragon's master was this far gone already, Jude may as well finish the job.
"Yes, drink. I left you plenty." his voice echoed again, before he seemed to materialise out of the mist being vented into the room, wearing what looked to be ornate royal robes in teal, black and white, as well as a crown of thorns with a strange red and blue gem set in it. In fact, the gems on his robes were the same. "Take as much as you need, and I dare say you need all of it."
Jason
He startled again, this time as Jude just materialized nearby. For a moment Jason just stared at the Lycan, giving him a wide-eyed confused blink. His head was spinning now. Was it the smell? The water? Jude himself? All three, maybe? But that much thought was already making his head hurt, and for a moment Jason had to massage his temples again. Maybe more water would help, so he took another couple of gulps, no longer caring about the bitterness. In fact, he was starting to like the astringent flavor.
Jude
Jude smiled softly. Before long, Jason would be completely hooked, and therefore under his exclusive control. Not even Dracomancy's protections could save him at that point. As if they could anyway, the vampire's will was far too powerful for any resistance put up by a young Dracomancer.
Knowing full well he'd just applied a liberal amount of his own essence as a failsafe, Jude approached the addled Shapeshifter and offered his right arm for an embrace. "Come." he commanded, "After your ordeal, you deserve some comfort."
Jason
There was that needling again, as if warning him that he'd forgotten something. Jason took another gulp of the water before putting the pitcher down again, only for Jude to command his approach, and he stood back up. At this point the Shapeshifter wasn't entirely sure if he was acting consciously or on instinct, but regardless he walked over to Jude as instructed, tilting his head at the offered arm as if not sure how to proceed.
Jude
Jude snorted. Of course, he was dealing with a mostly unsocialised semi-feral young adult. It made sense that Jason didn't exactly know what a hug was.
He quietly and gently picked up Jason's right arm and reeled him in slowly, making sure to get him close enough to both wrap the Shapeshifter's arm around his waist, and reciprocate in kind, albeit with a tad more force. Not enough to cause panic, but enough to feel firm. Of course, his ulterior motive was to finish making Jason his thrall by exposing him to the particularly potent essence he'd picked out for this purpose, but Jason didn't and couldn't know that.
"There." he assured, "Now relax. Take it all in and let all your stress melt away."
That last part carried the same level of command that his initial beckon did, and this time, it would be even harder for Jason to even consider resisting.
Jason trapped trapped trapped trapped tr--
The panicked thought abruptly cut itself off at Jude's words, commanding him to relax, and Jason reacted near-involuntarily. His shoulders loosened and the Shapeshifter leaned into the plush fur and regalia, taking in the scent of fur and the newly-familiar, but somehow stronger, sharp scent. He was starting to not just get used to it, but like it. Maybe it was some sort of cologne, but it melded with the fur-smell and made his thoughts slow down, head spinning in confusion. With a deep breath, Jason let his eyes close as he leaned into Jude for support standing.
Jude
As Jason leaned into him, Jude smiled. If he hadn't already fully succumbed, it wouldn't be long now.
To test the waters--and push the envelope--Jude decided to show his true self once again. If Jason was indeed fully under his thumb, it shouldn't take much effort for him to want to debase himself at his master's feet, and the idea wasn't only enticing to the vampire, it excited him. It excited him in all the right ways.
Placing a hand firmly on Jason's head, he gave the Shapeshifter some envenomed encouragement. "Excellent, Jason. Now..." His voice was as flat as ever, but there was a note of both excitement and command under it. His body, however, began applying force to Jason's head, guiding him to his knees. "... kneel. Kneel and worship. Show your god your true worth."
Jason
Without resistance, Jason let Jude force him to his knees, but once there he wasn't sure what to do. Oh, he'd heard the command, he even wanted to comply, but instead the Shapeshifter looked up with puzzlement in his eyes. "I'm not sure how?" he ventured. He'd settled into an upright kneel, sitting on his knees and looking up at the suddenly-more-imposing vampire. He suddenly realized how much he wanted to obey this man's orders and please him, and it caught him off guard. When and why did that happen?
Jude
Jude's bored and unimpressed expression quickly turned to a disappointed and annoyed one. How does one of his faithful not know how to properly worship their god, their everything? It defied logic! It was an affront to his stature as the God-King! Not only did this green runt not know how to worship, but he also seemed to be questioning his place, maybe even wanting more! The nerve, the insolence!
The vampire's pupils narrowed to slits, and he glared daggers down at his new thrall. "If you are truly that worthless and incompetent," he began, voice flat but full of wrath, "then allow your god to help you, you insolent gnat."
Jude then raised his right hand, but in place of the blue glow and bindings that subdued Mimring, there was a sudden, crushing, wrenching force applied to Jason's limbs, Jude's overwhelming telekinesis morphing his body into a position of submissive worship at his feet, his body wracked by intense pain. "There, pet. Your god has trained you. Now..." With a flick of his wrist, he forced Jason to look up, where he would see a raised bare paw with a bronze ring on one of its digits, "SUBMIT" engraved into it. Or, he'd see it for just long enough to read the words before Jude drove it into his back, stomping him back into position. "... worship. Worship or die."
Jason
His first response was to give a yelp of surprise and pain that seemed unfitting for his human mouth, before he was forced by something unseen into bending forward, on knees and elbows with hands clasped. Unsure if he was immobilized or just in too much pain to move, Jason was forced to simply look on as Jude made him look back up at the Lycan. Or, rather, the Lycan's foot, which Jason barely got a glimpse of the engraved accessory before the paw was driven hard into his back, enough to make Jason gasp from the impact.
Jason cringed, shrinking back but held in position, so rather it was more like he was trying to hide his head between his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he was saying, almost without realizing. "I've just never done this before. I'm sorry." Some desperate plea to avoid pain he sensed would come anyway.
Jude
Jude's frown deepened, and yet, the grip his telekinesis had on the terrified Shapeshifter seemed to loosen. "You will learn in time, just as you will learn your place." he admonished. His voice was sharp--sharp enough to cut clean through any reluctance to learn--and it was this way on purpose. "From this day forward, you will refer to me as Master or God-King, understood? Failure to address me by my proper title, even should I choose another, will result in swift and extreme punishment. Now..." He swiftly and painfully shoved the Shapeshifter onto its back with his other paw and loomed over him, holding him still with light telekinesis in preparation to pounce. "... the need to train you has worked up my appetite. Do not resist, there is no escape."
Jason
He grunted as he was roughly shoved onto his back, and there was a somewhat instinctive motion of pulling his arms up slightly, wrists not quite reaching his collarbone, an interestingly human analogue of a wolf's submissive posture. Jason's face mostly showed fear, panic, uncertainty. He wasn't entirely sure what "appetite" meant, but Jude's fangs gave him a good idea of what it entailed. "I..." the Shapeshifter started, looking up at Jude before averting his eyes and avoiding eye contact, "... yes, Master."
Jude
Getting down onto his knees in such a way as to hold Jason's legs in place, Jude hovered over top of the Shapeshifter, his maw open and salivating. Excellent, you are learning already. he responded telepathically, wrenching Jason's arms out to his sides and completing the pin, You might just survive! It truly all depends on how hungry I am. Then, with Jason's neck exposed, Jude lunged, digging his fangs in and latching on without any care for the damage he might do, as long as he didn't kill. After all, he had plans for this Shapeshifter and his dragon, didn't want to break his new toys too early!
Jason -- trapped trapped trapped TRAPPED TRAPPED--
The panicked string of thoughts blasted back into his mind full-force as Jude pinned his wrists in place with an iron grip, one he knew he couldn't break even if he tried, and trying would be a very bad idea. Jason couldn't stop another shrink back, though, for all the good it would do against the stone floor. And so his only recourse was to close his eyes before his new master struck, and to give a sharp, nonhuman whine of pain in response to the fangs lancing into his jugular.
And then the pain faded. And then so did everything else.
Jude
And then Jude drank. He drank and he drank and he drank, getting seemingly intoxicated from a rich flavor profile he had never once tasted in his two millennia of life on this planet. He couldn't get enough!
But then, an idea crossed his mind, and he knew he had to both stop and prevent himself from turning his new toy too soon. Using his power over water in an extremely fine-grained fashion, he willed the saliva containing the active virus to stay out of the bite wounds, and quickly unlatched and withdrew as he felt Jason's consciousness slip. Pulling back and getting up, he picked the unconscious Shapeshifter up and put him on the now-clear table. "Mmmh. Delicious, but I need him alive." he mused to himself, waving a hand and making an ornate, gem-studded collar and pair of arm cuffs materialise out of the mist and disabling the essence gas in one spell, "Yes... a slave control collar should do nicely. Neither of them will be able to leave the grounds at all this way..."
He leaned down, and clipped the collar on around Jason's neck, the latch vanishing as soon as it locked shut. "Hm. Too loose. We can deal with that when it is active. Speaking of..." He then slid the cuffs on--one on each wrist--and fastened them, prompting their fastening too to disappear, and the collar and cuffs to activate. "Excellent, now..." With a flick of his wrist and a mental command, the gems set into the collar and cuffs switched from glowing teal to glowing red. "... how tight..." He closed his hand, and the collar tightened perfectly around Jason's neck, having keyed itself to the Shapeshifter's soul. It was just tight enough to be constricting, but not tight enough to be painful. "Excellent."
He paused to ponder something as he scanned the unconscious Shapeshifter he now owned. "That may take some time, but it is a worthy experiment." he mumbled, waving his hand and resetting the collar back to its default teal state, "Let us test it, then." Lifting Jason from the table with a simple gesture, he used his other hand to summon both a needle syringe and a vial of his own blood, and carried all three items out the door with him. "Yes, a worthy experiment indeed..."
08-01-2024, 06:03 PM (This post was last modified: 08-01-2024, 06:26 PM by Keileon.)
1c - Establishing Dominance
Jason
For the second time, Jason awoke in a strange place with his head pounding.
This time, though, he immediately felt a few things. One, he wasn't just sore, he was lightheaded and tired, unwilling to move, even somewhat hot. Two, he was on a softer and more comfortable surface, which felt like it might be a bed or cushion. Three, his arms were behind and above his head, bound to something and locked in place.
This last part piqued Jason's curiosity enough for him to open his eyes, intending to look at the situation with his arms, but the first thing he saw instead was Jude. The Shapeshifter startled badly enough he may have jumped about a foot if he wasn't bound to the bed, and his shoulders reminded him of that fact by nearly dislocating themselves from the movement. With a groan, Jason closed his eyes and sunk back down, waiting for whatever Jude had in store for him.
Jude
Jude wasn't just standing over Jason, he was positively looming over him, wearing his usual condescending, unimpressed expression, arms lightly folded in a display of utter boredom--or, at least, that's how it seemed. A bit of a closer inspection would reveal that while he didn't seem to be using his hands to cast it, the more intense blue glow radiating from his eyes meant that the strands of blue magic--the bindings, if you will--chaining Jason's arms to the bedposts and his legs to the bed itself were his doing. Hidden underneath his robes, attached to his belt, was the syringe from earlier, now empty.
"You have awoken. Excellent." the vampire intoned, barely sparing his toy a glance, "Take a look at your neck and shoulders. That is an order. What do you see, pet?"
Jason
Jason frowned at Jude, opening his eyes. "I can't see my neck," he pointed out, but he did strain to look. Immediately he felt what Jude was probably trying to get him to see. "There's something on it, and it's sore, but I can't see it." So instead he looked at his shoulders. "You've tied my arms up, apparently." His eyes trailed up his right arm to his hands, and he saw both the cuffs and the magical binds lashing them to the bedposts. "Yeah, with those. You put one on my neck, I take it?"
Jude
"Astute, if incompetent, observation." Jude conceded, not even looking at the Shapeshifter, "You, like your dragon, are now under my complete and total control, thanks to that collar." His gaze slowly traced over to Jason, and became a deep, stabbing glare. There was still a detail he had to deal with. "And, given that you are property of a god..."
His eyes flashed brighter, and the collar's gems turned white, completely sapping Jason's physical strength from him, leaving him weak and unable to move. Or resist.
"... that means your insubordination now carries much harsher consequences."
The vampire god turned his full body and full attention on his new toy, and set his arms apart at his sides. "Which would be the first of the many rules of life here that I need to teach you." With a snap of his fingers, a lash of that same blue magic snapped outwards right at Jason's chest, and Jude leaned in. "You. Do not. Talk back to your god." Another whipping. "On these grounds, and in this castle, I am all-powerful. I control all, including you, whether you like it or not." A third whipping, this time across the legs. "Understood?"
Jason
He had maybe a second to realize the mistake he'd made before something sapped his energy away, and Jason was left prone and too exhausted to move.
Not too exhausted to yelp, though, as there was a crack noise and a sharp pain on his chest, thankfully dulled slightly by his shirt but not much else. The Shapeshifter closed his eyes again as the second strike came, and just endured with clenched teeth as Jude berated him until it seemed to be over with one last whip at his legs. "Yes, Master," was Jason's response, tone flat in an effort to control it.
Jude
Raising his fingers, the ethereal blue whip retreated, but remained visible as a warning. "Good." Jude replied, tone mostly flat but with a rumble of pleasure audible under it, "You are learning. Something I thought impossible."
The gems slowly faded back to teal, and Jude drip-fed the Shapeshifter's strength back to him as he laid the law down for him in words even he could understand.
"Second rule." he continued, voice cutting through the air with as much ease as his fangs cut through Jason's flesh, "If you see a red-furred female Lycan with fangs more terrifying than even mine around the castle, that is my wife. Her name is Mirah." The piercing glare returned to can cut right through Jason's eyes. "You will obey her as you would obey me. No exceptions. I will know of any insubordination." Wrapping his hands behind his back, he began to slowly pace around the perimeter of the bed, not taking his eyes off of Jason. "You will do whatever she demands of you, without question, as she is authorised to act as your master in my stead. Understood?"
Jason
The Shapeshifter relaxed slightly, though not completely, as the punishment was apparently over. Jason tracked Jude's path with only his eyes, partly because turning his head was a little painful in this position. Don't talk back, listen to Mirah, he thought to himself just to internalize the rules. "Yes, Master," Jason repeated, voice a little stronger and more confident, but still neutral.
Jude
Jude raised a brow and Jason's sudden and renewed vigor, especially given the context. He had just punished the Shapeshifter for insubordination and backtalk, yet here he was showing confidence, strength even.
"Third." he continued, eyes flashing once again as the binds pulled backwards just enough to cause Jason intense pain, "I, as your god and Master, reserve the right to punish you at any time for any reason I see fit, as harshly as I wish. Disobedience, no matter how trivial, will not go unnoticed."
He turned away from the Shapeshifter.
"Fourth." Though he was talking away from Jason, it was like he had never moved--his voice was filling the room in an almost unnatural fashion. "While you will be clothed, fed and given a place to sleep, you must accept what you are given." A glance backwards, as if dismissing the Shapeshifter. "You will not aspire to better. I will know, and you will be punished for even thinking about it."
Jason
He wasn't in a state to fully respond now, because his binds were pulling at him and making his arms feel like they were being pulled from their sockets. He must've said or done something to make Jude angry, given the context, and was being punished for it, but Jason wasn't sure exactly what it was. He almost missed the fourth rule in his pain, in fact, but managed to catch the important part-- don't try to improve the situation he found himself in. A shitty position to find himself in, but nothing he could do about it right now. Might as well go along with it for the time being. "Yes, Master," Jason reaffirmed once he'd regained his bearings.
Jude
The brighter glow from Jude's eyes faded slightly, and the binds loosened, but did not release, Jason.
"Fifth." he continued, the rules seeming as if they went on forever, "Do not entertain escape. Do not even think about it. I have full control of your thoughts and memories, and any such thoughts, even subconscious ones, will be met with swift and excruciating punishment." He turned around again, and resumed looming over his new toy. "And as I have full control..." Another flash, another thought erased before it could even form. "... I may, at any time, modify your thoughts in any way I see fit, or even render you unable to think for yourself wholesale."
He then approached the bed, and slammed his hands onto the footboard, cracking it. "Sixth..." He gave Jason a very sharp glare. "Should you cross paths with a strange, diminutive creature possessed of black and white feathers during your stay here," His pupils couldn't constrict any further, but that didn't stop the vampire from trying, deepening the furrow on his brow in the process. "you are to limit your interactions to conversation, regular activities and assistance only?." These words, and this entire rule, were coated in more venom than the previous four. "That is Kaia, she is an Avali. She is also my personal consort. I will know of any untoward actions taken in her presence, and they will be punished in the darkest, most harsh manner possible. Do you understand?"
Jason
He'd blinked in confusion at rule five, vaguely wondering if his thoughts had already been modified in that way, but jumped as Jude outright cracked the footboard through sheer force. Something about a creature called an "Avali" that he wasn't to... do anything inappropriate with, he guessed? Hell, he didn't even know what an Avali was, so he couldn't have one as a form, and so it was unlikely he'd even want to engage with her in that way. Jason turned his head slightly to give Jude a wary, sidelong look before replying. "Understood, Master." His tone wasn't as confident, but it wasn't fear that replaced it, just a guarded caution.
Jude
"Excellent." Jude affirmed, retreating from the footboard and waving a hand, after which Jason would notice it seeming to repair itself, "Those are the main rules. There are, however, two more."
"Seven," he began again, "in keeping with your inability to even entertain escape, you will make zero effort or attempt to contact the outside world for help. You are bound to my will now, and therefore, nobody can help you." He chuckled. "Not that I would let any communication leave unvetted."
He turned around again, and started towards the door.
"And finally," he said, stopping just short of Jason's door to look back, "Do remember that I may change or add rules as I see fit, without warning or explanation, nor do I owe you either." The bored expression returned to his face as the anger seemed to suddenly leave him. "Demanding any will be met with swift punishment. Understood?"
Jason
He couldn't help it.
"Am I allowed to politely request an explanation?" Jason asked, tone meek, though he wasn't sure the act would fool Jude. "At your discretion, of course."
Jude
A low rumble was all Jason would initially get in response. Well, that and a powerful, extended zap from what he would immediately realise was his collar.
"If I should feel like it..." he growled, glaring back at the Shapeshifter, "... then I shall explain things to you. You do not and will never have the authority to question me or my choices in any way." At this point, the shock from his collar ceased. "And you should not count on me ever being in the mood to entertain insolence. Do you understand?"
Jason
Jason immediately cringed and writhed from the pain, to no avail, and was forced to endure it until it stopped and Jude scolded him. "Sorry, sorry," he hastily corrected himself. "Sometimes I just say things. I don't know why." He relaxed against the bed again, spent, still tied up. "Yes, I understand," Jason confirmed tiredly.
Jude
"Good." Jude stated flatly before turning towards the door again, "Now..." His voice took on that commanding, dominant tone again. "... rest. There will be time enough to get you fully oriented later." Turning the handle, he opened the door and began to step out, waving his free hand to release the binds as he did so. "There is plenty of food in your quarters, should you find yourself hungry when you awaken." With that, he crossed the threshold and closed Jason's door behind him, making sure to lock it.
After he left, however, he took on a sinister smile and waved his hand again, thinking to himself as he walked away. Not that you will have much choice but to rest and stay out of the way...
Not only did the familiar hissing of the ventilation system return, but the gems on Jason's collar and cuffs would glow a brilliant shade of yellow and stay that way, forcing the Shapeshifter into a state of dissociation where Jude's ideals would slowly supplant all other thought.
I will be back to continue our little experiment later. For now...
*****
Jude
After having left Jason to stew in his own blood essence-addled dream world for a while, Jude decided it was time to head out to the larger castle grounds and pay his other, spicier toy a nice visit. Of course, this also meant he'd have the privilege of once again being able to take in the sheer scale of his palace, his center of power.
Seemingly nestled in the mountains of Ferona, Jude, the self-styled God-King and master of countless cultist thralls, lived in a massive, opulent temple-palace built in a similar art deco futurist style to the prevailing architecture of the wider world, but also distinctly different. His was a five-plus storey macabre-looking castle with sharp styling and a massive central tower that seemed to poke a hole in the clouds themselves, its expansive grounds surrounded by walls and mountains with a lake set in the center. In reality, however, the view of the mountains outside the walls was fake; a facsimile erected by the walls of the pocket realm this place truly was with one intent: instilling punishable false hope.
There was, however, a specific building Jude was planning to visit, and that was the beast of burden stable. He'd not had a single large beast stabled there for quite a long time, so when he captured and bound Mimring as he was retrieving the dragon's master, naturally he had to take advantage and collar the drake as well.
As the vampire approached, he called out to Mimring in a teasing way befitting of a man easily able to bind and humiliate such a proud beast. "Mimring, was it? Hello!" he beckoned, waving at the dragon weakened by the white gems on its collar and further bound and muzzled by his magic, "How are you finding the accommodations? I hope there are no complaints."
Jason
The first response the dragon gave to Jude was a low, but halfhearted, growl. Mimring was laying in as comfortable a position as he could with his wings, tail, and jaws restricted, half-curled onto his left side with head on his forepaws. A better deal than Jason was getting, which was both a blessing and a curse. He'd already taken note of the collar around his neck with matching cuffs on his forelegs, with glowing white gems on them, and he had already surmised that something about them was sapping his energy.
He would have done more, but couldn't find it in him to, and besides, his main weapons were currently restricted. Instead he adjusted his curled position, turning his head away from Jude in favor of his shoulders.
Jude
Jude frowned.
"Pay attention, beast. " he demanded, closing his left hand, now cloaked in blue magic, "Your master is addressing you." As his hand fully closed, Mimring would find himself cloaked in the same blue glow, his head and neck forced to move into position to look at the vampire, who was glaring at him.
"I was coming to explain to you the laws you must follow, but..." he continued, leaning in tantalisingly close on that last word, "... it would seem you first need some reinforcement on your place in my world."
The binds around his tail and wings tightened almost to the limbs' breaking points and held impossibly firm. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the same bindings pulled outward very gradually, and the collar constricted further.
Jason
Still he growled, keeping eyes locked on Jude's in defiance as long as he was forced to look at the vampire anyway. Jude wouldn't have gone to all that trouble to capture the pair if he would just turn around and kill them early on, so Mimring endured the pain. He could get past it. Even as the collar tightened and made it difficult to breathe, Mimring's claws drew out involuntarily to grip the ground, and he maintained that defiant glare.
Jude
Growling right back, Jude decided it was time to demonstrate just how much power he had over this disobedient scaled beast.
"Very well, then. I will demonstrate what can happen to those who try to resist."
Gesturing upwards with his fingers, he caused large spikes of blue magic to erupt from the ground underneath each of the dragon's paws, and new binds to wrap around his ankle to pull them further down on top of the spikes. Then, he fully invaded Mimring's mind and took over his thoughts, erasing all thoughts of defiance and replacing them with powerful compulsions to meek subservience. One particular thought prevailed;
If I obey, the pain might stop. I must obey. I must!
Jason That is not my voice.
This was the thought Mimring countered with, growling still but clenching his teeth against the pain, resulting in a raspier sound instead of the deep chest-rumble that he'd been giving before. Of course, knowing that the compulsions were implanted rather than real didn't make them any weaker, and so he pulled a trick that Jude may not have expected: drawing on his link with Jason for a little extra mental resistance. The Shapeshifter wasn't in a state to actively help, sure, but the link simply being there meant that Mimring could partially retreat into it for added defense.
The claws stayed out, and his head reared slightly, but he knew better than to gape this time. The pain was temporary, and wouldn't kill him. He'd been through worse.
Jude
Jude felt a sudden uptick in the ornery dragon's already marked resistance.
"Oh? It has been quite some time since I have felt much resistance from a slave." he teased, "Unfortunately, it is still far too weak to matter."
With a flash of his eyes and downwards wave of his hand, he brought the dragon's entire body in on itself using his telekinesis, and pulled it over a lightly spiked elongated cylinder of magic stomach-first, gradually stretching Mimring's entire body out. "Obey." he commanded, ramping up the compulsion, "Obey, or perish."
Jason
Scrabbling his hind claws to instinctively search for purchase on the magical torture device, Mimring kept his head reared for a moment, having stopped growling to conserve breath with the collar still restricting his breathing. Jude wouldn't kill him; surely he knew that would kill Jason as well, and he didn't seem like the sort of person to be so wasteful of his own effort. But it was getting hard to think past the lack of air, the pain, and the compulsion.
Whether impulse or instinct, Mimring's head suddenly lashed forward, trying to catch Jude with his spiked crown in a dangerous headbutt, a discharge of electricity suddenly exploding out from his scales as he did so.
Jude
A smirk would be all the dragon got before Jude seemed to blur backwards and fan both hands outwards, conjuring great streams of water suspended in midair to carry the discharge around him and to ground.
"Adorable." he taunted, "It knows how to play with electricity. However..." He then turned away from the dragon and gave it a dismissive wave. "... perhaps it might be easier if I employ different tactics, as you are clearly incapable of grasping just how far out of your league I am." That hand wave wasn't for show, it was a portent of things to come. In an instant, Mimring was released from his torture, still bound, and further bound to the ground at each leg to keep him still. Then, the collar faded from white to yellow, and he found himself subject to the same dissociative state as his master, only with a distinct rules-and-order theme, and continuous reinforcement of Jude as both his and Jason's one true infallible master.
With that, Jude began to walk away. "Enjoy your sleep, beast."
08-02-2024, 05:10 AM (This post was last modified: 08-04-2024, 07:34 AM by Keileon.)
2a - The God's Consort[Adult]
CONTAINS: BDSM, petplay, humiliation, sexual torture (orgasm denial, forced chastity, forced orgasm), cross-species sex, vore / mawplay, brainwashing and bodily fluids.
Jude
Making his way back to his private quarters, Jude found himself in a right stressed state. Not only had he needed to beat his primary catch into submission, rather than it willingly worshiping at his feet, he'd also had to teach its beast a lesson he knew it'd quickly--and intentionally--forget. The dragon had seemed to be some hybrid, speciated or not, of two Euthoran dragon species known for their patience and defiance, and he could have only one of those. He couldn't have defiant slaves, and he would make it his mission to toy with and push this dragon until it finally broke and submitted to his will.
In the mean time, he needed some relief. The stress was getting to him, making him act more rashly than even he expected, and he needed to unload it. Of course, that was why he was about to turn the handle to his private throne room--a separate, more intimate one to the one he held audiences with guests and new arrivals in--and quarters; to meet with his personal consort and favored thrall and relieve himself of his burdens.
Entering through the door to the quarters section, he set to work preparing himself for an evening--nay, an entire night--of his own personal brand of stress relief by first dispensing of his heavy robes and mantle--stripping himself down to his undergarments--and hanging them on a stand to air out. They had, after all, been carrying his rather potent essence all day. He the started on the rest of his clothing, taking a glance down at his rather prodigious-looking nethers and smiling. "Look at me, already starting to become excited." he mused to himself as he removed his underwear, revealing the sheath and orbs in all their glory, "I am glad she is so... accommodating."
A remotely cursory look at the man now would reveal a rather well-built, muscular and imposing Lycan figure. Viewed in silhouette, he would appear thick, but tastefully so, with visible, strong musculature on his arms and chest, and legs like young tree trunks. He had chosen to keep his bracers and armband on, and now that the rest of his clothing was gone, it was revealed he had a second ring on his other foot, though what it had engraved into it wasn't known. To top it all of, he retained his crown of thorns and added a plate necklace with a similar gem set at the plate's widest point, draping over his pecs.
As he threw the garments aside and into the to-be-washed-later pile, a devious thought crossed his mind, unbidden, and he felt his teal member begin to poke out. This will be an excellent night. he thought to himself, giving it a short glance before making his way to the door to the private throne room and opening it. It took him very little time to round the back and edge of the ornate throne and sit himself down, leaning into his left arm as that elbow came to rest against the left armrest. With that, the bored expression returned, and he called out to the guest of honor.
"Kaia!" he projected, making sure his voice reached every part of whatever room she was in, "Come. Your god desires relief."
Jason
It didn't take long for the Avali in question to enter the room as bidden. Diminutive compared to most of the Feronite races, let alone Jude, Kaia stood at maybe three feet tall, give or take a couple of inches, she had a striking contrast to her color scheme, with only a few medium desaturated blues acting as a bridge between her stark black-and-white feathers, tipped with red accents that looked dyed rather than natural. She wore little to cope with Ferona's much warmer climate than the Avali home world, a simple dark, silken shawl draped over her shoulders and held in place by clips attaching it to her ornate, almost delicate-looking collar.
This collar looked markedly different than the ones on Jason and Mimring. For one, it wasn't a closed loop, but rather a strap of leather with a metal ring at each end, held together by a lock which held a singular teal gemstone instead of a keyhole. The gems on the collar proper still lined the length of the strap, though were smaller and more decoratively-faceted. Her cuffs were more bracelet-like, with metal loops on the top edges, overlapping the back of her three-fingered hands, and there was one more cuff-like strap at the base of her tail, though this one seemed more ornamental than the others.
"Hi, Master," she greeted softly, though distinctly more cheerily than one would expect from someone in her position. She approached and, as if practiced, kneeled in front of Jude, looking up at him with her strange two-toned eyes and awaiting orders.
Jude
The Avali's vision would, of course, be completely dominated by her master's physique. Even seated in his personal throne, Jude was big and imposing, capped off by large hands and broad, powerful paws. He knew this, and rumbled in delight as he slowly looked down at his favorite toy.
"Wonderful. Prompt, as always." he praised, a smile working its way across his face, "Good girl." Shifting in his seat, he contorted his huge frame to face more directly at her, crossing one leg over the other to expose a paw. If the Avali could see over the mountain of leg, she would notice that he already seemed to be a bit aroused. But she wouldn't have much time to, as he wiggled each digit invitingly. "My paws have seen much action today." he began, clearly aiming to make his first demand, "Do what you do best and tend to them, will you? A nice massage will do."
Jason
"Yes, Master," she complied, reaching for the paw gently and using the three fingers on her right hand to spread the toes of the offered paw in preparation. Her movements were deft and practiced; she'd done this before. What passed for a thumb on the hand of an Avali pressed into the main pad firmly, and she appeared satisfied with whatever that told her and brought her other hand into play. "Permission to converse?" Kaia asked casually, not looking up from her task as she adjusted the toe ring slightly to align the engraved side more directly downward.
Jude
A rumble of pleasure, followed by a huff to more obviously signify his feelings. It had truly been too long since he'd felt the sensation of a servant thrall working his paws, and his personal consort had always been wonderfully good at it.
Blinking slowly, he answered her request. "Permission granted, of course." His voice had lost some of its usual character, instead taking on one decidedly more relaxed and sultry, as he raised his right hand and twirled a small key ring around its index finger. The ring only had one object on it: a strange, small square tablet with an indentation matching the profile of the locking gem on her collar. One could only assume it was the matching key. "What do you wish to discuss with your god?"
Jason
"Casual chatter, not much in specific," Kaia answered calmly, really getting to work now as she pressed both thumbs into the edges of her master's paw pads. "I did notice you were gone for a while today, though." The Avali briefly paused to inspect one of Jude's nails, as if she'd seen a crack or splinter, but seemed to decide that it wasn't anything to be worried over and continued the massage. "Of course, Master doesn't have to inform me of every little thing. But I do get curious, forgive me." She smiled softly, as if she knew the reaction that would have. "Did you pick up a new slave today, Master?"
Jude
A growl. Not at her, but at the mention of the other possible slaves. Still, he had let his power slip just enough that she would feel this growl in every facet of her being.
"Yes..." Jude replied, giving her a small pat on the head to tell her that she was not the thing he was cross with, "Though not just one, but two." With a nod, he pulled his right paw back and changed position to show her his left, repeating the inviting toe wiggles. "One is a Euthoran Shapeshifter, but he seems to be quite malleable. With enough time and work, making him kneel will be trivial. No, the problem is the second one--the Shapeshifter's hanger-on." He narrowed his eyes. "A dragon. Not just any dragon, but what appears to be an especially defiant hybrid."
Jason
She paused, uncertain, ears back slightly, wondering if she'd maybe overstepped... but relaxed when her master patted her in reassurance, and went to work on the other paw as if nothing had happened. "I don't think I've ever seen you take a dragon, though," Kaia stated conversationally. "Defiant or not, don't you think that's quite an impressive-sounding accolade?" The Avali smiled up at him briefly. "A conqueror of dragons. You'll get it to listen to you." Back to her task, using her claw to scrape something from the edge of a pad callous. "If it's so stubborn, why is it with the Shapeshifter? He doesn't sound like he'd be able to control it either."
Jude
Jude sighed. "You have not seen the outside much." he half-stated, half-admitted. Everyone below him had to acquire their god's permission to leave the grounds, and that was an honor rarely given, even to his favorite. He simply enjoyed the dominance and control too much. "There are some that, through what seems to be luck of genetics, are able to bind and control dragons. At least, to an extent."
Another pleasured rumble as she worked his left paw. The engraving on its toe ring read "WORSHIP", something he clearly craved as much as blood itself. "The Shapeshifter happens to be possessed of this ability, from what I can tell. The dragon even calls itself his protector. Though..." He stopped to ponder. "... their link has more to it than a simple Tamer link would. As if they are two halves of a whole, acting independently."
Jason
She shrugged. "Why would I want to see the outside? I like it here." But she let him continue, shining the ring to get rid of a small scratch, then inspecting her handiwork as Jude explained. The Avali's top right ear flicked up once her master stopped speaking. "I'm sure there's something in your archives about it," she finally replied, going back to the massage proper. "You even might have written it. Isn't Euthora full of dragons or something?" Another small smile, but she didn't look up, too focused on her work. "I'm sure there are quirks and traits to dragons you could take advantage of more than easily."
Jude
He rumbled again, but there was something more to the length and character of this one. As if something this diminutive Avali just said didn't just stroke his ego, but arouse him. One quick look down would confirm it: he hadn't noticed, but his prodigious teal shaft had slowly worked its way out of the sheath that contained it and was almost completely free and standing at attention. One would get the impression that it would be several orders of magnitude too much for Kaia to take if it were at full mast, and they would be correct.
He looked back down at her, and gave the Avali his notice of approval. "The archives... yes, yes, good girl." he purred, "There would, in fact, be just what I require in there to claim my newest title." A knowing smile. "Conqueror of dragons, was it? You have a way with words. It really does suit me."
Jason
The Avali quietly put her hands back in her lap so that she was back in that ready-for-orders kneeling position, except this time she leaned forward slightly and rested her chin on the Lycan's ankle. Folding her ears down and doing her best to look teasingly cute, Kaia smiled up at him, making eye contact past the rather distracting appendage that emerged from between Jude's legs. "Your massage is complete, Master."
Jude
"Mmmh. And a wonderful job you have graced me with once again, sweet Kaia." Jude almost sang in approval, "Please, if you are yet awake once we are finished, do remind me to visit my archives. For now..." He took a look down at the petite Avali once more. Something about the way she sat with her chin on his ankle... it was simply divine. It tickled him just enough to get his shaft the rest of the way out and up, and now that it was at full attention, one could tell just how big this Lycan truly was.
Giving her a gentle nudge with his paw, he made a move to get up. "... I believe it is time for the..." A glance down at the Avali had Jude licking his lips in anticipation. "... main event."
Jason
Kaia stood, both to give her master room and to get ready herself. "Unless you wish to destroy my shawl again, I will need help unclipping it from the collar," she stated, humor in her tone. She slipped one finger lightly under the strap in question, not an effort to remove it but rather an odd sort of inviting gesture that directed attention to her throat. "Do we want the harness today, Master?"
Jude
"Of course." Jude assured. With a wave of his hand, the shawl was removed and hung on an easily-accessible stand. "And as for the harnesses, you know me too well. Good girl." He gave her a wistful, wanting look, and proceeded to his private chambers, stopping only to offer a suggestion of his own. "Fetch your nicest harness, and meet me in my quarters. I want to see you lashed to that bed myself."
With that, he opened the door and entered his private quarters, making sure to leave it open for her.
Jason
The smile changed character slightly, from sweet and cute and meek to something more coy, more inviting and knowing. Kaia turned away, waggling her bottlebrush tail, rustling the feathers as she did so. No affirmation as Jude left; there'd be time enough for that later, and they both knew it. Besides, a little fake resistance and insolence now would make it more fun for both of them in the long run. Walking over to an ornate chest behind the throne that was set aside for this exact purpose, she poked through the contents and pulled out an ornate, but sturdy, leather harness, fitted with clips and buckles and another gem as a centerpiece over the chest. The leather matched her collar, clearly meant to be part of a set.
Taking it in hand, she strode over to the door to her master's quarters, gathering herself to put up a light brat act to give Jude an excuse to punish her for it.
Jude
Of course, being omniscient as far as the grounds were concerned, Jude knew his consort's plans already, and he less-than-secretly loved them. It stroked him in just the right way to have to teach his favored thrall a lesson; it was premeditated, but the rush was like no other.
His right ear swiveled as the Avali approached and entered the room, and without even looking away from the bed, he made his first demand. "Bed. Now." he barked, "Your god demands it." A sharp glance cast over to her, at which point she could obviously tell he'd been panting and riling himself up. "Do not disappoint me."
Jason
The first thing Jude would see as he glanced at Kaia was not the Avali, but the harness rapidly approaching his face from where she'd tossed it at him.
Giving him her best stuck-out-tongue and a cheeky grin, she practically skipped over to the bed, hands behind her back. She stopped near the Lycan, back conspicuously turned towards him, and bent slightly to inspect the bed. "Yup, that is indeed a bed," she decided.
Jude
Jude's response was not to frown, but to acknowledge her methods and give her exactly what she wanted.
"Are you back talking your master? Your god?" he barked back, slowly turning around to approach and bind her with the harness, "You of all of my slaves should know the rules. Now..." With a long, exhale, he positioned himself behind her in such a way as to really display his physical power compared to her, then brought out the harness and wrenched her arms into it. "... squirm." That word gave him a rush of warped gratification that he hadn't experienced in quite some time as he forced his catch toward the bed. "Show me your spirit, your will to live." As he got her on to the bed and harnessed up, he leaned in close and whispered into her ears. "... And feel it turn to dust under your master's heel."
Jason
There was a short shriek as she was tossed to the bed, but it clearly wasn't real fear. Instead, as she roughly hit the head and even bounced a little, landing on her stomach, the Avali stuck her tongue out again and rolled onto her back, thumping her tail against the mattress impotently. There was something cheeky she could respond with, but it wasn't as fun, and she could save it for later. Jude knew Kaia's problems anyway, and was always good at using them to both of their benefits.
Instead she made a motion as if trying to sit up, only to headbutt Jude's arm. Oh, it didn't do anything, he was over twice her size, but it was the effort that counted for their play.
Jude
Jude let out a dark chuckle as she flipped on to her back and offered only token resistance. Of course, he knew exactly what she wanted to say, and those were thoughts he let her have as it suited both of them. Still, her defiance could not go unanswered.
"Very well, then." he pronounced, glaring down at her, "You will face the full might of your god." He then raised a hand, and blue bindings appeared from under the bed, wrapping themselves around her arms and legs and pinning her to the mattress. In addition, with a small flick of his wrist, what seemed to be a belt styled after her collar appeared out of mist and worked its way around her nethers, locking itself shut. On the inside of this belt was a plug that fit perfectly inside her, that, as with the collar, Jude could manipulate to really drive his point home.
"Now..." he rumbled as he crawled up the bed to meet her face with the entire front of his body, shaft at roughly head level for her, "... serve. Serve, and I may let you experience true bliss."
Jason
An impulsive thought flicked through Kaia's mind, but she knew even that wouldn't fly and so she ignored it. Instead she gave the shaft above her a quick lick along its length, just enough to tease when she didn't follow it up. Kaia strained against her bindings, not to break free, but to test the give, and it was enough for her to nuzzle her master's chin with the end of her snout. "And what if I don't?" she teased him sweetly.
Jude
Jude rumbled in pleasure as the small, forked tongue made its way up from the base of his shaft, past the knot and to its tip, then sat there expectantly for a few seconds before glaring down at his captive and growling in disappointment. "Then you will be made to face the consequences." he teased, voice flat enough that she may not be able to tell what his true intentions were, and he would be able to savor the terror.
Then, he caught the edge of a particularly dirty thought from her, and decided to use that to his advantage. She would easily fit, after all.
"Bite? You were thinking about biting your god? What sort of insolence is this?" he demanded, feeling his flat expression warp into a smile, "Let your master show you the terror of a vampire's bite..." He trailed off, and, panting in pleasure, raised his finger once again, causing her binds to rearrange and make her sit on the bed rather than lay on it.
"Stay still, else I may reflexively swallow you whole..." he taunted. He then looked down at her, a predatory glint visible in his slitted eyes, and descended, gradually opening his maw and encompassing the Avali's entire head with it. When he stopped, he lightly clamped his jaws shut, making sure not to actually sink fangs in. This, my dear Kaia, is what a true apex predator is like.
Jason
She was immediately uncertain at the tone Jude had taken, and was even about to apologize and ask for forgiveness, but his continued panting was enough to clue her in that this was probably still part of play. Regardless, she was about to pay for that stray thought, and she didn't know what that would entail as Kaia's master forced her to sit upright. As Jude approached with a steadily gaping maw, a primal instinct bubbled up, and all four of her ears pinned flat in instinctive terror as the jaws lightly locked around her head.
And, though neither of them could see it, as Kaia sat stock still and stared at the back of her master's tongue and throat, a deep taupe-mauve color flushed the areas of thin feather covering high on her cheeks.
Jude
Laughter echoed in her mind for a moment.
Oh? Does the power of a predator like your master arouse you? he teased telepathically, contorting his tongue to barely miss her with a lick, Good girl. I really do enjoy flustered prey. Managing his breathing, Jude amped up the terror factor by rhythmically breathing in and out with a growly character, filling his consort's ears with the sounds of being prey. Now that he knew of a nascent fantasy of hers, though, he had to take advantage. But you are a dirty girl, deriving sexual gratification from my instincts. His mental voice was teasing, yet hiding some plan. And you know what I like to do with you...
His eyes flashed, and the plug activated, giving the Avali an intense shot of pleasure, easily enough for her to climax. But the climax never came, and the pleasure didn't seem to fade.
Jason
Kaia whimpered, and even she wasn't sure if it was fear, desire, or pleasure. All three tended to twine together when her master was involved, anyway, and this was no different. Panting even still with her head in Jude's mouth, she had the sudden unbidden desire to just crawl into that cage of teeth and down the dark tunnel at its end, but was prevented from doing more than jerking her shoulders forward by the binds still lashing her to the bed. Couldn't think past the intense pleasure her master was torturing her with and the hot steam of his breath in her face.
A constant string of please, please, please ran through her brain, and she had no idea what part she was begging for.
Jude Tell your god how much you wish to be his evening snack. Tell him how much you crave the warmth and intimacy of his maw and gut. Tell him...
Jude felt himself beginning to leak. Oh, he was pent up. He hadn't had a good release in... fuck, he'd forgotten how long it'd been. He didn't want to climax right now, though. He wanted to savor this. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to limit himself to one if he did. Vampires didn't tire, and he was a particularly prodigious and productive specimen.
He couldn't afford to think about himself. He had to devote his hazy mind to making his toy feel it. He wasn't going to eat her, but she had to be made to feel like he was.
Jude shakily raised his fingers again, adding more slack to the binds and ramping up the pleasure Kaia was feeling. Good girl. he affirmed, subtly guiding her towards what he wanted with an inviting wag of his tongue, If you want it this much, then have it.
Jason
Her thoughts were too confused and formless to tell him much of anything, at least verbally. The ramped-up pleasure and the way he was describing the fantasies flying through her head were making sure of that. She did want to be his evening snack. She did want to feel the warm and wet confinement of his throat, to be bound by him in a way that his magic hadn't done for her. Kaia felt the binds loosen, saw the inviting tongue, and had her head sent spinning by the simple trigger. So hazed and driven mad by the culmination of it all that she wasn't even sure if she fully registered his words before bolting forward into his throat--
-- only to be foiled by the magical restraints once more, preventing her from going any further than she just had, but she had gotten far. Her muzzle was now pointing down into his esophagus, the sharp smell of stomach acid and old blood meeting her nostrils, her own head blocking the light so that even an Avali's impressive lowlight vision couldn't discern anything in the darkness below. The fumes were making her eyes sting and water, but she didn't close them. Instead she whimpered again, squirming, scrabbling her legs to either push from the bed and into the throat, or to coax her cloaca into climax. Whichever came first, honestly.
Jude
He felt her not crawl, but literally launch herself into his waiting maw, getting as far as the precipice of his throat before the restraints stopped her, and he knew his plan had worked. He also knew, to some extent, that his saliva had to be getting into places like her eyes and throat, and this brought Jude even more pleasure. To have perhaps turned someone without even biting, a feat previously reserved for the old rituals he'd learned. Yet here he was, having all but done it.
It wasn't quite a trick he'd had up his sleeve, but with her so far into his maw now, he knew doing so would drive her mad with pleasure, and frankly, it was pleasurable for him too.
The Lycan rumbled in delight, letting his Avali toy hear every last detail of that low, quaking sound while she was in his maw. Good, good. You deserve a reward...
Then, he snapped his fingers, and finally let her climax.
Jason
Her only response to the rumbling was another whine and more struggling, squirming, writhing to try to delve deeper into the cavern ahead. No coherent thought running through the normally-quick mind, in a way exactly what she had come to Jude for in the first place, but there was a snap, and she gasped, her lower regions suddenly contracting with such force that she jerked uncontrollably for a few seconds, barely registering the sharp pains scoring her shoulders as she did so. This lasted for longer than her addled brain could track, panting like she'd just run a marathon down in her master's throat, tail lashing as if it didn't know where to go. Then, all at once, she melted, relaxed into a cradle of teeth, her throat pressing against the Lycan's tongue as all her energy left her in the climax. She laid there, unable and unwilling to move, breathing heavily, occasionally quivering in the aftershocks of orgasm.
Jude
Jude felt it. He felt her climax inside his maw, and fall against his fangs, and he knew his job was done. He had given this diminutive Avali an experience she wouldn't forget for a lifetime, and, if the feeling of her shoulders against his uppers was real, blessed her with what he liked to call a fraction of her god's power.
Expertly cradling her on his tongue, he opened his maw once again and set the mess that was his consort down on the bed, then retreated, leaving her to stew in his saliva while he tried to rouse her. He hadn't had his go yet, and her master wasn't about to simply forgo that pleasure. Noting the gashes on her shoulders, and the taste of Avali blood on his tongue, Jude cast a healing spell on her to close the wounds and make sure she didn't bleed out, then, he started prodding her awake.
Kaia. his voice commanded, Get up. Serve your master. Now.
Jason
"Mmm." was her response at first, but it wasn't of resistance, just processing. Slowly Kaia sat up, blinking stinging eyes at the long teal rod that was her task. Thoughts were still foggy and slow, but habit and compulsion helped her know what she was to do, and so she leaned forward-- just enough to find that her hands were still restricted so that she couldn't use them for her master. Suited her just fine.
She started by continuing where her tease had left off-- a long, slow lick with her delicate forked tongue up the length of the shaft, from base to head, tracing the veins and swirling up and around the knot. Like a practiced expert, the lick led into her mouth pressing against Jude, right above the knot, almost kissing, almost suckling. Kaia pressed against it with her teeth and slowly moved upward, not biting but providing a texture for the owner of the shaft to savor the sensory experience before she got to the head.
Jude
"Mmmh. Wonderful." Jude drawled, caught up in the pleasure of this small mouth fitting itself around his large member and deftly using the teeth within to enhance the experience, "Good girl. Keep going, sweet Kaia."
Then he noticed something, and chuckled. "Oh, you are still bound by the arms. That simply will not do." he teased, waving one of his hands to cut the arm binds, "There..." He panted as she reached the tip of his member. Fuck, this felt heavenly. "... now, give it your all."
Jason
With her arms in play, Kaia switched tracks slightly. Her mouth was still in play, but focused at the tip, licking softly under the head while her hands worked the shaft and knot. The red-tipped claws lightly dragged across the sensitive skin as she prodded at the head with her tongue, never digging in and never truly painful, but applying their sharp points just gently enough to hopefully draw a gasp of pleasure from her master. Continuing to lightly scratch with her claws, she went back to the kissing-suckling, starting at the knot once more and dragging upward with her teeth, reaching the head, and doing the same in reverse, quickly licking the knot in partial teasing.
Jude
A whine of approval. Jude was more than leaking now, and Kaia would be the first to feel it. But he still felt he needed more.
Huffing, he managed to spur the two of them onward. "Hffffff. This is divine, little one." he praised, struggling to contain his own tongue, "But let your master take the reins now." The Avali would then feel both her master lurch forward so that his member lodged itself further into her mouth, and his hand roughly grasp her by the head feathers and begin working her up and down the shaft in question with no regard for how much force it was applying.
Jason
A startled yelp responded to Jude, but Kaia took it in stride and began moving along with her master's pulling and pushing, both to cooperate and to avoid the pain of her crest feathers being pulled and tugged. She had to be careful with her teeth, now, but more than made up for it with her tongue, which was now flicking across the shaft, knot, and head as she moved, light tickles and darting licks to enhance the effect her lips were having.
Jude
Jude smiled and rumbled once again with delight. He'd helped her experience bliss, and the way she was doing the same for him was nothing short of incredible. He didn't have his reputation as a rough, destructive partner for nothing, however.
"Yes, keep going." he goaded, "But let me make this truly a night to remember for the both of us..." With a familiar flash of his eyes, he weaved a spell. Kaia would find both her binds completely removed, and a cloak of blue magic surrounding her, making her feel as if she was wearing strong armor without the weight of all of the metal. It would become clear why her master gave her this protection quite quickly, though, as he belted out a howl and dragged her across the bed to his headboard while she was still on his shaft. Jude's back was arched, he was close. But close was not there, and he still had a bit of fight left in him.
So, without even so much as a moment's rest, he speared her against the headboard. Over and over. The magic would prevent her from taking any injury by absorbing the kinetic impact force, but she would still feel the pain of being slammed full-force into a thick wooden headboard over and over by a horny vampire with no regard for the opinions or safety of his thralls. Well, those that weren't her, anyway. There was no safe word, no escape, from his lust, and this proved it far better than a story ever could.
Jason
She would have yelped again if her mouth wasn't full of wolf. Instead she gave a muffled shriek that turned into a whimper as Jude thrust her against the headboard, and again, and again, and again. Instinct overrode thrall compulsion in rare self-preservation, and while she was forced to keep her mouth in place and give her master the deepest of deepthroats, her hands flung themselves to the first and closest thing she saw to grip-- Jude's thigh.
Kaia's claws dug into the fur and flesh on the back of her master's leg, only a panicked attempt at stabilizing herself by holding onto something, but Jude's own strength and Kaia's momentum caused the claws to drag, forcing shallow furrows to split his skin and coppery splatters of blood to splash on the bed, the fur, her arms.
Jude
He felt it. Somehow, through his lust- and pleasure-addled sensory overload, he felt Kaia flail out in self-preservation and dig furrows into his thigh that actually spilled blood.
It would not get the reaction the poor toy expected.
Instead, Jude's addled mind interpreted it as resistance, and that only drove him further up the wall. "Yes, yes, yes!" he shouted, grinding her against the headboard now, cracks snaking their way up from where he'd been pummeling her before, "Show your master some fight! Prove your worth to your god! Give him... give him..."
With the last bit of his focus, he positioned himself for the final act.
"UUUUURAAAAARGH!!!"
The half-howl, half-roar of pleasure signaled he'd been pushed over the edge, and to poor Kaia, it was a long way down from here. He'd told her he was productive, but nothing could have prepared either of them for the sheer volume that a Lycan like him could release after being pent up for so long.
Jude's orgasm seemed to last forever, even though that was physically not possible. Minute after minute, he shot into her, keeping her pinned to the headboard while his shaft throbbed violently in her mouth, and his seed threatened to drown her more and more with each passing shot. Yet even he was forced to pull out when there was simply no more room, and let his toy drop to the bed as the last few small ropes escaped his slit.
Panting--more from lust than fatigue--he pulled himself back up for long enough to check on his handiwork.
Jason
Part of her wanted to just lay there and recover, the rest of her was coughing and sputtering out the sheer volume of liquid that she simply could not try to swallow. Kaia was partly on her side, tail limp, her upper body propped up by bloody hands as her stomach expelled the intruding fluid. She wasn't sure if her master would be pleased, cross, or neutral, but she also couldn't help it. Too small compared to her god, too frail for a vampire to go all-out without some consequence or another.
When her stomach seemed done purging Jude's seed, the exhausted Avali simply collapsed on the bed, panting in pain and fatigue.
Jude
With a smile, and a chuckle as Kaia's stomach rejected his contribution, Jude slowly sidled up to the exhausted Avali. "Rest easy, sweet Kaia." he began, giving her form a few strokes as if he was petting a well, pet, "Your master is more than pleased. You were incredible." Taking note of the copper blood on her hands, he let out a soft approving exhale, making a note that this would only serve to further addict her to him--a facet of his being that he truly did love--and looked at her as a loving pet parent would their bird or cat. He was satisfied, and she was going to know it.
Jason If you wanted... she began thinking, too tired to speak, as she rolled onto her back away from the various liquids, ... me to fight back, her breathing was slowly becoming more regular, and she rolled her head to look up at his massive form, "next time, just ask." A sleepy smile.
Then she blinked, refocusing. "Oh, Master. Archives. You wanted me to remind you."
Jude
Jude had to stop himself from laughing at her request. She was his favored thrall, after all; she had much more of a right to make a simple request like that than the new ones he'd brought in. He had to admit to himself that the chances of him actually abiding by her request were slim, though. He was her god, he could do what he liked.
"Alas, no guarantees." he admitted, offering her a devious, full-fanged smile, "Your god does love to show those beneath him his terrible power, after all."
Then the reminder came, and he bolted to attention. "Oh, yes, the archives!" he exclaimed, getting up to get dressed again, "I had become so enthralled by my own lust that I truly almost forgot!" As he wrapped his royal robes around himself and retrieved his rose sceptre, he turned back to look at the Avali. "As my research assistant, it would be remiss of me to not ask you to come along." he continued, "But I understand I just gave you the experience of a lifetime, so you may simply wish to rest here." A smile. "In that case, you need only tell me which color it is your heart desires."
Jason
"Yellow, for an hour or two," was her reply, as she closed her eyes and settled into a more comfortable position. The request would come as a surprise to nobody; she almost never asked for green. "If you're still in the archives after that I'll come see what I can do to help." She'd probably still be sore, but given the context, she enjoyed the pain. Even now it was fading to a dull and yet satisfying burn, and she was getting sleepy. She knew it was more the blood she'd gotten on her than the sex, but still. Her last few words were dozy and half-mumbled. "Love you, Master."
Jude
A dark, yet simultaneously warm chuckle. "I love you too, my pet."
With that, Jude waved his hand above his head and left for the archives, the gems on her largely decorative control collar and accessories fading from teal to yellow, offering her the greatest pleasure she had experienced--other than what had just happened--with no real danger of harm. Except for the brainwashing, of course.
08-05-2024, 11:07 AM (This post was last modified: 08-05-2024, 12:25 PM by Keileon.)
2b - Research and Development
Jude
Jude had found himself holed up in the Archives for the past couple hours, perusing both the records of his long line of ancestors that had maybe visited Euthora and perhaps documented its dragons for any hint of what he could use to debase and humiliate the stubborn one he'd found himself in possession of, as well as a few of the more personally-satisfying, depraved topics in its deepest reaches, primarily concerning topics he had a keen interest in for his own purposes. Torture methods of all kinds, the dark arcana, kink and fetish gear, and, perhaps new even for him, detailed biology textbooks revolving around cloacal species such as the very woman he'd left to enjoy herself back at his private quarters. Of course, being the man he was, the vampire couldn't help but string thoughts and ideas together in his head and get relentlessly turned on by the prospects of some of them; leave it to an individual as twisted as God-King Jude to find himself stifling a stiff one over the prospect of a cloacal forced pleasure chastity device and be rushing to make notes. He was just that kind of sick, twisted, megalomaniacal man.
However, he was at least doing all of this in the relative privacy of the expansive dimensional room that was the Archives. A seemingly infinite expanse of ornate stone bookshelves stretching up well past where many could see, broken up by the occasional reading space and the grand entrance plaza at its center, the Archives were a place furnished to Jude at his request by the Twelve containing copies of all the knowledge collected by himself and his ancestors, in effect permanently preserving the past mission of his office, even if he had little time for that himself at present. While Jude happened to be way off in its deepest reaches, finding him would be no trouble for those authorised, as the entrance plaza keeps a real-time record of where visitors and caretakers alike are within the expanse of knowledge.
But how to break past that barrier... he thought to himself about the less obviously depraved topic of breaking dragons, fully expecting a guest at some point, ... if draconic culture revolves around name, and names are etched into the power source's memory once given, then forcibly erasing one might be... He raised an eyebrow. Memory. But how?
Jason
His guest wasn't far behind. Kaia walked into the Archives casually, like she owned the place, shawl loosely draped over her shoulders and waiting to be re-clipped to her collar. She was still wearing the harness and belt from their little session, seeming not to care about the blatant fetish gear on display. Her feathers were somewhat damp, fluffed where fully dry, and carried a wonderful scent of rosemary and peppermint.
She walked up to Jude but, seemingly out of respect or deference, did not come to level with him, instead stopping at his right flank and clasping hands behind her back. "Find anything useful yet, Master?"
Jude
Of course, Jude knew she was coming. Not from his usual nigh-omniscience--this was not technically part of the castle grounds, so while he retained much of his overwhelming power, knowing all was not one such aspect. No, he sussed her out by feeling both her Prana and mental signatures from a distance, one after the other, in reverse order. Reaching back, he tussled his thrall's head feathers and addressed her question.
"Well," he began, chuckling at his own dirty thoughts, "aside from a potential upgrade to that belt of yours that I know you will like--and that we will discuss later--Master has been hard at work chasing leads through what are effectively dusty tomes of the past." He smiled, telekinetically pulling a chair over and inviting her to sit. "And He may have stumbled upon something valuable."
Jason
Sitting patiently as directed, Kaia fiddled with the dangling lock on her collar with one finger. Oh, not to escape of course, nothing like that-- just a fidget, a need to occupy idle hands. "And what have you come across, Master?" She asked, taking the "discuss later" comment to heart and skating by the topic that interested her more for the sake of staying on-task.
Jude
Jude took note of her messing with her collar's lock, but chose to ignore it. Kaia was so thoroughly broken and wrapped around his finger that there wasn't any remote possibility of her wanting escape. Besides, there was a soft spot in that cruel, cold heart of his for the adorable Avali he so thoroughly enjoyed having his way with, and he wanted to keep her.
Instead, he addressed her question. "Ah, yes!" he exclaimed in response, licking his thumb and turning a page of the book he'd found the information in, "You see, dragons and Tamers in this system, by and large, are all connected, as it were, to a divine structure only named as the Ancestral Power Source. This allows them to share all sorts of things, including power." With a claw, he pointed out one specific passage. "But importantly, it grants both some degree of access to something called the Ancestral Memory. With a name like that, it must be important, yes?"
A chuckle. "Well, it is, but more to the point is the fact that draconic culture places a specific emphasis on names, and these names are related to--perhaps part of--this Memory." He looked at the Avali with the look of a man about to experiment. "That, and a dragon that has had its name stripped is outcast. It has no identity. It is nothing. If I could find a way to breach this Memory, I could shatter our new dragon slave's entire life and identity in one crushing blow!"
Jason
"So if you can get into this system somehow, you could erase this dragon's name, and break it that way?" Kaia summarized to make sure she understood properly. "Maybe you don't need that first step, though. You're already a master at controlling thoughts, you might just be able to brute force it and erase the name any time it's thought."
Jude
Striking up a familiar thought pose, Jude gave his thrall a nod of approval. "Yes..." he acknowledged, "... yes, that would make sense. Good girl, Kaia. Astute, as always." He then stopped for a moment. That was one half of the equation, for sure. But what about the Memory itself? "But, hm." he continued, "I can surely erase thoughts of his name, that much is true. I could even erase its immediate memory from everyone except myself. But the Ancestral Memory..." A shake of the head. "If names are etched upon it, I would have to block them from returning somehow. The collar, perhaps..?"
Jason
"Is there a way to cut him off from it?" She asked, not sure it even worked that way but spitballing her thoughts regardless. Then Kaia tilted her head, one ear cocked up as she thought. "Did you figure out what's going on between the pair, actually? Could be relevant."
Jude
"I have a good working theory, but I would need to ask the Shapeshifter some things to confirm." the vampire god responded, turning the page again and placing a needle-point claw on one specific passage, "There is a specific type of link a Tamer can form--one that allows the sharing of power I mentioned earlier--that would explain why this dragon acts in his defense without prompting." Jude then gave his assistant a friendly tussle of the head feathers. "A Familiar link." he stated, raking said claw down the page, "In truth, these links are not unlike the potent combination I use to take full control of my slaves, but, well..." An evil smile. "... control is not complete. They are inferior. The dragon will, however, always act in its master's defense and what it assumes are their best interests."
Jason
"So if you can find a way to destroy that link, if that's what it is," Kaia began, leaning into the feather-ruffle with a smile, "maybe it'll stop being so stubborn about defending him?" She sat back to adjust her shawl, which was slipping down her right shoulder slightly. "If push comes to shove, you could always let it bite you."
Jude
"Yes." Jude agreed, "Though, the simplest way to break the link would be to first break the master, then command him to break the link himself."
He stopped to think again.
"Which, if I wished to play the long, torturous path--for him, mind--I could absolutely do. It may even be more exciting!" he exclaimed, suddenly a bit more upbeat, "Yes, keep the master and dragon separated for as long as I can, slowly break the master and get him irreversibly enthralled. Perhaps even warp him into liking the pain." The evil smile returned. "Yes, in that way as well." He looked down at Kaia again. "Of course, with baiting the dragon into swallowing my blood and enthralling himself as a back-up plan."
Jason
"Your new slaves always get all the fun, Master," Kaia fake-whined playfully, bumping her head against Jude's arm. Angling for a specific response, of course; maybe it was too soon for more real playtime, but the occasional teasing to get him to react? Worth it.
Jude
"Oh?" Jude teased in response, giving her a lustful, almost predatory look, "If you desire more play, your god can provide as much as your little heart desires. In fact..."
He brought the other book over and reorganised his notes. "We could talk about the things I have in store for you now," A wink. "if you wish to spoil yourself that much."
Jason
Perfect. Kaia couldn't help a blush at that predatory look, something catching in her throat that told her to stay very still, and something lower down that spoke a completely different language. But the Avali composed herself and nodded meekly. "I would like that, Master."
Jude
"Well, my dear pet..." Jude began, not so much directing the Avali to his notes, but compelling her to read them, "... take a look at this."
The compulsion would not only be persistent, but powerful, and the notes themselves... well, Jude had been hard at work. Detailed in one corner was a picture of the nethers of a generic cloacal species, and below that was a bottom view with a sketch of a subtly different-looking chastity belt over top in red ink. On the other side was a procedure detailing command and control of this new belt, and how it latches on and stays more or less permanent. It's what was in the center that was the most relevant--and the most depraved..
A drawing of Kaia, from memory, with the new belt on, blushing. Not just that, but the drawing also had an internal view, showing what Jude knew the layout of the Avali cloaca to be, with its inside covered not by a more mammalian plug, but a fine, seemingly magically-conductive mesh. Each part of the belt was labeled, as was each part of the cloaca. Below all of it was a paragraph detailing the workings of the new belt, and how much of the old belt's functionality would be carried over--nearly all of it.
He gave the Avali a few moments to take his notes in.
Jason
She'd never been able to resist her master's compulsions, nor had she ever wanted to, save for maybe in the beginning when she was less confident in her place and more nervous of change. Still, she offered a token resistance for both of their enjoyment, a few seconds worth of pushback as if to test give. Of course, it wasn't real fight, and didn't last long at all before she gave in and leaned forward to look.
Her blush deepened to that taupe-mauve color. The new belt looked permanent, given... "So this part," Kaia started, pointing at the internal mesh, "that looks like it goes in and expands, locking it in place?" If so, it didn't look like it would be easy to collapse again without an invasive procedure. Oh, it suited her just fine, but still, the idea of something permanently lodged within her at the whim of her master...
Jude
It was becoming harder and harder to hide his warped excitement at this torture device he'd just drafted plans for.
"Correct. Good girl." Jude affirmed, pointing then to the mesh mechanism itself, "Obviously, while the plug works, it is not exactly designed for your people's maximum pleasure." Or pain...""So, I pored over the texts, and gave it a rethink." Waving a hand over his notes, the while belt mechanism suddenly sprang to life, animating every step in excruciating detail. "See here," he continued, pointing now at the blue color running through the mesh, "this mesh is, of course, designed to expand and fill the cloaca. What it can also do is offer asymmetrical stimulation."
A smile. "Put simply, it can be set to do its work in any number of motions, rather than being a simple make-break switch. You would feel the pleasure revolve tantalisingly around, or randomly change position, or any number of things you god's heart desires."
Jason
If it was possible for her blush to deepen, the mental image of her being telekinetically held in place on her back and slashing futilely at the air with her claws while the new belt teased her to the brink of orgasm, but never over, would have done it. Alas, the heat in her face did not increase, but did maintain, and Kaia was already finding it hard to concentrate past the renewed arousal at the very idea of the belt. It took her a few tries to speak in a remotely level tone. "When do you suppose it'll be ready, Master?" She couldn't quite hide the eagerness.
Jude
Shuffling his notes and letting out a dark chuckle at the particularly vivid image he gave her as a taste, Jude decided to share the good news--for her belt, at least.
"Your belt could feasibly be upgraded in time for our next, mmmh, play session." he responded, rumbling in delight at the thought of it, "I would simply need it from you to perform the upgrades, as I have as many proverbial hands as I need. But..." He looked back at the books on dragons. "... I may be tempted to create male versions, and size them up for larger species. Those will take some time, but will not impact yours." A second wink. "If you are willing to let me borrow it, of course!"
Jason
"Take what you need," was Kaia's response, with a teasing note to it that made it clear she didn't just mean the belt. Then she actually thought about what her master had said and raised a brow, though not in any negative reaction. "Are you... putting one on the dragon?"
Jude
"It was a thought that crossed my mind, as a potential method." Jude readily and happily admitted, "But no. At least, not that one if it can be helped." He looked back towards the entrance plaza, then refocused on Kaia. "And not immediately even still. No, I just may need to make multiple sizes in case the Shapeshifter, who I plan to break utterly, has any sort of dragon form."
Jason
The Avali nodded, starting to... feel a little tired, it seemed? Uncommon for her; she tended to rest well, especially after her master was done with her. "Hopefully he has forms you can work with, then," Kaia stated, adjusting the shawl again. Then she grinned a little. "Maybe he'll even end up like me by the end. Always wanting more." Her tone was definitely teasing now.
Jude
Jude smiled, both at her teasing and her strange fatigue. Perhaps he had truly done it. He may have a sturdier toy yet, even if the sheer size difference meant he'd still likely injure her without some form of protection. "That is my long-term plan, as it happens." he agreed, snorting, "But his desire for pain will be much more, mmmm, focused than yours."
Then, he noticed he'd forgotten something. "Oh, before we finish up here, let me fix that for you, sweet Kaia!" he exclaimed. With a familiar, but small flash of blue light from his eyes, the shawl seemed to clip itself back on under the collar. "And please, next time we play together, do wear whatever exquisite shampoo you chose to use before meeting me here. It may even help the realism." he finished, resisting licking his lips, "I do believe that is all, though. Go rest, my pet. I have a new slave to attend to."
08-08-2024, 08:35 PM (This post was last modified: 08-09-2024, 04:33 PM by Keileon.)
3a - The Interrogation
Jude
He had taken special care to not wake the Shapeshifter up. Of course, that would be relatively easy when the collar was set to dissociative brainwashing, as he'd done so after leaving... must have been several hours ago now. Still, Jude had gone to great lengths to leave things completely undisturbed during and after the second injection, even going as far as cleaning up and healing the wound from the needle and carefully rearranging the bedclothes. He wanted Jason to truly have no idea how long he'd been there, to question whether he'd actually seen his master leave at all. To that end, he stowed the second syringe under his robes as he'd done the first, and went to sit on the closest chair to his slave's bed.
But... he still had to wake Jason up regardless. Which would, admittedly, be a bit difficult while he was still fast asleep in that mindspace of his, being brainwashed. As always, though, Jude had his ways.
The gems on Jason's accessories slowly faded from yellow to teal, and Jude projected himself into Jason's dreamspace, appearing to him as a looming silhouette of himself cloaked in light, blue eyes glowing vibrantly. "Jason." he stated, voice filling the Shapeshifter's mind, "It is far past time for you to wake up."
Then, the silhouette raised its left paw, WORSHIP ring clearly visible, and completely shattered what was left of the dreamspace in one stomp, forcing the Shapeshifter awake.
"Awaken, or die."
Jason
A gasp and instinctive flinch marked Jason's awakening, carrying him an inch or two more towards the wall, away from Jude and the door. The Shapeshifter blinked wide eyes at the Lycan, trying to get his heart rate down so he wouldn't feel his pulse in his throat. And speaking of his throat, the thought reminded him of the incident... he didn't know how long ago, and Jason raised a hand to feel for the remnants of the bite wound.
Jason sensed Mimring asleep but alive, gave a cursory mental prod to see if it would rouse the dragon, and otherwise just watched Jude.
Jude
"Good." came the vampire's knowing voice from across the room as those slitted eyes glared at Jason, tone as cold and callous as ever, "Now, give me your undivided attention." Jude, of course, knew that the essence had also been doing its work, so his voice also took on a commanding quality here. "I have questions, and you will answer them. Honestly. You will not take advice from that dragon of yours, or there will be punishment."
Jason
Said dragon wasn't even conscious, but whatever. Don't argue with the angry vampire wolf that caught you. Hesitantly, Jason nodded, giving a simple answer. "Okay."
Jude
"That had better not have been snark." Jude replied, pupils thinning further as a familiar ethereal blue whip formed in front of him and waved aimlessly in the air, "You do know what happens when you talk back to your master, yes?" His eyes started glowing a bit brighter, as if he were preparing to bind Jason over the bed again, but no such bindings seemed to come for the time being. "Now, first question." he continued, tapping his supporting lower paw--he had his legs crossed, as usual--on the floor, "What is the relationship between you and that dragon of yours?"
Jason
He hadn't even said anything. Jason shrank back a little from the whip, eyeing it, but was still paying attention and heard the first question. "Uh." Unfortunately it was a rather complicated one. "Best friend, brother, Familiar," he started, not sure how much Jude wanted to know. "I think I've attached to him but I'm not sure. He practically raised me."
Jude
"Good, good. Not the most useful information, but that just means I must probe deeper." replied Jude, "On that note, I believe I have heard of the third point before." The whip edges closer. "What exactly does it mean for him to be your... Familiar. Is this some sort of term coined by Tamers, of which you would then be one?"
He knew Jason didn't know Feronite terminology, and he didn't care. His mind was made up about punishing stupidity.
Jason
"I don't know what a Tamer is," Jason said, edging away from the whip, though there wasn't anywhere for him to go and he ended up just shouldering the wall. "It's a, uh, Dracomancy thing. It's a stronger connection. Power sharing, Mana pooling, open communication line, that kind of thing."
Jude
"A stronger connection, you say? Hm." Jude said in response, voice back to being cold and emotionless, "Interesting..." With a wave of his hand, the whip lashed out. It didn't strike Jason, however. Instead, it wrapped itself around his right ankle and lifted him into the air, dangling him a few feet in front of Jude's chair. "Tell me more, slave. What sort of control does it give you? How does it work?" In addition to the dizziness from blood rushing to his head, Jason would pick up a familiar potent and sharp scent--the essence. Jude had applied his usual extremely powerful variety; he wanted this Shapeshifter hooked as quickly as possible.
Jason
A startled yelp was Jason's first response, though after that he seemed more confused and disoriented than scared, with face slightly flushed even without the upside-down hanging. The Shapeshifter blinked a few times to process. "Um, no control, not really," he said. That scent hit his nose and the confusion intensified. "I don't know the-- the mechanism, or anything. It's just always there."
Jude
Jude's eyes narrowed in disappointment. "You do not know?" he barked, "So you are either incompetent or lying. It matters not which; you will face the consequences either way." His eyes finally flashed, momentarily blinding Jason, and, more importantly, morphing the whip into four binds. One on each arm and leg; legs attached to the ceiling and arms to the floor. "Now," Jude continued, leaning in closer, "can this link be broken? Who can break it?" He gave a dismissive wave, more intended to waft more of the essence towards Jason than anything. "I hope you understand what happens if you are not honest with me."
Jason
A sharp inhale that might have been a gasp, and Jason blinked the sparks from his eyes to see the world upside-down, bound into a spread-eagle position. He was being asked more questions, but the smell was overpowering and he took a moment to respond. "Um. I think only one of us can." Jason sounded uncertain, confused. "But it isn't a good idea to. It does damage. I think it can be deadly."
Jude
Jude raised a brow. Deadly, hm? That wouldn't do if true. He needed this beast alive. "Is this possibility documented anywhere?" he demanded, glaring. With a wave of his hand, a real whip appeared and he grabbed hold of it, lightly tapping its end against his free palm. "Surely it must be if it is known to be deadly. And surely there must be exceptions." He kept the whip suspended above his free hand long enough to gesture with it, magic forcing Jason's shirt to fall down over his head. Then, he cracked the whip, making contact with the Shapeshifter's chest and stomach with the express intent of drawing blood. "Tell me."
Jason
It was more a wordless yell than a yelp this time as the whip cracked at him and bit flesh. Jason felt a trickle on his chest and instinctively tried to curl up to protect himself, but the Shapeshifter was bound and immobilized. "I don't know, I don't know," he repeated. "I just have the power, I don't research it." He shut his eyes, as if that would make it all stop. "I don't know anything besides what I experienced. I don't know."
Jude
As the whip returned, Jude licked its tip, and frowned. "Mmm. Pathetic." he derided, "Tasteless. Not even worthy of my fangs." Inspecting the whip for a moment, his frown deepened, and he suspended it in the air telekinetically before getting up, putting his hands behind his back and pacing in front of the bound Shapeshifter. "I suppose it was wrong of me to expect an uncouth barbarian such as yourself to know anything about things like this." he continued, before suddenly spinning on the spot and raking across Jason's chest with his claws out, grabbing the Shapeshifter's shirt on the way down and tearing it straight off, "But worthless insects like you do not deserve the education, so!" As fast as the claws came out, they retreated behind his back again, and the vampire leaned in so his fanged visage was at eye level with Jason. "Rule nine. If you see an ornate door while exploring the castle, that is the entrance to the Archives." he barked, "You are not allowed in without my express--and rarely given--consent. Failure to heed this rule will be met with swift, debilitating punishment."
His nose twitched, and he slowly rose to the wound he'd just made with his claws, padded it with his hand, and licked more of the supposedly tasteless blood before glaring back down again. "Understood?"
Jason
This time it was a sharp whine that responded to the pain, a noise that had no business coming from a human throat. Jason almost didn't hear the new rule, but responded to the last word with a near-automatic "yes, Master" a few seconds before registering what had been said. Jason was starting to develop a throbbing headache, probably from hanging upside-down, or dehydration, or something. It was too much effort to puzzle out.
Jude
Jude paused for a moment after tasting the Shapeshifter's blood again. He thought it was tasteless. No, it tasted different, and it just took a while for the new flavor to register. Perhaps his experiment was bearing fruit.
"Good." he rumbled, "Now, you have told me what I needed to know. I simply had to work it out of you." His eyes didn't leave Jason. "I expect more active cooperation next time, or the consequences may be far worse than the paltry beating I gave you." Jude finally got back up to his full height and went to sit back down on the chair again. "And show me more gusto with you deference next time as well. I am your god and master, not some ornery boss at a workplace." He brandished the whip again. "Now, is there anything else you should be telling me? Do not attempt to lie..." A full-fanged smile. ... because I am always in your mind.
Jason
"I was cooperating," Jason complained without thinking, then cringed as much as he could in his current position. "I mean." Think fast. "I don't know how I could have been more active. I, uh." He couldn't think of anything stronger than that. He was starting to feel unwell, anyway.
Jude
The whip cracked again, barely missing the would Jude's claws created.
"I will decide whether you cooperated or not, worm." he spat, before catching a glimpse of the interesting pendant on Jason's collar, "Hm. Interesting..." He felt a similar, yet distinctly different Prana signature coming off of that pendant. In one way or another, it was alive. Not only was it alive, there was some trickery afoot. "That pendant of yours." he continued, voice returning to its usual cold and emotionless state, "I paid it no mind because it seemed to be inert, but I can tell it is not. What does it do?" He lifted his left paw to expose the WORSHIP ring so Jason could see it and get the message. "Do not tempt me with half-baked, snarky answers."
Jason
Another whine at the bite of the whip. "I'm sorry, Master," he tried, hoping that would in some way alleviate Jude's wrath. Then the topic switched to the pendant, and Jason shook his head frantically. "I don't know. I've always had it. It burns anyone who isn't me or Mimring, but I don't know why, or what it's supposed to do."
Jude
"I would ask how you could not know," Jude asked beginning to reach down towards the pendant, making sure to get his essence-covered fur as close to Jason's nose as possible, "but I have learned to accept your incompetence for what it is." He paused. "Not that absolves you of guilt, you worthless animal."
Cradling the pendant in his hand, Jude was both shocked and disappointed that it didn't seem to burn him. With a frown that told all, he looked at Jason again. "Another lie. It did not burn me." he shot, "Since I am doubled over inspecting this trinket, I cannot crack the whip. Count yourself lucky this time, Jason." A lie on the face of it, but one designed to keep the Shapeshifter on his toes as he inspected the pendant. "... Shika va sai ait véria shai veztaçár-ta veiçá..." he mumbled, coming across its inscription, "Interesting. you had better know what the significance of this Drakine inscription is."
Jason
Jason kept shaking his head, getting foggy and dizzy from the pain, blood loss, scent, position, and whatever was wrong with his head. "No, no, Mimring told me what it means, something about change and healing, but I don't know why it's there. I was told my mother gave me the pendant, when I was a baby. I don't know why or what it's supposed to be."
Jude
"I know what it means, you fool." Jude derided once again, "I am fluent in Drakine." He then poked the index claw on his free hand up against Jason's Adam's apple. "You have long since sailed over the void's edge. I rule the void, and you cannot escape from me." As soon as he went to dig his claw in, the pendant jolted him with a burn and he grunted. "Ah, there's the burn you mentioned. A shame I cannot punish an inanimate object."
The vampire god then returned to his feet and glared down at the Shapeshifter. "Oh well. Its owner will have to do. I now know what I wanted to know anyway." He brandished the whip. "If I cannot make it submit, you will do fine."
The whip cracked. Then it cracked again. And again. And again. Again and again and again. All up and down Jason's front and back.
Jason
His breath caught as he felt the claw at his throat, but there was a strange feeling of warmth and Jude let up, apparently having been burned finally. But Jason might have preferred a slit throat over what happened next.
He couldn't not yell. Nothing he'd experienced was quite the same as his bare skin, in some places split and raw from previous abuse, getting whipped over and over and over again to where he lost count.
There was a pang of worry, but it wasn't his, or the still-sleeping Mimring. But then the whip cracked again and Jason forgot about it.
Jude
Jude was winding up for another successive whip crack when he felt a spike of worry. Not from Jason, not from the dragon he brought with him, but seemingly from...
"... the pendant?" he whispered, lowering the whip to inspect this strange trinket again, "This pendant seems to be alive." His slitted eyes refocused on the flayed, bleeding mess that was his new slave. "Or, at least, it has the capacity to feel. Did you know about this?" He had no intention of whipping Jason regardless of the answer he gave; Jude's innate curiosity had been piqued. A part of him so ingrained from creation that he never could quite shake it.
Jason
Panting, all Jason could give in response was frantically shaking his head, which only made him dizzier. In truth he knew very little about the pendant he'd had all his life, but hearing it could feel somehow didn't surprise him. And speaking of, there was a vague jolt of surprise from the pentagram, which morphed into nervousness, then what seemed to be defensive anger.
Jude
Feeling the successive emotional shifts, Jude acknowledged Jason's response with one equally as simple--a bored nod--and looked more closely at the pentagram pendant on his collar. "... Ahhh..." he began realising, "This pendant of yours is alive! That string of emotions is the panicked flailing of a person discovered." Using his telekinesis to lift the pendant up, he read it again. "Shika va sai ait véria shai veztaçár-ta veiçá..." he mumbled, putting something together, "Shaver, shai-vér..." He looked down to Jason again. "... This is your name. Or, at least, your Common surname. Whatever is inside this blasted trinket is closely related to you."
Jason
He couldn't pay too close attention to Jude now; the edges of his vision were darkening. Probably a combination of the blood loss, position, and pain. Jason mumbled something incoherent and made an attempt at gesturing with his bound right hand, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Don't know... parents. Never met." He took a moment to breathe. "Adoptive... said I came with that."
Jude
Jude paused. The character of Jason's voice. It meant he was on the verge of unconsciousness, and with the torture he'd just been subjected to, it was likely the blood loss would claim him not long after he slipped. He couldn't have that; Jason was a toy, an experiment. Jude wanted him for the long term.
So he got back to his paws, and glared down at the Shapeshifter again. "You have told me what I came here to discover," he began, waving his hand around, a trail of blue magic following it, "so congratulations. You get to live another day, bug." After he said those words, Jason's binds would flip him onto his back, then collapse into him, healing his wound as he dropped hard against the floor. Jude would then step up to him, hands on his hips, and raise his left paw. "But if you try to hide anything from me again..." he threatened, inducing a momentary dissociative vision in which the paw with the WORSHIP ring was driven into the Shapeshifter's skull, crushing it. As the vision faded, Jason would be able to see that Jude had turned towards the door and was looking back at him. "... you know what awaits you."
Opening the door, he snapped his fingers, bringing back the same collar mode and room conditions he had just woken Jason from, then crossed the threshold to leave. "Enjoy your rest."
