Mage and Consort Pt. 02

Prala mouthed the last bit along with the Lady, giggling. She missed the vicious glance their teacher gave her.

When the lesson was done, the two faced each other, a few feet apart.

"So," Prala began, moving her hands in the introductory gestures. "Are you still rubbish at this?"

She smiled as though it was funny, and Anya smiled back.

"Less than I was," she said. "Not saying a lot, I know."

Prala nodded. "I feel bad for you. Not fair that you should get the worst Consort, too."

"It is what it is," Anya shrugged, performing the basics and bungling them slightly.

"You have such a good attitude," Prala said. "You know, I wonder if I can help somehow. You probably never joined with a man before, right?"

Anya's face blushed, as Prala's voice carried too well. "I think I figured it out."

"Yes, obviously," Prala said. "But have you tried it all the ways yet? Not just in the mouth, but in the lower holes? Both of them. Not at once, I mean," she giggled. "Oh, Skies, can you even imagine that? Two Consorts? I heard that the Second Mage --"

"That's quite enough, Prala," said Lady Opparon, suddenly appearing to their right. "Why don't you focus on your form this time. I had some expectations of you, once."

Anya was mercifully spared having to answer Prala's question. Her concentration was gone, though, and the power inside her roiled her stomach. She'd barely scratched the surface of what her classmates were trying behind closed doors. Leo would be doing all of that with Melina, that was for sure. Melina would know how to ask.

Anya thought she had a squalid imagination, but she would never have imagined doing it with two men at the same time. Two Consorts, she corrected herself. As usual, she wondered if it was really possible, but she supposed in the right orientation it could work. Maybe even more than two of them. The highest Mages were said to make use of several Consorts for their great works, and Anya had once imagined a sort of line, each Consort entering the room as the previous one left. But wouldn't it be more efficient to do it all at once?

"Bet you're thinking what I'm thinking," Prala whispered. Their instructor had wandered off to correct another student.

"I hope not," Anya said. "No one should have that stuff rattling around in their head except you. One of a kind."

Prala laughed, and Anya sighed. It was time to lose a contest.

#

"I need to try my rear hole," Lady Tur said, all in a rush.

Leo nodded. "Of course, Lady. I am delighted to serve. I imagine you would like some oils?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

He hesitated. Lady Tur would have thought of it, surely? But perhaps she hadn't. And she'd told him he needed to be direct when he thought she might be ignorant.

"Lady," he said. "Have you voided your bowels quite thoroughly? I ask only because it is best as always to deposit the Seed deep, and perhaps you would like to take time --"

"Skies," she muttered. "And you're so large. It would be -- I never truly thought this through. I do believe I've lost my nerve."

Leo nodded, and he sat beside her. He knew it would take her a time to recover.

"It is not required," he said. "Just as it is not required to fully enter the mouth. In that case, if you swallow quickly --"

But the Lady was shaking her head, and now she lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her breasts bounced and settled, leaving her nipples staring up at the ceiling as well. And slightly outwards.

"I'm terrible at this," she said. "All my classmates have done it many times. Melina must have been sneaking out to town, just like Prala. Have you done it with Melina, in her rear hole?"

He swallowed, but she was giving him a direct, challenging sort of expression.

"Yes," he said.

"And she already knew all about the preparations you described, didn't she? How many other positions have you two tried, that you're too polite to tell me about?"

He frowned. "Does my Lady truly wish to know, or is she merely upset at herself?"

Lady Tur coughed. "Yes, Leo, well spotted. I'm upset at myself, and also at you for just taking it and never replying in anger. So yes, go ahead and tell me. I need to know the extent of my ignorance."

He paused. "I don't think it is something you can put an exact number --"

Lady Tur rolled her eyes. "Stop it, Leo. You're not helping. In that case, just tell me what her favorite way is. I'm telling you that I need to know this. Don't ask why."

Leo sighed. "Lady Karlov only takes particular satisfaction from the Seed itself. The process seems most effective with the Lady on top while I lie back."

Lady Tur squinted at him, an odd expression on her face.

"Surely that would make the Seed leak out faster. So is it because it's your favorite?"

Leo flushed. "Lady, my preferences are irrelevant. It merely makes it easier for her to safely perform magic close against me."

"All right, then, what *is* your favorite?"

Leo disliked everything about this conversation. What had gotten into the Lady? Was she actually trying to make his duty more difficult?

"I have no favorite save whichever method best produces Seed for my Lady Tur."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know, Lady. But it is the correct answer."

"That it is," she agreed. "Thank you, Leo. I don't think I have need of your services after all."

He hoped she didn't see his disappointment. She was so beautiful, and even now his manhood reached for her.

"Of course," he said mildly. "I serve whenever my Lady wishes. I am close, should she change her mind."

"Her Ladyship is pretty well convinced of her own mind, Leo. Just leave me alone."

#

A sound registered through Anya's troubled dozing. Faintly alarming, though her mind couldn't understand why.

*tap*

She bolted upright, heart pounding. It was only the third one she'd experienced, but she knew that sound.

Stonestorm.

The taps came irregularly against the roofing tiles, reminding her of the hesitant hail last week. But it was unmistakeable, now that she listened. A flash briefly illuminated the sky outside.

Panic took her, and Anya barely had the presence of mind to throw on a robe before she flung open the door, stumbling in the dark towards the only safety she could think of.

When she reached Leo's door, she slowed. He'd grown up during the great storms, and he'd probably think her foolish. But then again, he said he'd lost his parents. No, Leo wouldn't think she was foolish.

One knock, and he silently opened the door, as thought he'd been waiting for her. No shirt, and sweat dampening the hair on his chest. It was a warm night, and his cramped chamber had no air circulation.

"Lady," he said quietly. "Do you have need?"

"I might in a while," she said, feeling terrible. "I was extremely rude to you earlier, and I humbly apologize. The -- stonestorm woke me, and I would have your company. To calm me, beforehand."

He nodded gravely. "You need never apologize to me, Lady. Of course, I will come with you."

The storm was louder in the dark hallway. Intellectually she knew it was no great danger. Most of the stones were smaller than a grain of sand, falling gently. The handful of larger ones produced the clattering, but even if one struck her, it would be a freak chance to sustain any real injury.

A mere second after they entered her room, there was a distant flash again.

"Lightning?" she said nervously.

"No, Lady. It is the stonestorm. Have you not seen one at night?"

She shook her head, but then amended that. "Yes, long ago, but from a much greater distance. At home, it seemed little different from ordinary showers of meteors, and I was so young for the greater storms. Mother Zephyr kept us gathered in the basements and told us stories to distract us."

"Would you like to see, Lady? Many consider it beautiful. There is no danger from such a mild storm."

Anya sighed, and convinced herself to walk to the window. The tapping on the roof and wall seemed even louder now, though perhaps her mind was playing tricks. A thin layer of haze dimmed the stars, but even so, hundreds of faint meteors streamed across the sky, and every few seconds a much brighter one would leave a glowing trail. Each trail could be traced back to a small patch of sky, the area she'd been taught as a child not to even look at. Though it was said that now not even the keenest eyes could make out the Origin in the night sky.

The view was impressive and disorienting, as though she were moving, the Origin pulling her up towards it. Anya quickly looked down, and felt Leo's steadying presence behind her.

More than that, she felt his Seed, and that didn't seem right. She didn't want to think about his Seed now. But it was too late, and to make matters worse, she'd fallen asleep earlier while touching her sex, to no conclusion.

This was what Leo wanted. That was what tipped the balance: she would take his Seed, and at least one of them would sleep easily.

"I suppose I should try it like Melina," she said.

There was a pause, and Anya wished she could take it back. It reminded both of them of her pettiness from before.

"Of course. I am ready for whatever my Lady wishes."

Anya knew that. It was an uncomfortable knowing, one that had crept up on her ever since they'd come to her room. She could practically feel his manhood, as though he already pressed against her from behind, her body alternately resisting and reaching. It was out of her control, anyway. She had talent, and he was her Consort. That meant physical joining, and she needed to accept that it had only a surface resemblance to the act in other circumstances.

"I'm ready," she found herself saying. "Get on the bed, Leo. I'll think of something to do with my talent, to draw your Seed. Like she does."

"As you wish, Lady." She felt him withdraw, his breeches rustling and dropping to the floor.

The stonestorm was louder than ever, some of them even plinking against the window. That was why so few lived in these cheap rooms, with their windows facing west. Built fifty years ago, during the long Quiet. Anya pulled off her shift, forcing herself to look up at the sky one more time, to the absence where the stones came from. Like a great Seed in the sky, only doing its duty, trying to give what it had to everyone, whether they wanted it or not. She shivered at the disgustingly sacrilegious image.

Leo was lying on his back, and as she approached she saw the outline of his manhood, pointing back to his navel rather than straight up. She didn't know what she'd expected. The angle seemed all wrong. Awkwardly she crawled closer, bringing one leg over. That's how she imagined Melina doing it, and Leo didn't correct her. She sighed and shifted higher, until her groin bumped hard against something.

Leo grunted in obviously surprised pain.

"I'm so sorry. I hit something sensitive, didn't I?"

"It -- yes, somewhat, Lady, but it is dark, and I should be guiding you. Here, let me --"

She let him put his hands under her buttocks, sliding her higher -- much higher. She wasn't thinking right, because of course the head of his penis was way up there. It rested hard against her sex now, an odd foreign feeling. What a strange position this was. She would have to push down and back, and then surely lean far forward. Or would his manhood bend upwards, once inside?

He didn't make any move to enter her.

"Lady, is there any more preparation I may help with?"

"No, it's fine," she said sharply. Her body wanted this, after all. She could feel the insistent tug. Rattle, rattle, went the stones, drawn down by the implacable power of a planet.

She leaned forward onto his sweaty chest, both forearms bracing herself, and tried to make the gestures. It was terribly awkward. She imagined catching a falling pebble -- but they were too fast, or too hard to grasp. Still, Leo grunted, and she felt his Seed shift. Anya pushed, and his manhood pressed without progress.

Leo moved his hand, and then he did move, but it wasn't working very well. She wasn't wet enough. She just wanted it over, the Seed inside her, Leo happy.

"Help me," she said, feeling miserable, but Leo knew what she meant, and his fingers came to her with something slick. Much slicker than she expected. An unpleasant chill touched her, and slowly she settled back, feeling the oils disappear into her. Enough, but barely enough. She wanted to lean back now, reach her hands high to push at stones, but she was tired and achy and uncomfortable, and instead she found herself tilting forward, moving her breasts toward his face.

He found her nipple, as she knew he would, and for a moment Anya imagined it was just the two of them, no Seed and no pounding stonestorm and no talent, just a woman and a man. Some other woman, some other man.

Leo made a noise, and all of a sudden he erupted inside her. The warmth filled her, easing the discomfort of their joining, and she settled lower, trying to hold his Seed inside. There was so much of it, and she felt it dripping out of her, even as he kept gushing. Her head was too heavy, and she rested her face on the pillow by his shoulder. This was what he wanted, for her to take his Seed. She'd done that for him. The stonestorm seemed quieter, all so very far away.

"Lady," she heard.

Confused, she shifted her head. Leo's firm body radiated heat beneath her, but her crotch was unpleasantly chill, and he was no longer inside her.

"Lady, please. I apologize, but I cannot give you any more tonight. I -- am not capable, Lady. If you would shift a bit --?"

He was tense, his voice too urgent. The tone finally penetrated her wool-packed skull, and she groaned and rolled sideways.

Leo deftly moved the instant her weight came off him.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I was much more sleepy than I realized."

"It was my error," Leo said faintly, from somewhere across the room. "I did not wish to disturb you, and perhaps I held hope that I might revive, to make up for my failure."

"But you did give me Seed," she said. Yes, he'd definitely given her some, hadn't he? Surely that was what she'd felt.

"As you say, Lady," he said shakily. "Yes, as you say."

"Leo," she said, struggling to salvage the situation. "Consort. I find no blame in your actions, nor am I disappointed. You did your duty, and you should rest well, knowing this."

"Thank you, Lady," he said, bowing in the dark. "I will endeavor to do as you ask."

#

Lady Karlov wiped sweat off her brow, letting her thighs settle to rest. Leo's stiff cock twitched inside her, but it was no good. He nervously reached back for the oil, because the Lady was much too dry again.

"You think that'll help?"

Leo halted. "Lady, I apologize. I do not want to cause any discomfort --"

"Too late for that," Melina said, grimacing and slowly pulling herself off of him. His cock fell back against his stomach, a few of Melina's small hairs now stuck against the sticky oils coating the shaft. "This kind of stamina might be admirable in a certain context, but it is counterproductive for a Consort. Oh, don't give me that hurt look. Let me guess. You took the herb this morning, but your Seed isn't responding well."

He nodded. Pointless to say anything when she was in this mood. A tapping caught his ear, and he shivered. The second stonestorm in as many days?

Melina took his cock in both hands, then slid one down to massage his balls until he gasped.

"You need some of this? Or would you prefer to see me pleasure myself?"

Leo winced.

"No, you're a little too perceptive for that, aren't you. Tomas greatly enjoys watching me play stupid games with my holes, but he's an idiot. And I have no more power to waste satisfying your whims. I have never heard of a Consort with such requirements."

"Perhaps -- more time," Leo suggested. She was lost in thought, and yet her hands continued their practiced pattern. Eventually she would draw him to a release he didn't want.

Melina gave him a piercing look, squeezing his cock one last time and letting go. "Perhaps it is time to rework our understanding. It seems she really did drain you last night."

Leo didn't deny it. Better that she believed this was about his Seed than guess at the disgusting thing he'd done with his Lady last night.

"She really must be lacking talent, to take so much and gain so little. You will not see her again until you satisfy me."

It caught him much harder than a slap.

"Lady, I cannot be so drastic. She --"

"Anya knows what we agreed, and it's her own fault for being greedy. Now put your useless cock away and get out of my sight. You know how to contact me."

#

Anya knew she needed to find a way to apologize to Leo. The sort of joining they'd had last night was obviously far outside the bounds of propriety for a Consort. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on him, certainly hadn't meant to ruin his chance of giving her Seed. Leaning against a strong man while he joined with her -- that was her daydream, not his. The worst thing was that she hadn't even enjoyed it particularly. Not the joining, anyway.

She swallowed and knocked on the door. There was no response.

She knocked again, holding herself still and reaching for him with her talent. After a few seconds, she was sure he wasn't there.

He did have other activities. It wasn't an instruction day, but Leo spent hours being active, wresting or lifting weights or whatever he did with the other men. It didn't mean he was avoiding her.

But he'd been with Melina this morning, and it was past his usual time with her. Anya was suddenly convinced that Melina had kept him, to prove a point. To show who had the power.

Anya waited in her room, listening to the occasional plink of a stone. The storms never lasted more than a few hours, she'd heard. The one last night had ceased well before she woke, only to start again in the late morning. Was this truly a separate storm?

She shivered. So much she didn't understand, that no one except perhaps the Castle Mages understood. Maybe they didn't, either.

There was something she could do for Leo. Everything had started going wrong last night because she wasn't prepared properly. At this at least she was competent, and she had nothing else planned for the afternoon.

When she was thoroughly wet, she arranged herself just so. The way it had worked before, on her back. She would nod, and he would slide inside her so carefully, looking at her breasts with longing. Only now, probably he'd look anywhere but there. The thought was painful.

She placed a small wooden disk on her stomach, the type she'd been practicing with. After a moment, she moved it up between her breasts. Might as well give him a good excuse. One hand caressing her sensitive button, one hand reaching towards Leo's chest. That was part of it, to bring the magic close to his body. With a grunt of concentration, she burned up a portion of her stored power, until the disk wobbled its way into the air. She quickly dropped it.

Where was he? She was ready for amends, and he was nowhere. Wasn't a Consort supposed to be available whenever the Lady desired? She certainly desired him. She desired his nervous mouth, his kind eyes, his hard buttocks, his tongue touching her button, his manhood --

She swallowed. No, she needed only to desire his Seed. And she did desire it. Just not as much as the rest.

So she lay there, remembering her first heady weeks at this strange place. Her own room, and weekends off! One afternoon she'd touched herself for hours, wishing for Alishe, pining for something that had never happened. Alishe said this was hers, that she should share it only with someone she trusted. And whatever else, she trusted Leo and his unyielding sense of duty.

A strange sensation pulled at her gently, and then it assembled itself all at once. Anya jumped up, pulling her shift back down, wiping her hand nervously on the fabric. She cracked the door open just in time.