51 A Duel Between Judges

"You two are being foolish." Raxas shouted, watching wearlity from a safe distance, as Tylich and Gazeth squared each other up, magic sparking dangerously through their fingertips. "We're all on the same side."

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"Sides are just a construct!" Tylich cackled gleefully. "Who knows, tomorrow, Gazeth might be reciting scriptures!"

Gazeth growled. "Big words, coming from a rat!"

"That's not very clever!"

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Raxas sighed, burying his face in his hands at the behavior of his two supposed "allies." He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to see Vayne, holding two glasses of wine, holding one out for Raxas. He tentatively took one, simply to be polite, sighing at the wide expanse of land in front of him. Vayne's estate was easily multiple square miles in size, and they were currently situated far enough from the two judges that their faces couldn't be discerned.

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"It's a bit early to be drinking." He muttered, swirling the glass. He winced as a drop of wine splashed out of the glass- Vayne always had those incredibly expensive vintages. That drop was probably 30 gold.

"I should think that you're strong enough to handle it." Vayne said, taking off her helmet to take a sip of her glass. "I certainly can handle it."

"Isn't it considered a part of etiquette, or whatever?" Raxas asked. "And I thought we weren't supposed to take off our helmets..."

"It's nothing you haven't seen before."

Raxas raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What happened to not breaking the rules?"

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Vayne shushed Raxas. "It's starting."

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Gazeth growled, and lifted his leg, the metal creaking and straining under the massive weight of the man. The fight hadn't even started yet, but Raxas could already feel the earth begin to vibrate, the wine in his glass creating small waves in the surface. He could also feel the mana in the area begin to flow towards him, an indescribable tingling sensation, like the feeling of flowing wind, although he was covered head to toe.

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The heavy-set judge let out a roar as he released a massive blast of magic into the ground with his foot, sending tremors through the ground. A massive plume of stone spikes erupted from Gazeth in a circle, with him as the center. Tylich easily dodged backwards away from Gazeth, flipping backwards away from him, moving incredibly quickly and acrobatically, despite being covered entirely in heavy armor. The air beneath his feet began to swirl as he cackled in his helmet, unimpressed by Gazeth's show.

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"That all you got?" He taunted.

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Gazeth snorted, and a second ring of stone spikes erupted from the ground, Tylich again dodging with amazing grace.

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A third ring emerged, Tylich dodging easily, and soon a fourth, fifth and sixth ring emerged, growing faster and faster in frequency, until the entirety of Vayne's backyard was covered in jagged stone spikes, the terrain transformed into a wasteland of rocky stalagmites.

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Raxas reached forward and broke off a point from a spike pointed at his face, the rocks blocking his view. He crouched down, before leaping on top of a spike himself, looking back down at Vayne to see if she would follow him.

"The landscapers can fix it." Vayne muttered.

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Tylich stared down at Gazeth from his perch on top of a spike, squatting lazily on top of a stone spike. He took off his helmet to reveal a mousy-looking face, all angles and thin, with a mane of messy, unkempt hair. He spun the helmet on his finger before throwing it at the two spectating judges with incredible speed, Raxas catching the bullet-like projectile with a hand.

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"Keep it safe!" He yelled. "Although, this probably won't last long!"

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Raxas just rolled his eyes. The judge magisters were supposed to keep their helmets on, but seeing as they were the highest-ranking officials in the entire empire, none of them really kept on their helmets for longer than a couple hours. He could understand why. Even though the inside of the armor was kept temperature-controlled by some magic he didn't understand, they were still bulky and limited their vision.

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He turned over the helmet in his hand to look at the visor, surprised that Tylich had given him his helmet. Even though they treated them like trash, each helmet was a part of each judge's identity. The public generally didn't know what the judges looked under their helmets - with a few exceptions. With a slimmer build, and Tylich's helmet, he could probably pass off as him.

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He looked back at the battlefield, but Gazeth had kept his helmet on. That was also a decision Raxas could understand, as…

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Tylich spat a massive glob of black from his mouth, flying like a bullet towards Gazeth. A wall of black rock emerged from the ground to protect Gazeth, but the black acid ate through the rock like sand, and a large portion splashed onto Gazeth's arm, corroding through the enchanted armor.

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"Dammit!" He roared, yelling in pain. "AAAARGGHH!"

"There's another one coming!" Tylich shouted.

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Gazeth made a swiping motion with his hand, and suddenly the earth began to quake again, reverberating through the ground as something massive began to shift.

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Tylich stumbled on top of the spike that he was perched on precariously, as it began to rotate in a circle with Gazeth as its radius. He prepared to jump to another ring of spikes, but soon realized that all the spike rings, in the entire mile diameter, had began to rotate like the blades of a blender. Raxas watched as the tip of a spike broke off from the centripetal force, falling in-between two rings. An unpleasant grinding noise was heard, and soon the solid mass of rock had been reduced to dust in a matter of milliseconds.

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He turned his vision back to Tylich, who waved his arms around in the air in an attempt to keep his balance, but was forced to jump to another spike as Gazeth shot a massive beam of rock at Tylich, the size of a construction girder. It whizzed past Tylich's head as he leapt towards another spike in the same ring, letting out a small grunt as he latched on and scrambled on top. Gazeth growled as the girder made a massive cloud of dust in the background, before more stones rose from the ground, coalescing to form another beam, equally sized to the first.

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Gazeth again sent the beam flying towards Tylich, who this time, was able to get his footing a little better, and scurried to another beam, with a little more time to get his bearings.

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Gazeth shot beam after beam at Tylich, but the thin judge was able to, after each stone, become a little more stable on top of the spikes, despite the rapid rotation.

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"Stop moving, rat!" Gazeth yelled in frustration.

He thought about forming another spike, but realized that at this point, he was using more mana than Tylich was using effort to dodge. He raised his arms, and a few jagged rocks rose out of the ground, flying towards Tylich with deadly points, but the man easily just blocked them with a thin shield of blue mana.

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Tylich cackled on top of his perch, looking down at Gazeth with a smirk. He tilted his head back, before spitting another line of dark, acrid acid at the man, the globule sailing slowly towards him through the air. Gazeth, learning from his mistake, made a thicker shield, but the acid still ate through his wall of rocks like nothing, and it began to drip on top of him, eating away at his helmet.

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Gazeth pressed his palms outward, and a brown, solid looking mana shield appeared, blocking the acid, but not before it dissolved his shield into nothingness.

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Vayne sighed next to Raxas, still sipping at her little glass of wine, and shook her head. Raxas first looked at Vayne, and then behind him, at the wine he had left behind on the table, now tipped over, the contents spilling all over the ground.

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"Sorry." He muttered.

"It's not the wine." Vayne mused. "It's Gazeth. He's quite… stubborn, isn't he."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's gone about this all wrong. He's trying to hit a rat with a slingshot."

Raxas sighed. "You've lost me."

"He's not going to win." Vayne said, sourly.

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Raxas raised an eyebrow.

"It sounds like you're taking favorites."

"Don't lie, James. Everyone has preferences."

"Hmph."

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Suddenly, the earth stopped shaking, and Tylich stumbled as the spike he stood on stopped abruptly, making a grinding noise as the terrain stopped shifting around him. He narrowed his eyes at Gazeth, who was concentrating intensely, or at least, as far as Tylich could tell.

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"This is the end, Tylich!" Gazeth rasped from across the field, his voice booming across the entire field. "Enjoy a painful death!"

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Raxas bolted upright, Vayne doing the same as they quickly put on their helmets and started to dash towards Gazeth before he did something that would jeopardize the weak alliance the four political allies had.

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They were a far too late, as Gazeth forced his arms wide open, and a massive chasm, half a mile long and a block wide, opened up beneath Tylich, the man flailing his arms as the ground beneath him split into two.

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"No!" Raxas shouted, from across the estate. There was no possible way that he could get to the man in time..

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Gazeth closed his arms, and the edges of the chasm slammed shut, the reverberations in the ground toppling trees and shaking the foundations of Vayne's mansion. Raxas could not help but look in horror at the heavy-set man, as he stopped moving, an utterly shocked expression on his face that invisible to the outside world.

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"What have you done!?" Vayne shrieked. "You idiot! We can't even heal him you buffoon, now we're-"

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Vayne was interrupted as a black ball of acid struck Gazeth directly on top of the helmet, and the man visibly recoiled in fear and surprise as the acid began to eat away at it and drip onto his face.

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Gazeth's screams echoed throughout the field, a horrible, screeching, rasping noise that sounded inhuman, straining the man's already damaged vocal cords to make a blood-curdling sound. Raxas winced at the sound, before tracing the acid's trajectory, looking up at the sky.

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He squinted as Tylich's silhouette appeared in the blaze of the sun, his arms wide, his figure creating a massive shadow on the field. He slowly descended down to Gazeth, kneeling in front of the man with a smug look. Raxas and Vayne soon followed as the rocks around them began to crumble, as Gazeth still writhed on the ground.

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"You can fly?" Raxas said, surprised. "That's not… a spell that's… common to humes."

"Hmph." Tylich snorted. "It's just air magic. You prunes just have never thought of it."

"It's not just air magic." Vayne observed. "You heated the air around you to create lift. Tylich, how many-"

"Get this shit off me!" Gazeth yelled, the tips of his gauntlets being eaten away as he tried to remove the black, foul liquid from his face. Tylich, with a smirk, walked over and put a finger on Gazeth's face, and soon the blackness lost its acidic properties, going clear and runny, and eventually dissipating into just water.

"Aw, I knew it." Tylich said, his lips pursed. "It could melt through his armor, but there isn't anything thicker in the universe than Gazeth's face."

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He cackled. "Although I can't say the same for your hair."

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Raxas just sighed as Tylich turned away and began to walk back towards the now-destroyed patio. Raxas extended a hand to help Gazeth up from the ground, but the man angrily shoved the tall judge away, struggling to get up. He stood up straight and discarded his now useless helmet, before extending his arm out toward Tylich's retreating frame, summoning pillars of steel from the ground to trap Tylich's arms and legs.

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"Hey-" The man said, struggling. "What the hell!?"

"Gazeth!" Vayne said. "It's over. Stop!"

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Gazeth ignored Vayne, his broad, square face twisting into a sneer as he curled his outstretched hand into a pointing gesture. The light around his index finger began to distort as orange mana collected at the point of his finger - and an intense pressure and strained sound began to emit.

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It was not one of his earth spells.

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"H-hey!" Tylich said in a panic. "That better not be what I think it is! Don't be a bitch, Gazeth! You lost fair and square!"

"Nothing's fair when it concerns you, rat." Gazeth snarled. "It would be a service to the world if you were exterminated."

"Not again!" Vayne said, exasperated. "Stop it."

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Gazeth didn't stop charging, and the ball of energy at the tip of his finger was now the size of a golf ball. Vayne's eyes widened, as Raxas jumped to his feet.

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"Hey." She said sternly. "Don't tell me you are actually going to-" She tried forcing Gazeth's arm, but couldn't budge it an inch.

"James!" She yelled. "Dammit!"

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Raxas pushed as hard as he could on Gazeth's arm, but he could only get it to budge a few inches before the man snarled at him, shoving him away with his other arm, and moving his arm back.

"Dammit, Gazeth!" Raxas struggled out.

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"Hey, Gazeth, you can be a bitch all you want!" Tylich shouted in a panicked fashion, now struggling with all his might. "But you don't have to be such a bitch about it!"

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"You're not helping!" Raxas hissed.

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Raxas looked around for options, but couldn't find any. Eventually, seeing the light in Gazeth's hand going base-ball sized, Raxas decided to go with his emergency plan and socked Gazeth in the side of the head with his gauntlet as hard as he could, knocking the man unconscious.

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The ball of light in Gazeth's finger flew into the sky harmlessly, before bursting in a massive explosion, sending all four judges flying away with massive force. The heat from the explosion vaporized everything near it, leaving a large crater of compressed dirt and ash, and the wind pressure blasted away nearby birds and in a mile radius, shattering what windows hadn't been already broken.

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Raxas groaned as he struggled to his feet, his head ringing as he put a hand to his head, before realizing he had his helmet on. He threw the thing off his head before massaging his temples, closing his eyes as the ringing subsided, and he was able to think again. After a minute of resting, he vaguely recognized the sound of shuffling near him, before getting up to his feet and looking at who landed next to him.

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Raxas groaned as he held out a hand to help Tylich up, who stared at the thing as if the tall man had held out an alien device. Raxas sighed and was about to retract it, when Tylich gripped Raxas's hand with his own, pulling himself upright.

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"Thanks." Tylich breathed out quietly.

"This is your fault, you know that." Raxas muttered.

"It's not my fault Gazeth can't hold his temper."

Raxas narrowed his eyes. "It's your fault you aggravated it."

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Tylich shrugged his shoulders. "This is just the way I am. I can't help that."

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Raxas sighed before looking around slowly. It looked like he had been blown back towards Vayne's estate. He stared at the hole in Vayne's already damaged mansion where his head had hit it.

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Speaking of which…

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Vayne stared coldly at Tylich as she rounded the corner, glancing at her destroyed mansion and field. She didn't bother saying a word, as she knew that Tylich had no remorse for destroying her property, and walked off. Tylich soon walked off too, leaving Raxas alone in Vayne's courtyard, looking at the destruction left in the two judges' wake.

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"Whatever, Gazeth can get home by himself." He muttered.

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[

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Aisha sighed as she laid snugly in her mistress's arms, a goofy smile plastered on her face as usual. She just couldn't help it. The combination of Lorian's heat, combined with her doting, sweet love, and amazing headpats and hugs just made Aisha so happy. Cuddling with mistress… gave her energy, gave her happiness. And yet, at the same time, when she was all wrapped up in her mistress's arms, snuggled up happily into her chest, she couldn't help but feel her eyelids go heavy, and her breathing go steady.

.

"Hey mistress…" Aisha murmured sleepily.

"Yes, Aisha?" Lorian cooed sweetly. "What is it? Do you need some water? Some milk? Do you want me to scratch you?"

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Aisha turned red as Lorian giggled above her, loving the embarrassed look on Aisha's little face.. "A-a-um… not… that. Um. N-not… right now." She whisper-stammered, although all of those options sounded good to her.

Lorian giggled again as she adjusted Aisha, moving her closer and putting a warm hand on her head. "Then what is it?"

.

"I just wanted to ask…" Aisha whispered, hesitating. "You… absorb my… um… life essence, right?"

"Mhm!" Lorian nodded, before her face changed expression, growing concerned. "Wait, have you been getting tired recently? Because I can-"

"No no no!" Aisha corrected hastily. "I just w-wanted to ask… what do I taste like?"

Lorian raised an eyebrow. "Taste like? I don't… "

.

"I-it's a dumb question!" Aisha stammered, burying her nose into Lorian's neck. "N-nevermind."

"No no…" Lorian mused, tilting Aisha's head upwards with a hand and smiling at the girl. "It's a good question. Just… difficult to explain, I guess…"

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For a good while, Lorian pondered, putting a finger to her lip in deep thought. Aisha blushed as she focused on the way she rubbed her bottom lip in circles, wishing badly that she could be that finger.

"I guess…" Lorian started, after a minute of thinking. "You kind of taste like… happiness."

"Huh!?" Aisha blushed, as Lorian beamed a big smile at her little pet.

"Yeah, it's not like a flavor or anything… " Lorian mused. "But whenever I take in your lifeforce… I feel really happy! And… really satisfied. Sometimes when I take a lot, I feel kind of lazy, too."

"D-did it… always taste like that?"

Lorian's smile faltered a bit. "No… not at first. At first I didn't really get anything. And then… for a bit, it tasted… sad. And bitter. But then it got sweeter, and happier, and lovelier..."

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Lorian stroked Aisha's cheek in the palm of her hand as she saw Aisha's worried, fearful expression.

"Don't worry about it." She cooed. "I wouldn't ever leave you, even if you tasted like newspaper."

"D-do you like it?" Aisha asked in a small voice. "E-eeyah… I- I mean… d-drinking from me. I mean."

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"Of course! You taste amazing!" Lorian gushed. "I would… ooooh. N-nevermind. I love doing it."

"But I don't want to take too much…" Lorian's face darkened. "too much and I might lose control and kill you… or I might get fat."

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Lorian laughed, the mood lightened instantly by the woman's radiant personality. She hummed as she kissed Aisha on the forehead, patting her softly on the head.

"W-well… Um…" Aisha whispered. "I… w-wouldn't mind trying it out. Being… drained."

Lorian raised an eyebrow as the petting stopped, one of her hands moving to lock Aisha's gaze on her.

"Why would you want that? Are you sure? It might hurt…"

"I-it's okay." Aisha said softly. "I… um. I just want to make you happy."

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Despite Aisha's words, when Lorian looked into Aisha's adoring expression, she saw a bit of… curiosity. And lust, hidden in that lovely, melty, subby expression. Lorian smiled as she let out a soft chuckle. She could read Aisha like a book. Or maybe… Aisha was just terrible at hiding her feelings from Lorian. Either way, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to drink from her pet. It was just too tempting…

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"Tell me if it hurts, okay?" Lorian whispered, as she held Aisha tight against her body.

Aisha nodded.

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Lorian began her drain and felt a little gasp next to her, as warm and fluffy feelings began to enter her body, that familiar satisfaction and love beginning to flow into her like a stream of cotton candy.

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Lorian just laid there for a couple seconds as she closed her eyes, blissed out, but to the buxom woman, it felt like she had been drinking from Aisha for hours, just melting into the bed and letting the feelings of satisfaction and heat wash over her. Eventually she had the mind to check on her when Aisha began to squirm under her, and Lorian gave her a small glance.

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The look on Aisha's face was completely scarlet as the girl panted, trying her absolute best not to moan loudly at just the pure amount of sensation that coursed through her body. Even though she could feel… something coming out of her, it was quickly replaced with melty, tingly pleasure in its place, as Aisha desperately tried to squeeze her legs shut.

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Soft whimpers and mewls escaped her mouth, despite how hard she tried to keep them inside - it was like Lorian was pulling those out of her along with her lifeforce. Distinctly, she could feel the strength leaving her body, but the feeling was overshadowed by the utterly encompassing feeling of her entire body melting into her mistress's, absolute happiness, submissiveness, and pleasure filling Aisha's head.

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"O-okay." Lorian stammered, feeling incredibly full and satisfied. She had… truth be told, she had eaten a little too much, and she was both worried for Aisha's safety and her own waistline.

"N-nnnnnnnnnnooooooooo…" Aisha slurred. "I-iiit… feels soooo goooood… eeeeeaaaaaahhhhnnnnnnnnn! mmmmmmm…"

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For one of the first times, it was Lorian's turn to blush as Aisha let out a long, soft whimper of a moan as she lost control of her ability to control her urges. Her tongue lolled lazily out of her mouth as she lapped her tongue over Lorian's neck, relishing in the ambrosia that was her mistress's taste, but her enjoyment was quickly cut short as her eyelids began to droop against her will.

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"You're so adorable." Lorian whispered, as she also began to fall into the clutches of sleep. "I love you…"

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The next morning, it was actually Aisha who was woken up by Lorian, a gentle caress, followed by a playful poke jostling her out of her slumber.

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"Aisha! Hey!" Lorian… half shouted. She loved Aisha far too much to be able to fully shout at the girl. She fought the urge to just not wake Aisha at all and just watch her sleep for a long, long time.

"Hhhhuhh?" Aisha said sluggishly, not even bothering to open her eyes, but shifting slightly under the covers. "Mistwess? mmmmm… where are youuu…?"

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Lorian's breath hitched at the way Aisha let out a broken mewl, searching desperately for her mistress in the covers, rolling around lazily. Lorian put a hand on Aisha's cheek, and the girl purred as she nuzzled against the thing like her life depended on it.

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"H-hey." Lorian said urgently. "Don't you usually have to leave right now?"

"I don't wannaaaaaa!" Aisha whined childishly. "I feel so warm and tired and… mmmmwwwuuuhhh… Mistweeeesssss! Come baaaaackkkk… mmmsoo warm… I wub you…"

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Lorian blushed. Whenever she forced an "I love you" out of Aisha, she would always get really embarrassed. Her cuteness was the only thing stopping Lorian from getting super embarrassed herself. Without it… all Lorian was left with was her feelings for Aisha, and when she really thought about how much she loved Aisha...

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Her heart wasn't ready. Thinking about it made her chest all fluttery, and her cheeks go red and heated.

(I-is this what she feels like?)

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"C-come on!" Lorian stammered. "I've got to go to class too, you know!"

"MmmwwwwI can't." Aisha murmured.

"What do you mean you can't!?"

"Mmmmso… tired."

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Lorian turned scarlet as she remembered last night's events. That was right. She was probably… drained right now. She would have to take care of her…

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Aisha mewled with delight as Lorian kicked off all her clothes in one motion and leapt into bed with Aisha, holding her close and tight, one hand petting her head while the other rubbed circles on her back.

"Nyaaaahhh!"

]

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When Raxas returned to his office, head still ringing, he was not at all pleased to see…

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"Why are you still here!?" He demanded, glaring daggers at Aisha.

"I have a request." She said softly. Raxas sighed in response.

"What do you want." He asked tiredly, sliding his helmet off and placing it at the foot of his desk. "I'm quite tired right now."

"Can you train me?"

"Oh?" Raxas raised an eyebrow. "What brought about this change? Aless and Two never observed any training."

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Aisha bit her lip as she thought of what to say. The first response that came to mind was boredom, but… another part of her knew that this is what she needed.

"I just… I won't be getting much further unless I train." She muttered.

Raxas nodded. "That's good to hear."

(Ahh... She's maturing.)

.

"Yeah…" Aisha said in a low voice. "Whatever."

"What do you want to learn?" Raxas asked. "I can't think that it would be magic."

"You used to be an adventurer, right?"

"There's not a lot to… well, teach in that regard."

"Well, how did you do it?" Aisha asked.

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Raxas folded his arms.

"Do what?" He asked.

"You were ruby, right? How'd you get that far?"

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Raxas leaned back in his chair and the man sighed, thinking back to a time long ago. Back when he was still young. Back when…

"You sure about this?" He asked. "You might not find this helpful."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then." Raxas said, getting comfortable in his chair.

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"Where to start, really…" He mused.

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[

The group of four walked up the the counter, nervous expressions and backpacks in hand. There were three men and one woman: A young, tall, brown haired boy wearing a necklace, a shorter, more stout looking boy, dirty-looking, in a jacket with the hood pulled up, and a taller, thinner, wiry looking boy with glasses. The woman had shoulder-length brown hair, and while she looked plain, her soft eyes and smile spoke volumes about the kind personality inside.

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"Hey, this is not… going to work out." Glasses spoke, glaring at the two other men in the group. "This is stupid. I don't know why you quit your job." He said, pointing at the other tall man in the group. "You've got a stable career. Why-"

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"Don't be like that." The tall boy interrupted in a low voice. "You know just as well why I quit. You quit too. We've already been through this."

"Yes, but-"

"Don't worry." The girl chimed in. "You've been talking about this for years! It'll be fun!"

Glasses turned his gaze onto the girl, although his voice didn't hold that biting, disdainful tone that he used with the others. "This isn't supposed to be fun." He said softly. "We're basically manual laborers."

"That's not how it's going to turn out." The tall one said, confidence leaking into his voice.

"Whatever." Glasses muttered, turning his gaze onto the shortest man in the group. "What about you? Er. Wait. I guess… this isn't much different, huh."

"..."

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The blond girl at the desk smiled at the group of four as they walked up to her, a knowing expression on her face.

"Hello! How can I help you?" She asked, although she already knew why they were there. It wasn't often, but many people had stepped up to her desk with those same unsure expressions, and they always asked the same thing.

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"We're here to sign up for the adventuring program." The tall one said, as glasses scoffed behind him. He rolled his eyes in response.

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"Alright then." The guild girl smiled, pulling a tablet from the side of her desk. "I'll need your names!"

"James Raxas." The tall one said with a smile. The guild girl smiled back. It wasn't often that she saw that expression on the people in this building.

"Falo Auberdine." The short one muttered. He shot daggers at Raxas, who snickered behind him. "Don't you dare start that shit again."

"Miari Avi." The woman said.

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The three that had spoken all turned to glasses, who was still standing hesitantly, weighing his decisions. Thoughts rushed through his head, of family, friends, life, opportunity, stagnation, emptiness, dissatisfaction…

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Miari went to put a hand on his shoulder, but Raxas stopped the woman, shaking his head. An unspoken message passed between them.

"He has to decide for himself."

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After a few minutes, accented by the impatient tapping of the guild girl's pencil on her desk, Glasses sunk his head in resignation, letting out a deep breath.

"Fenix Caulteras."

]

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"Fenix?" Aisha said, frowning. "I feel like…"

"You should know him." Raxas said simply. "He's an adventurer's guide in Drayen. Where you first signed up. It was where we first started too."

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Aisha racked her memory for a "Fenix." Visions came to her mind, of a drunk, old, miserable husk of a man, chessboard in one hand and mug in the other. And a shiny, gold necklace.

"Wait, I thought… He was gold."

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Raxas stared into Aisha's eyes, showing off his dulled, hardened, blue irises.

"He's not." He said.

"Okay. Why isn't he here at the capital?"

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"..."

Raxas was silent.

"Something happened between you two." Aisha guessed. "Something to do with the girl? Did she die?"

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The tall man sighed and leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with a wistful, somewhat pained expression. He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, not quite thinking, but not quite devoid of thoughts either, and it showed, reflecting in the way that he clasped his hands together. The reaction was all Aisha really needed to know.

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"Yes." He said. "Something did happen. I suppose this is where the learning comes from."