A pair of half closed earthy brown eyes looked out over the trees and into the distance, from the hilltop. He had taken a ship to a port town, and had traveled inland again, his soft, tan fur bearing the elements of a long travel.. but still seeming neat, and controlled, just like his purposeful motions.. Xanthas.. The lapine was dressed pretty much as he always was. Practically not at all. He wore a loincloth made of thick leather, with intricate beadwork on the ties, and silver gilding on the flap, being very tribal looking. His fur dye patterns were also indicative of his tribal heritage, and of his position as a shaman. His light ten fur was marked in deep ebon in various places with a pattern known to change from time to time, depending on season or task. He flattened his long lapine ears to his head.. He could see a town down below. Seravi. It was a small town, comprised of mostly the trading center for the surrounding farmland. He had received a letter from some townsfolk there who, through others Xanthas had come in contact with, had suggested he might be able to help. He sighed softly, looking at it.

"Of course. I knew that anyway. It's a farm town. that makes this so much more difficult. But, he said it was okay.. so we shall see.. indeed.. we shall see..' He plodded along, holding a staff in his hands, and a dagger at his side. The only things he carried aside from the potions and jars in his pack. He was a shaman. He was known for healing, and the lifting of curses, and the mediation between nomadic tribes and civilized towns, in the frontier areas. The name Xanthas, while not directly tracked and hailed by the royal family, or the Amanian governing houses, was one well known by the village elders in less settled regions. Almost a legend by now, and one not always taken seriously. Xanthas was known to take the tasks that were simply too far from the center of attention for the royal family to deal with, given the times of war brewing and boiling ever constantly.

After a few hours of walking in the darkening evening, he arrived at the town gates. Seravi was surrounded by a large palisade and had two guards posted in front of it. He stopped in front of the guards, and one of them, a lady lupine, of stocky, if not overweight build, bowed slightly, smiling. ".. Wonderful.. There is only one that you could possibly be this far on the outskirts.. We have been waiting for you. You got here sooner than you said in you letter.. from Diera no less. You made good time." The guard announced. Xanthas chuckled softly.

".. I got what it was I came for in Diera later than I had expected, but I still left earlier than I had originally intended to. I have much to do, even after I leave here." he said softly, his voice seeming.. unusual still.. almost without substance. It would have been a little like.. thinking you heard something.. but not being very sure... his voice being something only in your memory, even while you were hearing it. The guard paused a moment, as if trying to figure out what was unusual about that voice, and then shook her head.

"Oh yes.. of course.. You are a very busy sorcerer.." she said softly.

".. Shaman." he corrected. The guard, knowing nothing of the distinction between them, just nodded softly. She pointed down the main road, to a large house at the very end, on a hill. The windows could be seen, lit up, as night caresses the light into shadowy sleep around them. "That is Elder Kuravi's house. I think Kess is there too, so you won't have to go all the way to the shrine to get her." she explained. "She is.. a bit strong willed and harsh.. so, be patient with her, if you really do need her help with this.." she said. Xanthas splayed his long lapine ears back a bit, nodding. How much of his letter was actually explained to the townspeople? It would seem there was no such thing as confidential information. It was definitely a small village by social standard, even if the area of the town itself was big. He moved along swiftly down the dirt road, which, the closer to the town center he got, eventually became cobblestone. However, the outer ring of cobblestone was less worn than the inner ring, except right along the main shopping area, where the booths and the stores and inns were closing up. These stones had evidently been replaced pretty recently. An average layout and mood for this kind of town. Xanthas walked up the steps of the large house, which was made of stone and was perhaps three levels, if not also a basement level. It was most certainly the elder's home, as that would typically be in the very center of town like this. Xanthas shook his head softly. Lupines. A lapine would never have their village so predictably laid out. However, on the outskirts of their territory, during times of war, order between towns was important. He tapped on the large wooden door with his staff, making a deep, echoing nose with it, through the house. It was a few moments before the door opened. A slender, very short lupine answered, and looked up at Xanthas. He put his paws together, and laughed merrily, being quite a bit older, but dressed in peasant clothing.

"Splendid! Wonderful! I will tell Master Kuravi that you are here. Please.. wait in the main hall here." he said, leading Xanthas in. He tried to take the lapine's staff, but it would have taken four or five peasants his size to remove it from his hand. Xanthas was not letting go of it. He saw no reason to disarm himself where he had been asked to help. The servant, it would seem, eventually gave up taking away the staff, and then bounded upstairs. Xanthas looked around. The main hall seemed to be a cross between a waiting room and a meeting room. It was a little dark in here, but no one seemed to have been downstairs tonight, so it was vacant. There were red velvet couches.. two of them, a few chairs, red velvet carpet, and tapestries hanging from the walls. It was a nice place. Xanthas decided to sit down. He’d been walking all day, so he plopped down on one of the soft, comfortable couches, while he waited. It was not a terribly long wait though.. only about fifteen minutes. However, as he waited in the dead silence of that empty parlor, he heard the soft hiss of a voice, which seemed to be concealed in the shadows. He didn’t move, or even get up to look. It spoke softly..

“A priestess.. And a strong will.. Yes.. Good choice.. Hers will be most.. Acceptable to me. That is what I want..“ The soft hissing of the female voice stopped, trailing off into nothing. Xanthas shook his head softly, and waited. Eventually, he heard the sound of voices and footsteps coming down the steps, and looked up, the almost expressionless gaze in his eyes. First down was a taller, older lupine, with a deep violet robe, and black socks on his feet. The autumn air was starting to bear a bit of a chill. He bowed courteously, and then, nodded and ushered the next member of the household down. It was a youthful female lupine, perhaps about nineteen years old.. She was adorned in the robes of a Letai priestess.. one of those who still held to the old ways, and still believed in the Letai race, and the hope of overcoming the sorcerer, Mannus, and the orcish hordes. The numbers of lupines who still believed in that religion, or even in the existence of the Letai, had dwindled to almost nothing, but outskirt towns were generally the best place to find those who still believed.. This sleek, lovely girl was dressed in dark colors, mostly to compliment her fur, which was black as the darkest night, and glossy like obsidian. Her eyes were a bright jade color, which was fairly uncommon for those with black fur, descendants of the old Amani tribe. The green eyes were normally found in the mountain tribes, with the deep auburn or red fur.. Xanthas knew this, and suspected that the lupine standing there before him was not her real father immediately. He had neither trait, being most evidently a lowland gray lupine, very common on the plains, and associated more with peasants. Xanthas stood, and bowed to her, being very polite.

"Welcome to Seravi, shaman.." he said softly. "My name is-"

".. Devon Kuravi, elder of Seravi, and retainer to the position of your late wife, Areni, who was Regional Matriarch before the last raids on the western frontier lands.. I know.. This however.. was not what I had expected.' he nodded his head softly to the female.

"This is my daughter, Kess." he said, seeming a bit taken aback by the lapine's shrewd judgment. And even more unsettled by the odd, distant voice, seeming just off sync with reality.

"Your adopted daughter, You mean. I was not told she was Amanian." Xanthas said softly. ".. That was important information, given that she's a priestess too." he said rather bluntly. He did not, however, explain why.

"Will you require another assistant then? There are a few who would be wil-"

Xanthas shook his head and raised his hand, cutting the elder off mid-sentence. . "I have little time to spend here, and must be off again by the dawn. She will do fine, but Amanians are harder to work with." he said.

"Has it occurred to either of you that I am standing right here?!" Kess fairly shouted, making her adoptive father jump, though Xanthas seemed to barely notice, finally turning to face her.

".. This is why. highly temperamental. It can be both a blessing and a curse for the job she must do." he explained softly. The grizzled old lupine sighed softly.

"Kess knows her duty. She will do it." he said, rather distantly.

"I should hope so.. It will be a rather poor waste if not, since I won't be returning this way for some time." he said, picking up is staff again and shouldering his pack. ".. If she likes, we can get this done tonight. Under the light of the moon is the best time to do this ritual.” Kess grumbled softly, fuming from getting 'called' easily by the lapine. She was very obviously holding back because of her father. Devon looked at Xanthas and nodded slowly, and then looked at the lovely lady lupine, and said, gravely,

"Now... Kess.. I know how headstrong and passionate you can be.. but you are the only one here with the strength of heart and soul that the shaman here requires of his assistant. I need you to promise that you will do whatever he asks to save our town.. no matter what.." Kess blinked quietly, and then shrugged.

".. Yeah, sure.. whatever.. Glad to see you finally take my position seriously.." she shook her head with a confident nod, and Xanthas watched as she stepped out. He looked over to the older lupine, and glared through half closed eyes.

"You did not even tell her.. how cold.. I will not force her, old man." Xanthas growled. ".. It's not my style, no matter what is at stake for you. This might be a very short, and very ineffective ceremony. If so, I owe you no apology." he said, before walking out, leaving the older lupine wringing his hands quietly.

Out on the porch, the slender young lupine female waited, leaning on the railing, glaring at the shamanic lapine as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

"Are you ready?" he asked. ".. You know where the site is, so I need you to lead me." The girl continued to glare at him.

"... I don't like you. You know too much.. and you don't keep your mouth shut when you should." she said, narrowing her eyes. Xanthas paused, and shook his head.

"And you don't know when to open your ears, girl. What I tell you is to your benefit, if you will listen. I have too little time to wander around upsetting people with lies and stories. You are passionate about your beliefs, and have a very fiery temper. This makes being a priestess much harder. I do not say these things to insult you, but rather to observe why this will be more difficult. Personally, I am impressed that you became one of the Letai order, being half Amanian, as I have never seen that. But my being impressed with you does not serve a real purpose if you are unable to complete the tasks set before us. If you like, I can leave now, and you can explain to the rest of your town why I left without providing any help." he narrowed his own eyes. He was not about to back up.

"I see.. you would hold this town hostage for my cooperation then?" she asked.

"You do not understand at all, do you? I don't need you there as an extra hand, Kess Kuravi. You have to be the one to go because you already have some knowledge of casting. And no one else in your town does. You do not have to like me to help me to take care of this town's problems.. and when I am done, you are certain to like me a LOT less, but there is no other way." he explained, walking on ahead.

"I already don't like you and we have just met." Kess growled, striding alongside the lapine.

"Good.. then we have a relationship. You don't like me, and I don't like you. We can not like each other on the way to the site." Xanthas murmured. Kess growled again softly, and pulled ahead a bit, leading Xanthas through the streets, and outside the palisade.

It was not very long before they were walking along a river, through a thicket of woods, when Kess spoke again.

"So.." she said, breaking the silence, "What business does a rabbit have with the lupines, anyway.. you live in the southern continent. I learned that from my studies. It's rare to see your kind, even in the bigger cities here." she said. It would seem she had grown bored of silent walking.

"I am not typical for my kind, either, Kess." he said. His voice was still hollow, and unsubstantial. ".. I travel here because the forces here in Amani are a lot stronger than where I came from. I seek that power, and will eventually find it." he states.

"Then why help us? Why help anyone? You have been to at least four other locations as far as I know, and performed some manner of helping in each one.. I even heard a story that you helped a slave in the royal house in Diera." Kess interrogated softly.

"So many questions, I see. It would seem news travels fast. Yes, I helped Queen Razelle's slave, but she will be needing him, so I stayed in Diera until my work there was done.. as for why I help you.. do not misunderstand." he plodded along silently for a while. Kess finally broke the silence again, sounding a bit agitated.

"Don't misunderstand what? You help lupines. That's a good thing, right? Even if you do act like a big meanie.." she said, huffing softly.

"I have my own ambitions, and my own needs. Whether they realize it or not, they are helping me too.. often a great deal more than I help them. So don't let yourself think this is all about you and your town. I have no reason at all to care if it wastes away or thrives. I have my own concerns, which are a touch more serious than those of this town." he said, knowing exactly how cold it sounded, but there was no room in his existence for fantasy and lies. Kess growled again softly.

"That takes a lot of nerve to say right in front of the matriarch’s daughter.. even if I AM adopted. What could be more important than the town I was raised in?" she said, her eyes narrowing as they came out of the small forest, and turned along a path to head up a hill, toward some fields.

"That is something I will not tell you, since it both does not concern you, and is actually something you would rather not know to begin with. As are many facts about the world around you. Stick to the religion that you know. Shamanism has a darker side, and you are better off not walking around in it." he stated. Kess slicked her ears back, agitated, but that echoless voice added an air of importance to what it was saying, so she did not press further. Finally, Kess stopped, under a single tall, dead, ugly tree. the grass all around it was also dead.. dried and withered.

"This is it." Kess said.

"Explain to me, as best you know, what happened here that day." Xanthas said. Kess thought for a while, and seemed to improve in her mood at the fact that it was underway, and she was helping.

"Well.. We caught the spy.. a merchant who was working for Mannus. He used dark shamanism to trick people into telling him anything he wanted.. so he was feeding secrets to the other side, which was gonna set up for an attack, and breach our defenses. There is no chance of that now.. but.. when we took him to be executed for his crimes.. e said that when his blood spilled upon the soil.. nothing would grow in it ever again. He would do this as his final duty to his master.." she explained. ".. A lupine merchant named Orimasha.." she clarified. They killed him.. by smashing his head with a big rock.. here.." She pointed to a large gray stone under the tree, set deep into the ground. "And the blood ran off, and as soon as it touched.. like a fire, everything withered. The trees by the river were okay, but our crops.. were ruined. Kashira had a bountiful harvest, so we are trading much of our lumber for food.. we take a pretty bad hit economically, but at least we are fed.. but we can't do it two years in a row.. this ground needs to be made fertile again. I have used purification chants, but actually lost my voice half way into it. It's too strong.. I was.. struck down before I could even cast." Xanthas listened intently and nodded, before placing his staff against the tree, and moving a little way back from the rock, and taking a rolled blanket from his pack. He stretched it out on the sterile ground, and nodded to the girl.

".. I can definitely help, if you help as your father said you would. I can even restore this area.. hardest hit by the blight.. That is, if you cooperate with the ritual.

"Even though the ritual is against my teachings as a priestess, a priestess protects and cares for her home, and that is what I must do." Kess explained, getting on her knees on the blanket, in a sort of praying fashion, preparing for the ceremony. Xanthas busied himself by placing candles here and there, and then a large green crystal on the rock, surrounded by white, slender bottles, which smoked a bit.. Incense. He looked over to Kess and nodded.

".. Are you ready, Kess?" he asked softly.

"As ready as I will ever be, bunny-shaman." she said.

"Very well.. Take off your clothes." he said bluntly.

"What?" he asked, a soft waver in her voice, showing that she felt she might have misheard.

".. your clothes, Kess. Take them off. They will be in the way..' Xanthas slowly begin to untie the intricate bead worked lacing of his loincloth. The lady lupine just stood with her muzzle open and then turned away, noticing the rabbit removing his loincloth.

"Hey!" she shouted. ".. I don't know where you get off thinking you can do this, but I hold a very reputable position, and I am not some.. some.. town tramp who will lay with anyone and everyone. Put your clothes back on right now, or I am going home!" There was a long silence. Kess turned around slowly, apparently wondering if he was still standing there. Xanthas was sitting on the blanket, Indian style, seeming to be in meditation, completely nude. His eyes were closed, and his hands were at his side, limply, his brow furrowed, as he seemed to look beyond himself, and beyond them moment, in silence. The lupine gasped and turned around suddenly, having realized she was looking into his lap. The rabbit was well built, as if sculpted of fine marble for the should purpose of tempting her. She shook her head. She knew nothing of shamanic ritual. Perhaps he just had to be nude for this, but she was not about to take her clothes off if it were not completely necessary. finally, those dark eyes of the shaman opened, and fixed on Kess.

".. You are still dressed." he said softly, as if in raw, uncaring observation.

"Your wisdom astounds me. Yes, I am still dressed. I am not taking my clothes off, because I don't want to be naked with you, and I certainly don't want you touching me. What exactly am I supposed to be doing in this ritual anyway? And don't you dare tell me that I am supposed to be pleasuring you or something like that, because I will be smashing YOUR head on that rock if you do." she growled. Xanthas put his hands behind him, leaning back a little and propping himself up, smiling as he caught the lupine turning and staring into his lap out of the corner of his eye. He found her sudden shyness to be entertaining, with how fiery her spirit was.

".. Actually, I will have to be the one to pleasure you for this fertility ritual to work.. and you will have to enjoy it for it to be able to be strong enough to break the curse.." he explained very calmly. There was no waver in his voice. It was as if he were certain of the outcome already, and were effortlessly reading lines from his script in a play.

"The hell you will. You would have to commit a most heinous crime upon my lifeless corpse to do something like that to me, shaman. I am leaving." She turned coldly and stormed off, down the hill, toward the river. Xanthas shook his head softly, and then picked up a bottle filled with water from his pack, and sipped silently for a while. He took some time to enjoy his water, as he sat there, the candles burning around him. That voice returned, then, very distant, and very bitter. A mere echo of a female’s voice.

“You are letting her get away, Xan. Her energy is absolutely delicious. I must taste of it, Xan. I must have it. You will go after her.” Xanthas seemed unphased by the voice, as if not even noticing it. “.. Xan, you will not ignore me. You know the kind of pain I can inflict. And the kind of suffering I can bring.. To those town’s people if I so wished. You will do this.” Xan opened his eyes again and looked forward. A pair of emerald eyes gazed at him, a mere foot from his face. But there was nothing but those eyes. No one was there. Just the eyes, staring at him.

“You will have your energies, that was our ONLY agreement. My payment to you is giving you the power. It never included rape. I won’t force her. Even with the power you gave me. I don’t have to. She will return. She has only two roads to travel, and one is better than the other. She just needs time to think about the path that she must take.” The eyes slowly fades away, looking very angry.

“Very well then, Xan.. You will have control.. But if you are wrong.. You will suffer.” the voice hissed coldly. And then, there was silence. Xanthas rested, legs grossed, sipping from the bottle of water.

After about twenty minutes, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The shaman did not bother to get up. He recognized them. He looked up as the black-furred lupine angrily approached.

"Welcome back.. if you wanted a drink of water, you could have asked. I would have shared." he said, sloshing his drinking bottle. His voice had substance and echo this time, oddly, and he was smiling, but the wolfess did not notice at all.

"Okay.. out with it.. what the hell are you thinking? Do I really have to.. to.. violate myself to lift that stupid curse?!" she fairly screamed. Xanthas' eyes narrowed, and his voice returned to normal.

".. It's a fertility ritual. How else do you think the land would be granted its fertility back, Kess? I need to .. What is the best way to say this?.. harvest the energy you release in your most.. fertile and pleasured moment, and use that energy to break the curse with something of greater power, and opposite pull." he explained, as if detailing why salt won't work in a recipe for the same effect that sugar will to a novice chef. The girl sat on the blanket, and fumed a bit, glaring at the rabbit. Xanthas watched her silently. It always troubled him that pure logic seemed so illogical when ones scruples came into question. And the utter insistence of a person to cling o the divinity of their own body in the face of death was another thing that boggled his mind. While he would never take Kess by force, it seemed puzzling to him why she would risk his simply leaving while she was gone, and costing the village everything, rather than just enjoying a night of sexual pleasure and release.

"You knew. The entire damn time you were walking with me and talking with me, you knew what you were about to have to do to me.. Weren't you worried about what my father would.." she went silent, her eyes widening, and then her muzzle going red.

"Right.. exactly." Xanthas said softly. ".. I detailed everything that was required in my letter to your father. He knew what was needed. And he knew you were the only one with the ability to do it." he stated clearly. Kess gritted her teeth, growling savagely, punching the blanket.

"So WHAT if I am not his real daughter?! How can he possibly do that to me?! I thought he was finally taking my abilities as a priestess of the Letai wisdom seriously, and letting me make a reputable name for myself! How could he just sell me out to be .. some sexual sacrifice?!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Xanthas remained silent, and finally, Kess just.. threw herself at him. The lapine did not flinch a bit, as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she cried, holding the nude shaman close, growling out obscenities softly into his ear, so overwhelmed with rage. Xanthas finally pulled his arms around Kess, and spoke softly.

".. It's alright Kess. The setting for our lives can sometimes be harsh, unkind.. even cruel.." His voice was again filled with rich echo, and soft, tender, dulcet tones.. as if hearing the difference between a grainy recording and the real thing. "However, no matter how bad it seems, it is still exactly what we make of it. Do not hesitate to use a situation, no matter how bad, to your advantage, to attain your goals. That is what I meant before.. We all have our own immediate concerns, and while things might not always be nice, or happy, or pleasant, they do not always have to stop our dreams.. or desires.." He leaned back a little, and looked into Kess' eyes, wiping her tears away with a thumb, his own eyes seeming.. more lifelike than before, perhaps..? wider, and more expressive? It was hard to tell. ".. Yes, your father used you, but he had to, or his entire town faced demise.. That was a sacrifice he was willing to make, and I would assume deeply regrets. You, however, can still turn this to your opportunity.. You can still be the priestess who helped to break the curse. No one in town will have to know HOW you did it.. only that you did. Yes, I can look at a candle, and light the flame, but when I do it in front of the townspeople, I give a gesture, or I will utter a spell, because that’s what they expect.” Kes shook her head softly, muttering softly.

“.. Damn you stupid lapines and your soft fur.” She was still clinging to him tightly. “.. I don’t care about my own dreams here. The town is all that matters. What difference do my dreams make? A priestess for a religion almost no one believes in?” Xanthas held the lupine closely, nodding.

“You do not have to do this, Kess.. If you do not, your town will fail, but those who lived here will move on. No one will stay and just starve to death. It will become a ghost town. Lives are not at stake, a location is.“ Xan looked out toward the horizon, and said softly, slowly, “A long time ago.. A long, long time ago.. I made a decision. Maybe it was a good decision. Maybe it was a bad decision, but the decision I made was to help me obtain a goal.. It matters not now what consequences there are, as long as I achieve what I want. If your gall, Kess, is to be respected, and to have your religion revered again, even if just by those in your town, you have to know when to use a situation to your advantage to make that dream come true. It won’t be immediately. It may take years and years. I still await the coming of my dreams..“ Kess looked up at Xan. Her crying had stopped, and she was listening intently, seeming to no longer mind being in the rabbit’s lap now. “What you do now, has to be for yourself, or for those you care for."

There was a very long pause, as the lupine just.. hugged Xanthas tightly, sighing deeply, her breathing returning to normal. She was deep in thought. Finally, she leaned back, looking into Xan's eyes, which had narrowed again, as usual, that expressionless face again. She slowly drifted forward, and pressed her lips to Xan's, kissing him fully. This got his eyes to widen a bit, and that life to flow back into them, before he closed them, and begin to softly, slowly caress the girl’s hair, and along her shoulder as he laid her back, onto the blanket. He draped one of his legs over her as he kissed her, knowing well her sacrifice for this, and the force of will which she overcame to see life at this angle. Xanthas began to slowly, carefully undo her clothing, slipping it away one layer at a time, her robes first, and then the rather attractive gown she wore beneath it. He looked up at Kess as her body was slowly being bared by his own hands. Her eyes were fixed on his and she finally spoke softly.

".. Don’t.. think that I am doing this to help you achieve your goals, shaman.. I have my own concerns.." she said, blushing a bit. Xanthas arched his brow, as the scent of lupine arousal was finally heavy enough in the air for him to detect. Holding him, smelling the scent of masculinity in his fur, and feeling his strength, and hearing his kind words to her, had aroused her. No magic. No tricks. Just words. He narrowed his eyes again, nodding.

"Very, very good, Kess.. Never forget that." he said. ".. while you don’t have to harm others to meet your goals, you don't always have to do the right thing, either.. It's not a black and white world.. welcome to the fuzzy gray area.." Xanthas said. He looked down between the newly bared thighs of the priestess, and inhaled deeply, gazing at her perfect mound, youthful, warm, shimmering like velvet obsidian. ".. And welcome to the fuzzy black area too.." he said, his voice breaking out of the cold, distant style, and back into the rich, warm voice again. Kess arched her back a little, shivering a bit with anticipation.

"Wh.. what was that?" she asked, referring to the last comment.

".. Ahh.. oh, just rather.. enjoying a few aspects of the situation.. You are very attractive." he said, his voice slipping back to normal. " .. I.. wondered, though.. Have you been pleasured like this before?" his body pressed close again, his chest to hers, the lupine's breasts, hidden by the robes, being more than enough to please the lapine. Xan did not want to cause her pain that she might not be expecting.

".. Ahh.. if you mean.. am I a virgin, then no.. not.. physically, at least.." she explained. Xanthas smiled wryly, and begin to tenderly kiss along the lovely, slender female's neck and shoulder, trailing his kisses toward her chest, his hand sliding up her tummy toward the same goal. On the gray stone, the green crystal began to softly glow.

".. How can you be.. only physically not a virgin, if you don't mind my asking?" the shaman said slowly, finally reaching her nipple with his velvety lips, and seizing it, while his hand wrapped around the heavy globe of her breast, not overly larger, but definitely a pawful. He could feel his own arousal growing, his scent spiking the air, easier for the wolf to smell than him.

"Oooooh.. That.. that feels.." she stammers as the rabbit begins to slowly use his experience, touch, and tenderness to pleasure her. ".. Oh.. mmph.. how? Since I know.. you won't be passing this information on.. I.. got a little too playful with.. a special item that I bought.. A piece of marble sculpted into..' She slid her hand down and allowed her curious fingers to encircle Xan's cock. ".. one of these.." she fairly purred. It was beginning to seem that she had a playful side under that robed, serious exterior. Then again, as Xanthas had learned over the years, many do. The quiet, gentle ones were sometimes even frightening in their adventurousness in bed. Xan nodded softly.

".. Mmm yess.. so.. while you have never made love.. you accidentally broke your own hymen.. That happens more than society wants to admit." he said, chuckling softly. He rolled over slowly on top of her, and got onto all fours, giving the lovely lady lupine a little better access to where her curious hands were moving, and allowing him a little better access to the lovely wolfess. He kissed even more insistently now, feeling his own passion growing along with hers. Xan slid his hand slowly down her body, his other paw on her breast, as he licked and nibbled softly on her nipple. Silence fell over them, aside from the occasional moan of surprise, anticipation, and pleasure. Slowly, her soft, and gentle hand glided up and down his solid length, eight inches easily, of pink flesh, pulsing with life.

Her fingers were dexterous and delicate.. had she not been a priestess, she surely could have been an artisan. The lapine arched his back into those tender, longing strokes, noting the positioning of the wolf girl's head. She was gazing right at the thick, pulsing member that she lovingly stroked, as if just wanting to always see, and perhaps even worship silently in her tender, gentle gaze. Kess gasped loudly as Xan's hand cupped over her searing hot mound. Xanthas slowly spread his fingers, opening those petals to the cool air, and ushering a soft moan of both interest, and pleasure from the black-furred lupine. Xanthas could not help but become even hotter for the fact that these delicate, beautiful folds had never known the touch of another, and yet, knew the pleasure that Kess was about to be filled with.

Kess arched her back as the shaman let his middle and ring finger slide back and forth over her wet, slick labia. He did not immediately give penetration, wanting instead, to prolong her waiting, her desire building, just as his was, as she learned and curiously caressed his length. She gave him a soft, but firm squeeze, the soft coo of almost submissive dedication ushered from her. Xan uses his middle finger ot just dart back and forth over that slit, letting her become more and more wet, and watching her carefully, unabashedly staring right at her warm, slick lips, as her nectar began to flow. He nodded slowly.

“Very good Kess..“ he stated tenderly. “.. Just let yourself enjoy it.. Don’t think about whether it’s right or wrong. You get to do this.. To enjoy the most carnal pleasure, and not hurt your reputation. In fact, for accepting such a sacrifice, you even help your own reputation.. For taking part in pleasure that you would otherwise perhaps never know. It might be your only chance to enjoy it. Don’t be afraid to like it..” Xanthas’ voice was rich, and echoing again, as he felt that warm hand glide back and forth, experimenting with how his flesh felt within it. He inhaled deeply, licking his lips, and then pressed two strong fingers into her, spreading her out. Kess already knew pleasure, but not the pleasure given by a hand other than her own. She arched her back slowly, and pressed into those fingers and that warm, strong palm eagerly, and released a soft, slow moan. Xanthas smiled and began to stroke her slowly, his fingers delving in and out of her young body.

His eyes never left her, as she slowly writhed, and moaned, and cooed from pleasure, anticipation, and longing. Xan could feel her clit, between his fingers, tense, and ready for the peaks of pleasure it could bring her to. The shaman leaned in closer, smelling the strong scent of her growing arousal, as his fingers hooked upward inside her slick sex. Xanthas watches Kess’ face, since any change of her mind, or any distress or discomfort would be seen there first.

Xanthas was not stupid enough to lose control of a situation where the lover he was with, less than half an hour ago, wanted no part of this! He leaned in a little further, and pressed his lips to hers again, his tongue plunging into her muzzle this time, increasing the speed of her breathing, even if through her nose. His fingertips grazed over a slightly rough patch of flesh deep inside the wolf girl, and she squirmed a bit, her eyes shutting tight, her legs spreading widely. Xanthas knew exactly where to touch, and what he was touching, to bring this girl the most pleasure, and bring her to a point where she would be willing to do anything to continue enjoying the pleasure, and not feel even a little shy about enjoying it. Her enjoyment was important to this ritual.

Xan began to very methodically pump his two strong fingers in and out, rubbing deeply, and even moving them back and forth past each other to send new and different sensations through the wolf. Kess shuddered hard, writhing softly in pleasure as her hand slid up and down Xan's shaft a little faster, as the kiss finally ended, allowing Xanthas to breath heavily though his muzzle again, panting softly. Kess blushed a little, looking at the shaman, not seeming to dislike him at all now.

".. Mmm. your. fingers feel much better than mine." she said, almost teasingly. “Longer.. and they touch where mine d-oooohhh-nt.." she whimpered. ".. Like this?" she asked, curiously, pumping Xanthas a little faster, and squeezing a little tighter. Her hands were untrained, and practically unskilled in pleasuring a male, but Xanthas nodded anyway. He certainly didn't want her to stop. His own hips rolled needfully against her eager stroking. The lady lupine's hand was already slick with his precum, and felt wonderful gliding softly, but lustfully over his hard, throbbing flesh. Xan remained on his knees while they gave and received pleasure of each other. Kess had already begun to pant feverishly, rather swept away by her needs at this point. Xan looked over at the crystal a moment. It was glowing brightly now. He removed his fingers from the damp, tensing sex of his 'assistant', much to her objection, and picked it up. Kess sat up, a heavy blush over her face, very much enjoying it, actually. She looked at the crystal.

"Very good.. You have a lot more life energy than I thought you would.." he said softly, smiling warmly.

".. That had better not be all!" Kess cried desperately. Xan looked at her blankly a moment, and then chuckled, his voice no longer hollow for that moment.. That was all the proof he needed that she wanted to keep going. He placed the crystal, still glowing bright green, on the blanket. Slowly he moved back a little and looked to Kess, who was still on her back, blushing hotly. He rubbed his chin a moment, thinking hard. He looked almost as if her were viewing a banquet, and did not know what food he would most like from the table. He then circled around Kess and smiled again, warmly.

“Don’t worry, girl.. It’s not over. I won’t leave you in that condition.. I told you that you would have to enjoy some pleasure tonight. I mean that.” he stated. His voice was still rich, and nicely toned, as he moved down between Kess’ thighs. “.. I just wanted to get the crystal, which charges as it is subjected to your pleasure.” he stated. “.. It’s what I will use to focus the power and turn it against the curse.” Kess looked up at Xanthas as he settled between her thighs. She blinked a little, looking over her breasts, which were rising and falling. Her hands, no longer able to occupy themselves with the shaman’s cock. She seemed at a loss for words for am moment, before murmuring,

“Curse?” she shook her head, seeming lost a moment, as he blush caressed over her muzzle softly. She then blushed deeper, and giggled, nodding. ‘Oh yes! Yes, th..that..” she stammered, spreading her legs wider for her assisting shaman. Xanthas grinned silently. If she had already forgotten why she was here, he was certainly doing this right. He lowered his head softly, as he heard her voice again. “… Oh my goddess.. Are you going to-” he cut her off by pressing his tongue deep into her wet, slick cunny. His tongue, broad, but not as long as a lupine’s, was a bit stronger anyway, as it pressed past those tight folds, tasting that tangy, firm flesh. He moaned softly against those pouting labia, and nuzzled his nose in soft, slow circles, feeling accomplished and happy as her voice was stolen away, and she inhaled deeply, the girl raising her hips a bit, bracing her feet. Xan did not relent, however, pressing his muzzle tight over that searing hot mound, and drawing his tongue back, dropping the pressure inside his muzzle, and suckling inside those tight, wet walls. His body tingled all over as he began to slowly, but eagerly and orally satisfy Kess.. Her first true sexual experience, shared under a tree, for a purpose greater than just her pleasure.

Xan moved his strong hands to the lupine’s rump, and held her still. He slid one down the blanket, and then drew his hand over to the base of her tail with the crystal. Using his thumb, he pressed the crystal there, on the base of her tail, as he brought his muzzle forward again, and began to eagerly, but tenderly probe those depths with his powerful, and quick tongue. The soft sounds of his muzzle wet with her juices already, rather sloppily dining on the essence of her arousal, could easily be heard. Xan finally pushed two fingers of his other hand in, as the crystal hissed softly, very softly, at the juices which, by now, were flowing from Kess’ sex, down the base of her tail as she lay there. Faster now, his tongue flickered, no longer between those lips, but at the tiny, but hard nub of her clit, as he hooked his fingers forward again, rubbing that rough spot. Years of learning what women liked, to get the response he required. Kess was being pleasured at the hands of a master.

Kess’ breathing had gotten much faster, and she was rolling her hips eagerly, and whimpering softly. Xan eagerly lapped at her sex as he pumped two of his fingers in and out faster, the crystal glowing even brighter. Kess whimpered softly, even begging to know what Xan was doing to her, if it was magic or not. As she watched him through half closed eyes, Xan only slowly shook his head. Not magic at all. Just wisdom. He pressed his muzzle tight to Kess’ sex, and flitted his tongue side to side rapidly over her clit. He hooked his fingers inside her, and rubbed harder over her g-spot, which her shorter, more difficult to angle fingers might not have ever found. Kess began to buck, even as her tail was held securely.

“Yes! Oh god, yes!” she cried, her hands suddenly grabbing Xan’s ears like handles, and pulling, grinding his muzzle into her sex. “.. I don’t.. nnnng! ..know what you are doing.. But don’t stop! Oh don’t stop!” Xan grinned, almost wickedly.

“Don’t worry.. Not until you are done..” he said, licking his lips, and then immediately he returned. The wolf girl writhed at every single touch, as if tortured. Xanthas still did not relent. Her moans, and her sharp cries of pleasure echoed over the prairies, until finally, she went silent for a moment. Xanthas looked over her body, seeing both her hands squeezing her breasts tight, her nipples jutting from between her fingers as her back arched fully. He cupped his muzzle over her sex, and wriggled his tongue over her clit, holding his fingers apart, so her sex was wide open, and he waited.

Five seconds perhaps, no more, but to the lady lupine, it likely felt like an eternity. A sharp, powerful shriek exploded form the sex-tortured girl, as Xanthas’ muzzle was suddenly overflowed with the force of Kess’ climax. She rolled half onto her side, as if to claw away from him, o get that muzzle off her, so powerful was her orgasm. It was almost frightening, but she was paralyzed as her thighs and her inner walls convulsed! Xanthas’ cheeks swelled slowly as he suckled, and pulled in as much of that tangy, wonderful fluid as his willing subject would give him. Anything more he swallowed down, but he then moved his paw over and around the crystal, holding it like a cup, with the crystal as the bottom. He pressed his muzzle to his cylinder-fashioned hand, and his cheeks deflated, as he spewed the warm, tangy contents of his muzzle into his hand. There was a bright flash, and the night then returned to darkness. The candles were blown out by something, and only the heavy sounds of breathing of a satisfied female, and the occasional breeze could be heard. Incense still scented the air.

For a while, it was just that. The silence, and the scent of sex and incense. Xan slowly got onto his knees, dropping the now dimly glowing crystal on the blanket.

". Kess.. I need you to get on your hands and knees, and move so that the crystal is laying on the blanket below your hips. And no, I am not done yet. You will get to enjoy this completely, don't worry. Even if I only needed as much as you have given, I would not leave you like this.." he said, slowly, and deliberately licking his soaking fingers, allowing the gorgeous young lupine to watch his tongue stroke over that slick, tart juice. ".. A wonderful taste, and a lot of power.." he noted. Kess nodded lustfully, and rolled over, onto her hands and knees, getting into position over the crystal. It rang softly, like a VERY distant bell, when a drop of the heated lupine's succulent nectar dripped from her soaking slit, and onto the glassy crystal surface. It glowed brightly again, enough to read by if one really wanted to. Xan moved up behind Kess, and placed his hands on either side of her hips. She immediately tried to back into him, eager and longing.

".. Yes. oh goddess, yes.." she whimpered, her head down. Xan pushed her back into position, keeping her sex level over the crystal, as he used one of his hands to carefully position his thick cock right at the entrance to her tight, slick tunnel. Slowly he leaned forward, over Kess’ back, feeling her tail caress over his tummy and chest. Oddly, this was one thing that he really enjoyed about having sex with lupines. Lapines don’t have long tails to tickle you with. And tickling.. Very gentle, unintentional tickling, was highly arousing to Xan.

He slid his hips forward, slowly, at first, to let her adjust, and feel everything. A long, loud moan from her was the reply. He held her hips with both his hands again, keeping her perfectly still. As he held her tightly, he moves one of his hands slowly down to her leg, and around to her thigh, still leaning over her back, as he pressed himself fully into her, letting her feel the full length of the lapine, his girth spreading her wide around him, seven inches of flesh more than was sufficient for the pleasure of the wolfess. She trembled with longing, and lust, desiring to back hard into the shaman now. Xanthas began to eagerly massage Kess’ thighs as he pressed himself fully against her, as tight as their bodies would allow, and felt her tensing and relaxing around him, post orgasmic twinges over his wet shaft.

Xan began to slowly, tenderly kiss along Kess’ neck, the back and side, and along her ear-ridges as he began to drive himself slowly, but methodically in and out of her. Ever single stroke was dedicated to his pleasure, and hers, and he was paying close attention to how it felt for him, those tight walls squeezing around his pulsing masculinity, and just how far along she was in her own pleasure. He slowly increased his speed, controlling how fast he was breathing, and seeming to adjust for each stroke as he tilted the pretty girl wolf toward her peak of pleasure, his goal not actually being to have his orgasm, but for her to climax first, and throw him over the edge with her passionate cries of release.

His slow motions gradually increase in speed, becoming more deliberate, and purposeful. Soon, the sounds of soft-furred bodies colliding could be heard, the gentle ‘thump-thump-thump of sexual frenzy building, becoming faster and faster as the shaman began to softly nip at Kess’ neck, which only delighted the lapine with her squeals of anxious delight, her body quivering at those attentions. Xanthas tilted his head back, starting to pant, at this point hammering the gorgeous lupine very firmly from behind, the wet sounds of more feral sex audible, even on the open plains, beneath the tree.

Xan groaned loudly, and heard the soft whimper from Kess. ".. Sh..shaman.. ohmygod! I'm close!" Xan gritted his teeth, and rolled his hips upward sharply, rubbing the tip of his cock tightly against her inner walls, sending searing sensations of wet, slick friction through his body, his sack drawing close to his body. He drove himself faster and harder against the black lupine, his eyes shut tight, feeling very close himself, but holding back, driving himself at an ever increasing pace, not holding back his strength at all, as he held her thighs, to keep her from moving, while she dripped her succulent, tangy honey onto that hissing crystal, which was beginning to grow warm beneath them. It was absorbing every stroke, every droplet of juice, every heated moan. Each and every passionate moment was being stored within that odd crystal, which began to smell of the forest after a rain, or the beach as the tide comes in, bringing the life of the ocean with it.

"... Good Kess.. let it happen.. just let go.." he said, his voice raspy, but distant, very much as it usually was, though strained from exertion. He gave four or five more brisk upward facing strokes, the underside of his cock dragging tightly over the lupine's clit. Xanthas felt Kess' already tight walls convulse, and just grunted deeply with pleasure.

Xanthas heaved out a silent shout, a deep breath, as his thick, hot ropes of seed jetted hard from his deeply pressed cock, the lapine grinding his hips against Kess' as she wailed with climax, throwing her head back with a shrill scream of delight, and release! Xan held tight against her, as she tried to buck her hips, letting his thick member not move an inch, aside from here it was grinding over her clit, keeping every drop of his seed deep inside her, as she rolled her hips eagerly through her orgasm, her obsidian black fur fuzzling out a bit with the almost static energy of her climax! Xanthas could feel the heat from the now VERY brightly glowing crystal under their thighs. As she and Xan became more frantic, she had been dripping on the crystal a lot.

Finally, Xanthas pulled out, holding Kess in place as his seed, and a lot of her potent feminine cum, spilled out of her still convulsing sex. There was a bright flash, and a ball of green haze surrounded Kess and Xan, the crystal vanishing as the haze surrounded them. Xanthas sat back, panting heavily, and began to meditate. Kess just collapsed onto her belly, panting heavily, slowly rolling over, to watch Xan concentrate, still trickling his warm, opalescent seed. She held her sex, feeling how wet she was, that slit covered in her nectar and the life essence of the shaman she hated so badly at first, and now could find not a single fault with. There was suddenly a bright flash, so bright that Kess lost her sight in the night time field she was in, and silence as her eyes slowly adjusted.

Xanthas was still sitting, slumped over, panting, giving the occasional sated groan, and as Kess' eyes finished adjusting to the lack of light, the candles having been blown out during it all, She was greeted to the sight of a lush, green field, and a tree with thick foliage, and the scent of wildflowers nearby, and fertile, rich soil. The curse.. had been lifted.. Kess lay on her back now, panting heavily, unable to believe what she did, or how much she enjoyed it. No one would know. Except her, and she would be dreaming of this night for perhaps the rest of her life.

A few hours had passed. Kess had long since headed home, rather light on her feet now, since the curse had been broken, AND she got to get something she had really needed, according to her. She had given the shaman a kiss, and sent him on his way, telling him to absolutely most definitely look her up when he got back, if he did return that way. Xan had escorted Kess to the palisade, and the guards escorted her home, thanking Xanthas, and trying to pay him. He took a blanket at payment, left his old one there, and moved on.

On a distant hill, as the darkest darkness of night closed in, perhaps two hours or so till the dawn, Xanthas stopped walking and unshouldered his pack, looking across the hillside, and to the valley below, far from where he had just been. Peace was restored there. It made him feel better about what he was having to do. He lowered his head as those green eyes appeared again, right in front of him.

“You got it, didn’t you. Excellent. We have some time before the dawn, and there are no eyes and ears this far out. I think.. I will be taking that power right here, Xan..” that soft, distant female voice said.

“.. Yeah, I got it for you. The first orgasm she had.. Was all that was required to break the curse, and restore the vegetation. The second.. That one was the power I promised I would amass for you. I have.. Given you power just recently.. Remember in Diera? That was just a couple weeks ago..” he claimed.

“Silence, dog-lover. You will do as I command.. Or do you forget who holds your leash. Just because you refuse to take by force.. Does not mean I cannot. Take off your clothes.” Xanthas, closes his eyes, and nodded slowly, getting onto his knees, in the grass alongside a long and winding road, as the eyes closed, and a figure appeared there before him. A dark figure. One of malice and cold, calculating and lustful.. She had come. Her thirst never-ending, and only getting worse..