This one was supposed to just take me 2 days max, but I got busy and THEN decided to overcomplicate things, lmao, but I like it~

Nightmare was my favorite part and the main thing I wanted to work on, which is kinda obvious in hindsight, lmao. If I had given myself more time I’d have fixed some of the sketches specially towards the end Kuz they’re kinda ugly, lololol.

“Do you really want to know the answer?”

Flipping to a new page, the warm fingers of their free hand ghosted trails over some of the more sensitive scales of my tail, teasing back and forth with the occasional scritch of nails. I was hyper aware of every movement. From every slow pass of their fingers to the minute shifting of fabric over my warming scales. Their unique scent drifted around the two of us, its subtle but pleasant note filling not only my nasal passageways but condensed on the magic of my tongue.

It was… good. Exquisite to my touch-starved nerves, but also dangerous. Whether for them or for myself, I was having a hard time discerning. It made my claws itch and my muscles twitch. But the biggest problem was the pulsing and pounding within my soul.

Resisting the building shudder, I forced my eyelights to stay planted on the pages of the book I was supposed to be reading, the words seemingly blurring together. None of them were registered as my mind and body reeled under the metaphorical pressure.

“PERHAPS NOT. I’D RATHER NOT HAVE THE MENTAL PICTURE OF ANY OF THE OTHERS CANOODLING YOU, OR WHATEVER THAT MAY ENTAIL.”

Their hand paused as they giggled, an increasingly less rare smile pulling at their lips as they briefly glanced my way.

“Indeed. I would hate to make you or the others jealous by divulging my secrets.”

…

They were doing this on purpose. They had to be. Nothing else made any sense for them to have invaded my space and my person so nonchalantly. They had to know I was not one prone to allowing such things. It was not the type of thing I participated in, unlike some of my more… affectionate cousins. Touch was something that did not come so easily. And for them to throw such bold displays my way…

I had to stamp down, yet again, the overbearing urge to coil and wrap around them, unwilling to move but also unwilling to break poise.

But it was becoming increasingly more difficult.

Recently, there had been some sort of shift between me and the human. Ever since I had brought them back from their latest escape, they had become… softer. Closer. Yet impressively infuriatingly less willing to conform. Their level of content was as confusing as it was suspicious.

It was ridiculous. Absurd.

I didn’t know what to think. Couldn’t think through all the mixed emotions and instincts coursing through my mind and soul. What began as a leisure lounge, much to my shame, was quickly turning into a battle of self-control and will.

It was a gift and a curse from the angel that Rus chose to find us when he did, a pause followed by the raising of a socket, breaking whatever spell I had been put under enough for me to focus. I could already see his mind making nonexistent connections, his eyelights flicking dangerously between the human and I. Then he slouched, using his coils to purposefully block the door and my potential escape. 

Flashing my eyelights in warning, I silently cursed myself for not being more careful. But of course, he ignored it, his mischievous grin ticking higher.

“Well~, ain’t this interestin. Didn’t think anyone else was allowed—"

“RUS.” I had to will myself not to growl in irritation. “WHAT IS THE NATURE OF YOUR VISIT? I HARDLY THINK YOU WOULD INTERRUPT MY PERSONAL TIME OVER SUCH TRIVIAL SHINANIGANS.”

“Yer, personal, time?”

Much to my mortification, the little Mouse giggled again, hiding their absolutely sinful smile behind the cover of their book. I let my scowl hide my embarrassment, cautiously sitting up to be more proper so as not to disturb them.

“CAREFUL NOW. TELL ME WHAT IT IS THAT YOU HAVE COME HERE FOR, OR LEAVE. THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH SUN LEFT IN THE DAY.”

“There’s a situation.”

My scowl deepened, Mouse lowering their book onto my scales. “GO ON.”

“Seems big boss Classic’s found a Rats nest. Somethin about a mole and Monster traffickin’. Apparently, The Slinkers didn’t think anyone would notice ‘em taken’ what don’t belong to ‘em if they made legit deals along the way. Plans are bein’ made to infiltrate with the next demands exchange.” His amber eyelights pointedly glanced Mouse’s direction. “Seems he wants Darlin as a show of trust ta keep ‘em off our plans.”

My claws nearly tore through my book as anger bubbled in the depths of my soul. I knew The Slinkers. Knew how those Rats operated. Rus and I both. If they had gone as far as to send a mole, it was only a matter of time before they did something far bolder to try and force our hand. Not even knowing their motives, I knew sending Mouse would only end in disaster.

“NO. YOU TELL THAT OVERGROWN WORM—” The human didn’t let me finish, sitting up themselves to address us.

“I can do it. If I know what’s going on and where, I can do it.”

I could feel my entire body begin to puff and shift, my back straightening even further as I turned to them. “ABSOLUTELY NOT. DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU WERE SENT OUT? YOU WERE LUCKY THE MONGOOSE HAD DECIDED TO TAKE YOU AND NOT MURDER YOU ON THE SPOT. AND NOW YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE BELLY OF THOSE DAMMED RATS?”

I tossed my book aside, moving my hands behind my back to keep them from further shredding it and contain my growing agitation. Mouse moved to stand, the way their brows furrowed and the corners of their mouth dipped, making my teeth involuntarily clench.

“That time and this are two very different scenarios. If I had been told what the plan was the first time, I wouldn’t have allowed them to catch me to begin with.”

“THE ANSWER IS STILL NO.”

It was almost cute how they balled their fists, face turning even more downward in what I could only deduce to be disgust, the act showing more emotion than they had ever allowed since their initial kidnapping.

“No, I’m going to do it, Black. I can, and will, be doing this. As long as I—”

“YOU WILL NOT. I WILL NOT STAND BY AND WATCH YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF. THIS IS UTTER NONSENSE. IF YOU KNEW—”

“If I knew what was at stake, what the environment was going to be, and what I should expect, then why can’t I choose to do it? Why can’t I make my own decisions!? I am tired of being played with like a doll! I am tired of sitting around and waiting to be told what I can and cannot do! So, with all due respect, I don’t think this decision is up to you. If I want to do it, I should have every right to. Especially if Don Sans is the one asking or telling or whatever else he’s doing.”

For a moment, all I could do was stare. My soul pulsed far too loudly within my chest at the glare the human sent me as pulses of electricity sparked down my spine. But the moment was as fleeting as the turn of their head when they began to walk away.

Their next words were aimed, no doubt, at Rus, judging by the way he shifted back and out of the way of the door. But it was lost to me. All I could hear was the pounding of my soul at Mouse’s retreating back.

The pulse of electricity hit again.

In a blink, I found myself launching forward, cutting off their trajectory and sliding around to wrap them in a loose coil. I didn’t need my entire tail to stop them, just enough to stall their legs and grab them from behind, skull pushed into the crook of their neck.

“What are you—!" “Milord!”

I ignored them both, snarling as I inhaled the human’s scent and the taste of their skin. I could feel my lack of eyelights, the feeling grounding as I desperately tried to control my building emotions. It was all I could do to speak, allowing a hand, blessedly free from the confines of my gloves, to reach around and gently grip the soft skin of their throat.

“YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE HORRORS THESE BEASTS ARE CAPABLE OF. NOTHING OF THE HELLS MY BROTHER AND I NAVIGATE WHEN WE HUNT. YOU MAY BE QUICK, YOU MAY BE CUNNING, AND YOU MAY HAVE THE DETERMINATION, BUT YOU FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THE STAKES. IT ONLY TAKES ONE MOMENT TO END IT ALL.” My grip tightened with another inhale. “I CANNOT, AND WILL NOT, ALLOW YOU TO TAKE THAT RISK.”

The room fell into silence, the only noise my heavy breaths. Rus stayed motionless as he watched, the intensity of his amber orbs entirely focused on me and my hold on Mouse. The human, to their credit, remained calm and collected, if not angry at my outburst. When they finally did break the silence, their voice was low and soft, but with an edge that set every remaining nerve I had on fire.

“Fine. If that’s what you want. But I am not staying here, in this house, any longer. Not now.”

They didn’t have to push or pull that hard to get me to let them go, slipping through my grip like water to pass through the threshold of the door. It was pathetic how easy it was for them. My soul still pounded, but their warmth slipped away, leaving behind the burn of riled magic and Level as the rest of me went lax.

“Milord?... Black—”

“DON’T. TAKE THEM WHEREVER THEY WISH. THEY DESERVE AT LEAST THAT MUCH.”

“Ya sure? They might be angry now, but… Ya never know. I could talk to ‘em.”

“JUST DO IT. IT IS, WHAT IT IS. WE ALL MAKE SACRIFICES. THIS IS MINE.”

Turning, I left no room for further discussion, moving to stare out the glass into the garden. I could feel Rus’s orbs on my back as I remained at parade rest. If I hadn’t been listening for it, I never would have heard the retreating scrape of his scales.

“As you wish, Milord.”

* * *

True to their word, Mouse left. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last. There were a lot of us, and all of us liked to take our time. A part of me, though I would never admit it to anyone, felt as though it would be easier if all our factions returned to The Den so sharing wouldn’t feel so…

It didn’t matter. They made their decision. It was what it was.

True to my word, I made sure Mouse would have nothing to do with our problems. It made it possible to focus on the tasks at hand. For those few days, the Snakes planned and waited, preparing their retaliation against the Slinkers and their Rats. Blue and his brother had acquired the necessary goods for the transfer. Red and his prepared for the inevitable war, posting the Horror brothers out on standby for a clean sweep. Sans organized and planned everything down to the letter. Rus and I hunted the mole, keeping a socket on them to catch and collect any information they may have had while simultaneously sending false information back to the Rats. Naturally, everything was then set up to converge on the same night as the exchange. We had thought it was, and would, all come together.

We were wrong.

…

In the bowels of one of the off-site basements, the air felt like fire to my huffing, sputtering lungs. The air was suffocatingly musty with an overlay of fresh blood. With each passing moment, my growing sneer painfully contorted and stretched the bones of my face as my teeth clenched and ground together. I no doubt had lost my eyelights as a video played out on the phone I had previously confiscated from my victim.

The mole, the damned Rat, had the audacity to laugh through his broken and bloody teeth.

“All this… time, you were so, focused, on finding me… that you didn’t notice… there was more than one.”

The human, shone through the screen in some far-off room. They were bound and on their knees, familiar packages shredded and spread around the concrete floor around them. A male voice behind the camera taunted me, speaking insults, demands, and words of warning. I memorized it all, every aspect of what I was seeing, searing into my mind and soul. Every word, every other face that appeared, every person involved in toying with and beating, M y  M o u s e…

…

Three weeks passed. Three weeks and five days. If I put my mind to it, I would be able to calculate the exact hours down to the minute, but I was trying not to be that obsessive.

I could not remember what exactly the mole said after that disgusting video ended, or what exactly occurred in the moments directly after his unfortunate outburst. But I could still hear Rus’s voice screaming my name and feel the grip of his claws on my back and arms when all my inhibitions were lost. Could still smell the overpowering stench of the basement and feel the filth under my claws and upon my scales. Still taste the poison and blood in my mouth…

I had to force yet another purposeful breath in an attempt to relax. I didn’t need to spiral further and lose myself again at this time. I had already destroyed Don Sans’ office and my own during the confrontation upon learning of his and the Slinker’s offence. I had already hunted down every, last, person, on the video with Rus. The Snakes and our factions had already gutted, burned, and destroyed every part of the Slinkers we could get our hands on. We had all gone above and beyond to find and bring back our human. There was no longer a need for such a lack of self-control. It would only jeopardize my current mission.

Against all other orders, I simply had to see them.

They were safe, of course, taking refuge further and deeper up the Ebbotian mountain within the Horror brother’s territory. But I needed to see them again.

It was fortunate that Crooks, arguably the less hostile of the Horror brothers, was willing to permit me access, especially at such a late hour. He did not question my need, nor bothered to sugarcoat any form of pleasantries like many of the others most assuredly would have. At my arrival, he simply nodded, invited me for a late-night meal, then showed me out to the hidden pathway of their coveted natural hot spring. Though a little awkward, it had been… appreciated.

I ignored the involuntary shiver down my spine at the glow of his watchful stare when he stayed back, even more internally thankful for any semblance of privacy I could get from the possessive pair. Slipping down the worn gravel path through trees and rocky ledges, I soon found myself entering beneath a wooden archway onto concrete. The area opened from there to my destination. 

A lovely, almost oriental, building proudly stood against the mountain, marking a lounge and dressing area. Around it, several large pools stretched out and down large stone and concrete steppes. Some of the pools cascaded down waterfalls into the other areas, steam and mist spiraling up into the cool night air. It was remarkable against the backdrop of the mountainous surroundings, strings of bulb lights reflecting off the water’s surface helping it take on an even more ethereal glow.

I paused, hands tightening behind my back.

I could see my human in the middle of one of the lower pools, turned to look over the rest of the mountain and valley below. It was clear they had not noticed my presence over the sound of trickling water. I, however, could hear them perfectly, their sniffles and stifled cries quietly bubbling up to echo off stone and wood.

With each whimper, my soul sank further.

It… was my fault, amongst other factors, that caused them such pain. If I had been less demanding and more willing to listen, if I had followed instructions to stay at the Den on the day of the exchange, If I had found the second mole and discovered the trap sooner…

It was almost enough to have me turn tail and run. But I persisted, eventually taking a deep, deliberate breath before moving forward and down. Every movement was measured. Every thought calculated. It was… hard to know what I should do, so I simply refused to do anything different, even if talking suddenly felt like a weight all its own.

I dared not pass the pool’s edge.

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE GETTING UPSET OVER THINGS YOU COULDN’T CONTROL.” I prayed they didn’t see my grimace as they flinched and turned to meet me, red puffy eyes meeting mine.

The magic in my sockets dimmed. Though Mouse had been healed, they still looked haggard, a few patches of discolored skin still visible. They took their time to speak, their sudden look of defeat making my teeth clench and the bones of my hand grind together even more painfully.

Then they turned away.

“Are you here to gloat? Here to tell me you were right and that I was stupid for,” They took a shuddering breath, looking up to the sky, “for thinking I could—"

“NO.” I couldn’t keep my eyes on them. Guilt swirled within my aching soul. Everything felt tense and tight. “NO PART OF YOU IS STUPID, OR EVER HAS BEEN. MISGUIDED, MAYBE. FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY, WELL DESERVED. BUT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN, STUPID.”

I could hear the water shift, even as my focus was elsewhere. “You don’t mean that. You called me foolish the day I…”

The day I had practically chased them off. The day my obsession and need for control scared them away.

I could feel myself deflate, my voice losing some of its strength. “IT WAS MISPLACED. A TERRIBLE EXPRESSION TO HIDE…” The rise of buried emotions caught in the back of my throat as I subconsciously cleared it. “IT MATTERS NOT. IT IS… IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU ALIVE AND WELL.”

“Black, you’re. I, I just.” The choked sound that came out of them when they said my name again finally had me looking back. It was broken and weak, far more vulnerable than I had ever heard from them before. But the look I was then faced with made everything fall away around me.

“Please. I… I need you…”

The way their eyes begged for me. Longed for me in their broken state. The way their voice turned into nothing more than a needy, breathy whisper…

It shook my soul to the core, something deep igniting as if the very fires of hell began to consume me.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I didn’t do things like this. Not now. Not after everything that had happened. I wasn’t supposed to break, certainly not again. I prided myself on my self-control despite any and all hardship that may pass. But the human… When it came to My Mouse...

I never anticipated just how much them being taken would truly rile my soul. And I certainly didn’t anticipate the way they would look at me from the water, steam swirling around their face and shoulders as they desperately called my name.

Each moment that passed had my soul thrumming within my chest, bones heating with an excess of magic. The quip I had begun to prepare faded on parted teeth as the edges of my eyelights stuttered and blurred. Every other attempt at speech ended in nonsense and half-spoken queries until eventually, they cut through the haze and called for me again.

Their final plea, falling from their lips like a desperate call for help, was the final straw to snap any and all of my remaining frayed threads.

“Please.”

I could feel the tremble in my hands as I slowly brought them up to my collar, painstakingly undoing each and every button after removing my tie. Unlike before, now I couldn’t look away, something in the way they cautiously moved to the water’s edge making it impossible.

I had never felt so bare, nor so willingly open.

Their arms were open and soft when I slipped into the hot water of the pool. I could feel every scrape and glide of them over my ribs as they came to grip behind my back and dangerously close to my spine. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I appreciated the texture of the natural sandy bottom as my coils tried to dig down into it to prevent myself from smothering Mouse. The more aware part of me couldn't keep from memorizing every aspect of the encounter, uncertainty forcing me to whisper against the top of their head.

“Do You Have Any Idea What You Do To Me? What You Are, Doing To Me?” My hand slid up their back, pulling them more firmly against my chest as my teeth gently moved to graze the skin of their neck and ear. “I Respect You. Admire You. Desire And Hunger For You. I Would Devour Every Part Of You If You So Let Me…” They gasped, trembling against me, causing the urge to coil and trap to flare along with the burning in my soul. “I Could Give You Anything Your Soul Desired.”

For a brief moment, it seemed as if they were pushing away, only for their hands to come up and cup my face. I could no sooner process their look of utmost joy before their lips were then crashing against my teeth. The force of it caused me to jolt backwards with a surprised grunt. But it wasn’t long before my mind was able to catch up enough to push my magic back into a kiss of my own.

Every part of it was desperate and needy as we pressed against each other, their hands gripping the sensitive vertebrae of my neck and skull as my free hand traveled to the back of theirs. A swipe of their tongue against my sensitive teeth had me groaning, the purple magic of my tongue instinctively darting out to tangle with it.

It was over for me as soon as I felt the tell-tale signs of their teeth gently nip at the sensitive organ.

For a second, I broke free, a snarl ripping from my throat as I toppled over the edge. The heat of the water and the squirming of their body clouded my mind as I found myself breathing in their scent within the crook of their neck. I could hear the pounding of their blood. Feel their pulse through my parted teeth as I nipped and grazed the delicate, flushed flesh. My tail curled and thrashed around them, wrapping anywhere I could get a hold as their legs spread and squeezed around me.

They moaned, breathy and open into the side of my skull as their head tilted back. I wanted to bite. The inexplicable need to mark and claim writhed and swelled, barely contained beneath my rising magic with each surge of electricity that pulsed on time with my soul. I could feel the building strain against my cloaca with each movement and noise they made.

The heat was unbearable. 

As my jaws widened to act upon my wants and my coils pressed them more firmly against my core, it was unfortunate, then, that I was interrupted with the splash of icy water, Mouse screeching as my head jolted up with a snarl.

Horror himself took up almost the entirety of the pool’s edge, no doubt smashing my haphazardly discarded suit beneath his weight. A low warning growl was enough to vibrate the bones of my chest and dampen my raised spirits. 

His singular red orb was small and sharp as he held the now-empty bucket. “Crooks is wait’n for ya. Food is ready back inside.”

My magic lashed out involuntarily from the hidden threat and my annoyance at being interrupted, a low growl slipping through with my reply. “WE’RE BUSY.”

Our host was not impressed, his already strained grin quickly turning feral. “I ain't askin.”

I wanted to bite back despite knowing full well it would be a losing battle, but Mouse put a quick stop to it with a sigh and a pat to my scarred, exposed chest. “It’s alright. I feel much better now, and I would hate to disappoint Crooks.” Their tired eyes turned to meet Horror’s as I willed my claws not to tighten. “Tell him thank you and that we will be there shortly. It’s much appreciated.”

There was a pause as Horror’s sockets narrowed down at me. Then he too sighed with the shifting of his scales.

“Fine. Just make sure ya both rinse off. Don’t want ya smellin like that the rest of the evnin’.”

I just about choked at the accusation, fully prepared to yell obscenities back, but was once again stopped short by Mouse. As Horror retreated, I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the loudest and sweetest laugh mouse had ever given. I could feel within my chest and hands.

…

I could no longer deny it or myself. Would, no longer deny myself. I would give Mouse heaven and hell just to have and to hold them like this.

…

They would be MINE.