#ramenpup

Eskel stared at the ceiling and counted the cobwebs. He kept getting distracted by the shape of the cracks in the rafters and chuckling to himself about the absurdity of crack-spiders. Spiders that lived in cracks. Some of them were big enough for an Arachas. Now his brain had placed a mini-Arachas on the rafter. It was blinking at him. Did Arachas have eyes like that? He couldn’t remember. He’d killed enough of them. Maybe they did—hmm, could do with some food. Munchies. Munch-i-i-i-ies.

Oh, he was so fucking high.

It was his own fault. He met the Vipers just outside Cintra and they invited him back for a drink. The drink happened to include several lines of Fisstech. Maybe more than several lines. He wasn’t actually sure. At some point his clothes had all come off because Auckes wanted to do lines off him. Something about ‘built like a Skelligen beserker’ or—something. His armour was scattered around the room; he could see the red stripes of his gambeson near the window and his swords were propped up safely in the corner.

It was late autumn. Soon he’d be heading back to Kaer Morhen for the winter. The temperature outside had dropped but Eskel had taken up a position right in front of the fire, and his body hummed pleasantly with warmth. He’d been vaguely aware of their bodies against him as they huffed powder off the firm curves of his chest, and he could smell them as they fucked each other lazily on the bed, their sweat and pheromones hanging thickly in the room.

“He’s fucked,” said a familiar voice. Auckes.

“Yeah, and he’s hard,” said another. Serrit. “I can’t get over the fucking size of it. Hey, Letho. Letho.”

“What?” Letho grumbled from the bed; the heavy thump of his feet hitting the floor as he pushed himself to the very edge.

“He’s almost as hung as you,” Serrit drawled. “Fuck it, I want him.”

“I can hear you,” Eskel slurred at the ceiling. The imaginary Arachas—he was ninety percent sure it was imaginary—wobbled on the rafter and his chin twitched to the side. “It’s… rude to talk about someone as if they’re not here... there, here?” 

A quiet chuckle and then the sound of three sets of shuffling feet, one set slightly heavier than the others. They crouched around his naked form and he blinked slowly—really slowly, he wasn’t sure his eyes would open again for a second there—and gazed up into Auckes’ angular face. The firelight flickered across the dome of his shaven head; his yellow eyes bright with the pupils blown wide. “We’re sorry, puppy dog. We didn’t mean to be rude.” 

“Yeah,” Serrit leaned over Eskel’s thick chest, his lips hovering above warm skin to breathe in the scent of him. When he made contact, it was to run his tongue through a smattering of white powder just above Eskel’s nipple. With a body as fine as their puppy dog’s, it would’ve been a crime not to huff drugs off his tits, and he seemed quite content to stay sprawled on the patchy fur rug as they did. “Hmm. Maybe we should’ve done some off his cock.” 

“Mm,” Letho pushed Eskel’s legs apart and sank down between them; Eskel could feel his breath on the sensitive skin of his inner thighs and then his sac as his mouth grew closer. When he finally did lave a long, indulgent lick across his balls, Eskel’s mind watched the sensation flutter by and contemplated the scope of the tongue that could cover that much skin in one and – then he did it again and Eskel moaned, brain finally catching up with the rest of his nerve endings. His tongue was big. So big. So warm. And wet. Why were tongues wet? What was the purpose of a wet tongue? 

“Oh, fuck,” Eskel tried to clamp his legs together against the sudden flood of overwhelming sensation, but Letho pinned his thighs open as he continued to lick and kiss gently. It met the ripples of pleasure passing down his chest as Serrit continued to suck at his nipples, his dark brown hair tickling over Eskel’s suddenly very sensitive skin. “Ahh, ahh.”

Auckes grinned down at Eskel’s hazy expression, long fingers petting through soft, black hair. “Oh, puppy dog, you’re so pretty. And you’re feelin’ so good, aren’t you? We’re going to play with you. You like that, don’t you? You like it when we play with you.” 

“Yeah,” Eskel breathed, legs spreading a little further as he felt Letho’s thick fingers tickle down his taint to his hole. “Want to play. Play with me.” His thoughts were an incoherent spatter across his mind; he couldn’t hold onto one long enough to form a coherent opinion and was happy to go along with someone who seemed to at least know which way was up. Auckes’ smile was all teeth; broad, and feral, and full of promise. 

Letho’s mouth descended over his cock, sucking loudly—wetly, so fucking wet—and Eskel bucked up into the heat of it only to have bruising fingers hold him still again. A pair of warm lips pressed to his mouth, tongue diving across his, and Eskel fell into a warm haze of blissful euphoria. Hot, sweaty skin slid over his as something slick teased into the lax muscles of his hole, moving slowly in and out with the natural cadence of his hips as they were finally allowed to wiggle again. 

He couldn’t get a hold of them; they seemed to slither out of his grasp as soon as he managed to get his hands or arms on them. Their skin was soon slick with sweat, the Fisstech in their system playing havoc with their internal temperature gauges. Eskel growled and managed to flip over onto his front, catching someone – fluffy brown hair, Serrit – by the ankle to drag him underneath his chest. Muscular thighs clamped around his hips and the snake squirmed, grinding his toned stomach up against the hard shaft of Eskel’s cock. “Yeah, go on, puppy, I’m all wet for you, all ready, go on, take it, take what you want, go on—hnngh!”

Eskel bit the arch of Serrit’s throat—teeth leaving deep crescent moons—as he thrust into his willing hole, splitting him open roughly on his thick cock as he buried to the hilt, balls pressing the slick cleft spread for him. He bent his legs up, splaying them for leverage as he writhed, snarling and moaning as Serrit’s body gripped him just perfectly. Two sets of hands were gliding over the flexing muscles of his back, squeezing his ass, kneading at his thighs. Serrit groaned wantonly, gripping  a fistful of Eskel’s hair and pulling when his fervour became too strong. The prickling sting mixed with the pleasure coiling up Eskel’s spine in a dizzying cacophony of sensation.

It only intensified when Letho’s fingers returned; entranced by the athletic roll of Eskel’s hips, the way he could still see Eskel’s perfectly tight little hole every time he drew back and his spine arched just so. It begged for attention, to be stretched open and filled. Letho slipped a well-oiled finger inside as his other hand wet his cock until it was dripping; he let Eskel spear himself, adding a second and a third when his body was ready for it. The wolf moaned into Serrit’s bruised throat, nails biting into the rough-hewn wood of the panelled flooring at the edge of the bearskin rug.

He was drowning in the scent of them, the feel of them. His Fisstech-addled brain was latching onto every sensation now and amplifying it, skin aflame with every touch and lave of the tongue. He took Auckes’ cock into his mouth as the viper settled over his brother’s face, growling happily when he lapped over the back of his balls to his hole just as his puppy dog swallowed him down. Letho lined his cock up with Eskel’s hole and moved his hips in small little rolls, allowing his wolf to fuck himself back as deep as he could handle; his wolf cried and whimpered as his body gaped wide to take the monstrous cock it wanted so desperately.

Their wolf was graceful even when high off his tits. Really, really nice fucking tits though. His muscular body rippled with each deep thrust as he plundered Serrit’s body and impaled himself with every time he drew back. Auckes admired the soft, plump lips as they stretched around his shaft, throat gulping hungrily at his head. Letho knew they were lucky to have such a lovely play thing, one that was so loyal, that came back to them time and again to be teased and toyed with beyond his limits.

Eskel seized as his orgasm washed through him, hips thrusting forward to pump Serrit full. No sooner had his cock stopped twitching was he thrown onto his back. Letho snagged his ankles and folded his legs up to present his ass and thrust back inside, allowing Eskel’s calves to brace over his chest as Serrit and Auckes slithered against his warm skin, touching with hands, tongues, lips and cocks. Eskel licked, kissed and stroked whatever was placed within his reach; obedient, needy, desperate to please. 

Auckes left briefly to grab the remaining Fisstech. He dipped his finger into the soft white powder and then slid it slowly into Eskel’s mouth, gliding across an eager, lolling tongue. “Good puppy dog, just a little top up,” he grinned as Eskel suckled, eyes flickering, pupils blowing wide again in those honey-rich eyes. When he drew his finger back he painted his lips with another helping before diving down for a kiss.

Eskel lost track of time and space. His sense of where he was, who he was, faded into a kaleidoscope of colour and pleasure as the vipers slithered over him, plundering his body as they wanted. He was never empty. Even when Letho’s cock withdrew, it was replaced by another, squelching loudly through the come pouring from his gaping hole. They kept his mouth busy with kisses, pricks or teasing fingers; Serrit pinned his arms back at one point and ploughed into his throat with gusto, spilling with a loud, punched out moan and a stream of praise for Eskel’s gods-blessed tongue. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry to come; pricks slipping in and out of him as they savoured the rest, not allowing him to gain anchor on anything. Free falling, but in the best way.

They fucked him until he was dry and then wound around him—arms and legs binding him close—reptilian mutagens drawn by his apparently endless supply of body heat. Their familiar weight was a comfort as he came down from his high and the dull throb of reality settled in. The sharp edges of sobriety were blunted by the odd but intensely genuine brand of affection his collection of vipers had for him. They were completely unhinged, definitely bad influences, but he trusted them to carry him safely through everything they explored together. At home, he was the sensible one—the golden child—he couldn’t get high. Couldn’t let the side down. The vipers didn’t judge him for his duplicity either. There was an understanding that what they shared had to stay… separate from the rest of Eskel’s life. They didn’t care—saw it as an opportunity almost—just meant it could become as fucking decadent as they wanted it to.

Eskel tilted his head and found himself staring into Letho’s craggy face. The viper’s yellow, reptilian eyes were oddly soft in the fading light of the fire. “Don’t worry, wolf. It’s safe to sleep in our nest.”

He found Eskel broken and half dead on the side of the road barely half a mile away. His body was obscured by some thick foliage and his trademark red gambeson was so heavily damaged that it couldn’t be seen from the path. Something had taken its pound of flesh - monster, human, it was hard to tell - and blood pooled beneath him, his breathing shallow.

He shouldn’t still be this far south. They were barely two miles outside Beauclair and the first snows were due in the north any day. There was no possibility that Eskel would reach the foot of the Blue Mountains and ascend the Witcher’s trail to Kaer Morhen before it was buried in several feet of snow and ice. Letho crouched down by his side, pleased when Eskel jolted in response; not all of his faculties had faded. “Got yourself into a bit of a mess here, wolf.”

“Mm,” Eskel opened his eyes and stared up at what must be a rough, hazy outline. “Letho?”

“One and the same,” the Viper responded, only for Eskel to fall unconscious seconds later. It was simple enough to pluck the wolf from the floor and drape him across the saddle of his loyal steed. Letho led Scorpion back towards the village by the reins, glancing back only occasionally to check that Eskel was still alive. 

Once they were safely sequestered away in an inn room, Letho stripped Eskel bare and tended to each of his wounds. A deep cut in his bicep, another across his chest - they were too clean, definitely steel - and some claw marks in his ribs. A hunt gone wrong then? A betrayal? Letho sewed him up, wrapped clean bandages around his arm and torso from his own kit, and then settled in to supervise. They were deep, and Eskel was probably exhausted. The last hunt of the season and it’d nearly killed him.

A few hours in Eskel stirred and accepted a sip of Swallow. He wasn’t strong enough to take an entire serving and Letho eased him back onto the poorly stuffed pillows once a few drops hit his tongue. His skin bleached ashen grey, dark veins appearing briefly up his neck, before his body worked through the toxicity to the helpful ingredients.

Morning crept up on them slowly. Letho spent the majority of the night in meditation, surfacing occasionally to check that Eskel was warm and alive. His skin had been the colour and temperature of marble in the woodlands, but now it was back to a shade close to its normal honey hue. The heat would return more slowly. When those amber eyes flickered open, squinting at the ceiling, Letho leaned forward and waited for his patient to surface properly.

Eskel growled in discomfort. “Where am I?”

“In a bed,” Letho answered unhelpfully, paying more attention to the minute facial twitches and the ripple of tense pain that passed down Eskel’s body. “Get on the wrong side of something with claws or shady morals?”

“Bit of both,” Eskel sat up slowly and felt the mattress dip as Letho sat on the edge, one thick arm sliding around his back. “Look, I’m fine, I - ahh.” He hissed as Letho pressed gently into his side.

“No, you ain’t,” the viper spoke softly and Eskel was surprised by the tender palm that brushed over his head, fingers nursing through the knots of his matted hair. “You’re miles from home, it’s nearly winter an’ you were about to bleed out on the side of a road.” 

“Anyone’d think you were worried about me, Letho,” Eskel grated, trying to wriggle out of Letho’s arms only to feel one of those big palms sweep around his side again. The pressure was more careful and the warmth bloomed through his chest. “Thank you… for not leaving me to die.”

“Never would, wolf,” he cupped Eskel’s jaw and tilted his head up, examining those soft eyes with interest. “You’re not goin’ to make it home in time.”

“No. I’ll have to bed down somewhere in Beauclair. Always a nobleman looking for an extra bodyguard against a vampire,” Eskel sighed.

“Nah, you’re comin’ with me,” Letho released his wolf and left the bed. “To Gorthur Gvaed.”

“To your - ?” Eskel looked up quickly. “Didn’t think there was anything left.”

“There weren’t,” Letho turned his back and began to root through his bags in search of more Swallow. In a few hours, Eskel would be strong enough to ride on Scorpion’s back with a few rest stops, but he looked about ready to fall unconscious again. “Me and the boys were, uh, inspired by what you’ve managed to make out of Kaer Morhen, so we went home and began tidyin’ up. It’s livable, and a damn sight more comfortable than slumming it in Beauclair.” He paused, and looked back at Eskel’s pensive expression. “Wolf, I’ve fucked you until you’ve cried, seen you high as a kite, you’ve sucked Auckes and Serrit dry, we’ve fought together, got drunk together. Don’t be developin’ debilitating clan loyalty now.”

“It’s not that - it’s - ,” Eskel sighed heavily through his nose and finally gave in to the dizziness throbbing in his head; if he’d been more with it he might have flushed at his list of exploits with the nest of vipers he’d somehow… befriended. “They’ll worry. It’ll be the first time in years that I haven’t been home.”

“Hm,” Letho rubbed the back of his shaven head. “They’ll live. You won’t though if you try to make the trip north. Sleep more, we’ll leave before sunset.”

As predicted, Eskel found the journey south taxing. Letho monitored his condition and pulled Scorpion to the side of the road whenever the wolf needed time on even ground to catch his breath. The injuries were healing slowly, Eskel’s body in desperate need of rest after a tough year on the Path and the toll of deep, grievous injuries. It took them a week to pass through Mag Turga, with its mountainous terrain, and Letho had never been more relieved to see the flat, green plains of Gheso stretching towards the horizon in the west and yielding to the Tir Tochair mountains in the east.

As he led Scorpion towards the beginnings of the mountain pass, the sun was rising above the snow-capped peaks and Eskel huffed. “Thought you said it was warmer down here during the winter.” His throat hoarse, his skin pale; Letho took a moment to judge whether they needed to stop before he answered.

“It is. Much. You’ll get a nice tan, don’t worry, wolf.”

The path up to Gorthur Gvaed was no less of a trial than the Killer. Eskel gazed down at sheer drops and up at jutting ledges, imagining a younger, smaller Letho throwing himself across the huge chasms as part of his training. Hm. Had Letho ever been smaller, or did they just carve him out of that rock over there? The delirium washed over Eskel and he slumped in Scorpion’s saddle…

***

“And we get to keep him for the whole winter?”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t wait ‘til he’s healed.”

“Letho said he might say no.”

Eskel was warm. And comfortable. He recognised those voices, even if he didn’t recognise his surroundings.

“He won’t say no, has too much fun with us, and he loves cock. Loves it.”

A chuckle. “Yeah, and he’s so pretty on one.”

“So pretty.”

The wolf’s arms spread out slowly beneath the blankets - silk, linen - and pressed down into the plush mattress beneath him. Aching muscles relaxed again after a brief wave of uncertainty, and he took a deep breath of familiar scents; the Vipers - Auckes, Serrit, basically twins but for Serrit’s shaggy brown hair - with cloves, and cinnamon, freshly baked bread…

“He’s awake.”

“Yeah.”

Footsteps.

“Hey, puppy dog,” Serrit whispered as he shuffled on the edge of the bed. “You had us worried for a moment there. Open those pretty eyes, let’s see ‘em.” 

Eskel blinked. The room was dimly lit with candles and a large fire in the hearth. The ceiling was tall, vaulted; he could see wooden rafters draped with old tapestries. When he tilted his head, he saw a tall set of double doors leading out to a balcony, beyond that only a darkened horizon. The bed was huge. There were a few furs here and there, but the blankets were mostly silk, woven linen and a supple material he couldn’t identify. It felt gloriously soft against his skin, brushing over sensitive scars, the sensation muffled by the bandages wrapping his torso and arm. 

Naked. 

“Where’re my clothes?”

“Off for cleanin’,” Auckes offered, sitting down at Eskel’s other side. “You won’t be needing them this winter anyway.”

“Oh yeah?” Eskel croaked, head lolling to the side as Serrit swept a hand beneath the blankets and stroked across his upper chest.

“Yeah, you gotta’ repay our hospitality somehow,” Serrit murmured. “Don’t worry, puppy dog. We’ll take real good care of you… like always. Get some rest, and when you wake up next we’ll have some food ready.”

The two vipers wriggled beneath the blankets and bracketed him in. Dressed in loose fitting linen shirts and woollen breeches, Eskel could feel their warmth against him. Their hands wandered over his chest and stomach, fingers fluttering lightly over the bandages, caressed his thighs and petted his arms until he melted completely. He fell asleep half hard, exhaustion winning out over arousal. The last thing he saw before his eyes slid closed was a large outline walking through the heavy oak door at the far end of the room…

“You two can’t keep your hands off him, can you?” Letho smirked, placing his bowl of fruit and dried meats on the bedside table. It’d be there for when Eskel woke again.

Auckes nuzzled into Eskel’s hair. “We waited until he was awake.”

“And he looked cold and lonely,” Serrit sat up a little, just about restraining himself from grinding his swollen cock against Eskel’s muscular thigh.