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Surprise Reading (Part 2)

Library Anthology Series

The jackal examined the cocky rat, trying to read the eyes that seemed to so easily read him like a book. He tried to think of something witty to say, but the harder he tried to feign confidence the more he showed his unease.

“You don't have to do anything you don't want to, sweety," Grithen said with a flick of his tail. “And no need to look so shaken."

“…No bear traps." Nerrim's eyes darted back towards the wall.

“No, not for you…" Grithen stood up, eyes aglow, and placed a hand on the canine's shoulder, gently pulling him in so that the tips of their snouts and their foreheads brushed gently, like coy lovers stealing a moment. Though it passed in an instant, Nerrim felt a calm ease slowly wash over him, leaving him in a lingering trance. His heart rate steadied, his breathing relaxed, and he let go of all the tension he had been holding in his core and shoulders. His muscles relaxed so suddenly he lost his balance, and yet he did not brace for a fall. His eyes simply went knowingly, trustingly, towards Grithen, who smiled as he gently guided the jackal from through their clumsy stumble to lay him gently on the bed.

“Feel better, my pet?"

Nerrim's brow furrowed. “Pet?"

Grithen smiled. “Yes, and what a good boy you are. So kind. So proper… SO SERIOUS" The pink rodent tickled the jackal's sides, sending a jolt of joy throughout the canine's body. Nerrim arched his back and threw out his arms as if to surrender. Grithen laughed softly and gently caressed the dazed pup's cheek with the back of his paw, then fluttered his eyelashes as the mana dissipated from his glare. “How did that make you feel?"

Nerrim pushed Grithen away from him as he shuffled back to the end of the bed, his knees up and his eyes alarmed. “What was that?!"

Grithen sighed. “That was a rather simple trick. When I nuzzled you, I brought my antennae very close to your head, gently grazing over your fur. That close and intimate touch allows me to mirror our feelings. I took in your fear, your stress, your anxiety, your self-loathing, and your shame… and you got… well…" Grithen trailed off for a moment and smiled. “What did you feel?"

Nerrim blinked, as if each time his eyes closed he could swallow and digest more of what was happening. “I… I don't know."

Grithen shook his head, “Tsk, tsk… you only have thirty-seven minutes with me and you want to spend it feeling like that? You're carrying far too much grief, if I had your rank and wealth I'd feel on top of the world… oh, wait." The rat grinned as he brought his fingertips to his lips. “Isn't it funny how the lowly whore seems to be much happier with himself than the fretful lordling?" Grithen slowly crawled forward, slinking over the bedspread, laying his head in Nerrim's lap as he looked up and gave him a boop on the nose. “And you know it's true." Grithen laughed a bit cruelly, but smiled softly. “If you like, you could just sit here with your remaining time, doing nothing at all… aside from feeling good about yourself, if you like. Would you like another taste of self-love? No point in acting strong, I've seen through you already, you have no walls left to hide behind."

Nerrim nodded, meekly, hungry for another hit of self-esteem. “No other funny business, though…"

Grithen laughed “No, nothing you don't want me to do, darling." Grithen sprawled forward, pushing himself up as he arched his back to slide forward, repositioning himself close to the sullen lordling before pulling him in gently. He held the jackal's soft, narrow face in his gentle paws as he pulled him forward with uncanny gentleness, clashing with the brutality that lined the walls of the room around him. As their faces inched closer, Nerrim kept his focus on the antennae this time, watching them pulse with mana as they crossed over his line of sight and rested on his head. And then the world fell away.

Grithen guided him down gently, and laid their heads onto the same soft pillow, holding and embracing the pup by the small of his back and the scruff of his neck. Nerrim felt powerful, superior, confident, and calm. He felt the intoxicating taste of pride and accomplishment as if it were freshly earned. Validation swelled within his chest and he breathed in deep as if the air were laced with the scent of his most dire cravings. As he inhaled, he felt as though he were growing larger, yet when he exhaled, he did not feel the grandeur leave him, but he felt a sense of peace that grew deeper with each breath. Each breath he took he held in longer and took even longer to let it go, until his head felt both light and heavy, rolling back against the pillow with muscle too weak to lift it, yet also feeling as if he were floating, laying on a cloud of joy. Slowly, thoughts began to bubble to the surface of his mind, though they did not seem to ripple the water of his consciousness. He soaked in each moment, but carried nothing forward, time was fixed in the absolute present and may as well have stood still.

“Thank you," Nerrim said after a time, as he wrapped his arms around Grithen's back and pulled him into a tighter embrace, and linked their legs as if simply holding him in his arms were not thanks enough.

Grithen Winced, and grunted subtly.

Nerrim gently stroked the back of Grithen's head, instinctually, but as the bare flesh of his paw pads touched the supple and tender flesh of the rat's antenna, everything shifted.

First, the high he felt redoubled. Ecstasy flooded his veins in ways like no drug his friends had forced him to take could ever accomplish. But a moment after that rush, the mirror cracked, and while he still felt this sense of incredible purpose, meaning, and joy… he felt disgust, judgment, and jealousy crash against him. He reflexively moved to push away, but Grithen caught him, grabbing his hand and holding it in place on his antenna, staring at Nerrim through his eyes straight into his soul.

“What are you doing?!"

Grithen flashed a half smile. “The closer the contact, the closer our bond—we don't just feel what the other feels instead of our own emotions, but we also feel how we both feel about each other. You feel me feeling you… you feel me feeling how you feel about me. All of those cruel things you think about me… You're being forced to feel your own judgment and it is compounding, changing how I feel, poisoning the well at its core." Grithen let go of his hand and pushed away. “I am yours for yet another twenty-seven minutes…" he said, with scorn and resignation in his eyes now, “…how will you use me?"

“Were we really lying there that long?"

Grithen frowned. “That's all you have to say?"

Nerrim's brow furrowed, his eyes darting back and forth between Grithen and the wall behind him as if looking for an answer hiding in the shadows.

Grithen stood up and stretched. “Well, I can't much help it if you can't appreciate a good thing when it's right in front of you." He shrugged and laid back on the bed.

“Can you just… give me more of that good feeling?"

Grithen snorted. “Do you even realize what I was giving you?"

Nerrim rolled his eyes with such indignation that his shoulders arced along for the ride, ending with a shrug with palms up in impertinent pageantry. “How about you just tell me? I don't have much time left… and I thought you said you don't like playing these silly games?"

Grithen grinned, despite his sour mood, it always amused him to see his own mannerisms reflected in a client, and seeing his influence rubbing off on them helped him to shake off what he had subconsciously picked up from them. He massaged the temples of his skull with the heels of his palms and shook out the self-pity and rigid demeanor that had caught from the frigid jackal before turning a playful gaze back at them.

“I don't, so if you catch me playing one it should speak volumes… but you're right, I'm still on duty. What you felt was me, here in my element, having genuine fun playing with a scared little puppy, enjoying getting to reduce him to mush and make him feel good. You felt the power I felt in our dynamic, you felt the pride I felt in knowing I was giving you something you've never had before, something only I could give you, and you felt energized by the possibilities that were opening up before us but relaxed as you felt no expectation to perform. But while you got to feel that, I had to endure your burdens and then when you touched my antenna directly, I felt your layered disgust and disdain for me, despite what I offered you. Asking for me to give all of that to you again… Why, it's like you've knocked the wine from my hand only to ask me to fill your cup with my empty, broken glass… Although…" Grithen licked his lips and smiled as a sinister glint flickered in his eyes. “I may have something else for you to drink. If you're feeling brave."

Nerrim frowned. “You trying to goad me or something now?"

“Oh… don't be like that pup-pup." Grithen scrunched Nerrim's cheeks “I just thought of something you'd enjoy. But you can just sit there and pout for the remaining twenty-six minutes if you like."

The canine's frown intensified and his eyes narrowed, then he scoffed and raised his brow. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then caught himself and shook his head as if he had felt something crawling up his neck. “Are you… playing with my mind?"

Grithen shook his head “I'm not channeling any mana right now, as you can see. But your body and mind are still enjoying a state of peace and my divine sense of disinhibition pushing you to treat yourself. So, you might be feeling a bit more confident, adventurous, curious… eager." The rat's eyes wandered to the jackal's crotch.

Nerrim blushed, but his legs spread out proudly, his erection testing the strength of his trousers. He froze in thought, reflecting on this odd conflict within him. He felt pulled forward, yearning to let the moment descend into primal lust while simultaneously feeling that he shouldn't. He jerked hard on the reigns of his noble blood and his well-tempered self-discipline, but continued to lean in, his desire far outweighing his pride and trepidation.

“I have just the thing for you, my pet…" Grithen smiled as slid out of bed to grab the very same ropes which had bound him earlier. “You're not going to like it, but you are going to love it."