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The Rite of Gorgos

Written by Leo_Todrius

Supported by my Patrons

An eerie quiet permeated the hillside. There were no birds, no crickets, only the faint howl of wind as it wound through the labyrinthine gullies that snaked through the area. The sun had just set beyond the horizon but the sky was still faintly violet from the ambient light. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't so dangerous. Theo tried to keep his breathing in check as he continued his hike toward the peak of the tallest hill, eyes focused on where a pathway had been worn down into the sandstone peak.

His nervous, controlled breaths passed in and out of his mouth, channeled between the ivory tusks that rose from his green lips. His neck length blond hair was a little moist from sweat, blowing in the faint breeze to fall across his blue eyes until he brushed them out of his face. Theo had reached his eighteenth birthday, though he hardly looked it. At five foot seven and a hundred and eight pounds, he was as much of a pipsqueak as he had always been. Maybe that's why he'd taken on the challenge to complete the Rite of Gorgos, maybe it was because he was tired of being the runt, the kid, the twink... Every brother, every cousin, every male figure in his life had gone through the right and emerged on the other side as a man.... Now it was his turn.

Theo slowed as he reached the opening of the path, trying to look without looking. There was a humanoid shape up ahead, but it didn't move. Theo tried to approach carefully, never making eye contact but edging closer. The figure was stationary, locked in place. Theo dared to look up again, his breath catching in his scrawny chest. The shape was a statue of another young man, the detail intricate and lifelike. There was a look of terror in the man's eyes, his mouth frozen in a scream. Even his tongue and teeth were perfectly carved - except that Theo knew the statue hadn't been made, it had been transformed... petrified.

A few feet back there was another statue, and then two more. Some were headed into the pathway, others headed out. They were all orcish men between eighteen and twenty five. Some were frail like Theo, others were beefier and more manly, but all had failed to pass the test. Theo closed his eyes and tried again to steady his breathing. He pulled out a teal and black checkered bandanna and tied it around his face, covering his eyes and tucking it behind his pointed ears. He tugged the tails to get it as tight as it could go, making absolutely sure there was no chance it could fall off accidentally. Once he was certain it was as tight as it could be, he resumed the path forward.

Theo held his hands out in front of him, trying not to hurt himself too badly by running into anything. His fingertips grazed the mossy rock walls a few times, his shoulder clipping one of the statues after that, but for the most point he ventured into the cut out recesses of the mountain peak without incident. He shivered a little, his gray leather vest doing little to keep him warm. His emerald green shoulders glistened with an anxious sweat and his pants had sagged enough to show the supple curve of his ass cheeks as they rounded out behind him. Theo wished to himself that the right could have been done during the day when it was warmer, but one couldn't have everything they wanted... at least not without working for it.

The howl of the wind grew more intense and in Theo's mind he imagined that the pathway was getting narrower as he approached the center. Sure enough, he found the left boundary of the path and then the right. It was little more than the width of a doorway before opening up again into a much larger area beyond. Theo took one more deep breath before he ventured forward, walking squarely into another stone statue. He toppled to the ground, wincing and grunting a bit before he carefully started to push himself upright. Somewhere across the space there was a soft clicking sound, the sound of a tongue against teeth, though a faint hissing came from behind it.

"You've come all this way, and you do not wish to see my garden? All the beautiful men immortalized here?" A sinewy, masculine voice asked. Theo straightened up, putting as much purpose into his posture as he could.

"I have come here for the Rite of Gorgos!" Theo declared. His declaration was met with a sad sigh, then footsteps crossing the stone.

"And what do you know of the Right, boy? Have your brothers told you what is involved?" The voice asked, weary and perhaps a little bored. Theo stood his ground, though his eyes seemed to dart back and forth beneath his eyelids.

"That... it's what all Orcs must do to become true men..." Theo said. The other responded with a snort just before Theo felt a clawed hand rest on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze, a caress, trailing down his long arm.

"You're clearly a male, like all the others that have come here before..." The other said coyly.

"Not a male, a man, a warrior, a true member of the tribe." Theo said. There was silence for a moment.

"So none of them have whispered what they did here, not even a hint?" the other questioned. Theo closed his lips tightly against his tusks for a moment before he spoke.

"They survived." he responded.

"They survived, against a gorgon, you mean?" the other asked. Although Theo could not see, he heard the hiss of the snakes that grew out of the other's head. No doubt he had a mane of dreadlock like snakes connected to his scalp, hideous eyes peering out from them that could turn any mortal to stone. Theo gave a short nod.

"They did what they had to do, they survived, and they came back as men." Theo said. Theo felt the other step away from him, the air growing cooler in his absence.

"All of these years, all of these gifts I have imparted, and none of them even talk of me..." The gorgon sighed, "What good is it? Why do I linger on, why do I keep trying?" he murmured. The snakes seemed to chime in with a chorus of responses, hissing in comfort and condolences. Theo found himself less afraid and more confused.

"Why do..." Theo trailed off, deciding that wasn't the right question, "What is the Rite of Gorgos? If they didn't tell me, maybe you could?" he asked hopefully. Once more there was a tired sigh.

"The Gorgons of the Adelphi Plains have both a gift and a curse." The gorgon replied, "The curse is the same as all other gorgons, but our git... Our venom can create the fiercest warriors known. It was intended for our allies, our peers, for those that would fight alongside us." the gorgon replied. Theo's brows tightened in confusion.

"You have allies?" he asked. The gorgon replied with another snort.

"Not anymore. How can you make allies when one glance turns them to stone?" he asked bitterly, "No, all I've had are dalliances, flings, one night stands..." he sighed. Theo froze in his boots, his brain replaying everything that had been said, and equally how little his relatives had said. One by one they'd all gone into the hills when they had come of age, entering as average young men before emerging as muscled, brutish, strong and handsome warriors. All it had taken was a single night, a bit of the gorgon's venom. Theo blushed beneath the bandanna covering his face, his green flesh turning an almost purplish-green.

"They had sex with you..." Theo murmured, more wonder in his voice than anything else. Even without seeing, he sensed the gorgon stepping closer again.

"You connected the dots faster than most of your kind." he said slowly, the clawed hand resting on Theo's chest for a moment, only removing it when he was content at the young man's lack of reaction, "And you don't pull away either." he added.

"I've felt different for my whole life... Not just because all my brothers and cousins are so much bigger than me, but because.... I spend so much time looking at them, at all the orcs that are big and strong and manly." Theo admitted.

"Then it's a true shame you won't look at my garden. There are so many fine specimens here." The gorgon said slowly, "Relics of the past, men that almost could have been mine." the gorgon said sadly. Theo hesitated a little.

"I saw the ones near the entrance..." he said slowly.

"Oh, those? Those... well, they don't count exactly. Some weren't as receptive to the right once they knew what it was, and others blundered in while the sun was still up and I was getting ready... Damn fools turned to stone before they even knew why they were here..." The gorgon sighed, "No, the statues in my sanctum here are the true treasures... Men who wanted to see me, who wanted to be with me even if it cost them everything." he said sadly. Theo's heart ached a little at the thought of it.

"That's so sad..." he said gently. The gorgon remained still.

"It is... but that's not why you came." he replied. Theo's brows furrowed again.

"I don't know if it'd be right." he replied. The gorgon tilted his head, forcing the snakes to slither to a different orientation to compensate.

"Wouldn't be right?" he repeated. Theo shrugged a little.

"I mean, the orcs have just been using you all this time to get strong. That's really... rude." Theo said. A soft murmur came from the gorgon and he moved back to his visitor.

"All these boys come knocking at my door, and yet there are still a few that can surprise me." he admitted, "I must admit, you are one of the most handsome to come in some time, and you pull off that bandanna well." The gorgon grinned, "But the important thing is that you have heart."

"Did any of my brothers or cousins have heart before they got tougher? I mean, well, did any of the men?" he asked. While Theo couldn't see the gorgon, he sensed the man shaking his head.

"No, they were thugs even before they had the muscle. They came in, realized what had to be done to get what they wanted, and they endured it. I admit, I was weak, I took part in the physical pleasures, sowed my wild oats, did the deed, but it was just physical." The gorgon said, "It's been a while since I had a deeper connection." he said.

"Then, maybe rather than the Rite of Gorgos, maybe we should just get to know each other?" Theo offered. The gorgon made another small noise with his mouth.

"You are a charmer... Do you like Rootleaf tea?" he asked. Theo smiled a little.

"I love it." he replied with a smile that curved from one side of his bandanna to the other.

****

It was amazing how something as simple as a bandanna could close off one sense and open the rest. Theo could feel the dew starting to set as the night wore on, kissing his exposed skin with a muggy coldness. The moss he sat on had retained his own body warmth, but when he shifted he could feel the edges crisp with the drop in temperature. It would have been too cold for any humans or elves, but he was tough enough and the tea was helping immensely. The orc brought the terracotta cup to his lips and sipped, letting the warm steeped brew flow down his throat and warm him from the inside out.

For a brief moment, Theo's mind flicked out to the petrified men all around him... No one had told him what this right was supposed to be, but he was rather certain it wasn't intended to be tea time with a monster capable of turning any living being to stone. Still, what if his story was the truth? What if the gorgon had been minding his own business only to be pestered by orcs that wanted a quick fix to become strong and stalwart? Had the terrifying statues at the entrance been those that weren't prepared? Was the inner sanctum truly filled with those that had fallen in love with the gorgon? Was he destined for either of those fates? Theo's questions ceased as he heard the approach of gentle footsteps.

"I haven't asked your name..." Theo said, both acknowledging that he sensed the other's approach and by way of an apology. Theo felt the gorgon's body heat as he sat down next to him on the flat mossy boulder.

"Calais." he replied, a faint hiss from his snakes punctuating the end of the name.

"Calais, a fine name." Theo said, sipping from his tea, "I'm Theo'fan, though everyone calls me Theo." the orc replied. A soft hum of satisfaction came from the gorgon.

"They say to know something's name gives you power over it." he said shrewdly. Theo smiled a little, half in shy coyness and half in concern.

"What would you do with that power?" he asked gently.

"I might force you to take off your clothing, although you aren't wearing very much of it." Calais said, running his hand down the orc's bare shoulder, feeling the curves and the contours, "And I might command your heart to start beating faster, pumping blood to your muscles and tendons, to your extremities, and to your manhood." he whispered, leaning in to brush his lips up Theo's cheek. It was soft, gentle, tender, and ended with a twin set of needle-like stings to his jaw bone. The cup tumbled from Theo's hands, shattering on the rocky ground. Theo's cheek began to tingle, then burn, feeling red hot until the heat broke through the surface as hundreds of soft wispy hairs.

"I didn't want to partake in the right..." Theo said, starting to stand up. A clawed hand caught his bicep, squeezing it more in pleading rather than force.

"I'm sorry, it's instinct, I... I just wanted to be near you." Calais apologized, hesitating for a moment, "But didn't you come here to take part in the right originally?" he asked. Theo's face scrunched up.

"That's before I knew what the act involved, before I found out that the orcs have been using you." Theo protested. Calais' hand released his arm.

"You're right, to a degree." the gorgon relented, "But like I said before, it's the only company I've had, the only people that have come close to loving me." Theo felt a little worse.

"But... Why stay here? You deserve more." Theo said. While he could not see Calais, he could hear the irritated hiss from the dismayed snakes.

"You think it's that easy to uproot my life and move on? I can't wander into a town to ask for directions. I can't just find a nice hotel to stay at, or hitchhike with someone on their road trip. Wherever I go people will get hurt. If I stay here, at least the only risk is to those who come out here on purpose." Calais replied. Theo lowered his head a little. It was insensitive of him to be giving advice over something he hadn't thought through, especially since the gorgon had his entire life to contemplate such things.

There was a moment of quiet, time for Calais to calm down and Theo to contemplate. Theo focused less on trying to imagine the gorgon's life and more on his own. He'd been the runt of the litter, last picked on every team. His brothers and cousins had excluded him from everything because he was just a kid. He'd made it through high school, he had no keen aspirations for college. He hadn't really connected with anyone - anyone except Calais. Theo took a breath, filling up his modest lungs.

"Okay, so you can't travel... What if I stayed here?" he asked, though his comment was met by absolute silence. Theo listened as carefully as he could but only heard the gentle wind dipping into the sanctum. "Are-Are you still here?" Theo asked after a moment, wondering if the other man had left earlier.

"I'm still here." Calais replied softly, looking at the Orc. He hadn't been lying earlier when he'd said Theo was one of the most handsome to visit in some time, although he looked even better with the bit of stubble he had now even if it was only on one side. "You'd just do that? You'd up and stay with me?" he asked. Theo gave a fang framed smile.

"Well, I came here for a better life. This way we both have a shot at one. I might need to make better clothes, and I'll have to get a lot better at navigating without being able to see." Theo said. Theo couldn't see it, but Calais was chewing on his bottom lip.

"What if you could see?" he asked. Theo tilted his head.

"I don't understand." Theo answered. Calais started to pace back and forth.

"My parents told stories of when there were more gorgons, our powers didn't affect one another, just other humanoid species - which in retrospect is good or I wouldn't have had a lot of meat to eat over the years." he murmured.

"You have a way to turn me into a gorgon?" Theo asked, trying to imagine it. The air warmed as he felt Calais come close again, a hand cupping his cheek, leaning in closer.

"You'd look so handsome with a mane full of snakes..." he whispered, pressing his lips to Theo's. Theo murmured as his mouth was invaded by a thick, juicy, experienced tongue that was slithering and slathering across his own. He murmured, feeling a hot chest against his, a stomach press close, and then a rather firm, hard and proud erection bump into his groin. Theo was still for a moment before he pressed in tighter to Calais and slid an arm around the small of his back.

Encouraged by the gesture, Calais started to hump and grind against the blond orc, pressing in again and again and again, gyrating and rotating, using his own cock to find the young man's. He moved just right until they felt both of their meats squeezing in together, grinding over and over and over and over. When Theo eventually broke the kiss for a gasp, Calais moved to kiss, nibble and then bite his neck. Getting in intimately like that gave his head full of snakes more than ample access. Theo gasped out loud as he felt pin pricks of tiny fangs pepper his throat and neck, the heat blossoming across him at once.

The dew on his shoulder blades was joined by sweat, his chest filling with gasped air as his nipples began to burn and throb, growing erect. Reddish blond stubble began to blossom from Theo's throat, creeping up to cover the underside of his chin, then his jaw bone, connecting the patch from earlier to his cheeks. His vest began to pry apart ever so slowly as his flat chest began to round a little, his pectorals filling out. The veins in his neck bulged a little, carrying the toxin through his system. His toes twitched, his balls throbbed and his pants tightened.

"This... still feels... like the Right..." Theo panted. Once again the snakes chastised him.

"One step at a time my love..." Calais panted, clawing at the orc's pants until he got them to sag down around his ankles before pulling off whatever loin cloth he'd been wearing. While Theo expected the humping to resume, however, he yelped as he was lifted up off his feet and dipped backwards. His legs slipped around Calais's hips, his pert ass cheeks slid along the gorgon's plump cock, and Theo started to feel kisses and bites pepper his chest. Theo threw his head back and howled as a coating of soft strawberry hued fuzz began to blossom between his now engorged nipples, the hair pushing out and spreading as the snakes punctured him repeatedly. His nipples grew fat and thick, stretching out from his chest as his pectorals started to grow like water balloons, his areola nearly doubling in size.

"F-f-fuck!" Theo panted moaning loudly, though he gasped suddenly as Calais gave him a bounce and let him come crashing down on that fat cock. The orc's virgin hole was stretched wide as the hot searing flesh began wriggling into him, but he welcomed it just as he was welcoming the dozens and dozens of tiny bites framing the gorgon's kisses. The venom pumped through his veins, forcing his neck to flare out and connect to his shoulders with new muscles. His back broadened, his legs grew heavier and his arms thickened. Biceps and triceps emerged like islands rising from a flat lake. His ass cheeks grew fatter, his balls started to sag lower as they gained a coating of fuzz and his toes wriggled and twitched in the air.

It took a few attempts, but Calais started to build a rhythm where he bounced the orc on his cock, fucking into him deeper and deeper each time. Theo's face writhed in pleasure and lust, the hair along his jaw bone and throat darkening and thickening. While his face matured, his blond hair started to get thinner and thinner. Wisps drifted to the ground with the impact of the thrusting, his forehead taking up more and more territory. The baby fat melted from his cheekbones, a crease appeared in his forehead as it scrunched up and soon green flesh peeked out from within the crown of blond hair. Little by little, the hair fell away to reveal his scalp. It seemed out of step, far beyond his years to have male pattern baldness, but the hair continued to fall away until it reached his ears. His once boyish hairstyle had been replaced with a glistening, sweaty smooth skull... and all the testosterone that had caused the hair to disappear from his head now had new targets to replace it with.

A growl escaped Theo's lips, then a snarl. Reddish blond hair began to sprout from his upper lip, covering it in moments before it dipped down on either side and anchored into the chinstrap beard he'd been growing. New stubble pushed out higher onto his cheeks, then higher. The patches disappeared, the hair coming in more uniformly. His scalp may have been bald, but the rest of his face was clearly bearded and there was no signs of it slowing. The hair on his upper lip curled down over the edge. His chinstrap beard surged, his face burning and tingling as centimeters, then inches of hair spooled out.

Hirsute patches grew in under his arms, his knuckles, even the backs of his hands. His smooth arms grew rough, then fuzzy with a carpet of short hair. The change was drastic. He'd gone from a boy of eighteen to a man with the face of a twenty five year old, the hairline of a forty year old, and the beard of a man clearly in his prime. There wasn't a single strand of hair above his eyebrows, but his beard stretched down to obscure his Adam's apple, creeping ever closer towards his collarbone.

To say the position was unsustainable was an understatement. Each thrust and each bite was accompanied by new muscle mass, bone density and hair. Theo grew heavier and heavier and he soon weighed too much for Calais to support entirely on his own. Thankfully the gorgon had been prepared for such things and had been waddling closer to the mossy stone. When it finally felt like Theo was going to fall, his broad hairy shoulders crashed down against the rock that they'd sat on for so long together. The orc's back arched, although there was substantially more of it to do that.

Something hot and thick was wriggling its way up along Theo's stomach, tracing through the new triangle of reddish blond hair there, leaving a trail of slime. It was not a snake, nor a tongue. It was Theo's cock. He'd been painfully aroused to the point of distraction, but the green sausage was elongating and thickening, growing fatter. Veins pulsed along its surface even as the mushroom shaped head peeled its way to freedom, expanding beyond the protective shell of his foreskin. If he hadn't been so focused on the overwhelming, blinding pleasure sweeping through his body, he might have indulged himself.

Calais thought to himself what a shame it was that Theo couldn't see this beautiful sight. Each nip and each bite delivered so much perfection to his stalwart frame. He blossomed from a scrawny eighteen year old to so much more. Bald, bearded, pecs that one could wrap their hand around and bulging arms that you couldn't fully grasp. His moans had dropped deeper and deeper, his ass cheeks now protruding, clenching and unclenching. His feet were broad and long and thick, long toes writhing. Calais closed his gleaming yellow eyes and lifted his head to take a long sniff, smelling sweat and musk and spice. The long snakes that descended from his scalp squirmed and shuddered in communal pleasure with their gorgon host. This was beautiful, this was perfection, but it was about to be more.

While Calais used one arm to support Theo as he kept pounding his thick, fat cock into the orc's juicy ass, the other hand slipped up to the gorgon's scalp. His clawed fingers traced between the writhing nest of blue snakes before he grabbed onto one of them. He exhaled, inhaled, and then exhaled all the way before his claws pressed in tighter. The snake hissed and squirmed in shock and surprise, resisting until suddenly it could resist no more. The tendril of squirming meat stiffened, then hardened as the scaly length solidified into stone. Calais tilted his grip and snapped the petrified snake from his own scalp, gasping for breath at the sensation, but even as he panted, he brought the stone snake down around Theo's bald head, pressing the broken base against the back of his skull where some men grew out ponytails.

Theo shivered a little, feeling the oddly cool stone against his skin, but then he started to gasp and inhale, his back arching as he felt it start to sink into him. It was oddly cool and tingly like menthol at first, but it grew warmer as his capillaries started to extend into the new extension of himself. As if emerging from hibernation, the stone started to soften again. Gray rock became reddish scales. The color crept from base to tip before the snake opened its jaws, shuddering and sloughing off what had just happened. Tiny eyes blinked, especially as the snake's lower jaw suddenly produced two inverted tusk-like fangs. It looked around, then wriggled before it closed its eyes and concentrated.

"Wha-aahhhh... oh..." Theo muttered, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His cock felt like it was squirming, as did his nipples. His body wasn't just tingling or buzzing or humming, it felt like it was hissing! A metallic glint came from his navel as a triangle of faint scales began to harden, leading the way down beneath the forest of hair that had grown there. His pristine ivory nails darkened to brown and then reddish black. His pointed ears glinted as they took on faint scaling that trailed down his cheeks, but most of all his head writhed and burned and throbbed. Theo felt like he was in a hundred different places at once, spread out and diffuse.

While not the most aesthetic experience to watch, Calais focused on as Theo's scalp grew lumpy, bulging and shifting. The skin grew leathery and tight, flexing and folding around tube like protrusions. The skin got dryer, harder, flakier, suddenly molting as a dozen new reddish-black snakes broke through from the surface, flexing and stretching, letting out whines and hisses as they were newly born. As they lifted, others uncoiled from beneath. Layer by layer, Theo's bald scalp disappeared as a mane of thick snakes stretched outward. They were uncoordinated at first, slapping and brushing against one another until they developed enough roots to tap into Theo's nervous system.

The snakes steadied, starting to move together in undulations, suddenly feeling what pleasure it was to have a huge gorgon cock buried so deep in their ass that it was practically penetrating their stomach - and then even that thought saturated Theo. Their stomach, their ass, their body. A green hand stretched up, petting the snakes, feeling them stretch down past his ears, his jawbone, nearly to the bottom of his long, bushy beard. They hissed and nuzzled his fingers, giving playful nips and licks with their forked tongues. Theo howled out at that, nearly cumming right then and there, moaning heatedly.

"Are you ready, my love?" Calais panted, huffing hard as he thrust into the orc's ass, finding him so big and muscular it was hard to keep him upright.

"Ready for what?" Theo asked, letting out a long moan.

"To see me..." Calais replied. Theo's eyebrows lifted from behind the bandanna but he murmured softly before nodding.

"Yes, yes, I want to see you..." Theo said. Some small seed in the back of his mind wondered if this is what the gorgon had meant about his private garden, about those men that had wanted to be with him and see him no matter the risk, but he had to have faith that the transformation was enough, that he was now a gorgon as well. Theo reached up and united the knot on the bandanna that had already grown looser as his head had grown. The snakes trapped beneath the ring of cloth let out tiny sighs of relief as they were freed. Theo took one last breath before he tossed his bandanna aside.

Green eyelids slowly opened to reveal solid yellow eyes that nearly glowed with a radiance of their own. As he looked up, he saw a handsome face crowned by a mane of blue-black snakes, nearly matching the bluish-black goatee that hung down from his pointed chin. A small pale scar marked his teal skin beneath his left eye and crude dangly earrings hung from his ears. He was handsome, unique, and entirely visible without the pain of sensation of petrification. Theo sat up and leaned in, bringing his lips to Calais, kissing him as he grabbed his head with one hand.

For the first time in his life, Calais was looking into someone else's eyes. More than that, he felt Theo's touch, his insistence, his vitality. His flesh was soft and warm and tender, his pulse beating through his veins. His life wasn't fading away, it was growing stronger. Calais had no idea how long he'd been waiting for this very moment, and that realization was enough to send him over the edge. His snakes stiffened, his back arched and his fat, long cock throbbed and pulsed as he started delivering thick jets of sticky silver gorgon seed deep into Theo's hot depths. Theo, too, moaned as his snakes stretched out to their full length, all of their eyes squeezing shut as Theo howled.

A slick glob of pearly white orc cum shot out of his cock, webbing across his red stomach fur. Another came, shooting up higher between his meaty pecs but it was stickier and thicker, shining more like metal. Without warning, his long green cock then erupted with a geyser of sticky mercury like cum that splattered and clung to his chest, glistening in the early dawn light as the sun started creeping up from the horizon. As Calais leaned in, Theo's load stuck to his chest, stretching between the two in gooey ropes. Theo tilted his head, giving Calais a fang framed workout of writhing lips and dancing tongues, and as they embraced several of the snakes that grew from their heads cuddled and nuzzled one another, even exchanging a few forked tongue kisses of their own.

Both men continued to cum several times over, feeling the glow of their intimate embrace transcending species and overcoming a lifetime of circumstances that held them both back. What they had been missing they found in one another, and the future that had seemed so empty was now filling with the prospect of love and companionship. As the air grew warmer and the sky took on the pinkish-violet hue of dawn, the two broke their kiss but remained entwined, holding one another, letting the moment stretch into infinity.

****

The summer had ended, the fall leaves had fallen, and cooler nights were becoming more numerous. It was a season that left Calais usually feeling lethargic to the point of hibernation, but he'd been inspired by how productive and industrious Theo had become. The colder weather meant fewer orcs would try to take part in the Rite of Gorgos, but it didn't rule it out entirely so Theo had elected to venture out from their sanctuary at night to gather wood and materials from the forest lands at the edge of the river that bordered the plains. While he gathered at night, he spent the day building.

Flames flickered beneath the gorgon's kettle before he poured the water into the terracotta cups, letting it swirl and steep the tea. Returning the kettle to its resting spot, Calais lifted the cup in both hands, inhaled the gentle aroma and wandered out from the shelter that now stretched out from one corner of the sanctum. Calais navigated through the labyrinth of petrified men with ease, coming to the bottleneck that led to the winding path beyond. The entrance to the gully had been built over with a rather respectable looking gate to give them some privacy as well as warning if anyone came to visit. While the construction was quite impressive, Calais couldn't take his eyes off of Theo.

Standing at seven feet and two inches tall, the former orc would have towered over his brothers and cousins. His red snakes were long and thick, stretching down to his shoulders but his strawberry blond beard was even longer. Calais had taken great pleasure braiding the thick, manly beard into two long plaits that hung down to his plump, pierced nipples. Theo had long since outgrown his vest and went around shirtless, showing off his meaty pecs and plump arms. While he wore a loincloth, it wasn't quite long enough to obscure the fist sized head of his cock.

Theo lifted the last section of the gate up, his muscles bulging, his large feet planted firmly on the rocky ground. He positioned the gate over the hinges he'd crafted before letting it drop into place. There was a satisfying thunk as it settled into place. Theo gave it a test, allowing it to swing out and open, revealing the view of the plains. Fog wafted up from the watering holes, the light shimmering where the dew evaporated into the winter morning light. Calais moved up behind Theo, bringing his shoulder to brush the larger man's before a smug smile crossed his face and he sipped at his tea. Theo pouted a bit, something that looked overly dramatic with his orc tusks and puffy lower lip.

"No tea for me?" Theo asked. Calais smiled, reaching up to give his husband's snakes a pet, then ran a hand along the thick coarse beard he had before letting his fingers encircle the braid, letting them vibrate as they made their way down.

"I have plenty to warm you up if you're done playing builder." Calais said, "Tea, raptor eggs, bacon, maybe some other meat." he purred. Theo turned, leaning in to kiss Calais' nose and then his lips softly.

"You know I can't resist meat..." he said softly.

"I've learned that!" he grinned, "With the amount you've made me cum these last few months it is a wonder that you haven't been covered in enough to turn to stone from that alone." he smirked. Theo made a soft sound at that but kissed his husband again, letting it linger and last. As they embraced, there was a bird call somewhere in the distance as several hawks took flight from the trees. Both Theo and Calais turned, looking out that way for a long moment before Theo grabbed a hold of the gate and started to tug it shut. Calais looked at Theo, "What if they are here for the right?"

"I don't know... I guess it depends on how they ask." Theo said, putting his arm around Calais' waist, walking him back into the heart of their sanctuary.

"How they ask?" Calais repeated, a blue-black eyebrow arching while his head full of snakes seemed to squirm in curiosity.

"I mean, I never want you to do anything you don't want to do, and I never want you to be used just so some orc punk can get more manly." Theo said. Calais reached up to pat one of his thick pecs.

"My dear, you are a gorgon now too... Your venom would make just as handsome of a warrior as mine." he commented. Theo smiled a bit despite himself.

"Well, maybe, but it's still kind of rude. Maybe we should charge them something, or send them on quests. No one told me what the right was going to be before I got here. It can be anything we want." Theo said.

"Massage our feet. Bring us a dozen fish. Shower us with copper coins from the Dwarven Arcade." Calais smirked happily, "I must admit, now that I have you around full time, I don't feel the need to make them debase themselves... well, as much." he said before grinning wickedly, "Though imagine how confused a young hunk would be if he's listening to me and we're starting to get frisky and then you take him from behind. He'll think it's some unholy magic." Theo chuckled at that.

"Well, it is unholy magic if you use it that way." he chided, "But the important thing is that whatever we do, that you are happy." Theo said. Calais nodded a bit, having to part from Theo in order to squeeze through the bottleneck and get around some of the statues. He made it halfway back to their hut before he stopped.

"One of the quests should be to send someone to find ways to cure these souls that have been turned to stone. I know it won't be easy, but there has to be some way to free them." Calais said. Theo maneuvered through the statues before coming back to take Calais into his arm and pull him close.

"That's a great idea..." he said, leaning down to kiss the gorgon's head, the snakes nuzzling him as he did. The moment was sweet, though it was interrupted as an uncomfortable gurgle sounded from Theo's stomach. Calais chuckled.

"You'll do anything to get my meat, won't you big guy? Alright, come on, let's have some breakfast." he said, grabbing a hold of one of Theo's braids before leading his husband on as if he was on a leash. Theo followed after obediently, his body a testament to the physical perfection one could achieve. Of all the men in the gorgon's garden, none had achieved such height, such mass, nor sexual prowess. Theo had passed the true Rite of Gorgos, embracing the gorgon and becoming more than just an ally. He had become the first of an entirely new generation of Gorgons.