FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Slave Trade

Non-Cannon April Fools Chapter

copyright 2013 comidacomida

It was no great strain for Maern to flip the transport onto its wheels. As the slave pushed the carriage back into working order Lord Talvin took it upon himself to help the injured fox to his feet. Pulling Sidney's arm over his shoulder, the wolf then guided the slave master into the carriage's cabin.

Once the fox was situated, Lord Talvin directed Maern in Vensian and then likewise climbed inside the carriage while the stallion took up position alongside it. The wolf issued forth a strange collection of words, and the carriage began to move. The fox had experienced how quickly the transport could travel but he was surprised to see that Maern was keeping pace; the surprise only grew over the next twenty minutes as the horse, despite the sprinting speed, did not show any signs of tiring.

During those twenty minutes, Lord Talvin's eyes were focused solely on Sidney. Though the wolf didn't say even a single word, it was obvious enough to the fox that Lord Talvin was observing him... interrogating him with his eyes. It was a technique Sidney had seen often enough; the most astute lords were skilled at learning things about slaves by watching them and studying their body language.

"How is your foot?" Lord Talvin finally spoke up, crossing his arms as the shadow of a large wall fell over the transport. Sidney kept his paws on his knee, "It isn't broken, Lord Talvin." he was quick to announce, "But it won't hold my weight." he glanced quickly out the window as the carriage passed through a gate.

The wolf nodded thoughtfully, "From the look of it, I would say that it needs to be set." The thought didn't much appeal to the fox, who had been the victim of a number of dislocations in his life. He nodded, however, as it was not his place to make a decision for a lord. "Sidney?" Lord Talvin spoke his name, causing the slave master to wonder if he'd inadvertently ignored his host.

"Yes, Lord Talvin?" Sidney inquired immediately.

The carriage came to a stop. "We're here." the wolf noted, and stood up, "I want you waiting here until I send Maern for you... no weight on your foot. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Talvin." the fox nodded obediently.

Without another comment, Lord Talvin opened the transport's door and stepped out to meet Maern, who was waiting patiently, breathing quickly, but not laboriously; Sidney's tail twitched slightly and he reflexively sniffed the air when he noticed the faint sheen of sweat on the large horse's hide. He felt himself blush when he realized what he was doing, but not before he got a heady whiff of the stallion's powerful scent.

"Fets ih ni." Lord Talvin stated in parting, motioning to Sidney before making his way to the steps leading up to a set of oaken doors. The fox gazed at the home, admiring the intricate sculptures and reliefs carved into the archway that framed the entryway. The slave master found the entire building to be elegant, far more decorated than Lord Hectors, though it was a good degree smaller. The beautiful presentation yet unassuming size reminded Sidney of the building's owner, and he found himself blushing anew.

"Sid-ney?" Maern inquired, poking his head through the open door. The stallion's large build blocked the fox's view of the structure and brought his attention back to the present.

Sidney was not looking forward to whatever had to be done to help his ankle heal, but the stallion's presence somehow lessened the amount of disquiet in his thoughts, "Hi, Maern." the slave master offered with a faint smile. The massive slave returned the expression, ears up and forward, "Hi, Sid-ney." and he reached a thick, muscled arm in toward the fox, "Yoo... help?" and he presented the slave master an open hand, palm up.

"Yes." the fox nodded, "Thank you." and he used the arm for balance, putting his weight on it as he scooted across the bench, and picked his way slowly down the steps. He didn't quite manage to make it to the ground, however, as Maern reached forward and scooped Sidney up into his grasp. The slave master barked out a yelp in surprise, then found himself laying in the stallion's arms, Maern's biceps and chest creating two sides of a 'cradle'.

"Sid-ney good?" the horse inquired, looking down at the fox, carrying him toward the manor's open doors.

"My foot hurts." Sidney admitted, not feeling the same need to hide his pain from the slave as he had to lessen the severity before a lord.

"Foot herts." Maern nodded, and loosened the hold of his left arm, making it easier for Sidney's leg to hang at a slightly less uncomfortable angle. The horse ducked his head a few inches, allowing his ears to clear under the top of the door frame.

"You have no small amount of loyalty from that one, Sidney." Lord Talvin announced, startling the fox, and pulling his attention from Maern. The wolf was lingering in a doorway to an adjacent room, traveling cloak no longer on his shoulders and, Sidney realized, his boots and gloves were likewise removed; the slave maser made a mental note of how meticulously the Lord's toe claws were trimmed. "Come..." the wolf invited as he moved aside then spoke in Vensian, "Maern... fets Sidney."

"Hua, Lord Talvin?" the stallion inquired, looking to the wolf inquisitively.

"Nia es." the wolf motioned to the vacated doorway.

"Iya, Lord Tal-vin." Maern acknowledged, and trotted past the wolf, lowering his head as he stepped through the open door.

From his vantage within the slave's grasp, Sidney could see that the room looked like some kind of combination between a workshop and a study chamber. The fox had seen two or three Lords' offices in his time, and he found many similarities between them, but Lord Talvin's had some striking differences... not the which of least was a large stone table situated off to one side. Sidney's heartbeat pounded away in his chest the moment he saw several familiar runes carved into the slab's sides; Lord Talvin had a Sardassi in his manor!

"Fets ih ta." the wolf spoke the Vensian words with certain authority as he pointed to the device, and then, obviously for Sidney's benefit, repeated in Prossian, "Put him there."

Sidney remained as still as a statue the moment the stallion deposited him onto the Sardassi. Maern took several steps back, folding his arms over his chest as he waited against one wall. The slave master did his best not to shiver at the cold stone's touch against him, and he clenched his teeth as his eyes darted here-and-there, searching along the lines of runes as much as he could without having to turn his head. "Sidney..." Lord Talvin's voice spoke from behind him, "Relax."

The fox forced his muscles to unclench as he stretched himself out from his half-curled position, "Y-yes, Lord Talvin." he finally managed to speak, whole body quivering faintly in dread over what the Sardassi's presence in the wolf's home might mean for him. Sidney barely succeeded in stilling his first reaction of pulling away from Lord Talvin; the fox remained obediently unmoving as his host took hold of his leg. Sidney felt a moment of nausea when he noticed the way his foot hung limply as the wolf raised it from the table.

The slave master's attention was drawn immediately back to Lord Talvin's paws when he noticed what appeared to be some kind of jade manacle in the wolf's grasp. Sidney clenched his teeth again when Lord Talvin closed the cuff around his shin, just about half way between his knee and ankle. The fox grimaced the moment the shackle closed shut, expecting at that moment for the Sardassi's insidious power to agonize him into euphoria... but nothing happened.

"I understand that Lord Hector has placed you into a Sardassi before." Lord Talvin commented, speaking casually as he moved around to the side of the device... the side, Sidney recognized, as the one that held the five control buttons. "Am I correct in this understanding?" the wolf inquired.

Sidney swallowed, "Yes, Lord Talvin." the slave master confirmed.

"Am I also correct in understanding that you have assisted him with using it on Maern, and other slaves of his stable?" "Yes, Lord Talvin." Sidney nodded, despite the fact that the wolf was focused more on the control panel than the fox. "So you are aware that it has several different power settings... and many different uses... correct?" The wolf's paws moved unseen across the controls; Sidney was unable to tell what he was doing.

"Uses, Lord Talvin?" the slave master inquired. He would not have normally answered a question with a question but, in addition to Lord Hector having told him to be more outspoken around the wolf, he also didn't completely understand what Lord Talvin was asking.

"Yes." his host acknowledged, "uses." and, with that, the wolf pressed a button, and Sidney's attention abandoned everything in the room besides the humming drone of the Sardassi. He immediately let his entire body go slack, fighting back a whimper as he silently repeated to himself that he needed to stay as still as possible and not fight. He promised himself that he wouldn't pull against his restraints-- and only then did he realize that this Sardassi didn't have any.

Before he could analyze just why that was, several blasts of light blinded him as the Sardassi sent numerous arcs of power through his body. Although Sidney's first impulse was to scream, his muscle spasms took his breath away... just long enough for him to realize that there was no pain. Another crackle of electricity sizzled its way through his body and, despite the faint smell of cooking fur, the fox could not even equate the sensations he felt to anything the Sardassi had done to him during his turn back at the work shed.

Sidney held as still as possible, hoping that it was his obedience that kept the agony at bay. Concerned over the mess he'd make with his loin cloth still on, the fox had his second epiphany: although he could quite distinctly feel the electrical vibrations throughout his groin, the convulsions and insistent surges of force simply weren't there. Moments later, however, Sidney's time on the device became less 'pleasant'.

Lord Talvin's command was immediate, "STOP." he spoke the word with full authority, and Sidney froze in place; the fox barely even realized that he had reflexively moved to scratch-- an insistent, almost burning itch grabbed hold of his leg, driving him to distraction as it spread its way from the tip of his toes up to the base of his knee. "Lay back down." the wolf directed, and Sidney immediately did as he was ordered.

"Yes, Lord Talvin." Gritting his teeth, Sidney pushed the discomfort from his mind; he'd had worse sensations than an itch before, and he was not about to let it rule him; it did not override the order of a Lord. The fox fought to maintain control of his fear. Unable to compare the current use of the Sardassi and the prior effect it had on him, Sidney was stuck in a realm of uncertainty, neither understanding what was happening with the Sardassi, nor willing to believe that he would escape it without being ravaged, his seed forced out of him by its diabolical processes.

"Stay calm, and do not move." Lord Talvin directed, resting a paw on the fox's forehead. For a reason Sidney could not discern, the simple touch from the wolf did a great deal in calming him, and he focused on the smooth-padded palm resting between his eyes. "It is almost done." the reassurance was strange to the slave master, who felt neither the insistent fulness in his groin nor the lustful demand of the artifact's energies invading his mind.

The lack of familiarity with the device was so absolute that he was caught completely off guard when his leg gave a sudden jump, and the bones within violently righted themselves. The cry of alarm was half-way out of Sidney's muzzle before he realized that there was absolutely no pain in the action, and, instead, it felt as though a great pressure had released itself from his ankle. Opening his eyes, the fox slowly looked down and saw that his foot was again facing the correct way. Although the itching remained, it was rapidly receding.

"Sardassi'en ee'nu." Lord Talvin spoke in a confident and direct voice, his paw rising from the fox's head as the wolf moved down the table to unlatch the jade circlet from Sidney's calf. The slave master slowly sat up after receiving a nod from his host, who gingerly settled the precious stone manacle into a cushioned box. "You may stand, Sidney." the wolf directed, motioning to the ground beside the Sardassi as he closed the lid on the storage container.

The fox obediently slid around to get to his feet, Maern moving immediately to offer him a large hand for support. Sidney accepted it, and placed his good foot down first, lowering his second leg only once he had firm balance. Toes touching, Sidney was surprised to find no agony in his ankle. He put a little more weight onto it without any pain, then added even more weight without even a sensation of strain on a joint that had, only moments before, been completely out of operation. "What happened here?' the slave master murmured to no one in particular, gazing down at his healthy ankle.

Despite the in-specific nature of the inquiry, Lord Talvin elected to answer it, "You are healed... obviously." the wolf walked around the stone slab and waved Maern away, motioning the large slave out an adjoining door ahead of them. He offered a paw to the surprised fox in an almost courtly manner and waited patiently until he had the slave master's digits in his grasp, only then he continue, talking as they walked after the stallion, "The Sardassi, despite what tasks your fine Master has for it, was originally designed as a healer's aid, even going to the point of bringing someone back from the brink of death... well... when used by a master technician, that is."

"Tech-nih-shun?" Sidney sounded the foreign word out.

"Ah... of course." the wolf flicked an ear, "That is a Tenvierian word." he led the fox past Maern, who was standing on the opposite side of the door waiting for them, "The closest word in Prossian would be 'artificer'." the wolf stopped and motioned for Maern to follow before looking back to Sidney, "You have heard of that term, correct?"

"Yes, Lord Talvin." the slave master acknowledged, head still swimming due to the discovery that the Sardassi was not the evil torture device he'd been led to believe. He paused for a moment to bury his curiosity, but then recalled that his host had never withdrew his invitation for the fox to speak his mind. As such, Sidney hazarded his question, "How can the uses of the Sardassi be so different?"

The wolf led the fox and the stallion down a hallway, pausing to indicate a door, "Es si huun sima." he announced to Maern. Sidney remained silent as the two held a short discussion.

"En Sidney, Lord Tal-vin?" the horse questioned, "Cort si ih?"

"Naeun Dun, Maern." the wolf responded with a dismissing tone; the fox was left with the impression that he hadn't answered the stallion's question.

Maern bowed his head calmly, "Naeun Dun, Lord Tal-vin." About-facing, the stallion opened the door their host had indicated, and walked through, "Good nite, Sid-ney." he added, turning around to watch them go. Lord Talvin led Sidney onward, and the fox glanced back once more before turning the corner; Maern's door was still open, and the horse remained watching as they disappeared out of sight.

Sidney had almost forgotten he had asked a question when Lord Talvin spoke up, "So... you truly wish to know about the Sardassi, do you?"

"I do not understand how it does what it does." the fox admitted, "Lord Hector uses it to help sell his slaves' seed and--"

"and also to handle his own needs." Lord Talvin talked right over the slave master. Sidney skid to a stop at his host's comment. The wolf grinned, glancing at the fox out of the corner of his eye, "I would say he was truly creative in overcoming his Sorra."

Sidney's ears rose as surely as if they'd been attached to strings held by a puppet master,"You know about Lord Hector's Sorra?"

Lord Talvin chuckled, "Ah, my dear, dear Sidney, you would be far better served to I assume everything, as you would be right more often than not." he reached up and patted the fox on the head, "Yes, I know about your master's Sorra... I HAVE known him for quite some time, after all." and, with that, the wolf continued on only a few more steps before turning to face a door. He reached into his pocket, drawing out a key. Sidney froze when he realized that the room had a lock on it, and was even more surprised that Lord Talvin had to unlock it to enter.

"Who is inside?" the fox asked quickly.

"Right now?" the wolf glanced at him, "No one."

The answer confused the slave master "Why is it locked if there is nobody to keep inside?"

Lord Talvin's muzzle pulled back in a faint smile, "Free men often value their privacy, my dear fox... a door may sometimes be locked to keep people OUT, and not just in." He turned the key then the door knob, and entered, "Come." It was a simple and direct order; Sidney obeyed it without hesitation. The wolf stopped within the room and turned to face him, "Now close the door behind you." Again, Sidney did as he was bid, and then, as Lord Talvin's attention shifted to a collection of metallic objects on a nearby shelf, the fox took a moment to inspect his newest surroundings.

The room was small by a Lord's standards but it was still easily twice the size of Sidney's new chamber within the stables. Despite the numerous, eye-catching items strewn about the area, what caught the fox's attention first and foremost was the large, plush bed in the center of the room. He glanced at it, then to the wolf, who was sorting through the items on the shelf. "Lord Talvin... is this someone's bedroom?"

"Indeed it is, Sidney..." the wolf turned back around to face him, "This is my room." and Lord Talvin strolled over to stand directly in front of the fox, several inches too close for polite conversation, "You will be staying here with me tonight."

Sidney's thoughts were immediately confirmed, "Yes, Lord Talvin." he nodded, lowering his gaze, "Do you wish me to remove my loin cloth for you?"

"My, my, my..." the wolf responded, making a 'tsk tsk tsk' sound with his tongue, "you truly WERE trained as a personal slave, weren't you?"

"Yes, Lord Tal--" Sidney began, but he fell silent as Lord Talvin's paw hooked under the bottom of his chin and raised it to meet his own. The fox jumped in surprise when their lips met. The kiss lasted scarcely a second, but, as Lord Talvin pulled away, Sidney had to fight to avoid gasping for breath; the action had caught him off-guard in too many ways for the fox to count. In all his years he had never had a Lord ask for something so--

"Too intimate for you, Sidney?" the wolf inquired, slowly unbuttoning his tunic.

"Lord Bulhue was not interested in kissing." the fox attempted to answer the question in as indirect manner as possible.

The expression on Lord Talvin's muzzle led Sidney to realize that the lord wasn't about to settle on the evasion, "How WERE you trained, Sidney?" the wolf's predatory gaze settled on him with intensity, "Did a specific Lord have you custom prepared for their exact tastes, or did the pit masters give you general instruction?" The fox faltered at providing an answer, but the severity of the interrogation lifted a second later, and Lord Talvin smiled pleasantly, motioning to the bed, "Lay down, Sidney." The fox, still stunned by the wolf's sudden forwardness, complied without hesitation.

"Now..." the wolf noted, standing beside the prone fox, "I did hear through the gossip line that Lord Bulhue has always been rough on his personal slaves... I assume you've spent more than your fair share of nights in pain..." Lord Talvin slid a paw across the side of Sidney's muzzle, tenderly drawing his claws through the fur even as his other paw undid the knot on Sidney's loincloth, "Lord Bulhue delighted in causing you pain, did he not?"

"Yes, Lord Talvin." the fox acknowledged, maintaining an air of indifference as the Lord removed the cloth covering his groin.

The wolf carefully folded the loin cloth and laid it on the night stand beside the bed, "I also assume then that Lord Bulhue favored you as little more than a convenient place to stick his penis." the vulgarity of the statement was somehow all the more shocking with how casual a way in which the wolf had presented it. It took Sidney several seconds to even manage a response.

"He..." the fox fidgeted as Lord Talvin began caressing his thigh, "Y-yes, Lord... Lord Talvin... that was my task whenever he called for me." Sidney fidgeted as his host sat down on the bed next to him; the wolf unbuttoned his own shirt as he continued questioning Sidney.

"Knowing Bulhue, I would assume that you were forced to lay beneath him, on your stomach and suffer through his attention..." the wolf's fingers trailed up the fox's thigh to gently caress the fur of his belly, "he never had you on your back when he used you, did he?"

Despite the casual nature of the conversation, Sidney felt strangely insecure about the topic. Regardless, he answered the Lord's question, as it was his duty, "I was always on my stomach... unless he was laying on his back..." the fox shuddered as suppressed a shudder as a flashback attempted to get the best of him.

"I see..." Lord Talvin nodded quietly, slipping out of his pants as he crawled closer to the fox. Sidney couldn't help but stare at the curvature of the wolf's slight build, and the rich, luxurious fur that adorned his body, "He didn't want you looking at him." the lord announced, stating it more than asking. Sidney was taken aback as the wolf slowly slid a thin silk cloth around his head, affixing the blind fold in place.

As it was not a question, Sidney said nothing, and simply remained where he was, steadying his breathing as he pushed all thoughts of Lord Bulhue from his brain, reminding himself that Lord Talvin was not the same as the hippo, and whatever the wolf did was condoned, and likely encouraged by Lord Hector. Regardless, the difference in what was transpiring left the fox confused, thus he was forced to ask, "Do you want me to not look at you, Lord Talvin?" The wolf's next words came out accompanied by a warm breath exhaled across Sidney's lower abdomen, "Did I say I don't want you looking at me?"

"No, Lord TalviIII--" Sidney's voice was caught in his throat as his words were interrupted by the sensation of a tongue playing across his sheath. The fox's breath came out as a ragged quivering gasp, heightened as his shaft was pulled free from its furred sleeve by a very insistent tongue.

"Just relax there for a little bit, my dear fox... you have obviously not been fully introduced to all a personal slave needs to know." and Sidney remained blind folded as the wolf's weight shifted on the mattress. Sidney bit his lip the moment he felt Lord Talvin's weight settle atop him, wondering if he would have his legs pushed up toward his head while his host pressed into him from above... but what happened next was beyond the fox's imagining.

A firm grip settled around Sidney's sheath, and the wolf's thick, silk-like fur slid across the fox's exposed member and, suddenly, soft folds of warm flesh embraced it as the slave master's tip parted the noble's opening, the act accentuated by a very enthusiastic "mmmmm..." from the wolf, followed by a, "Yes... you'll do just fine."

Sidney gasped, clutching the mattress as Lord Talvin lowered slowly into his lap. The fox felt the wolf's long tail slowly swaying from side-to-side on his abdomen, and he could do nothing but grit his teeth in surprise-- surprise that the nobleman was seeking him in such a capacity, and surprise that the sensations of slipping his flesh into the wolf could be so intense, "Oh... it's been far too long." the wolf crooned.

Early in his training, Sidney had been forced to endure many kinds of stimulation. As far as the pit slavers were concerned, he needed to be prepared for the life of a sex slave and that meant that he would not be allowed to find release unless he was directed by his owner... if at all. As Lord Talvin's weight slowly settled onto the fox's rapidly thickening member, Sidney realized that not all Lords had the same desires, and, assuredly, the wolf was far, far different than Lord Bulhue.

"Are you STILL wearing that blindfold, you silly fox?" Lord Talvin's voice was full of chiding mirth.

"Yes, Lord Talvin." the fox acknowledged, and slowly reached up to pull it off.

He shivered as his vision settled on the lithe, shapely back of the wolf atop him; his host was facing away, hips against the fox's, with his tail stretched up along Sidney's sternum, still swaying back and forth. The wagging slowed, however, as Lord Talvin slowly stretched his bent legs, lifting his weight up off of Sidney and making the fox's toes curl with the sensation of the flesh surrounding his shaft caressing its length.

Sidney admired the view of the naked wolf's back; by that time, Lord Talvin was completely naked, save for bandages wrapped around his torso. The fox reached up to caress the wolf's spine, "You're hurt?' he questioned in surprise. "No..." the wolf let out a heavy breath, "... I'm fine." Lord Talvin reassured him, glancing over his shoulder to smile at the fox, "Actually... better than fine." he let out a faint titter, reaching behind himself to grab Sidney's arm, and pull the slave master up into a sitting position, "Mmm..." the wolf crooned, pressing his back against Sidney's chest.

Despite himself, the fox couldn't help but appreciate the feel of the wolf's fur against his body, and, hoping he was reading into the noble's desires, he slowly wrapped his arms around Lord Talvin.

"Mmm..." the wolf crooned, "Good fox..." and Lord Talvin's paws guided Sidney's to wrap the rest of the way around him; Sidney's paws came to rest against the wolf's pectorals, which felt firm, yet malleable beneath the gauze. Lord Talvin, having paused to let Sidney sit up, began grinding his hips back against the fox. The wolf's tail continue wagging once more, which gave the fox another moment's pause; not that Sidney had ever felt inclined, but he would never have been able to have wagged with another male's shaft buried in his backside.

"OOooohhh... yes..." the wolf in his grasp moaned, rocking back against him with more insistence, the sensations of being buried deep in the noble's warm body almost caused Sidney to lose focus on the strange inconsistency. Holding tighter onto his partner, the fox squeezed at the wolf's chest a little tighter, eliciting faint wince. Without pausing for instruction, Sidney dug his claws into the bandage and tugged in either direction; the wolf gasped at the new found release of her breasts as they fell free from their confinement.

"You're...!" Sidney's words failed him, lost somewhere in a haze of surprise, disbelief, and outright shock. He found his sound a moment later, crying out as the wolf astride him threw the full force of her weight into his lap; his tenor cry was met in turn by her alto as he felt her opening part wide enough to accept all of him into her body.

"GODS, YES!" she cried out, her entire body quivering in the confused fox's lap even as her insides convulsed and caressed against his buried member. Sidney whimpered, the sensations blowing his mind as he realized, not only was it his first time being submissively taken into someone's body, but, in addition, it was his first time being with a female... a female who OBVIOUSLY had an interest in him. The fox quivered, a faint whine escaping him as his body gave over to the inner workings of hers, and his whimpering became warbling moan as he emptied himself into her hot depths.

Panting, the fox fell back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling as little aftershocks of his orgasm continued to play across his body. Atop him, the wolf rotated in his lap, causing Sidney to wince at the sensation playing across his member, still buried deep within her. She gazed down at him, resting her paws on his chest as her breasts heaved with each breath she took, "Oh... you have NO IDEA how much I needed that, Sidney..."

Unable to address her comment, his mind went in a different direction, focused wholly on the fact that she wasn't precisely the LORD he'd expected, "You're--"

"A woman..." she finished his thought for him, "...yes."

"But..." he began, trying to find a way to put his surprise into words that would help him make sense of the situation, "why?"

A wry smile spread across the wolf's muzzle, "Because I was born that way, silly fox."

"I mean... why pretend to be a--" Sidney winced at the tightness gripping his shaft, and he shivered as he felt little aftershocks still forcing more of his seed into Lor-- Lady Tal--. His mind stopped as he was forced to reassess the situation, "If you're not Lord Talvin... then who are you?"

"I AM Lord Talvin, dear Sidney." she explained, rubbing his chest as she slowly adjusted her hips against his; the resulting sensations caused the fox's head to spin, but he fought to stay focused on her, "He's all an act, Sidney... a fictional character I have to play."

"But..." Sidney shifted beneath her weight, but managed little more than unpinning his tail from between himself and the mattress, "Why?"

"Only men can be land owners and slave owners..." she explained, "And in order to do what needs to be done, we need more than one Lord."

"We?" Sidney asked.

"Yes, 'we'." the wolf nodded, "Hector and myself."

"Oh..." Sidney nodded, until another thought came to him, "Does Hector know you're not a--"

The wolf's smile stretched from ear to ear, "I'd hope he would, dear fox," she smiled, "My name is Tatiana Desanti... Hector is my husband."

Sidney had never been stuck in a tie before; he'd heard that they could sometimes last upwards of twenty minutes. In his case, learning the identity of his partner was all he needed for it to end right there.