Incubus Part 5
Here's part 5, oh and by the way, what major city would be nearest to Castle Gloria? Could I just do London and say that Dorian's home would be within say two hours driving, or is there a closer city? I just haven't seen any indication of where Castle Gloria is in the manga so far.
Dorian wrapped his arm around Klaus’ waist, he loved the way the Major was ready to snuggle into him now, and guided him to a corner table with a good view of the room, indulging the paranoia he *knew* characterised the man. They’d barely sat down when a redheaded female version of Klaus came to ask what they wanted.
“Absinthe for me Ariadne, and when Drethallen comes in direct him over to us, hm?”
“I...I don’t know Klaus, if it’s alright with you sir?” she turned to Dorian, blushing and stammering prettily, at least for a moment, then she seemed to realise that Dorian had no interest in her and stood up straight, although she still looked nervous.
“Stop being so silly girl and do as you’re told!” Dorian hoped the bracing command would calm her down, to these new senses he’d acquired she felt a lot weaker than Klaus did, and Klaus had told him to behave arrogantly at all times.
“Yes sir!” She curtsied low enough to be almost kneeling and just waited there. “What do you wish to drink, and do you wish anything to eat?”
“Mosel’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and I’ve already eaten.”
“Yes sir.” She slowly rose, eyes cast down in submission. “Shall I bring them myself, or would you prefer an apparent male?”
“Just bring them yourself.” He didn’t like being around women, but he could put up with it, and Klaus might be upset if he asked for a male - no an ‘apparent male’ - server. “Klaus,” he waited until he could no longer see the back or wings exposed by her dark green dress to ask the question “what did she mean ‘apparent male’?”
“She’s an Incubus just like me, but she tends to wear female form more than I do. All Incubi can *look* male or female, but we are in fact neither male nor female, or we are both, depending on how you see it. The best way, or at least the most comfortable way, for you to think of it would probably be to assume we’re all male, and those of us who look female are just exceptionally good cross-dressers.”
“How do you see yourself?”
“I actually see myself as male, and wearing female form is like using a disguise for me, but then I was raised as a human male, I didn’t realised I could seem female until I hit puberty, and then I suddenly got access to a lot of knowledge my mother had stored in my head...even if it wasn’t entirely right for how my powers work.” Dorian knew his eyes had widened at that, and he nodded at the insight Klaus’ words gave him.
“So by the time you knew that gender doesn’t really apply to Incubi you thought of yourself as male?”
“Pretty much. If I were a normal Incubus my mother would have been kidnapped before she gave birth, and I’d have been born in Incubus form and grown up switching from male to female at whim.” Klaus shrugged slightly before continuing. “Since I was born in human form it is more ‘natural’ to me and I don’t need energy to maintain it. If I were normal then I would need energy to maintain human form, but not Incubus, or Succubus, form.” Klaus fell silent as Ariadne returned with their drinks.
“That’ll be nine silvers, thirteen coppers sir.” She was looking to Dorian to pay for the drinks and he fumbled for the purse Klaus had insisted he attach to his belt. He’d explained that in the border clubs, the clubs where the human world met the non-human, a monetary system based on copper, silver, gold and platinum was in place, while when you were working in the non-human world barter was mostly used.
“Here.” Dorian handed over a gold, to make it easier on himself. “Keep the change.” Apparently a seven copper tip was considered a good tip here as the Succubus smiled gratefully and curtsied again before she left. Still...”That wasn’t much of a tip for her was it Klaus?”
“Not as good as she could expect from someone who found her appealing, but you’re exclusively gay, and she made a bad impression by being so nervous. She was surprised to get anything at all. If it had just been me she’d have got at least a silver as a tip, but I’m known for overtipping, especially if I get warning of my suitors.” He fell silent, sipping his drink before moving to casually lean up against Dorian, face against his chest. “It makes a better impression if I’m all snuggled up against you like this, and it shows how much I trust you. Feel free to touch me however you like.” the explanation was whispered, and Dorian decided to take Klaus’ words at face value, doing his best to arouse the Incubus as a matter of pride. He wasn’t being very successful, until he decided to focus on just how aroused *he* was to have Klaus in this position. Klaus began purring and pressed closer to him, nuzzling at his chest.
“Excuse me sir, but you wanted Drethallen brought here when he arrived.” Dorian glanced up at Ariadne’s voice to see her in a low curtsy with a warrior standing beside her. He wasn’t quite wearing armour, but his leather trousers and vest were both heavy and blood red and he was wearing a sword as well as a long dagger. His hair was longer than Dorian’s own and a red-gold colour while his eyes were almost golden and a smile curved his lips. Klaus slowly sat up, sensuality in his every motion until he was upright, a satiated smile on *his* lips.
“Hello Klaus, and you would be?” Drethallen turned to Dorian, obviously expecting him to do most of the talking.
“I’m Eroica. Please, join us. Ariadne, get Drethallen whatever he wants to drink and then go.” Dorian waited as Drethallen ordered some wine from Ariadne, and the Succubus left. “I’m not really sure what the appropriate etiquette is, since I was human until I got Klaus into bed.” He was trying very hard not to resent the hungry way Drethallen was watching his Major.
“Oh, so you’re introducing him to non-human society?”
“Yes, and this is part of it. I think I’ll have discharged my responsibilities adequately if I bargain with you for enough teaching in magic to give him a good grounding. The only way he can learn the social aspects is by interacting in our society, and I was planning on accompanying him, or making sure he isn’t alone in our society for the first year or so at least.”
“Most Incubi would just introduce him to their Patron, or find him a Patron of his own.” Drethallen was still laughing when Ariadne returned with his wine. Still, Klaus seemed to find it just as funny, so Dorian wasn’t going to object.
“That will be three silvers, six coppers sirs?” Ariadne was obviously unsure who to ask to pay, but Dorian pulled his purse out again, fumbling to find three silvers and a half-silver when Klaus nodded to him to pay the girl.
“I’d prefer to be a bit more thorough in discharging my obligations than that.” The thought that he might just be an obligation to Klaus tore at Dorian’s heart, Klaus seemed to recognise that, and gave him a reassuring smile and stroked his thigh beneath the table. “Are you willing to teach Eroica?”
“That would depend on what you are willing to offer in exchange.”
“Well, what do you want?” Klaus’ lashes lowered flirtatiously as he asked the question.
“I want to bed you, while I’m teaching your friend.” It sounded as if Drethallen didn’t really hold out much hope for that and was asking as a matter of form more than anything else.
“What I am prepared to offer is this. I will lie with you when you have taught Eroica to absorb energy from whatever sources Dark Elves usually use and to ken things, and then again every time he achieves competence in one of up to nine areas of spellcasting. The eight I wish included in order of decreasing priority are: personal defences, close and distance offensive magic - those are two separate areas, transportation spells, deception spells, communication spells, casting spells tied into a place, casting spells tied into an object. Only the first three have fixed priority, you can negotiate the priority of everything but personal defences and offensive magic with Eroica. You and Eroica may choose one further area between you.”
“How do you define competent?” Drethallen leaned forward, eagerly, he was obviously more than happy with the offered payment.
“He should be able to cast twenty spells that you have taught him in the area in question, and one he has researched or created himself.”
“Twenty spells I’ve taught him is reasonable, but expecting him to research or create a spell of his own before you consider him competent is ridiculous.”
“If he can’t do that then he doesn’t really understand the area, and it can just be a variation on a spell you did teach him, as long as it is different enough.”
“That puts it in a different light. Five taught spells, one researched or created.” Drethallen was suddenly leaning forward with a grin on his face.
“Eighteen taught.”
“Six taught spells.”
“How can he be considered competent if he knows so very few spells as that?” Klaus made wide shocked eyes at Drethallen before coming up with a counter-offer. “Seventeen taught spells.” That was when Dorian realised that the negotiating was more a game for them than anything else - they probably both knew what the final agreement would be, but they were arguing it out for fun.
“There’s many fully trained Magi Major who don’t know more than a hundred spells altogether. Seven taught spells.”
“And they’re considered to be barely competent idiots. I know for a fact that you’ve got at least five hundred spells in your repertoire, if not more. Fifteen taught spells.”
“And I invented at least fifty of them myself, probably more, I’ve never bothered to make a count. Eight spells that I teach him.”
“You managed to invent those spells because you had a wide ranging background knowledge. Fourteen taught spells.”
“He can get background knowledge from grimmoirés.” Was that why Klaus had insisted that they take those books from the sorcerer’s house? “Nine taught spells.”
“And where can he find grimmoirés nowadays? Twelve taught spells.”
“He can copy some of mine - by hand - if he has time. Ten taught spells, one researched or created.”
“Done!” Klaus smiled at Drethallen invitingly. “Shall we go to get our agreement properly recorded and sealed?”
“Yes.” Drethallen finished off his drink before he stood, and as Klaus was doing the same Dorian imitated him, putting his hand around Klaus’ waist as they made their way to the Records and Contracts counter. It still disturbed Dorian to see the slit pupils in the Dragon’s eyes, and the scaling on his neck and collar bones.
“You again. A contract this time is it?” Drt’anic addressed the question to Drethallen, not to Dorian or Klaus.
“Yes, Klaus can give you the terms of the contract while I talk to my new student.”
Drethallen pulled Dorian to one side. “I’ve never seen Klaus so intimate with anyone. Is he your mate?”
“No, he isn’t.” Klaus had said that he was obliged to answer a direct question on this matter from anyone his equal or better in power honestly, not lie directly to them, and show them his marking if demanded.
“Then are you *his* mate?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder you’re going to so much effort for him, Klaus. Show me your marking Eroica.”
“Actually, I’d do almost the same for anyone. If I hated them I’d have them taught the basics of magic by a Magus Minor and socialisation would be by a month of immersion. If I was indifferent I’d have still bargained with you, but just for kenning, power absorption and four areas of spellcasting, and I might not have bargained as hard. Here’s the contract.” Drethallen seemed to be thinking as he signed the contract and looked at where Dorian had just been marked as Klaus’.
“Only you, Klaus, would do more for someone you hated than most would for someone they loved.”
“Duty.” Of course it would be duty - but Klaus had said he’d done more for Dorian than he would for anyone else.
“Eroica, meet me here at noon in the human world outside this branch tomorrow for your first lesson. And don’t have anything with iron in it on your body.” Dorian acknowledged the orders before Drethallen left.
~~o()o~~
Dorian wrapped his arm around Klaus’ waist, he loved the way the Major was ready to snuggle into him now, and guided him to a corner table with a good view of the room, indulging the paranoia he *knew* characterised the man. They’d barely sat down when a redheaded female version of Klaus came to ask what they wanted.
“Absinthe for me Ariadne, and when Drethallen comes in direct him over to us, hm?”
“I...I don’t know Klaus, if it’s alright with you sir?” she turned to Dorian, blushing and stammering prettily, at least for a moment, then she seemed to realise that Dorian had no interest in her and stood up straight, although she still looked nervous.
“Stop being so silly girl and do as you’re told!” Dorian hoped the bracing command would calm her down, to these new senses he’d acquired she felt a lot weaker than Klaus did, and Klaus had told him to behave arrogantly at all times.
“Yes sir!” She curtsied low enough to be almost kneeling and just waited there. “What do you wish to drink, and do you wish anything to eat?”
“Mosel’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and I’ve already eaten.”
“Yes sir.” She slowly rose, eyes cast down in submission. “Shall I bring them myself, or would you prefer an apparent male?”
“Just bring them yourself.” He didn’t like being around women, but he could put up with it, and Klaus might be upset if he asked for a male - no an ‘apparent male’ - server. “Klaus,” he waited until he could no longer see the back or wings exposed by her dark green dress to ask the question “what did she mean ‘apparent male’?”
“She’s an Incubus just like me, but she tends to wear female form more than I do. All Incubi can *look* male or female, but we are in fact neither male nor female, or we are both, depending on how you see it. The best way, or at least the most comfortable way, for you to think of it would probably be to assume we’re all male, and those of us who look female are just exceptionally good cross-dressers.”
“How do you see yourself?”
“I actually see myself as male, and wearing female form is like using a disguise for me, but then I was raised as a human male, I didn’t realised I could seem female until I hit puberty, and then I suddenly got access to a lot of knowledge my mother had stored in my head...even if it wasn’t entirely right for how my powers work.” Dorian knew his eyes had widened at that, and he nodded at the insight Klaus’ words gave him.
“So by the time you knew that gender doesn’t really apply to Incubi you thought of yourself as male?”
“Pretty much. If I were a normal Incubus my mother would have been kidnapped before she gave birth, and I’d have been born in Incubus form and grown up switching from male to female at whim.” Klaus shrugged slightly before continuing. “Since I was born in human form it is more ‘natural’ to me and I don’t need energy to maintain it. If I were normal then I would need energy to maintain human form, but not Incubus, or Succubus, form.” Klaus fell silent as Ariadne returned with their drinks.
“That’ll be nine silvers, thirteen coppers sir.” She was looking to Dorian to pay for the drinks and he fumbled for the purse Klaus had insisted he attach to his belt. He’d explained that in the border clubs, the clubs where the human world met the non-human, a monetary system based on copper, silver, gold and platinum was in place, while when you were working in the non-human world barter was mostly used.
“Here.” Dorian handed over a gold, to make it easier on himself. “Keep the change.” Apparently a seven copper tip was considered a good tip here as the Succubus smiled gratefully and curtsied again before she left. Still...”That wasn’t much of a tip for her was it Klaus?”
“Not as good as she could expect from someone who found her appealing, but you’re exclusively gay, and she made a bad impression by being so nervous. She was surprised to get anything at all. If it had just been me she’d have got at least a silver as a tip, but I’m known for overtipping, especially if I get warning of my suitors.” He fell silent, sipping his drink before moving to casually lean up against Dorian, face against his chest. “It makes a better impression if I’m all snuggled up against you like this, and it shows how much I trust you. Feel free to touch me however you like.” the explanation was whispered, and Dorian decided to take Klaus’ words at face value, doing his best to arouse the Incubus as a matter of pride. He wasn’t being very successful, until he decided to focus on just how aroused *he* was to have Klaus in this position. Klaus began purring and pressed closer to him, nuzzling at his chest.
“Excuse me sir, but you wanted Drethallen brought here when he arrived.” Dorian glanced up at Ariadne’s voice to see her in a low curtsy with a warrior standing beside her. He wasn’t quite wearing armour, but his leather trousers and vest were both heavy and blood red and he was wearing a sword as well as a long dagger. His hair was longer than Dorian’s own and a red-gold colour while his eyes were almost golden and a smile curved his lips. Klaus slowly sat up, sensuality in his every motion until he was upright, a satiated smile on *his* lips.
“Hello Klaus, and you would be?” Drethallen turned to Dorian, obviously expecting him to do most of the talking.
“I’m Eroica. Please, join us. Ariadne, get Drethallen whatever he wants to drink and then go.” Dorian waited as Drethallen ordered some wine from Ariadne, and the Succubus left. “I’m not really sure what the appropriate etiquette is, since I was human until I got Klaus into bed.” He was trying very hard not to resent the hungry way Drethallen was watching his Major.
“Oh, so you’re introducing him to non-human society?”
“Yes, and this is part of it. I think I’ll have discharged my responsibilities adequately if I bargain with you for enough teaching in magic to give him a good grounding. The only way he can learn the social aspects is by interacting in our society, and I was planning on accompanying him, or making sure he isn’t alone in our society for the first year or so at least.”
“Most Incubi would just introduce him to their Patron, or find him a Patron of his own.” Drethallen was still laughing when Ariadne returned with his wine. Still, Klaus seemed to find it just as funny, so Dorian wasn’t going to object.
“That will be three silvers, six coppers sirs?” Ariadne was obviously unsure who to ask to pay, but Dorian pulled his purse out again, fumbling to find three silvers and a half-silver when Klaus nodded to him to pay the girl.
“I’d prefer to be a bit more thorough in discharging my obligations than that.” The thought that he might just be an obligation to Klaus tore at Dorian’s heart, Klaus seemed to recognise that, and gave him a reassuring smile and stroked his thigh beneath the table. “Are you willing to teach Eroica?”
“That would depend on what you are willing to offer in exchange.”
“Well, what do you want?” Klaus’ lashes lowered flirtatiously as he asked the question.
“I want to bed you, while I’m teaching your friend.” It sounded as if Drethallen didn’t really hold out much hope for that and was asking as a matter of form more than anything else.
“What I am prepared to offer is this. I will lie with you when you have taught Eroica to absorb energy from whatever sources Dark Elves usually use and to ken things, and then again every time he achieves competence in one of up to nine areas of spellcasting. The eight I wish included in order of decreasing priority are: personal defences, close and distance offensive magic - those are two separate areas, transportation spells, deception spells, communication spells, casting spells tied into a place, casting spells tied into an object. Only the first three have fixed priority, you can negotiate the priority of everything but personal defences and offensive magic with Eroica. You and Eroica may choose one further area between you.”
“How do you define competent?” Drethallen leaned forward, eagerly, he was obviously more than happy with the offered payment.
“He should be able to cast twenty spells that you have taught him in the area in question, and one he has researched or created himself.”
“Twenty spells I’ve taught him is reasonable, but expecting him to research or create a spell of his own before you consider him competent is ridiculous.”
“If he can’t do that then he doesn’t really understand the area, and it can just be a variation on a spell you did teach him, as long as it is different enough.”
“That puts it in a different light. Five taught spells, one researched or created.” Drethallen was suddenly leaning forward with a grin on his face.
“Eighteen taught.”
“Six taught spells.”
“How can he be considered competent if he knows so very few spells as that?” Klaus made wide shocked eyes at Drethallen before coming up with a counter-offer. “Seventeen taught spells.” That was when Dorian realised that the negotiating was more a game for them than anything else - they probably both knew what the final agreement would be, but they were arguing it out for fun.
“There’s many fully trained Magi Major who don’t know more than a hundred spells altogether. Seven taught spells.”
“And they’re considered to be barely competent idiots. I know for a fact that you’ve got at least five hundred spells in your repertoire, if not more. Fifteen taught spells.”
“And I invented at least fifty of them myself, probably more, I’ve never bothered to make a count. Eight spells that I teach him.”
“You managed to invent those spells because you had a wide ranging background knowledge. Fourteen taught spells.”
“He can get background knowledge from grimmoirés.” Was that why Klaus had insisted that they take those books from the sorcerer’s house? “Nine taught spells.”
“And where can he find grimmoirés nowadays? Twelve taught spells.”
“He can copy some of mine - by hand - if he has time. Ten taught spells, one researched or created.”
“Done!” Klaus smiled at Drethallen invitingly. “Shall we go to get our agreement properly recorded and sealed?”
“Yes.” Drethallen finished off his drink before he stood, and as Klaus was doing the same Dorian imitated him, putting his hand around Klaus’ waist as they made their way to the Records and Contracts counter. It still disturbed Dorian to see the slit pupils in the Dragon’s eyes, and the scaling on his neck and collar bones.
“You again. A contract this time is it?” Drt’anic addressed the question to Drethallen, not to Dorian or Klaus.
“Yes, Klaus can give you the terms of the contract while I talk to my new student.”
Drethallen pulled Dorian to one side. “I’ve never seen Klaus so intimate with anyone. Is he your mate?”
“No, he isn’t.” Klaus had said that he was obliged to answer a direct question on this matter from anyone his equal or better in power honestly, not lie directly to them, and show them his marking if demanded.
“Then are you *his* mate?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder you’re going to so much effort for him, Klaus. Show me your marking Eroica.”
“Actually, I’d do almost the same for anyone. If I hated them I’d have them taught the basics of magic by a Magus Minor and socialisation would be by a month of immersion. If I was indifferent I’d have still bargained with you, but just for kenning, power absorption and four areas of spellcasting, and I might not have bargained as hard. Here’s the contract.” Drethallen seemed to be thinking as he signed the contract and looked at where Dorian had just been marked as Klaus’.
“Only you, Klaus, would do more for someone you hated than most would for someone they loved.”
“Duty.” Of course it would be duty - but Klaus had said he’d done more for Dorian than he would for anyone else.
“Eroica, meet me here at noon in the human world outside this branch tomorrow for your first lesson. And don’t have anything with iron in it on your body.” Dorian acknowledged the orders before Drethallen left.
~~o()o~~