Chapter 27 : Late Evening

Although Anton had no way of knowing what to expect when the dark elves finally awoke, he certainly couldn't have ever predicted that it would be this.

After they had both lost consciousness, Anton took the dark elves down from the hanging bar and quickly removed all of their bondage gear. Leaving them clad in nothing but their underwear, he then laid them out on the dungeons king sized bed. After setting up his chair next to the bedside, he waited for them to awaken.

Unsure of what they may do, or how they would react to him, Anton decided to reattached the light chains to their collars as both a precaution as well as a deterrent to any further aggression or attempt to flee. Little did he know, this would not be necessary.

Anton couldn't be positive which of the dark elves it was that woke first but when he spoke to her she cringed away from him and refused to speak back. Instead she immediately curled herself up in the fetal position and softly whimpered as though she were still in pain. When the second dark elf awoke she reacted in the exact same way. Hiding their faces and refusing to even look in his direction, both of the dark elves had slowly and stiffly moved to the opposite side of the bed from him and huddled together in the corner. With the chains still attached to their collars, this was as far from where he sat as they could possibly get.

Curled up as they were, and with their foreheads pressed together, it was impossible for Anton to get a clear view of their faces. If it were not for them constantly twitching their flattened ears and the soft sounds of them murmuring to each other, he would have thought they had both gone back to sleep. As it was, all of his attempts to speak to them were met with nothing but the same panicked cringing and fearful whimpers.

After some time of this he began to worry that he may have taken things too far with them, and had perhaps even damaged their psyches in a permanent way, when finally they began to speak.

“Please, Master...” whispered Kianna as she continued to keep her face hidden “Please... No more...”

“What?” questioned Anton in a soft tone “What was that?”

The dark elf groaned at the sound of his voice and pressed herself in closer to her sister.

“Please... Please stop!” she whimpered around a sob “Please, stop burning me...”

“...I, I'm not!?” exclaimed Anton as he leaned forward in his seat “Kianna we're done already. Its over! I'm not going to burn you anymore!”

The dark elf was quiet for a moment before she began to shift back and forth in obvious discomfort.

“...But it still hurts?” she whimpered softly as she hugged her arms around her torso “It burns...”

“Please, give it back...” whined Fiona as she twisted to the side and pressed herself against the bed “Please! Please give it back! ...I'm sorry!”

“What, what are you two talking about!?” questioned Anton as he stood up and moved closer to them “What burns?”

“Everything!” cried Kianna as she began to sob “It burns, when I move it burns!”

“My, power...” groaned Fiona “You took it away, you... I'm sorry! Please, give it back!”

Anton stood still for a moment as he gazed down at the quivering dark elves. Loosening his grip on the chains, he let them melt away into nothing as they fell from his hand.

“Girls, I'm not doing anything to you!?” he exclaimed as he creased his brow in concern “I'm not burning you. And I haven't taken anything away? ...I'm not even sure what's happening right now!”

“...But its, its gone!” whimpered Fiona “Its all gone! ...All of it!”

Twisting herself even further to the side, she turned away from her sister and hid her face against the bed as she began to cry in earnest.

“Please...” begged Kianna as she tilted her head upwards and finally looked at Anton “It hurts... Please!”

Seeing her anguished eyes filled with tears, Anton acted without thought and dove onto the bed where he started shifting back and forth on his knees as he quickly made his way to the dark elves. Once he reached them he immediately put his hands on them and looked them over as he searched for anything that could be causing them this distress.

Whimpering loudly, Kianna frantically got up on her hands and knees and crawled onto his lap before laying against his chest and curling herself back up.

“It's alright, Kianna!” reassured Anton as he wrapped an arm around her “I've got you! You're not burning anymore!”

“It hurts...” she whined as she laid against him and began to tremble “It hurts!”

“Where!?” asked Anton as he frantically looked her over “Where does it hurt!? Show me where!”

“Ev-everywhere!” cried Kianna as she looked up at him and blinked away her tears “My whole body hurts. When I move. ...In my muscles, and in my head. ...When I breathe. ...Ev-everything hurts!”

“It's!? It's still burning you!?” implored Anton as he looked from her to Fiona and back “Just like before!?”

“...No?” whimpered Kianna “Its, its not the same... But it, still hurts, it burns...”

“...It still burns?” repeated Anton as he again turned to Fiona “...And no power?”

“Please, please give it back!” whimpered Fiona as she cringed away from him “I'm sorry!”

With his eyes tightened in thought, Anton went silent for several moments as he shifted his gaze back and forth between the two dark elves.

“Kianna?” he soothed as he hoisted her up a bit against him “Can you feel your power? Or is it gone as well?”

The dark elf shook her head as she sobbed miserably.

“It's gone too...” she whimpered before looking away in an attempt to hide her face “I'm sorry!”

“Okay! Okay, I know what's wrong now!” exclaimed Anton in relief as he tightened his hold on her “I'm so sorry girls. This is all my fault! I should have planned for this!”

“Wha?” implored Kianna as she looked back up at him “Wha, what's happening!?”

“It's your mana. Your mana has been completely drained. That's why your body is in pain.” explained Anton as he shifted his arm over and planted his hand on top of Fiona's head “And why it feels like your power is gone. It's because it technically is...”

Fiona stiffened at his touch but rather than cringe or try to pull away she merely stayed still and kept her face hidden.

“It's gonna be okay though...” soothed Anton as he flared his aura and doused the dark elves in a cloud of comforting warmth “You just need a little time for your mana pools to refill themselves, and then you'll be back to normal. I promise! Everything is going to be okay...”

Kianna sighed heavily as she let his aura seep into her body.

“Please... it hurts...” she whispered as fresh tears formed in her eyes “I'm sorry...”

Anton's face hardened as he stared down into her pleading eyes.

“...Okay, just hold on a second.” he whispered as he tightened both the arm he had wrapped around her as well as his grip on Fiona's head “I need you both to stay calm, alright. I'm going to try to help you, but you have to stay calm so I can focus on what I'm doing. Do you hear me?”

Kianna's eyes widened with hopefulness as she nodded her head and pressed herself back against him. Fiona whimpered softly as she too tried to relax.

“Just stay calm...” soothed Anton as he let his own mana slowly flow through his aura and out into the area around him “Just a tiny bit... That's all you should need...”

Within moments, the gems attached to the dark elves collars began to faintly glow in response to the mana Anton had released into the aura surrounding them. Carefully, Anton focused the concentrated mana outwards and let it flow directly into the bloodgems.

Fiona and Kianna both gasped in unison as the trickle of energy began to seep into them through their collars and immediately started to sooth their aching bodies.

“Slow...” breathed Anton as he focused on keeping the flow of power in check “It's okay girls... You're going to be okay...”

Kianna began to coo happily as not only did the burning throughout her body began to subside, but the pain that she was plagued with was replaced by a kind of warmth that was both familiar and welcomed. Her mind, as desperate for relief as she was, could still instantly recognize this warmth and the presence behind it for what it truly was, Anton, her Master. This was his power, she knew it, she had felt it before, and just as before her entire being was now flooded with the delicious sensation of this warmth, the heat of his power. And as this relief permeated throughout her body a subliminal realization began to form in her mind.

Anton was here for her. She had just been angry with him, furious, hateful even. To the point that she had attacked him and had done everything she could possibly do to hurt him as badly as she possibly could. She had wanted to hurt him. To make him pay for the pain that she had gone through. Pain that he himself had warned her would come. Pain that he had regretted even before he caused it. She knew that he didn't want to cause this pain, yet she didn't care, her rage would have to be satisfied, and as such, joining with her sister, she had attacked him. She had wanted to attack him, to hurt him, to drive him away and make him fear her.

But he didn't.

Despite this conflict and everything she had thrown at him, here he was, still here with her. Caring and concerned, comforting her, understanding her, helping her.

Holding her.

Seeing her in need he acted. And now using his own power he not only sought to ease the burning within her, but to once again protect her from pain.

He was here. She wasn't alone.

“Yes!” cried Kianna as she wrapped her arms around his neck “Yes!”

“Wha!?” exclaimed Anton before being cut short as Kianna pressed her lips into his and began to kiss him deeply and needfully.

Surprised by the sudden affection, Anton lapsed in his focus as he lost himself in the intensity of Kianna's kiss.

Both of the dark elves moaned deeply as they were suddenly saturated by a wave of unchecked power.

Blinking as his mind snapped back to reality, Anton pulled away from Kianna and quickly regained his composure before frantically reeling in the mana that was now flowing in an uncontrolled stream.

“Girls!” he exclaimed as he stopped the torrent of mana and completely released his aura “Are you okay!? Are you alright!?”

Kianna was smiling broadly and whimpering happily as she nuzzled her head in under his chin.

Meanwhile, Fiona's eyes were wide with fear as she stared back at Anton. The dark elf was crouched on her knees with her back and shoulders pressed against the bed's headboard. With her ears pointing straight upwards and her hands raised in uncertainty it was easy enough to see that she was clearly terrified.

“Ow!” she hissed as she cringed even further back and made an effort to keep herself from hyperventilating “What the fuck was that!?”

“That, was. I, I'm!” stuttered Anton as he reached out to her “I'm, sorry! Fiona, I'm sorry! That was too much, for you...”

“...Was that mana! ...Was that your mana! ...Is all this! Your! ...Ow!” whispered Fiona as she stiffly shook her head “...That was, a lot!”

“Yes, I'm sorry, Fiona.” soothed Anton as a sorrowful expression spread across his face “I didn't mean to give you that much. It was an accident.”

Fiona went silent and completely still for a long moment before laying her ears back submissively.

“W-what!” she whimpered as her eyes began to mist over “What are you going to do to me now!? Please! No more burning! Anything but that!”

“...I, what?” questioned Anton as Kianna, her arms still wrapped around his neck, began to look back and forth between them “What are you talking about?”

“Wha, we!” groaned Fiona as she locked eyes with her sister “We, went after you! We tried to hurt you!”

Kianna's eyes went wide as she registered the reason for her sister's panic. Twisting back around to face Anton she flattened her own ears back behind her head as her eyes filled with nervousness.

“Ah, I see.” said Anton with a nod “And you assume that I'm upset, and plan to punish you. Correct?”

Fiona swallowed a lump in her throat as she tentatively balled her hands into fists.

“Are, you not going to!?” she questioned as her ears tightened themselves together behind her head.

“Do you think I need to?” asked Anton as his face became stoic.

“...Wha!? I, I don't know!?” exclaimed Fiona as her eyes darted from him to her sister and back “What does that even mean!? Why are you asking me!?”

Anton was silent as he watched a creeping exhaustion take form in Fiona's eyes.

“...Why are you staring at me!?” implored the dark elf as she involuntarily slumped against the bed's headboard “What are you gonna do to me!?”

“...Well, considering you look like you're about to fall over.” muttered Anton as he tightened his eyes in concern “I'm probably going to send you straight to bed...”

“...Uh, wha?” questioned Fiona as she blinked in suspicion “You're gonna, what!?”

“Wait!?” cried Kianna as she straightened herself up to look into his eyes “You're not mad at us!?”

Anton gazed at her frantic appearance for a second before reaching up to her face and softly shifting her bangs to the side.

“...No. You two had been pushed to your limits and weren't in a stable frame of mind when you attacked me.” he explained as he gave her a reassuring smile “It's completely understandable that you'd be angry with me after everything that I had just put you through, and responding in the way that you did wasn't a surprise. In fact, I was actually expecting that exact reaction. And that's why I had to take some of the precautions that I did.”

“...So, you knew we were gonna go crazy like that?” questioned Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner “And then try to kill you?”

“Well, I was really hoping that you wouldn't do that!” chuckled Anton as he ran his hand down the back of her head “But yes, I figured that more than likely, that was what you were going to try to do. And again, that's why I was prepared for that outcome.”

“...Oh, okay!” exclaimed Kianna as her eyes brightened “So then we're not in trouble then!?”

“No.” said Anton as he shook his head “You did lose control, but like I said, I understand why. So no, you're not going to be punished for it anymore than you already have been.”

The dark elves both breathed a sigh of relief as they glanced at each other and let their ears rise back up from behind their heads.

“That being said...” stated Anton as he narrowed his eyes and looked back forth between them “I know you two are smart enough to know this already, but I'm going to say it out loud nonetheless. If either one of you makes the mistake of ever trying that nonsense on me again. I can promise that you will not find me to be as understanding or as forgiving to you as I was this time.”

Their eyes going wide, the dark elves immediately hid their ears away again as they absorbed the implied threat.

“Are we clear on this?” asked Anton as his eyes lingered on Fiona.

Swallowing nervously, the dark elf stayed silent as she frantically nodded in agreement.

“Good, very good.” said Anton as he let his shoulders slump in an effort to release the tension in them “Now, are you two still burning? Or are you starting to feel better yet?”

“Oh, I feel much better already!” sighed Kianna as she tightened her arms around his neck and let the rest of herself go limp and lay against him “My Master saved me! He's such a Hero!”

“Ah! Well! I don't know about that!” chuckled Anton as Kianna nuzzled her face into the side of his chin and began to lightly kiss him up and down his jawline “After all, I am the one who caused this whole mess in the first place!”

“No, that was, Fiona.” stated Kianna matter-of-factually between kisses “You were just, trying to help. It's not your fault, we got pissed, and went stupid!”

“Right.” smiled Anton as he tightened his arm around her waist “Anyways. How are you feeling, Fiona? Can you move without pain now?”

Fiona blinked and looked down at the bed as she shifted her arms back and forth.

“Yeah.” she mumbled “I'm good, I think...”

“Hm, that's good.” nodded Anton “And what about your power? Is it back? Can you feel it again?”

The dark elf was still for a moment as she concentrated on her hands and tried to focus her aura.

“...Yes!” she exclaimed as her face became marred with a pained happiness “It's back! It's back!”

“Oh good! That was the problem then. Take it easy now, okay!” commanded Anton “That borrowed mana isn't the same as your own and you might burn it up immediately. You're going to need to let your own mana regenerate itself before you try anything else. And since this is the first time you've ever drained your mana completely, it may take a awhile for it to be fully restored. So I don't want either one of you to even try anything for at least a day or two.”

“What!? Seriously!?” cried Fiona “We have to wait a whole day!?”

“Yes, at least.” said Anton in a stern tone “Just trust me on this Fiona. If you give yourself a chance to recover fully then you'll be stronger for it.”

“I'll be stronger!?” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “How!?”

“Well for one, you should have more mana available to you.” explained Anton “You need to think of your mana pool as a muscle that you've never used before. Right now its tiny. And likely the same size it was when you were a child. In fact we can be pretty sure that this is the case since you just burned through your entire mana pool, and you barely even did anything beyond killing all the lights around you. Going back to the muscle analogy, as your mana pool recovers it'll grow in size. Giving you more mana to work with and thus making you stronger. Unfortunately, since this is likely the first time that you've ever used any significant amount of your mana, your system isn't going to be very good at recovering it right now, as it's never had to before. You will get better at regenerating your mana as you use it more, but at the moment recovering from such a massive drain will be a pretty taxing ordeal, and it's best to give yourself some time to rest, relax and let this happen slowly.”

“Makes sense...” cooed Kianna as she laid her head down on his shoulder and sighed deeply “I could really go for some relaxation right about now...”

“I can tell!” smiled Anton as he reached down and gave her thigh a gentle squeeze “How are your muscles feeling? Any tenderness?”

“Mm, yeah. Kinda...” mumbled Kianna as she rolled her head to the side and looked down at his still squeezing hand “More stiff than anything... That feels pretty good though...”

“Oh, my poor little dark elf...” rumbled Anton as he continued to massage her thigh “She's so stiff!”

“I am!” whined Kianna as she pressed herself into his chest and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

“Argh!” groaned Fiona as she slumped back against the bed's headboard and gave her sister an annoyed glare “This has been such a long fucking day!”

“It really has been!” laughed Anton with a sigh “And I think we're about ready to call it done... and let you two get to bed...”

“Nah! I don't want to go to bed!” stated Kianna as she pulled her legs in and curled herself up “I'm fine right here...”

Anton laughed again as he gave her a playfully tight hug.

“Oh are you?” he chuckled as he loosened his hold “Am I your new favorite chair now?”

“Yes, you are!” chirped Kianna as she nuzzled her face back into the side of his neck “...Seriously though, I'm really not sleepy. I'm kinda wired! But, also exhausted... If that makes any sense?”

“It does not. At all.” teased Anton as he walked his fingers up the length of her thigh before sliding his hand beneath her and giving her bottom a squeeze through her thin panties “My suddenly, very spirited little dark elf!”

Kianna began to make giddy little noises in the back of her throat as she lifted her head and frantically pressed her lips into his.

“...Ugh, kill me!” grumbled Fiona as she looked away from the kissing couple.

“Ah! You know what sounds really good!” breathed Kianna as she pulled away from their kiss and pressed her forehead into Anton's while licking her lips “We should take a bath! A really hot bath!”

“Oh! That actually does sound good right now!” declared Fiona as she rolled her head back onto the headboard behind her and let her arms lay limp at her sides “Yeah, I'm down for that.”

“Hm... that's not a bad idea...” grinned Anton as he gazed into Kianna's eyes “That might loosen up some of this stiffness that's bothering you.”

“Exactly!” smiled Kianna as she gave him another quick kiss on the lips “Okay! Let's go! But you have to carry me all the way there.”

“Oh, really now?” laughed Anton in a playful tone as Kianna tightened her arms around his neck and positioned herself to be picked up “I have to carry you, huh? Now why in the world should I have to do that!?”

“Because! I'm really stiff!” whined Kianna as she squirmed against him “...And cause I want you to.”

“Oh! I see!” laughed Anton as he gave her bottom another squeeze “And I'm guessing you think that those are both good enough reasons!?”

“Yes...” breathed Kianna as she returned his smile with her own “You're my Master, so you have to take care of me, remember!?”

“Mm hm... Take care of you, huh?” hummed Anton as he nodded slowly “Well, I think you just want to be spoiled a little bit, don't you?”

“No!” whined Kianna as she laid her ears back submissively and began to pout “...Or, okay, yeah! Maybe a little bit.”

Anton laughed as he slipped his arm under her legs and cradled her up against his chest.

“Oh, just a little bit, huh?” he teased as he lifted her while rising back up onto his knees “Well, why not! My poor little dark elf has has been though such a long and horrible day. I guess it's only right that I spoil her a little bit.”

“Yes, exactly...” cooed Kianna as she laid her head back down on his shoulder and sighed happily.

Anton chuckled again as he began to make his way off the bed. Shifting back and forth on his knees, he moved backwards until his legs dropped off the edge of the bed and he was able to stand up.

“And what about you?” he asked as he turned to Fiona “I can always come back and carry you as well, if you're wanting to be spoiled a little bit too?”

“Yeah, no!” declared Fiona as she began to tentatively crawl to the edge of the bed “I can walk just fine, so I'm good!”

“Suit yourself.” shrugged Anton as he hoisted Kianna up in his arms and started towards the dungeons door “Let me know if you change your mind though.”

Fiona grimaced and winced as she slowly and stiffly followed him. She glared up at her smug looking sister who smiled back and blew her a kiss as she let her head laze about on Anton's shoulder.

“Stupid slut...” mumbled Fiona under her breath as she struggled to keep up with them as they all made their way up the stairs.

“Ah, c'mon!” cried Kianna as she tugged on Anton's arm “This isn't fair! I wanna take a bath with you too!”

“I know, and I'm sorry, Kianna...” soothed Anton as he shook his head “But I don't think that's something that your sister would be very comfortable with...”

The two now naked dark elves were once again in the large jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. Kianna turned to glare at her sister who sat with her back against the sidewall on the opposite side of the tub from herself and Anton.

“Why is everything always about her!?” growled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head “What about me, and what I want!? This isn't fair!”

As Anton watched the dark elf, her features began to darken while her eyes started to glow with an ominous red light.

“Unfortunately. Compromises will always be a part of life, Kianna.” he stated in a soft tone as he bent down and laid his hand atop her head “But that's no excuse for you to loose control of yourself.”

Kianna turned to look up at him and lowered her ears as her eyes lost their glow and became sorrowful. She went to speak but was stopped short as Fiona spoke first.

“It's fine! I don't care!” declared Fiona as she scrunched up her face and looked off to the side “It's not like you've got anything down there that I haven't seen already! ...So, I don't care what you do!”

“Oh?” mused Anton as he raised an eyebrow and stared at the clearly uncomfortable looking dark elf “...hm? Would it be easier for you if I left my underwear on?”

Kianna looked from her sister to Anton and back as Fiona's face became thoughtful.

“...Yeah, actually that would be better.” mumbled Fiona as she glanced at her sister and gave her an apologetic look “...Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” said Anton as a thin grin took form on his face “And thank you for compromising.”

Standing back up straight, Anton quickly stripped off his shirt and shorts. Clad in nothing but his black colored boxers, he stepped into the warm water and sighed in contentment as he lowered himself down and settled in against the tub's sidewall.

“And you talk about spoiling me!” griped Kianna as she sidled up next to him on her hands and knees and pouted “When she always gets what she wants!”

Anton smirked at the fuming dark elf for a moment before reaching out to plant his right hand at the back of her head and, without a word, pulled her in to meet her lips with his own.

Rather than resist in any way, Kianna instead crawled up onto his chest as she frantically pressed herself into their kiss. Groaning softly as his tongue slid into her mouth and ran itself along her teeth, she returned his gesture with her own and probed him deeply as she savored the taste of him. Anton kept his right hand firmly planted on the back of her head as he wrapped his left arm around her waist and held her against him. Kianna raised her bottom up high enough to lift her leg over both of his so as to straddle him. Settling herself down on his boxer covered crotch, she gripped his shoulders tightly as they continued their fevered kissing.

After only a few moments of this, Kianna began to giggle in her throat as she felt something begin to stiffen beneath her. Although Anton was being held back by his boxers, she could still clearly feel it as his manhood hardened enough to rise up and slide itself in between her butt cheeks. Shifting her bottom back and forth in order to tease him, she began to giggle again as he immediately started to growl hungrily in acknowledgment.

With her jaw clenched in irritation, Fiona watched out of the corner of her eye. Although she couldn't help but to harbor a ping of jealousy towards Anton, she was also a little surprised to find yourself feeling a sense of elation for her sister. She didn't fully recognized why this would be the case until she gave it some actual thought and realized that she was in truth, happy for her. Kianna was clearly enjoying herself in a way that she had never been able to before. Try as she might, she had never been able to find anyone who could look past what she was in the way that Anton apparently could. And although she, herself, still maintained a strong level of hatred towards him for all that he had done to her, she had to concede that Anton did seem to treat Kianna pretty well. He teased her constantly, but this was clearly playful in its nature and even she had to admit that he did seem to show a level of legitimate care for her. There was no telling how long this would last though, and she still had no trust in him. But considering how easy it would be for him to take advantage of Kianna, or even the both of them, she had to admit that it was pretty telling when he didn't.

With her face softening, Fiona closed her eyes and turned away from them. With a quiet sigh she laid her head back on the tub's edge and did her best to ignore what was happening around her as she instead focused on trying to enjoy the warmth of the water as it eased the soreness out of her body.

Several minutes later Anton gasped softly as he and Kianna separated themselves so as to catch their breaths.

“Well, looks like, you've already lost, a lot of your stiffness!” he breathed as he smiled at the bright eyed dark elf.

Kianna smiled back broadly as she took one deep breath after another.

“Yeah! And it, looks like, you found-” she started before being stopped short as a loud, hungry sounding growl roared out from deep within her middle.

Anton couldn't help but to laugh as Kianna's face instantly became marred with embarrassment.

“Aw! Looks like somebodies starving!” he teased as he reached in between them and gave Kianna's belly a playful poke.

The dark elf blushed and ducked her head down as she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

“Don't!” she whined as she flattened her ears and pushed his hand away from her stomach “Quit it!”

Anton continued to chuckle as he let her take hold of his hand and “toss” it away. Reaching back behind her he grabbed a full handful of her butt cheek and gave her a playful squeeze.

“My poor little dark elf!” he sang as he preceded to massage her bottom “She's so hungry!”

“You're so mean!” whimpered Kianna as she squirmed against him and wrapped her arms back around his neck.

“Aw, I'm sorry.” smiled Anton as he lifted his hand away from her bottom and ran it up and down her back in an effort to comfort her “Tell you what! Why don't I order us some pizza, hm? How does that sound?”

“No!” cried Kianna as she lifted her head up and met his eyes “We're supposed to make macaroni!”

Anton blinked in surprise at her level of panic before grinning softly.

“The point of making macaroni is so that you can learn how to make it...” he stated as he reached up to her face and tucked a strand of her hair back behind her twitching ear “Do you really feel like you're in any condition to be learning a new skill set right now?”

“...Yes.” claimed Kianna as her face hardened in obvious determination.

Seeing the growing cloud of exhaustion in the back of Kianna's eyes, Anton's grin grew broader as he narrowed his own eyes at her.

“Tell you what...” he soothed as he smiled fully and began to slowly run his fingers through her damp hair “I know you're getting tired, and you've only got so much left in you before you'll be done for the night... So, I'll let you choose which one you really want to do. I'm only going to let you pick one though...”

“...Okay?” questioned Kianna as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion “What are my choices?”

“We can make macaroni and cheese right now, and then after we eat, we can all go to our rooms and rest...” said Anton as his eyes became playful “Or! I can order us some pizza, we can eat... And then you can sleep with me in my bed tonight...”

Kianna's eyes went wide before narrowing again.

“Just sleep!?” she demanded to know as she pointed her ears straight back.

Smiling, Anton slowly shook his head as he stared into her eyes.

Kianna went still as she stared right back at him.

“...We can't just do both!?” she whined after a moment of thought.

Still smiling, Anton continued to shake his head.

“One or the other...” he said as his face softened “You've been through enough today, Kianna. I don't want you to push yourself too far...”

“But I feel fine! Seriously!” exclaimed Kianna “You healed me, and now I'm good!”

“I didn't actually “heal” you though.” said Anton as he shook his head “All I did was give you some mana. And really, I didn't even give you very much. It was just enough to ease the pain of being drained. I understand that you're feeling energized from it, but that effect isn't going to last for long. You will hit a wall, and soon. And when this happens, you need to let it happen. You need rest Kianna! Both of you do!”

Her turmoil clear on her face, Kianna tightened her eyes and bit her lower lip as she dropped her gaze.

“...We'll be taking the whole day off tomorrow.” offered Anton as he ran his hand down her back “So we'll have all that time to make macaroni and cheese...”

Kianna said nothing as she brought her eyes back up to his.

“And I promise you...” soothed Anton as he brought his hand back up and began to rub her shoulder “We will make it!”

Kianna's large ruby-colored eyes began to shimmer as they went misty. Blinking, she said nothing as she lowered her ears and laid her head back down on his shoulder.

“You're so mean...” she whined as she went limp against him.

“I know...” said Anton as he gave her a gentle squeeze with the arm he still had wrapped around her waist “And I'm sorry...”

“...I like olives on my pizza.” whispered Kianna as she tightened her arms around his neck.

Chuckling, Anton nodded his head as he continued to massage her shoulder.

“Just olives?” he asked as he glanced to his side and looked at the back of her head.

Kianna was still for a moment before she spoke.

“...And pepperoni ...and mushrooms.” she mumbled quietly “And Fiona likes olives too... but with green peppers... and onions...”

“Okay.” whispered Anton with a nod “Anything else?”

“...No.” mumbled Kianna in an almost sleepy tone “...We get our own though, right? Cause I don't like green peppers!”

Anton chuckled as he nodded his head.

“Yes, we'll each get our own.” he assured her as his massaging hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her neck just below her collar “Do you think you need a large or just a medium?”

“...No, medium is good for me.” sighed Kianna as she stretched her neck to the side to give him more room to work.

“Okay.” nodded Anton as he turned to Fiona “You good with a medium olive, green pepper and onion pizza, Fiona?”

“Yes.” mumbled the dark elf as her ear twitched in acknowledgment “That's perfect.”

“...Say, “thank you”! You stupid bitch!” grumbled Kianna after a moment of silence.

Anton chuckled as Fiona let out a loud irritated sigh.

“Thanks!” she stated while shaking her head.

“...Master, you should really hang her upside down again.” complained Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight back “And then just leave her up there forever...”

Anton chuckled again and tilted his head to the side so as to avoid Kianna's twitching ears.

“Fuck you, Kianna...” mumbled Fiona with another heavy sigh.

For some time the three soaking bodies remained silent as they simply enjoyed the soothing bath. As time went on Anton would occasionally need to reheat the water. After reheating it for the third time Kianna's stomach began to growl again and this prompted Anton to fish his phone out of his shorts pocket and order in their pizzas. A few minutes after the pizzas had been ordered he and the two grumbling dark elves donned fresh underwear and bathrobes before making their way downstairs.

“Dinner is served!” announced Anton as he made his way back into the kitchen from the front of the house.

After setting the delivered pizzas on the table he took his seat.

Fiona quickly grabbed the two smaller pizza boxes and after checking to see which was which she handed one to her sister. Both of the dark elves proved to be far more hungry than they had let on as they immediately began to ravage their hapless pizzas.

“So, what's next?” asked Fiona as she tossed a crust back into the box and picked up another slice “I get we're taking tomorrow off. But what about after that?”

“Well, we'll obviously have to start out with some basics, but I think we'll be able to get passed all that fairly easily.” explained Anton as he wiped at the corner of his mouth with a napkin “I don't know how much you two even know about the fundamentals of magic, and how it works, so we'll just go over all of that before we do anything physical.”

“...If it's just gonna be talking then can't we just do it right now!? Or tomorrow!?” demanded Fiona.

Anton gave her a tired look before turning back to his pizza.

“No. We are not doing anything at all tomorrow.” he mumbled as he took a moment to choose his next slice “I understand that you're excited, but taking tomorrow off is necessary to give you two more time to not only recover, but for your mana pools to grow. I know you don't realize it, Fiona, since you have no way of knowing any better. But you have very little mana right now. And I mean very little! You both became spent almost instantly today, and that's not something that you want to do regularly, if ever again.”

“No, it's not!” mumbled Kianna as she watched him pick up a slice of his large “Meat Eaters Special” and take a bite.

“...Once you two are back to a hundred percent, we'll start practicing with your auramancy and then actual manifestations.” said Anton as he eyed the slice of pizza in his hands and chose where his next bite would be “We'll still take things slow, but I don't think it'll take too long for either of you two to get the hang... of things...”

As he spoke, Anton took note that the two dark elves had both gone quiet and slowed their chewing down to almost nothing as, despite having their own only partially eaten pizzas sitting right in front of themselves, they had both become completely fixated on his. With their ears pointed straight upwards and their large eyes staring intently at the pizza sitting across the table from them, it was easy enough to see what their minds were currently focused on.

“...The fundamentals!” declared Anton loudly as a moment of silence began to drag on “That's what we'll be learning next!”

Kianna and Fiona both jumped in unison as their eyes shot upwards and became locked to Anton's.

Chuckling at their surprised expressions, Anton sighed in mock annoyance and slid his pizza box across the table until it was within reach of the two dark elves.

Their surprise melting away instantly, both Kianna and Fiona immediately reached for the offered pizza and took the two largest slices for themselves.

“Thank you!” they both exclaimed automatically as they began to devour the gifted slices.

“Mm hm, anytime.” mumbled Anton as he smiled and shook his head.

“So, fundamentals!” declared Fiona as she finished swallowing a mouthful of food “...That sounds good! ...I guess.”

Raising her arm, Fiona opened her hand in front of her face and stared intently at her palm.

“I'd rather get straight to the real shit but whatever...” she mumbled as she tried to focus a bit of her mana into her hand “One step at a time...”

“Stop that!” said Anton as he gave her a pointed look “You're going to burn through whatever mana you've already recovered, and we're at the table!”

“...It's just a little stretching.” mumbled Fiona as she released her mana.

“Mm hm.” hummed Anton “Control yourself Fiona. Again, I understand you're excited, but you're going to end up setting yourself back if you keep doing that!”

The dark elf pointed her ears straight back as her face took on an annoyed expression. Anton narrowed his eyes at her as she began to absently pick the larger chunks of ham off of the slice of pizza he had given her and discard them by dropping them into her own pizza's box.

“Hey, let me have those!” exclaimed Kianna as she reached over and gathered the chucks of ham out of the box.

Fiona turned to her and without a word, commenced to dropping the last of her ham chucks directly onto her sister's pizza.

Noticing that he was watching them, Kianna smiled sheepishly and slid her pizza box towards Anton as an obvious invitation to take a slice.

Making a mental note that dark elves apparently had no issues with sharing their food, or at least these two didn't, Anton smiled back at her as he took a slice and raised it in salute before setting it in his own pizza box to be eaten next.

Once they had all finished with their dinner Fiona bid Anton and her sister goodnight and, after grudgingly agreeing not to try to use any of her abilities, made her way off to her room to rest for the night.

After placing the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, Anton turned around to find Kianna standing right behind him with her hands clasped together behind her back.

Biting her lower lip, the dark elf had a playful and expectant expression in her eyes as she swayed back and forth and twitched her ears up and down.

Chuckling, Anton nodded towards the direction of the stairs before leading the way out of the kitchen. As they both climbed the stairs on their way to the master bedroom, Anton's expression softened as he noticed that despite her obvious excitement, Kianna was still moving very stiffly and was clearly having a difficult time keeping up with him.

Once they reached the bedroom, Kianna quickly disrobed herself and clamored up onto the bed before turning around to face Anton. Now naked, save for her collar, and resting on her folded legs with her hands clasped together in front of her, she mashed her breasts together between her straightened arms as she smiled expectantly up at him. As her excitement reached it's zenith, her eyes began to glow faintly in the dim light of the room.

Anton grinned as he stepped up to the edge of the bed and beckoned her over to him. Shuffling forward on her hands and knees, Kianna stopped right in front of him and lowered her ears as she pointed their tips back and away from her head. Taking her chin in his hand, Anton leaned forward and guided her upwards until their lips met in midair. Sitting up on her knees now, Kianna began to whimper softly as Anton gave her one quick but sensual kiss after another. Raising her arms upwards and wrapping them around his neck, she fought to press herself into his lips for a deeper kiss. A low chuckle rumbled out of Anton's chest as he met her gesture with his own. Bringing his own arms together behind her back, he lifted her upwards and held her against him as he kissed her deeply and savored her sweet taste.

As Anton broke away from their kiss he leaned his head back and smiled down at the dark elf as she took one labored breath after another. His smiled waned a bit as he watched the cloud of exhaustion in her eyes begin to grow and deepen.

“...What?” questioned Kianna as she registered his concern “What's wrong!?”

“...Nothings wrong.” whispered Anton as he raised his hand and ran his fingers in a line down the back of her head and through her hair “...I have an idea though.”

“Huh? An idea?” repeated Kianna as her ears twitched in a questioning manner “What kind of idea?”

“Oh, a good one.” grinned Anton as he leaned in and gave her another quick kiss “One that I think you'll like.”

Kianna giggled softly as she tried to follow his lips upward.

“Okay, that sounds good!” she said as she fell back “What are we going to do?”

“Well, first!” said Anton as he shifted her to the side “You, need to lay down.”

Kianna grinned demurely and kept her ears folded back as she let herself be lowered down onto the bed. Anton maneuvered her gently until she was laying on her stomach just a few inches in from the edge of the bed.

“Okay, now you wait right here for a second.” said Anton as he stepped back from her and turned to the bathroom “And don't move.”

“Yes, Master...” purred Kianna around a smile as she rested her head down on her folded arms and watched him disappear down the short hallway that led to the bathroom.

After only a brief moment, Anton returned with what appeared to be a bottle of lotion.

“Oh! Are you going to give me a massage!” cried Kianna as her ears perked up in excitement.

“I am.” smiled Anton as he set the bottle down on the nightstand and began to slip off his robe “I think you could probably use one. Though this may be a little different than any normal massage you've ever had.”

“I've never had one before.” said Kianna as she watched him toss his robe onto the foot of the bed “This will be my first one!”

“Well, I'll try to make this a good one then.” smiled Anton as he picked up the bottle of lotion and applied a healthy dollop into his palm “...I prefer to use oils for deeper massages like this, but I don't want to leave you all oiled up before bed.”

“I don't mind!” exclaimed Kianna as she shifted her shoulders back and forth in excitement.

“I do!” laughed Anton as he rubbed the lotion into his palms and coated his hands “It'll be my sheets you'll be sleeping in, and getting all greasy!”

“Oh, right...” said Kianna as her nose picked up on the scent of lavender that was quickly filling the room “Sorry.”

“Mm hm, now, no more talking...” said Anton as he stepped up to the bed right next to Kianna “Just relax...”

Kianna couldn't help but to tense up as she felt the entire bed begin to rise upwards.

“Wha, what's happening!?” she cried as she lifted her head and frantically looked around.

“What did I just say?” chuckled Anton as the bed and Kianna rose up about a foot from where they had first started from “I know you heard me!”

Anton smiled as the confused dark elf blinked up at him. Though she had no way of knowing this, just below her field of view a large circle of orange, glowing light-matter had taken form beneath the bed, and this was what was causing it to rise as it swelled in size and lifted it upwards. This circle grew out from a thin line that led to Anton's barefoot and both it's size and shape was being controlled by him.

“Just relax...” soothed Anton as he used the back of his hand to move Kianna's hair to the side and off of her shoulders “And don't move...”

Kianna twitched her ears nervously as she laid her head back down on her folded arms. Her eyes went wide as she watched a faint glow take form around Anton's hands.

“Just relax...” soothed Anton again as he let his hands come to rest across Kianna's shoulders “Just breathe...”

Kianna gasped softly as Anton gripped her shoulders and gently pressed inwards with his thumbs at the base of her neck, and just below her collar.

Working from the center outwards, Anton used both his thumbs and the three middle fingers of his hands to slowly and meticulously massage the knots of tension out of Kianna's shoulders. He grinned broadly as he watched the dark elf instantly begin to seemingly melt beneath his efforts. Once he felt satisfied with the looseness in her shoulders, he applied more lotion to his hands and slowly made his way down her back and sides.

For her part, Kianna did her best to continue breathing and remain conscious as the combination of Anton's fingers and the soft warmth from the stream of mana that lightly flowed out from his hands and permeated itself deep into her body, caused her to fall into a state of relaxation that she had never reached before. Nearly sedated, the dark elf couldn't help but to let herself go completely limp against the bed that she was laying on. With her eyes now glazed over and her ears hanging listlessly from the sides of her head, the only signs of life that came from her were the faint moans that echoed their way out of her open mouth as it hung slack and drooling.

Anton's grin grew into a wide smile as Kianna's moans immediately increased in their pitch as soon as his hands made it across the expanse of her waist and reached her bottom. Deciding to enjoy himself a little, he added another dollop of lotion to his hands and took his time as he both explored and massaged away at her round rump for far longer than he would ever need to.

Being in no condition to resist, complain or demand even more attention out of him, Kianna merely continued to moan softly as each of her butt cheeks were put through one round after another of being playfully squeezed, bounced, molded and even kneaded as though they were dough, all to the tone of Anton's quiet humming.

Despite the fact that she was at this point little more than a panting wreck, Kianna still groaned in obvious disappointment whenever Anton finally moved on to her thighs.

Chuckling at her reaction, Anton gave her bottom one last rough squeeze before fully moving on and focusing on first one of her legs and then the other. Pressing his fingertips in with just enough force to avoid being painful but still reach her deepest muscles, he massaged each of her thighs and calves until they were as loose as the rest of her body had now become.

“I think I'm ready to get started on the other side now.” whispered Anton as he leaned over Kianna's head and gently rubbed her shoulder “Are you ready to roll over?”

“Eh!?” moaned the dark elf as she raised one of her ears and then let it flop back down against the side of her head.

Laughing softly, Anton slid his hands under her arms and gripped her around the torso.

“Here, let me help you...” he said as he gently lifted her upwards and, pulling her closer to himself, rolled her over onto her back.

Kianna did absolutely nothing but blink and moan softly as she found herself being carefully flipped around and then left laying face up on her back.

Maneuvering her limp body like a doll, Anton took Kianna's arms down from where they were still folded in a heap over her head and, after straightening them out, positioned them along her sides.

“...Hey there!” he smiled as he again applied another helping of lotion to his hands “Feeling good?”

Kianna said nothing as she gazed up at him from her place on the bed. Though she was still awake, her eyes had become so dreary looking that she seemed to be nearly comatose.

Chuckling to himself, Anton shook his head and began to work on first one of her arms and then the other before moving on to her chest and shoulders.

A deep, nearly excited sounding moan echoed it way out of Kianna's open mouth as Anton's hands finally encircled her breasts and began to gently massage them.

With a stifled laugh rumbling out from his chest, Anton smiled as he watched Kianna's eyes glaze over and the corners of her mouth curl themselves upwards into a slight smile. Taking his time as he again set out to enjoy himself, Anton kneaded a soft globe of feminine flesh in each hand and, using her faint and almost pained sounding moans as a guide, kept Kianna at a leveled state of arousal through both his efforts against her breasts and by giving her engorged, hardened nipples fractured bits of teasing attention.

Once he was satisfied with his work and ready to move onward, Anton let his hands slowly travel down along Kianna's sides as he used his swirling thumbs to massage the muscles of her flat stomach. He chuckled again as Kianna suddenly groaned in frustration and attempted to thrust her chest upwards in a clearly desperate effort to draw his attention back to her breasts.

“Aw, such a spoiled little thing!” teased Anton as the dark elf huffed in indignity and collapsed back in on herself in defeat.

Kianna began to moan softly again as his hands reached her hips and made a gentle path over her pubic mound while on their way to her thighs. She continued to moan and sigh quietly as the muscles in each of her legs were each given another round of attention.

When he was finished, Anton picked up his bathrobe and used it to wipe away the last of the lotion residue from his hands. With that out of the way he turned back to the still prone Kianna and chuckling to himself began to run his fingers through her hair.

“So...?” he breathed as he bent over the dark elf and looked down into her eyes “Did you like that?”

Kianna merely stared up at him for a moment before her face scrunched up in misery.

“...I really, ...I really wanna kiss you!” she whimpered as she made an effort to lift her arms “...But I can't move!”

Anton began to laugh as he planted his left hand against the top of her head and playfully ruffled her hair.

“Oh really!?” he exclaimed as his smile broadened and became sinister “Is that right!?”

Kianna's eyes went wide and then became pleading as she began to whimper in earnest while Anton slowly slid the very tip of the middle finger on his right hand in between her breasts and then down across her torso. While moving across her middle he stopped and teasingly circled her belly button several times before continuing on and over the rise of her pubic mound.

“My poor little dark elf...” smiled Anton as his fingers found their mark “She can't even move... the poor little thing...”

Tilting her head up just barely enough to look down at what was being done to her, Kianna whined in misery and again tried to lift her arms as Anton teasingly rubbed his fingertip over her hidden clitoris.

“Tell me what you want, Kianna...” smiled Anton as he watched her squirm beneath him “And I might just give it to you...”

Blinking, Kianna looked back up at him as she let her head fall back against the bed.

“You!” she breathed through her clenched teeth as her ears folded themselves back behind her head “Please!”

Anton froze in his motions as he registered the desperation in her eyes. He was still for only a moment before he brought his right hand back up from where he had been teasing her and sliding both his hands first behind her back and then behind her head, he lifted her upwards and brought their lips together.

Kianna whimpered gleefully into their kiss as she used his arms as leverage to slid her own arms up and around his neck. Holding on to him with all the strength she could muster out of her tenderized muscles, the determined dark elf did her best to press herself back into their kiss.

Still holding her in his arms, Anton broke away to let Kianna catch her breath and looking down at her was surprised to find that her irises had once again begun to sparkle.

Blinking slowly, Kianna seemed to have no idea that the dancing lights had returned to her eyes as she fought to recover her breath as quickly as possible.

Mesmerized by the sight, Anton remained still and stared at her for a moment before suddenly surging into motion. Holding Kianna up against his chest with his right arm, he let the bed slowly fall back into place on the floor and, using his free hand as a third limb along with his knees, he quickly clamber onto the bed.

Gently dragging Kianna along with him, Anton shuffled them both forward until he could lay her head down among the pillows.

“Yes!” breathed Kianna as Anton twisted to the side and reached back to push his boxers down enough to shimmy out of them completely “Hurry! Hurry!”

Laughing through a smile at her enthusiasm, Anton turned back to her as the dark elf eagerly spread her legs for him.

Lifting her head upwards and finding Anton's lips with her own, Kianna kissed him deeply and whimpered in excitement as she felt him plant the head of his quickly hardening member against the entrance of her sex.

With a deep gruntled groan, Anton carefully slid himself completely inside her and rocking his hips slowly back and forth he commenced to gently make love to his moaning dark elf.