Chapter 31 : Early Afternoon

“...Wait! You want us to use it on you!?” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in panic.

“Seriously!? We get to use it on you!?” cried Fiona as she raised her hand and stepped forward “I'll go first! I'll do it! I want it! I call it!”

“Okay. That's fine.” chuckled Anton as he placed his hands in his pockets “Go ahead and step to the side Kianna... Alright, Fiona, stand just in front of me here... That's fine right there. Now, first thing you need to do is flare your aura a bit and then try to concentrate it around me.”

Taking a deep and excited breath, Fiona's eyes began to glow with a faint red light as she shook out her shoulders and smiled wickedly at Anton.

Returning her smile with his own calm grin, Anton remained relaxed and curbed the urge to put up a resistance as he felt the air around him begin to thicken and become heavy.

“Alright... Now, when you feel like you're ready, go ahead and let a bit of mana flow out into your aura. Be careful not to ignite your aura with this mana though. You're just trying to let it flow through it, not burn it.” explained Anton “This is probably going to feel a little disconnecting at first. Almost like a floating sensation, but don't worry, that's normal. Just take your time and when you feel comfortable again, let me know.”

Brimming with eagerness, Fiona let her mana flow unimpeded out into her aura and quickly stopped short as she was nearly overcome by a sudden lightheadedness.

Anton began to chuckle as he watched her try to covertly shake the uncomfortable feeling away.

“I told you it was going to feel a little odd!” he teased “Just take a minute, and it'll pass.”

Fiona gave him a thin glare before shaking her head again and looking down at the floor. Once the floating sensation became bearable, she glanced back up at Anton.

“...Ready?” asked Anton.

“Yeah... I think I'm good...” mumbled Fiona.

“Alright then. For this next part you're going to need to focus both your aura and the mana flowing through it into a concentrated ring that circles around me, but does not touch me.” explained Anton “This doesn't necessarily have to be a perfect circle or anything at this point. So long as enough of both your aura and mana are present the ring will still be able to form. And it will fix its own shape once it does. Let me know when you're ready with this.”

Fiona nodded as she narrowed her eyes and worked to guide the flow of her mana into a ring around Anton's middle. When she felt that enough mana had been concentrated into the right space she looked up and met his eyes.

“...Okay, now, this is again going to be a little tricky to describe.” stated Anton as he rolled his head to the side in an effort to loosen the tension from his neck “What you need to do is activate the mana that's around me, but you don't want to ignite your aura with it. You aura is just there to guide the flow of the mana. It's not meant to be part of the ring you're trying to create. Does this make sense?”

“Yeah. I, guess...” mumbled Fiona “How do I... activate the mana though? What does that mean?”

“You can still feel the mana you have flowing around me, right?” asked Anton “It's still connected to you and your mana pool?”

“Yeah. I think so?” said Fiona.

“Can you move it?” asked Anton.

“...Yeah!” nodded Fiona.

“Okay, then it is. So, what you need to do is trace it back to yourself until you can feel its source, your mana pool.” explained Anton “This is where you're going to activate it from. And how you do this is by... Oh! Well, there you go!”

“Holy shit!” cried Fiona as her face became twisted and strained “What! What do I!? How do I!? ...How do I, do with this, now!?”

Anton laughed as he swiveled his head back and forth and looked over the green, glowing ring that now surrounded him.

“Just calm down. You're doing fine. ...It looks pretty stable.” said Anton as he turned in a complete circle and checked over the ring “...Yeah, it looks good!”

“...Ah, okay! So, what do I do now!?” exclaimed Fiona “I'm... I feel like this thing is attached to my brain! Is that normal!?”

“Yes, that's perfectly normal.” chuckled Anton as he looked back over at her “It technically is attached to your brain. That's how you can control it. Try to think of it like its a thought that's taken form.”

“...Okay, that, makes sense. ...It, just feels weird!” said Fiona as she hunched down into her shoulders “...Can you give me a second!”

“Sure.” said Anton “Take your time. No rush.”

Nodding, Fiona took several deep breaths as she tried to come to grips with the sensation of having a piece of her mind suddenly existing outside of her head. After several minutes she looked over at her sister before turning back to Anton.

“Okay!” she mumbled “I think I'm good now...”

“Alright.” nodded Anton as he tucked his arms in against his sides “Then go ahead and get started.”

“...Wha, wait, what do I do!?” questioned Fiona.

Anton blinked in surprise and then started to laugh.

“Does it feel like you've got this ring in a tight grip?” he asked as he cocked an eyebrow “Like if you don't hold it together it'll blow apart?”

“It... Yeah, kinda?” said Fiona.

“Well, why don't you try letting it go a little?” smiled Anton “And let's see what happens!”

Fiona went still for a moment before biting her lower lip and narrowing her eyes.

Anton's smile never faltered as undulating bulges began to rise across the surface of the ring around him.

“You need to visualize what you want them to form into.” he explained as he met Fiona's eyes “Chains are their traditional form, but it is possible for them to be something else if you'd like.”

“...No, chains are good.” mumbled Fiona as she furrowed her brow in concentration “...How, do I? Oh! Got it!”

Anton chuckled as several of the bulges erupted into withering chains that started to flail aimlessly about in the air.

“Dammit! How do I make them... do it right!” exclaimed Fiona as she glared at the chains “Stop, fucking, moving!”

“Just keep trying!” laughed Anton “You'll get the hang of it... hopefully!”

“Shut up!” muttered Fiona as she took a step closer and continued to glare at the flailing chains “...Stupid! ...Chains! ...Just! ...Yes! Got it!”

Anton hummed in approval as the chains began to move as one and slowly wrap themselves around his arms and torso.

“Yes!” cried Fiona “Finally!”

“Not bad!” nodded Anton “Not bad at all.”

“...I'll show you “not bad”!” mumbled Fiona as her smile became wicked “Let's see how much you like this!”

Anton shook his head and continued to grin as more and more chains erupted out of the ring and immediately wrapped themselves around him.

“...Um, hey! You might want to calm it down a little!” stated Kianna as she turned to her sister.

“Why!? You don't think our great and powerful “Master” can't handle a few little chains!?” mocked Fiona “Tell you what! I'll let him go! As soon as he says he can't handle it anymore!”

“Fiona! Don't be stupid! You're gonna-!” exclaimed Kianna.

“It's alright, Kianna!” interrupted Anton “She's worked hard for this. So let's let her have a little fun. I think she's earned it at this point.”

“...Wha? Seriously?” questioned Kianna as Fiona began to laugh.

“Yes, seriously!” chuckled Anton “Though I would like you to stay in control of yourself and avoid going too far overboard Fiona. You're still new to this after all.”

“Oh, I'll show you overboard!” mumbled Fiona through her smiling teeth “You smug, arrogant human! I've got you now! And I'm gonna make you beg me to let you go!”

“...Right, well good luck with that.” sighed Anton as he shook his head “Just remember, stay in control of yourself.”

“Take this control!” snarled Fiona as she formed two more rings around Anton and entwined him with even more chains.

Kianna grimaced in obvious discomfort as the chains around Anton not only tightened in their embrace but also swelled in size until he literally began to disappear from sight behind them.

For his part, Anton appeared to be unfazed. Though it seemed likely that it should at least be getting difficult for him to breathe, that didn't seem to be the case, as he not only made no effort to escape but didn't even seem to be in any discomfort at all.

Interpreting his stillness as helplessness, Fiona started to laugh loudly and spurred on by her own sense of victory she began to feed more of her power into the chains around Anton.

“Let's see you get out of this, Master!” she growled as her chains doubled in both size and number until they finally succeeded in completely cocooning Anton's body and leaving nothing but his head still visible “Try not to get squeezed to death or ripped in half!”

Still merely watching in amusement, Anton kept a calm, casual expression on his face until he noticed just how far the still growing chains were beginning to bulge out around him.

“...Fiona, you may want to calm it down a bit.” he said as he narrowed his eyes in thought “It's starting to look like you're using up a lot of mana on this...”

“Are you serious!?” snapped Fiona “Do you honestly think that's going to work right now!? I've got you on the ropes you motherfucker! Literally! Do you really think I'm just going to let you go!?”

“Excuse me?” said Anton as he brought his eyes back to her “What did you just call me?”

“Mother! Fucker!” repeated Fiona “I called you a motherfucker! And if you really think I'm stopping then you're out of your mind! I'm not gonna stop until I squeeze every last breath right out of you, you-”

Fiona froze as the tip of a glowing, pink-colored riding crop suddenly whizzed through the air and stopped just short of striking her face.

“Let him go.” whispered Kianna as she let her aura expand out around herself and fill the area with her silent warning “Right now.”

Fiona's ears pointed themselves straight back as she slowly turned her head, looked past the pointed whip and locked eyes with her sister.

The dark elves remained still and stared each other down for a moment before in unison their irises began to glow with an intense and angry red light.

“Girls!” warned Anton as a tired expression spread across his face “That's enough! There will be no fighting during my class!”

“But she's trying to kill you!” snarled Kianna through her teeth.

“Yes, she is. Unfortunately. But that isn't anything she hasn't tried before, and it's no reason for you two to be fighting with each other now!” declared Anton.

“...Wha!? But... Yes it is!” cried Kianna as she turned to him with both distress and confusion in her eyes “What are you saying!?”

“I'm saying that you, Fiona, are using up too much of your mana. At this rate you'll drain your mana pool.” explained Anton as he addressed the second dark elf “You need to control yourself.”

“No!” growled Fiona as she continued to stare at her sister “I'm not gonna stop until you beg me to!”

“...Fiona, now is not the time for you to be draining your mana like this. We still have more that we need to go over today.” stated Anton in a calm, even tone “You are going to need to control yourself.”

Fiona's irises were still aglow as she set her jaw and turned to face Anton.

“...Make me!” she hissed as the area around her began to darken.

Anton stared at her for a moment before sighing through his nose and shaking his head.

“I'm not going to say it again, Fiona.” he said as he locked eyes with the dark elf “Control, yourself.”

“...No.” whispered Fiona as her irises blazed with rage “...I said, no!”

Kianna couldn't help but to take a step back as the air in the room was instantly filled with a thick, bloodthirsty malice. She gasped in shock as her own aura was overwhelmed by the cloud of power that was now swirling around her enraged sister. Breath now caught in her throat, she continued to back away as the light in Fiona's irises reached a point that it seemed to overflow and set her entire eyes aflame. Kianna's own eyes widened to their fullest as in the next instant her sister's entire being began to darken before finally shifting to a solid, pitch black color.

Anton remained calm as he stared into the fiery red eyes of the featureless, living silhouette that now stood before him. His jaw tightened involuntarily as said silhouette suddenly opened its mouth and bared its bright, white teeth at him.

Fiona's glistening fangs were on full display as she snarled in rage and released the full might of her power into a single targeted attack. Dozens of new rings suddenly winked into existence around Anton and immediately set about to engulfed him within a mass of withering chains.

Her senses now fully lost to her rage, Fiona's maniacal laughter filled the room as Anton completely disappeared behind the wall of glowing green chains that had been created for the soul purpose of entombing him alive.

Panicked by the sight of Anton's plight, Kianna steeled her resolve and turned to face the monstrosity that her sister had become. Taking a tentative step forward, she raised her whip to strike but stopped short as Anton's voice suddenly spoke out from within the cocoon of chains.

“Such a stubborn dark elf...” he mumbled in a clearly disappointed tone “Always has to make everything as difficult as she possibly can...”

The mass of chains surrounding Anton swelled outwards for a split second before the circular form of an orange-colored aura field burst into existence from deep within its center. Fiona's rings and chains were all instantly destroyed the moment this bubble took its full shape, and their tiny shattered pieces hung floating in the air for a single heartbeat before crumbling apart and melting away into nothing.

Kianna jumped back in surprise as her sister suddenly cried out.

Shocked by the sudden disconnection from her abilities, Fiona screamed loudly in pain and clutched her chest with both hands as she doubled over and fell to her knees. With what seemed like a thin puff of soot expelling itself away from her body, the blackness disappeared from around her and she appeared normal again. Trembling now, small desperate sounds escaped from the back of her throat as she made a clear attempt to keep herself from retching.

Kianna took another step back as Anton came forward and stood in front of her sister.

Sighing softly through his nose, Anton's expression was stoic as he loomed over the downed dark elf and waited for her to finally quiet down and go still.

Noticing that Anton was now standing just before her, Fiona hesitated for several minutes before slowly raising her head and looking up at him. She gulped nervously as she registered the lack of emotion on his face.

“...Well? Was that everything you have?” asked Anton after a moment of silence “Are you drained again?”

Fiona couldn't help but to hesitate again as she stared up at him. Defeated, she dropped her head to hang forward and nodded softly as heavy tears began to well in her eyes.

Anton nodded as he again sighed softly though his nose.

“I want you to know that what's truly disappointing about this, is the lack of surprise... I expected you to do exactly what you did.” he stated calmly “Though, I will say I was hoping I'd be wrong about you. And that for once, you would be better than that... Unfortunately, you weren't... Oh well... Maybe next time you will be.”

Clamping her eyes shut, Fiona remained silent as she flattened her ears down submissively behind her head.

Recognizing her gesture for the apology that it was, Anton nodded in acknowledgment.

“Are you in pain?” he asked as his face softened a bit.

Hesitating, Fiona tentatively nodded her head.

“I see. Can you move at least?” continued Anton.

Staying still for another moment, Fiona carefully shifted her legs back and forth before softly shaking her head.

“I see...” sighed Anton as he leaned forward and reached his hand out towards her “Very well. Lift your head.”

Gulping in nervousness, Fiona kept her eyes shut and her ears laid flat as she slowly raised her head.

Laying his hand down atop her bowed head, Anton carefully allowed a slow trickle of mana to seep into her being through the gem mounted to her collar.

“This will only be enough to ease the pain.” said Anton as he felt the dark elf stiffen beneath his hand “You're done for the day. Is that clear?”

“...Yes.” whispered Fiona as the burning sensation within her immediately began to dull.

“Good.” stated Anton “It's nice to hear that you're not going to argue with me for once...”

Cowed and feeling humiliated, Fiona kept her arms wrapped around her torso as she stayed silent and stared at the floor.

While maintaining a slow pace with the mana, Anton turned to Kianna.

“Once your sister can move again, we'll go ahead and get started with your turn.” he said as a thin grin took shape on his face “And hopefully you won't be quite as dramatic as she was.”

Kianna was still for a moment as she stared down at her sister.

“...Do you want me to use that same ability on you?” she asked as she kept her eyes on Fiona.

“Yes.” said Anton.

“...I don't want to do that though. I don't want to use it on you.” said Kianna as she raised her eyes to his “I won't do it! Even if... If I have to use it on you... then... I don't even want to learn it!”

“You need to learn this ability, Kianna. It will help to keep you safe.” stated Anton.

“...No, please! Not on you!” said Kianna as her eyes fell to her sister “I won't do it to you!”

Following her gaze, Anton sighed as his own eyes landed on Fiona.

“I know that you're angry. And I understand that.” said Anton “But I will not tolerate you two treating each other as enemies. Nor attacking one another. Is that clear!?”

Kianna said nothing as she balled her hands into fists and began to glare at her sister.

Shifting his eyes back up to her, Anton watched Kianna for a moment before shaking his head.

“If, I allow you to do this. You will be satisfied. And this will end here and now.” he said as Kianna looked up at him “You will not hold a grudge, and you will not seek out any other kind of revenge. Do you agree?”

“Yes! I do!” declared Kianna as a thin grin spread across her face.

“...Alright then. Fine. But like I said!” said Anton as he returned her grin with his own “This will end right now!”

“Okay! I agree!” exclaimed Kianna.

“...Alright then.” sighed Anton as he looked back down at the still bowed dark elf “Let's go ahead and get started. Stand up, Fiona”

Fiona hesitated for a moment before shifting herself into motion.

“...Don't I get any say in this!?” she mumbled as she tentatively got to her feet.

“Of course not.” said Anton as he let his hand fall away from her head “Why would you?”

Grumbling under her breath, Fiona kept her eyes on the floor as she made an effort to avoid looking at either Anton or her sister.

“Go stand over there where I was before and don't move.” said Anton as he stepped to the side to let her pass.

Moving stiffly, Fiona made her way over to where Anton had been standing and, still keeping her eyes to the floor, turned back to face him and her sister.

“Keep you arms to your sides and don't say a word.” ordered Anton as he turned away from Fiona and addressed Kianna “Now, were you paying attention during your sister's turn? Do you have an idea of what you need to do?”

“Yes!” chirped Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in excitement “I got this!”

“Alright then.” smiled Anton “Whenever you're ready, go ahead.”

Her grin fading from her face, Kianna stepped away from him and turned to face her sister head on. Without a word she let her aura expand out from her being and spread forwards to where her sister now stood.

Fiona stiffened as she felt the air around her become heavy with a thin sense of foreboding.

Working to keep her emotions from showing on her face, Kianna wasted no time as she sent a wave of her mana to flow through her aura and surround her sister. Going over the steps that Fiona had just taken in her mind, she focused the mana into a crude ring shape before tracing it back to its source at her mana pool. After a few minutes of stillness she turned to Anton with a look of frustration on her face.

“How do I make it work!?” she questioned.

“Can you feel your mana pool?” asked Anton.

“Yeah, I think so?” answered Kianna.

“Alright, well what you need to do is visualize the ability you're trying to use while activating the mana in your mana pool.” explained Anton “It's a little difficult to really explain how to do this. One way to describe it is that it's going to feel something like flexing a muscle, but in your mind.”

“...So, when I do it right will it just happen?” asked Kianna as her brow creased in concentration.

“More or less.” said Anton “We do have the rest of the day now, so there's no rush. Take your time. You'll figure it out eventually.”

Kianna huffed as she narrowed her eyes at her sister and focused on trying to figure out how to flex muscles that didn't exist.

After some time she cried out in excitement as a pink-colored glowing ring suddenly winked into existence around Fiona.

“Yes!” she exclaimed through her smiling teeth “Finally!”

“Very nice.” nodded Anton “Great job, Kianna! And now comes the fun part!”

“Yes!” hissed Kianna as she began to carefully release the mental grip she had on the ring.

Pointing her ears straight back behind her head, Fiona groaned in irritation as she watched several thin, vine-like chains sprout from her sister's ring and begin to wither about in the air.

“Whoa! Hang on! ...Hold, stop moving!” grumbled Kianna as she worked to wrangle the unruly chains “...They, they don't listen!”

Anton began to chuckle as Kianna took a step closer to her sister and glared at the flailing chains. As if in response to her disapproving look, the chains began to sway in the same direction as they wrapped themselves around Fiona's middle.

“Argh, not so tight...” grumbled Fiona as she scowled down at the entwining chains.

Kianna was silent for a moment as she stared at her.

“...No, it should be tight.” she whispered softly as a faint glow began to emanate from her irises.

Registering the ominous tone in her sister's voice, Fiona slowly raised her head and locked eyes with her.

“...You deserve for it to be tight.” said Kianna in an eerily emotionless tone “No, you deserve worst than that...”

Fiona let out a frantic gasp as the chains around her middle tightened to such a degree that they began to painfully crush her arms into her ribs.

“You selfish, stupid bitch...” whispered Kianna as her eyes went wide with rage “After everything he's done for you! All the danger he's in! And all the things I have to worry about already... I don't want to have to worry about you too!”

“Wait! Wait, Kianna!” cried Fiona as the ring holding her in place began to rise into the air “Hold on a second!”

“No!” hissed Kianna.

“Stop! Stop! ...Ugh!” croaked Fiona as she was lifted off the floor.

A thin smile spread across Kianna's face as she watched her sister frantically kick at the empty air.

“Kianna! ...Wait!” gasped Fiona as she struggled to take a breath around the chains that were quickly tightening to extreme levels “Stop! ...I can't ...breathe!”

“Good!” giggled Kianna as she watched the panic set into her sister's eyes “You don't deserve to breathe right now!”

Flailing wildly now, Fiona's eyes started to well with heavy tears as with each outward gasp the chains crushed her rib cage inwards more and more until she could barely pull in any breath at all. Unable to muster enough air to actually speak, she began to scream silently in panic.

“You deserve this! You stupid bitch!” smiled Kianna “You deserve to be punished!”

“And what exactly makes you think you have the right to decide that?” asked Anton in a clearly angry tone.

Blinking in surprise, Kianna turned to face him and was immediately taken aback by the dark expression on his face.

“I certainly don't remember ever giving you permission to punish her.” growled Anton as he stepped forward and loomed over the shorter dark elf “So what exactly do you think you're doing, Kianna?”

“...I, ...I!” stammered Kianna as she cringed back and laid her ears down submissively “B-but! She, she lost control! And then she tried to-!”

“And you haven't!?” demanded Anton as he stuck his arm out and indicated Fiona “Would someone in control of themselves be strangling their own sister like this, Kianna!? Because personally I don't think they would be!”

With her eyes darting to Fiona and back, Kianna silently opened and closed her mouth as she struggled to find the words to say.

“Can you even release her!?” questioned Anton “Do you even know how!?”

Kianna went still as her eyes widened to their fullest.

“...I didn't think so.” mumbled Anton as he turned away from her and faced Fiona.

In the next instant an orange-colored aura field winked into existence between Fiona and the ring that held her in the air.

Kianna gasped as her ring was destroyed by the bubble expanding to its full size.

Landing in a crumbled heap on the floor, Fiona immediately began to take in one desperate breath after another as she laid where she fell.

“That was dangerous.” said Anton as he turned back to Kianna “What were you thinking!?”

Kianna was still for a moment before an agonized expression spread across her face.

“I'm sorry!” she wailed as she covered her eyes with both hands “I, I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry! Really! I didn't want it to be dangerous!”

Anton remained still for several moments as he watched the sobbing dark elf. Folding his arms across his chest, he glanced at Fiona and found her now sitting on the floor in the center of his bubble with her legs drawn up and her face hidden behind her knees. With a soft sigh he turned back to Kianna.

“I am very disappointed in the both of you!” he declared “After everything you two have gone through! You finally learn to use your magic and the first thing you both do is lose control of yourselves!? The very first thing you do! Unbelievable!”

“Shut up!” snapped Fiona from behind her knees “Don't talk to us like that! We're not fucking kids!”

“That's exactly what makes this so much worse!” snarled Anton “You're not kids! You're grown adults! Both of you! And yet here you are acting like monsters! Not that I don't expect that from you, Fiona! This is just more proof that you do deserve to have that collar around your neck! You and-!”

“No, no, no, no!” wailed Kianna as she frantically shook her head “I'm not a monster! I don't want to be a monster! I'm, I'm sorry!”

Anton stopped short and went still for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Recomposing himself, he looked back and forth between the two dark elves and sighed.

“Kianna, come here.” he said softly.

At the sound of his voice Kianna's ears twitched before quickly laying flat again. After a slight hesitation she slowly started forward. Keeping her hands over her eyes, the nervous dark elf stopped just in front of him and waited for him to speak.

“You're not a monster.” said Anton as he reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace “I shouldn't have said that... I'm sorry...”

“No! You... I'm sorry...” whimpered Kianna as she gripped his shirt and pressed her face into his shoulder “I shouldn't have even used that stupid ability! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!”

“What!? No, no!” said Anton as he shook his head and gave her a gentle squeeze “That's not the issue, Kianna. You need to know how to use your abilities, all of them. They're a part of you after all. ...You just need to realize the damage you can do with them. And understand how important self-control really is.”

“I do know...” whimpered Kianna “But it's... I'm sorry!”

“You could have killed your sister, Kianna.” said Anton in an even tone “You do realize that, right?”

“I, I wasn't trying to!” whined Kianna “I just wanted to make her pay for what she tried to do to you!”

“It's not your place to do that though.” stated Anton “She's not your responsibility.”

“Yeah, and I'm not yours either!” snapped Fiona.

“Actually you are.” stated Anton as he narrowed his eyes in annoyance “You both are. And unfortunately, it's looking like I'll have to put in a few more fail-safes... At least for the time being...”

“...Wait!” exclaimed Fiona as she lifted her head “What does that mean!? What are you going to do!?”

“I just told you.” said Anton as he looked over at her “I'm going to put a few fail-safes in place to keep things from getting out of hand again. I don't want to have to worry about today's events being repeated in the future.”

“...You're, wait! What does that mean!?” exclaimed Fiona “Are you going to take away our magic!?”

“Of course not.” mumbled Anton as he lifted Kianna's chin so as to get a better look at her collar and the bloodgem mounted to it “That would completely defeat the purpose of teaching you how to use it. No, I'm not going to bind your magic, at least not fully. What I'm going to do is add a few charms to your bloodgems... One's that will allow me to control your mana and auras. That way if you two lose control again, I can step in and stop you myself.”

“What!?” cried Fiona as she quickly got to her feet “You can't do that to us!”

“Why not?” asked Anton as he ran his fingertip across Kianna's bloodgem and set it aglow.

Making a small sound in the back of her throat, Kianna couldn't help but to shiver as a tingling sensation coming from her now glowing bloodgem coursed its way through her body.

“Argh!” roared Fiona as she slammed her fists into the side of Anton's bubble “If you're just going to take away our magic then why did you even teach us how to use it in the first place!?”

“...I just finished saying I wasn't taking it away from you, Fiona.” sighed Anton as he shook his head “Once again, I'm only going to put in fail-safes. Which all that means is that I'll be able to step in if necessary. Of course, if you two can maintain control of yourselves, then I shouldn't ever have to.”

Fiona stumbled forward as the bubble surrounding her suddenly disappeared. Catching her balance, she raised her head and pointed her ears straight back as she glared at Anton. Balling her hands into fists she took a step towards him.

“...You might want to think very carefully about your next move, Fiona.” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“...What's that supposed to mean!?” growled Fiona.

“It means that I haven't forgotten about your most recent transgressions against me just yet.” explained Anton “Though considering you didn't do anything unexpected. I was planning to go easy on you with your punishment. Of course, what you do next could always change my mind about that...”

“...Are you serious!? You're still going to punish me!? Getting strangled half to death wasn't enough for you!?” cried Fiona.

“That was your sister's brand of justice. Not mine.” said Anton “Like I said, I do plan to take it easy on you.”

“...Easy on me!?” snarled Fiona as threw her arms out to her sides and arched her back so her still exposed chest would jut out even more so than before “Like you could even make this any worse! Look at me! Look at what you've already done to me! All this humiliation you're putting me through! How!? How could you possibly make my life any shittier than it is right now!”

“...Is that a real question, Fiona?” asked Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “We are literally standing only a few yards away from a pile of fully functional torture devices, and you believe I couldn't possibly think of a way to make your life any worse than it is right now? ...You can't be serious about that.”

Fiona stared at him for a moment before her eyes darted across the room to the stacked up implements.

“...You?” she mumbled as her eyes drifted back to him.

“By now I'd think you'd know just how creative I can be, Fiona.” said Anton as he smiled at the uncertainty that had quickly formed on her face “Of course, I can always showcase said creativity... If you wish...”

Despite herself, Fiona couldn't help but to nervously swallow a lump in her throat.

“...I'm good!” she grumbled quietly as her ears dipped low.

“That's what I thought.” said Anton as he placed his hand at the small of Kianna's back and turned back towards his desk “Now come over here. Both of you.”

Offering no resistance as she was towed along beside him, Kianna kept her ears laid down behind her head as Anton guided her back into the classroom and had her stand in front of his desk. Though reluctant, Fiona quickly followed behind them and stood next to her sister as Anton took his seat.

“As punishment.” said Anton as he opened a drawer along the far side of his desk and pulled out a notebook “You're both going to be writing lines.”

Kianna said nothing as she tentatively took the notebook Anton was now holding out to her.

“You, Kianna will write 'I, Kianna, am very sorry that I lost control of myself in class, and I promise I will never do it again' 750 times.” said Anton “You will do this as quickly as you can. Since you still have mana, we'll go ahead and have you build a few more blueprints before the day is over.”

“...750 times. ...Okay.” said Kianna as she tightened her ears together behind her head.

“Good, now go to your desk and get started.” said Anton as he opened a smaller drawer on the opposite side of his desk “You, Fiona, will write 'I, Fiona, am very sorry for disrespecting my Master by trying to kill him, again, and disrupting his class. I promise I will never do this again' 1500 times.”

Fiona groaned in irritation as Anton held a piece of white chalk out in front of her.

“Since you have no more mana to use, this, should keep you busy for the rest of the day.” said Anton as he indicated the chalk he held “And with that being the case, you are free to take as long as you want to finish.”

Fiona said nothing as she grudgingly took the offered chalk. Gripping it tightly in her fingers, she scowled down at the unoffending little white stick as she made her way around Anton's desk.

“...Oh, and just so that we are clear, Fiona.” said Anton as he picked up his clipboard and made marks next to both of the dark elves names.

Stopping short, Fiona's scowl stayed in place as she turned to him and waited.

“This will be the last time that I am this patient with you...” said Anton as he looked over the clipboard in his hand “If you ever try to kill me like that again... I will flog you down to the bone...”

Fiona remained completely motionless as she absorbed what had just been said.

“And if I hear even one single word of complaint out of you before this day is over...” said Anton as he set the clipboard back down on his desk “I will make you clean that chalkboard with your tongue... Do you understand me?”

Staring at him for a moment, Fiona blinked in affront before exhaling out of her nose.

“...Yes!” she grumbled as she turned away from him.

“Good.” said Anton as he reached down and opened the very bottom drawer of his desk “Then get started. You don't want to end up being down here all night after all, now do you?”

“...No! I don't!” mumbled Fiona as she picked up an eraser brush and began to clear away Anton's writings from the chalkboard.

Kianna remained as quiet as she could as she set up her notebook. Once she was ready to start her lines she glanced up at Anton and was surprised to find him lining up a series of jars and rocks across his desk. She fully lifted her head when he bent down to the side and pulled a large brass plate out of the bottom drawer.

Anton set this plate down in front of himself before gathering two smaller bowls he set up on either side of the larger plate. Noticing that Kianna was watching him, he grinned at her and pointed downwards to indicate where her focus should be.

Cowed, the dark elf dropped her eyes back to her notebook and quickly began to write out her lines.

Barring the chipping scratch of pen and chalk against paper and board, the room remained silent for the next several hours.

Finding a stopping point in his work, Anton leaned back in his seat and grinned as he noticed that Kianna was twisting her obviously sore wrist back and forth.

“Why don't we go ahead and break for a minute.” he said as he rolled his head along his shoulders to crack his neck “I'm about ready with all this here anyway.”

“Ugh! Finally!” grumbled Fiona as she stood up from where she had been bending over in front of the chalkboard “This shit is-! I, I mean! I, I could... really go for a drink of water right about now! ...I'm not complaining though! Seriously!”

“Mm hm.” mumbled Anton as he gave her a sideways look and turned to Kianna who was now approaching his desk.

“What are you doing?” asked Kianna as she looked over the jars, rocks and plates that Anton had scattered across the desktop.

“Preparing imbue to make seals with.” said Anton as he picked up a thin, pointed dowel made of silver and used it to stir a paste he had left to thicken in one of the smaller bowls.

“Oh, I see...” nodded Kianna as her eyes roved over the selection of wide-mouthed jars filled with variously colored powders, liquids and what looked like tiny beans “So... What, are you making, exactly?”

Amused by the confused look on her face, Anton chuckled and sat up straight in his seat.

“Do you really not know what a seal is?” he asked as he began to recap the jars he was apparently finished with “As in a magical seal?”

Having been staring down at the brass plate and into a pool of pale, red-colored liquid that filled its shallow basin, Kianna looked up with a bright understanding in her eyes.

“Oh! You mean like enchantments! Yeah! I know what you're talking about now!” she exclaimed as she looked back down into the liquid “I didn't know that's what you meant though. ...When you said you were making “imbue” and “seals” with this stuff. I thought that maybe you were talking about glue or paint. ...Or something like that.”

“Well, actually, you're not wrong. Magically speaking at least.” smiled Anton “Imbue is how you bind mana into seals. So in a way it kind of does act like glue.”

“Oh, okay, cool... So, seals are the same thing as enchantments then, right?” asked Kianna.

“Well seals are what enchantments are made out of. So in a way, yes.” said Anton.

“I see... And this is how you make them?” asked Kianna as she watched herself move her ears back and forth in her reflection.

“This is one way. And one of the simpler ways.” said Anton “What you're trying to do is what will affect how complicated or simple your seals need to be. And since we aren't trying to do anything too extreme, this method will work just fine.”

“What are we trying to do?” asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“Probably something horrible...” muttered Fiona as she adjusted her skirt in an effort to better hide her panties.

“We're going to make a ward. And I'm going to add a few charms to your bloodgems.” explained Anton as he turned to Fiona “Have you regenerated any mana yet?”

“Uh, wha, why?” asked Fiona “Why do you ask!?”

“Because if you have any mana then you can be added to the ward right now while we're making it. And if not, then I'll have to add you later.” explained Anton.

“Oh. Well, yeah, I guess I did. A little bit at least.” said Fiona.

“Alright, good. We'll go ahead and set the ward first then.” said Anton as he began to place the jars back into the drawer “This will be a pretty simple ward so it should only take us a minute to set it up.”

“What's the ward gonna do?” asked Kianna.

“This one is just going to mask our presence and alert us to any sapient beings that come into its range.” explained Anton as he picked up a grapefruit sized rock and set it down in the center of the large brass plate “It won't actually stop anyone from coming onto the property, or within its range. As its just a ward and not a barrier. But it will tell us where anyone within its range is, and make it impossible for anyone to track our mana pool signatures while we're under its cover. So if anyone tries to invade the house, they won't be able to tell where we are, but we'll know exactly where they are.”

“Oh! Cool!” exclaimed Kianna as she watched the rock soak up the red liquid and begin to glow “This is gonna be really useful!”

“Mm hm.” nodded Anton as he picked up the silver dowel and began to absently tap at different points on the now glowing rock “...Now, we could, make an actual barrier, which could potentially keep invaders out. But if we did that, people would immediately know it was there. ...And if they know its there, they could break it. ...This ward will be so simple that most people won't even be able to detect it. And if they don't detect it, and don't realize its there, they won't break it. And we'll have our edge against them.”

“...Makes sense.” mumbled Fiona.

“How do you know how to make wards like this?” asked Kianna “Is this something you use when you travel or take on jobs?”

“It can be.” said Anton as he pressed down a little harder on the rock and caused that point to glow brighter “...Having a ward over your campsite is always a good idea. ...That's not why I learned how to make seals though. ...I use a lot of seals whenever I make potions. And it was easier to learn how to make them myself than to constantly buy new ones. ...Now, I don't really know how to make anything too complicated off hand. ...But simple things like this I can do pretty easily.”

“How is this simple?” asked Fiona.

“...It's simple because a ward like this doesn't have much in the way of moving parts. ...It's nothing but a few charms that once activated, are designed to just constantly do what they're meant to do and nothing else.” explained Anton as he continued his work “...They don't ever change in any way. ...They're not even meant to be turned on and off, but are instead meant to be set up and just left alone until no longer needed.”

“So, wait... Will this ward just keep working forever then?” asked Kianna.

“Potentially. So long as there is enough ambient mana to power the charms and nothing happens to destroy the totem, then yes. It should work forever.” answered Anton “...That isn't likely to happen of course, but it is possible. ...In fact, charms like these would be no different than the kinds you're likely to find still working in ancient ruins. ...Simple charms always tend to last longer than more complicated enchantments.”

“So why are these “seals” you're making, gonna turn into charms and not enchantments?” asked Fiona as she leaned over the desk for a better look “What even makes em different from each other?”

“Well, actually, there technically isn't any difference. You see, seals themselves are all more or less the same. It's only once they're activated that they're ever considered something different. ...And what they become depends on how they're designed to work.” explained Anton “...The 4 main forms that they take are charms, enchantments, hexes and curses. ...There are a few other forms as well, but with these 4 you can do pretty much anything you want.”

“Okay, so, what's the difference between the different kinds?” asked Fiona.

“Well, a charm is simple enough that once activated it can power itself by collecting ambient mana from the environment around it. It does of course need to be turned on and off by a person... But once it's on it doesn't need a person to actually help it to keep powered. It's self-sustaining and will just run on its own... An enchantment however, can not run on its own. Enchantments are almost always far more complicated than charms are. And as such, they can do a lot more, but they need help to stay running. ...So, if a person is not actively powering an enchantment, then it will just stop functioning all together.” explained Anton “...Hexes and curses are essentially the same as charms and enchantments. With hexes being simple and self-sustaining like charms, and curses being more complicated and requiring a person to supply a source of power to them in the same way that enchantments do. ...The reason the two categories are considered different at all is due to how they're activated and how they function.”

The dark elves both remained silent as they listened intently.

“You see, when a person activates and gives power to a charm or enchantment they do so willingly, and they'll always know that they're doing it. ...This is not the case with hexes and curses however, as they function more like traps and parasites. You see, a hex is designed to activate when a person interacts with it in a certain way. And it will activate whether that person wants it to or not. In that way it's like a trap.” said Anton “Curses are similar, as they can be activated willingly or unwillingly. What really sets curses apart from enchantments though, is that when a person is powering a curse, regardless of whether they actually want to power it or not, they are never doing so willingly. ...A curse will power itself by draining what it needs from the person it's attached to. In this way it acts like a parasite that's feeding itself from its host.”

“Huh, so charms and enchantments are the good ones and hexes and curses are the bad ones then.” stated Kianna.

“Generally, though not always. It all depends on how they're used.” said Anton “It is of course a lot easier to use hexes and curses for nefarious purposes. But there are a lot of good things that can be done with them as well. An example would be an internal defibrillator that was set to go off whenever a person's heart stopped beating. A hex would be used with such a device since it would activate on its own, whereas a charm would not. In the same way, a helpful curse could be placed on someone that has a medical condition or severe allergies. And this curse would always function regardless of whether or not that person was actively powering it.”

“Huh, yeah, those kinds of things do makes sense...” reasoned Kianna.

“Hey! Wait one fucking second!” cried Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “Does that mean that we're the one's actually powering the curses that are keeping us enslaved!?”

Anton threw his head back and started laughing loudly.

“Now Fiona! ...Is that something you really want me to answer!?” he questioned between bouts of laughter.

“Motherfucker!” growled Fiona as she grabbed at her collar “Fucking parasite bullshit!”

Anton continued to chuckle as he began to run the tip of the silver dowel across the surface of the rock between the various points he had been poking at. By this time the rock had soaked up all of the red liquid and was now aglow with a faint red aura. Wherever the dowels tip touched it on it's way across the rock, this aura would concentrate and become a thin, glowing line. Once Anton had finished connecting all the glowing points together, a grid-like pattern had come into existence across the surface of the rock. Taking the non-pointed end of the dowel, he scooped up a glob of a thick tar-like substance from one of the small bowls and plopped this down on the center of the rock and in the middle of the grid. He then took a smaller rock with a thinner, longer shape and stood this up tall by planting its base into the glob of tar. The smaller rock, now attached to the bigger one, immediately began to glow as the red aura spread into it. After smearing a second glob atop the standing rock, Anton placed another smaller disc shaped rock at the very top.

As the red aura spread into this last rock, Anton drew a second grid across its surface that was broken up by several small circles surrounding a larger one in the center. Once finished with this smaller grid, and the entire rock structure was aglow, he set the dowel on the desk and planted his fingertip down in the center of the largest circle.

“Alright, what I need you girls to do is touch one of the small circles on the top here, and leave your finger there until I tell you it's done.” said Anton.

“Is this gonna burn us?” grumbled Fiona as she and her sister both moved to touch the circles.

“No. It shouldn't.” said Anton “If it does, then let me know.”

Once both of the dark elves had their fingers in place, Anton began to feed a stream of mana into the rock structure and as he did this its aura and the glowing grids across it began to shift in color until they were the same bright orange as his own aura.

“Alright, keep your fingers in place and slowly, and I mean slowly! Let a bit of your mana flow into the stone.” said Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “It's okay if you let your auras flow into it as well. They aren't going to do anything that will hurt the charms.”

“Okay...” breathed Kianna as her expression became marred with concentration.

Fiona merely grimaced as she followed suit.

As the dark elves mana joined with Anton's, the grid across the entire stone structure began to shift in color as the three streams of mana began to blend within it.

“Okay... You two can let go now...” said Anton as his brow creased with concentration “...Go ahead and step back. ...It's going to activate as soon as I let it go. ...Don't panic when it does.”

Glancing at each other in uncertainty, both Fiona and Kianna turned back to the ward and kept their eyes locked to it as they stepped back from the desk.

The instant Anton lifted his finger a bubble, seemingly made of a bright, red colored light began to expand out from the structure and spread outwards until it had engulfed the entire desk.

“Don't panic, this is normal.” said Anton as the bubble continued to grow “It's not going to hurt you.”

As he spoke, the bubble jumped in size and became big enough to engulfed both himself and the dark elves before spreading out to fill the entire room and cover it with its red sheen.

“...What the fuck!?” muttered Fiona as she looked around at everything that was now colored red “...This is normal!?”

“It is.” nodded Anton as he watched the edges of the bubble faze through the floor, walls and ceiling “This is usually how wards look whenever they're first activated.”

“...They're supposed to be red like this!?” cried Kianna “But aren't people going to see it!?”

“No, no one can see it.” assured Anton “We can see it right now because we made it. But no one else can see it. And it'll disappear for us as well, once it reaches its full size.”

“...How big is it gonna get?” asked Fiona.

“It'll be fairly small. Only about a few hundred meters in diameter.” said Anton “So just big enough to cover the house, the driveway and the immediate area around us.”

“...How will we know when it's done?” asked Kianna as her eyes roved over the red colored ceiling.

“The red color will disappear and everything will look normal again.” said Anton.

The dark elves both nodded as they continued to glance around the now red colored room.

After a few more moments of waiting the red sheen suddenly winked out of existence.

“And there we go.” nodded Anton “It's done.”

“Cool, that was easy.” mumbled Fiona as she looked around “...So, how do we know if it's working?”

“Unfortunately we won't know for sure until someone triggers it.” said Anton as he began to rummage around with things on the desk “But there's really no reason to think that it isn't.”

“...So then, what's next?” asked Kianna as she watched Anton clean the silver dowel “We get someone to come and trigger it?”

“Oh no. That'll happen on it's own. Eventually.” said Anton as he grinned at her “No, no. Next, I need to finish with you two!”

Setting her jaw in irritation, Fiona began to groan as Anton rose out of his seat and picked up the second small bowl that was filled with a bluish paste.

“Now, who would like to go first?” asked Anton as he used the silver dowel to stir up the paste.

When neither of the dark elves gave a response he chuckled and turned to a now glaring Fiona.

“Why don't we just start with you.” he said as he came around the desk and stood in front of her “Chin up, please.”

Pointing her ears straight back, Fiona hesitated as she eyed the small bowl with a look of obvious disdain.

“...Fiona, I'm going to be very annoyed if I have to put you in binding rings for this.” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her “This can be over in seconds if you just let it be easy.”

Hesitating for another moment, Fiona sighed through her teeth and slumped her shoulders.

“Fine!” she grumbled as she raised her chin and looked off to the side.

Anton wasted no time as he bent forward and quickly tapped his fingertip on each of the three gems mounted to her collar. With each tap, the gems began to glow.

“...I think it's only fair for you two to understand that the charms that I'm going to activate right now, were, for the most part, already set into your collars.” said Anton as he stirred a bit of paste onto the tip of the silver dowel and quickly moved it to the first gem on Fiona's collar.

“...What!?” cried Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “What are you talking about!?”

“What I'm talking about... Is exactly what I just said... I had already set these charms, into the gems on your collars.” repeated Anton as he made one tiny line after another across the surface of the gems “...I had just left them incomplete, and inactive. ...Because I had hoped, that I wouldn't need them.”

Kianna lowered her ears as a expression of misery spread across her face.

“And let me guess!” mocked Fiona “You're so disappointed in us because you do!”

“Well... I wouldn't say that...” mused Anton as he began to work on the larger middle gem “If anything I should have known better myself... You two are what you are after all... And it's not like I wasn't fully aware of how you would be... I should have been better prepared to deal with actual dark elves... And I really wasn't... Now I will be...”

“Yeah, right!” grumbled Fiona “Now you will be for sure! Since now you can just turn off our magic whenever you want!”

“That is more or less the case, yes...” said Anton “Though it's not so much turning it off... As it is channeling it... Redirecting the flow, as it were...”

“...What?” questioned Fiona “What the Hell does that mean?”

Anton began to chuckle as he stood up and looked at her face to face.

“There are two charms being embedded into the gems on your collar right now. The first charm will be mounted to your bloodgem. The way this charm works is that when active it will channel your mana through me. Almost as if you were my familiar, well, as if your gem was my familiar. Anyways, when this happens I can stop the flow of your mana and even redirect it back into you. Thus binding your mana and making it impossible for you to preform your abilities.” explained Anton “The second charm is actually being applied to both of your buffer gems. The one's that keep your aura from messing with your bloodgem. This charm, when activated, will completely displace your aura and make it impossible for you to control it. When both of these charms are activated, you will essentially be harmless. Well, I say harmless. You will still have your teeth, I guess...”

Fuming with rage, Fiona balled her hands into fists as she glared back at Anton and scowling, bared said teeth.

“Yes, those are the ones!” teased Anton as he again tapped on her bloodgem.

Fiona's breath hissed as she sucked air in through her teeth.

“What the fuck was that!?” she cried as she tucked her arms in around herself and shivered uncontrollably.

“That, was the charms becoming active.” said Anton as he stepped away from her “You may feel a little queasy for the next little bit. At least until your aura realigns itself.”

“Argh, I hate you!” muttered Fiona as she continued to shiver.

“Oh! ...Well this is interesting!” mused Anton as he looked her over “...I think I can actually feel how much mana you have now? ...This will certainly be useful!”

“Seriously!?” grumbled Fiona as she let her head hang forward “Well isn't that just perfect!”

“...I wonder if I can only feel it because you have so little?” pondered Anton “Hm, questions for later.”

Still looking utterly miserable, Kianna laid her ears down submissively as Anton turned to face her.

“Oh, come on now, Kianna. There's no reason for you to look so pitiful.” he said as he stepped up to her.

Saying nothing, the dark elf offered no resistance as Anton lifted her chin. Bending forward to get a better look at her gems, Anton stopped short. Standing as close to her as he was allowed him to feel the cloud of sadness being emanated out into her aura.

“So, how far along are you on your lines?” he asked in a soft tone as he tapped on each of her gems.

“Um, I'm past 500 now...” whispered Kianna.

“I see, good.” nodded Anton as he quickly started working on the charms “So it shouldn't take you too much longer to finish them then?”

“No.” said Kianna “I'll be done in, like another hour. ...Or maybe a little longer.”

“Good, that's good.” soothed Anton “Plenty of time then... So, do you think you'll be up to making a few more blueprints afterwards? Or would you like to just call it a day?”

“...I can probably do a few more. ...If you want me too.” mumbled Kianna.

Smiling softly, Anton stood up and looked her in the eyes.

“Now that's not what I asked you, Kianna.” said Anton as he took hold of her chin and ran his thumb up and down her jawline “It's not about what I want. I asked what you want.”

Kianna stared at him for a few moments before her face scrunched up in anguish.

“I don't know!” complained the dark elf “...I just, I don't want you to be mad at me anymore! So I'll just do whatever you want!”

“Hm... I see, well, I'm not mad at you though, Kianna.” said Anton as he bent back down to continue working on the charms “So that's not an issue.”

“...You're disappointed though.” whispered Kianna as tears began to well in her eyes while she stared up at the ceiling “You knew! You knew we might... You knew we might be stupid like this! But you hoped that we wouldn't be, that we'd be better than that... And we're not... We're stupid, and now you have to punish us! ...I'm sorry!”

“...Yes. Unfortunately I did have to punish you.” whispered Anton as he finished the charms and stood back up “But I never once said I thought you were stupid for this, Kianna. You or your sister.”

“But we are!” whined Kianna as she clamped her eyes shut “That's why... You're still disappointed! And you still have to punish me! With these charms! Even though you didn't want to! I'm sorry...”

“Charms?” questioned Anton “Ah, I see. That's what you think...”

Leaning to the side, Anton set the bowl and dowel on the desk before turning back to Kianna. Without a word he reached out and activated the charms by tapping on her bloodgem.

Like her sister, Kianna reacted by sucking in her breath and immediately wrapping her arms around herself as her body began to shiver. Her eyes shot open and went wide in surprise when Anton stepped forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“So, you think that the charms are part of your punishment then...” he whispered as held the quivering dark elf to his chest “Such a silly little dark elf...”

Kianna was still for several moments before she let herself relax against him.

“...Are they not?” she questioned as she blinked up at him.

“No. Only your lines were meant to be your punishment. Not the charms.” soothed Anton as he ran his hand up and down and gently rubbed the smooth skin of her exposed back between her blouse and skirt “The charms are there to let me control you only if I think I need to... And that's it... They're not a punishment, Kianna...”

“...But, that is a punishment though!” whined Kianna as she tighten her ears together behind her head “How are they not a punishment!?”

“Because they're not... And I don't want you to think of them that way...” said Anton as he gave her a light squeeze and continued to rub her back “Instead, I want you to imagine a bike. One that you're learning to ride for the first time. The charms, would be like a set of training wheels attached to that bike. They're there to help you stay upright, and to keep you moving on the right path. And that's it. That's all they're there for. They're not there to punish you. They're only there to help me hold you up, and keep you from falling. So in this way, you won't hurt yourself. Or anyone around you.”

Kianna stayed silent and still as she listened.

“...And when you're ready. ...When you have control. ...We will take them off. ...And you will ride on your own from then on.” continued Anton as he tilted his head back and looked down at her “Alright?”

Kianna remained still for another moment before softly nodding her head.

“Alright, good!” breathed Anton as he turned to look at Fiona “And do you understand that as well, Fiona? Because the same does go for you too.”

Leaning against the false wall next to the blackboard and staring off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest, Fiona hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding her head.

“Okay, good! I'm glad we've got that settled.” said Anton as he gave Kianna another squeeze and smiled down at her “Now, you have yet to answer my question, Kianna!”

Blinking, the dark elf looked up at him with a confused expression clear on her face.

“Wha, which one?” she asked.

“I asked you what you wanted to do with the rest of the afternoon.” said Anton he playfully tilted his head to the side “And you never told me.”

“Oh.” mumbled Kianna as she rested her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes “No, I told you. I'll just do whatever you wanna do...”

“Ah, so you meant that then?” asked Anton as he patted her back just below her blouse.

“Mm hm.” hummed Kianna as she reached around behind herself and began to adjust her skirt.

Watching the dark elf shift the waistbands of both her skirt and panties back and forth, Anton couldn't help but to appreciate the way she absently wiggled and swayed her bottom in her quest for comfort. Grinning to himself he began to drum his fingers along her spine as he slowly trailed his hand down to the small of her back.

Registering where Anton's hand had found itself, Kianna's ears pointed themselves straight upwards as her eyes shot open and widened in surprise.

“Hmm... Now what do I want to do...?” hummed Anton as he let his fingers playfully get in the way of her attempts to finish adjusting her skirt “Hmm, hmm, hmm... What, what, what...”

Blinking, Kianna lifted her head and looked up at him.

Ginning in amusement, Anton looked off to the side as he feigned being lost in thought.

“You know what I think I'd like to do!” exclaimed Anton as he let the tips of his fingers slip under the waistband of Kianna's panties “I think I'd like to make something really good for dinner tonight... Hm, what should I make though... Maybe... Maybe some pork chops! Yeah! That sounds good. Some pork chops, and some nice big baked potatoes, and maybe some cheesy rice and broccoli... Yeah! I think that sounds good! How does that sound to you?”

“...It, uh. Yeah! That sounds good! Really good!” stumbled Kianna.

“Well, alright then!” smiled Anton as he let his fingers teasingly travel further down beneath the now squirming dark elf's panties “Would you like to help me make it?”

“...I! Yeah! Definitely!” exclaimed Kianna as she nodded her head.

“Good! Well then! As soon as you're done with your lines we can get started!” said Anton as he continued to smile and playfully wiggle his fingers “I think this is going to be fun!”

“...Yeah!” breathed Kianna as she began to lightly sway her hips “...Um, is, is that, really all you wanna do though!?”

“Hm?” hummed Anton as his smile grew broader “What do you mean?”

“...I, uh, I was just wondering if that was all you really wanted to do? ...Or not?” said Kianna.

“Well... I guess it is...” mused Anton as his eyes became teasing “Why? Is there maybe, something else, you, would like to do now?”

Kianna stared at him for a moment before sighing in frustration through her nose and pointing her ears straight back behind her head.

“You! Are so mean!” she mumbled as she narrowed her eyes and arched her back to press herself against him.

Anton began to laugh as he full on slid his hand into her panties and gave her bottom a rough squeeze.

“Oh, is that so!?” he grinned as he tilted his head down towards her.

“Yes! It is!” muttered Kianna as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him fully down so as to kiss him.

Returning her kiss with his own passion, Anton tightened his hold on her butt cheek as a soft growl rumbled out of his chest.

“Hm... We're still in the middle of class...” breathed Anton as he broke away from their kiss and took a breath.

“No, we're not! We're still on a break right now...” countered Kianna as she kissed him again.

Chuckling into their kiss, Anton leaned back and lifted her into the air as he hugged her to himself.

“Oh! Such a naughty little school girl!” teased Anton as he held her up “She can't even stay focused on her lessons for a single afternoon!”

“Mm, well, maybe I could focus better...” breathed Kianna as she lazily kicked her legs in the air “If my professor gave me some, private, lessons...”

“Private lessons?” repeated Anton with a smile.

“Yeah, you know... Private, one on one, lessons...” spoke Kianna in between light kisses “Like the kind that, come with extra credits...”

Anton chuckled through his grinning teeth as he set Kianna back down on her feet and pressed their foreheads together.

“Oh! Those kinds of lessons...” he said as he smiled down at her “Well... I might be able to fit one of those into our little break real quick... If! You can promise to finish your lines right afterwards...”

“Yeah, I can do that!” said Kianna as she kissed him again “But, I wanna change one, little thing...”

“Hm? And what's that?” mumbled Anton.

“I don't, want a quick, lesson...” explained Kianna as she continued to kiss him over and over.

“Ah!” nodded Anton “Well! We'll just have to see how well you can stay focused then. Now won't we!?”

Kianna giggled her way into another kiss as Anton gave her bottom another squeeze.

“Argh! Will you two just get it over with and fuck already!” snapped Fiona from her place next to the blackboard “And please, for the love of the Gods, don't do it in here! ...Or while you're making dinner! Please!”

Laughing loudly, Anton scooped a still giggling Kianna up into his arms and started towards the stairs that led out of the dungeon.

“Finish your lines, Fiona!” called Anton over his shoulder “And don't concern yourself with how we decide to make dinner! The food is going to be fine either way!”

Snarling in rage, Fiona turned her back on them and fumed for a moment before snatching up her piece of chalk and grudgingly getting back to her lines.