Valence

Asir held up a hand for a halt and Bane blinked in surprise, wondering if it was a trick. But then again, he didn't take Asir for a cheater.

Bane lowered his arms slightly as he waited for Asir to speak.

"It's annoying not being able to go all out." Turning to the audience, he waved at a man in the crowd. "Hey Malorn! can you raise the arena?"

The tiger's tail swished back and forth as a grin appeared on his maw. Oh so it was getting serious? This wasn't just a spar anymore, this was a test of their strength and abilities.


He watched as a man dashed to the side of the room where a panel was and played with a few switches. A whining sound was heard and Bane looked over the edge to see the arena glowing and then looked up to see the ceiling part. The arena started moving up and the audience went to catch up by climbing the stairs.


Movement from Asir drew Bane's attention back to the lynx celestial knight just in time to see the younger male kiss his tarot card. Bane quirked a smile as he saw how lovingly Asir cherished his cards.


The arena continued to ascend and soon they were inside a large battle space. Bane looked around and saw that most of this area was protected by magic that negated other magic powers in order to minimize the damage that occurred during spars and battles.

How perfect.

"Now then... this is much better."

Bane chuckled at what Asir said and felt the stage come to a stop and lock into place.


"Major Arcana VIII! Justice!"

"Sword Suit: Page! Fenrir, the Northern Light!"

Almost immediately Asir went on the offensive and had summoned two cards.


His form changed again, Bane was beginning to wonder if there was an end to this boy's magic, and now he looked like a red furred version of himself with white and gold armor. And in his hands he held a large buster blade.



Bane lifted his arms and slowly moved from foot to foot in preparation for an assault.


He saw Asir point his buster blade at him and his sharp eyes immediately caught on to the blade that was about to fire a shot. Without giving much away and calculating the distance and trajectory of the shot, Bane had shifted a few inches to the side and when Asir fired his burst of light, the beam shot by the tiger harmlessly.


But Bane had already known that the blast was just a feint and now swiftly turned on his foot to face Asir who had popped up beside him, swinging that huge blade.



Bane grinned widely as he morphed his weapon once again in a split second.


A loud clang was heard, the sound of metal hitting against metal.


Asir's buster blade made contact.


But with the fullmetal body of Bane. Bane had been able to morph his metal to cover his entire form in a metal composed of tungsten, osmium, and titanium. The metal gave off a shine, was flexible to his form, and was nearly unpenetrable.


Bane had caught Asir's buster blade with his hand and grinned at Asir.


"Damn you pack a whollop," he laughed with joy as he gripped the blade to prevent Asir from escaping.


Then without warning, the metal that had been coating his long tail, winded and went straight for Asir like a swift snake ready to spring. Bane was bending the metal with his mind and alchemy powers, causing the metal to bend and snake and form a sharp point at the tip, a tip that was going straight for Asir's unguarded backside.


To keep Asir from running away, Bane used his other hand and quickly gripped Asir's other arm to keep him from summoning more cards.


That's the thing with Bane. He was the master of close range combat because he had the bulk to withstand hits but also the manuverability to utilize his metals for the offensive when he has his opponents within close distance.


He metal that coated his claws melted off and flowed onto Asir's arms, then solidifying and trapping Asir in his hold, not allowing the young knight to escape.


What would Asir do now?


Shouts and voices were heard from the audience who were getting hyped up from all the action. They really didn't know who would win now. They thought Asir was an unbeatable demon, but now that they had seen Bane in action, it seems the outcome was difficult to tell. Perhaps in their galaxy, Asir was one of the strongest, but Bane was proving to be quite the challenge.

Asir had expected Bane to block, but not this completely. The side of the blade opened slightly and released a blue blast, but it was useless against the metal coated body of the white tiger. His own fur ruffled slightly in the wind from the blast as he calculated for a split second. He had been caught. The metal from Bane's weapon was melting along his body, holding him in place. His hand was also held by the strong tiger, and in any other situation, Asir might have blushed at this thought, but his mind was on the battle... and Bane had made a fatal mistake.

For one, the Justice card was in play, and Bane hadn't bothered to find out its effect before going in for the strike. Secondly, what Bane had forgotten was that Asir could telepathically manipulate his cards. He contemplated letting Bane's attack hit him, but decided to go for another tactic. The sword dissipated and was replaced by another card, the X of swords. He whispered it's name "Nightwing", and instantly he held a curved and jagged blade. With a grin, his eyes darted over to the other corner of the stage.

"Well Bane, you're pretty good at this. But I won't go down that easy." The toll on Asir however was beginning to show. He was draining through his reserves of magic summoning all the cards he had and the 4 of cups had already slipped back into his pouch, emptied of its stores, but it was clear this battle wasn't over, especially since there were suddenly three more of him that had emerged from hidden spots in the room. They each raised their identical swords and charged silently, their expressions blank as the Asir that was trapped in bane's trap grinned. "Never underestimate me."

The small crowd cheered loudly again, jumping up and down in excitement. They hadn't seen Asir pushed this far since his battle against Laeti, and he'd lost to her. Perhaps he had a new rival? It was clear he wasn't going to back down though, especially now that his three clones were moving in on Bane.

Oh Bane was indeed surprised. He had underestimated the abilities that Asir had up his sleeves. Or rather in his deck of tarot cards.

But that just made things all the more fun for the Faunian who had yet to fight against someone on his same level or higher.


The side of the blade had let out a blue blast, but it bounced off Bane's armored hide like nothing. And as Bane held Asir in place, he wanted to grin because he thought the younger boy looked vulnerable and cute, but he knew that Asir was far from vulnerable. Cute yes, but vulnerable not.

Once he had Asir in his grip, the thought struck him that like how he could telepathically manipulate his metal alchemy, so could Asir telepathically manipulate his tarot cards.

But then again, having the younger lynx male within arm's reach wasn't such a bad thing.


He grinned mentally at the thought of being naughty with the young lad but kept his wandering thoughts from being verbalized.


Bane's eyes widened slightly as he saw the buster blade dissipate and then was replaced by a cured and toothed blade.

"Well Bane, you're pretty good at this. But I won't go down that easy."


Bane chuckled, a deep rumbling noise that came from his throat. He licked his lips out of habit as he grinned toothly at the younger male.


"I would hate it if you did," he answered in reply.


But it was evident that for someone as young as Asir, using such an extensive supply of power took a toll on his body. The match would be ending soon, otherwise Bane was sure he was gonna put his commander in bed rest for a few days after this spar.


Considering Bane was much bigger and was older, he had more experience in handling his powers and so far what he had demonstrated with his alchemy did not faze him in the least.

His eyes, which were also covered by a thin layer of indestructable metal, turned to either side of him and saw three more Asir's standing in the arena.

Oh, how interesting. Dopplegangers?


All three of his dopplegangers raised their swords, which were the same as the one the original Asir held in his hand, and charged him.


Bane weighed his options. He could use his special move and instantly kill off the dopplegangers, but he never liked revealing his secret art to such a large crowd. Well...one of his secret arts at least.


So instead a smirk came over the tiger's face as he thought of a witty idea.



He gripped Asir tighter as he felt the young knight try to push him.


His tail, which had been going for a hit on Asir's backside, now turned around and when the three dopplegangers got close enough, his metal tail tip morphed into that of an axe head and he swiftly swept his tail across, slicing the three dopplegangers with relative ease.



But in the end...he decided to forfeit the match.


He wanted his secret arts to be a surprise. Bane didn't want to reveal his secrets yet, and for one he decided he would like for Asir's secrets to not be revealed also.


And so once the dopplegangers were destroyed, Bane melted the metal off Asir's arms and back to his own. He then gripped Asir's arm and pulled the younger anthro closer to him, which considering Bane's strength, was not hard to do.


In the swiftest of motions, Bane leaned close to Asir's ear grinned.

"Never underestimate me."

"I would never dream of underestimating you," Bane said and chuckled huskily into Asir's ear. Then with a motion too fast for others to catch, Bane reached behind Asir, grabbed his tail and ran his hand through the white flurry tail and grabbed Asir's butt before leaning back against Asir's pushing.


The metalbody melted off of him, turning back into his two bracelets as he fell onto his back, still in his anthro form, with Asir sitting in a very compromising position.


Straddling.


The crowd was silent, as they didn't know what to make of this. But then suddenly cheers and shouts were ringing out for Asir's victory. But only Bane and Asir knew what really happened.

Asir retained his grin. Though he was sure the dopplegangers wouldn't connect with Bane (after all they didn't nearly have the skill that he did), but it was the perfect way to draw attention away from himself and allow him to get free. As they closed in, Bane's tail shifted into a weapon and cut them down as though they were paper. As he did this, Asir leaned forward, pushing back against the tiger. He didn't expect it to work, but it was a start. Suddenly though, the tiger leaned forward and whispered to him.

"I would never dream of underestimating you,"

Slightly confused, Asir didn't notice the metal receding off his body. Suddenly, he felt contact at his weakest point... his tail... It was his one true weakness. To touch it in the right way was ecstasy for the young anthro, and Bane knew just how to do it. A tiny squeak of surprise and pleasure burst from the cat's mouth and he shuddered as the paw ran swiftly along his tail, then he gasped as he finished it be gripping his rump.

Before he could even respond to that action, Asir found himself on the floor, on top of Bane in a way that was very... compromising. Especially considering his current... condition... to put it nicely. He thanked the heavens that he had chosen justice, because the red of his fur perfectly covered the bright blush that he had. His face was practically on fire from embarrassment, but the crowd was only cheering.

The forfeit was clear to Asir, but the audience seemed to think he'd somehow won. Asir sat there for a moment, incapacitated and unable to speak before finally scrambling off of the larger man. He dusted himself off and reverted back to his normal state, all of the cards floating back to his pouch and his still blushing face turned slightly away from the tiger. He managed to mutter a nervous command. "C-come on... let's go back to the room."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward the access door on the side of the room where the audience was not, doing his best not to stumble over himself. In a dazed stupor he wandered back out of the training room and into the hall, leading the way back to the diplomatic hall where he had to pause and revert back to reality to remember which room was theirs. He selected correctly and walked inside, flopping down on the bed designated as his and waiting for Bane, still nervous and flustered as hell.

Bane, still in his weretiger form, grinned up at Asir who was sitting atop of him in a straddling position. The tiger could only chuckle at the sight of Asir's blushing face.

How cute. Looks like his observations were true. Asir was indeed attracted to him, but to what extent he wondered now.

And...

Bane discovered Asir's weakspot.



Oh hoho, when he ran his hand through Asir's tail, he was well aware of the young lynx's reaction. Asir had squeaked in surprise and a small sound of pleasure escaped his lips, to the young knight's horror Bane would assume. Plus the shuddering was all a dead giveaway to how good he felt when his tail was played with.


Oh and might Bane mention how much he wanted to ravish Asir when he gasped during the moment his tight butt was grabbed?


The tiger didn't know why, but he so felt like messing with the young knight now. Not to be mean or anything, but just to see how far he could push Asir before the young male gave in.


A few moments of silence between them passed as the audience cheered for Asir's victory, shouting how they knew the young knight would win and made the other people pay for losing the bet.


Bane watched Asir, saw how speechless he was before he scrambled off his much larger frame. Asir tried to act normal, but Bane saw the stiffness in his movements as he dusted himself and returned his cards to him. Soon Bane morphed to his human form and stood there watching Asir with a grin.

"C-come on... let's go back to the room."


Bane chuckled as he grabbed his clothing, plus his waters as well as Asir's own snacks and stuff and trailed after the younger male.


"As you command," he commented as he followed.


Bane had to stop himself from laughing as he watched Asir almost walk into the wrong room and had to stop for a moment to remember which one was theirs.

Soon Asir walked into the right room and Bane followed suit, walking in and depositing the snacks and water on the small table they had in the middle of the room.

The younger man sat on his bed, nervous and flustered Bane could tell.


Bane just went about his business, placing his clothing and duffle bag on the ground next to his bed and proceeded to lock the door to their room. He also took one water bottle, snapped the lid open and took a long drink, letting the refreshing liquid dribble down his throat and cool him down.

Then he stood facing Asir and gave him a grin.

"Well I'm going to take a nice hot shower after our bout," he said as he proceeded to take off his black skin-tight sleeveless, revealing a well-toned, muscular chest and a beautiful set of abdominal muscles. He left his pants on, pretty sure he would kill the young knight if he stripped anymore and walked towards their bathroom door.


But before he went in, he grabbed a towel as well as a change of pants, just pants. And he stopped at the door and turned to Asir.

"Care to join me Commander?" he asked in a playful tone, his white tiger's tail swaying back and forth slowly, teasingly.



Hmmm he wondered how Asir would respond to the invitation. Would he accept it? Or reject him outright?

"Well I'm going to take a nice hot shower after our bout,"

The words caught Asir's attention and he looked up again, just in time to see Bane remove his shirt. And god was he gorgeous. The young anthro's cheeks flushed as his eyes swept over the abdomen of the tiger, taking in the image of his beautiful muscles. He couldn't help but stare.

Suddenly realizing that he was in fact staring, he dragged his eyes away, his cheeks burning an even brighter red as he fidgeted nervously on his bed. The tip of his tail was twitching gently, revealing perhaps a little... excitement. But he shifted and cleared his throat to hide it, trying to ignore the beautiful man in front of him.

But Bane was not going to make it easy for him clearly.

He caught a glimpse of the tiger grabbing his change of clothes. Just a pair of pants... only pants.

Oh... sweet... goddess... did that mean Bane wasn't going to wear any... Asir shook his head furiously, a small whimper of frustration barely escaping through his lips as he folded his legs up onto the bed with him to hide his... condition. He mustn't allow himself to think along those lines. Especially since Bane was his subordinate. He could almost swear the man was doing this on purpose.

But if those thoughts weren't enough, Bane's next words certainly threw Asir for a loop. He was just beginning to distract himself when Bane spoke.

"Care to join me Commander?" he asked in a playful tone, his white tiger's tail swaying back and forth slowly, teasingly.

Asir sputtered and nearly fell over. Had he heard him right? He stared incredulously at the tiger and realized suddenly that he had. This led to a nearly incomprehensible sentence pouring from Asir's mouth. "Behh... I... but we're... I mean I'm your... we can't... I mean I want to but..." He slapped his hand over his mouth, shocked that he'd said that last bit aloud. But it was too late to take it back now.

There was what seemed to be a long pause before Asir suddenly sprang out of the bed and over to the bathroom, latching shyly onto the taller male and muttering softly into his abdomen. "Y-yes... yes I do..."

Bane's grin was so wide he looked like the Cheshire cat.

He had so caught Asir's look when he removed his shirt. The tiger swore if the boy stared any longer he'd be drooling. And the flush of his cheeks, so adorable. He almost couldn't believe he was just having a serious spar with this guy a few moments ago. What a change!

Ha the sucky thing about being an anthro, it was difficult to hide your emotions completely, especially when you had a tail that revealed all. Bane's blue eyes zoomed in on Asir's white tail, which was twitching with what Bane could describe as...excitement and anxiety.


Asir was avoiding eye contact with him. He was all flustered and red. Bane didn't know he had that big of an effect on Asir, but it seems he thought wrong.

Bane was still waiting for Asir's answer and in the meantime, he reached both arms up and stretched his body, well aware that his abs were flexing and he was showing off how fit his body was. His white ears twitched when he heard a whimper from Asir.

My my. Was that a whimper of frustration?


Bane was internally chuckling. He wondered how far Asir would let him go with the younger male.


In Le Fauna, attraction to the same sex individuals was not common, but it was rare as animals usually mated with the intention on producing heirs and children. Rarely were there homosexual couplings. But even then, homosexual couples were accepted in their society and were treated just as well as straight pairings. For animals, sex did not determine attraction. It was the couples choice if they wanted to have heirs, and even homosexual couples had children; they just asked for a female to donate an egg, usually with a favor in return or monetary compensation, but usually the females rarely minded since Faunians had many offspring.


Bane considered himself bi; attracted to both sexes. But at this moment, Asir had Bane's full attention.

Asir adjusting his position on the bed, and with that Bane's eyes went straight to Asir's legs, taking note of how the lad was sitting. Hohoho, it seems someone got a little excited.


The tiger loved seeing the reaction the lynx had when he offered to shower together. He swore the young man just about fell off his bed.

"Behh... I... but we're... I mean I'm your... we can't... I mean I want to but..."

A sexy smirk appeared on Bane's face as he listened to Asir's sputtering. His tail was now swishing back and forth, almost predatory as he gazed at Asir.

"Oh? What was that I don't think I heard you clearly," he replied as he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed in front of him.

There was what seemed to be a long pause before Asir suddenly sprang out of the bed and over to the bathroom, latching shyly onto the taller male and muttering softly into his abdomen. "Y-yes... yes I do..."

Bane's eyes widened in surprise at Asir's action. Ho! How bold!!

Asir had walked over and hugged him. Bane stopped leaning against the door frame to look down at the younger man.

Oh.This was gonna get fun...and a bit hot...

"As you command," Bane said with a slight sultry growl as he bend and lifted Asir easily into his arms, his hands beneath his ass as he then disregarded his change of pants and just waltzed right into the bathroom.

He closed the bathroom door with his foot and locked it and as he peered at the settings a little control panel had next to the door, his grin widened when he saw that there was an option to make the door soundproof.


Oh. Oh...now nice of the architects to think to such lengths.


Once Bane set the soundproof settings, he set Asir down on his feet in the middle of the bathroom and smirked down at him.

"Are you going to get naked or do I have to strip you myself?" Bane asked as he walked over to turn on the shower and let the water run and get warmer before he walked back to stand in front of Asir.

Bane softly growled as he reached down to play with Asir's tail again, running his fingers through the soft fur. He leaned down so that his face was close to Asir's and licked the younger man's nose before pulling away.


Then Bane pulled back and stripped off his pants, now standing in a black loincloth which was the usual undergarments for men in Le Fauna.

Bane stood in almost all his glory and grinned patiently at Asir, his tiger's tail wagging with joy and the playfulness and desire swimming in his blue eyes.


((lol should we take this to the PMs? lol))

"As you command," Bane said with a slight sultry growl as he bend and lifted Asir easily into his arms, his hands beneath his ass as he then disregarded his change of pants and just waltzed right into the bathroom.

A tiny yelp came from Asir as he was suddenly swooped up into Bane's arms. His hand was gripping onto the young lynx's ass, only managing to make him more flustered as they stepped into the fairly large bathroom. The taller tiger turned to the door and closed it with his foot, then... soundproofed it?!

Asir couldn't help but bury his face into Bane's chest in embarrassment. The tiger had guessed that Asir was... well, not quiet, when it came to playing around.

The lynx just stood there when Bane set him down, twitching his tail in anticipation and anxiety.

"Are you going to get naked or do I have to strip you myself?" Bane asked as he walked over to turn on the shower and let the water run and get warmer before he walked back to stand in front of Asir.

The lynx stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do at first, but after a moment, he slowly started stripping down, eventually leaving him in just his underwear. By this point, his cheeks were beet red and he fiddled nervously with the lining of his underwear.

As Bane leaned toward him, Asir didn't resist and when his soft paws ran through his tailfur, the young lynx shuddered in pleasure, his ears folding back submissively. The Tiger's tongue ran sensually across his nose and he was superbly tempted to move his muzzle up just slightly to turn it into the kiss, but by the time he'd worked up the nerve, he'd pulled back again and started to strip.

Asir's tail twitched and he couldn't help but watch as the taller man unclothed himself. He squirmed as he began to get aroused and fiddled again with the lining of his underwear, too nervous to take them off himself, even though his excitement was clearly starting to show through in the form of a growing bulge.

((naaaaaaah, let's just keep it here. ))

Bane's eyes eagerly waited the sight of Asir's nude body. His tail was twitching with anticipation as a grin was plastered on his handsome face.

The younger male stood there for a while in the middle of the bathroom, embarrassed from the red of his face. But soon he slowly started taking off his clothes. His outer clothes came off, then his inner shirt, soon his shoes and socks followed and then he stripped off his pants.


And didn't take off the last article of clothing he had left.


Bane purred, a sound of content as he admired Asir's young but lithe body. He certainly was fit and strong for someone his size, not overly muscular but not frail either, which was a good thing. Asir's body was evident of someone who was just going head to head with him just a few minutes ago in the arena.


The tiger took a moment to look Asir from head to tail.

He liked what he saw.


And when he was down to his loincloth, he could easily tell that Asir liked what he saw too. Bane's sharp eyes did not miss the small tent growing in Asir's undergarments. Plus the fact that Asir was fiddling with the rim of his underwear was a dead giveaway too.


A chuckle escaped Bane's throat as he watched Asir's nervous state. It made Bane want to mercilessly tease the younger male until the latter was crying for release.


Spurred into action, Bane walked over to Asir and picked him up easily into his arms. He hoisted Asir with one arm and held him over his shoulder as he walked into the running shower.


The warm waters hit him and Bane shivered at first but soon relaxed into the water.


Soon enough, Bane's free hand went to Asir's underwear and promptly stripped him of the last piece of clothing. Throwing the underwear outside the shower, Bane then closed the shower door and then his hand went to grab Asir's rump and gave it a firm squeeze.


With that Bane set Asir on his feet, but just as soon as he did that, the tiger pulled Asir close to him, crushing their bodies together and pressing their nether regions together as well.


A small sound of satisfaction came from Bane as he growled, leaning down to attack Asir's neck with nips and licks and kisses.



"Hmm you make me want to ravage you," Bane growled out as one of his hands ran down Asir's back to his buttocks again, massaging the nice rump with his large hand. The other hand was busy holding Asir's waist to keep them close together.


The sensation of Asir's naked erection against his own, held in by the loincloth was starting to turn Bane on and he could feel the pulsing of blood that was rushing into down south.

Asir stood shyly in the middle of the bathroom floor, nearly naked, with an erection growing in his underwear. Biting his lip, he stared at the floor, pinning his ears back as his tail flicked back and forth. He was almost oblivious to the older male approaching him, such was his apprehension, but as the tiger picked him up in his arms and slung him over his shoulder, he let out a soft gasp. His tail lifted slightly of it's own accord and his blush deepened to a darker red, now apparent even through his fur.

A soft sigh slipped through his lips as the water poured over the young feline, dampening his fur. He felt the other male's hand sliding up his body and bit his lip as it started to slowly tug off his undergarments. Soon, he was naked, his erection pressing against the body of the tiger. A small sound of pleasure escaped him as the paw gripped his ass firmly before setting him down, and he almost had to find his balance, but managed to stay upright.

Before Asir could do or say anything though, the stronger man pulled him close to his body, pressing them together and making Asir whimper wantingly. The muzzle of the tiger slipped down past his commander's face, licking and biting at the lynx's neck, who shuddered and gasped in response, his knees weakening from the sensation and causing him to grip tightly to his partner's shoulders.

""Hmm you make me want to ravage you,"

Asir pressed his muzzle into the chest of the other man, suppressing his noises as the large hand groped his ass sensually, sending shivers throughout the boy's body. He barely managed to stutter out a short sentence. "Th-then for god's sake... just do it... you know I want it..."

"Th-then for god's sake... just do it... you know I want it..."

Bane heard Asir literally whimper the sentence to him. The tiger could tell the young lad's voice was thick with need and arousal.

He chuckled, the deep rumbling noise coming from his chest as he held Asir close to him. One hand was busy with fondling the lynx while the other was rubbing sensual circles on his back.

Water pelted their bodies comfortably and the heat of the water only added to the desire that hung in the air between the two males. You could cut the desire with a knife.

"Oh I would ravage you, but I'm going to enjoy this moment so I'll take my sweet time. I'll have you begging for release soon enough," Bane growled lightly into Asir' ear as then the hand that was groping Asir's ass snaked its way to the front of the boy and found the throbbing heat. He grasped the length in his large hands and gently squeezed. Then he started running his hands up and down the length, pleasuring the young lad.

Bane lowered his head until he was next to Asir's ear and attacked the lobes with his tongue, licking and nipping the furry white lynx ears.


Slowly Bane moved forward until he was pressing Asir's back gently up against the cool tiles of the shower. Then the hand that was rubbing circles moved around till it reached the younger man's chest and found a sensitive peak. Bane played with one of Asir's nipples, pinching and rubbing it, alternating between light and harder pressure.


He paused in his tongue attack to speak.

"I want you to touch me," Bane hissed into Asir's ear as he pumped Asir's length at a faster speed. He then pulled his face back so that he could see the expression on the younger man's face.