[b][u]The Lustrous Arts[/b][/u]
 
Eris watched as the last embers died out: the once roaring campfire reduced to ash, leaving her in the darkness of the catacombs. The wolf was no stranger to the dark; her black fur blended well with the shadows and allowed her to skulk without being noticed by the creatures that commonly guarded the ruins.
 
“I hope your expedition is worth it, cat,” she said, her eyes drifting to the small white feline following her, his holy symbol lit with blue light. The wolf gagged, her hand waving towards it dismissively as she turned her back on him. “Put that away, are you afraid of the dark or something?”
 
“The dark isn’t going to try to violate me,” Tybalt replied with a flick of his ears as he held the holy symbol towards the wolf. “Or worse.”
 
“Ha, ‘Or worse,’” she tutted as she rested her hand on her whip, its tip glowing as she touched the handle. “If you want, we could get it out of the way now. I'm sure your college would be glad to know someone spanked that stuck-up attitude out of you.”
 
“I can't believe they entrusted my protection to a pervert.” Tybalt shook his head in dismay. “This expedition was doomed from the start.”
 
“Don't forget who saved your virgin ass from a tentacle pit, Whiskers,” the wolf chuckled as she picked up her bag. She pulled it over her shoulder and sauntered down the tunnel to her left. “Typical Lacklustre, thinking all Lusters are horndogs,” she scoffed, “It takes more than perverted thoughts for us to lose control, you know.”
 
“You do realise that ‘Lacklustre’ isn't an insult, don't you?” the cat remarked, though with the way his fur stood on end Eris knew she had hit a nerve. He stomped after her, having to walk briskly to keep up with her stride. “As an Arcane Scholar, I know better than anyone just how corrupting and dangerous the Lustrous Arts can be. I’ve spent years studying the effects Lust magic has on those who use it.”
 
“Which is why it’s important we find this source so you can study it and,” the wolf raised her hands, “‘find a cure for corruption,’” she sneered, her fingers curling into air quotes as she turned to face him. She began to walk backwards, her eyes remaining on his as she spoke, “we already have a cure. It’s called a Safeword.”
 
“That won’t help someone who has no one around to say it,” Tybalt reminded her sharply.
 
“Then people just need to learn some restraint. Tapping into the power of the Lustre isn’t going to twist someone’s mind into total perversion.” Eris shrugged, “Lust magic has some of the most powerful spells in the realm. You can dip a bit and still be a good person. You’re just a little rowdier than usual.”
 
“Who told you that?” The cat raised an eyebrow, his heart freezing at the sound of a mechanical clank coming from under his boot. The wolf’s whip lashed out from her side and snared the cat, yanking him towards her moments before a large boulder dropped where he had previously been standing.
 
“My master,” Eris answered his prior question as she played with his fluffy ears, allowing him to rest his head against her leather-clad breasts. She tugged at the strap of her armour, loosening her chestplate enough to allow the cat’s pink nose to slip into her cleavage. “The one who taught me about the Lustre, how to harness its power, and how to channel it through my desire.”
 
For a moment they stood in silence, Eris embracing Tybalt tenderly as her tail wrapped around his side. Her hands slowly trailed down his back, fingers sailing over his silk tunic down to the leather belt at his midsection. The cat snapped back to reality as she tugged it, quickly pushing away from the wolf and raising his holy symbol. “There aren’t any masters of Lustre,” the scholar frowned at her, “only slaves to its whim.”
 
“And yet, your college still hired me,” Eris reminded him with a wink, “and even after finding out I’m a Luster you’re continuing to walk with me. Could it be that my usefulness outweighs your distrust of Lust mages?” The wolf knelt down, her right hand playing with his ears condescendingly as her tone became sickly sweet, “or did kitty just not want to be eaten by monsters?” she cooed.
 
“Gods, buckle your armour,” Tybalt groaned as his hand raised to block his view of the wolf’s cleavage, as well as conceal the blush forming behind his whiskers.
 
“Look, if you're that worried about me getting corrupted on you, I could give you my Safeword,” Eris offered as she gently took his hands in her own. “Saying it will snap me right out of any stupor I'm in… and hurt like hell.”
 
Tybalt furrowed his brow suspiciously at her, his arms crossed over his chest. “...can I trust you to give me your real Safeword, knowing how much it'll hurt you?”
 
“It protects me as much as it protects you, Tybalt. My master didn't allow me to practice the Lustrous Arts until I had one bound to me,” the wolf replied firmly. “My Safeword is the name of my hometown but backwards,” Eris explained, hesitating as it came to the word itself. She closed her eyes, her fingers clenching her whip tightly as she uttered the Safeword to the cat: [i]Saranda[/i].”
 
Eris gritted her teeth the moment the word left her lips, her hands moving to her head as an ear-splitting ring echoed through her mind. Finally it subsided, leaving her ears burning as she rubbed the side of her head. “Ow. Yep, there it is…” she winced, “still works. Just please don't use it unless you have to.”
 
“I'll keep it in mind,” the cat muttered, committing the word to memory as he took the lead with his holy symbol outstretched to light the path ahead of them. “The energy is getting stronger. We should be coming up on the chamber any moment now,” Tybalt noted, holding his breath as he began to move slower along the corridor.
 
“I can tell… the Lustre is strong here,” Eris said, taking a deep breath as her pace slowed to a crawl. She could feel her leather armour beginning to slip off her form, her white, fluffy breasts now exposed to the stagnant air of the catacombs. She bit her lip, ignoring the urges as she buckled her armour. “Hff… it's really really strong here…”
 
“Focus,” Tybalt reminded her as he pressed himself to the wall, his hand waving the wolf over to him. Eris complied, moving as silently as she could while her tail tucked between her legs. The cat nodded his head forward. “I saw something up ahead… more of those creatures we faced before.”
 
“Gnolls?” Eris perked her ears at the word, her eyes sparkling with iridescent light. She pressed her back to the wall, one hand moving to unbuckle the first strap of her armour again. “Just in time. Those horny hyenas are up for anything~”
 
“I need you to concentrate,” the cat hissed under his breath, only to hear one of the gnolls let out a curious grunt. Two sets of heavy footsteps stomped down the hallway towards them. “Now look what you’ve done,” Tybalt whispered sharply.
 
“Hff, can’t blame me for that one, Tybalt. You’re the one with the light.” Eris bit her lip, unbuckling her belt in anticipation as Tybalt’s eyes drifted to his glowing holy symbol, and the circle of light that spread to the other side of the doorway.
 
“Shit,” the cat hissed to himself, covering his holy symbol with his cloak as he frantically searched his bag for a weapon. “Shit, Shit!”
 
“Don’t stress, Tybs. I can take them both on at once. It wouldn’t be my first threeway,” the wolf said as she tugged at her whip before leaning around the corner to examine the two towering gnolls moving towards them, their flaccid shafts swinging back and forth with each step. She began to tap her whip against her backside, murring and flinching at each little smack she gave herself, causing the light in her eyes to turn misty pink. “They're awfully big though. You’d better be ready to run once they come around the corner, or you’re going to get pulled into the fun too.”
 
“There's no need to use the Lustre. We can handle this without it,” Tybalt told her as he took out his spellbook. “I have some arcane spells that could—”
 
“Casting those will just make you a bigger target,” Eris cut him off with a flick of her whip. It lashed out, striking just beneath the cat's tail with expert precision. “Hide!” she commanded him as a flash of pink magic sparked off his rear.
 
‘Hide.’ The command echoed through the cat's mind as he shakily got to his feet. His legs moved by themselves, fleeing to the far corner of the room and ducking behind a stone slab. As he sat down on the cold stone floor the pain suddenly shot through him, and his hand moved to stroke the wounded spot on his backside. “Aah! O-ow.”
 
The wolf breathed out a sigh of relief as the cat disappeared from view. She made her way around the corner, her whip slapping against the ground as pink sparks erupted from its tip. The gnolls charged forward, their spiked maces raised as they each let out a snarling roar.
 
Eris grinned, accepting their challenge with a flourish of her whip. The tip soared through the air and slapped against the taller gnoll’s wrist, causing him to drop his weapon as his hand went limp. She yanked her whip back, snatching the mace from the air and sending it hurtling across the room, landing embedded in the wall with a [b]SMASH![/b]
 
The other Gnoll finally reached her, its mace swinging at her head. The wolf ducked, one hand stroking along the length of the hyena's shaft before sweeping his legs out from under him. The creature tripped, landing with a thud as her boot came down on top of his chest, her whip slapping the side of his thigh. “Stay!” she commanded, her eyes flashing with vibrant pink energy.
 
The Gnoll did just that, lying on the ground as if it were frozen in time as pink magic radiated from its wound. As Tybalt peered closer from his spot behind the slab, he could see its twitching cock standing fully erect. The tip of the wolf's fluffy tail stroked over it tenderly, her eyes lidding as she blew a kiss to the hyena. “Hold tight, I still have to deal with your friend,” she teased him with a wiggle of her slender hips.
 
The taller Gnoll pounced onto her and knocked her off her feet, pinning her to the ground as it snarled and spat in her face. The wolf held her breath, wide pink eyes staring into the abyss of the Gnoll's throat. Her loins tingled, the Lustre burning within her as the maw moved to engulf her head. “Ooohh…” she moaned, struggling weakly against the magic coursing through her, locked in the hypnotic grip of the Lustre. “N-no, I'm not… Hff… p-prey…”
 
[b]Fwoom![/b] A blast of light struck the creature from behind. The Gnoll threw its head back, letting out a roar of pain as it held the singed patch of fur. Tybalt stood in the corner of the room, one hand outstretched as the dying embers of his spell fizzled into the air. Eris took the chance to get out from under the Gnoll, her whip wrapping around its legs and pulling them out from under it. “Watch out, they’re Devourers!” she shouted.
 
“Devourers?!” Tybalt’s eyes widened in alarm as the smaller Gnoll rose to its feet. The hyena lumbered toward him, its tongue slurping slobber over its lips as it approached, its arms wide to capture the cat as it opened its jaws in a deafening roar.
 
“Don’t look into its mouth!” Eris yelled. But the advice came too late for the feline, one glimpse at the back of the throat had left the scholar completely spellbound. His eyes lidded as he steadied himself against the wall, his legs buckling as the Gnoll stalked towards him; a mesmerised prey for the hungry predator.
 
Eris felt a clawed hand grab her left shoulder, dragging her back to the low, growling gut of the larger Gnoll. The hyena loomed over her, its jaws parting wide to engulf her head once again as drool dripped from its teeth and splattered against her ears. The wolf shut her eyes and brought her elbow back, slamming it into the creature’s crotch to break free of its grip. Her whip arched around her left side, landing with a SLAP! On the gnoll’s backside and causing it to yelp in pain.
 
“Run!” she commanded it in a growl. The hyena dropped onto its back and rolled on the floor in pain, its large hands held tightly between its legs as it whined and whimpered. “...Close enough,” Eris shrugged as she moved on to the other Gnoll.
 
The towering beast was already up to the feline’s slender stomach, it's claws grabbing at his backside to shove him forward into its maw. The wolf froze, feeling her fur tingling as she noticed the tenting bulge in the front of the cat’s slacks. “Ooh…” she chuckled, “Oh my… that’s a development~”
 
The pink glow that had already engulfed her sclera began to move over her irises, the Lustre driving her gaze drifted to the Gnoll's hefty paunch as it bounced and wobbled with each gulp. She didn’t need to save the cat right away, did she? Surely the Gnoll would take its time with its meal… long enough for her to enjoy the view, at least. She let out a pleasant sigh as she sauntered over, her whip trailing limply along the floor as her free hand stroked up the feline’s leg. She murred at the bulge of his head in the canine’s throat, her hand stroking over the tenting bulge in the cat’s slacks, “Well well, isn’t this a predicament, kitty? And you thought I was joking earlier...”
 
“Mmph!” Tybalt grunted, another low [i]glllrk[/i] covering him with slobber and dragging him down further. If the wolf had to guess, his head was just about to enter the Gnoll’s stomach. She chuckled, patting the hyena’s gut to welcome its prey as she and the creature shared a look of acknowledgement as equal servants of the Lustre. Eris smiled, her hand moving to stroke the Gnoll’s bulging belly, surprising the stomached scholar. “Mmph?!”
 
“He caught you fair and square, little cat. I would have thought studying the Lustre would have introduced you to the natural order of this world.” Eris chuckled to herself, flicking her bangs out of her eyes as her hand cupped the bulge of his face. “But I guess firsthand research is the best kind of all,” she murred. “You’ll probably learn things no scholar ever has~”
 
The cat let out a pathetic mewl as he inched closer to the creature’s stomach, the crotch of his pants wet with the Gnoll’s slobber. It only made the bulge of his shaft all the more defined, now perking out of its sheath as the Lustre began to overwhelm him too, demanding his submission to his predator’s whims.
 
“Of course, this doesn’t have to be your fate,” Eris continued, her hand tightening on her whip. “I could rescue you. But you just look so…” Her eyes sparkled, glowing with pink energy as she watched the powerful predator work. Each breath she took was a quiet moan as she wrapped her hands around the Gnoll, her ear pressed to its gut as it growled out for the scholarly snack. “...Mmm, [i]excited[/i]. I wouldn’t want to ruin your fun...” she cooed, “little [i]gutslut~[/i]”
 
The cat tensed up, his feet suddenly kicking rapidly and his tail lashing through the air. Eris moaned in delight, her hands rubbing over the bulge of the feline's upper body… though through all the gurgling, growling, slurps and gulps, she heard the feline's muffled voice call out a single word: “Mmphanda!”
 
“Huh?” The wolf blinked, the word awakening something in her, hidden beyond the veil of the Lustre. She pressed her ear to the bulge of the cat's head, listening closely as his rump was dragged into the Gnoll's throat. “What was that, Tybs?”
 
“Saranda!” Tybalt shouted. Eris let out a yell of pain, her hands moving to both her ears as they began to ring. She closed her eyes, squeezing her head tightly to hold back the splitting headache caused by the word. Her eyes slowly opened, the pink light that once filled them now restrained to the corners of her sclera.
 
“Tybalt!” she gasped, catching a teasing smirk from the Gnoll as he closed his jaws around the cat's legs and prepared to take his last gulp. The wolf swung her whip, wrapping it around the Gnoll’s neck to keep him from swallowing as she tried to pull him to the ground, “Hold on, I'll get you out of there!”
 
The Gnoll choked, its mighty hands pulling against at the whip as it growled down at the wolf. Eris snarled back with equal ferocity, tugging against the beast as it thrashed before suddenly lunging a heavy clawed hand toward her. Eris ducked and thrust her foot forward, delivering a powerful kick to the hyena’s gut, her boot landing just beneath the bulge of Tybalt’s head.
 
The force of the blow left the predator gagging, its eyes widened in alarm as it struggled to keep its prey down. Eris released her whip, timing it perfectly with a second kick to launch the Gnoll backwards. Her free hand grabbed onto Tybalt’s leg, pulling him out of the hyena’s throat as the creature was launched ten feet away from them. The cat gasped for air, his white fur coated in slime and drool as he coughed.
 
Eris moved between the scholar and the Gnolls, her whip stretched in her hands as she prepared to defend him. The creatures remained on the ground: one having taken a blow to the head upon landing, and the other still holding its aching crotch and whimpering as tears welled in its eyes. The wolf breathed out a sigh of relief, lowering her guard as she turned to face Tybalt., “Aare you okay?”
 
“That was exactly what I was talking about; if you didn’t give me your safeword we’d both have been eaten alive.” Tybalt scowled at her as he tried to dry his fur with his cloak, only to realise it was coated in drool as well. He grabbed the unconscious Gnoll’s mace and grunted as he lifted it off the ground, staggering from its weight. “Hff… let’s just… find the source and get out of here before more show up,” he said as he stumbled forward, leaving puddles of drool behind him with every step he took. “The sooner we find a cure for corruption, the better.”
 
“A ‘thank you’ would have been nice,” Eris muttered as she moved to the Gnoll that was still conscious. She cracked her whip against the ground, causing the hyena to scramble to its feet with a yelp. Whipping the floor a second time left it running out of the room with its tail between its legs. “I suppose I can understand why I don’t deserve one though… I lost control, I think it was the Gnoll’s magic. Devourers can be dangerous foes.”
 
“If the Gnolls are Devourers…” Tybalt gave her his increasingly familiar suspicious look as he tried to get used to the weight of the Gnoll’s weapon, “...what exactly are you?”
 
“I’m a Mistress,” Eris explained, canting her head to the red marks on the backside of the fleeing Gnoll before it disappeared around the corner. “I’ve learned to channel sadomasochist powers through my whip. Each mark left by it leaves the target more subservient to my requests. One mark means I can give them a simple command…” she glanced over at the feline, “...such as ‘Hide.’’.”
 
“Y-you used your magic on me?!” The cat turned red as his hand moved to his backside, feeling the stinging spot the wolf’s whip had previously struck.
 
“I thought you were going to get in trouble if you stayed out in the open. You don’t exactly scream ‘capable adventurer,’’,” the wolf replied with a shake of her head as she rolled the whip into a coil and dropped it back onto the hook on her belt. “The more marks I land, the more specific requests I can give… but the more the Lustre affects me.” The Wolf smiled, the pink glean returning to her eyes as she fastened the top buckle of her armour, “It feels good… having that kind of power over someone. It can be hard to stop sometimes.”
 
“I felt the Lustre’s influence too, when I was inside the Gnoll,” Tybalt admitted, his arms crossed uncomfortably over his chest as his tail tucked against his leg. “Something about being in there… being so weak and helpless. It was terrifying but it was also…” His fur stood on end as his voice wavered with uncertainty, “...exciting. Gods, I hope I’m not corrupted.”
 
“That was just one of the Devourer’s powers, making their prey subservient the same way my whip does. The Lustre can tempt and trick you, but it can never have complete control over you,” Eris reassured him with a shake of her head. “Unless you call on the Lustre, unless you practice the Lustrous Arts yourself… any effects you may find yourself under will be temporary.”
 
“And if I practice the Lustrous Arts?” Tybalt gulped.
 
“That won’t be a problem, will it?” Eris winked at him, her playful nature returning as she petted behind his ears. “Lacklustre.”
 
The cat bit his lip, eyes locked on his feet as he fiddled with his spellbook. Eris’ smile faded, “You are a Lacklustre, right?” she pressed him with a frown.
 
Tybalt averted his gaze, now looking over his shoulder. The wolf shook her head as she walked towards him. “Oh kitten,” she sighed, one hand resting on the curl of her whip, “as if I needed another reason to whip your ass red.”
 
“It's not my fault!” the feline protested, his hands raised to defend himself as he backed away from the wolf. “I fell for the call when I was still inexperienced with magic. I was eaten alive by an ooze and thought the only way out was to tap into the Lustre to protect myself from it's acids.”
 
“But… That just made me enjoy it, the feeling of being inside the ooze.” He shivered with a purr at the memory., “I was just lucky someone came along to rescue me… and they didn't ask any questions.” Tybalt's ears wilted in shame, one hand rubbing his arm as drool dripped from his fur. “I thought it would go away. But when I see monsters, sometimes even people, I feel that urge again.”
 
“Is that why you attacked the Gnoll?” Eris asked, “to aggravate it into eating you?”
 
“I thought I was doing it to rescue you… but now I'm not so sure.”
 
“Don't freak out. The urges of the Lustre can get pretty intense,” Eris reminded him. “I thought I had it hard as a dominant, but as a submissive for Devouring? It's a shock you're even still alive.”
 
“I became a scholar after my first encounter to try to find a cure for the corruption, to get rid of these urges,” the cat surmised with a heavy sigh. “That's… why I was uncomfortable when I found out you were a Luster. I know the kinds of thoughts you have to put up with all the time… because I have them too.”
 
“For what it's worth, I'm sorry I ruined your fun.” Eris gestured to the unconscious Gnoll on the ground, “If I knew you had been enjoying it I might have let him finish swallowing you. I'm guessing you have some spells to protect you from stomach acids?”
 
“I do, yes. It was the first thing I learned,” Tybalt agreed with a blush. “Once I had a Safeword, at least. It's a good thing you happened to say mine, I can't imagine how things would have gone if you didn't.”
 
“What was your safe word? ‘excited’?” Eris guessed.
 
“G-S,” Tybalt hinted as he looked back over his shoulder at the unconscious Gnoll. Eris nodded quietly, the word coming back to her as the cat turned away from the creature. “It's one of the most common things a Devourer will tease their prey with, it made sense picking something that would snap me out of the haze when I needed it most.”
 
“Sorry about that, I didn't realise that was your Safeword. I won't call you a gutslut again,” Eris replied, her hand rested on her heart as she made her promise. Tybalt dropped the mace and doubled over, his hands moving to his head as he hissed in pain. “O-oh! Sorry!”
 
“It's fine… aah, I probably deserved that,” the cat replied as he stood up, his hands spread to keep his balance. He took a few steps to make sure the effect of his Safeword had worn off before making his way down the hallway the Gnolls had come from. “Let’s go, the source of all this Lustre energy will be close now.”
 
“Maybe after that we could go out for dinner. Though I guess you'd be going [i]in[/i] for dinner,” Eris suggested with a teasing lick of her lips. “I've never tried Devourer stuff before. You looked pretty delicious though from the way the Gnoll kept slurping over you.”
 
“You're not going to let me live this down, are you?” Tybalt frowned, though he couldn't hide the blush forming under his white fur. “You don't come off as a Devourer to me either.”
 
“I could learn. I do like making my fellow Lusters happy.” Eris winked. Tybalt rolled his eyes, pouting as he avoided eye contact with the giggling wolf. The Lusters both felt their legs buckle as they turned the corner, the source of the Lustre magic came into view in the form of a small pink crystal ball.
 
“That's it…” Tybalt panted as he tugged the front of his tunic down to cover his crotch, “the source of the energy in these catacombs.”
 
“That tiny little ball?” Eris asked, her legs pinned against each other as one of her hands moved to her crotch. She could feel the energy coursing through her, tingling under her fur as it filled her head with things she had never even considered. She watched the cat hungrily as he moved forward, his hand cupping around the gem.
 
All at once the energy stopped, as though the Lustre itself was holding its breath. Tybalt breathed out a sigh of relief as he turned to face Eris, the pink gem held in the palm of his hand. “We need to get this back to the academy. Maybe someone there can identify it.”
 
“What do you think it is?” Eris asked, finally steadying herself enough to walk over to the feline and stare down at the crystal. It continued to rumble gently against the cat’s palm, its pink glow spreading over the white fur of his hand.
 
“I have a theory,” Tybalt replied as he began to walk, his hand holding the orb out as he walked back the way they had come. “If I'm right, I'm going to have someone to talk to about the mysteries of the Lustre.”
 
“You're going to talk to the orb?” Eris tilted her head curiously.
 
“No.” Tybalt furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing on the sphere until all he could see was the pink energy radiating from within it. He could feel it stirring in his palm, trembling and tense. “I'm going to talk to the Kitsune.”
 
The orb flickered in response.