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Having made himself scarce for most of the afternoon and part of the evening, he had set out to find out whatever he could about what had occurred earlier and what would come of it in the near future. There was plenty of gossip to be had, but little actual information. It didn’t help that anyone who saw him clammed up almost immediately. Living in peace among the Mol, he had never realized just how much he stood out. This seemed to be a determined practice in driving that fact home for him.
He tried to follow the path back to Magnai’s room but got turned around twice. He eventually stopped and asked a man loitering about on a low wooden bench how to find the Khan’s room. He was fair of complexion and his horns protruded flat and fin-like on either side of his head. As if to showcase the delicate nature of them, they were pierced through at the thinnest part with golden rings. Hien knew right away that he wasn’t Oronir, as he was missing any of their golden yellow or scale pattern symbol on his clothing, despite the gold dripping from his horns.
“You wish to find Brother Magnai’s chambers?” He seemed amused at the thought, and watched Hien with more interest than he was sure was warranted.
“Aye, if it isn’t too much trouble.” Hien answered haltingly.
“I thought mayhap you seemed lost before. I’ve never been quite so close to a Midlander before.” He paused, gaze flickering suddenly.
“Is it true that your skin is smooth all over? And--Your hair is so long.” His comments were more amusing than uncomfortable, though they were a bit intrusive.
All the same, the man helpfully began to lead the way. He was Hien’s own age and had left his tribe in search of the Buduga that he might live freely. The conversation was halting but pleasant, though it did not last long before he found himself before the chamber in question.
“Thank you, Hadan, for your company. I oft wish that it was your tribe that taken me in when I came here in my exile-- for similar reasons.” He said softly.
“You would have been dearly loved, Lord Hien if I may be so bold.” He smiled, again feeling that sense of regret. Fate had only just barely missed the mark, had it not-- not to disparage Cirina and the Mol’s help.
“I thank you for the sentiment.” He answered.
“One more thing I-- if I may? ‘Tis a foolhardy and brazen request.”
“Yes? Go on, I would like to thank you for your kindness.”
“May I touch your hair?”
Hien thought back onto how delicately Magnai had treated his hair-- and how it was now a symbol of his pride and of his heritage and youth that he refused to allow to be stripped away. Rather than simply turning and letting him brush his fingers through his ponytail, the prince unfastened it from its ribbons and let it fall loose around his shoulders.
Hadan looked a bit startled, almost embarrassed at the rather honest and vulnerable offering, and then reached out and passed his fingers through the long, coarse strands of the prince’s hair. Hien couldn’t help but smile. He felt the Buduga tribesman pulling closer, but there was nothing predatory or unpleasant about it-- just an innocence that felt like reverence. As the young man’s lips brushed against Hien’s cheek, the sound of heavy, deliberate footfalls echoed down the hallway.
Hien looked up swiftly, his gaze barely having the chance to focus on the force of nature moving towards them that turned out to be Magnai. He came between them almost immediately like a gust of wind, lightly nudging Hadan several paces back. The other Shadescale looked as though his life had flashed before his eyes and he stared agape at the Khan standing with all the force of an angry bull where he loomed.
“Do you think that you can do as you like because he is at our mercy?” Magnai demanded sharply.
Hadan stammered shaking his head. “Most Radiant brother, no, you have it wrong--”
“I think you do have it quite wrong. At your mercy? Hardly. I am only enjoying myself with what little freedom you've allowed, and I think I should like to go spend some time among the Buduga. I have, after all, only heard of them in whispers and legends since I arrived-- and your dark threats. I think it should be wholly… educational.” Hien smiled serenely at Magnai and stepped closer to Hadan, leaning into him.
It wasn’t untrue at all-- he had fantasized about being found by this secret tribe who elevated people like him since he’d first heard of them. The fact that Magnai tried to speak as though he had any claim upon him whatsoever made him want to buck the notion even more. Even if he did, technically, he would challenge him to prove it.
Realizing that he’d put himself into a corner with his outburst, Magnai was the one left floundering. If he tried to object, he’d have to admit to having some sort of interest in Hien beyond just wanting to fuck him out of curiosity and a desire to assert dominance. If he forbade it, his own evenings spent lounging about with the Buduga tribe in their encampment would be called to light, and his illusion would once again be shaken.
“I… Very well, if you should like to show us all just how loose the men of your homeland are, be my guest.” Even for Magnai it seemed a little virulent. His anger was palpable, and while the barb attacked both Hien himself and the tribe in question, he felt only a deep, malicious satisfaction.
“Oh, I shall.” The prince waved over his shoulder as he nudged Hadan, asking to be taken to their main encampment in hushed voices as he slipped his arm around his slender waist. Hien didn’t bother tossing another glance at the Khan’s fuming form as they walked away.
All around the leeward side of the Dawn Thrown and through to the back lay the scattered tents of the Buduga tribe. It was at least as big if not a bit bigger than the Mol encampment back closer to the center. All along the edges flew little square flags in every auspicious color, even brighter than the ones that encircled the palatial residence of Magnai itself.
Hien walked with Hadan down the earthen path, a trail well worn over the years since their alliance had been forged and they’d taken up residence in the sun’s shadow. As soon as they passed into their territory (though it had become far less segregated from the Oronir’s encampment over time) it was clear that the rumors were in part true. As far as he looked there wasn’t a woman to be found, though here and there he saw Shadescales dressed in traditionally feminine clothing. From the stories, he expected it to be a dark, grim place where struggle for power was tantamount, but this seemed to be entirely different.
Everywhere there was laughter and song and dance. He found himself wondering if the rumors about them kidnapping handsome men from other tribes were true at all. These were not the faces of men held in thrall. Far from it-- they seemed exuberant, every one of them.
Hadan couldn’t help but smile as they walked, feeling quite like he’d suddenly become the center of attention. He’d been well liked since his own arrival, but to be able to garner the attention of someone as exotic as Lord Hien was beyond his hopes and dreams.
“There is such joy here, I would have had to see it first hand to believe it. How is it that one so lovely as yourself hasn’t paired off with a mate?” Hien asked, genuinely curious.
“It’s not that I couldn’t. I just don’t need to. I have the love of all of my brothers here. Our relationships perhaps look and feel differently from most in the Steppe.” He mused. “It is not for lack of love, but an overabundance. Some of us pair off, often for life-- but just as many choose not to. Some abstain from the more… vigorous acts of love entirely, but that does not make them any less capable of love itself.”
An interesting philosophy for sure, and one that Hien could certainly appreciate. He followed Hadan into another footworn path that seemed to aim for the farthest part of the Encapment where several large tents sat. He headed for the one in the middle, and opened the heavy carved door to the inside. Almost immediately, his guide took off the heavy fur and skin robe he wore and hung it on one of many hooks protruding from the lattice. Hien watched and then swiftly, with fumbling fingers untied his obi. He slipped out of his own robe and its bright sunset colors and scurried after Hadan. Down to just his tonban, leather armor, and sandals he felt a bit less imposing-- especially with his hair down. That was the point though. He missed the weight of his sword, being held hostage much like his retainers.
In the dimly lit room were several other men, some smoking pipes of various shapes and sizes. In the center of the room was a an earthen fireplace as was common in many dwellings. Upon it was several smoldering bunches of various herbs and resins, making the atmosphere in the room heavy with incense. The dressings were dark along with the woodwork. Passing into the dimness of the smoky room, he could make out a low seating area and in the center of it several lengths of mattresses that seemed to be stitched together to make one large lounging area. Despite the nature of it, everything seemed crisp and clean, and Hien swallowed thickly at the realization of what this space was for.
His mind caught up to his body several moments later as Hadan was introducing him to these other Buduga men. One was just as tall and slender as the first, but the other was a mountain of a man. With him was another that he recognized almost immediately as the man that had been standing at Magnai’s right hand when they had first been brought before him.
“So, ah-- how did it go?” Hien asked his host awkwardly.
Hadan let out a little chuckle that was nigh a giggle. “They’ve never made love to a Doman before and should very much like to. And-- they want to know if they’re all as fetching as you.”
Hien flushed and shook his head. He supposed that he and others of his race might look to be all the same to a race so varied as theirs. That got him a good-natured laughter out of all of them.
Daidukul; the Khan of the Buduga tribe and close confidant to Magnai, seemed to be rather darkly amused himself. He eyed them up and down before he took a heavy drag from his pipe. Whatever smoke was hanging in the room was making Hien feel a bit lightheaded and more than a little antsy. He wanted to be touched.
Daidukul’s one eye (the other covered by a leather patch) found him. It was so pale it was nearly colorless, but burned with the same natural luminescence of any Xaela’s. For a moment, his tongue passed his lips in the wake of his pipe and the sight of it made Hien feel oddly weak. Whatever was in the air certainly did a number on one’s inhibitions.
“I’m beholden to the law of the Steppe, but Magnai and I are equals in every right. I thought for a moment I might be causing trouble to touch his little pet, but-- if he’s so very willing then who am I to refuse him?” A few pleased remarks of agreement from the others in the room, and Daidukul stood to make his way to Hien. He looked him up and down, and then planted his pipe between the prince’s lips. Not one to be taken for a fool, he held it delicately in his fingers and took a long drag before releasing the smoke. A pleased chuckle reached his ears even as another set of hands with scaled knuckles led him gently over to the sitting area and its plush cushions and bedding.
Someone had taken the pipe from him at some point, though he’d continued to puff on it for a while. A warmth had spread through him from his core to his toes, buzzing with a strange sense of hunger that he had no name for. So-- the part about the drugs had been true. Was it just an aphrodisiac, or something else? He had a feeling he’d soon find out.
Again, hands he didn’t recognize came to unfasten the straps on his breastplate, and he squirmed to help in its removal. At the same time, fingers threaded through his long hair, and a shudder of Ecstasy ran down his spine. Everything was so sensitive he didn’t know just what might effect him and how.
The ties on his tonban and sandals came next, and before he knew it he was bare before their eyes. The handful had grown to a bit of a crowd, though if Hien had known the place he would know that it was really just this particular tent’s usuals. Most only sat enraptured upon the cushions, though some came close enough to touch, even if only briefly.
“It really is true. Midlander men are smooth from head to toe.” A voice that he recognized quickly as Hadan’s remarked. Several hands raked lightly over his chest and sides, drawing a little whimper from him. The prince’s heavy lids fell shut for a moment before they shot back open at the sensation of a mouth against his thigh. Daidukul spoke from somewhere above him, even as sweet, fair-faced Hadan took his growing erection into his mouth, cradled by the thick wetness of his tongue.
“You are our guest, Lord Hien. Should you wish us to stop anything or-- altogether you just say the word.” He said slowly, making sure that the words could sink through the haze.
He nodded in response, whimpering and shivering as he fought the urge to thrust into the overly inviting mouth on his dick.
Hien’s thighs parted further, giving Hadan more range of motion even as Daidukul lifted the rather scant leather loin cloth he wore, coaxing his glistening cock into view from within its slit. He stroked himself to full hardness before the prince’s eyes and then stepped forward, presenting it to him without a word. It was clear what he wanted. While Hadan continued to patiently, slowly suck him off, he took Daidukul’s dick between his lips, barely balking when he took a handful of his hair and began to fuck into the soft, supple heat presented to him.
Someone laughed when Hien began to choke and splutter, struggling with it enough that it brought tears to his eyes. All the same, he did not show any signs of distress. The pace was brutal and left his jaw aching, but he was swiftly rewarded with a snarl and the sensation of hot cum flooding his mouth. It was clear that Daidukul didn’t hold back, and when you could cum as many times as their kind could-- why bother? The taste was different from a human’s, but he couldn’t place how. All the same, he lapped it up though his abused lips tingled, some of the mess dribbling down his chin.
More of that same oil that Magnai had had was brought out, and it was everywhere before he even knew what happened. The massive man from before had slipped his dick into Hien’s hand, and he was being dragged off the edge of the platform-- just by the hips. A bit startled, he continued his languid, oiled strokes even as Hadan spread his thighs once more. More oil was applied with the cool, rounded tip of a slender piece of polished stone now nudged against the trembling ring of muscle that every eye in the house wanted a piece of.
Hien did not often allow someone else to prepare him, but for the moment, he was given over entirely. Around him, he could hear the sloppy wet sounds of oil-slicked dicks being jerked, even as a smaller Xaela man was being bent over the edge of the wooden platform that dropped down in to the sunken area he was in- and he had no idea how erotic it could be to watch such a thing.
Hadan had after all, seen him first, and so he seemed to go unchallenged for this role he’d taken. He pressed the curve of the little toy he’d brought out deeper inside of Hien, and he found it far preferable to someone groping about with their fingers. When it brushed inside of him, his dick twitched and drew several little sounds of encouragement as Hadan worked him.
When he couldn’t take the wait anymore, he removed the stone toy and almost immediately replaced it with his cock. Not as big as Magnai’s, but there was something to be said for feeling something other than girth.On his knees, Hadan began to thrust up into Hien, the little golden ornaments pierced through his horns making soft bell like sounds as he moved.
“Oh-- Kami have mercy,” The phrase was spoken softly, and got a comment from Daidukul who had shifted to relax against the cushions while watching and jerking himself off to the sights before him.
“Sing louder little prince. Don’t hold back now,”
Breathless whimpers were all he was capable of as he watched Hadan lose himself, the muscular length of his tale curling around his own leg while he fucked into Hien. Suddenly, the muscular man from before was behind Hadan, pushing inside without much warning at all. He pitched forward into Hien’s chest, all but howling in some strange mix that Hien was not sure was ecstasy or pain that nearly had him admonishing the other man for being so rough with him.
But a moment later, his head was thrown back and he was moaning the stranger’s praises, begging for more, harder, as he clung desperately to Hien’s chest and shoulders. Every thrust that the man behind him made sent ripples of pleasure into Hien as well, and he was nearly clawing at the bedding beneath himself a moment later, sure he was going to cum just from the thought of it.
Daidukul was suddenly hovering over him, a thick band of rubber like much of the Empire’s equipment was made of suddenly looped over the prince’s throbbing dick and the tight skin beneath. He reached that high but not the release-- another new experience for him-- and he shook and shivered at the ongoing sensation.
“Wouldn’t want you spent too early. The fun is just beginning.”
But as the Khan spoke, the heavy door to the tent opened so suddenly that it banged back against the lattice. Hien was too enthralled to look or pay any mind as he took his second load of the night (Hadan coming deep inside of him only after asking permission).
The sound of the door slamming open on its hinges was entirely lost on him. The handful of men in the room parted like the sea as Magnai stalked in. They didn’t seem frightened, or to think that this was a strange occurrence. Several rushed to take his robes for him, doing the work of undressing him as he stood, watching the spectacle before him. As soon as he was divested of his garments, he shouldered his way into the circle and sat next to Hien, close enough to touch him. Rather than addressing the prince, he motioned to Daidukul.
“Come.”
The Khan moved to service him without a moment’s hesitation, calm and focused even when Magnai got rough with him. Hadan withdrew from Hien’s body, taking several long moments to admire his hair again as he crawled up next to him on his hands and knees. The man fucking him continued, gripping his hips as he arched his back and mewled, burying his face in Hien’s hair and shoulder.
Hien felt empty and desperate to cum-- so much so that he tried to reach down and loosen the thing clamped onto him only to have someone else bat his hands away, laughing. Another stranger gripped his hands and pulled him back, pinning his wrists while another mouth found his twitching cock and lapped the dripping precum from it.
A moment later, Magnai was straddling his chest, and jerked himself to completion just so that he could watch it splatter the prince’s face and chest.
Hien looked at him mystified and with enough of his own faculties to know that this made one thing clear-- he participated here often.
“One might think you were being a bit possessive, your radiance.” Hien drawled lazily.
He sat up as soon as Magnai dislodged himself and lifted Hadan’s chin to kiss him, swallowing the sweet sounds being drawn out of him. The dark spot beneath him made it clear that he had already cum several times.
Magnai grabbed Hien by the arm and pulled.
He spluttered and complained, but allowed himself to be bent over the back of the low bench that surrounded the bedding, arms splayed haphazardly on the raised platform that was the floor floor as Magnai pressed inside of him, quite aware he was already well prepared. As he tried to catch his breath, Daidukul knelt before him and offered the pipe again, freshly stoked. He spoke over Hien as though he didn’t exist, directing his comment to the Khan.
“Should be enough to unbind him now. He’ll be able to go for hours on this much.”
Without any explanation, he felt a hand stroking him, reminding him that he was unable to cum-- he felt like he could burst, and desperately thrust into the grip.
“You there. You wanted him so badly you couldn’t stand it. Come put your mouth to use.” It was an order given without any room for contestation.
Hadan disengaged from the continued fucking he was getting, cum dripping down his thighs and over the dark scales that scattered the outside of his hips as he crawled beneath Magnai to wrap his mouth once more around Hien’s cock.
In almost the same moment, the band binding him was pulled loose, and he thrust wildly into the wet heat around him only to reach a blinding climax moments later. He felt himself pulsing, emptying wave after wave into Hadan’s mouth as Magnai only fucked him harder.
Rather than the boneless, pained feeling he’d gotten the first time he’d slept with Magnai, he immediately began to feel the warm heat of another build up starting. Hien clawed at the floor beneath him as the Khan grabbed handfuls of his hair and yanked it back with his full weight. Hadan whimpered and choked beneath him but Magnai wasn’t stopping any time soon. He wanted to give Hadan more room, but the muscles in his thighs demanded to wind tighter still before he came again, enough to overflow and dribble down his chin and onto the mantle of ebony scales at his throat.
From somewhere close by he heard Daidukul’s voice, a soft groan as something hot and wet splattered down his back. Hien knew he was covered in cum at this point, but wasn’t that a perk and not a demerit?
Someone slapped his ass and made him buck his hips so harshly he felt Hadan choke, and he pulled back enough that he knew Magnai was buried to the hilt even though it opened him up so wide he nearly cried out. A string of curses and a cruel, malicious laugh from the Khan made the room’s clamor die down a bit, more enraptured than before as if they had never seen him get quite this way with anyone before.
Magnai disengaged, leaving the prince feeling empty-- just to seat himself and demand that he get in his lap. At any other time, Hien would have complained purely out of a sense of pride, but now he obeyed readily. He settled over Magnai’s dick, his back pressed to his chest until the massive press of him inside brought tears to his eyes. He struggled, trying to find a way to move, but Magnai stopped him, clawed hands gripping at his hips. The intrusion was unpleasant until he angled forward a bit, pressing a little too hard on that spot inside of him. A spurt of white rolled down the length of his own dick, and Magnai continued to try to hold him still. He got frustrated and barked Daidukul’s name, telling him to hold Hien in place.
More hands than just his gripped Hien’s thighs, spreading him wide as tears welled in his eyes and gulps of air proceeded miserable little noises. From behind, Magnai wrapped his hand soundly around the prince’s aching cock and began to stroke with practiced little twists of the wrist. He trembled and shook, and the Khan felt every twitch of muscle. He remained still until the moment that Hien grew tight, just about to cum, and suddenly began to fuck into him. The sound he drew from him was animal, more a howl than anything else, and he did not let up-- two more times, he forced orgasms from him in that position before dumping him unceremoniously on the mattress.
From that position, he could watch Hadan, now being fucked by both the huge man from before and the second tall, slender Xaela. Magnai laughed roughly as he followed his gaze.
“You like that, do you? Daidukul, come.” He tugged Hien onto him as he laid on his back, the bumps and ridges of his dick pressing back into the supple muscle of the prince’s hole. Before he could comprehend what else was happening, he felt more oil dribbled down the small of his back, running the length of the cleft in his underside-- and another intrusion stretched him further, thrusting inside along with the Khan’s.
Hien saw stars-- so over stimulated that he cried and drooled and lost track of the noises he had to be making. Every time the head of his cock dragged against the smooth scales on Magnai’s lower stomach, he whimpered and begged. Finally, a willing hand moved between them and stroked him slowly, too slowly but just enough to wring another orgasm out of him. And then, he remembered nothing.
When he awoke, he was in the same pile of furs that he had slept in the first time with Magnai. Every muscle in his body ached. He felt as though he’d walked for days carrying something heavy-- and next to him rose and fell the bare chest of the Khan. He looked soft in his sleep, certainly not the fiendish demon he’d seen last night who couldn’t seem to get enough of him. He moved closer, groaning softly at the effort it took. The prince’s head felt as though he’d had far too much to drink and then some more the night before.
The memories were hazy and a bit too surreal to believe that they were anything but a wild dream, the same hormone-driven boyhood fantasy he’d had in his teens only… it had been real.
Magnai’s horns were rooted in the same place that all Xaela’s horns were, right near where the shell of the ear ought to be. As he looked upon him, he noted the way his down-stuffed pillow was cradled in the crook of his arm, pressed up against the back of his horn so as to keep from piercing it while still supporting his neck. As much as Hien had always admired and somewhat envied their physique and the elegant, ethereal look of their horns he imagined they must be terribly inconvenient in some aspects of life.
Long, thick eyelashes fluttered above high cheekbones and sun-bronzed skin with the rise and fall of breath. Hien’s eyes lingered on the black scales that crept along the Khan’s jawline, their fishscale pattern framing his face elegantly. The mantle of scales around his neck gave way to smooth, supple skin no different from his own, though there were patches of scales on his arms, sides, hips, and between his legs. He returned in his wandering to the thick braids that occupied the front and sides of his hair. As though bleached by the sun, his hair was dark at the roots and grew gradually lighter until the ends-- where it was a burnished gold color.
When he realized that he was laying here, committing such details to memory Hien flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t as though there was anything between them and yet--
The look on the Khan’s face when he’d come between him and Hadan the day before was seared into his memory. Jealousy in and of itself was not becoming in Hien’s mind, but it was something more than just surface petty anger. He had almost looked hurt, and it stoked the small, flickering flame of hope in the prince’s chest.
To think that just a few weeks ago, he’d all but hated Magnai’s guts without having ever met him. It was true that he was abrasive almost to the point of being annoying-- that he did strange things and spoke in riddles. But the fact that he led his people fearlessly and put them first was not lost on him. Hien couldn’t put his finger on what it was that made his way of leading work, but perhaps it really was just the the auspicious presence of Azim’s hand, as they said.
If there was truly nothing between them, then why had he pushed Hadan? Why had he come out to the Buduga encampment knowing full well what he would probably find when he did? And if there was something-- what was the strange change that had come over him so suddenly after first gazing into the prince’s eyes?
Absently, his thumb passed over the smooth shell of scales on the back of Magnai’s arm in slow circles, finding the sensation beneath his fingers soothing. In his sleep, the Khan shuddered and sighed and curled in tighter towards Hien’s warmth. He knew in his heart that he was not what his first impression had made him seem-- but what was he?
Lost in thought, Hien drifted off back to sleep.