The Hard Way

You eventually had to split up with the others as everyone was sorted into their Homes and siphoned off to be given their uniforms. Naturally you chose to help the girls. There was no way to justify picking the path that most resembled every part of becoming a mage you hated. Sitting in classrooms, studying, then eventually collecting credentials that confirm to others that you can do what you know you can do. Merit and Esther elucidated you to what the school could actually be and it sounded strikingly similar to adventuring. Though, you had to admit that it all just sounded like a game. A sport. Carrying out tasks, solving problems and other things that were likely invented by the faculty, as far as you knew. It had yet to be seen whether there was actually any danger.

“Tintamere? Truly?” Jeane rolled her eyes at you. She could tell because of your uniform. You had not yet seen the female version, but the males of each home were placed in long house-colored plaid pants and a stiff, white button-up shirt with long sleeves. Over all of that you were given a short, black shawl that was clasped in front of your neck by a metal lion emblem. You knew it was a lion from a well-worn creatures of the world book in your father's collection back at your family home. While a lion was not a magical creature, it was about as mythical as a horned-wolf to the people of Trysk. The clothing you wore was given blue accents; the color of Tintamere. From the other males you saw, Lauda was green and Coda was red.

“What are you, then? Coda I'm assuming.” You question a bit indignantly. Even though you had not been in the Home for more than an hour you already felt some loyalty to the name simply because of human nature.

“Instructors do not have Homes. Why would such a thing be allowed when we are responsible for all students? You are just asking to create biases.” She shook her head.

“Okay... What 'were' you, then. Coda?”

Jeane turned up her nose and chortled. “Hoh... No. The moment I was old enough to come here I was raised to the rank of instructor. I was never in one. To be honest I was hoping you would show similar promise, but here we are.”

You were impressed by the accomplishment, though that was diminished somewhat by her attitude. Offhandedly you asked the first thing that popped into your mind.

“If you're fairly old does that mean you've just been a Professor for like, a hundred years or something?”

Her face immediately flushed with red. “I'll have you know I was recently promoted to council Professor! Recruiting you has also placed me in the running for one of the big three seats.”

“You're welcome.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I would have achieved as much on my own eventually. Do I really need to thank you for making the best possible choice for yourself? Yes, thank you for doing what was best for you.” She mocked.

“You're welcome.” You said again with a smirk.

Her face twisted slightly in disdain. “You-”

“Moreau!” An ancient-sounding male voice sounded off from slightly down the hall. You noticed Jeane stiffen up immediately. It was an old mad with wrinkled, matted skin and a long gray beard. His head was obscured by a hood that clung tightly to his skull. You observed quietly as he approached Jeane and rested a skeletal hand on her shoulder. He stared her down as she looked away timidly. Once he was satisfied with her demeanor he looked to you.

“Is this him?”

“Yes Councilor.” Jeane said with a tone of respect that you, even in your short time with her, could identify as unusual.

“The others have granted you this one out of pity, and because it is first come first serve apparently. But, he should know that other teachers are available should he wish to expand his horizons.” The old man flashed a yellow-toothed grin. He was trying to be friendly towards you, but it only came off as being menacing. She became tense as soon as he brought up switching teachers. You considered the offer but quickly declined it in your head. Jeane was bad, but she had a few things going for her. She was pretty, she was amusing partially because of her attitude. Plus, you enjoyed that she actually challenged you, even though she apparently stood to lose you as a student potentially if you chose. It showed some level of integrity.

“I still don't really have enough info to make that choice.” You declined in the most polite way you could think of and the man still looked quite indignant at the response. He leaned back but stopped short of offering you any type of attitude. Unlike Jeane he was intent on hiding his true feelings, albeit poorly. Instead of taking out his displeasure on you he turned to Jeane, who had relaxed somewhat in response to the answer you had given.

“Moreau, we need to discuss more to do with your position on the council, as well as your... Future prospects.” Without saying anything else he began walking down the hall and likely expected her to follow. To your surprise she did. Jean turned to you and was able to show her disdain for him behind his back. She waved you off.

“Go do what you need to do. Get settled in. I need to have this meeting.” She hurried a bit to catch up, then walked behind the old man.

If you were intent on coasting the answer would be obvious. Ignore Jeane and the old mage, get inducted, carry on with things as though nothing happened. But you chose to inject a bit of excitement into your school life, so such an intriguing dynamic could not be easily ignored. There was definitely something up between the old man and Jeane. At the very least there were some odd power dynamics in play. You followed them by keeping to the wall and weaving through and behind other senior students that were standing around. Eventually you were able to catch them ducking into a room.

The halls of the school were deceptively normal for a castle if one was not paying attention. Lined with banners and paintings and various doors. However, after the fifth left turn in a narrow hall in a row did not take one back to where they started, it left anyone with any spacial awareness at all to wonder where anything was in the school. Then there were the windows that looked out over the grounds, with doors beside them leading into vast, empty classrooms with other doors that lead elsewhere. The door that Jeane and the old mage fled into was one such door. You saw the window beside it thinking you could look in, but it just had you staring out at one of the spires of the school in the distance. That should have placed you in another of the spires, but staring down the hall in either direction, and the fact that you entered the school on the floor you were on suggested otherwise.

“Don't think too much about where you are at any given time.” Esther offered. You jumped, not expecting the small green girl to be beside you. Looking down you could see the female uniform. You had passed a few girls in the hall already, but only chose to truly take it in once it was on someone you recognized. It looked just as good on the goblin girl as any of them. Despite being small, she was more stacked than most of the girls in the school with her heavy breasts, wide hips and plump rear. You could not fully appreciate those qualities until you saw her in the uniform. Esther wore a Home-colored plaid skirt made short by her figure, with Red stockings that climbed halfway up only to be stretched to their limits by her thighs. The shoes were sensible black leather with a metal clasp and two-inch flat heels that only brought her height up a bit. Unlike the boys who had long-sleeved shirts and a shawl, the girls had short-sleeved button-up shirts shaped to their proportions. There was no shawl, but a short red tie instead. She pushed her large glasses up the bridge of her nose and asked.

“Watcha trying to look at?”

“I was trying to follow someone.” You said quietly, pointing at the closed door.

She nodded and held one of her large, flat, pointed ears up to the door curiously. If anyone could listen it would be her. She then stood on the tips of her toes to try and see through the keyhole.

“Just as I thought...”

“What?”

“It's impossible.”

“Seriously?” Your shoulders slumped.

Esther smirked, flashing her sharp, pearl-white teeth. “Of course not, idiot. We just need a portable hole.”

“A... Portable hole?”

“Digging tunnels is underrated. Same with drilling small holes. It takes hours and then you're left with some ugly divot in your wall? No thanks! With the portable hole all your problems are solved. Take it with you and put it down wherever you need it. They're available at all sizes but...” She rifled through her little pack.

“The smallest ones can fit in a satchel.” She announced, holding up proudly.

You squinted at the thing she pulled from her bag. It looked like a metal ring that would barely fit around your finger, but it was likely enough for you to see into the room and hear, if it worked.

“This will work?”

“Better than you think. A real hole wouldn't even work here because the space is being warped by magic. See?” She pointed out the window. You nodded, believing you understood. Esther applied the hole to the door and pushed it in carefully. When she backed off you could see right through into the room and faintly hear what was being said.

*

“You think you're clever? It's luck. It's pathetic. You have eyes on you now because you brought a hero to the school and that's it. You still need my help to get anywhere here.”

“Your help or-”

“Don't get cheeky. Imagine your secret gets out? Do you think it will matter if you brought him here?” He questioned harshly.

Jeane flinched and lowered her head. “I would not think so, no. It would be the same result...”

“Exactly! Now, I have been generous enough to keep your dirty laundry out of the light up to this point, but it's just too much for you to be angling for a promotion using this. I will need to provide oversight to your teaching to make sure your nature does not bleed through and corrupt him. Regardless of your intent. Understand?”

“Yes councilor, I understand.” The normally haughty Jeane responded meekly. The secret he had on her must have been pretty damning. There was a brief pause, then the man moved closer. He stared down at her hungrily.

“I didn't know you had ambitions to sit in one of the three seats...” He licked his dry old lips and craned his head down, bringing it close to hers. The elf leaned back uncomfortably, but not enough to shoot him down or drive him off entirely.

“I could support your bid if you wanted to work more... Closely with me.”

“What do you mean?” She was hesitant, but also looked up to show that she was open to the offer, depending on what it was.

“Someone of your inherent nature can not be trusted to be in a position of power. But, if I were to groom you for the seat... Train you and adjust your nature to be more appropriate. Perhaps it could work.” By the look on Jeane's face, that did not seem like a good offer. He added in response to her negative reaction.

“If you disagree, I may have to work my connections and take that young man under my wing to groom him instead. It's frankly quite inappropriate for you to have so much influence over him without any oversight from an appropriate figure such as myself.”

Jeane relented immediately. “I understand, Councilor. Please lend me your knowledge.”

He cackled a little, leaning down to take her hand. He **** her to shake. “You should be happy! This partnership will benefit you far more than it does me.” He said gleefully in a way that made the statement completely unbelievable. Regardless, Jeane nodded passively.

*

You leaned back from the hole, prompting Esther to pick to little ring out of the door and pop it back into her bag.

“Got what you wanted?”

“Yes and no...” You were grimacing.

“Aw, what's up?”

“What can be done if one person in the school is harassing another?”

She stared blankly at you. “Nothing.”

“How is that possible?”

“It's survival of the fittest. If you want to stay out of trouble you keep your head down. If you put your head out you're opening it up to being cut. That's the crux of the thing we asked you earlier. If you don't wanna get in trouble you should just coast through courses and graduate like a normie mage.”

“But... That means that if someone is sticking their head out to harass another they are opening themselves up to being cut?” You adopted a somewhat grave tone that prompted Esther to grin and nod. Before she could open her maw of sharp, malicious little teeth to speak you felt two strong arms wrap around your chest from behind, followed by a familiar voice.

“I like that! Who are we going after?” Merit asked, bear-hugging and lifting you easily from behind. She began walking you down the hall away from the door while Esther followed.

You groaned and wheezed. “Wha- What are you doing! Why are you so close?” Even though her breasts were rather modest you could still feel them pressing against your back rather prominently.

“I am pulling you away from the door you were spying on.” She stated bluntly as she placed you down. Behind you the door opened and since she was blocking sight of you with her tall, athletic frame Jeane and the old mage did not notice you as they left together.

“Besides. It is not odd for us to be close since we are in the same Home. We are 'family.'” She grinned.

“It would not even be odd for us to bathe together.”

Esther rolled her eyes. “All you animals know is rutting.”

Merit tilted her head from side to side quizzically. “It is a problem with your cave dweller society if you think bathing is sexual. I was merely offering an exchange of warmth and reach while washing our bodies. Doing it with two or more is the most efficient and hygienic way.”

Esther glared up at Merit. “Yeah, that's not allowed. You and I are taking baths together if that's what you need, but leave him out of it. I don't want you getting more of a leg up on me than you already got by being in the same Home.” She argued sternly.

“Besides. I've washed animals before. I doubt you'd be much different.”

Merit's long ears twitched, along with her short tail. You finally turned to see the tall girl in her uniform. It was similar to Esther's, though she wore it far more loosely. Since Merit's body was less... Exaggerated, her blouse did not bunch up or stretch around her chest and her skirt fell a little longer due to her rear not being as pronounced. She wore the Blue stockings, since she had the colors of Tintamere, like you.. You tactfully side step the argument and offer a response to Merit's earlier question.

“The old man. That is who I need to go after, I think. He is messing with the woman that brought me here.”

“There is ANOTHER woman?” Merit leaned back, obviously surprised.

“Already?”

“It's Professor Jeane Moreau and Three Seat Council-Member Guilles. What we are talking about is going after one of the main administrators below the Head of the school in favor of a lowly Professor. It's not a wise prospect.” She explained.

“I know Jeane can be trusted and will favor us, however. I can't say the same about the old guy. He... Does not seem trustworthy.” You thought back to what he said about grooming you. It made you very uncomfortable to hear that, no matter what his real intent behind that statement may have been.

“It is bold.” Merit admitted and added just to muse our loud:

“If we can have one person in those seats backing us we may be able to pull off more than we would otherwise be capable of.”

“If I'm being outvoted there's not much I can do.” Esther groaned.

“Whatever. Hope this is a good idea. At the very least lets not rush into it. We can take things slow and plan.”

“I wasn't planning on doing anything too risky at first. I just... Want to help her.”

“Fair enough.” Merit rested a hand on your shoulder to comfort you. You smiled in appreciation of the support.

*

As you were walking back with them you were pulled rather abruptly from a sudden turn. “Careful.” Merit warned. Even Esther was staying back.

“What is it?”

“Take a look.” Esther whispered.

“But don't look too long.” Merit corrected, letting you go.

You poke your head around the corner and see three girls, one from each house on their knees in front of a Lauda boy that must have been a year higher. His shawl could not hide just how fat he was. Parts of his body bulged out and stretched the fabric of his uniform. The stiffness of the cloth and the white did him no favors, as parts of it were stained with sweat. He had an unattractive face that just begged to be punched, though he was a bit taller than you and an uncertain amount of his bulk was muscle so you were unsure if it was a good thing to try just yet. Standing beside him was the lithe, girlish prince in a male uniform to throw off any doubts you had in his gender.

“The downside-” The fat student began.

“Is that you lost before you started. Don't worry, you girls aren't actually bad. If you were bad I would not want you.” The boy shrugged. The Lauda prince stood by somewhat uncomfortably, looking somewhere off to the side. The three girls were each quite charming in their own ways. They were first years like you. One was a Mouse Beastfolk with white ears, white hair and red eyes. Another was a rabbit with similar coloring and finally, the third one in the middle looked to be an elf. They were all cringing and seemed to be **** to their knees by something unseen.

“Now now, don't give me that look, ladies... If you didn't want to face the possibility of this happening you shouldn't have taken the challenge. So soon, too...” He clicked his tongue.

The elf spoke delicately, her expression turning from indignant to amicable in an attempt to be diplomatic.

“A mistake. A simple mistake. Do you think you could let us go just this once?”

“Well... If you hadn't have reached for the high fruit to begin with I'd have **** but to say yes to that. Fortunately for me, you were quite bold and opened yourselves up to the consequences.”

The two beastfolk began to beg in a panic, clasping their hands in front of their faces. “Please! We just got here!” Said the rabbit.

The Mouse was next. “We were following her lead! She said we'd get easy points!” She squeaked.

The male student chuckled. “If you two just want to mindlessly follow orders I'll help you out.” He drew his cock out from his uniform pants. It was an impressive 10 inches flaccid and fairly solid, as well. Solid enough for him to stuff it unceremoniously into the mouse's mouth to make her gag. He just kept feeding it and feeding it until it was hilted inside fully. Her body convulsed and struggled uselessly. You could see the thick member lodged in her throat, making it so that she could not breath. She glared up at him at first as he rested a hand on her head, then slowly she grew weaker and more faint. Her eyes rolled back and she went limp.

“When you wake, awaken as my familiar.” He commanded, drawing his cock from her throat at a painfully slow pace. When he finally pulled the glistening thing out she coughed. The mouse's eyes came back and they were little pink hearts that centered on the older student lovingly. She gasped, salivating and drooling over the wet member in front of her.

“Your dick is so delicious, Master!” She gushed with a warped, open mouthed grin.

The student ignored her, and ignored the struggles of the others. When the bunny girl pursed her lips tightly to avoid his cock pushing between them he casually pinched her nose. Eventually, after a minute of poking and mashing into her lips with the tip of his wet cock, she had to breath and he took that opportunity to **** his member inside. It was faintly hard at that point, but still not to a great extent. Even what he was doing was not enough to arouse him, which was strange to you. It was as though all of this was routine for him. The rabbit, instead of enduring a harsh loss of consciousness, seemed to just surrender. Her eyes shifted with her demeanor so that once his cock was drawn out he had to hold her back from leaning forward to suck on it messily. She looked rabid for it.

“Now now.” He warded her off, staring at the elf in the middle.

“Easy or hard?” He questioned simply.

“I-I submit.” She said weakly.

“I accept the consequences for my actions. I app-” He abruptly shoved her head down into a prostrating position. As her ass wagged and shook, you were able to catch her demeanor shift, just like the others so that when he let go and allowed her to rise she was just like them. You gulped and backed off.

“The hell is that?” You whispered.

“He turned them into Familiars.” Esther explained once you were far enough away.

Merit added. “Familiars are basically servants that are bound to a Master within the school grounds. Mostly made up of students that were caught breaking rules or stepping our of line. It is simply one of the fates that befalls the bold who try and fail.”

“How are they going to attend school like that?”

“They aren't.” Esther stated bluntly.

“Their school days are over until they're saved, released or their master leaves.”

Merit sighed wistfully. “Sometimes if the familiars are of poor or particularly weak make they will leave with their master, as well. To achieve that fate so soon, those three must have tried to heist something important from the Lauda on the first day, when one would assume their guard would be down.”

“Instead they got caught. It just shows us that we gotta be careful.” Esther lifted a hand to her chin as she thought.

“We can try and get lucky. Catch others. Make victims out of other students to increase our own power and reputation within the school. Alternately, we could put ourselves out there and try to get some points. Maybe work on that plan that you brought up.” She looked to you, waiting for a response.

* * *

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