Submissive

It was the first time Yeong had been in this scenario, so he hesitated. For all his martial prowess he was unsure of how to act in such an odd circumstance. In moments such as these, when a girl he is interested in was all over a man he was unsure of, that is when the true nature would come out, ideally. He had always thought of himself as someone that would fight for the things that he wanted but when Yeong finally finished taking in the awkward sight of Kai's lips barely about to touch Sebek's impressive dick... He backed down. His cheeks reddened and he covered his mouth.

“Sorry.” He offered passively, his voice small and weak.

“I shouldn't have walked in without knocking.”

Both Sebek and Kai were surprised at Yeong's reaction. They had begun to regard him somewhat pensively until the apology. In theory, Yeong was someone that could deal with most of the team at once. The Orc looked about as embarrassed as Yeong, but more calm. He thought about hiding his erection, but there really was no use, considering how hard and large it was. It would be like pushing toothpaste back in the tube.

“It's alright, man.” Sebek spoke in a reasonable tone. With Yeong's shrinking expression, his own confidence expanded to fill the empty void that was left behind. He had no concept of these social dynamics between men, but to him it felt as though there was only so much dominance that could be split between them, and Yeong lost most of it in a few seconds.

“It's your place.”

Yeong cringed. He knew it was probably not meant to be as insulting as it was for Sebek to be so nice. The suggestion beneath that statement was clear to him, even if it was not to Sebek. To Yeong, Sebek was fucking his interest in his place, as a newcomer, and Yeong was the one backing down.

“No no. It's yours, too.” Yeong blurted out, cursing himself internally for caving even further.

'Why am I helping him?'

Sebek stood up, his cock bouncing over Kai's head. Her golden eyes followed it with distinct interest, then looked in Yeong's direction.

“We can, uh... Wrap this up.” She offered out of sympathy. Those words stung as well.

“No, I'll leave. You two... Yeah.” Yeong backed out and closed the door. As he stumbled awkwardly down the walkway he looked down at himself and thought back. Not just the scene itself but what lay just beneath. He thought of it in terms of body language. When he entered, his was normal. Sebek's was somewhat normal as well. Sherri said as much. The two of them were on fairly even ground in terms of interest. Then Yeong remembered the moment he backed down. Sebek's language changed, as did his own. Yeong felt his head and muttered to himself.

“Is it because he rose to the occasion and I faltered?”

He called his Halmeoni once he made it outside to cool off. He was still a bit flustered because he was aware of what Kai and Sebek were doing upstairs and he was in the dark as to whether Sebek had done anything with any other girls he was interested in, such as Lacie or Janna. After a few rings she picked up.

“Hey, what's up?”

“Need advice.” He said in a short tone.

“Wow, sounds like it. You okay?” Kara commented, intuiting his mood through the receiver.

“I'm fine, I think. Something happened...” Yeong gulped.

“When I was tested, when it came time for me to challenge someone for something I want I backed down.”

“Oh.” There was a short silence.

“Well, if it's an enemy that's a big deal, Yeong. What-”

“It's not.”

“Some asshole?”

Yeong choked up a little and admitted. “I-I think he's probably... Genuinely nice, actually.”

“Ah.” Kara clicked her tongue and inhaled through her teeth at the admission.

“So, if I'm getting this right; you got into a situation where you could've had a rivalry with this guy that you consider a fr-” She heard Yeong make a sound of disagreement and altered her wording.

“Acquaintance. A friendly rivalry. When that point came you backed down when you thought you'd be up to the challenge.”

“Yes. Dad talked about it with Mom. I thought I would be like him, not the other guy that lost her...”

“It's a surprise to me, too. But it just means that emotional training and physical training aren't exactly the same thing. Are you stronger than him?” She inquired.

“Yes.”

“You could beat him if you had to?”

“I think so, yeah. Though, he uses some weird social magic.” Yeong commented off-handedly, as though it was nothing.

“Wait, is this an Orc?” Her voice raised.

“How'd you know?”

Kara shouted. “Did he do something to you!?”

“I don't think so? He told us how it worked, so we're aware.” He could hear her rolling her eyes as he said that.

“Of course he did. What'd he tell you about how it works?” Kara asked incredulously. Yeong explained. She was silent throughout.

“Oh... Okay, no. That is actually pretty accurate. So you're sure he didn't do anything like that to any of you?”

“Pretty sure, yeah. All of us know how it works, so we'd know if it was happening, right?”

“You'd know better than I would. If you're sure, that must be the case.” Kara groaned into the receiver.

“Camera.” Yeong nodded and flipped the face2face function on. She could see him and on his end he was treated to a view of his Halmeoni in his family home. She was an average height Fox Beastfolk with short red hair and long bangs. Her ears were red and tipped with white and like most of her kind she had piercing gold eyes. She brushed her bangs off to the side, holding the phone at a downward angle so that he could see down her Aoian-style dress. It was a tight little red, layered dress with gold embroidery. She had golden bell earrings hanging from the base of her long ears.

“Okay... Let me get a look at you.” She asked. Yeong stood still.

“Are you close to crying?”

“No...” Yeong stated. He was not close, but it was not a far-off possibility.

“I'm just flustered. Also, I have other stuff eating me.”

“What?” She rested a hand on her hip and tilted her head quizzically.

“I spend a month as a brainwashed **** before I was able to use my skill to return and change the way events played out. I saved everyone but I remembered everything.”

The hair on her ears stood up and she cringed. “Holy... Okay, you are a mess, Yeong. Maybe I need to come down there and-”

“No no. You can't, remember? I don't need you here, I just need advice.”

Kara sighed. “Here's the honest truth. It isn't the end of the world if you end up with a guy or a girl, or if you are a bit... Submissive towards a special person. They just have to be the right one. I can't exactly endorse anything until I see this guy and know whether or not he's okay.” She exhaled through her nose and stared up in thought.

“Thinking about it reasonably, figuring this out now with someone that isn't going to **** you is probably the best case scenario.”

“What?” Yeong's face scrunched up in doubt.

“No no. I need you to fix me. I need you to give me advice on getting better!” He demanded in a whiny tone.

Kara gave Yeong a very frank look. “I need you to listen very carefully. Know that I love you.”

“I know Halmeoni... I'm listening.”

Her golden eyes pierced him, even through the camera. “You backed down... He's weaker than you. You had a chance to contest him and you backed down. Tell me you weren't in the best position to fight for what you wanted there?” She waited. Yeong did not answer and that spoke volumes to her.

“That's right. This is who you are and that's...” She shook her head.

“Well, not fine, but it can be managed now that we know.” She stared off to the side and gritted her teeth while muttering.

“Wanted to raise you differently from him so I kept you away from women and men during your training. I guess it's a teaching moment for me, too.”

“Him?”

“Nevermind.” Kara looked at him.

“Get him on somehow. We need to talk. I need to figure out if this is a problem.” As if on cue, Sebek tentatively poked his head out the warehouse door and rapped on the metal siding.

“Yo. Busy?” The Orc asked.

Yeong his the phone behind his back. “No. What's up?”

“Okay.” Sebek took a deep breath.

“We need to talk about what that was. First of all, I'm sorry. It's the first time we tried anything. She never mentioned you and her officially going out so I shot my shot with her.”

“That's...” Yeong furrowed his brow in frustration. It hurt that he was being so nice. The bigger man was also being a bigger man than he could be.

“I don't own her, man. It's whatever.” Yeong uttered defensively.

Sebek stepped forward. “Is it? Because you look pretty shook.” He reached forward. Yeong responded instinctively by raising his hand to bat the Orc's away. It was easy, because Sebek was far weaker physically. It did not provide Yeong any comfort. As Sebek pulled his hand back he noticed the phone in Yeong's with the call active and the picture on.

“Were you in a call? You should've told me.” Sebek's face twisted slightly in annoyance.

“I asked-”

“My fault. I'm sorry.” Yeong backed down.

“You're right.” The human lowered his head apologetically.

Kara came through the speaker firmly. “Hey.”

“Oh, uh, hi?” Sebek responded.

“Scootch in, boys.” She ordered. Yeong reluctantly held up the phone at arms length and Sebek slid in beside him, dwarfing the human. Both were able to fit within the frame, though it took some creative angling of the camera and for Sebek to be very close. Yeong was quite uncomfortable with the arrangement while Sebek simply looked confused.

“What's your name?” Neither answered her. After a few moments Sebek looked to Yeong.

“She knows my name.” Yeong snapped back.

“Right, of course. Sebek.”

“Religious affiliation?” Kara asked very bluntly.

“Moderate...”

“You didn't sound too sure of that answer.” She grilled.

“That's because I'm not too sure of it, myself. I grew up moderate and I... Strive to be moderate, however.”

“Hmm...” Kara thought the answer over before continuing.

“Where'd you learn Sociamancy?”

“Old texts.” Sebek offered. He technically wasn't lying. But only technically.

“How many women do you have already, Sebek?”

His cheeks flushed. “Do I have to answer that?”

She glared through the phone at him. “If your intentions are bad, maybe I tell my grandchild to beat it out of you. Or maybe I come down there and-”

“S-seven.” Sebek gulped. He predicted what she was about to ask.

“Two former male. Husband and wife and son. A friend group.” Sebek admitted. Yeong turned his head and stared at the Orc with wide eyes.

“You never told us that!” He was shocked but not surprised to find all those contacts were another group he had rolled through already. It worried the human immensely.

Sebek shrugged. “Was it important? I didn't intend to do that to you or anyone else. That was just... I was lured into it. Only like... one of them was a real friend to me and I barely did anything to her. She helped and I didn't brainwash her at all in any way she didn't consent to.”

“Lured into it?” Kara sounded and looked skeptical. Her tone was dripping with it.

“It was an Orc girl that planned the whole thing. She egged me on and pulled strings in the background.”

“You're a terrible liar...” Kara claimed. Yeong gulped and was expecting the order to come through. He got ready, but then she added.

“Which means I feel pretty safe trusting you when it's obvious you're telling the truth, Sebek.” Her shoulders slumped. She sat down in a throne-like chair and asked.

“What are your intentions with my Yeong?”

“Uh...” Sebek looked down at Yeong appraisingly as the human shrunk down very, very low out of embarrassment and hid his face with his hand.

“Honestly I've gotten over my aversion to 'men' but I don't exactly chase them. I'd also like to say that I wouldn't want to get into a relationship that'll get in the way of our work but-”

“That would be a lie.” Kara interjected.

“Yes.” Sebek sighed.

“Because... Well, obviously.” He was referring to the most recent incident that kicked everything off with Kai. It was a relationship that was literally getting in the way of their work as they spoke.

“Yeong. Hand the phone to Sebek. We have to discuss something privately.” Kara ordered.

“But-”

“My phone is running low on battery and that means I need to embarrass myself by asking one of the younger disciples to do it for me! Hurry up!” Yeong handed the phone off and as he was passing by the Orc he noticed Sebek's phone hanging out of his pants loosely. As a timid act of reprisal he swiped the device before slipping inside. The last thing he heard Sebek says was:

“You... You just plug it into the outlet. You have outlets, right?”

Yeong leaned his back against the wall. The phone was unlocked from Sebek's last use. He was not sure why he took it. He just wanted to do something. Sebek had his phone and was talking to his Halmeoni, so he considered it a trade while acknowledging the act as very petty. He guiltily looked through the messages to see who he was talking to. Surprisingly, something came through.

[Hey. You aren't the kid.]

“I'm not...” Yeong muttered, wondering how it knew. He checked the camera, it was off. There was no call connected. He did not have the tech savvyness to inspect any other possible aspect that would lead to this happening.

[Why you got his phone? You kill him?]

“No.” Yeong stated quietly.

“Should I?” He saw typing.

[…]

[Prefer you didn't. Who is this? One of his new 'friends?']

“Yeong.”

[If I know my Aoi like I think I do, that means Hero. Interesting name.]

He did not know why he was talking to this person. It was just idle chatter, anyway. “That's what I'm supposed to be.”

[Oh? Having doubts? Well... I knew THE Hero. The whole party. Maybe I could offer some advice like I did to the kid.]

The person on the other end seemed friendly enough. The suggestion that they knew THE Hero already suggested that he knew more than the average person, which lent him some credibility. Only a few people knew about THE Hero, just a Hero. He glanced back at the wall. On the other side Sebek was speaking to his mentor about who knows what. According to what the texter was saying, this was Sebek's mentor.

* * *

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