Traveling to the northern territory was not something that Deijin could say that he enjoyed, given that he was both barely clothed and the temperature was rapidly falling. The once naked black and gold jackal had been given a plain looking brown robe after taking the scroll he now carried within his pocket, however, while he was grateful for the gift it did little to stop the cool temperatures of the empty plains which stretched out as far as his amber eyes could see form seeping deep into his bones. Thankfully the silence the simple mantra he kept within his head of ‘just one step further’ echoed over and over again, giving Deijin the mental fortitude he needed to continue on his way. However, the outer silence which surrounded him forced up bubbling questions for which the dune warrior did not want to contend with.

So he did what he always did whenever he had to think too much, he stopped thinking and just focused on what was in front of him. The fact that the warm glow of the afternoon sun turned the grassy knoll around him into a blurred painting of abstract blues and greens was something that the black and gold jackal would have appreciated, had he any sense of interest in the arts, but sadly Deijin had never cultivated such an interest in his time within his homeland. He was a soldier after all, the only sense of appreciation he had for objects which had been handcrafted were those made by the blacksmiths who hammered the swords and spears his people used to defend their lands from invaders. Gushing over a piece of jewelry or blotched piece of paper was completely beneath someone like him, an irony in itself seeing as careful hands had worked with a level of honed precision to paint his body with the marks of the deities that watched over his people. 

His people.

The thought of them and how much further he was pulling himself away from home slightly stunned Deijin, and yet he pushed away the pain, as he always did, in order to focus on the present situation. But it was hard to maintain this level of focus, as the yearning to be back within the warm bosom of the sand swept fields of the dune lands caused the black and gold jackal’s chest to ache. He would never admit to this pain though. It was unbecoming of a warrior to feel such an emotion, as the greatest show of admiration a male such as himself could have for his homeland was to defend her people from their enemies and then die on a field of battle with blood soaking their chosen weapon. Anything less was not something seen as worthy of respect for Deijin’s people, which could easily be seen by how the eldest member of the kingdom grew to see fifty or so odd turns of turns of the sun’s every dancing cycle around the planet before going off to find a place to lay themselves down in preparation of a silent death. 

The current king of the dune lands himself had been twenty-five when he had taken the throne, and thinking back on his ten plus year rule Deijin wondered how long it would be before someone came along to challenge him. The previous king had been getting on in years, as he had been around his early forties when he had been challenged and it was easy enough to tell that he had been becoming weaker in his waning years, as his arms trembled when holding his massive broadsword while fighting against his younger opponent. Deijin had heard whispers that the old king may have allowed the younger jackal who challenged him to more easily defeat him than should have been possible in order to secure a death for himself that would be seen as honorable by those in positions of power, however there was no way for Deijin to know if this was true or not, as he hadn’t been there to see such a thing. What the black and gold jackal did know was that the old king, just like most of those before him, was taken to be buried within the sacred chambers beneath the largest temple of the capital to be watched over by their deities, and to perhaps even be raised up by them to take place amongst their lot. Once again, Deijin didn’t know the specifics of the rituals which took place amongst the scholars and priests, as they had been none of his business to contend with, but now as he thought back to the blessings he had been given he wondered if he would be raised up to join with those past kings. 

Or if his fate would be something else entirely. 

The memory of being grasped by the tendrils within the emptiness of his mind was one that constantly tugged at the dune warrior’s mind, as he had no idea what exactly that had been about. 

While he was no stranger to the idea of death the feeling of almost being pulled down into a sucking void was not one that sat well with him. It felt...wrong somehow. As though he were not so much being embraced but being hauled along like a slave by an unseen master. The idea that some unknown force had claim over him in death burst into his mind while his slept during his journey, as eventually his body yearned for both rest and water, and in not having a satchel with him to carry some with him Deijin was forced to find rivers and lakes to bed down near in order to preserve himself. Hunting the local wildlife for food was easy enough for the black and gold jackal, as even without his sword by his side his claws and fangs were enough to bring down most feral animals. 

The feeling of blood rushing across his body as he tore into whatever creature he had happened to be stalking invigorated Deijin and disavowed the notion that perhaps he was only strong because those around him were weak and feared his power, but upon coming across a predatory feline that sought to contest his right to lay claim on the prey he had slaughtered, Deijin reaffirmed the truth about himself. 

He was a warrior. 

A fighter. 

A man who could easily subdue that which stood before him with the might of his arms and the ferocity echoing within his mind. Dancing across a cold forest against a four legged beast that bore yellowed fangs at him the black and gold jackal growled and barked at the other predator at the same time he stared deep into its heated emerald eyes. Claws and fangs flashed within the darkness of the night as the bloated silver moon above watched as Deijin and the feral cat fought against one another. A killing blow to the chest was stuck by the dune warrior after having been pounced upon by the bleeding feline. 

Feeling his hand digging deep into the other’s flesh, Deijin chuckled as he pierced one of the more important organs within the other predator’s body before ripping his hand free of its broken body. The cold chill of the world around the beast soon invaded the feline as death swiftly rose from the shadows to claim its life, and yet when tired green eyes gazed up at the black and gold jackal there was no animosity shone within the slowly darkening orbs. He had won the right to both his future meal and to life. It was just as simple as that. Deijin let out a howl for the defeated beast after he pushed its motionless body away from him. 

A sense of pride and sadness mixed together within his head as he guided the animal’s soul to whatever afterlife there was for such a beast. 

That thought of the other stayed with Deijin throughout his journey into the snow kissed mountains of the northern kingdom. The bright gaze of the feral cat staring back at him in silent respect followed the black and gold jackal into his slumber for many nights afterwards as he slept underneath the vast array of stars above him, or within whatever makeshift dens and shelters he could find, should the weather become displeasing. That he soon found himself coughing and hacking up discolored puddles of fluid from out of his maw after being unable to find himself a suitable place to sleep while fluffy white wisps of snow settled themselves across the land, and his muscular body, was not something that Deijin wanted to think about, but he found himself having no choice but to do as such as he continued running onwards. 

Finding his steps becoming slower and more difficult to bear was not something that pleased the dune warrior, not helping matters at all was the fact that the land was becoming blanketed in pouring clouds of ice. Deijin found himself struggling to take himself forward as the days passed by. Determination made him push ever onwards, however the puddles of fluid inside of his body continued to grow in size as the days continued onwards, so much so the dune warrior had found himself spending one night without sleep as he coughed and hacked himself back into the land of wakefulness whenever his tired eyes would close. 

Because he didn’t know how to dry and cure meat Deijin found himself unable to store away many of the kills he made along the way and so it became a situation of either feast or starve whenever he was able to find something to hunt. Nature seemed to want to make matters more complicated for him though, as a sudden blizzard seemed to fall upon him, almost purposefully obstructing his path a week into his travels. That he was now barking up glob after glob of yellowish ichor from out of his muzzle did not set well with Deijin, however the dune warrior refused to be defeated by the elements and so stubbornly pushed himself on once he found himself walking along what looked to be a carriage trail. Even though he didn’t have any coin on himself the black and gold jackal was sure that he could find some way to barter passage onto whatever vehicle he found himself coming across.

Or at least he did think so before his body decided to betray him by suddenly tripping his legs out from underneath him. It took everything Deijin had not to fall flat on his face, however his tired arms, which saved what pride he had, weren’t able to hold him up for very long and soon the dune warrior collapsed onto the ground motionless. Deijin fought not to close his eyes, knowing well enough that in his current state he might not have been able to wake himself but as his chest throbbed beneath him with the beat of a ceremonial drum being struck by an uncaring musician it was hard not to give into the temptation of allowing himself the chance to rest, if just for a moment. 

A single moment was all he needed...and then...he could…

It was the feeling of heat surrounding him that roused Deijin from his slumber. 

Blinking his amber eyes open, the black and gold jackal found that darkness still covered his face, despite knowing well enough that he was looking forward, and so in an attempt to make sense of the current situation Deijin shuffled his up body up and then around until he figured out which way was up. It took a few seconds but soon enough the dune warrior popped his head out from underneath a large collection of blankets, the likes of which had been made from a very heavy material. Sniffing down at the covers revealed that they were of an animal composition, as there was a subtle tang of beastial musk lingering within the threads, despite someone’s attempt to wash them out. Bewilderment leapt into Deijin’s mind as he tried to figure out what was going on. Turning his head around in an attempt to scan across the current area, the black and gold jackal eyes lit up when he gazed upon a crackling fireplace right near him, the sight of the warm flames dancing in front of his eyes brought an unconscious smile to Deijin’s face. 

A hacking cough then dispelled that smile. 

Grunting in discomfort as his chest suddenly locked up on him Deijin leaned back into the somewhat uncomfortable bedding that he was settled upon and then curled up on himself. His tail instinctively tucked tightly around himself as he drew his feet up to his chest in an attempt to mitigate the pain which was raging through him. When that didn’t seem to work, as could be seen by how he began to cough even more severely, Deijin grunted in an attempt to will the ache inside of his body to go away. 

He was better than this, after all, as he had never been sick before! 

So all he had to do was do what he did best and fight back against the burning within his throat and the rumbling within his belly; all he needed was something to drink and he would be alright.

“Here stranger,” A soft voice said, making the dune warrior slowly blink his eyes open. The sight of a semi naked dark blue form standing above him holding something out to him immediately caught Deijin’s attention, though it was hard to make out the other’s full details as a strange case of blurriness had crossed his eyes suddenly. “Don’t worry,” the unknown person whispered. “It’s medicine. To help you fight off your pneumonia.” The individual finished at the same time it held what looked to be a flask of some sort closer to the black and gold jackal’s face.

Upon hearing the words fight Deijin found himself quite eager to take the offering that was being given to him, as could be seen by how he attempted to reach out for the liquid container after uncurling himself. The problem was that his body was not ready for such intense movement as of yet and soon Deijin began to quiver in place as his central nervous system rebelled against him on principle. The sight of his fuzzy looking fingers trembling in front of his muzzle startled the dune warrior like nothing ever had in the past. 

“It’s alright.” The dark blue person, who seemed to be male from the fact that his chest looked more and more flat as Deijin’s eyesight focused on the other, said as he moved to sit onto the surprisingly large bed. When the sweet smelling male wrapped one of his arms around the black and gold jackal’s upper body to hold him close, Deijin instantly found himself wanting to pull away. He had never cared for other males to get so close to his body, at least not unless he was in full control over them, but upon struggling against the other his chest decided to remind him of his current situation. Deijin was just able to turn his head away as a coughing fit began to kick up within his throat, oddly enough though there was no discolored fluid escaping his mouth at this time. Why that was the dune warrior wasn’t sure, but he at least had the presence of mind to guess that the lithe male in front of him had something to do with this situation. 

“Please don’t fight me,” the unknown stranger implored with a hint of something lining his voice. “If you don’t allow me to help you heal then you won’t survive the days to come.” 

“I c-can... “ Deijin tried to protest needing aid from the other but his body once again betrayed his attempts to stand up for himself as he continued to cough up a storm.

It took a few minutes of struggling with the situation in question before Deijin grunted and went still. When there seemed to be no more fight left within him the nameless male brought the flask up once again and then tipped the opening towards the black and gold jackal’s open lips. The taste of something thick and slightly bitter made Deijin grimaced but he drank, at least as best he could given the indignity of his situation. The flask was pulled aside a moment later, once it was the dune warrior found himself being gently stroked along the chest the stranger still holding onto him. He of course growled at this, but the other seemed to ignore him as he continued to work circles and other shapes into his chest. Upon feeling warmth bloom inside of his body Deijin let out a mewling grumble, the likes of which would have sounded rather adorable in any other situation.

“Haha, I’m glad you’re enjoying my healing methods.” The other male chuckled. 

“W-who...are you?” Deijin asked as he tiredly looked up at the dark blue male. 

“My name is Salim.” The lithe creature, who Deijin realized carried some interesting features about him, answered gently.

“Salim…” Was the last thing Deijin said before darkness overcame his vision once again. 

Time became a blur to the black and gold jackal after that as he drifted in and out of unconsciousness while his body worked to heal itself. During that time Deijin was sure that Salim worked to feed, clean, and medicate him, as he could barely move out of the bed he was on. The feeling of the other washing his worn body down was not something that Deijin could say that he disliked, however he could also openly admit that he did not approve of being gently manhandled by the other as Salim worked to scrub down his somewhat disheveled fur. How the other was able to get him back and forth from the strange stone room where he had been bathed to the cozy bedchamber was something that Deijin wanted to ask about, since he was more than well aware that the other didn’t have the physical strength capable of carrying him around by himself, but a sense of tiredness always prevented the dune warrior from voicing his inquiry. It was all he could do to sit up and eat when Salim came in to feed him, as loathed as he was to admit that this was what the other was doing for him. 

Of course, there was another issue that had been rising up as the days - at least Deijin assumed that it was days passing and not weeks, it was hard to tell seeing as the room he was in had no windows to see through - continued to tick by. The feeling of raw need, which always coursed through the black and gold jackal veins, became ever stronger as lust for the blue male burned like a sparking flame within his loins. Because he was still recovering there wasn’t much he could do to sate this need, however one day when he was feeling particularly well off Deijin chanced using what power he had amassed for himself on the unaware Salim. 

Grabbing a hold over the other and then hugging him tightly into his chest, the dune warrior let out the best intimate growl he could muster as he rolled his naked body up into the other’s nearly naked form. The feeling of Salim freezing in place stopped Deijin dead in his tracks, as this was not the response he had been expecting from the other male. Turning his head to gaze at the dark blue creature, the black and gold jackal found himself staring into haunted indigo eyes. Pain and fear mixed together so deeply within the other’s shrunken orbs that Deijin found himself shifting from holding the other out of a sense of desire and instead one of feral protectiveness. A growl slipped free from the dune warrior’s lips when Salim began to babble a strange series of words that were not so much sentences as they were pleas which seemed to have no coherent structure. 

“Stop it.” Deijin commanded after he noticed that Salim seemed to become lost within his own mind. “You’re safe here with me.” When those words caressed the smaller male’s long, tapered ears the black and gold jackal watched as the healer settled himself down enough to the point where he was no longer sputtering out incoherent phrases. “I’ll protect you.” 

Deijin didn’t know why he said these words, as he had never spoken them to anyone before, not even the soldiers who he served on the battlefield with, however some instinctive part of himself realized that the shuddering male in his embrace deserved to hear these words after all that he had done for him. When it was becoming clear that the other was on the cusp of falling asleep, the dune warrior had pulled Salim up and then into bed with him before shifting the covers around so that they were nestled together like cubs from the same litter. The warm feel of the dark blue male’s thickly furred body was something that the dune warrior found himself very much appreciating, as he could be seen by how he would murmur and then nuzzle his nose into the thicker parts of Salim’s flora smelling fur while grinding his ever hardening shaft into the other's covered groin. 

When exactly Salim left his presence the black and gold jackal couldn’t say, however after the other returned he made sure to keep a much closer eye on the dark blue male. That he could see things that he hadn’t before was a telling sign that his body was returning to its proper form, as upon looking Salim over Deijin noticed several old wounds and other marks hidden underneath the other’s fur. Many of them looked as though they had come from blades, but not exactly swords. The oddity of such a thing perplexed Deijin during the hours before slumber dragged him back down into warm darkness, and yet what was even more curious was the nature in which the dark blue male was dressed. While Deijin was no stranger to barely clothed males, his own people enjoyed baring as much of themselves as they could in an attempt to skirt the line between decency and obscenity, Salim’s clothing, if it could even be called that, was very...provocative. 

Instead of wearing anything over his upper body the dark blue male was always naked from the neck down when Deijin saw him, and yet across his lower region he seemed to forever be covered by strips of material which accentuated the plentiful package which was nestled in between his legs. Whether the material was white cloth which looked to be stained with a thick musky nectar that could only be male seed, or tight black shimmering loin wraps which always seemed to make Salim twitch whenever he walked about, the dark blue male never once appeared to be comfortable in what he was wearing. That he chose to willingly wear this was long since pushed out of Deijin’s mind, as upon trying to tug at a bright red groin wrap Salim all but froze into place in front of him. The previous fear which had stood naked front of his eyes once again presented itself during this happening, but at the same time it shone forth within the dark blue male’s eyes there was also something else within the healer’s gaze that angered Deijin. 

Because he was still healing the black and gold jackal never pried into why exactly it was that Salim always wore these items, but upon him being able to actually stand up on his own without wobbling around like a lame Deijin decided to try and find out more about what was going on with the other, not by actually speaking with him of course, but instead by easing himself out from the room to stalk after Salim. That he was inside a brightly lit castle surprised Deijin, since he was sure that he hadn’t been anywhere near such a place during his travels, but then again that didn’t mean much, given that it was obvious that someone had rescued him from the snowy trail he had fallen upon. 

‘Was it Salim who had rescued him?’ Deijin thought as he kept to the shadows while watching the other male make his way down the hallway of the humongous building, all the while waving and smiling at several individuals who seemed to be working within the place. 

This didn’t seem likely, as there was nothing about Salim that presented itself as being someone who could traverse through the fury of a blizzard. And what’s more, why would the other save him? Deijin was sure that he didn’t have any ties with the other male, as their two species had never before encountered one another, and thus bonds such bonds were nonexistent between them. 

‘So who did rescue me? And why?’ Deijin wanted so very badly to know the answers to these questions, as they would tell him so much about what it was that was going on around here, but before he could grasp hold over this information he was presented with a sight he didn't actually care for.

Golden eyes watched in annoyance as several armed draconic guards walked in a practiced step about the castle towards his direction. Deijin paused and then quickly analyzed the area around him. Duck into the shadows set behind a standing suit of armor, he watched as the winged warriors saluted one another and then turned to go about their way down the lavish halls of the expansive building. A sense of anxiety filled Deijin’s heart after this, as while he was sure that he could kill these soldiers under normal circumstances, at the moment he was still weak and thus vulnerable to any attack they unleashed against him. Not exactly a feeling that the dune warrior appreciated, however he had never been one to run away from the facts of reality. With that said, there was something else about the lot of them that set his fangs on edge, though Deijin couldn’t exactly describe what it was exactly. Scanning one of the warriors more closely as they came by him the black and gold jackal wondered if it were perhaps because they were dragons that he felt a strong sense of ire rising within him.

The dragon race was not one that should have been either toyed with or underestimated in any sense, seeing as the fury for which they could unleash was as beautiful as it was terrifying to behold. Powerful was the only way to describe most dragons, as they could easily crush large boulders into pebbles with a single punch, and yet physical prowess wasn’t the only ability they possessed. Magic was never a practice that Deijin liked to think about, as he, as a warrior who fought on the field of battle with his sword clenched tightly within his hand, had never seen any honor in choking a man to death with unseen forces, or covering the land in ashen fog which could turn one's senses against their owner. These were powers that dragons had in spades, as Deijin had so easily seen within the Defence Force when one of his own recruits, Meelak he recalled, was able to channel the elements of fire and water from out of his mouth in order to make a rolling stream of boiling water shot out across a horde of enemies barreling down on him. Watching those men, and some women, be burned alive was not something that sat well with Deijin, but he couldn’t deny the practical use of such abilities. Or rather, Jeda had made him see the practical use of such abilities after the fox had spoken with him following the battle in question.

Thoughts about Jeda brought back the reason why Deijin was there within the north. 

He and the fox had spoken at length about the dune warrior going to the northern kingdom to try and rescue the prince of one of the dragon nations from where he was being kept by the monarch of the ruler of the northern territories. From what he had been told, it seemed as though there had been something of a kerfuffle between the two kingdoms and the youngest prince of the nearby dragon nation had gone to speak with the king to try and broker favorable terms of peace between their respective people. The king, charmed by the beauty of the dragon prince, had invited him to stay within his castle so that they could more easily discuss the terms of agreement that the prince wanted. This would have worked out well enough, as such things were quite usual for higher ranking nobility, however, the dragon prince was engaged to marry a princess of another territory, and his father demanded that he be returned so that this marriage could happen. The king of the nation in question had politely sent a missive to the other monarch letting him know that, not only did he not care about whatever marriage the young prince’s father was attempting to drag his son into, but that he would not be releasing the other until they finished their talks. 

That had been a month ago, according to the information Jeda had gathered, somehow, the details of how exactly the fox knew of such an important thing had been something that the far eastern warrior chose not to divulge to Deijin, and given his stance at the time the black and gold jackal hadn’t thought to ask, but now that he was both more clear headed and focused a lot of details were not adding up all that well for him. 

Deijin pushed all of that aside for the moment as he focused on the task ahead of him. 

Moving out from the shadows on careful feet after the guard went about his way the dune warrior tracked Salim’s path with a few quick sniffs; the fact that he had long since memorized the other's floral musk was not lost on him, and yet he didn't pay such thoughts any notion, despite what his traitorous cock throbbing in between his legs for attention. Padding his way over and across several hallways, barely missing a few walking knights as a fit of coughing attempted to stop his progress, Deijin finally made it to where the dark blue male had been heading after he traveled deep down a long flight of very cold stone steps into what looked to be a basement. 

The sounds of Salim crying out in obvious pain made the black and gold jackal freeze into place amongst the rows of empty cells surrounding him. 

Lifting his long and furry ears up and then flicking them forward, Deijin strained to hear the healer’s voice as he walked through the darkened gloom of what could only be the castle basement. The hard sounds of whips kissing skin was one that made shivers rise up across the dune warrior’s naked backside as he knew well enough that such things were only made use of when punishing slaves.

That he hadn’t figured out that Salim was a slave before now was something that angered Deijin, however he casually shoved said emotion aside as he made his way over to a door that was set slightly ajar ahead of him. Peering through the wooden barrier revealed a sight to Deijin that was both familiar and gut wrenching, as there chained to a wall was Salim with his arms folded behind his back and his legs chained together and then tied in place by a massive metal stake which had been driven deep into the ground. The dark blue male had tears streaming down the sides of his face, and yet there were no words coming out from his mouth as his lips were centered around a bright red ball bag which just so happened to be tied securely around his face. Looking over the lithe male’s half nude body revealed that there was something thick stuffed deep within the dark blue male’s buttocks, Deijin guessed that it was a dildo of some sort, but the fact that it was vibrating somehow confused him to no end, as such tools usually didn’t do as such in the jackal kingdom.

The sounds of gasps broke the black and gold jackal out of musing. 

Blinking his amber eyes and then peering forward once again Deijin could see that Salim had long since become aroused by this display of sexual depravity being ushered onto him, as could be seen by how much the ample package in between his legs twitched and then bulged forward with the growing stalk of his manhood. That the tip of the mushroom headed shaft wept with clear dribblets of musky nectar was something that excited the primeval animal instincts within Deijin's soul, as he could almost taste the sexual need which was rising up from off of his healer. A growl tore through his lips though when someone, the black and gold jackal couldn’t see who from his current vantage point, pointed and then laughed at the obvious discomfort the slave boy was in. When the tip of a brown leather whip lashed out to hit Salim across the chest it took everything within Deijin not to storm into the room and begin savaging the unknown individual. 

Salim’s cry of pain was muffled as he was whipped again and again, the ballgag centered within his lips made it so that only muffled squeaks of terror could be heard from the other. Deijin found himself sickened by the sight of one of the whip’s cruel caresses hitting the dark blue male across his cock. While it would have been hypocritical of him to say that it was wrong for a slave to be punished for a misdeed, baring that it hadn’t been done through willful ignorance, injuring another male’s sex was disgusting. To strike at such a vulnerable place was a sign of cowardness and weakness within the jackal kingdom, however whoever was abusing Salim didn’t seem to care about anything at all about what they were doing, nor how it would look to another warrior, as could be seen by how the other continued to whip the healer over and over and over again. Soon enough Salim was left gasping and bucking into place across the floor as pain and pleasure mixed together in a twisted union of passion which seemed to have to end in sight.

That he himself was getting even more aroused by what he was seeing both confused and disgusted Deijin, as this entire showing was deplorable. However, there was something very beautiful about watching the healer struggle in place across the floor as he was forced to endure such harsh punishments. Had it not been because of the flagrant terror shining within the other’s eyes Deijin might have found himself actually wanting to reach down for his gold painted shaft and release the building tension which was growing within, however he didn’t. Instead the dune warrior found himself wondering exactly how he was going to get the smaller male out of the room without getting himself overwhelmed by however many men were beyond the door. Had he been in perfect health Deijin would have simply marched in and begun ripping the fools apart, but his chest reminded him that he was still not completely back to normal, as it throbbed violently while watching Salim continue to be abused.

When a hand reached out to cover his muzzle Deijin found himself wildly thrashing about in an effort to remove whoever had thought it wise to attack him in such a way. Finding himself dragged away from the partially opened door was not something that the black and gold jackal cared for in the least, but he was powerless to stop the person behind him as when trying to elbow the other his arms were caught in an unfolding hold that promised him a great deal of pain if he continued to struggle, sadly in his current state of mind all Deijin could think about was struggling out of the hold in order to try and get back to the now wailing Salim.