Fox 25

The sun beat down on us as we sat in a deserted park after we walked around the community for about thirty minutes. Merula was back in her cloak, shielding her face and Cano had shifted and was flying above us for the entire trek. We stopped and picked up coffee and donuts before Levi led us back to one of his favorite quiet spots. A simple cooling charm had been placed over our group so that we didn't sweat and die in the maddening heat.

My feat swung idly beneath me as I barely pushed myself on the swings. Levi sat besides me with Alistair on his lap, the two cuddled as Alistair munched on a glazed doughnut. Merula stood before us with Cano perched on her shoulder, every so often he would take off, circle above us and then come back down. Jason and Tommy flanked Mr. Corin on either side as they stood in front of us.

"Most of the kids stay inside when it's this hot out but I used to love being outside. Knowing what I am now would explain that a lot." He laughed before taking another bite of his chocolate doughnut.

"We all know what you are now, a pain. That's about it." Tommy chuckled earning a smack on his arm from Jason.

"Not to be that person or anything but can we please skip to the conversation where you guys explain everything?" Alistair questioned, clearly the most curious and impatient out of us all.

"Hmmm. Well that is an extremely long tale and since it's obvious that you know more than most children at the Academy at this point I'm not sure exactly what you know. Care to fill me in?" Mr. Corin questioned as he walked to a nearby bench and patted his lap. A blush rose to Jason' cheeks as he walked over and sat down on his Mage's lap earning a loud coo of appreciation from Merula who was practically gushing at how cute they were.

"Awww Jason, we're so happy you found someone and we're glad it was with someone we know will keep you safe." She grinned.

"Th-Thanks." Jason blushed once more, burying his face into Mr. Corin's shirt as he sat down. Tommy sat besides him and Mr. Corin draped an arm over his shoulders.

"So we know all about Helion and the Council of Mage's thanks to Alistair and we know that Merula and Cano are Tae's parents thanks to; well, Tae's parents. And we know that Jason was also Helion's familiar thanks to what just happened at the house." I explained.

"You told him you were his parents? Why?" Mr. Corin questioned. It didn't sound judgmental or even angry, simply curious as to the answer.

"Well it felt like the Council of Mages was getting closer to us while we were at Rhyeal and Tae kept sneaking out to ask us questions. It only made sense to give him the full answer before he heard some rumor somewhere that led him down the wrong path." Merula answered as a caw above us echoed her explanation.

"We will address how Alistair knows so much at a later time but for now let me explain what happened the night Helion died. Back when I attended Rhyeal Helion, Merula, Cano, Thomas and I all attended the same classes. We were great friends back then and nothing you could say could separate us.

Tommy was almost seven years younger than we were at the time so the classes we took he didn't necessarily take with us but we all still got along well. After we graduated we kept in touch and quite often Helion would keep me up to date on his work with the Council. When he first started he was so excited to be working with them and my excitement mimcked his own.

Slowly after the years that excitement dwindled down to sheer contempt for the people that he was forced to work for. He was deemed an Arch-Wizard after three years of working for them. Wizards studied decades for the skill that he had naturally and they awarded him for it, but it wasn't enough for them. They wanted more from him.

That's where the black magic came in. They thought that black magic and even worse, blood magic would be the solution to all our problems back then. You see we were having a bit of trouble with other supernatural creatures and while we have magic on our side they had sheer strength and determination.

When he first told me what they planned on doing I was appalled. I couldn't believe that they would ever want something like that from him. Then after you met me with Tae all bundled up and seeking safe passage into the mortal realm I was worried but when you made it back to our side without the small bundle I knew things had gone bad." He finished looking at Cano and Merula who seemed lost in their own thoughts, no doubt remembering that moment.

"It was so bad back then." Merula sighed. "It wasn't until a few weeks later that we dropped Jason off at your place."

"Yeah, I remember. He didn't want you to leave him there and stayed in his kitsune form for about a month." Mr. Corin laughed.

"Seriously Jason." Merula questioned. "We taught you better than that."

"I was still a little kid who watched both his parents die. I think I should get a pass for some of that." Jason folded his arms over his chest in defiance.

"Fine..." She relented.

"This whole thing is simply surreal. What exactly is the reason that the Council of Mages is still after you after all this time?" I questioned.

"For one we can be very dangerous and vilotile if we're threatened but what they did to us makes us a bit paranoid. We can't trust a lot of people. Even people that we once knew we sometimes are skeptical of their true motives. Sometimes there are moments if we're too far from each other that either of us could panic and rampage until we are joined again.

Also I'm pretty sure they still want to use us for some, no doubt, nefarious purpose. Even without a mage there's a lot of magic flowing inside of us and if one of them could bind themselves to us it would be sheer mayhem." Merula explained.

The thought of either of my parent's being bound to someone like that was frietening to say the least. It was obvious that they were truly two special beings and they knew how to fight what was scary was the thought that if they ever fell into the wrong hands then there wouldn't be anything that we could do to stop them.

Cano flew down and shifted, standing beside his wife, waiting to see what would happen next. However the topic died down at that point as we all sat there, our minds all focused on what was happening to us. This whole thing had gotten out of hand and there was no handbook on how to handle crazed Councils that wanted to enslave your parents.

"Cano and I will be right back. We need to make sure that no one thinks to look here." Merula announced as she and Cano rose to their feet.

"Where are you going?" I questioned.

"We're just going to pop up in different areas. Maybe somewhere in the South of France. I've always loved going there. We need to make sure that they 'know' we're there so that they follow the wrong trail. We should be back by early morning or tomorrow afternoon, if we do some sight seeing." She giggled as Cano wrapped his arms around her shoulder, pulling her in and placing a light kiss on her temple.

In a second they had transformed, shifted into one being, a bird that resembled Cano but was much larger in size and certainly more deadly looking. Their wings stretched out and each feather looked like it had been dipped in the darkest ink and placed back onto their body. There was a darkness about them that radiated off and had I not known who they were I would have taken several steps away from them.

"Did they just fuse?" Levi whisper-shouted.

"Yes they did." I muttered.

"That's so cool."

'Thank you.' Their voice was almost like an echo of each other inside of our head. It was strange. Without another word they two took to the skies, reaching grand heights in a matter of seconds. When we could no longer see them we looked back down at each other, wondering what the next course of action would be.

"So...." Levi began.

"Well now that that's done how about we go back to the hotel and sleep." Tommy suggested.

"We both know that if you go back to the hotel the last thing we would be doing is sleeping." Mr. Corin laughed causing Jason's cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.

"Don't say stuff like that in front of them." He hissed.

"Well it's kind of obvious that we're in a relationship. No need to hide such things from them." Mr. Corin shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, we're not in school right now. I don't have to show any type of decorum if I don't want to." It was strange seeing them so carefree when all we've known of them is strict and annoying.

"Well if you don't want to go back to the hotel any time soon we can all just chill in my inner sanctum." Levi suggested and was met with four confused looks.

"If that's a nickname for your ass I'm going to have to pass on it this time." Tommy laughed loudly.

"Wha-No! It's this place that Alistair and I created the last time we visited here." Levi spluttered as he threw up his hands and tried speed walking away. Tommy chased after him still laughing the entire time and the rest of us began to follow before what Tommy said dawned on Levi. "Wait...What do you mean this time?"

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In the hollow of the tree we were asked to squeeze through we were lead by Levi and Alistair. My mortal mind couldn't comprehend why they would have created a hide away here of all places but once we kept moving through a new sight captured my attention. The wooden structure around us expanded into an enormous room with several doors leading off to different portions of the hang out spot.

"Of course the tree is charmed." I mumbled more so to myself.

"Well did you think we just hung out in a tree trunk all day?" Levi laughed.

"Knowing you it's not that far a stretch of the imagination." Tommy teased.

Looking around I wasn't shocked to see a nice couch, some chairs, a plush rug and even a television mounted on the wall. The entire floor was hard wood flooring, obviously and there was actually a window that allowed us to see the outside which was more than likely charmed. Immediately Levi stripped and then shifted into his fox and bounced around at Tommy's feet until the older shifter took a step back and shifted seamlessly into his snow leopard.

He shook out his fur and then sat down, eyeing the energetic fox as Levi bounced around him as if he didn't know that Tommy was completely annoyed with him. Mr. Corin sat down on the sofa, accompanied by Alistair, Jason and I. Tommy lifted up his paw and brought it down swiftly on Levi's tail causing him to squeak and turn his body to nip at the large paw.

Levi then pounced on the larger shifter and tried nipping at his ear only to be thrown off, onto the plush rug that was beneath them. Tommy bared his fangs at Levi who didn't heed the warning and went charging at him again.

"Tommy act right. I'd hate to discipline you in front of guests."

"Levi, you too. Stop harassing Tommy before I let Mr. Coring punish you as well." Alistair chuckled but both shifters immediately stopped what they were doing. Levi came over to the couch we were sitting on and Tommy laid down where he was beside the opening to the hideaway.

It was a known fact among the students that Mr. Corin was a part of the disciplinary committee at the Academy and they did not take it easy on the students. They were fair yet brutal and they knew each and every students breaking point. It was a wonder with all the rules we broke that we hadn't been sent to see them yet.

"Well that calmed everyone down instantly." Jason laughed as he sat back on the couch.

"So Alistair, tell me how you know so much about Helion." Mr. Corin questioned.

For about the next half an hour Aalistair explained, in great detail, to him how he had come to find out about Helion and everything he knew. As the stories continued I noticed Jason getting antsy and moving a lot so I shifted and waited patiently by his feet til he picked me up and cuddled me to his chest. It was the best I could do to comfort him since he helped me out so much in the past.

Towards the end of Alistair recounting his tale of how he had come to know so much about Helion a high pitched yelp echoed off the walls and drew our attention back to the two familiars who were supposed to be staying out of trouble.

Along the ground surrounding Levi in a wide circle were small green spikes, clearly conjured up by some type of magic. Levi was standing with one leg in the air, as he limped away from the offending magic. Tommy still had his head resting against his paws as he laid there staring at Levi until Mr. Corin cleared his throat addressing the two familiars.

"I believe the two of you were asked to behave." He spoke loudly as he stretched out his hand in their direction. Tommy made to move but stopped halfway and struggled to move any further Levi stood still with his one leg in the air, frozen the same as Tommy.

Knowing Levi he had aggravated Tommy to the point that he used magic to get him to stop annoying him. While the two were pretty close and even considered each other friends Levi had so much energy that he could wear even the most patient person out.

It was understandable that Tommy would lash out in frustration but I never thought he would do anything to seriously hurt Levi until now. I was actually kind of shocked at his behavior and I know everyone else was as well.

"I'm sorry that you were hurt Levi but thankfully the magic that Tommy borrowed from me wasn't meant to do any real damage. As a familiar you should be completely healed by now. That doesn't excuse what you did Tommy."

"Knowing Levi he did something to provoke Tommy. For that I'm sorry." Alistair apologized to Mr. Corin. After he said that it was like the air in the room shifted as Mr. Corin turned to look back at Alistair. He looked pensive for a second or two before he spoke up.

"Alistair, you are aware that I am apart of the discipline committee correct?" Mr. Corin questioned.

"Y-Yes..." Alistair stuttered unsure of where this would be leading.

"It is my job to make sure that among mages and familiars there is order. Now whilst we are not at the Academy I find that I have taken a liking to you three and feel it is my obligation to help you along." He continued.

"What do you mean?" Alistair questioned.

"You are the mage and you need to be a lot firmer with your familiars. They look to you for guidance when it comes to the magical realm. You are the glue that holds everything together and if you're not in control then neither are they. Anything can go wrong once your familiars stop listening to you." He explained. "However, I've noticed that with you three that there's a shift of power. When it doesn't have to do with anything magical you are completely okay with Levi calling the shots. Is that because he's older and you feel like he knows what he's talking about?"

"Yes, I feel like Levi has more life experience and is okay with taking the lead when I really don't want to." Alistair answered, avoiding the look Mr. Corin was giving him. Jason was running his nails up and down my back and I arched into his touch. Everything in this form was heightened, especially the back scratches and who was I to shy away from a good back scratch?

"That's what I thought. There's no problem with that as long as he knows who's in charge when he's in his kitsune form. If he and Tae don't have structure when they're in that form they'll just do as they please and with the way things are going for you three  you need to be in sync."

"I understand." Alistair muttered.

"Now with that being said, I have no problem helping you correct this problem as well as disciplining your familiar, as well as mine, for you right now."

"Is...Is that a good idea Mr. Corin?" He questioned, clearly nervous.

"I think that it would be good for you and your familiars to see how a relationship like ours works. It's obvious that you three are new to this and need a little guidance and we don't mind providing it." He flashed him a smile. "And call me Asher."

Jason had taken to scratching behind my ears as we watched Asher get up from the couch and stroll over to where he had the two familiars bound my magic and sitting on the floor. He turned back towards Alistair and motioned for him to get up as well. On shaky legs he stood up and walked up behind Asher.

"Tommy, I expect better of you. You're older than Levi and you need to set a better example. With that being said I guess it's also my fault as I haven't been paying you a lot of attention as of late but that doesn't mean you get to just act up." He chastised causing Tommy to emit a sad, pitiful whine. Asher turned to Alistair and urged him to say something to Levi.

"Um...Levi, you've...uh...disappointed me and..."

"Stop. Take a deep breath and tell him how you really feel. He needs to know with you sugar coating it." Asher explained and Alistair did just that. He took a deep breath and took a second to get himself together before he turned back to Levi.

"Levi, you're a great familiar and an even better friend but as your mage I'm disappointed that you wouldn't listen to me. I need to be able to trust that you'll follow my lead and know that I have your best interest in mind. I trust you to take care of us any other time, you need to trust me as your mage and listen to me."

Levi laid his head on the ground and looked up at the pair with what I could only describe as puppy dog eyes. A soft whine echoed off the walls as he waited for what was to happen next. Alistair looked up to Asher, patiently waiting to see what the next step would be.

"Do  I have your permission to punish your familiar as my own?" Asher questioned.

"Umm...I suppose. What are you going to do?"

"Just a spanking. You can watch this time and then next time you'll be prepared." Asher explained as he rolled the sleeves of his button up shirt halfway up his arms before turning his attention back to the two misbehaving familiars.

"Levi, I need you to shift back and don't think of trying to get out of this. My magic is stronger than you on any day. Just take your punishment and let's get on with our lives, shall we?"

As soon as Asher was done speaking Levi shifted back, the soft green glow of Asher's magic still present around his neck. His was still bound to his spot and could move no more than was allowed. Levi stood there, in all his naked glory, head bowed in guilt, refusing to look at any of us.

"How is your leg?" Asher asked him.

"It's fine now."

"That's good. Do you understand what you did wrong?" Asher questioned.

"Yes." Levi mumbled.

"Speak up. We need to be able to hear you." He snapped in a gruff voice, very much unlike the gentle, laid back timbre that I was so used to hearing from him.

"Yes." Levi practically yelled.

"Well then what did you do wrong?"

"I completely ignored Alistair when he asked me to do something." Levi sighed, peeking up at us from under his long eyelashes.

"And why is that wrong?" Asher questioned as he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down on it. He motioned for Alistair to come over to him. With tentative steps Alistair walked besides the chair and stood there waiting for Levi to answer Asher's question.

"Because even though I have free will to do as I please and Alistair doesn't try to control me it's good to exercise restraint in certain situations and as my mage he was trying to look out for me and get me to do just that. Instead I ignored his warning and ended up getting hurt."

"Good. At least you understand what you've done wrong. Now Alistair has given me permission to punish you this time but expect any and all future punishments to come from him. So come here and lay over my lap." Asher instructed him and I could sense the shock and confusion over our link. Did he want him to stay naked? Was he really going to spank his naked behind?

'He'll be fine.' Jason's voice carried in my mind.

"Now I want you to count out as I go. If you lose track I will start over. Since this is your first time you'll only get twenty swats." He explained as Levi slowly shuffled over to him. His knees hit the ground beside the chair and he folded his body over Asher's legs, his arms tucked under him.

Asher's arm raised in the air, stalled, and then he brought it down with a loud smack on Levi's bare ass. The sound echoed in the freshly quiet hideaway. My eyes were as big as saucers as I watched and waited for something else to happen.

"O..One." Levi stuttered out breaking the moment of silence.

"Good. You can follow instructions well." Asher muttered as he raised his hand back up once more and then swiftly brought it back down on Levi's backside, pulling a strangled 'two' out of my fellow familiar's mouth. He continued without fail for the next round of swats, alternating cheeks and displaying their growing redness with each round.

"Fourteen." Came Levi's broken whisper as his hands were fisted into Asher's pants. His back rose and fell with each labored breath he took.

My eyes were glued to the spectacle before us, unable to break the trance that it created. The feeling of Jason's fingers on my bare flesh shocked me back to reality as I looked down at my naked figure, perched in the older familiar's lap. With everything was happening I hadn't even noticed when I shifted back into my human body but it didn't seem like Jason minded too much. Turning to the side I wasn't too shocked to see that his eyes were glued to the scene as well as he stroked from my hair, down my neck, stopping at my mid back.

A low whine brought my attention back to Levi as he counted out another two spankings. All the while Asher was whispering both words of comfort and support into his ears. Telling him how well he was handling all of this and letting him know that he needed this to continue to be a good boy. It seemed like Levi was just eating it up.

His body was no longer rigid and stiff on Asher's lap, instead it was almost the opposite. He had relaxed so much it seemed he had no bones in him at all as he laid out across the older man's lap. He whimpered out seventeen as his toes dug into the floor beneath him once more. In my eyes it seemed as if he was enjoying what was happening to him rather than being taught a lesson.

"It's both. Trust me, I've been on the receiving ends of one of Asher's punishments before. You feel ashamed of your actions and know you deserve to be punished but at the same time halfway through it's like something changes. It's no longer really a punishment and you're trying desperately to figure out what that means for you." He sighed as if he was more lost in a memory than anything else.

"Well then is it truly a punishment?" I whispered.

"Ask Levi that same question once he tries to sit down after this." He chuckled. "It's both a punishment and at the same time its not. Asher is reassuring Levi that although he's been bad and deserves a punishment that he's not a bad person and he's still loved and cherished. Watch."

Looking up just as Levi whispered out a half-hearted twenty I was shocked to see the faint tear drops falling to the ground. In a moment of panic I jumped to get up and comfort him when Jason wrapped his arms around my waist holding me back down on his lap. He urged me to simply wait and watch. So I did.

With the last smack that landed Asher didn't raise his hand again. Instead a soft green glow emitted from his palm as he gingerly rubbed Levi's ass, soothing both cheeks. A low moan sounded from his mouth as the gentle rub turned into a deep massage. It was almost as if he had been craving this the entire time.

"Alright, up you go." Asher cooed. In seconds Levi was up and pulled into Asher's arms for a warm, loving hug. It almost made me want to be punished. Levi nuzzled his face into Asher's neck placing a few chaste kisses there before simply breathing in his scent. Stunned was the only reaction I felt watching how Levi reacted to Asher.  "Now go give Alistair a hug."

Levi jumped up from Asher's lap and practically tackled Alistair to the floor in what was his attempt at a hug. He ended up wrapping his arms around the smaller boy as he constantly repeated how sorry he was in between the kisses to his face. One kiss landed on Alistair's lips and that was the end of the gentle apology.

As Alistair laid beneath Levi, completely at his mercy, the young familiar proceeded to lightly grind and kiss Alistair passionately. Jason's hand stilled on my lower back as we watched the two of them go at it before Alistair's hand smacked Levi's ass. Levi jumped back with a startled hiss of pain as Alistair giggled and got up from off the floor.

"None of that." Alistair chastised him. "I am proud of you though for taking your punishment without any fuss. Hopefully we won't have to do this again in the future."

Leaning back into Jason, I was surprised with how comfortable we had all gotten together. It was almost as if we had known them our entire life instead of the couple months that we had known them. The fact that I was completely naked and sitting in his lap didn't bother me as much as it should have.

"Is he forgiven Alistair?" Asher questioned.

"Yes he is as long as he promises to do his best listening and following directions. I only want to help you be the best you you can be."

"I'm so sorry Alistair. Honestly I am." He apologized again.

"Well that's good. We still have one more thing to take care of." Asher reminded us as he rose from his seat. He motioned Alistair over, who looked up at him with wide eyes once he got close enough to the seat.

"Wh-What's going on?" Alistair questioned.

"Well Tommy needs to be disciplined so now its your turn." His smile was wide and mischievous.

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