Forbidden love in a new age

M

Mako Torriblaidd

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Original poster
The old cleric had died before her eyes, she had tried to save him after he caused a small explosion mixing chemicals. The resulting gunpowder had taken him with the glass from a beaker embedded in his chest. The old bear's death had hit the vulpine girl hard, no doctor liked to loose a patient, specifically when they had lived with them for the past four years. It had taken months to find a replacement, the male was intended to come today. It was a harrowing day for the young fox, having to prepare for the ceremony, gathering cloth and salve before she turned to the fourth building upon the massive hill, standing to the side as the cleric of Law and elderly feline, and the Cleric of Justice a slightly younger Hawk standing before a large fire, staring at the great wood doors that slowly opened as the convoy of guards brought the new Cleric to be inducted into the order.

The grey fox was dressed in the loose linen robes of her order, the fringes of hers a bright red marking her duty as the cleric of medicine. Beside her stood a young canine, holding a set of robes trimmed in blue for the new cleric. She slowly reached to her neck, feeling the scar tissue in the shape of a Maltese cross, the same symbol on the back of her robes. The new cleric would receive one as well. Her pale blue eyes trailed to the fire, a long iron rod shoved into the coals, it would be used to mark him. She found herself gulping nervously, the girl only looked barely over twenty, one of the youngest to have ever been in the order. This would be the first time she attended one of these save for her own and now it was her duty to attend to his injury. Steeling herself for the inevitable pain and smell she stood silent as the others, eyes fixed upon the door as the guards brought the new male and had him kneel before the elder feline who looked down upon him almost condescendingly. "State your name."
 
The komodo had felt honored to be chosen to be the new cleric, especially since he had never felt that he was all that great at the whole science thing, yet he had been chosen over the others, so he had done something right, it would seem. And it only seemed more honorable due to the amount of guards escorting him in. Sure, it was probably more to make sure he didn't harm the clerics than to protect him, but hey, it still made him feel fancy.

He was brought into a large hall, with a impressive fire in the middle. He was lead to the oldest of the clerics, and almost pushed down onto his knees. And by the tone the old feline asked for his name, he was not accepted just yet. "My name is Victor Sharz, O Cleric." He answered her, doing his best to sound respectful, even though she had done little to earn it yet, other than being a cleric. He kept his head bowed, awaiting the next part of the ceremony, whatever it was.
 
The feline nodded, looking down at him. "You are to become an exemplar of your craft, a cleric of science. This honort comes at the need for your total dedication, requiring all your attention and skills. As such you are no longer allowed the concept of 'friends', 'lovers', even family." Her voice sounded cold, her eyes showing her seriousness at upholding such rules. The fox lowered her head, ears pulling back as she remembered her own vow. The feline continued. "You are expected t pass on all you know, to advance our society upon the shoulders of the ancients." Her eyes glanced to the other clerics, nodding to a male servant to prepare the iron. "Strip Victor, so you may be as an infant and be born again into your role within the Clerics." She ordered, once again eyeing him demeaningly, skeptical of the male. She was always a skeptical cat, not trusting anyone and keeping an iron rule with her position. Far too many had been sentenced to death outside of the order due to her.

The fox prepared herself, laying out the linen cloth on a small table beside her and giving the salve a bit of a stir with her fingers, waiting for her time with the ceremony, her eyes laying upon the reptile that she would spend the rest of her days with, once a cleric you were a cleric until death after all.
 
Victor slowly stood back up. "I shall do my best, cleric." He said, before gripping the edge of his shirt and quickly pulled it off, revealing his green, well muscled body. He didn't mind taking off his shirt, but he had to admit that being completely naked in front of several people, that was something he was a bit less confident about. He hesitated slightly as he unbuttoned his pants, yet he pulled them, and his undergarments off. He wrapped his tail around himself to try to hide his member, but with a quick look at the hawk, he understood that he probably shouldn't do that, and lowered it again, blushing ever so slightly. He looked around slightly as he waited for the next part, and really noticing the fox, seemingly preparing something or another. He quickly focused on the feline again, not wanting to miss anything she said.
 
The feline simply stared at his face, watching him and not his nudity, the same was expected of the rest. None the less the fox found her eyes drawn to him in his entirety only to force them away as she noticed his own gaze in her direction. The feline nodded to the guards who moved up behind him, one on either side. He was truly forced to his knees again, one kneeling upon his calves and grabbing his arms to restrain him as another reached up under his jaw pulling his head back to expose his neck. With him contained the feline turned, drawing the iron rod, bringing it near. "This will forever mark you as a cleric." She spoke, already he'd feel the red hot iron near his neck only to have it press against his scales, burning the Maltese cross to his flesh. The fox winced at the sound, quickly moving near to him, holding the bowl of salve in one hand and the linen in another. As the feline pulled the rod away she went to work, the feline releasing a slight hiss, she would have rather made the male suffer with the wound, make him prove his dedication. None the less she let the fox do her duty as she spoke softly. "This will only hurt a moment." She spoke, her voice soft and sweet as honey and rose. An odd calming nature to her very presence while the guard released his head, letting her gently rub the cooling salve upon the burn, being careful not to cause him more pain as she rubbed some in and placed a bit ontop only to wrap it all in linen. Soon she'd step away after securing the bandage, the guard restraining him moving back as the feline ushered the servant with his clothes over, the mouse offering him the robes. "Dress and join the order." The feline spoke.
 
Victor became slightly confused, as the feline nodded at someone behind him. Yet the confusion quickly changed to fear, as someone forced him down to his knees again, and another pair of hands took hold of his maw, forcing him to lift his head. And the fear only grew when the glowing iron was brought towards him. What followed could only be called a intense pain, as the hot Maltese cross was forced against his scales. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he groaned loudly in pain, surprised that he managed to not scream.
He hardly noticed that the cross was pulled away from him, nor what the fox said, only starting to feel anything but the pain as the cool salve was pressed against his scales. As he started opening his eyes again and understanding what the fox was doing right next to him did he notice that he was hissing happily at the cold sensation. All too soon, the fox stopped her rubbing and wrapped the wound instead, still with a bit of the salve on the wound, yet just not feeling the same without the slight rubbing.
As the feline spoke once more, he slowly rose to his feet again, giving a nod of thanks to the fox as he did. He touched at his mark for a moment, only to wince as he did, before he accepted the robe from the mouse. He quickly put the on, a bit surprised by how well they fit.
"What now?" He asked, eager to get his mind of his marking.
 
The feline nodded to him, the others slowly applauding as he donned his new robes, marking his joining of the order. "You will go with Kiarra back to your hall, and begin your duties where the old cleric left off." She spoke motioning to the fox as the girl dipped her head for a moment, showing a bit of respect to him. "Follow me." She spoke as she lifted her slender muzzle once again, turning and beginning to walk out the way they came, her slender white tipped tail swaying out of a hole in the back of her robe. Her ears remained low, the smell of burnt flesh and the sound of his pain still real in her mind. She would have to protest the practice again as unhealthy, but she was the youngest, she had little pull. Glancing over her shoulder, her pale blue eyes made sure he was following as the doors were opened by the guards, revealing the courtyard in the middle of the four buildings, a fresh spring in the middle, a large oak tree growing in the middle. Walking around the outside of the stone she let her fingertips graze the smooth surface before she stopped in front of another large building, the architecture semi-gothic in nature, high walls, large stained glass windows showing scenes of science and medicine. The guards once more opened the doors, letting her walk into the large open insides, one half dedicated to medicine, large bookshelves filled to the brim, a desk with various bowls and herbs spread about it messily. The other side was his, more shelves holding books and relics of the 'old ones' rusted and corroded unidentifiable bits of technology, long lost to the years. At the end a fireplace sat, two beds and a door between them, a bit of steam flowing out showing it was the baths. "Please, don't go in that door without me." She spoke motioning to another one. "It is where the sick are kept."
 
Victor followed the fox out through the great doors and through the courtyard, to what would from now on be his and her home. It was all very large and well made, but then again, he was a cleric now. He should get used to a bit of luxury in his life. At least, he thought they were allowed luxuries... They weren't allowed any social bonds, after all.
He felt the pain in his mark starting to flare up again slightly, as he took a few steps around, admiring his new home, yet he tried to ignore it. To try to get his mind onto something else, he started asking questions. "You know my name now, fox, but what shall I call you?" He turned towards the cute fox. "And what exactly am I supposed to do here? Try to figure out how the "artifacts" works, or what they were used for? That sort of thing?" His brown eyes flicked around to see as much of the building as he could, while also looking at the fox, to not be rude. Well, okay, that wasn't the only reason...
 
Kiarra glanced to him as he asked for her name, "Kiarra... Kiarra Cerella." She replied with a small nod to the male, brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear before making her way to her desk, picking up the thick lensed glasses from it and placing them upon her muzzle. Turning toward him once more she leaned against the wood, glad her fur did much to hide the slight blush beneath the grey. "Your job is to do all of that, to understand how it can help us now, to find out who the ancient ones were..." She replied with a nod to him, offering a slight nervous smile. The last cleric had bee an old bear by the time she had come to the order, she had seen no point in attraction to him. Now however she had a younger male, a species she had never had contact with as well. It was exotic, it was... no such things would get her killed. "Do you have much experience with such?" She asked motioning to the still partially scorched desk. Various corroded and unrecognizable bits of metal, plastic and other items strewn across it.
 
"Well, its truly a pleasure then, Kiarra." Victor said with a smile. "And yes, I do have some experience with such things. I used to take some such relics, work a bit on them to figure out their inner workings, before either attempting to fix them, or re-make them. It's been some mixed successes and failures, but as someone said sometime: I did not fail to repair them, I learned many new ways it can't be fixed." As he spoke, he took a few steps closer to the fox, his hands clasped behind his back, and his thick tail swinging from side to side as he walked. "Anyway, you don't seem to be the oldest of this order by a long shot, yet you are my senior in here, so I assume you could explain a few things to me? Like... What did she mean that we aren't allowed to have friends? No talking to anyone if it does not benefit my position? And if I should cross whatever lines they've set, what would my punishment be?" The large lizard had always been a bit of a curious sort, and as such, knowing the limits of what he was allowed to do, and how far he could stretch those limits came naturally to him. The female fox in front of him didn't exactly make him want to bend the rules less, after all...
 
Kiarra looked up to him, a bit of a surprised confusion crossing her as he stepped nearer. "Well..." She spoke a bit of hesitation in her voice as her eyes glanced away slightly. "I am your senior though you are no doubt older than I..." Her pale eyes glanced to the floor, ears lowering slightly upon the sides of her head while she side stepped to sit within the spinning wooden chair she had made for herself. It fit her near petite form perfectly after all, fluffy tail laying over her lap, hands adjusting the frame of her glasses before she looked back up to him. "She meant what she said... we aren't allowed friends, or to have lovers.... we are only allowed what helps our duties to the order and through them to the world... such things... well they are thought of as distractions..." She replied softly seeming a bit saddened by speaking of it, obviously she had a great deal of trouble with such rules. "If you cross them you are to be executed... along with whomever you were fraternizing with... the feline Sara... made those rules."
 
"So, in other words... We are to have things bothering us that we can't talk about, because we have no friends, and we are to be frustrated with no way of relieving it. Sounds truly productive to me. And by productive, I mean 'make people kill themselves'." The komodo said, frowning slightly. "Something tells me that old furball might never have had a chance to let off some steam..." He turned towards the building they had just come from, taking a few steps in that direction, before turning back towards Kiarra, rubbing his chin slightly. "And probably not friends either... " He continued. "Occasionally, there is nothing that helps you along on a project more than winding down with some friends and clearing your head, or even hear if they have any suggestions, even if they most likely know nothing of it..." He kept pacing slightly back and forth a bit, before turning towards Kiarra again, with a slight glint in his eye. "Does the cat, or anyone else caring much about the rules, come here often?"
 
She blinked slightly, silently agreeing with him as he spoke, her eyes lowering just a bit. She was almost afraid to admit that she was... at the very least, medically agreeing with his words. She tracked his movement, watching him pace with a bit of confused concern in her own features, her glasses slipping slightly until they were given another nudge up her muzzle. "No, the only people who truly come here are the sick... why?" She questioned looking up to him, unsure and worried about what he may be thinking up.
 
"Well, if the cat never comes here, then who are to enforce her rules here?" He asked, taking a few steps towards her again. "Who says we can't be friends then? Who says we can't do whatever we want? And if we get caught, who can say that we aren't simply doing an experiment of some sort?" He didn't really know why he was speaking so suddenly about this, especially not in the way he did. It was probably that the clerics, those supposed to help the people onward wasn't allowed to act like people. And that seemed to have set something off in him.
 
Straightening up in her seat she gulped slightly at the insinuation that they couldn't get in trouble. Her eyes lowered slightly, pondering his words a moment. No one had ever stated it as such, no one truly dared to. Slowly she bit her lip, a visible canine looped over the front of it while she thought. "Y-you have a point..." She spoke after a long moment of silence, slowly raising her eyes to him as she nodded, careful measured movements were made. "But... she could have you... us killed just on suspicion of breaking the rules." Kiarra was rightfully concerned, she had spent much of her adolescent and adult life here and had seen others harmed or simply killed for crossing Sara.
 
Victor noticed that she seemed to want it, at least a little, but she also obviously unsure about breaking any rules. Though, with the threat of death, that wasn't really weird. But he was sure that with a bit of convincing, she would agree with him. "Well, as you said, she hardly comes in here, meaning that we're not very likely to be caught in the first place. But we can always take measures to ensure further privacy. Moving a few bookshelves or other things around a bit, so we'll have a little area where we'll hear that someone is entering before they can see us, as an example. Or using the bath! Or am I oversimplifying this?" He looked her in the eyes, in an attempt to win her trust. "Or has the old cat truly scared you that much?"
 
She looked to him, unsure of what he was truly suggesting now that he spoke of moving bookcases or using the baths. For a moment she thought he was simply speaking of being friends but not what he seemed to be insinuating made her cheeks burn beneath her fur. "Well, I suppose..." She spoke softly, glancing away from him nervously as she rubbed her other arm, biting at her lip almost seeming to squirm in her robes. Her tail curling a bit tighter around her while she sheepishly looked up to the scalie scientist for a moment, meeting his gaze only to quickly look back down.
 
He noticed that she didn't seem very comfortable with they were talking about, so he decided to change the direction of it slightly. "Or we could just change the subject about what we're talking about to something medical or scientific. It'd be less work than moving anything, after all..." He tried, taking a few steps towards his own section of the hall. He really didn't want to make her afraid of speaking to him, as that would pretty much ruin his chances, after all. He tried to change the subject. "So. Do you do anything other than work here? Evenings where you simply let your mind relax and... play some chess or something like that?"
 
Kiarra was merely concerned and nervous when such conversations were directly at her, she had discussed mating with many, giving a medical perspective but she was forbidden to think about it herself. It just made the entire matter more difficult really. None the less she nodded to him while he spoke of talking about their duties. "I tend the garden in the evening usually... the old cleric stayed up late to work quite often... which I think is what led to his demise..."
 
"Oh, I'm sorry... " He went quiet for a few moments. "So... You find much joy in tending the garden then? Or is it just another of your duties? I mean, I don't know if you're talking of the herb garden, or some other garden. I just... I can't imagine a life where I do nothing but work, you know?" He was still pacing slowly, yet he kept himself close to her. "I don't want to make a mistake, like the old cleric, working myself to death, you know? I want to live a bit as well."
 
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