*Entailments - Part 2*

Kordia's tail wagged back and forth as she led them through what had to happen. "Alright, first we need to establish resonance. I need both of you to circulate your mana, but loosely, so we can share and I can take the lead."

"I have no idea what you meant by that," Kir said. He'd never shared mana before. No wait... he had. Stella.

"Me neither," Rain said.

Kordia rolled her eyes a little. "I taught you about it last year!" she said to Rain, squeezing her hand into his like she was trying to make him feel pain, only it didn't work. "Just cycle your mana and concentrate some in your hands. Then wait for me to do the same. Kir too... though I guess it might be safer if you sit this one out," Kordia said.

"I think I got it," Kir smiled. "This is important to you, and I want to help."

A happy sound came from Kordia as she looked at him with appreciation. "Okay okay! Just remember to relax."

After a few moments, Kir did as he was told, circulating his mana and focusing just a bit into his hands as he felt for Kordia and Rainier's mana.

He felt Kordia first, her mana brought with it a slight bit of pain as she pushed some into him, his body instinctively trying to reject it for a moment before he focused on relaxing. It was a different, more continuous experience than what he'd shared with Stella, and it wasn't long until he felt Rainier's mana rise too.

Rainier's mana was much firmer than Kordia's, if 'firm' was a term that could be applied to it. It brought with it more of a bodily sense. He felt Rain's heartbeat, only after a moment Kir realized that it wasn't just Rain. Both he and Kordia were synchronizing, their hearts matching as he tried to link with Rain's mana the same way Kordia had linked with his.

"Wow you have a lot of mana," Rain said as soon as the link was forged.

"It's not how much you have, it's how you use it," Kordia huffed a little.

"You're cute when you're jealous," Rain told her.

"I'm not jealous! And I'm about to catch up," Kordia insisted. She closed her eyes. "Now please be quiet, I need to concentrate."

Kir just smiled and shot Rain a wink, which he returned before they both closed their eyes.

Feeling them through mana alone was... interesting. It was like a pressure he felt without his body. Like light and rhythm and balance, all in one. He felt when Kordia's balance shifted as she tapped the stone. Oddly, the act sent a familiar sensation through him, one that made his tattoos itch a little. He couldn't quite place why it was familiar though. He swore he felt it when the stone rose off of Kordia's chest, suspending itself along its necklace as she drew from it.

Through their shared mana, Kir felt it as mana surged out of the stone in a steady flow, filling Kordia before suddenly meeting resistance. A sensation within her conveyed to Kir a sense of resisted expansion.

"Keep... keep the mana from the stone inside me," Kordia said, her voice strained.

Kir wondered if it was safe, but decided to follow Rain's lead. Together they wrapped Kordia's mana in their own, reinforcing it.

"Okay... loosen up a bit," Kordia said after a long while, and as soon as they did so, her mana expanded to fill the void they left. Again and again they repeated the procedure, and it was only after the third time that Kir realized what she was doing.

She was expanding her capacity for mana and her ability to use more of it.

Risking a peek, Kir saw the stone glowing a deep purple, its light glistening on Kordia's naked chest as she breathed and focused. He closed his eyes a moment later, and fell back into the rhythm with Rain.

And then...

With a cracking sound, the stone floating in front of Kordia shattered. Kir opened his eyes to see its shards disappearing into golden dust that scattered for a moment before flowing into Kordia.

"Alright... we can-"

Kir felt her effort falter, and instinctively moved to fill the void by blanketing her mana with his. Suddenly the sensation of flow filled him, and he felt as his mana started to pass from his hand into her at a pace far more rapid than what she'd maintained for the stone.

Surprised, Rain let go of Kir's hand and cried out in alarm.

Kordia gasped mid-sentence, shuddering as Kir's mana continued to fill her, resonating with the mana he'd tried to stabilize her with until-

*

For the second time that night, Kir woke up after blacking out.

He groaned awake, finding himself on the bed. At the head of the bed, Kordia lay breathing with short, shallow breaths, sweating and naked.

Her hair had changed. Where before it had been gold and brown, now the gold had shifted down in tone, approaching something more like white-gold. The brown streaks however had been thoroughly replaced by a familiar red, and the tip of each tail had grown red as well.

And behind her was no longer one tail, but three.

Sensing motion, Kir turned. "Rain?" he called out, his voice croaking.

Rain had been sitting at the table. He stopped bouncing his leg as he grabbed the pitcher and a cup, filling it with water as he rose and came over, the towel dropping away from him to reveal his manhood and the tuft of blue hair above it.

"Thank the gods, I didn't know what to do," he said, his voice full of concern.

Kir quickly drained the glass, trying to ignore the fact he was at eye-level with Rain's not-so-little angel.

"You both passed out," Rain said. "I thought about getting a healer, but it's past midnight now and... Well... I didn't want to leave you two."

Kir raised the glass for more and Rain filled it. After he drank it down, he had Rain refill it before scooting across the bed and trying to get Kordia to drink.

It was a bit of an effort, but he got her to drink a little. Then he took his long-since fallen towel and poured some of the remaining water on it, using it to wipe Kordia down.

"You're alright, Rain," Kir smiled towards him. "Sit with us... we should both be here for her when she wakes up."

"She's going to be so happy," Rain moved onto the bed, his eyes flicking for a moment to Kir's sex. "You really do have one of those," he wondered a bit when Kir met his eyes.

Kir shrugged. "I didn't lie," he said. "But I guess I'm showing it to you much sooner than I thought..."

"When did you think...?" Rain asked as he settled on Kir's side.

"I don't know... maybe when we were the same age? I was waiting for something special..." Kir answered, shifting so that Rain could be the big spoon, passing Kir's tail over his knee so that they could both get comfortable. The feeling of Rain's massive pectorals across his shoulders reminded Kir that he'd just been completely drained of his mana. He was warm enough to make Kir feel just a bit sleepy, and Kir realized that his normally high body heat had departed along with his mana.

"This is pretty special," Rain said, bringing his hand to Kir's abs and gently rubbing his fingers along them. "If I wasn't tired I'd ask if you wanted to but-" he paused to yawn "-this is nice too."

Kir shifted just a bit, pressing backward into Rain's body until they were in as much contact as was comfortable. His tail, deciding to have a mind of its own, snaked down until it was lightly wrapped around Rain's ankle.

They breathed together, and after a short while Rain reached past Kir to pet one of Kordia's new tails. She let out a cute little moan, her breathing settling a bit more as the act comforted her. Kir followed suit, able to caress the nearest tail to him because he was closer.

As if telling them she wanted more, Kordia rolled onto her side, making it easier for them to marvel at the soft, warm fur that marked her power.

After a few moments, Kir asked Rain if he thought it would be okay to move closer to her. It took a bit of awkward shifting, but soon the three of them were laying sideways, Kir's arms wrapped around Kordia while Rainier reached over him to gently touch her shoulders.

They were naked and spent, but for Kir the intimacy of the moment, the feeling of absolute trust, more than quieted the lonely echoes of his unremembered past.

It wasn't long until he let himself close his eyes, feeling Rain's heartbeat at his back, and Kordia's under his hand. Wasn't long until he let his mind and senses drift... and drift... and...