Fianna kneels before Ember, and pulls her skirt off completely, tossing it aside and out of the pillow pit — while Maeve takes a seat on the other side of Camellia and whispers in her ear. She gets a little whisper back, and a small nod — and then she’s undoing Camellia’s bra, exposing her breasts to the room.

  Ember shivers. Far too te to back out now. Her hands tangle in Fianna’s hair and guide her in towards her sex, a frisson of fear and arousal going through her as she settles into what’s fast becoming an orgy. She leans in and kisses Camellia, and keeps petting and stroking her sensitive wings, even as Fianna presses in and touches her tongue to Ember’s sex.

  Ember lets out a harsh sigh as her sex is cimed, and leans heavily against Camellia — but she’s kissing back just as ardently as Ember is, her tongue tangling with Ember’s, her body flushed and hot with pleasure. Maeve hikes Camellia’s skirt next, and her hand slips in beneath Camellia’s panties, feeling the slick, wet heat beneath —

  Ember moans as she watches Maeve’s fingers slip into Camellia, the lewd sight completely spellbinding and made all the better by Fianna’s tongue inside her — then looks into Camellia’s eyes and grins. Camellia ducks her head, a little embarrassed to be seen, but one of her hands snakes out and starts btantly feeling up Ember’s breasts. Her palm grinds into Ember’s nipple and she shivers as Camellia’s nails dig into her sensitive breast.

  Ember keeps petting and stroking Camellia’s wings even as Maeve’s fingers work inside her — and then Maeve closes the square by reaching out with her other hand and grabbing a hard handful of Fianna’s sex, drawing a surprised gasp from her lips.

  Fuck, it’s really happening, all three of them. She gets to have them all — Fianna, Maeve, Camellia, all of them at once —

  It’s better than she ever imagined. The feeling of Fianna’s tongue inside her is exquisite, hot and wet and firm inside her sex, and if she’s not wrong longer than a human tongue should be, able to reach her g-spot and grind in hard with firm wet pressure; her body’s burning up, her breasts teased and tormented by Camellia’s hands, and watching Fianna’s fingers pump into Camellia and Fianna at the same time is fucking amazing. She’s going to get addicted to this, she’s sure of it — but isn’t that the point of them being students together? To get to have all this?

  Ember presses her lips to Camellia’s again as she approaches the edge, oversensitive and overwhelmed by the incredible situation, the fme in her responding eagerly to every touch and stroke and kiss and pinch —

  She comes, and for an instant she’s all four of them, EmberMaeveFiannaCamellia, united in one perfect gasping moment of star-bright pleasure and satisfaction — and then she falls away, her breath shaky and unsteady, her body shuddering as it comes down from the first intense peak.

  “Fuuuuuuck,” she groans, and her words are echoed by the other girls all around the circle; Camellia’s blushing up a storm and her panties have been stained through with her own juices, while Fianna’s colpsed onto her side, out of reach of Maeve’s fingers, and Maeve herself seems to have come on Camellia’s other hand —

  “This was a great idea,” Fianna speaks up after a moment. “Another round?”

  Ember ughs, and nods. “For sure!”

  Maeve’s gaze sweeps Fianna, Camellia, and Ember, and she nods and grins as well. “Fuck yes.”

  Even Camellia manages a blushy but very emphatic nod. “Please,” she gets out. “Please, more.”

  Ember knee-walks across the pillow pit, leaving Camellia and Fianna basking in their respective afterglows, and grabs Maeve hard, pulling her in hard against her body.

  "You're next," Ember purrs in Maeve's ear, and Maeve flushes, her hands slow to touch Ember's body. Ember doesn't wait for Maeve to catch up; she pushes her down, sending her falling back for the pillows to catch her, and presses her thigh firmly in between her legs as her hands catch Maeve's, pinning her down ft on her back with her legs entangled with Ember's. The press of her skin against her is a simple, animal joy, and her breath catches as her dominant side steps forward, the intent to torment, tease and tantalize sliding free of its sheath like a drawn sword.

  Maeve stares up into Ember's eyes and grins. "So you've got me," she says. "What are you going to do with me?"

  In answer, Ember lets go Maeve's left hand and slips her hand down to caress her cheek, then leans in and kisses her deeply and passionately. She grabs a handful of Maeve’s breast and strokes and teases it, then repces her hand with her mouth as her fingers slip down to grab a firm handful of Maeve’a ass. Her thigh grinds in firm against Maeve's clit and sex, her own clit grinding in hard already in a fre of friction and wonderful pressure.

  Maeve lets out a hard moan and presses back up into Ember, her own thigh bucking up to grind against Ember’s sex. "Fuck yes.” She grabs a handful of Ember’s ass with her free hand and pulls her in hard. "More!"

  Ember gives her more, building the rhythm, grinding in her thigh smooth and firm as her teeth mark Maeve's skin again and again. She's not gentle; she puts her whole weight on Maeve, pinning her completely to the floor beneath her, the press of body against body and breast against breast animal, primal, perfect.

  From the sidelines, Fianna lets out a soft whistle. "Go get her, Ember!" She ughs, and reaches out and gives Ember a firm sp on the ass. Ember jerks a little at the sp, then ughs and returns her focus to Maeve. Fianna’s not going to distract her that easily.

  Camellia giggles somewhere behind Ember, a coquettish tease in her tone. "Um, if you wanted to..."

  Fianna ughs as well. "Since you asked so nicely," she says, and pillows shift behind Ember, followed by a soft moan.

  A stab of jealousy goes through Ember as those soft sighs and moans in Camellia's voice start to redouble, but she grabs it and pushes it into her furnace of willpower, letting it fuel her to take Maeve apart even more throughly. It's a fair trade, after all, and she’d be a fool to expect monogamy from another Courtesan-to-be like herself.

  Instead, she bites down hard on Maeve's shoulder, channeling her frustration, and just barely doesn’t break skin. Maeve lets out a surprised gasp somewhere between pleasure and pain. Good. That's a good sound. She wonders if she can make her make that sound again...

  Ember grinds in harder, heat building against her clit, and keeps biting Maeve, drawing sharp gasp after sharp gasp from her lips; her own breath speeds up as she grinds in hot and liquid against Maeve's thigh, her own orgasm building, sweat bringing a hot flush to her body.

  The name spills from her lips, carried on a wave of heat and pleasure. "Maeve..."

  Maeve whispers back in Ember's ear: "Ember..."

  Ember feels a wave of warmth and breeding intent rush through her at that whispered word. She's ciming Maeve, like Maeve cimed her two short weeks ago, and it feels amazing to get her own back a little. She nips at Maeve's vulnerable throat and draws a sharp gasp from her lips, then grinds in another heavy roll of her hips with a growl in her throat. The heat between her legs spurs her on, makes her feel hot and eager and strong and on top, and she lets it take over as she cims Maeve’s body for herself.

  “Mine.” The word slips out before Ember can even think about it, old instincts from her two dozen one-night-stands resurging to the surface.

  Maeve moans and shudders in reply, fear and arousal mingling in her eyes, and presses up into Ember. "Yours! Close, close, close —"

  Ember grinds in firm and slow, adjusting her angle from long practice to produce the most friction possible, and drags her thigh across Maeve's clit in a long heavy stroke. "Beg for it."

  "Please, please, please, Ember, please, please let me come —"

  Ember dips her head, and cims Maeve's shoulder with her teeth one st time. With her teeth still in her skin, she speeds her rhythm, tasting copper, a low growl in the back of her throat as she grinds in hard and firm against Maeve. She's close, too, the fire in her close to spilling over, close to a blistering release that’ll knock the breath from her —

  Maeve lets out a hard gasp beneath her, and comes apart, her body shaking and trembling, her thighs bucking against Ember's, her whole body overwhelmed by Ember's ferocious assault. She squirms, almost fighting Ember, as if the orgasm were thrust upon her unwillingly.

  The sight and feeling of Maeve squirming under her is everything Ember wanted. Her whole body presses up against her, hot, electric, so firm against her — and as Maeve tips over the edge, so too does Ember, a heavy shock of electric pleasure bsting up from her sex to fry her brain and leave her panting and groaning against Maeve's shoulder.

  Maeve and Ember fall back to the pillows together as one, and Maeve lets out a deep and satisfied sigh. "Fuck," she manages. "Who knew you could be so ferocious..."

  Ember pulls back, off of Maeve, freeing her teeth from her skin. It looks like she actually broke skin on the st bite, but Maeve is already healing, skin knitting together before Ember's eyes as her kindled soul rejects the damage to her body that Ember unwittingly inflicted.

  Ember blushes and runs a hand through her hair. "Sorry," she says, embarrassed by the blood on Maeve’s shoulder despite the fact it draws her eye. It looks hot, but what it means is less good. “I got carried away there."

  Maeve ughs, straight-out. "Ha! Did you hear me compining at all?"

  Ember ughs too, and nods. "Alright, alright."

  Come to think of it, what are Fianna and Camellia doing right now —

  Ember looks over her shoulder, and what she sees knocks the breath right out of her. Camellia's spreadeagled against the side of the pillow pit with Fianna's tongue buried deep in her sex, and from the noises that are spilling from her mouth she's very close to orgasm herself.

  "Fuck, Fianna, gods yes, close, close, take me cim me, make me come —"

  Ember finds her gaze transfixed on Camellia's face, so close to orgasm. That could be her, tasting her, touching her —

  Ember presses a fist to her face to hide her huge smile. Fuck, it's good to see Camellia enjoying herself. What a show. She's just going to have to make sure her turn's next, that's all. To taste her and cim her like that, to taste her juices on her tongue.

  In fact —

  Ember disentangles herself from Maeve, and quickly crawls across the pillow pit to Camellia's side. She takes Camellia's free hand and kisses her shoulder, grinning at her from up close.

  "Fuck, you look gorgeous," Ember says. "Feels good, doesn't it?" Her gaze falls to where Fianna is eating Camellia’s sex, her mouth fully occupied as she licks and suckles and slurps away, lewd noises drifting from her mouth with every stroke of her tongue.

  Camellia manages a shaky nod, her whole body flushed with heat, her breath rushing and falling as she struggles on the edge.

  "Go ahead," Ember says. "Come. You gave me my turn with Maeve, so you deserve a reward." And she deserves to get to see Camellia cim it.

  Ember reaches out and strokes a hand along Fianna's back, her fingers dancing over her skin. "Isn't that right, Fianna?"

  Fianna lets out a muffled mm, her tongue still buried deep in Camellia's sex. That's probably a yes, right?

  Ember smiles. "See? Fianna agrees with me. So..." She looks deep into Camellia's eyes, predatory intent fixing her gaze to Camellia’s, and squeezes Camellia’s hand hard. "Come. Come for me — no, for all of us. Come like the good girl you are."

  Camellia squeezes Ember's hand back, and for a moment her sensation spills across the touch — incredible, burning pleasure centered between her legs, Fianna's overlong tongue pressing in so perfectly against her g-spot, her whole body overwhelmed — and then the orgasm takes her, and Ember is left to watch her convulse and gasp out a harsh, shuddering climax on Fianna's tongue, spending herself breath by breath as her thighs shudder and twitch.

  It's perfect.

  Then Fianna pulls herself up from between Camellia’s legs and presses a kiss to Ember’s lips, the faintly-peachy taste of Camellia still on her tongue. She grabs Ember’s ass and pulls her in close.

  “Thief,” she accuses, a wry smile on her lips. “You let me do all the work and then you cim the credit.” She takes Ember’s hand and presses it in between her own legs, her own sex dripping wet and hot beneath Ember’s “Come on, then, reward me properly too then.~”

  Ember ughs, and pulls Fianna in close, pressing her in between her legs. “Of course,” she purrs, and kisses her deeply, tongue tangling with hers. Her hand slips in deeper, stroking and caressing, her fingers worming deeper into Fianna’s sex and grinding against her g-spot from inside. Fianna’s eyes flutter closed, and she lets out a soft but heartfelt yes in a breath.

  Fianna reciprocates, her hand pressing in against Ember’s pussy by feel, and starts to grind in two fingers to either side of Ember’s clit, teasing and rubbing, driving her crazy with delicate touches.

  “Fuck,” Ember breathes. “You’re so good at that, you know that?”

  “Ishaza’s taught me a lot,” Fianna replies with a grin; her pace redoubles, the heel of the hand pressing in as her fingers slip between Ember’s lower lips, and then she presses in and kisses Ember again, slowly building a rhythm of deep, slick thrusts of her fingers, drawing soft gasps and shocks of pleasure from Ember.

  As Ember and Fianna’s rhythm builds, Camellia pulls them both in close and wraps her wings around them, one hand on each of their asses and a teasing smile on her face.

  “Come on, now,” she says. “Surely you didn’t think I was done?~”

  Ember giggles and kisses her maybe-girlfriend, then Fianna again, and by unspoken agreement Ember’s other hand goes to Camellia’s sex while Fianna’s free hand starts feeling up her breasts. It’s so good to get to have them both. She could really get used to this.

  Camellia shudders, her body still oversensitive from her st orgasm, and presses in close against Camellia and Fianna, cradling them in as her breathing starts to hitch and rush. Her body is feverishly hot against Ember’s, her heartbeat fast, and her soft wing presses in like a living bnket against Ember’s back and shoulders, making her feel enfolded, embraced, wanted. It’s perfect.

  To the sound of Camellia’s shuddering breaths and the feeling of her hands groping her ass, Ember builds her own rhythm, grinding her fingers in hard inside both Camellia and Fianna’s sexes, mirroring the motions from one to the other; Fianna in turn gasps and kisses at her neck, teeth digging in, and they press in against each other and Camellia, the heat in their sexes building, closer, closer, closer, burningly hot, intense, needy —

  Ember pushes herself away from burning the sheets, cmping down on her desire to orgasm, and kisses Camellia again, a little slower, taking her time. God it’s so good, she wants to savour this, wants to linger like this forever. That’s okay, right? It’s not like she can get trapped in sex like she’d get trapped in an orgasm.

  She drives a high gasp from Camellia’s mouth, and as her body shudders and her wings press Ember in hard against her, Ember finds her own arousal surging once more. Gosh, it sounds like she just came… Well then, she’d better make Fianna come fast, shouldn’t she?

  She pushes on harder, speeding the rhythm, and Fianna starts to gasp and shudder, her own climax coming on fast; Ember’s not far behind her, moans spilling from her mouth as Fianna’s fingers press and stroke inside her, her control just barely enough to not set the pillows on fire. She bites Fianna’s neck, careful to stay above her colr of welts, and Fianna gasps out hard and firm and shudders against her, pressing her body in within Camellia’s wings for every scrap of friction she can get —

  Ember lets out a high gasp of her own as electric pleasure leaps up from her clit and burns through her mind, her enhanced body still more intensely pleasurable than she’s used to — then grinds in a st few strokes as Fianna groans out her own orgasm against her, her thighs shuddering and jerking with pleasure.

  The three of them y there in a heap inside Camellia’s wings for a long moment, then Ember pulls back and sits up, her breath heavy and slow. Miraculously, the pillows are fine. Whew.

  Then her gaze rises from the stained pillows, and comes to meet Maeve’s.

  Maeve’s lying on her back across the circle, her fingers pying and teasing at her clit, a lewd and eager smile on her face as she watches and casually masturbates. Her fingers are wet with her own juices and she’s craning her neck to get the best view of the action.

  “My,” she says. “That was such a show.” She rolls her thumb across her clit and lets out a sigh. “You three had better not be done yet.” She grins, and comes across the circle to join the others in their press into Camellia’s soft wings.

  Camellia lets out a soft coo as Maeve settles in behind Fianna, and pulls her close as well, wrapping her in hard.

  “So,” Maeve says. “Another round?”

  Fianna ughs. “For sure.” And she rolls over atop Camellia and presses her thigh into Maeve’s sex.

  Ember snuggles into Camellia’s wing, soft and gentle, and smiles to herself as her hands go up to Fianna’s breasts.

  She has a feeling this is going to st a while.

  ~*~

  The next morning, the four students stumble downstairs in an uncoordinated jumble, drowsy but very, very satisfied. Ishaza is seated in the pillow pit in the center of the dorm room, sipping at a cup of chai tea and looking very smug.

  “I hope you all had a good evening’s rest,” she says. She arches an eyebrow.

  Maeve and Fianna look at each other, and Fianna tries to smooth down Maeve’s hair where she’s got a truly astonishing case of bedhead. Ember chuckles, and pulls Camellia close, not minding if Ishaza knows. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, after all, and… She wants to try.

  “We had a nice night, yes,” Ember volunteers.

  “Wonderful,” Ishaza says. “I’m gd to see you’re all taking to your studies with enthusiasm.” Her gaze flicks over to Maeve’s bedhead and some of the lipstick-marks still left on her neck from st night, then she turns her attention back to Ember. “Come and join me for tea?”

  “Of course,” Ember says, sitting down across from Ishaza in the pillow pit. The other students pile in as well, and Camellia pours cups of tea for everyone from the provided tea set.

  Ishaza’s gaze falls to the silver fme pin at Ember’s pel.

  “So,” she says. “Congratutions. You’ve made it through the worst. There are still questions of long-term stability to address —” Her gaze flicks to Fianna’s still raw-looking wrists “— But all of you have done what you came here to do. You are kindled, and whatever you should choose to become now — pyromancer, prostitute, pywright or physician — you do it with the Guild as your quiet companion. It will be some time before you are allowed back in the company of commoners, should you stay; there is still much to learn. How to control your powers to sense and heal the soul, how to prevent yourselves from overspilling with lust, how to portray the guild in a good light to the public — but all these matters are small compared to what you have all managed over the st few weeks, and I have every faith that you will all succeed and become true Courtesans. You’ve all proven you have the skill and drive to succeed.”

  She takes a small cube of sugar from her tea-set and settles it in her teacup. Bowing her head, she pauses for a moment, in contemption or perhaps prayer.

  “Some few trainees stop here for years. They are immortal now; they have all the time in the world to learn, and Kindling is a messy and complex business. Better to approach it again when they have had time to grow more. I followed that path myself, and would not bar it to any of you all. But I have a sense, from what I heard st night coming down the hallway, that you all are in this together till the end. So let us begin our instruction once more; and may you all become the true and strong Courtesans you are meant to be.”

  Ishaza lifts her head, and toasts the gathered students with her teacup. “Welcome to your third year. May the Founder’s spirit bless and guide you; and may all who you love love you in return.”

  Ember looks over at Camellia, and squeezes her hand; Camellia looks back, and squeezes in return, a small smile on her face.

  Camellia raises her teacup. “To love.”

  Ember toasts back. “To love and true companionship.”

  Maeve raises her own teacup. “To love, and to learning.”

  Fianna toasts as well. “To show all those who doubted us.”

  Ishaza is the first to drink, and all the students follow her example. Her tea-cup settles back on its saucer with a definite click.

  “Now, let us begin. The deliberate closing and opening of one’s empathic channels…”

  And the dance goes on.

  goth_dropping_in