Normally, I drop hints to the episode of the series a certain chapter falls in if it does. I don't feel the need to share this at the beginning because I follow the episode content strictly but in this encounter I have altered it a bit so it may be confusing. This occurs during the episode, 'Buzz-off's Pride,' and I know he doesn't appear to sustain any damage. However, getting the crap beat of you by giants and getting hit by a giant with a hammer through a forest and finally ending up under a pile of trees tends to be painful. The damage I have mentioned in this chapter is a result of that encounter in my eyes.

Chapter WARNING-Some sexual content.

Chapter 21-Enlighten Me

Comfort… Confusion—Panic! Struggle. Heat… Waning Panic… Darkness. Realization. Acceptance… Tranquility.

Beautiful, discerning eyes penetrate her very soul. A tender caress upon a cheek and an oh so soft brush of lips. Smiles exchanged, stomachs fluttering, no words were spoken for a long while.

That deep, resonating voice finally broke the silence, "Morning."

"Morning."

"We have about an hour and a half before we will both need to leave. You should feed, and then we will shower afterwards. I know Man-E will be able to smell you on me and I would assume so can Beastman."

Tris only nodded in response. She wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking when he said she would feed until his claws readily slid up her body. His touch left a trail of sensitized skin behind, the feeling almost indescribable as she shuddered under his gentle ministrations. His mouth moved up, teeth grazing the bare skin of her neck ever so gently and her eyes closed of their own accord.

Buzz-off's lips pulled at the flesh here and there, playing with the velvety smoothness. Knowing she could easily repair it, the Andreenid ran one sharp claw down the corset slowly, splitting it in half. The material gave a quiet sigh as it fell open revealing her ample chest. He wanted to touch her, by the Elders did he want to. He wanted to smooth the backs of his claws along her sensitive nipples, to squeeze and rub at the mounds of flesh and watch as the female he so desired writhed in pleasure.

He gave a lingering glance at her perfect breasts but moved on without touching. It had been a hard decision to make but he decided to sacrifice all indulgences beyond what she absolutely needed to feed until some questions were answered.

Licking a wet line down the flat stomach in front of him, his tongue dipped underneath the edge of her skirt. He played there for a few moments loving the slight shivers and clenching of the nearby muscles he received in response. Knowing he wouldn't be able to contain himself if he lingered, Buzz-off pulled her skirt and undergarments down, but moved quickly to kiss down her thighs and then let up to fully remove the clothing. Lastly, he loosened the various buckles on her boots and ran his claws all along the backs of her calves as he pulled them off.

Perfection isn't even good enough, he thought surveying the female's nude form, and yet, so different from everything I have always been attracted to. Logically speaking, he knew the reaction was what her species was bred to elicit in others, but he still had trouble believing it. His breathe sucked in sharply as the beautiful female bit at her bottom lip in an open display of anticipation. He emitted a low, buzzing growl involuntarily and watched her shiver with knowing, eyes still closed and head turned to the side.

Calming himself, Buzz-off stripped her gloves, the last garments to go, and then picked up the excited female. She was hot to the touch, her arousal easily detectable on the air, and every part of him was screaming to claim her now, but that was not his intention. Her form molded to the front of his, legs wrapping around his waist, and her eyes finally opened, the desire in them evident. He wanted her, he did, but he needed time, time to think and there were still too many things about her that he did not yet understand.

Buzz-off moved his claw up to cradle her face just for a moment and then he carried her into the bathroom and set her down.

Honestly surprised by his control, Tris had not expected him to stop after undressing her. She had consumed little flicks of energy from his aura but nothing substantial yet, so she was curious where this was leading. "Buzz-off…" but he hushed her before she could get more words out. When the water was at an apparently acceptable temperature, he beckoned her closer and then she followed him in as he stepped under the spray.

Tris was thinking at some point Buzz-off would take her but that never happened. As soon as they were inside, he turned her away from him and slowly spread water along, lavishing her body, exploring it, but never touching her intimately. He repeated the whole process again with soap, each gentle scrape of his deadly claws against her soft, soft skin feeling like beautiful torture, and then all the sensations stopped.

She turned to find him washing himself seemingly lost in thought, eyes staring off into space. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, her hands moved to his body rubbing the soap along just as he had done for her. Those piercing eyes followed her movements but he never moved to touch her again. Expecting him to release his manhood at the stimulation, Tris rubbed the soap lower and slowly sank to her knees in front of him. Being that she didn't know how it worked, it wasn't exactly like she could get him to attention without his help. Perhaps some sort of panel that slides open to allow his erection to extend.

Her eyes drifted to his face and the expression she found there was both cocky and amused; he knew exactly what she wanted. It was both frustrating because she wanted him so much, but she was also kind of turned on by this game he was playing. Anticipation always made things better anyways, right?

When he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her up, Tris strained forward for a kiss thinking she was finally going to get what she wanted.

Smirking, the Andreenid obliged her, lips meeting gently, but only moments later he pulled back and said, "Feed." Before she could respond, he kissed her again.

I'm so confused, she thought not understand why he was asking her to drain his energy instead of having sex with her. Breaking the kiss, she tried to speak, "Buzz-off, I thought—" but he cut her off by lifting her up and crushing their bodies together, mouth viciously attacking hers.

His movements became more dominating, his mouth, teeth, and claws rougher as he kissed her like it was the last thing he would ever do. Yanking her head backwards, he repeated, "Feed," in a low growl.

Tris couldn't help her instant and overwhelming arousal at his rough treatment and commanding tone. Their mouths met again, tongues sliding across one another and it was too much for her to resist. She began to feed. She fed and fed, pulling the sweet energy from his strong body and reveling in both his unique taste as well as the power that danced along her nerve fibers as she consumed him.

Tris felt his body weaken just enough, the signal that anymore lost would be detrimental to his performance the rest of the day, and she let him go. He staggered backwards, ending with his back and wings pressed into the wall of the shower as he breathed heavily.

Her eyes blazed and her mind was brimming with power as she considered her still one-time lover. He had tasted great as he always did, but as she came down from her high and arousal beginning to taper off, she felt extremely disappointed and confused that he had withheld sex from her.

When they were both calmer and closer to their normal states, they quickly finished rinsing off and returned to the bedroom to dress. "It's about time to go."

"Yes," she replied quietly noticing how distracted he seemed even with while he stared right at her.

"I will see you again tomorrow night."

"Why not tonight?" she asked dismayed by the news that he would not be returning tonight.

"I cannot afford to be tired every day and I have things I must attend to in Andreenos. Besides you are less likely to be detected if you are not sneaking out every night."

Tris knew there was logic in his words but something felt wrong about this entire situation. "Ok," she replied hesitantly.

"Good. Until tomorrow then." He gave her another chaste kiss and then walked out.

She waited a little while not sure what to think about the events that had just occurred, but she could ponder the Andreenid's strange behavior once she returned to Snake Mountain. Tris left the room and headed for the front to see if Zeke was up since she wanted to say goodbye before she departed.

"Good morning," he greeted from behind the front desk as soon as she came out of the hall.

She gave him a small smile. "Good morning."

"Hmm, not so much, huh?"

Taking a moment to decipher his statement she asked, "What makes you say that?"

"I saw him walk out earlier looking… contemplative. Now that I see you as well, I confirm my suspicion that something has happened between you two that was unexpected. Hopefully not something unpleasant?"

"Everyone here is so perceptive. Truthfully, I'm trying to figure out myself exactly what happened."

"Have you two been together long?"

"No. I mean… we're not together, not really. We had sex once but that turned out to be a bad idea at the time. Now though, I thought things would be different but he… I don't know."

"I will venture a guess and say that his queen is not exactly welcoming?"

"No. How did you know?"

"I didn't really but I assumed since this meeting was obviously a secret. Plus, it is not often that you see couples made up of different species, especially not those that are as different as you two happen to be." Zeke seemed to think better of his words and added, "I'm not judging or anything, it's just how it is here. I don't see anything wrong with it as long as it's consensual."

"I don't know what will happen but we will be here again tomorrow night so—"

"I should say good luck. You're gonna need it."

That statement made her laugh and was enough to lift her spirits at the moment. "Yes, thank you. You know, where I come from it is acceptable to be open about your feelings at any given time and you seem to live by that philosophy as well. So here it goes, Zeke… I am very fortunate to have a friend like you. You somehow always know exactly what to say."

"And I am glad to know you as well. You have enabled me to better my situation and for that I am ever grateful. Not to mention I like seeing you. You're so frickin' hot."

Laughing again, she barely managed to get out, "Alright, now I'm going."

The next week passed by as a blur. Tris met Buzz-off at the inn every other night and it was always the same story. They wouldn't speak much; he seemed just content to stare at her until they fell asleep. In the morning, he would undress her and she would feed from his aura and from his lips. They would take a shower and then it was over, back to the rest of the day.

The rest of her day consisted of learning to cook, cleaning Snake Mountain, and most importantly, avoiding Tri-klops. She couldn't face him at the moment, perhaps not ever, because there would never be an excuse good enough for what she had done to him. She allowed him glimpses as she moved about back and forth passing by his lab often in the performance of her duties, but she made sure to never be in the same room as him.

Unlike her interactions with Tri-klops, which were actually non-existent, she made an effort to spend a lot of time with Mer-man, Evil-lyn, and Trap-jaw. Her social behavior was the best way to remain inconspicuous being that everyone saw her enough during the day that they left her alone at night.

Skeletor and Evil-lyn were getting along really well and all of Snake Mountain was more peaceful for it. Skeletor had renewed his efforts to take over Eternia according to Evil-lyn. No new plans had been formed yet but Tris was sure he would come up with something especially wicked soon enough. She could only hope that it would cause as little harm to the Masters as possible.

The whole situation was conflicting because she knew that Skeletor was 'the bad guy' but it didn't feel that way. Tris had come to care for members on both sides of this war and that made things more complicated. When I find my stones… I have no idea what I will do. At first, finding her lost property was the only thing that mattered but then she started to think, what then? What am I supposed to do after that?

She cared not about this war but there were reasons to help either side. It was only a delusion to think she could maintain friendships on both sides and remain unaligned. I would be happy to stay with Buzz-off but my position as his lover is just as precarious as my position here. Then again, a small part of her recognized that she would forever want Tri-klops. After all, it was in her nature to seek out multiple lovers.

Turning her thoughts away from her emotional state, she decided to focus on the here and now. This included the cleaning of her room and Evil-lyn, who had stopped by for a moment at her request. "Hey, do you think I could get some stuff? Mainly I just need a bed and a mirror. Oh, and I was wondering if you could help me create a separate room with a bathing pool in the back."

"Yes, because I have nothing better to do than decorate your bedroom."

Tris simply stared at the other woman with a neutral look although she really was hoping the 'you owe me' vibe was getting across.

"Fine, but let's make this quick." Evil-lyn lifted her staff and the air became heavier almost instantly. Her eyes glowed with that intense purple light as the rock surface of the far wall and floor began to shift. The rock curled up at the corners into a four-poster style frame and a soft cushioned surface began to spring up from the bottom. Next to the forming bed, the wall also began to shift revealing a large rectangular pane of glass.

It took a matter of seconds for the magic to complete, but the resulting bed the witch had created was only big enough for two full grown adults, which was disappointing; she should have been more specific. It was unadorned thankfully as she would enjoy creating some nice accessories and further decorating it. "Thank you."

"Yes, yes. Let's do the bathing pool so I can get out of here."

Leading her to the appropriate area, Tris showed the other woman the dimensions of the room she wanted and where the bathing pool itself would go. Tris could do all of this herself but two things stopped her: the energy requirements and the others witnessing her powers. Some part of her was still sure it was better to reveal as little as possible for the time being.

"The other bathing pools were already here when we took over the mountain; there needs to be lava running below the area at exactly the right depth or the bath will not heat properly."

"There is a lava line below; I can feel it," she said absentmindedly. Evil-lyn's gaze snapped to her and Tris recognized her error. Five seconds after I think about how I shouldn't reveal too much. Oh the irony. "It needs to go six feet deep and I would like it to be ten feet in diameter. I also want steps going into it on the side facing the door and a ledge on the inside so I can sit down," she continued trying to distract the other female.

"Well, you don't ask for much do you? Whatever." Evil-lyn repeated her previous actions and Tris looked about as the rock parted and altered itself under the woman's spell. The magic dissipated and the two were left standing in the doorway to the newly formed room, a large empty hole in the middle of the floor. "And how do you expect to fill it?"

"I've got a plan." She didn't add anything else hoping the sorceress would just leave.

"Well?"

Sighing, Tris once again revealed more than she wished. "I'm going to connect it through the underground water system that supplies the other pools. It will cycle just like a natural hot spring."

Evil-lyn didn't depart after that as she had hoped and the witch gave her a condescending smirk. "So if you have that kind of power why did you ask me to do all this work for you?"

Tris stayed silent and Evil-lyn stayed put. Crap. She wants to see me use my power. Figuring the witch wasn't going to leave until she was satisfied, Tris gave up and turned toward the pool. Allowing her magic to flow forth, she felt a gentle wind press outward from her thin frame. Her eyes swirled with color as the magic filled her and she reached outward with it, feeling for the underground stream. Once she had located it, she slowly started to funnel it toward the pool by chiseling away at the surrounding rock and forming a pathway.

It was not a difficult task, just tedious. The tunnel needed to be the right size and far enough away from the lava to carry the heat efficiently and terminate inside the pool at the right temperature. Too hot would not bother her but would preclude others from joining her if she so desired.

Evil-lyn was busy studying the girl's paltry magic. Expecting much more from the 'great power,' the level of magic that filled the room was pitiful. There was a chance that the girl was holding back but that was unlikely. Her statement earlier did peak the other woman's interests though as being able to 'feel' the lava was a strange way to phrase something. Unless she truly means she can feel it. Magically maybe?

Evil-lyn was also mildly astonished, even though she would never admit it, of the girl's ability to create the water channel. The magic itself was not difficult, but the fact that she had to create something in an area where she could not see and that it must be done in relation to other objects occupying the same space was impressive.

When the girl was finally done, a small spring slowly but surely filled the pool. The girl's power gradually receded until once again she was magically dead. Why does the magic totally leave? It was an unusual occurrence and one that she had personally never come across. I must think about this.

The entertainment and fact-finding mission over, Evil-lyn took her leave deciding to tell Skeletor of what she had just learned. Their lord would want to know of any development regarding their guest, however small, and the sorceress was always in the mood to please her master.

Skeletor watched from the throne as his third-in-command tinkered with some new invention. The swordsmen had turned from openly content to unendingly foul in record time. He was in fact so unpleasant at the moment that the others wouldn't even be in the same room with him. Not that it was too difficult to avoid him as he had all but locked himself away in that damn lab. The sorcerer had demanded that the other man work in the throne room today as he was going to have a meeting whenever Evil-lyn arrived. Speak of the devil.

The woman walked in just then looking as lovely and lethal as ever. She stalked over to the bottom of the throne and gracefully situated herself into a reclined position.

"Where is the girl?"

The witch continued examining her nails as if bored with the question. "Still fixing up her room."

"Good. We must have a discussion about the little trollop. First off, her work to make Snake Mountain more habitable is going well although the smell still offends me. Tri-klops, I want you to build something to fix that."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You're the damn inventor, figure it out you useless buffoon!"

"Right."

"Now, anything new to report about our guest?" His eyes were still on Tri-klops so the inventor probably took it as a hint to speak first.

"Nothing since our last discussion, Lord Skeletor. I have not spent much time with her lately."

Skeletor could hear the venom behind the words, good confirmation that they were not sleeping together as he had assumed once the swordsmen's behavior had changed. Skeletor was led to consider why though as the girl had definitely been interested previously. "Evil-lyn?" he asked moving his gaze to the sorceress.

"I have witnessed a few things of interest about the girl, just today in fact." Evil-lyn proceeded to tell the story of the day's events. "I do not believe she even needed my help to do the renovations. I think she didn't want anyone to see her using magic nor question where everything had come from if she had done it by herself in secret."

"A skilled magician but you say not very powerful?"

"No, the girl is weak. The only remarkable thing about her magic is how unremarkable it is. I have never met a spellcaster who is so feeble nor one who's magic leaves completely when not in use."

"Interesting indeed. Has anyone noticed that the girl's behavior has changed as of late?"

"What do you mean?"

"Quite the social little worm now and yet does not seem attracted to anyone as she was previously." His eyes strayed to Tri-klops briefly then he continued, "I have also been keeping an eye on her and she searches Snake Mountain for something, which she conveniently passes off as simple cleaning."

"You believe the girl knows we have the stones?"

"I believe the girl suspects but has yet to find any evidence of this."

"Hmm. They are magically concealed so it is quite doubtful that she will ever find them. I don't think it's a problem but what do you suggest, my lord?"

"I had a plan set forth that would terminate with me revealing the stones to her quite soon but there has been a minor setback. For now we must keep a closer eye on her. Some of us seem to have gotten much too comfortable with her presence forgetting that she is indeed our prisoner. Dismissed." Skeletor watched as Tri-klops swiftly retrieved his tools and left while instead, Evil-lyn slunk up the throne steps. She stopped just out of reach, leaning against the warm rock. "Something to add Evil-lyn? Must be good for you to defy my orders."

"Just wondering about your intentions?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Lord Skeletor, Bringer of Pain and Overlord of Evil, playing matchmaker? Seems a little off to me."

"Clever though you are, dear Evil-lyn, you miss the bigger picture. There is something special about that girl and whenever it is revealed, I would have her on our side instead of against us. If I must get Tri-klops to fuck her to accomplish that then I will."

"So your plan is to get them together, hope she is then content to remain here, and reveal the stones to her afterwards. Genius but risky, what if she does not wish to remain here?"

"Then we will persuade her… by any means necessary."

"I see, and you saw fit to pair her with Tri-klops instead of anyone else." Whether that was a question or statement he could not decipher.

"He is interested. She seemed interested. No one else is suitable except for me and I am unavailable." Skeletor waited patiently as Evil-lyn seemed to be evaluating his words. She went to speak and he suddenly pulled her onto his lap stopping her next sentence. "You should not doubt yourself. It is unbecoming."

Evil-lyn was trying her best to form words but his hands were already roaming her athletic body. "What do y-you… mean?" His hand yanked her head to the side at a sharp angle, his long canines grazing her neck. Without warning he bit down into the exposed flesh causing Evil-lyn to cry out half in pain, half in pleasure.

"You still have reservations about my intentions toward you?" he thought using his magic to amplify and reverberate his voice throughout the empty thrown room. The question itself was laced with accusation and threat.

"No, my—Aahh!" His teeth closed like a vice and blood welled up in the punctures removing the pleasure she had previously felt. "My lord… I d-don't…" she tried again, but he was not in the mood to entertain her lies. His jaw worked back and forth moving the embedded teeth just enough to cause pain but not shred the flesh.

Finally, the truth escaped her as a low breathy whisper, "Yes."

Immediately, he halted all movements rewarding her honesty and projected, "Why?"

"She is everything a man could want and more, plus she is subservient and under your command. You have shown a distinct interest and I only managed to barely stop you once."

"All true but if I wanted subservient I wouldn't want you, now would I?" Skeletor pulled back completely and his magic flooded the wound, instantly removing the pain and gradually healing the punctures. His mouth returned to the pale skin but this time more gently. Grazing but never bruising, his teeth moved along her neck and shoulders while his claws dragged along her back massaging the smooth flesh.

"As much a-as I would love to outshine… your performance w-with the girrrrl on this throne, I think… we should take this to your quarters."

"As you wish," he said with an edge of humor in his voice. Knowing she would be completely unprepared for it, Skeletor stood up and tossed the woman over his shoulder.

"You bastard!" she shouted at him sounding as indignant and outraged as she possibly could being held upside down. "Put me down this instant."

His hand caressed her ass as he spoke, "I must say you look undignified in this position and I rather like it." The sorcerer walked down the stairs and out the door cackling while the struggling figure shrieked at him and rained measly blows down his back.

Tris made her way to the town as she had done the previous nights, each time taking a different path and creating a different disguise. I'm enjoying myself, she thought trying to convince herself of that fact. She was, kind of, because their time together was nice, but she desired something else entirely and he frustratingly withheld it from her every time.

Besides, I can't keep this up forever. Eventually I will be discovered and this will be over. I'll have to speak with him about it soon, but she was hesitant. Tris didn't want to face the obvious outcome, this wasn't going to work and if she made him realize that by questioning him tonight, would they end whatever this thing between them had become? Before she could come up with any logical answer to that question, her destination was already in sight.

Sighing, Tris breezed through the town and into the inn at a rapid pace. "Hey, Zeke."

"Hey. He's already in the room," replied Zeke, face portraying something that she could not discern.

"Thanks. Have a good night," she said with a lilt unable to hold the curiosity out of her voice.

"You too," and he winked trying to play off his earlier mood.

"Well I'm sure as hell going to try." Without further delay, the girl padded down the hall and slipped inside the room. "Hey," she said before turning around.

"Hey," came an almost strained reply.

Tris faced the voice and was bewildered by the sight; Buzz-off looked like someone had tried to kill him. His skin was battered and torn, nasty bruises in all sorts of colors forming almost everywhere she looked. There were cuts littering his body and some deep gashes across his torso. Worst of all, Tris could see that one of his wings was bent near the bottom and the other was a bit crumpled. Flying must have hurt him greatly. "Oh, Buzz-off," and she started toward him.

"I'm fine. It's not as bad as it looks." He went around to the other side of the bed to stare out the open window.

Tris noticed he was favoring one leg and leaned against the window sill for support. "Yes, it is, and your beautiful wings. What happened?"

"Some trouble in Veridas today but it doesn't matter."

"You shouldn't have come. Not in such a condition."

"I didn't want you to think that something had happened to me when I didn't show up or worse think I was standing you up."

Tris couldn't help her sad laughter. "Buzz-off, standing me up is not worse than you being hurt." She wanted to embrace him but figured it would hurt so only lightly touched his arm. He seemed to get the idea and listlessly sat on the bed gesturing for her to sit next to him. Tris closed the window and curtains, stared at him for a moment, and then made a decision. Slowly and as gently as possible she straddled his lap.

"Tris, I'm really not in—" but her lips drowned out his words. She kissed him softly, glad that his lips were undamaged, and waited for him to relax. Tris busied him with her lips while she pushed energy into his body and searched around to ascertain the worst of his damage. His wings were her first priority but he also had internal bruising that would take a long time to heal naturally and two cracked ribs. One of the muscles in his left leg was torn but beside that it was not overly damaged.

Feeling along his left wing, she repaired each misalignment one by one. Every fiber had to be straightened and reformed at the damaged site. The crushed flight and sensor cells associated with the fibers had to be restored through removal and rapid re-growth. It was time-consuming and tedious, but after many minutes the wing lay straight and perfect against his back.

Tris turned her attention to the bent wing next. There were broken filaments and a few damaged nerves that had to be reconstructed but it was in better condition than the crumpled wing. The bruising, both internal and external, was easier to repair; she simply had to remove the spilt blood and cause vasoconstriction in the area to reduce the inflammation.

Her reserves were almost gone by the time she finished with them and moved on to his ribs. Luckily they were only cracked and not splintered. The magic enveloped each rib and new bone grew in to replace the old. She turned to the gashes along his stomach and felt with her fingers as the skin sewed itself under her influence until it was perfect again.

Pulling back slowly, Tris felt her drained state immediately but knew that she would be okay until she could feed in the morning per their usual routine. Her face turned upward to his and she found him looking both surprised and impressed.

"You are… incredible."

Tris smiled happily in her weakened state wishing to stay in the moment forever, but she saw his face wilt around the edges. I never get what I want. "Buzz-off, this past week has been great but… I want you, all of you. I want you to do whatever you want to me. I want to feel your mouth upon by lips and your claws upon my body. I want to feel you push inside of me, to fill me up and pound me into the bed. I want to scream your name as you spill yourself inside me. Tell me I can have you." Tris could feel his aura flare with arousal at her words but his face stayed somber.

"Tris," the tone saying more than enough. "We need to talk."

"You know, I have read that that statement always ruins everything."

Buzz-off smiled sadly. "Maybe, but still…"

"What's wrong? Why have you agreed to meet me if you don't want me?"

"I do want you."

"Then why have you not taken me. All of these perfect opportunities and I leave wanting each morning," she said letting her frustration with that fact clearly fill her voice.

"I have been thinking about us for some time and… there are things I need to know, things I need to understand about you before I am willing to have a relationship."

Tris looked up at that. A relationship? "You mean—"

"I would tell the Masters and my queen that we are together and accept the consequences. I can only do this if I think the consequences are worth it and to make that decision, like I said, there are some questions I need answered."

"Ok." Outwardly she appeared calm and collected but inside there was turmoil, lots of turmoil, and some excitement.

"Ok, you'll answer my questions?"

"Yes," she replied with only slight hesitation.

"Ok. First off, what's in the remaining stones?"

"Um…"

"Don't lie to me. It would be a shame if you did right after you said you would answer my questions."

Tris blew out some air and then decided she could let this information go since he already knew so much. "There are four of them. One of them contains, Zryfenrhyze, my dragon. I'd give you a translation for his name, but there isn't one in your language. Two others each contain one hound, a Tazllolian named Harlequin and a Dh-borne named Twins. Much like the Zahhkse who evolved in coordination with dragons, the Dh and Tazllol evolved alongside a companion species of hounds. Normally, you only have one or the other but I have one of each—"

"Because you are mixed."

"I assume. The general purpose of a hound is to make the partner more powerful but each hound contributes different abilities based on their partner's needs. The last stone just contains all of my material possessions."

"So, you are searching for your stones with such tenacity just to get back your pets and some trinkets?"

"No," she gritted out between clenched teeth, "I want to find my lost partners; they are a part of me like you could never understand." Tris was not enthused to find him mocking her about this. "Next?"

He could probably tell everything wasn't fine but continued on anyway. "From everything I have heard about your needs and what I have witnessed for myself, your energy gets drained quickly and needs to be replenished often. More than one person can supply." Buzz-off seemed tentative as if he didn't want to ask the question. "Can… can I support you alone?"

Tris truly wanted to lie to save his feelings but this conversation was important and he needed all of the facts. "Yes and no. My 'pets', as you have so kindly labeled them, have abilities to help me conserve energy. I will not need to feed as often nor waste as much to maintain myself if I find them. And you know that I can feed off others when they lust after me, no touching needed."

"But?"

"But… I will always want others. I can be in a committed relationship with you but I will come across others that I will want to pursue, aggressively sometimes. For this reason and in case of emergency it is generally expected that my mate will choose others for me to be with when needed. If I am allowed outlets then I will not be easily swayed by others and less likely to stray. Also, you may get too drained feeding me all the time and already, trying to live by your society's rules has me feeling drained all the time."

"So the answer is no then?"

"Well, you could but there are the previously mentioned downsides."

"So…"

"So basically a few times a month I will need to feed elsewhere. It doesn't have to be sex. I can get a good feeding if I am allowed to drain someone to the point of exhaustion like I did with Mekaneck. I can feed off blood too although it is not so easy to find willing donors."

"Tri-klops," he said softly.

"What?" Tris asked completely caught off guard by the seeming random insertion.

"It would be Tri-klops. If I don't let you satiate yourself elsewhere, you will stray and it will be with him. We both already know you want him."

Tris didn't want to confirm it out loud as if that would make it any less true. "Look, I know how your society works and I would never force you into anything but I am being honest with you. Strict monogamy is not something that is feasible with me. It's not in my people's nature to have one partner and I'm already tired all of the time due to lack of feedings. In my time, I would have many others to use as outlets. We were not a jealous type of people and marriage was only to make sure everyone knew you were claimed for breeding purposes. Well, and to share in your partner's assets. I guess some did it for love."

"How many?"

"Besides you? Well it depends. If I can take blood and/or have sex with them, fewer than if I can only feed from their aura. Magically inclined beings are better feeds than dead sly to make sure everyone knew you were claimed for breeding purposes. Well and to share in your partners such as humans. The more powerful the victim, the better the feed, common sense really."

"Tris, how many?" he asked with more emphasis.

"With sex, I would probably be ok with one or two if they're human. With aura maybe 5 or 6. I could probably also be ok with a couple of aura donors and only one other for sex."

"I can't believe I am having this conversation. Alright, last question. If we agree to be a couple will you leave Snake Mountain?"

"I need to find my stones first and we've already established that Skeletor most likely has them even though I haven't been able to detect anything, but yes, I will leave."

"Would you join our side? I have seen some of what you are capable of."

"You said last question already."

"Tris, answer the damn question."

"I don't know. I would help you with anything but some of your enemies are my friends."

"You know they want to kill us."

"And you want to kill them, what's the difference?"

"We don't want to kill them nor anyone else. That is the difference between us. They would be placed in jail if we could catch them and we would be tortured for information and then killed if they caught us."

"I honestly do not know and that is the truth. I would hope to remain neutral indefinitely."

"That would be difficult but might be possible. Fair enough, for now I guess." Buzz-off studied his newest lover and potential partner. Everything she had said should make him run for the hills but he stayed put. To be with her he would have to risk everything and still she would not belong to him alone. He would have to reveal his relationship to Andreenos and the Masters if he did this; keeping it a secret was not a viable option and would only make everything worse when someone found out. His people could be disgraced, his reputation destroyed beyond repair, and everyone he cared about would be furious with him. Still, it felt so right.

Tris didn't move; she would not influence him in this decision. Every second felt like an eternity. His body was tense and his aura flicked through many different emotions too fast for her to catch them all. After a while, his left claw moved to caress the side of her face and neck before he drew her in and kissed her. The answer was unmistakable. But why? She had no answer.

This was not the first time this man had caused her such confusion and she doubted it would be the last but right now she was ecstatic.

Leaning into the kiss, Tris pressed him for more. Not wanting to let on how much healing him had drained her, she stole a small amount of energy back lightly enough to go unnoticed. The kiss evolved into a violent thing involving lips, tongues, and teeth. His hands grasped her body, one behind the head and the other on her ass.

Eventually Buzz-off pulled back a bit winded and Tris went to leave his lap. His hand tightened in her hair holding her still. "I will have you like this, riding me while I gaze upon your face and leave my marks upon your body." He flashed his teeth and his claw dug into her ass with vigor to emphasize his point.

Tris let out a loud keen and jarred their bodies as she latched back onto his mouth with fervor. Her hands were already undoing the corset from behind and he bucked upward while pulling her down to grind their bodies together. One second their world had narrowed down to only the feel of the other's body and the next, Buzz-off's mouth was torn from hers with an agonized screech.

As I said before, I do not intend to abandon this story, it's just taking me forever to write. I'm having trouble with my muse lately and have allowed many of my stories to linger. Meaning I definitely cannot promise regular updates, but I am trying my best. BTW, this is the last chapter that has been "reworked" from the original published fic. From here on out, all chapters will have completely new content and I have already started the next chapter. Thanks for reading!