Introduction

I welcome feedback from readers, in fact I thrive on it. Please drop me an email if you have a chance and let me know what you liked. I respond to all reader emails.

Tales of Severan is different from the other storylines in the College Magic Cycle. The characters may change frequently. Many of the stories will be one shots, while others will be serialized. My eventual plan is for there to be a combination of short tales and chapters of continuing stories. Some of these stories will take place in the past and involve the main characters from other stories and some will put the spotlight on characters who've always been in the background, even if only for a chapter or two.

The College Magic Cycle includes multiple storylines. The stories intertwine. They are listed in the College Magic Cycle folder in the suggested reading order.

Please remember that NIFTY is a free site that provides an invaluable resource for men like us. Please consider donating to help ensure that site remains available for everyone. https://donate.nifty.org/

You can contact me at pseudonominius@gmail.com.

Author's Notes

·        Please remember that any scene told from a single POV is subject to the "unreliable narrator" effect. A character can only see and react to events as they perceive them.

·        If you want to be informed of new stories, send me an email, and ask to be put on the notification list. I'll send a notification. Everyone will be on the bcc line so your email address will not show to other members.

·        I have created a google group for people who want to get more information about my stories in that format. Only I can view the member list, so data should be secure. If a reader sends a question my way, I will post the answer to that group after removing any information about the reader. It's a good way to get more background information if you want. https://groups.google.com/g/pseudominius-stories

·        Several of the stories in the College Magic Cycle deal with transformation. Kieran got smaller, but it's not apparent to those who can't see through the velamen arcanum. Alonzo got smaller, but then he changed reality so that he had always been smaller. He did the same thing to Erik after making him grow from 66 inches to 77 inches. In this storyline, all the skinchangers undergo transformation.

·        My editor is Robbear (robbear78@gmail.com). He not only edited this story but provided a lot of insight and suggestions that made the story better.

College Magic Cycle

· My Roommate the Alchemist (concluded)

· Wishcraft (concluded)

· Alchemy and Songcraft

· Magery

· Elf Master

· The Pack

· Tales of Severan

Other Stories

· Small Town Slave Boys

· Jack and the Giant

· Sacred Submissives

· Bellus Cinaedus

· Guardian Angel

· Eros in Arcadia

· Nivean and the Dvergar

· Desert Heat

· Constituent Services

· The Dancing Princes 

Tales of Severan Chapter 3
The Cat Lord's Agent

This tale is somewhat different from my previous work since the main protagonist is a trans man who gets a chance to live his inner truth. All sexual scenes in the story are m/m. There is one place where Sally/Dexter shows Kieran some of her sketches she'd drawn when he was taller. They think that they have overestimated Kieran's height. This story takes place between the start of Kieran's becoming and Jason's ritual which warped reality so that Kieran is remembered as always having been short and slender.

Dexter Lightfoot

I ran along the rooftop of the Jessup building, crouching low to avoid being seen in the moonlight. I knew that He was hunting me, and I was torn. My pride wanted to evade him, to prove that I was just as skilled as he was, but my body wanted to be caught again, to feel him take hold of me and take his prize for outmaneuvering me. Tonight would be the night I would evade him; I was sure of it.

I barely heard the soft footfall behind me. That's how quiet He was. Just as He pounced, I flung myself off the roof and twisted my body as I fell. The Jessup building was the ugliest building on campus. It looked like a three-story motel from the 1950s or 1960s, complete with those hideous green awnings over the windows. In cat form I was able to use the awnings to break my fall. I bounced off one, then the second and finally the third. As soon as I hit the ground, I took off at a run.

I spared a moment to glance behind me and saw that He was able to jump between the awnings, descending the three floors without harming Himself. He landed on his feet and took off in my direction. I was ahead of Him, but He was gaining rapidly. I ran toward Severan House. Something had caught my eye. One of the second-floor windows was open, albeit just a few inches, but I figured that I could squeeze inside. I climbed up the maple tree near the building and then leapt for the window. This was the only building on campus with wooden sills instead of concrete. My claws dug in, and I squeezed through the opening that was barely bigger than my head.

I'd barely pulled my tail inside when the window slammed closed behind me. A large cat was crouched on his hind legs, his paws still resting on the top of the window. Since this was a dream, I was able to speak and so was he.

I meowed, "Good evening. It's Mister Meowsalot, isn't it?"

He gave me a look of disdain. "That's SIR Meowsalot."

Then he looked out the window and added, "And the Lord of Cats is sitting in the tree staring at the closed window."

I climbed up onto the windowsill to look out and, sure enough, there He sat watching me. He was a pure black long-haired tom with green eyes and a haughty expression. He meowed but we couldn't hear him through the glass. Then he leapt into space and disappeared. I pressed my face to the glass trying in vain to spot him.

Then I felt an arm closing around my body, lifting me off the ledge. He was standing there, His long black hair hanging in tousled waves down to His shoulders, His green eyes shining in His pale face. Sir Meowsalot actually gulped and leapt to the ground where he bowed low, pressing his face to his front paws.

The Lord of Cats laughed. "Don't worry Sir Meowsalot. You merely made the game more challenging."

But the large cat looked up bravely and said, "No my liege... you cheated."

The Lord of Cats knelt and stroked Sir Meowsalot's back. "There is no such thing as cheating, my loyal vassal. There is only winning."

Then he placed me on the ground but kept his hand on my head. "And you, my new friend, have come as close to beating me as is possible for a mortal being. It's not your fault that you cannot yet perceive the hidden paths that lead between here and there. With practice you could learn."

His hand was warm and powerful on my back. I lifted my hips and raised my tail. "Other nights, in other dreams, I have taken my prize, willingly surrendered I might add, while we were both in our feline dream forms. But you have other forms inside you, all equally you, do you not?"

I looked up at him and meowed softly. "Yes, my Lord of Cats."

He stroked my back and said, "Arise then and tonight we shall enjoy my reward in other forms, if you are willing."

As I stood up, I felt my body elongate. My fur fell off and disappeared before touching the floor. My back straightened and my feline night vision faded, forcing me to strain to see in the shadowy moonlight that entered through the window. I rose on two legs, assuming human form. My body filled out and there was a strange sensation in my groin. I could feel flesh changing and I was sure that something was pushing out of my vagina. I looked over at the Lord of Cats with an amazed expression on my face.

He gestured toward a floor length mirror that seemed out of place. The room held a library table and several bookshelves full of old books, some of which were in sealed glass cases. It must be some sort of a reading room. But that wasn't what drew my attention. It was my own image in the mirror.

I saw a slender young man with tawny skin and black hair that stood up in soft spikes. The eyes were mine. Although larger, they retained their almond shape and epicanthic folds. I could see my pecs and abs clearly defined under a light dusting of hair. I was naked. I was male. And... I had a cock! In awe, I took note of the sizable and nicely formed penis that had grown out of my groin and was continuing to grow. I could feel it swelling with arousal. I used my fingers to probe myself. I sighed in relief when I found no signs remaining of the vagina that once rested between my thighs.

The Lord of Cats ran one hand down my chest, grazing my skin with his talon-like nails. "Who are you?" he demanded.

I gasped as his hand grazed my dick – MY DICK! – and I said, "Sally Minh."

He moved behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Is that who you are? Look in the mirror. You've drawn yourself this way many times. Who are you?"

I didn't hesitate. I said, "Dexter Lightfoot!"

He smiled over my shoulder. "I'm pleased to meet you, the real you, Dexter Lightfoot. I am the Lord of Cats, but you may call me Irusan."

I felt emboldened when he gave me permission to use his personal name. "What do you want with me, Irusan? It can't be that you just want to hunt me down and fuck me."

He smiled at me and I could see his sharp feline teeth. "It could be that... but you're right. It isn't the only thing I want from you, Dexter Lightfoot. Your dream imago is handsome, but what I want is your intelligence, your creativity, your curiosity, and your liminality. I want you to come to me of your own free will, and to submit to me. That's the choice I want to offer you. And you'll have to decide whether to call me your liege – or your patron."

"I'm ready my..."

He put a hand over my mouth and said, "Not yet. It's a major decision and it is not to be taken lightly. If you swear to me, then you are my agent until I release you."

I nodded. "I understand my... I understand, Irusan. If I agree to serve you, what do I get in return?"

He patted my shoulder. "Now you're learning to ask the right questions. I can grant you many boons. This imago we both see in front of us, this version of yourself that you've held for so long but have never been able to wear in the waking world; what would you say if I told you that you could learn to wear this imago when not dreaming? No. That's not quite right. You wouldn't be "wearing the imago" like a disguise. You would learn how to allow it to change your physical body at will, to experience this part of yourself in the mundane world."

"Do you mean that I could be Dexter Lightfoot?" I asked.

"My dear little mortal, you are Dexter Lightfoot. It's just that no one aside from the three of us - you, me, and Sir Meowsalot - knows that little fact. You would be able to shape your body to match your imago."

I was thinking it over. Oh, I wanted it. I really did. Judging from the look in Irusan's eyes he knew that I wanted it too. No. I was thinking about the possibilities. I'd be able to go out in public and have people see me as me. I'd finally be able to have sex outside of my dreams. I'd... I'd be able to see if there really was something between me and Stan, or me and any of the other gay guys I was attracted to. Several times I'd experienced something pass between us, something that I felt could be real if only I were a man - on the outside that was. I knew what I was on the inside.

Irusan squatted down to pet Sir Meowsalot. He looked up at me and said, "And what if you could stride around the mundane world in your cat form?"

I was nodding slowly. "So, you're offering to teach me to change my shape."

"Yes and no. That's just the tip of the iceberg, Dexter. I can grant you the boon of night eyes, even in human form, the gift of stepping from shadow to shadow or of walking the many side paths that connect widely separated places in the mundane world, to talk to cats... and most importantly to step outside the shallow mundane existence you now know, and to see the world as we supernatural beings see it."

I had to know. I looked him in the eyes and asked, "And what price would you ask of me in exchange for these boons of yours?"

He smiled a predatory smile. "Nothing too onerous. And you will always have the right to refuse. I won't ask you to harm anyone - that's not my way. I am a trickster, not a killer. Sometimes what I ask of you may not seem to make sense because you don't see the bigger picture. Mostly I will ask you for information."

"That's it? Just a few favors and some information?" I felt like he was holding something back, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

He nodded and gave no further answer than that. He moved behind me and ran a finger down my back. His hand moved down to cup my ass and I let out a little sigh. He chuckled and asked, "Do you want me to fuck you now?"

I sighed. "You defeated me, Lord. It's your right."

He shook his head. "Irusan," he intoned with a purr. "And I used powers you couldn't counter. As the redoubtable Sir Meowsalot said, I cheated. The choice is yours."

His fingernails were like claws lightly tracing my biceps and then my forearms. A thrill of excitement ran along my skin. I smiled at him. "Then I will claim my prize, Irusan. I want you to fuck me."

He turned me around and locked his lips on mine. His strong hands grasped my back and his tongue thrust inside my mouth. It was rough like that of a cat. We kissed for several minutes and then his hand reached down to grab my hard cock and give it a quick stroke.

"Am I really dreaming?" I asked.

His touch felt so real to me. But how could I be imagining it when I'd never had a dick before? And I'd never felt another person touching my privates at all, at least not while I was in human form. My previous encounters with Irusan had been while both of us were cats - and that had been more primal and... let's just say less civilized. Neither of us had hands in that form. He'd made me feel good. His teeth had clamped down on my neck, a sensation that had triggered something in the feline part of my brain. He'd fucked me mercilessly, and I had loved it.

He turned me around and pushed me over the table. His fingers stroked the sensitive skin between my cheeks and then rubbed against my hole. He purred in my ear. "You ask a difficult question. You were drawn into the dreamscape, but I chased you here to the intersection of The Dreaming, Faerie, and The Umbra. This experience is real, insofar as anything could be when dwelling in these places."

He knelt behind me and used his tongue to tease my anus. He licked and probed, forcing his rough tongue inside me until I started moaning. My ass was becoming loose, and my cock was pouring a steady stream of precum onto the floor. Visually it was just as I'd imagined it so many times as I lay in my bed, trying to find satisfaction from pure thought and fantasy. I couldn't resist touching myself - my cock. My ass was growing moist from his tongue and my dick was coated in its own natural lubricant. The more slippery things became, the more pleasure I felt. I stroked my cock a couple of times, letting my foreskin slide back and forth over the head.

"That feels good..." I almost said My Lord, but at the last minute I changed it to "...Irusan. I've never felt anything like it before."

He stood up and placed a hand possessively on my ass, the points of his nails pressing into my skin. "You're ready now, Dexter."

He positioned the tip of his cock against my hole and pushed forward, pressing firmly and irresistibly inward. There was a moment of sharp pain when he entered me, and I let out a cry, but the pain didn't cause my erection to wilt. It almost seemed to amplify my pleasure. I wasn't sure if that was how it was supposed to work or if it was just that I was dreaming... or in The Dreaming, whatever that meant.

The combined feeling of pain from the penetration and pleasure from his cock filling me fuller than I'd ever been filled before soon subsided and Irusan began to fuck me in earnest. The feeling of a cock moving inside my ass, thrusting in and pulling out in a continuous cycle, was both alien and amazingly pleasurable at the same time. I owned a dildo and a vibrator, but this was different. It was warm and it felt natural. No toy had ever made me feel this way. Each forward thrust brushed against my prostate. (I'd read about it online, but I'd never thought I would experience it firsthand.) And each brush sent a jolt of pure pleasure through my entire body. I had a tingling beginning at the very base of my cock, but it was spreading along my nerves, feeling like a weak electrical current.

I was coated in sweat and breathing hard. "Fuck me, Irusan. Claim your prize and make my body sing!"

A strange analogy, I know, but I did feel like my body was an instrument and that Irusan, Lord of Cats, knew how to play it like a maestro. I was pushing my ass back against him and my fingers were turning white from clenching the far edge of the table.

A deep purr came from within him. "You are an eager lover. Surrender to me completely."

I didn't know what else I could do. My body was in tune with his and I was giving him access to my inner recesses. I said the words. "I surrender to you completely, Irusan. Take me!"

He whispered, "I will."

Then he picked up the pace and pushed me closer toward orgasm. I could feel it building. Without either of us touching my cock, I felt my shaft tighten and my balls pull tight against my body. It was strange for me to think those words. My cock and my balls. Suddenly words left me. I howled loudly, my pleasure echoing around the room. And then I came. My cock was spraying its load all over the floor. My heart was pounding in my chest and my ass was clamping down hard on his cock.

He joined me in howling his pleasure. Outside Severan House, it seemed as if all the cats on campus had gathered and were howling in celebration of our union. That moment of pure pleasure seemed to last for an eternity, like we were cumming forever. But eventually it was done, and we collapsed in a heap on the floor. We lay there for a few moments before getting up.

Irusan said, "I have opened your eyes to the true nature of the world. I believe you are strong willed enough to survive the experience. And if you do endure, you will find yourself in possession of a limited boon. Three times you will be able to live as your true self in the waking world. Each time, the transformation must be requested after dusk and will last until dawn of the following day. Then I shall give you an opportunity to prove yourself. And if you succeed, I will give you the choice. Become my vassal, and my agent in the mundane world and I will give you many boons, including the aforementioned unlimited transformations."

"Does that mean...?" I began.

He put one finger across my lips and said, "Sleep now, Dexter Lightfoot, and awakened refreshed in the morning."

**********

I woke in the morning feeling refreshed. My mind was clear and for the first time I had total recollection of my dream. And not just last night's dream. I remembered all the dreams where I'd run with Irusan, the sensation of being a cat and leaping impossible distances from rooftop to rooftop (impossible outside of the dreamscape at least), the sensation of getting fucked by a real flesh and blood being (first a cat and then a man), and the feeling of being a man on the outside as well as the inside.

It was a Friday, and I had an art studio and a lab today. My roommate, Donna Blythe, was still asleep. She usually slept late. I tried not to wake her. She wasn't a bad roomie, but we had very little in common. I was a sophomore, and she was a junior. I spent most of my time on my studies and my art, and she spent most of her time partying. She was the child of wealthy parents, and I was here with the help of a lot of scholarships.

I took a shower and noticed something strange. I had a tattoo on the front of my left shoulder, right where it met my chest, a complex Celtic knot pattern with four loops in an arc surrounding a larger central circle. It was like a stylized cat's paw. My parents were going to kill me if they saw it. I'd just have to remember to avoid tank tops around them.

Donna woke up while I was getting ready to go to breakfast. She chattered on about the trip she was going to take with her boyfriend. They were going away for the weekend to some resort an hour or so north of Severan. I pretended to listen. Then I rushed down to grab a bagel for breakfast on my way to the art studio.

I made sure to get to the studio early because I liked to wait for Kieran to show up. He was a cute little redheaded gay boy with bright blue eyes and very fair skin. He was a bundle of anxieties, but he was sweet, and he was a good listener. His overprotective boyfriend didn't let him go anywhere without someone to keep an eye on him, and I had somehow ended up watching him during art.

His boyfriend was named Jason Lee. While his ancestry was Chinese, his father had immigrated from Taiwan in the 1970s, which was confusing because they used the Korean spelling for their surname. This was common for those with Taiwanese heritage but could cause all manner of arguments amongst the AAPI community. In my mind, he was the hottest guy on campus with his golden-brown skin, high cheekbones, and narrow scholar's eyes. I was unbelievably jealous of Kieran.

Kieran was five foot four, the same height as me, so he fit neatly under Jason's arm. As always, Jason was dressed in button-down shirt and trousers, what my father called "business casual". Kieran on the other hand was wearing tiny little silk shorts that completely exposed his legs, a tee shirt with a melted rainbow color scheme and pink athletic shoes with glittery laces. The contrast between them was like night and day.

Jason pulled Kieran into a close embrace and kissed him passionately. As I watched Jason's strong hands cup Kieran's butt and hold him so tightly, I couldn't help but wish that it was me in his arms. When they were done kissing, Jason helped Kieran onto his stool and then kissed him again. Before leaving he gave me a side hug and said, "Thank you for taking care of my little prince, Sally."

I watched him walk away and then shook my head to clear my thoughts. Kieran was pulling out his art supplies, but he was looking at my sketchbook that lay open on the table. "These are really good, Sally. Did you make these guys up or... no! I'm sure I've seen this guy on campus."

I showed him the next couple of pages. "All these sketches are of people I find interesting. I jot them down and then use them later for inspiration."

I turned to an earlier page and showed him what I'd drawn. "This one here is you, although I seem to have overestimated your size when I drew it. Here's a closeup of your face." She pointed to a different picture of Alonzo and some guy I didn't know. They were singing together on a stage. "And this one is your little boyfriend Alonzo. I saw him singing karaoke that night of the festival on the quad. And I used to think this guy singing with him was his boyfriend until I saw that big Viking he rooms with."

Kieran held his hand out and almost touched the page near Reggie's picture. He shook his head. "He's a friend of Alonzo's but I can't remember his name. He's kind of handsome, with that curly hair and smile, but he's just a classmate."

I chuckled. "Maybe that's how Alonzo sees him, but I doubt he sees it that way. Don't you see the way he's looking at Alonzo? He's totally into him."

Kieran looked at me and asked, "Sally, are all these guys gay?"

I nodded. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend, Kieran."

I was lying through my teeth. I did want a boyfriend, but I wanted a gay boyfriend who could see me the way I am. I wanted someone to see Dexter Lightfoot when they looked at me. And since that wasn't likely to happen, I told anyone who asked that I wasn't looking. I had even begun to believe it myself.

I pointed to a drawing of a boy with light hair and a goatee. "Stan, here," then I pointed to another drawing of an Asian gay with shoulder length hair, "and Kiet, both like to kiss, and they don't mind kissing girls, although Stan says that he has to close his eyes and pretend I'm a boy."

Kieran looked surprised, so I laughed and asked, "Can I kiss you and show you, Kieran? Or would Jason object?"

He shrugged and replied, "I don't think he'd mind."

I leaned in and kissed his lips. I put my hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer. We kissed for a minute or so. He was completely passive, but I didn't want to get aggressive, so I didn't use my tongue. When we'd finished and pulled apart, I said, "Your lips are nice, Kieran, really soft. I like kissing gay boys because I like kissing and I'm not looking for anything more and neither are they."

He blushed, turning his skin rosy. "It was nice kissing you too. It was like kissing my best friend Alonzo."

"Do you two kiss a lot?" I asked with a mischievous look in my eyes.

He nodded. "We do. Our men like to watch us. Erik says it's like when two straight guys watch lesbian's kiss."

I let out an evil chuckle at the thought. I made a mental note to try and draw Kieran and his friend kissing. Maybe I'd give it to him as a gift, or maybe I'd give it to Jason.

Professor Gordan walked around the room and assessed our pictures from last week. He was a nice-looking older man who seemed to hover around us all the time. At first, I thought that he was just interested in Kieran, but he seemed to prefer our art to most of the other students.

We were working on another set piece, this time involving a trio of monkey figurines playing musical instruments. The professor was taking pictures of our last pieces and making notes on his iPad. Then he had us take a break and put them in numbered frames so we could display them in the hallway outside the studio. He invited us all to make comments on each of them before next Friday.

Then we spent the rest of the period sketching out the monkeys. I looked over at Kieran's drawing. He had chosen the theme of metamorphosis. People were in various stages of transmutation into monkeys, and they didn't seem to be enjoying it. There was a shadowy image in the background that was lurking in the darkness, radiating menace. He was shaggy and slovenly with a look of malevolence in his face.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "That's dark, Kieran. Who's the man in the shadows?"

He whispered, "It's him. He's been in my dreams this week."

I had a sudden revelation. There was something behind the malevolence. "He looks sad to me."

Kieran stared at the picture for a while, then shuddered before turning to look at my drawing. Our styles were very different. Kieran preferred a realistic style with heavy use of chiaroscuro, while I used a simpler manga style. Usually our themes were similar, but he'd gone so dark this time that there was a profound difference. I'd included the monkeys as a band. All around them, I'd drawn boys and girls with animal features. I'd decided to depict a furry dance party. Everyone in the picture was someone from my quick sketches. I'd drawn Kieran as a bunny boy and Jason as a dragon man. I'd given Alonzo fox ears and a tail and put him up with the monkeys. I wished that I'd included Erik to keep Alonzo company, maybe as a wolf man?

Kieran smiled. "That's great! You made me a bunny."

"You are a cute little bunny, Kieran, and your friend Alonzo is a little fox," I replied.

He pointed at the picture of me. "You're the cat girl singing with the band. I didn't know that you could sing."

"I can't, thank you very much for reminding me. That's why art is fantasy!" I laughed.

I was a little disappointed that he'd looked at the illustration of me and not seen that it was a boy. That was Dexter Lightfoot in the picture, not Sally Minh, but it was still me. The picture was more me than I could ever be in the mundane world unless I accepted Irusan's offer.

We kept working and glancing over at each other's sketches. I loved working with Kieran. He didn't have a mean or nasty bone in his body. We were perfect partners. I loved to talk, and Kieran liked to sit and listen, laughing at my jokes and only occasionally interjecting anything into the conversation. The fact that he was at least as talented as me but had a completely different style just made it more perfect. We could both work the same themes without copying each other.

I saw David (dah-VEED) Campos before Kieran did. He walked up and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Damn that's good, Kieran. You're very talented."

He had a friendly smile on his face, but he made Kieran nervous. It was obvious that David was stalking him, and he never knew how to handle him. Before I could say anything mean and sarcastic to drive him away, Kieran said, "Thank you, sir."

David inhaled sharply and said, "You are a polite little thing; and you smell nice, too. Don't worry. I won't touch, but... damn!"

Kieran gave him an uncomfortable smile and looked down at his sketchpad. I glared at David until he left us alone. Then I punched Kieran in the arm and said, "Stop smiling at him when he comes over. He's not supposed to talk to you."

I pulled out my phone, but Kieran anticipated what I was doing. He grabbed hold of it and said, "Please. Don't text Jason. He'll just do something to hurt David and I don't want that. I just want him to leave me alone."

I sighed and put my phone away. We continued to chat as we worked for the next hour. As soon as the doors opened and other students began leaving the studio, Jason worked his way through the crowd to join us. He wrapped his arms around Kieran from behind and held him tight while kissing his neck. I filed that image away for later.

Jason turned to me. "Has my boy been behaving himself?"

I nodded. "He's been good, but David Campos was literally sniffing around him during class."

Jason turned Kieran around and looked into his eyes. "Did he scare you, Little Prince?"

Kieran shook his head, "No, Sir, he just made me feel a little bit uncomfortable."

"Pack up your stuff," Jason said with a determined look on his face. "I've got to get you back to the room so I can take Alonzo to the A House. You have some study sessions before dinner."

Jason gave me another side hug and said, "Thank you again for taking care of my boy."

We parted ways for a little while. I had to return to my room to get some things so I could help Kieran with his algebra. He was still wearing his little shorts. The last time we'd worked together, we'd had a video conference, and Kieran had been naked the whole time. The camera hadn't shown anything above the waist, but I could tell. This time we were meeting in his room. His boyfriend probably wanted him dressed when there was company over. Their relationship was a little strange to me, with Jason being so dominant and Kieran so submissive.

After I helped him with his math, we flipped through some of his old sketchbooks from high school. They were almost as full of handsome guys as mine were. Of course, he blushed and took the book away when I came across page after page of penises. We laughed for a while and then headed down to lunch. I wasn't sure whether I wanted a guy like Jason to take charge the way he did with Kieran or if I wanted my own little cute gay boy to take care of. I was torn between both scenarios.

**********

During lunch, Kieran ate salad, while I had a turkey sandwich. We chatted about the guys we saw in the food court. At one point the subject of sex came up and I couldn't restrain myself. I asked, "So, Kieran, I am going to go out on a limb and assume that you're a bottom."

He laughed and replied quietly, "Oh yeah. I was a virgin when I met Jason, but... um... yeah... I am exclusively a bottom."

I thought he was cute when he was blushing, but when I saw the redness in his face, I was sure he was going to decline to answer anything else. I was surprised that he continued. "But I don't mind. I don't think of myself as the kind of guy who tops. I'm Jason's boy and bottoming is... well, it's what I do in our relationship. It's what I want to do."

I put a supportive hand on his arm and asked, "And you enjoy that? Just bottoming, I mean."

He nodded and sighed. "You have no idea, Sally. When Jason makes love to me, it's the best thing in the world. It's almost like my penis doesn't matter. My whole world seems to be concentrated in my ass. My orgasms start there and they spread through my whole body. My dick is just part of it. I can feel it in my butt, my stomach, my chest, and even in my fingers and toes."

I put a supportive hand on his arm and asked, "Is it okay if I keep asking you some questions, just to satisfy my own curiosity? I'd ask Stan, but he's cagey and sarcastic. And Google just seems too impersonal. I want information from someone I can trust, someone with firsthand experience who won't try to turn it into a joke."

He nodded and took another sip of his iced tea. "Go ahead. I'm not an expert. I've only been with one guy in my life."

I asked bluntly, "Do you eat salad all the time because you want to keep things clean down there?"

"Wow! You went straight to the heart of the matter," he said. "I eat salad because Jason wants me to eat healthy food. I don't need to worry about keeping clean because Jason gives me this special tea that makes sure that I am. But I did read that a high fiber diet helps. And anal douching." He said the last thing in a whisper.

Even if I chose not to accept Irusan's offer and I was limited to living as a gay man in my dreams, I still wanted to know as much about it as I could.

We were finishing our lunch when Stan came over. "Do you mind if I join you for a moment?"

I looked over at Kieran, knowing how anxious meeting new people could make him. He nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Stanley looked Kieran over as he took his seat. "Well, hello, cutie. My name is Stanley Nowak, or just Stan. And I am very pleased to make your acquaintance."

He held out his hand and Kieran took it. "I'm Kieran Morgan. Pleased to meet you, too."

Stan shook his hand out with exaggerated motions. "You're very strong for a... um... will it insult you if I call you a short guy?"

Kieran shook his head and smiled. He was blushing and I knew how anxious he got when he was forced to interact too much with people he didn't know. I jumped in and said, "Don't let his size fool you. Kieran is quite the jock. You should see him diving. He's all muscle."

Stan gave Kieran a mock leer. "Oooh, I can see that in his biceps."

Then he turned to Kieran and said, "Let me see them, you tiny little swim stud."

Kieran didn't seem to have any anxiety around Stan. He flexed his muscles in an exaggerated manner and made a comically macho face. Stan wasted no time in feeling them. "Mm-mm-mm. You'll have to let me know next time you're diving so that I can come watch you."

Kieran seemed to understand that Stan was harmless. He gave him a look of false severity and replied, "My boyfriend doesn't mind other guys looking, but no one touches without his permission."

I was cracking up inside. Stan had no way of knowing that Jason decided what Kieran was going to wear every day. He was assuming that Kieran dressed this way to get attention, not realizing that Kieran hated being the center of attention. What I found funny was that Jason seemed to want to put Kieran on display. He wanted other guys to look at him and get jealous, knowing that they couldn't have him. I had no idea whether it made Jason feel superior knowing that others would want Kieran and know that he was off limits, or whether he was up to something.

Jason was kind of an enigma to me in that respect. At first, I'd thought that Kieran was just a pretty possession he could flaunt in front of other guys, but I'd see them together in a casual setting. I'd seen the way he'd kept his arms around Kieran. What I'd first mistaken for possessiveness was really protectiveness. I had the impression that Jason himself was torn between seeing Kieran as a bright and shiny toy and wanting to stand between him and the world. All I could say was that I hoped that someday someone, anyone, would look at me the way Jason looked at Kieran. It was obvious that Jason never saw anyone else when Kieran was around.

And Kieran was different from other guys. He didn't have bulky muscles, but what he had was very well toned. It was that "swimmer's build" I'd read so much about. He never acted macho or douchy about his appearance. It was almost like he was ignorant of just how attractive he was. I was constantly glaring at guys who were perving on him. Except for Stan, who often said or did things that seemed kind of pervy, but I always felt that it was a game with him, like he was having fun with the idea of being a lech. But his true self (his imago?!) was kind and authentic.

It was interesting seeing the two of them together. The normally reserved Kieran was playing along with Stan's teasing, and Stan was playing up to him big time. I was surprised to see Kieran so at ease with someone he'd just met.

We chatted about inconsequential things until Stan came to the point that had brought him here. "That new club is opening this evening and I was thinking that you should come, and we can go dancing!"

He was looking at me, but eyeing Kieran. Then he turned to him and added, "Both of you should come."

Kieran smiled and replied, "It sounds... interesting. But my boyfriend has already made plans at a house he owns in town."

I looked at Stan and shook my head. "Kieran's boyfriend is bigger than you, and he's extremely overprotective. I suggest you stop thinking what you're thinking right now."

Stan sighed, "Oh well, a boy can dream."

Kieran glanced at his phone and said, "I've got to get back to my room and get some more work done, so I'll see you later."

"Do you want me to walk you back?" I asked.

He gave me a determined look and shook his head. "No matter what Jason thinks, I can walk a few yards back to my dorm without an escort. I'll see you later."

Stan turned to me and said, "He is an absolute dream!"

I laughed at him. "And what would a dedicated bottom like you do if you got him?"

He shrugged and smiled. "I could learn to be vers, given the proper motivation."

I nodded. "You were really good with Kieran. He doesn't always handle new people very well."

Stan raised an eyebrow and nodded sagely. "I'm good with kids!"

I frowned at him but he spoke again before I could say anything. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm not insulting your friend. Kieran and I have friends in common, but the two of us had never met. To tell you the truth, I think he's more resilient than I'd been led to believe. From what I was told, I expected him to be fragile as spun glass, but all I had to do was make sure that he knew I was harmless."

"How did you do that?"

He hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. Then he replied, "Well, I was told that Kieran has a talent for telling when someone is dangerous; and all you have to do is make sure not to trigger him before he has a chance to figure it out."

I laughed. "You make it sound like he's psychic or something."

He shrugged. "Don't be silly. Everyone knows that those kinds of things don't exist."

I wanted to tell him the truth, that I'd seen real magic, but I didn't want to look foolish. And the way Stan was smiling at me made me think that he was just waiting for me to give him a chance to poke fun at me. I was lost in thought until he snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Saaaaalve! Hellooooo! Earth to Sally Minh. What about the club? Are you coming this evening?"

"I don't know, let me think about it."

Stan and I shared a science lab afterward, so we walked there together. We chatted during class, but my mind was on the club. I'd heard about it. Club 18 was going to be an alcohol-free dance venue with a café, soda bar, and food. It was going to have a stage and a large dance floor. Finally, there would be someplace for people too young to drink alcohol to have a night out in Severan.

I was planning on going, but I wasn't going to go with Stan. I'd meet up with him there if everything worked out. It made no sense, but my dream had been so real, and I had awakened with that tattoo on my shoulder. Irusan, Lord of Cats, had promised me that I would be able to become Dexter Lightfoot at night three times. I had to take a chance.

I had a cosplay outfit for Dexter in my room, but I knew that he was supposed to be taller than me. I took a Lyft to the local mall. It wasn't much of a mall, but it drew customers from the surrounding smaller towns and the people who lived in the country. I purchased a reusable anal douche, several bottles of neutral saline (that's what the internet recommended), a box of condoms, a box of disposable lube packets, and then I went shopping for clothes. I found a pair of black jeans, a white muscle shirt and a black hoodie. I had to guess the shoe size, but I bought a pair of black Converse to go with them. I don't know how, but I was sure I was getting the right size. Dexter was half a foot taller than the average height for a man.

If I was going to meet up with Stan later, I assumed that I was going to try topping for the first time, but I wanted to be prepared for anything. I'd never had sex before. I hadn't been comfortable in my body to get past the disconnect between who was inside and what I was on the outside. If my wildest fantasies were about to come true, then I was more than eager.

I had to run to the library and pick up a book I'd reserved on the engineering advances during the Middle Ages. I had a paper due for the Intellectual Life of Medieval Europe class I was taking with Professor Kunstler. (Talk about a seriously sexy older guy who gave off total gay vibes!). On the way back to my room in Jessup Hall, I ran into Sir Meowsalot. He was a large male tabby who belonged to the dean, but he strode around campus like he owned the place. He seemed really friendly today, so I let him inside the building with me. It wasn't the first time, lots of students opened doors for him.

He followed me up to my room, so I opened a can of sardines for him. Donna hated the smell of fish, but I hated the smell of her skanky perfume, so we were even. Sir Meowsalot consumed the fish very quickly and then stared right at me and spoke. I swear to God that he spoke in perfect (purrfect?) English.

"My liege, the Lord of Cats, has tasked me with giving you some advice before you go out."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "You can talk!"

He gave me a sarcastic look. "That much is obvious."

"Does everyone know about this except for me? How can you talk?"

He settled back on his haunches and gave the feline equivalent of a sigh. "I can see we'll get no further until I answer your question but pardon me for being brief."

When I nodded, he continued. "I couldn't say anything to you before because you were head blind like most mundanes. But the Lord of Cats has opened your eyes to the magical world around you. Over time, you will begin noticing other things." He held up his paw and said, "But I'm not going to talk about those things right now. I have other, more pressing things to say.

"You have been granted the boon of metamorphosis. Right now, it is temporary. You can use it three times, and only at night. If you accept the offer of becoming his agent, then you can ask for this boon in a more frequent capacity. But for now, the rule is thrice only. All you have to do is to touch the cat's paw on your shoulder and will that it happens. And to change back, you require only your will."

I nodded. "So, I can touch the tattoo three times, and only three times, to become Dexter Lightfoot. I suppose that I have to be naked when I change."

He shook his head. "No. That's not necessary. If you change form while wearing the outfit you have on, you will be wearing the same outfit when you resume your human form. Make sure you pick an appropriate outfit for Dexter Lightfoot so that he can be clothed in any future transformations. You don't want to get caught out, no matter how much you enjoy his nakedness."

I had to get some clarification to be sure I understood what he was saying. "What you're saying is that whatever outfit I'm wearing as Sally when I change into Dexter Lightfoot, that's the outfit I'll be wearing when I change back into Sally. And the same thing will happen when I change from Dexter to Sally. The outfit I was wearing when I changed from Sally into Dexter will be `waiting for me' when I change back."

"Exactly!" he said.

I had no idea how I was holding everything together. First talking cats and then confirmation of the reality of my dream. I should have been a shaking mess, but I wasn't. Somehow my brain was just accepting these strange events as if they were everyday natural occurrences.

I looked at Sir Meowsalot and asked, "Why aren't I going crazy now that I'm seeing the kinds of things that only crazy people see?"

The cat made a sound that was half meow and half laugh. "My liege followed you in the dreamscape for some time. Before approaching you, he made sure that your mind was strong enough to handle the truth."

And that was all the explanation I got. Some mundanes go crazy when their world view is shaken, but others don't. I put down a bowl and filled it with bottled water. The cat started lapping it up. I took the opportunity to press for some more answers, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

"Sir Meowsalot, why is it that you can speak, and other animals can't?"

He looked up at me and said, "The magical world contains many things, and one very powerful group of such beings are mages. A group of mages at this school performed a spell to give me the ability to speak and to reason like them."

"So, mages made you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. All cats can speak and reason in the dreamscape. It's only in the mundane world that we are limited. All they did was allow me to retain my full faculties in this world. That's what brought me to the attention of the Lord of Cats, my uniqueness. Just as your own liminality brought you to his attention."

"Irusan used that word. What does it mean?"

He carefully cleaned his face with his paws, then said, "It means caught between two worlds. In your case, it is the difference between your body and your imago, your dream self. It gives you power, or at least a path to power."

"And the Lord of Cats can really show me how to attain that power, right? He's not just saying that he can, so he can lure me into a deal?" I asked.

He meowed and stretched, arching his back, and fluffing his tail. "He can, if you swear an oath to him."

"I'm considering doing just that," I replied.

Then I sat on the floor next to him and scratched him behind his ears. Despite being a self-aware being, Sir Meowsalot was still a cat, and he liked many of the same things other cats liked. "Do you trust him?"

He looked at me and said, "You can trust his words, but you must pay very close attention to the actual words he says. He's fae, one of the most powerful fae there is, and that means that he's dangerous and capricious."

I nodded. "So I've read a lot of folktales about the fae. It's said that they are divided into two camps, the light fae and the dark fae, sometimes called seelie and unseelie. Which is he?"

Sir Meowsalot shook his head slowly from side to side. "He's neither. Some fae, some especially powerful fae, don't belong to either court. They follow their own agenda, moving freely among both groups."

None of this was making it easier for me to make up my mind as to whether I should accept Irusan's offer or not. My first reaction had been to jump in blindly without question. Irusan himself had cautioned me to think it over carefully.

I asked Sir Meowslot, "Did he grant you the boon of transformation? Did he teach you how to be human?"

He jumped back as if shocked and said, "And why would I want to become human? No. My boons are my own and I don't discuss them with others. But if you ask me if it was worth it, the answer is yes. As a cat, he is naturally my liege, but I chose to serve him in extraordinary ways in exchange for his favor and he has always dealt fairly with me."

Then he stopped talking and began acting like an ordinary cat. I let him out the door.

**********

At dusk, I touched the tattoo on my shoulder and willed the change. I was looking in the mirror, but I never noticed the transformation. One moment I was in the body I'd always worn like a costume, and the next I was standing naked in the body that matched my imago – I loved that term!

I was five foot ten, slender but muscular, with tawny brown skin, black hair that stood in soft spikes, slanted eyes that were a little overlarge like a cat. I was definitely male, with a penis that hung five inches when soft. It was my dream self, and I knew from the experience of last night that my dick would reach eight inches when erect.

I won't go into too much detail about my first experience with anal douching. It was an interesting experience. I filled the anal bulb with the neutral saline and squirted as much as I could get up my butt. Everything I'd read said that the pressure would feel good, but it was just kind of there. Touching my anus felt as good in my female body as it had when Irusan had touched it in my body, but all I felt when I held the water inside was an urge to evacuate my bowels. I douched three times to make sure I was clean. Now that I was finally my true self, and awake, I couldn't resist having some fun. So, I lubed a finger and probed for that special spot. When I couldn't find it, I switched to a long thin vibrator and tried again. Now that Irusan had taught me where it was, I should have been able to find it. But I had no luck. I didn't have the time for more exploration as I'd assumed it would be similar to a woman's special spot. There was just so much to learn, and I was excited to finally be able to experience it.

I pulled on my white t-shirt and my black jeans. I hadn't bought any male underwear, so I was going commando tonight. I pulled on my new black shoes and my black hoodie. There was only one thing missing. In all my artwork, Dexter Lightfoot wore a black collar with silver studs. I had one with my cosplay outfit. I rummaged around in my drawers until I found it and fastened it around my neck.

Then I grabbed my phone and my wallet out of my purse. I called a Lyft and headed down to meet the driver in the parking lot. When he pulled up, he surprised me by saying, "Dexter Lightfoot?"

I nodded. "That's me!"

I sat in the backseat wondering how he knew my name. When I opened the Lyft app, I saw my name was listed as Dexter Lightfoot. I checked my number on the phone and I was listed as Dexter Lightfoot. Even my driver's license said Dexter Lightfoot. The Lord of Cats hadn't just changed my appearance. He'd changed my identity. I wondered how far this extended.

Club 18 was in an old Target Store that had closed down when the Walmart opened at the mall. It had been renovated with a brick exterior and a bright blue neon sign. It looked very "retro". The posted rules by the door said that you had to be eighteen years old to enter, but some of the patrons looked like they were a few years younger.

A local band called Apophis was playing the opening weekend, so there was a ten-dollar cover fee to get in. I walked by some people I knew, but none of them seemed to recognize me. Whatever magic had affected my phone, my driver's license, my bank card and all my apps didn't seem to have any effect on people. I made my way to the coffee bar and ordered a triple espresso with a twist of lemon and two sugar cubes. While I stood there sipping my drink, I noticed Stan, Kiet, and Howie, three of my favorite gay boys on campus. They were just coming off the dance floor.

Howie had his arm around Kiet, so I decided to approach Stan. When I was honest with myself, I had to admit that I found Stan to be super sexy. Seeing him here in a club instead of in class or on campus sent my thoughts into a spin. In Sally's body, Stan was taller than me by half a foot, but he and I were now the same height. I was a sucker for blond guys. His golden hair was styled in an undercut, spiky on top and very short on the sides. His nose was straight with a slight upturn at the tip. His expressive eyes were gray in color, and his well-shaped mouth was surrounded by a cute little goatee. It was funny how most of my fantasies had involved me as Dexter Lightfoot getting fucked, but, looking at Stan, my dick started to swell, and my thoughts were about fucking him.

Our eyes met, so he knew I was coming toward him. He stood up a little straighter and smoothed out his Boy Love manga tee shirt. I was searching his eyes for any sign of recognition, but I didn't find any.

I knew Stan well enough to know that he was excited. He was almost bouncing on his feet as I approached. I held out my hand and said, "Hello. I'm Dexter Lightfoot, and I couldn't help but notice you coming off the dance floor."

He smiled and his blue eyes sparkled. "Mm. I'm Stan – Stanley Nowak, but everyone calls me Stan. And it is a total pleasure to meet you, Dexter."

I finished my coffee and said, "I know you just came off the dance floor, but... would you like to go back out with me?"

He looked me up and down and said, "Absolutely!"

I put my cup down on the nearest table, put my arm on his shoulder and steered him back out onto the dance floor. Apophis wasn't playing slow music. Their next song was Dancing by Myself followed by It's Raining Them. Stan was a better dancer, but I was more agile, so it was kind of a wash. I took every opportunity to touch Stan romantically.

I stared into his eyes and said, "You're very handsome."

He leaned forward and replied, "You are the hottest guy I've seen all night."

I was so incredibly aroused that it was difficult to dance with any semblance of skill. It made me uncomfortable, but the feeling of external genitals pressing uncomfortably against the crotch of my pants was something I'd dreamed about experiencing. I was reveling in the sheer maleness of the sensation.

I smiled and spoke loud enough to be heard over the music. "You're hot too. What do you want to do about it?"

He leaned forward and spoke in a low tone that I could barely hear over the music. "I'm trying to slut it up during my undergraduate career, so we can always go back to my room. My roommate went home for the weekend."

That suggestion sent a thrill running down my spine. I couldn't think of anything I wanted more, but I wasn't ready to leave yet. "Can we go back to your room later? I'd like to spend some more time here."

He shrugged and said, "You're the one calling the shots tonight."

"I am?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah! There's something about you that makes me want to show my obedient side."

Then we kissed, right there on the dance floor, our tongues dueling with one another. Stan was one of the boys who'd let me kiss him before, and I had enjoyed that sensation, but this was completely different. Before he'd been a gay guy kissing a friend he thought of as a girl. Now he was a gay guy who was as completely into it as I was. Passion! That's what was missing before.

I wrapped one arm around his chest and the other around his waist. I pulled him close enough to press our chests together – and our penises. We ignored the music and just swayed together on the dance floor, grinding slowly without regard for the beat.

When the next song stopped, we went to find Kiet and Howie. They were sitting at a table near the dance floor, sharing a plate of fries and a large coke. We joined them and Stan snagged a couple of fries. "What are you two up to?" he asked.

Howie shook his head and laughed. "Not as much as you two. We saw you in a lip lock out there."

Stan sighed and said, "Dex here is a great kisser."

I wasn't sure I liked "Dex", but I didn't get a chance to do more than mull it over in my mind for a split second before Kiet leaned forward and asked, "How good?"

Stan replied with mock sternness, "Just take my word for it, young man. You won't be finding out this night. I plan to keep him all to myself until dawn."

It was a running joke that Kiet was a year older than Stan and Howie, making him the same age as me. (His birthday was in December and mine was in November, making us almost a whole year older than most of our peers all through school.) Kiet looked younger. He had no facial hair to speak of and he was only five foot five inches tall. And he was thin as a reed. He looked like one of those students who'd graduated at fourteen or fifteen.

Howie was the tallest of my three gay BFFs and the most one with the most muscular frame. He and Kiet were roommates, and I knew they were more than that. Kiet had told me that the two of them were having sex but weren't exclusive. Howard seemed awfully handsy with him tonight. He wrapped his arms around Kiet as if to calm him down a little.

Stan was the only one of the three who wasn't housed in Jessup Hall. He was over in Baylor. We shared a literature class and I had introduced him to the other two back in the first week of school. Since then, the three of them had been hanging around more with each other than with me. But now, all three of them were paying me all of the attention.

We chatted for a while and ordered another plate of fries for all of us to share. I told them I was a student at Severan, and they were all surprised that they hadn't seen me around campus before. We danced a little more, once as a group and then twice again as couples: me and Stan, Howie, and Kiet.

Then we all shared a Lyft back to campus. The driver dropped us off at the loop in front of Severan House since we were going to different dorms. I went inside Baylor Hall with Stan, while Howie and Kiet walked on. It was different from Jessup. It was older and lacked the hideous 1950s style façade, but it had all the facilities you could want inside. Stan was on the fifth floor, so we had a few stairs to walk.

Jessup was only three floors, and each floor was divided into a male and female section with a locked door between them, but Baylor had common areas on the first floor and then reserved the second and fourth floors for female students and the third and fifth floors for the male students.

Stan's room was very neat. He and his roommate had some sort of rivalry going on. Stan's side of the room had a map of Pennsylvania and a panoramic poster of Pittsburg. He also had sports pennants for the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins hanging next to Andy Warhol prints and a Wiz Khalifa poster. There was also a somewhat risqué poster of the old TV series Queer as Folk.

On the other side of the room was a Missouri map, and a poster of the Kansas City cityscape hanging next to sports pennants for the Chiefs, Royals, and Mavericks. I was surprised to see posters of science fiction grandmaster Robert Heinlein, and entertainer Janelle Monae.

I pointed at Stan's wall and asked, "You and your roommate rivals or something?"

"Yeah, he was always going on about Kansas City, so we started comparing our hometowns. Now we have a friendly rivalry going on. Of course, Sebastian says we're racing for the bottom of the barrel, but he's from Manhattan and he thinks everything outside the five boroughs is a cultural wasteland."

I had no idea who he was talking about, but I laughed anyway. The idea of a rivalry between Kansas City and Pittsburg was more than a little silly. They both looked nice on the posters, but they weren't well-known for their culture, at least not as far as I knew.

Stan touched a small icosahedral crystal on a pedestal and music filled the room. The next thing I knew, we were kissing again. Our hands were all over each other as we fell back onto the bed. We were similar in build, making me wonder if I'd patterned my imago (as Irusan and Sir Meowsalot had called it) at least partially on Stan. He unzipped my black hoodie and pulled my white tee shirt up so he could feel my firm abs.

I pulled his shirt up in turn and ran my hands over his flat belly. My abs were more defined, but his felt damn fine. My hand brushed against something hard at his belt, but his hand landed atop mine and he said, "Sorry. I know I said that I was ready to be obedient, but nobody touches my... touches this but me."

Stan undid the strange holster. I'd played enough games to know a wand when I saw one, and that leather holster held a wand. Stan was saying, "I should have taken this off before we started but..." He noticed me staring at it. "...but you can see it, can't you? I mean, you didn't just notice it poking into you or anything?"

I shook my head. "No. I saw it right after my hand brushed against it, but now that I think about it, I noticed a couple of times while we were dancing, but I just dismissed it as unimportant."

"Interesting. That makes you more special than I thought," he said.

"So, what is it?" I asked.

Stan pulled his shirt off and stood up to unfasten his pants. "Do you want to talk about my Harry Potter cosplay? Or do you want to fuck?"

I didn't believe him for a moment. I knew there was a lot more to it than that, and my curiosity wouldn't let it rest forever. Sir Meowsalot had mentioned mages, and Stan was carrying a wand. Was he one of them? I wanted to know. I needed to know. But he was right. At that moment, my goal was to lose my virginity. My gender dysphoria had always gotten in the way of before. I couldn't do... anything... because I felt like I was trapped inside a body that wasn't me. But now, until dawn, I had a body that would allow me to experience sex as a positive thing.

I pulled my hoodie and tee shirt off and replied, "I want to fuck."

Stan kicked off his shoes and unfastened his pants. Then he pulled them off and tossed them aside. He was wearing a very sexy thong, black except for a metallic gold pouch that cupped his erection nicely and put it on display for me. I licked my lips and kicked my black athletic shoes off. Stan moved closer and unzipped my black jeans. He knelt before me and pulled them down. Since I wasn't wearing any underwear, my erection sprang free.

Stan took hold of it and said, "Mm-mm-mm. You have a big, juicy cock, Dex."

He leaned forward and wiped the glistening tip with his tongue. "And delicious, too. Let's get on the bed so I can ride you until you cum. If you don't mind, I know I said that I was prepared to obey, but..." he ran his tongue along the head of my cock again, sending shivers along my spine. "...but when I see a cock like this, thick, long, and oh so fucking beautiful, it brings out my inner power bottom, and I just have to have it inside me."

My head was spinning. First Stan wanted me to take charge and now he was running the show. The fact was that I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I was glad to let him take the lead. "If you want to ride this thing of mine, I'm not going to stand in your way. But turn around first and let me see what I'm going to be fucking."

Stan winked at me and then turned around. His ass was magnificent. Round, firm and even paler than the rest of his skin. That black strap running between his cheeks drew my attention straight to his crack. I pulled it aside and ran my fingers along that smooth, warm crevice. He leaned forward and spread his legs so I could see his hairless hole winking at me. I touched it and ran my finger along the rim.

Stan sighed heavily. "That's it, stud. Push your finger inside. I'm clean and well-lubed for you. I never go out without making sure I'm ready for action."

I pushed against the ring and my finger slid past his sphincter. He was warm, moist, and slick. It was much better than I could have imagined. I explored his silken ass looking for his prostate. I'd read about it, so I knew roughly where it was. I probed the area until I found it. I could feel it like a firm little bump, and Stan cried out, "Virga Merlini! Your magic fingers have found my voluptum, stud."

I stroked it for a while, reveling in the effect I was having on his body. It was a total rush of power to make a man moan and his asshole quiver with a single finger. And that rush of power went straight to my dick. I was leaking like a faucet now and I didn't want to cum spontaneously. I wanted to lose my virginity in Stan's ass.

When I pulled my finger out, Stan guided me over to the bed and pushed me, on my back, down onto the mattress. He pulled his thong off revealing his hard cock. It was six inches long, uncut, and as hard as my own. He'd trimmed his pubes, but somehow, he'd made them look short, sparse, and silky instead of stubbly. It was the same with his chest, arms, and legs. His back, ass, and cheeks were completely smooth.

He straddled my waist, pushing my erection flat with his ass. He leaned forward and kissed me passionately. His silver medallion was brushing against my chest. When he sat up, I touched the medallion and asked, "Is this a St. Christopher medallion?"

He smiled down at me and shook his head. "You are curious and observant this morning. It's not Saint Christopher. It's a Greco-Egyptian holy man named Hermes Trismegistus. He's kind of my protective spirit."

"That language you keep speaking, is it Greek or something like that?" I saw the look of confusion on his face and added, "You know, VEER-guh Mer-LEE-niss."

He laughed. "No. Believe it or not, that's Latin. My parents both speak Latin, so I grew up around it."

He rose to release my erection. Then he reached down and held it upright. I put a hand on his arm and said, "I have lube and condoms in the pocket of my jeans."

"We don't need lube, but I'll grab a condom," he said. I had the impression that he wasn't going to put one on until I said something, and that made me glad that I'd brought one and that I'd mentioned it.

He jumped up and grabbed one out of the pocket of my jeans, unwrapped it and then slid it down my dick. It was really tight, but not uncomfortable. Then he resumed the position over my cock and began to rub the head against his hole. He stared into my eyes and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Oh yes! I am ready, willing, and able," I replied.

He lowered himself slowly, taking his time working his ass down, pausing for a moment when the head of my cock penetrated his anal ring. My breath was coming in short, ragged gasps. His ass was tight. The condom was compressing my dick all along its length, but his hole was even tighter, squeezing the shaft just below the head in the firmest of grips. In a moment, he moved further down my cock, inch by inch, until his butt was resting on my groin.

He smiled as he ran his hands along my sweaty chest, pausing to rub and then squeeze my nipples. It was electric, like those tiny nubs were connected by cable directly to my groin. It had always felt good to play with my nipples, but I'd avoided it because the shape and size of my nipples in the other body and the soft flesh mounds beneath them had been too stark a reminder of the disconnect between my mind (what I now knew as my imago) and my body. Now there was nothing to prevent my enjoyment.

Stan clenched his ass even tighter around the base of my shaft. "You are bigger than most of the guys I've been with, stud. Your amazing cock is long enough to press insistently against my inner ring and wide enough to fill me completely from end to end."

He moved forward, lifting himself a few inches as he went, and then he slid back down. I read a lot of yaoi manga and the images there were different from what I was experiencing. In those books, the seme - that was me in this scenario - would be on top of his uke, pounding his ass and making him quiver with delight. But our scenario was a strange reversal. I was still the seme, but I was on my back while my uke was having his way with me. It was like my raging erection was submitting to his demanding ass instead of the other way around.

I couldn't complain. It was fulfilling. I'd imagined myself as the uke when fantasizing about the first time I had sex with a man, but this body of mine had other ideas. From the first, this body had wanted to play the other role. Walking through the club, my dick had swollen and twitched at the sight of all those firm young asses in their jeans. And from the first touch of our bodies pressing against one another, my dick wanted him. The only thing that had been holding me back was my fear that inexperience would make me look like a fool. With Stan taking the lead, but still playing seme in a strangely inverted way, I could comfortably experience both the fantasy and the reality. Maybe this was all normal, but my diet of porn had been mostly boy love manga and it had left me much less prepared for the real thing than I had imagined.

I ran my hands along Stan's sweat slickened thighs. "Your ass is soft, warm, and inviting, but your ring is strong and powerful. The things it's doing to my cock, the way it's making me feel like I could explode at any second."

Stan leaned down and kissed my lips gently. "Shh, just lie back and let my ass show your cock what it was made for."

He started to rock gently back and forth, his own cock leaking a continual stream and he moaned. "That's right, stud. Just... lay back and... let it cum. You're almost there. I can feel it in your pecs and your abs. Your cock feels so nice sliding inside me, filling me up, pushing me to the edge."

His words were stroking my libido in the same way his ass was stroking my cock. I was ready to blow any second and judging from the flush of pink in his face, so was Stan. He arched his back and said, "I'm going to cum any minute."

I felt like an idiot. I didn't get his hint until he took my hand and moved it to his cock. It was hard, hot, and slick with his precum. I can't believe that I'd missed the opportunity to experience the feel of it in my hand. This was my first time holding a man's cock in my hand. I squeezed it and stroked it, relishing the way it throbbed and moved beneath my touch.

"Your cock is really nice, Stan. I... um... I like the way it feels and the way it pulses in my hand."

He smiled at me and said, "That's it, stud. Stroke me."

I was happy to comply with that request. I was so close to orgasm myself that I couldn't think straight. I stroked him a few times until he cried out, "YES! THAT'S THE WAY. I'M CUMMING. LET GO, STUD, AND CUM WITH ME. DO IT NOW!"

I didn't need any further urging. I couldn't have held back if I wanted to. "I'M CUMMING TOO! DAMN! I'M CUMMING RIGHT UP YOUR ASS!"

His ass clamped down on my cock, bringing me over the edge. It was my first time. Something had always held me back in the past. Was it that this body was more sensitive, more easily brought to orgasm? Or was it that this body felt like the real me? I wasn't sure, but I almost blacked out when those intense waves of pleasure washed over me. I felt it in my nipples and the pit of my stomach. And my ass clenched tight just like Stan's was doing. But the real intensity was centered in my balls, my taint, and especially my cock.

It was like a jolt of electricity shot along the length of my shaft and burst out the tip of my cock. I came so hard that I half expected to find that I'd shredded the condom with the force of my ejaculation. My words slurred into an incoherent groan as I bucked my hips upward. It was like my dick was growing, trying to force itself further inside him.

And then I fell back, breathing hard. Stan pulled off my shaft and peeled the condom off my cock. Then he took it into his mouth and swallowed, using his tongue to clean me gently. And when he finished, he moved up to my belly and licked up all the cum he'd sprayed across my torso.

I gestured for him to bring his cock closer. I said, "Let me return the favor and get a taste of your dick."

He was smiling wide as he climbed up and straddled my chest. He looked down at me and said, "Suck me clean, sexy."

I stuck out my tongue and licked all the cum from his cock. It was... interesting. I couldn't say that I hated it, but it wasn't really that I liked it either. What I did like was that it was Stan's cum. There was something intensely intimate about taking another man's seed inside me, especially a man I'd just fucked.

We lay together on the narrow dorm room bed, kissing and softly stroking one another. The night wasn't over. Our gentle caresses brought life back to both our bodies, and soon we were able to have sex again. This time, Stan lay on his stomach, and I lay on top of him while I fucked him. I held out longer this time, and my orgasm was less intense, but more enjoyable, likely due to the longer time it took to arrive.

We did it one more time that night. Stan was on his back with his knees to his chest. The third time took the longest, but it was worth the wait. I had the opportunity to look at his handsome face while I... it was too gentle for me to say I pounded him, and it was too soon in our relationship to say "we made love" ... I decided to stay with "fuck". I fucked him.

When we were done, we lay in each other's arms until we fell asleep.

 

Stanley Nowak

There was something about Dexter Lightfoot. He was way too hot for me not to have noticed him on campus. That was no joke. There were fewer than two thousand students at Severan College, and I prided myself on my talent at finding all the hot guys, gay or straight. But it was more than that. He knew things about campus that only a student would know, but he was cagey enough to change the subject to avoid saying anything about his professors or what specific classes he was in. And he said some things that made it sound like he knew more about me than he should for a new acquaintance. I had an overwhelming feeling that I knew him from somewhere, but I would remember that face and that body. Still there was a spark between us, and more than a casual spark. It wasn't at all like a new flame, but more like one that has had time to grow over time.

I couldn't wait to tell Sally all about Dexter. She was always interested in my hookups, and I was sure she would get a kick out of Dex.

But Dex was a conundrum. He had the banter, but it felt rehearsed or memorized. He had the moves, even though they seemed tentative. And once we got back to the room and started touching one another for real, I was sure that he was a virgin. It was hard to believe that a guy who was so handsome, so confident (at least on the surface), and so eager had made it to adulthood without losing his virginity, but the signs were there.

I lay there watching him sleep, his handsome features revealed by the magelight I'd summoned once he drifted off. I was intrigued by this guy, and I felt a deep need to figure him out.

To be continued in Tales of Severan chapter 4.

 

College Magic Cycle Characters

Fae

·        Irusan, Lord of Cats. A mysterious archfey with his own agenda. He chooses Sally Minh/ Dexter Lightfoot as one of his agents. The talking cat Sir Meowsalot is also an agent of his.

Mages

·        Alonzo Santiago Ramos. An 18-year-old Latino American boy from El Paso, Texas. A cute bottom and foundling mage. He's powerful, but untrained. He begins the story with a height of 68 inches and a weight of 150 pounds. He has deep olive or very light brown skin, amber eyes, and long black hair. He's a singer and a dancer. He's a little flighty and very flirty. When his powers awakened, he accidentally cast a spell that cursed his roommate Erik. He loves hardcore BDSM porn but is discovering that he doesn't like it in real life. He and Erik are suitemates with Jason and Kieran.

·        Cameron Campbell. Formerly one of the twink trio along with Micah Blum and Oliver Rankin, he is now considered a twunk. He is five ten and weighs 165 pounds. He's lean but muscular and is a member of the Severan College soccer team. He has bright red hair, fair skin and a lot of dark freckles. He is the boyfriend of Micah Blume.

·        Daniel Blake. A 25-year-old mage in town, the eldest son in the Blake family, mages local to Severan. He's the owner of Club 18. He's married to Melanthe Faxon who's his business partner.

·        Erik Rucker. A 19-year-old from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At the start of the story, he stood 66 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. After being cursed by his roommate he grew to be 77 inches tall and weigh 250 pounds. He was overshadowed by the fictional Einar Ironblood until the curse was lifted. He's in love with his roommate Alonzo and worries that Alonzo doesn't love him the same way. He was mundane until the curse awakened a latent talent for mind magery. Unlike Kieran, his talents seem to involve moving things with his mind.

·        Jason Lee. A 19-year-old (about 6 months older than Kieran) Chinese American college freshman with golden brown skin, brown almond shaped eyes and collar length black hair. He is already an accomplished alchemist. He is a dominant, looking for a submissive boy. He finds what he's looking for in Kieran Morgan. He takes charge of Kieran and begins training him as a submissive. He gives Kieran alchemical elixirs that change his body, and he uses psychology to lead him to embrace his innate submissiveness. He has allowed himself to fall into tantric entanglement with Kieran, bringing them even closer. He believes that Kieran is his complement, the other half of his soul. Jason and Kieran are the suitemates of Alonzo and Erik.

·        Kieran Finley Morgan. An 18-year-old boy with pale skin, golden-red hair, and green eyes. At the beginning of the story, he is deeply closeted (he is unaware that said closet had glass doors everyone could see through) and stands at 72 inches and 180 pounds of muscle. He was a high school athlete who was on the diving team, the swim team, and the track team. Jason took charge of him shortly after they moved into the dorm and began training him to let his inner submissive out. Jason gives him alchemical elixirs that are changing him physically. He sometimes struggles with the idea that he's losing himself inside Jason, but he can't go long without his lover's touch. Kieran is somewhat naive. During the story he loses height, mass, and penis size. Jason says that he's not doing it, but Kieran is sure that he is. After being raped by Kyle Mason, he suffers psychological trauma and only his relationship with Jason gives stability to his life. He and Jason are suitemates with Alonzo and Erik. He has an artistic soul. Jason has decided that Kieran will change majors to Art. Kieran is a foundling mind mage with powers of telepathy and clairsentience.

·        Kyle Mason. A 19-year-old college freshman from Kentucky. He's recently developed his latent mind mage powers, but they're weak. Kyle begins the story as a high school athlete who's let himself go a little. He's 74" tall and 250 pounds. He has a muscular build with a layer of fat and a small gut. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He's a closeted gay man and a homophobe. He has a history of beating on gay acting guys who get him aroused. During the New Student Mixer, he raped Kieran Morgan. When he got back to his room, he beat on his smaller roommate Simon until he orgasmed in his pants. In return for these acts, Domenic Chase enslaved him and is turning him into a hot jock bitch. His life has become a prolonged slave training session. He begins to show remorse and even to accept his sexuality but tries to find a way out of his magical enslavement.

·        Melanthe Blake (nee Faxon). A 27-year-old mage in town, the daughter of Carl and Ginny Faxon, owners of the Old Time Bakery. Her brothers are Aelius and Lucius. She's married to Daniel Blake and she's the co-owner of Club 18. She runs the kitchen and Daniel runs the front end.

·        Reggie Delmar. A 20-year-old sophomore music student who likes Alonzo. They share a music class. He's a mage, but not a songmage. He lives off campus in Ibis House. He has light brown skin and very curly black hair. He looks like he has some African American ancestry.

·        Sebastian Trent. A 24-year-old graduate student. He's the RA for his floor and he helps Professor Thorne to wrangle the mage and supernatural scholars on campus. His female counterpart is Clarissa Spencer. Sebastian is 70 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a little overwhelmed with the fallout from Alonzo's spell and Kieran's rape, so he allowed Domenic the leeway he needed to enslave Kyle. Now there's nothing he can do about it. Sebastian is bisexual but prefers men. He has older men on campus who blow him in exchange for favors. He seems to have a lot of influence on campus for a grad student. He is dating Ethan Lowry but feels guilty about the age difference.

·        Stanley Nowak. A gay 19-year-old sophomore, a friend of Sally Minh/Dexter Lightfoot. He lives on the fifth floor of Baylor Hall.

Mundanes (or Unknown)

·        Howard Bartlett. A gay 19-year-old freshman, a friend of Sally Minh/Dexter Lightfoot.

·        Kiet Nguyen. A gay 20-year-old sophomore, a friend of Sally Minh/Dexter Lightfoot.

Skinchangers, Non-Werewolves

·        David Campos. (Da VEED) A handsome man Blatino freshman of Domenican ancestry. He's from Philadelphia. He has dark olive skin tone, black hair that looks feathery, and piercing brown eyes. He is a were-raptor who can assume two non-human forms. He can become a raptor that resembles a large golden eagle or a hybrid form that is bipedal with sharp claws on the end of feathered arms. He is an alpha, but the were-raptors don't follow a pack structure like the were-wolves do.

Places

·        Baylor Hall. A dorm building at Severan College which is used to house the mages and lupipelles (werewolves) on campus. The third floor is use by male supernaturals and the fourth by female supernaturals. The muripelles (wererats) refuse to use this dorm and they stay elsewhere on campus. The dorm has a dining hall on the first floor.

·        Club 18. An alcohol-free dance club within walking distance of campus. It's owned by mages but is open to anyone 18 and older.

·        Numina Flux Zone (NFZ). This area of southeastern Ohio is a weak spot between the worlds. Magic rituals are easier to perform here, and a higher-than-average number of people born in the region have mage talent, although most of them are never identified or trained. The realms of faerie, umbra, outland, spirit, underworld, astral, dream, and light are easily accessed from this zone. Other realms may or may not be easier to reach from here than from elsewhere. A similar, but smaller zone surrounds the Sagacia Academy and the Ossuarium in the Bayou of Louisiana.

·        Severan College. A fictional private college in fictional Severan Ohio. It was founded by the mage Aurelius Severan, originally to provide mundane college degrees to young mages. To accomplish this goal, mundane professors needed to be hired. Over time, the magical nature of the school became hidden behind a layer of mundane scholars and professors. The college sits near dead center of the numina flux zone that marks a weak spot between the worlds.

·        Severan House. The oldest building on campus, it was originally the home of Aurelius Severan, the mage who founded the college. Severan House contains offices, a museum, and several mage-only facilities, including a magic circle in the basement to make translocation spells more accurate. Students living at Ibis House and mages visiting from other towns and states use this circle to arrive in Severan.