Chapter 1C

While the rod did its work inside him, Toraq laid out his selection of clothing on the bed. "What do you think, love?" he asked.

Arlin looked over his friend's selections. There was a black leather shoulder purse, a pair of silky green panties with black lace trim, a light blue sheer halter top with white lace trim, and a matching light blue sheer miniskirt, also with white lace trim.

"A silk and lace theme tonight, eh? Looks fine to me."

Toraq nodded and dressed himself. The halter top was short enough to leave his feathery midriff exposed and had been altered to allow for his majestic wings. The skirt was just long enough in front to conceal his maleness, and just short enough in the back to show off plenty of shapely bird thigh and provide a teasing glimpse of the lower curve of his panty-clad butt. Protruding through a hole in the back of the skirt near the top, his tail feathers were splayed out behind him like a second skirt. He posed like a fashion model for Arlin, one knee slightly bent and one hip canted sexily to the side.

"Well? How do I look?"

Arlin looked the bird up and down, taking in his curves and softness, "That suits you perfectly," he declared. "Then again, pretty much anything would look good on you."

Toraq gave him a coy gaze over his shoulder, "Aw, I bet you say that to all the ladies. And do you know what would really look best on me?"

"No. What?"

"You, of course."

Arlin chuckled and shook his head at the incorrigible bird, then landed a firm swat on Toraq's rump beneath his skirt, "You never get enough, do you?"

Toraq giggled, "Of course not? Enough is an alien concept to me, as is too much. And speaking of getting more of you in me, I would be most honored if tonight, after our revelries in town are done and we retire back to the palace, you would allow me to share my bed down here with you."

Arlin took Toraq in his arms and held him close. His paws again gripped the bird's rump, and they gazed into each others' eyes, "I would be honored, love." His fingers probed beneath the bird's panties until they touched the shaft that was still buzzing inside his ass.

"Ah yes," Toraq said, "I nearly forgot about that. The electrocleansing should be complete."

The Tiger twisted the shaft again and the buzzing stopped. He gently pulled the rod from the Hawk's butt and gave it a quick inspection. It was still shiny and clean, as if brand spanking new.

"Just drop it in my purse," Toraq said, disengaging himself from the Tiger's grip. "I'm sure I will be needing that quite a bit tonight."

Arlin tossed the plug into the shoulder bag, then stared at Toraq's ass while the bird bent over to rummage through a storage chest on the floor at the foot of the bed. He chuckled over the wide array of tools and toys his friend was tossing into the purse: paddles, whips, belts, buzzplugs, leather cuffs, leashes, a lightning crop, a box of sewing pins, a couple porcupine shafts, and a jar of Unicorn Salve.

"You are so incorrigible, young lady," he growled, "You do know that this is just a night out on the town we're engaging in, and not some dungeon keepers' convention and seminar at Neina's Retreat, right?"

Toraq finished loading his purse, adding his identification card and a pouch of money, then slung the bag over his shoulder and smiled coyly at Arlin, "I like to be prepared. You never know what our playmates might be into. Now, come on, let's get a move on."

Arlin wrapped an arm around the Hawk and escorted him back out into the dungeon.

On the way out, Toraq stopped to check on his most recent guests. Beryl and Darlene were still awake, but their agonized writhings had diminished to the occasional bit of pained squirms as they tried in vain to adjust their positions to relieve some of the bite of the needles piercing their rectal walls. Darlene's feathered face was damp with tears, and as the Hawk passed in front of her, she gazed pleadingly up at him, hoping futilely that he would remove the porcupine shaft from her ass before putting her to bed for the night.

He shook his head and gently ran a talon along her cheek and neck, then reached beneath the table she was trussed up on and pressed the switch. The blue glow faded as the aural dampening field dissipated.

"I see you are already becoming acclimated to your punishment, young lady," he complimented her. The young Crow replied with nothing more than a sad whimper and a moan.

"I am most impressed." He reached over and turned off the dampening field around Beryl, "And I know you would love nothing more than for me to remove those infernal devices from your nethers. Sadly for you, I can not oblige such a wish."

He strutted over to one of the storage cabinets, selected a pair of syringes filled with a clear liquid, attached a long needle to each of them, pushed on their plungers to remove any air bubbles. He stepped around behind Beryl and stabbed one of the needles into the Crow's ass. "You see, when we administer punishments and disciplines, we go for endurance. In other words, you two will be spending the night with the porcupine shafts inside you. This little shot will help you sleep through the night." He patted Beryl on the rump, then handed the other syringe to Arlin. The Tiger inserted the needle into Darlene's rump, and slowly pushed the plunger, injecting the serum into her body.

"Actually, this sleep aid will take a while to reach its full effect," Toraq added, "Fortunately, we can expedite your descent into slumber right easy. Arlin, be a dear and press that blue-white button on the base of Darlene's porcupine shaft."

Arlin nodded and touched the button that Toraq had cautioned him about earlier. There was a loud buzz from inside the girl, followed by a muffled electric snap. Her entire body tensed and she cried out a loud but very brief yelp, and after that, she collapsed into blissful unconsciousness

Toraq chuckled and playfully smacked Beryl's rump as the Crow's daughter was zapped to sleep, "As you can see, my slave, this is going to hurt. Now, on the count of three..." Before even counting one, the Hawk slipped a finger beneath Beryl's tail feathers and pressed the blue-white button. Again, there was a loud buzz followed by a muffled snap. The Crow twitched and gasped, then fell silent and still.

Arlin played with Darlene's bottom as he contemplated the young Ornith lass trussed up and asleep on the work table, "Should we go ahead and put them to bed in their cell, or leave them here for the night?"

Toraq pondered the Crows for a moment, then shook his head and held out a hand to Arlin, "Leave them there for now. I'll have Elerie and Flurrie put them to bed. We need to get a move on." The Tiger gently took Toraq's taloned hand in his paw, and the two of them exited through the narrow corridor leading out to the reception area.

Upon opening the door, their ears were filled with the familiar sound of hard wood impacting on fur-covered flesh. Three Furlings occupied the reception area: a Mouse girl, clad in a thin green work tunic; a lady Fruit Bat, sporting a black leather X-harness, and a Leopard boy, dressed in a brown suede tunic and matching pants. This was Toraq's night shift crew.

Toraq and Arlin could not help but chuckle softly at the sight before them. The Leopard, his pants pulled down to his knees and his tunic folded up, was laying submissively over the Bat's lap. The Mouse was holding his slinky tail up out of the way, while the Bat worked over his cute, youthful bottom with a round wooden, studded paddle. Each smack caused the lad to writhe and whimper like a kitten, and caused the Mouse to flinch and wince sympathetically.

The Hawk and Tiger quietly watched the bat do her finest on the Leopard's soft, muscular butt. Toraq cocked his head to one side, contemplating the impressive crimson glow that showed prominently through the white fur that covered the inner half of the boy's rump. He muttered to Arlin, "For such a diminutive lady, Skara sure knows how to beat life's lessons into a youngster's ass."

Arlin smiled, nodded, and replied, "Aye, and judging by the lack of stiffness between the lad's thighs, I would say that Elerie is not getting any pleasure from this at all. 'Tis pure punishment at its finest."

"There may be no pleasure in this for Elerie," Toraq added, "but if you noticed the subtle scent of arousal here, it seems as if Flurrie is enjoying seeing his butt get reddened. And who can blame her? He's yet another whose bottom was made to be abused."

Arlin chuckled softly again, "Heh. You are the butt master, dear friend. I won't argue your assessment of his assets. But did you notice the very slight reddening inside Flurrie's ears, and the look in her eyes?"

"How could I miss it? Her embarrassment over her arousal only enhances her natural cuteness."

"I bet there's going to be a game of cat and mouse between the two tonight."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Toraq said, "Despite them having a busy shift ahead of them, I'm sure Flurrie will find some quiet time to raise her tail for Elerie."

After a final interminable minute, the paddling was over at last. Skara-Bree handed the paddle to Flurrie, who hung it back up in its place on the wall behind the desk. The lad sobbed quietly as he lay across the Bat's lap, awaiting permission to get up. Skara ran her hands over his burning rump, admiring her own handiwork. Finally, she gave him a firm open-handed smack on his glowing bottom, and released her hold on his back.

"On your feet, boy," she said. Her voice was stern and carried an air of authority when she addressed him. "I hope you finally learned your lesson this time."

Elerie clumsily rose to his feet and stood before his supervisor, his pants still down around his ankles. He furiously tried to rub the fiery soreness from his ass while he humbly nodded his head. His ice-blue feline eyes were and misty, and his cheeks were damp with tears.

"And remember, the next time you are late, you will be paddled twice as long," Skara declared.

"There won't be a next time," Toraq interrupted, "Isn't that right, Elerie?"

The Leopard, Bat, and Mouse turned to face the Hawk and Tiger. All three stood up straight like troops at attention. "Ah, Warden Toraq, Warden Arlin," Skara greeted them, "you should have announced your presence sooner. You know that when I get into my work, I get tunnel vision and don't notice the world around me."

She looked the Hawk over and smiled approvingly, "You're looking mighty hot tonight, m'lady. It's about time you made use of that ensemble me and Flurrie made for you."

Flurrie nodded agreement, "Yeah. We were starting to worry that you had just stuffed it away deep in your closet or something."

Skara fussed a bit over Toraq, smoothing out some wrinkles in his skirt, "You really do wear that outfit well," she complimented him, "And it's good to see you finally getting out and about to have a bit of fun outside the dungeon for once."

Arlin boldly put an arm around his friend's waist and gave him a pat on the hip, "Aye, he is most charming indeed, and a pleasure to behold," he agreed, "And coming from me, you know that is not just idle flattery. I'm sure this lovely girlyboy bird will be turning many heads tonight."

"And raising a lot of heads as well, no doubt," Skara added, "So, are you just going out on pleasure tonight, or are you planning on attempting a bit of recruiting as well?"

Toraq laughed and gave the Bat a hug, planting a friendly peck on her cheek, "It's mostly a pleasure expedition. Arlin convinced me that I've been spending too much time cooped up down here, and need to get out among the free and unbound occasionally. But then again, you never know what tails may turn before the night is over." He turned his gaze to Elerie, who was still gingerly rubbing his sore ass end.

"Now then, it seems I and my date interrupted Lovenmusk's finest artist in the midst of her work recently. What, perchance is the occasion?"

Skara-Bree blushed and briefly averted her eyes, "Oh, Toraq, you are such a flatterer. I was merely doing what my job as Elerie and Flurrie's supervisor requires."

"Aw, nonsense," Toraq chided her, "It is not flattery if it is one hundred percent truth. You are indeed an artist when it comes to administering discipline on tender bottoms, a true master at your craft. Now, let's have a look at your latest work. Elerie, turn around and show the glow."

Still sniffling, the Leopard clumsily turned around and raised his slinky tail, giving everyone a full view of his freshly paddled butt. Toraq whistled appreciatively at the sight. He reached out and ran his hands over the uniformly reddened flesh, stroking and squeezing here and there. His touch caused the boy to wince and whimper.

"Very impressive, Skara," the Hawk commented, "This is a real masterpiece. You, dear lady are a true master of your craft."

Skara-Bree laughed softly and gave the Hawk a friendly squeeze on the rump under his skirt, "I did learn from the best, you know."

"And over the years, you have far exceeded my expectations." he beckoned Arlin over, "Come check out her work, Warden."

The Tiger padded over and took a firm grip on Elerie's butt. He smiled and nodded his approval, "That is impressive indeed. You could fry a whole slab of bacon on the lad's ass."

Elerie's ears flattened outwards. All this attention over his aft end caused a shudder of embarrassment to flow through his body. He bent over to pull his pants back up, but a firm, talon-punctuated smack on his ass stopped him.

"Keep 'em down," Toraq ordered.

The Leopard sighed and stood upright again, awaiting further instructions.

"What brought about this session over your lap, Skara?"

The Bat put a hand on her hip and looked again at Elerie, "Same as last time, and the time before that," she replied, "He was late for his shift again tonight."

Toraq shook his head in disbelief, "That's what, the fourth time in the past two weeks?"

"Fifth time," Flurrie corrected him. The Mouse was sitting at the desk, her gaze fixed firmly on Elerie's bottom. "He was only four minutes late this time around though. So he is getting better at punctuality."

"That won't do at all," Toraq declared, "I don't care if it's four minutes or forty. My people will be here for the start of their shifts on time or sooner, not a minute later. Face me, young kitty."

Elerie turned back around and let his gaze meet his master's, "Master Toraq, I have been trying my hardest to be on time. My body is simply having too much trouble adjusting to night shift, and I keep oversleeping. I've tried every technique I could think of, and nothing works. Perhaps you should put me back on days."

"No," the Hawk reiterated, "I can't put you back on days. The night shift is short staffed as it is since Raddisson and Tawnia left. And what with us becoming busier than normal down here, Skara and Flurrie need all the help they can get."

The Bat put a gentle hand on the lad's flank, "Besides, if I didn't have you here on my shift, nights off for everyone would become scarce. Both Wilfred and Rei would not have been pleased at all if I had been forced to cancel their night off tonight."

"And you know what a bear Wilfred can be when he's deprived of his well earned leisure time," Toraq reminded him. "At any rate, you are staying on nights until further notice. Your body will adjust to your new hours. I guarantee it."

Elerie cocked his head to one side, "If you don't mind my asking, Master, do you by chance have some sort of potion or pill that might help me? My alarm isn't doing the job, and I really don't want to be late again." He rubbed his bottom, still quite sore and tender from his recent paddling.

Toraq smiled devilishly and nodded, "I have just the thing. Stay put. I'll be back before you can say pin cushioned Duck's butt." He disappeared through the door leading back to the dungeon, leaving Elerie, Skara-Bree, Flurrie, and Arlin smirking among themselves at the Warden's colorful vocabulary.

"Pin cushioned Duck's butt, eh?" Arlin repeated, "Sounds like he has Rei on the brain again."

"Can't really blame him," Elerie said, "Rei's one cute little birdie. And that plush, white, round ass of hers was just made to be used and abused, as she herself has declared many many times." He turned his gaze back to the door Toraq disappeared through, "Any ideas what Master Toraq has in mind for my oversleeping problem?"

Arlin shrugged, "I have no clue," he admitted, "but the odds are good that it will be either slightly painful beneath your tail, embarrassing, or both."

Flurrie giggled, "That would be the ultimate sucker's bet for sure."

"Whatever it is," Skara added, "You will be finding out soon enough."

Elerie nodded and sighed, nervous but resigned to whatever fate the Hawk had in store for him. "I reckon my best hope is that it works fast on me."

The Leopard didn't have to wait long. Granted, it was longer than it took to say "Pin cushioned Duck's butt", but a minute or two after leaving, Master Toraq returned, carrying a small satchel. He set it on the floor, bent over it, and reached into its depths. Elerie craned his neck to catch a glimpse of what the Hawk was extracting, but the Dungeon Warden gave a stern shake of his head, "Turn around, spread your legs, lift your tail, and bend over, lad," he ordered.

Elerie sighed, turned around, and submissively presented his ass. Toraq knelt behind him and pressed his beak to his southern star, eliciting a whimper from the boy as the bird's tongue slicked up his nether entrance. He whimpered again, a little louder, as Toraq slid a thick, long metallic shaft up inside him, until its base was concealed between his plush, furry cheeks.

"A buttplug?" the boy asked, still bent over and looking upside down between his spread legs at Master Toraq. "How is that going to help me wake up early enough?"

"It's not just an ordinary buttplug," Toraq corrected him. "Stand back up and face me. I'd rather talk directly to your face instead of your butt."

Elerie stood erect and turned back around. He fidgeted a little, shifting his weight back and forth from his left foot to his right. His bottom flexed and relaxed several times around the shaft that the Hawk had inserted inside him. Although he had undergone many electrocleansings and more traditional soap and water washes under his tail over the years, as well as several rectally administered bioprobes, he had never had an actual buttplug of any type inside him. It's length and thickness were much greater than he had ever experienced. It stretched his insides and felt both very uncomfortable and strangely satisfying at the same time, as the slight stiffening between his thighs attested to.