Content Warning: Transformation and Body Horror
~*~
The tension immediately left Orion the moment he was bound. He released a relieved sigh, a soft expression coming over his face that made Nightingale want to kiss the breath out of him. Or tease his body until those honey-brown eyes swam with tears. But despite his position, it wasn't the time for it; this was technically their fault.
"Comfortable?" they asked him, allowing themself the somewhat innocent action of running their hand through his thick, dark chest hair.
Orion cleared his throat and shifted under their touch. "As much as I can be."
He was laid out on their bed, Nightingale's magic purple rings glowing at his wrists and ankles which kept his arms out from his sides and his legs lightly apart. It wasn't an uncommon look for him. Nightingale's eyes trailed over his naked form, their lips quirking at the sight of his already half-full, twitching erection. He was always easily excitable in the days leading up to the full moon. At least that was a sign of normality.
They sat on the edge of the bed as their hand travelled to the newly healed bite scar on Orion's left bicep. An uninterrupted ring of teeth marks with a single puncture at the center. The colour was dark and shifted to carry a green tint in certain light. It had baffled Nightingale for weeks, matching nothing in any of their peers' records. They gently ran their finger around it.
"You simply can't help getting bitten by things, can you?" Nightingale asked. "First that mangy, cursed wolf and now whatever this wants to call itself."
Orion shrugged as much as his bonds allowed, giving a crooked grin. "I must be tasty."
"Oh, I can vouch for that."
"Really though," Orion said, bringing Nightingale's attention back to his face. "Thank you for doing this. It's hard to say what's going to happen tonight...and I don't want to hurt you."
Nightingale leaned over him and wrapped a set of deft fingers around his neck. His breath hitched, pulse quickening under their pressing thumb. He swallowed hard against their palm as his eyes glazed.
Nightingale smirked. "You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to."
They closed the distance and kissed him, invading his mouth with their tongue and making him moan. His sweet noises stirred a needy throb between their legs. There was nothing they wanted more than to take him apart.
He was panting when they pulled back. A drop of saliva escaped the corner of his mouth. Nightingale licked it back up past his lips, passing once more over his lower teeth before moving away.
Orion whimpered. "Touch me? Please? Just a little before--."
Nightingale shook their head and clicked their tongue at him.
"Down, boy," they said. "You know that can trigger you to shift early."
"Right...right," Orion said. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, an involuntary growl sounding in his throat as he released it. "Fuck."
He was hard, his cock straining and leaking as he hissed his desperate curses. Nightingale only just managed to keep their head about them. Respecting their partner's concerns had to come first. They swiftly stood from the bed and moved towards the door.
"I'll responsibly admit that you are far too tempting," they said, drinking in the bound, aroused form they were walking away from with immense regret. "I have some things to finish up. Will you be fine on your own for a while, darling?"
"Yeah," Orion said. His hands curled into shaking fists. "Probably for the best. I--I need to calm down and your scent is...it's a lot right now."
"Poor thing," Nightingale said with a theatrical pout. "Though...if all our worries turn out to be for nought, I'm also looking forward to some play time."
Orion groaned, his head falling back against the pillow. "Not helping."
"Apologies. I'll see you later."
Nightingale left the bedroom and closed the door behind them before making their way to the candlelit workshop. They went to the organized chaos of their desk; loose papers, open books, their peacock-feathered quill. It was easy to pick up where they left off in transcribing spells from a borrowed tome but their mind still wandered.
It had been a little over two weeks since the incident that led Orion to wish himself bound. Nightingale's interest in exploring other planes and dimensions was to blame. However, they didn't regret their choice of pursuits. Years prior, it had allowed them to uncover a sigil that granted the ability to shift their body's sex at will; which had been a godsend to ease their frequent but not constant dissatisfaction with their birth equipment.
However, portal-based magics were unpredictable by nature. Not to mention intricate. One misplaced stroke in drawing a circle could send one off their target; as Nightingale had unfortunately discovered. It was embarrassing, to say the least. They prided themselves on their attention to detail but perhaps they had become cocky after so many successes.
The portal opened to a clearly hostile environment. A long, maw-bearing tentacle had lashed out at Nightingale almost immediately. Orion, ever the dependable protector, lunged to their rescue. But he paid the price of a nasty bite wound and gods knew what else. He told them he felt changed in a way he couldn't place. Some ineffable thing that had been lodged deep inside him and brought fear.
Nightingale was forced to hastily destroy the circle during the struggle to banish the portal, thus wiping away any knowledge of where they went wrong. They had been trying to recreate their mistake. It was dangerous, recklessly opening unknown portals, but having access to where the creature originated from was looking to be the only way to glean answers. To fix this.
With a heavy sigh, Nightingale set aside their quill and stared at the closed bedroom door across the room. They usually took great joy in binding Orion; he was so well-behaved for them. The unease on his face had soured things. However, not enough to void their arousal it seemed.