Sean bit his lip, watching Mark sit so perfectly. The way his bushy tail was wagging gave away his pleasant mood. Turning away from him, Sean slowly began to strip off his clothing in sections. Revealing his upper body first. The steam of the room felt good on his wings, making them flutter and extend as they relaxed. Peeking over his shoulder, he saw Mark's eyes wandering down his back. It made him blush to guess what he was thinking right now. Unlacing his pants, he slid his hands under the clothing before pushing them down his long legs. Catching the way Mark's paws shifted on the rug restlessly. Kicking his clothes away, he moved to a waterfall feature that doubled as a shower and stepped under it. As chilly as the water was, it was a surprising relief against the misty heat of the room. Taking a peek at Mark, he cooed out to him. "You feel like joining me yet? All that fur... you must be warm." Mark shook his head, keeping himself seated but his eyes were unblinking as he watched him.

Shrugging, Sean rubbed his hands over his body deliberately, while telling him nonchalantly. "Suit yourself. Feels good. Though... a bit chilly." Sean covered his perking up nipples and stepped back out of the waterfall. He hated when that that happened, but he knew Mark liked it. Right on cue, Mark licked his lips, scooting closer to him only an inch or two. He was holding himself back for some reason. Making his way over to the tub, Sean cautiously stepped into the warm water with a light hiss. His cold skin touching the water made the water feel hotter than it was. Covering his cock out of habit, he lowered himself down onto a seat in the hot spring tub. Immediately, his muscles relaxed, making his eyes roll a bit. Leaning back against the seat, Sean nestled down to his shoulders as he purred out. "You're missing this Mark..." Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, he jumped as he realized Mark was closer than he thought. Resting his head down on the tub, Mark told him warmly with big puppy eyes. "No, I'm not. I'm here. I can see you."

Wading out into the deeper center, Sean told him gruffly. "You're out there. I'm in here. All alone... Or am I? What if something is..." Sean flashed Mark a devilish grin as he stared deep into the water before faking a passionate moan. Mark's ears perked up and a tiny growl escaped him that made Sean giggle. Werewolf or not, Mark was a jealous boy. Ducking under the water for a bit, Sean enjoyed the warmth all over, before slowly rising to the surface. Catching Mark creeping tentatively into the water. With a scared whine, his front paws slipped off the seat forcing him to fall out into the deeper water. That's when it hit Sean. Mark was scared of deep water. He had been waiting to see how deep it was. Swimming over to him, Sean wrapped an arm around his neck, telling him lovingly. "Easy. Easy, Mark. It's not deep. Look. Stand up. I got up." Mark splashed a bit in a doggy paddle style, before he was able to get his hind legs under him. Even when he did, Mark's big paws kept slipping on the smooth curves of the tub.

Helping him keep his head above water, Sean kissed his big nose, whispering to him. "You're ok." Mark's breathing was heavy, and his ears were flat back. Tiny whines of fear left him as he struggled to find a safe place to stand. Holding his head over his shoulder, Sean stroked his wet fur and sweetly spoke aloud to distract him. "You look good as a werewolf. Matches your sigil now." Mark licked his ear as a sign that he was listening but concentrating too hard. Sliding his free hand down Mark's chest to his tense abs, Sean whispered into Mark's flat ear teasingly. "Is it wrong if... I really like the way you look this way? Does that make me a... a furry?" Instantly, Mark stopped panting and locked wide eyes with him. With a nervous chuckle, Sean retreated from him, nervously mumbling out. "Sorry. I... I don't know why I said that. I..." Sean's wings fluttered in the water and his avatar seemed to take over as he said confidently in pure Elvish without reason. "We're both creatures of the woods. Mine of light. You of dark. It's taboo, but I crave the wild touch of you. I want you. Take me here and show me your ways under the light of your dark moon."

Mark blinked with a look of absolute confusion. Gaining his control back, Sean gasped and gripped the edges of the tub. That wasn't supposed to happen... right? Tilting his head, Mark asked with concern. "Sean? Are you ok?" Panting, Sean mumbled out a bit terrified. "I don't know... My avatar just... Mark, I had no control. It was..." Mark's paw-like hand reached out to touch his cheek, asking him curiously. "What did it say?" Sean opened his mouth to answer, when his avatar jerked and took over again. Cupping Mark's face, his avatar told Mark in a Irish mixed Elvish accent. "I said, I want you to take me like the animal you are. Your darkness to my light. Fuck me till dawns first light." Mark jerked his head back as Sean's avatar leaned in to kiss him. Holding Sean's avatar at bay, Mark nervously asked him. "Sean? What's...?" Before he could finish, Mark's eyes flickered to a solid red. The next thing Sean recalled was waking up on the floor underneath Mark's werewolf form.

They both were dripping wet, and Sean gasped as Mark's deflated knotted penis pulled out of him. Mark eased off him, sitting back with a scared look upon his face that matched his own. They both had lost control of their avatars. While he wasn't as concerned about sleeping with Mark, he couldn't imagine how others might have ended up. Sitting down, he pulled out his news mirror and scrolled to the newest story. The pixie broadcaster seemed worried as she regaled to the camera man. "Reports are still pouring in after last night's event. The game's first glitch has been reported. All over avatars fell into primary objects of game play. Completely locking out players from being able to control themselves! Thousands are dead as the glitch took over during boss fights or around wild encounters. Causing Avatars to resort to the races NPC state and player-based interaction style to play. Races that were coded to hate each other, fought each other to the death. Draugr players began turning on friends, allies, and even lovers that weren't of their kind."

Sean paled as he listened to her continue. "Married couples of different kinds had a higher chance of compatibility to survive. Only because of the way they've played the game so far. The avatars are learning how you play! They are acting on your impulses and backlogs! Listen to this." She handed the mic to another player who looked shaken up. He took a moment to collect himself, before telling her in a broken voice. "We... We were fighting the boss. Grendel... By his second form... the players... They gamers and the non-gamers... They turned on each other! They were killing each other like animals! The boss killed them... He killed them all! I only got out because..." The man bowed his head as he began to cry and finished off. "Because I glitched out of the arena... All my friends... my sister... their gone." The pixie tried to cheer him up by rubbing his back and telling the camera. "Reports like this are coming in from all over. It's unclear if the Game Master intended this or if this is a glitch he is planning to fix. But one thing is clear... The death toll is rising and... we all want out of here."

The pixie suddenly screamed, and Sean dropped his mirror as blood suddenly splattered the screen. The cameraman's shocked voice was the only thing that could be heard before the feed cut, saying in shock. "Why did he do that to himself?!" Mark shifted uneasily, asking him in a deep voice. "Sean? Are you ok?" Getting to his feet, Sean shook his head, trying to keep himself from having a panic attack or an asthma attack as he said softly. "No. I'm not ok. This just... Mark, I want out of this game. I'm done playing. This... people are dying... Our avatars... they're not even us anymore..." Mark reached out a paw for him, calmly saying. "Sean, breathe. It's... We're ok. We'll get through this." Whirling on Mark, Sean blurted out sternly. "How long have we been in this game, Mark? Weeks? A month? Years? This is not ok! Glitches like this... I am not ok." Mark rose to his feet, telling him sweetly. "We didn't kill each other. We're ok. It's devastating what happened... but we can't lose our sanity. We have to stay calm."

Backing up from him, Sean told him seriously. "No, Mark. My avatar just fucked you! I felt nothing! It was like I wasn't even there! That is NOT ok!" Walking up to Mark, Sean reached up to grab his silky ears, telling him seriously. "Mark, I love you. I want to be with YOU. This was fun... but it's taking you from me. I'm scared. I wanna go home and hold you in my arms! I wanna..." Sean drifted off as he saw something in Mark's enlarged wolf eyes. Guilt? Shame? Releasing him, Sean stepped back, mumbling out to himself. "Oh, my god... You don't want to go back..." Mark blinked, defensively snapping out. "What? Of course, I do! How could you-?!" Raising a hand to stop him, Sean said as his heart sank. "You don't want to tell her about me. You want to keep me as your secret. Your side piece in a virtual world..." Mark hesitated to answer, before struggling to say. "No! That's... That's not it! I just... We shouldn't rush this. You're just-" Sean's voice turned dark as he yelled back. "Don't you fucking say that I'm overreacting, Mark Fischbach! You said... You lied!"

Mark rose to all fours, telling him in a rush. "After my fight, I'll explain. But I really don't think we need to worry about this right now. I mean... you've got a girl back home too. Are you really going to throw her away for me so easily?" Howling came from outside and Mark started to head toward the door. In a low voice, Sean stood his ground and answered without looking at Mark. "Yes... Because I'm not happy..." At the doorway, Mark told him nicely. "Wait for me in your room. We'll talk about this. It's a ways off, Sean. We'll be ok." Sean waited until he left, before getting himself dried and dressed. Collecting his stuff and swiping a few ingredients and one of the warm coats, Sean left the cabin out the backdoor. He didn't care if Mark won his fight or not. Sean had made up his mind. He wanted out of this game NOW. There was only one person that could do it. Going far out into the woods, Sean opened his menu and scrolled through the list of players that he'd encountered. The list was huge, but he typed in the players gamertag to bring him up. Then send him a message as to where he was.

He didn't have to wait long before the tree next to him shimmered as a the man hacked his way through a portal. Staring blankly at the skeleton man in dark robes named Glade. Glade grinned at him, stating with amusement. "Interesting. Death wish? Self-sacrifice? What brought you to seek me out?" Extending his arm, Sean lifelessly told him. "Just take my blood and solo the boss like you claim that you can do. Just end this shite already! I'm done playing." The skeleton grabbed his arm, yanking him closer. His brief smelled of death and his eerily long tongue flicked out over his teeth, before he hummed excitedly to him. "Oh? Someone break your heart, JackSepticEye? Shame. I wanted that to be me. Oh, well... I accept. On one condition. And before you answer. It's BINDING." Shrugging, Sean blurted out in a defeated voice. "I don't care. Just end the damn game!" Releasing his hand, Glade politely gestured for him to walk through the portal.

Taking a deep breath, Sean lifted his chin and stepped through with Glade right behind him. Sean recognized the inside of the Yggdrasil tree, but this room was unfamiliar to him. It was rounded with no doors or windows. An altar sat in the center of the room and on the far wall was a mural of the world tree. All around the lush leaves of the tree, there were little bottles of blood that matched up with the races carved along the branches. All except one. The light elves. Staring at the mural, he shrugged out bitterly. "All the light elves in this game... and you waste your time on me." Glade huffed, telling him coolly. "Wouldn't have mattered what race you were. I wanted you for last. Because YOU insulted me. I was one of your oldest fans and you changed. For the worst. Insulting people like me that wanted to be your friend. That looked up to you. For what? For laughs? Because you wanted to be like Felix? Like Mark?" Glade draped an arm over his shoulders, adding carelessly. "You made me feel like it was because of me that your life went to shit. And in turn... I am obsessed with games to feel better about myself. Causing my own dad to do THIS to punish me and youtubers like YOU. That drove me to this state of being."

Sean felt so broken and numb. He had nothing to say. Nothing would make Glade feel better. Glade cupped his face, tilting it up as he told him in a voice so blissful and serene. "As badly as you hurt me... I saw right through you. Your pain. Your denial. You loved Mark... and he made you feel bad. So you in turn... made people like ME feel bad." Swallowing, Sean's voice was weak and distant when he strained out. "I'm sorry." Glade cupped his face now in his cold skeleton hands, whispering to him warmly. "Don't be. I know why you play games. People are cruel. You want release...I'll give it to you. Just give yourself to me and I'll make you happy." Sean smirked, sarcastically stating aloud. "You think you can? You'll have your work cut out for you." Glade grinned, telling him excitedly. "I accept your challenge. But first..." Straightening up, Glade gestured to the altar, telling him seriously. "Lay down. Time to end my dad's game. So, mine can begin."  To Be Continued...