An Evertech Tale Chapter 16

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#16 of An Evertech Tale

Shopping trip, Splicer getting some new clothes and having a better taste of the outside pet world.


Splicer slept soundly, though in his mind he was spinning circles. The smell of the chestnut tail penetrated his dreams and soon he found himself staring at the skunk, magnified in his dream to tower above the wolf. He reached back and grabbed the gold strip that ran down his tail, slowly peeling it off until it became a shining gold leash.

"You know you want this." Aurich spun the leash around in his paws, looking at the wolf with idle curiosity. "Why do you keep denying yourself?"

"No, I don't! I promise you I don't..." Splicer wasn't even sure if the words he spoke were true anymore.

"No matter how you really feel deep down, this is your life now, why not accept it?"

"I-I, I still don't want to be someone's pet..."

"Just give in~"

Splicer's hand was reaching towards the golden leash, he grabbed it and right when he brought it to his own collar ready to clip it on himself, he woke up.

He wasn't startled or surprised, these sorts of dreams had become commonplace since he was processed. He had to wonder how much of it was his own creation and how much of it was some desperate remnant of his product conditioning wanting to serve. He hoped it was mostly the latter but the thought that maybe there was some part of him deep down that was willing to go along with this all made him double down on his resolve to be as resistant as possible.

When Splicer slipped out of Aurich's tightly clutching paws they were still asleeped, or at least pretending to be. He entered the bathroom and decided to draw himself a bath. The tap was near silent as he watched the tub slowly fill with hot water. He got into the bath, feeling the near scalding heat penetrate his fur, caressing his skin. He preferred keeping his water hot, helped to loosen his body up. Focusing on how hot the water was also helped fill his mind. He sighed as he imagined becoming part of the water himself, body slowly dissolving into nothing but warmth and positive energy. He sat with his collar just above the water level. He hated the feeling of the damp collar clinging to his fur, but he enjoyed the next part of his baths too much to worry about a silly thing like a wet collar on his fur.

He took a long deep breath, sinking below the surface of the water sitting as long as his breath would allow, fully immersing himself in the heat. Not only was it relaxing to feel his entire body and mind surrounded by water, but he also found his increased lung capacity from years of the same exercise getting him out of a few close calls.

He surfaced.

He sank.

He surfaced.

He sank.

He repeated the exercise until even he didn't know whether he was under or over, it all blurred into the same in the end any ways. He took a brief pause and opened his eyes, the badger was there, he was sure he locked the door when he entered.

"You know," Laguna said, fixing his tie in the mirror. "Pets are supposed to ask permission to bathe."

"Oh yeah? I don't recall when I accepted being your pet."

"Either way doesn't matter, I'm just glad to see my puppy enjoying himself~"

"My name is Splicer, not puppy."

"And my name is Laguna or sir to you not badger bastard."

"I haven't called you that in a hot minute and you know it! But, point taken..." Splicer growled.

"respect begets respect, you'd do well to learn some, now do you need help actually washing up or are you going to keep doing that thing you were doing?"

"It's not a thing, it's a rigorous mental and physical exercise that keeps me in shape."

"You know the nanites do all that for you now."

"I won't have these nanites forever, better not slip out of habit."

"Ahhhhhh yes of course... how's that debt coming along by the way?"

Splicer's ears flattened pressing against his wet head fur.

"Its coming along just fine, not that you need to ask me, we both know the number..." Splicer knew he still had multiple years of servitude left at the current going rate, he held onto the hope that the next trial he could win the fat payday though.

Laguna smiled, he had just wanted to remind the puppy of his place and satisfied with a job well done and an immaculate Windsor knot, left him stewing in the tub.

"Asshole..." Splicer muttered under his breath as he began the long arduous process of washing every part of his cage as well as the skin under it.

...

Splicer emerged from the bathroom with a now glowing coat, he always loved how the hot water seemed to make his fur sparkle. Aurich took his turn in the bathroom leaving the wolf with the badger once again. Splicer just walked over to the window and looked down at the city below with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Excited to get back out there?" Laguna asked from the bed, looking up from his laptop screen.

"Even naked, being outside again is like a dream come true..." Splicer didn't feel like lying or playing defense. He was honestly grateful to see something he had almost lost all hope of seeing.

"We will be going back to the facility soon enough..."

"Why did you bring me here in the first place then?"

"For my research I need you feeling in top form, the data wouldn't be as good if you weren't. Plus, before Dakota went back home he suggested I give you a break so you wouldn't relapse back into product at the first sign of being given an order."

That name, Splicer was hoping to talk to the kobold but as soon as he had recovered, he had disappeared.

Probably was due for a long vacation of his own... Splicer thought, he figured the kobold wasn't exactly the type to inflict undue suffering onto someone, recalling their bean bag talk. It was purely a professional thing, similar to Vay, but unlike the otter, Dakota didn't get off on it.

"About that, where did he run off to?"

"Oh, he's home, with my husband. He tends to be there when not on a job. Which is much more often than not now a days."

"Your, husband? I honestly find that hard to believe..." Splicer had looked at the badger with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, my significant otter if you will..." Laguna said an almost dreamy expression on his face.

"I won't." Splicer couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as he returned to look down on the furs below. He honestly found it hard to believe the badger had a soft spot for much of anyone, but maybe he wasn't giving them enough credit.

"You would not believe how long it takes to dry this tail out..." Aurich returned from the bathroom, holding his tail in one arm and brushing it with the other.

Laguna was walking down the street, two pets in tow. The red box was surrounding Splicer, but it was only a barely visible tint of red. He allowed his eyes to wander and drink in the sights of the city. He memorized every store name he passed by. His nose caught the whiff of fresh ground coffee from cafes he passed, furs idly drinking their cups, oblivious to his plight. He longed to cry out to any one of the many he passed on the street, begging some fur, any fur to help him out. He knew it would be a useless gesture. Most furs ignored pets if they spoke to them, even if they did listen it would probably only result in a punishment from laguna and worse yet. Whoever lent their ear would most likely disappear, like so many others have.

He walked in silence, torn between the desire for freedom, and ever-present knowledge of knowing he was still completely trapped within the walls of Evertech, even when roaming the streets as he was. Even with that crushing weight, he didn't wrap his tail on his walk, instead it was wagging idly as he kept in step with the skunk. Laguna kept his chin high, he always loved his little pet parades, where he could walk among the streets. Not only did it make his ego skyrocket, it was also advertising to the furs around where they could get their own pet. They just had to ask the right fur the right question and it would be easy enough to find the perfect pet. It was the primary function of Evertech after all, not on the records of course, Evertech never delt on any official record, they kept their own. Still, it was as simple as asking the right fur the right question...

The shop they entered seemed like any other, the old bell attached above the door let out a tired ring.

"We're not open to the public right now!" The ferret said, not looking up from his work. He was weaving around the large saint bernard mannequin he was fitting, hoping from char to chair to reach the shoulders, sticking pins in fabric attached to hold it down.

"Here I was hoping to get a new suit..." Laguna said with a sigh.

"Oh," The ferret grumbled coming to a stop, sitting in the chair directly in front of the fake bernard, looking at the badger. "It's you. Don't you have enough suits yet?"

"I don't know what to tell you Jonathan, anytime I'm in town I can't help but stop by for a new one."

"Cancel my next two fittings." The ferret called to his desk attendant. "I see you brought Aurich... and a new pet... Pets and suits, do you ever get enough of either?"

"You know me John, we all have our vices..." Laguna's eyes were sparkling. "I want you to meet my new puppy, Splicer! Come here boy!"

Splicer groaned, he stood his ground, until the searing pain hit his tail, his box was moving without him. Jumping forward to place, just in front of the ferret who looked the wolf up and down.

"You look like you'd wear a suit well..."

"Oh yeah? I used to have a really good one actually..." Splicer's tail was wagging from the compliment.

"Those old rags?" Laguna scoffed, "Those were shredded right after you were captured, except that list you had in the neck's lining... We managed to decode the first line but not much else."

Who was the first name on that list again? Splicer gulped, their life was probably ruined by this point. Then the face of a cream-coloured cat with green eyes popped into his head. He almost saw the cat's yowling mouth crying out as he was surrounded by agents in an alleyway or in their home.

On second thought, knowing him, he was probably thanking me right about now, if he wasn't fully processed that is.

_ _

_ _ "Sadly, I'll have my paws full with Laguna here, but if you'd like to be fitted I could have some of my attendants working on you." The ferret said, already sizing Laguna up with his eyes.

"W-wait you mean? R-really?" Splicer couldn't help himself, he quivered with excitement, looking at the badger.

"Get whatever you want, I'm feeling particularly generous today." Laguna was just itching to get into the dressing room to see the ferret's magic at work once more, no one could fit a suit quite like him, it honestly made the badger jealous.

"How kind of you..." Splicer murmured, just excited to finally be getting to cover up.

"Oh no, not like that kind of generous, anything you get will be added to your total debt obviously I'm not one to give handouts."

"That's fine by me..." Splicer could swing it, he couldn't imagine the suit's adding that much to his debt, he walked over to the nearest display piece and flipped over the tag, his blood froze.

Ha, they must've put the decimal in the wrong spot... He checked the next one and begun to sweat. He really wanted a suit...

The ferret whistled. A brown wolf emerged from the back room with a blank, empty, hollow stare.

"Hello sir, please follow me to the pet room." That empty hollow voice haunted Splicer's ears.

...

The two wolves stood alone, one was unable to speak for themselves, one was too terrified to say anything.

"I've been instructed to take your measurements, please bear with me sir." The hollow voice requested.

Splicer couldn't help himself, he grabbed the other wolf by the shoulders, looking deep into their dull eyes looking for a sign, a flicker. There was nothing, he let his hands drop to his side, the other wolf didn't understand why he was grabbed like that, but it wasn't the place for product to ask questions. He began sizing the grey wolf up. He was done rather quickly, he was good at his job and he was happy to be put to work, he left the room.

Splicer couldn't help himself again. His mind wandered, wondering what the brown wolf was like before. Maybe he was a willing pet, pets more often than not were just furs who were in a deep BDSM pact with their owner. But knowing Evertech and their practice, probably not. The wolf came back with three different suits, one grey, one black and the final white.

"Sorry sir, we don't custom tailor suits for pets unless commissioned by their owner, I hope this selection is satisfactory."

"Y-yeah, these are great..." Splicer had an idea. "Hey, I'd like to try the suit's on without the collar, could you take it off for me?"

The nanites in Splicer's body kept him from removing the collar himself, but as the other wolf undid the back loop and slipped it off for him Splicer found his own loophole. He rubbed the fur on his neck out until the impression in his fur from the long-term wear of his collar was gone. He laughed out loud doing a spin in the mirror appreciating the sight of his unconstrained neck.

Now if only I could do something about this cage Splicer took the current victory and decided the cage could be on the back burner, right now he had clothes to try on.

...

The feeling of fur touching his fabric had become a near foreign concept by this point and it took some adjustment. But finally looking at himself in the mirror with the cage covered and collar off, he almost felt like his old self. He adjusted his cuffs, the suit's fit was immaculate. He hated to admit the badger was right but comparatively, his old suit was like one a child would wear to a relative's wedding. This was the real deal, he pictured himself in any number of positions. He was the head of the table, leading a company to record profits. He was a lawyer with the silver tongue, ready to turn the jury into putty between his paws. He was the god-damn president of the world, his paw prints would leave imprints in the earth that not even nature herself could erase. He was the best spy ever, suit filled to every seem every which way with the latest gadgetry, just like the otter's suits in the movies he watched last night. He caught the dull eyes of the wolf watching him appreciate his figure in the mirror, also wearing a full suit to display the ferret's work.

I don't own this suit, fuck, I don't even own my own body anymore... Splicer was a walking mannequin. His tail sank, he asked to try on the next suit. He still loved the look of the suit, but as he appreciated his figure, a tear slipped down his right cheek.

...

Splicer was in the white suit, he liked the way the bright colour highlighted his grey tones. It made them seem darked, more intimidating. He reached over to his collar and hesitated. The brown didn't really match the suit. He walked over to the way specifically meant for pets, display collars of all styles and colours were lining it. His paw passed over each one testing the feel, nylon, plastic, metal, chain, leather. All the feelings were passing through his fingers straight to his brain, he closed his eyes trusting his paws would know the right one when it hit it.

This one... Splicer opened his eyes, his paw was resting over top of a thick, black leather collar. It was pierced with twin-rows of silver rivets, giving a small peek of the wall beyond. Stylish, classy, and yet fitting for how the wolf wanted to present himself. He imagined the silver rivets were the pure desire he had for freedom. Piercing through what seemed like impenetrable leather, showing his life on the other side, when all this would be behind him. He tried to see beyond the silver, picturing what it would be when it was all done. Through the silver holes, he saw snow lined mountains and smoke rising from the chimney of a wooden cabin. He tapped it.

"This one!" He told the empty wolf, who took a second measure of his neck and with a little more information from Splicer went off to make the new collar. It was thirty minutes of anxious pacing when Splicer finally heard the door of his dressing room open and the wolf stepped in, holding the new collar. Splicer seemed amazed but there was almost a hint of joy in the empty wolf's expression. He took the collar and wrapped it around his neck anxious to see what it would look like with the suit but stopped as he was about to latch the metal tooth in place.

No wait, this is wrong... I can't collar myself... I don't even want to be wearing a collar! Splicer pulled the collar off his neck with a flick of the wrist before he sealed his fate again, dropping his arms to the side.

"Is there something wrong sir?" The voice behind him asked, to most it would sound hollow, but Splicer knew better. There was a hint of dejection down there. Splicer had denied the collar the wolf had just made by hand, and the wolf was assuming it was their fault.

"N-no! I, just please." Splicer couldn't believe what he was about to say. "Could you do it for me?"

"Right away sir!" The wolf took the collar from Splicer's paw and the last thing Splicer saw before he closed his eyes was the wolf's tail wagging. "There you are sir! It looks stunning on you, very becoming of a pet."

The words stung Splicer's heart, but he was amazed that the other wolf actually seemed to have more of a personality that he had originally given them credit. The idea that maybe the processed wolf was left just a shred of personality for customer services at least made Splicer feel a little better for the drone wolf, a little. Maybe the other wolf could tell as Splicer could, they were both cut from the same processed cloth. Either way he opened his eyes and couldn't help but marvel how well the collar fit. Despite how big and bulky it looked, it felt like a strand of silk wrapping his neck. It also matched perfectly, giving the white suit that accenting contrast he was hoping it would, combining the white and black to make his grey fur look like it was grey in it's purest form.

"Thank you, you know, you're not so bad..." Splicer said to the other wolf.

"I'm not sure what that means sir, but thank you for the compliment. Would you like to show your owner your selection?"

"He's not my owner, but I do!"

"That's not what I was told sir..." The drone wolf almost sounded coy. He was really even being teased by product now.

...

"White wouldn't have been my first choice" Laguna said looking at the suited wolf, he preferred pets naked more often than not, but there was something about a fur wearing a suit well that was enticing. And the wolf knew how to wear a suit well, he even made the piece of trash he first walked into the facility with look halfway decent. He approached the wolf and hooked a finger under the wolf's new collar. "And who's this, 'Splicer' guy, puppy? I don't think I know them~"

"Oh lay off it, you forget my name so often I figured you'd need a reminder." Splicer tried to pull away from the badger's hold but he was locked in tight, he'd rather not opt into a tag, but at the insistence of the wolf that all collars had to be tagged he picked out a blue bone tag that matched the colour of the mark under his eye. He was quite fond of the blue over the silver, and the bone seemed more informal than a circle. If he was forced to wear a collar he may as well make it his ideal choice, given none wasn't an option at the moment. The thing he was most proud of, was convincing his wolf friend that Splicer was his name and not actually puppy, which was now proudly etched into the front of the bone.

Laguna wasn't a fan of the new name on the front but aside from that, the wolf had impeccable taste, with the contrast of his suit and collar on his fur, it all blended together to make a perfect pet. He wasn't even expecting the wolf to buy his own collar, Laguna had been planning a replacement for the old one for a while now, but here his pet was playing right into his hands. Not only did the wolf know what would look best on his neck, but the badger didn't need to pay a cent.

_ I got my cake and ate it too..._ Laguna chuckled.

"What was that?" Splicer eyed the laughing badger suspiciously.

"Nothing Splicer, just thinking about how my puppy saved me a pretty penny on a new collar, word is they're pretty expensive~"

"W-wait, you would have...? But that's not fair..." Splicer's ear's sank as he heard Aurich and Johnathan join in on laughing at the pup's misfortune. "Whatever..." he eyed a black hard leather briefcase, using a foot, he pulled it down and balanced it on his hind paw pad, kicking it up in a graceful spinning arc over his head until he hooked the handle with an outstretched paw.

What's another three months at this point? Splicer justified the purchase in his mind.

...

Splicer was naked one more, his new suit and old collar were folded in his briefcase, but even holding it he felt fully clothed walking behind Laguna. Aurich's hands were full of bags of new clothes and accessories.

"Guess you ran up quite the tab yourself, huh?" Splicer snickered, looking at all the items.

"Oh, Aurich? No, I paid for those." Laguna had turned his head and dismissed the wolf's comment, Aurich looked over, sticking out a tongue and giving the wolf a wink.

"B-but why'd I have to pay then? I thought you said you didn't do handouts?"

"Well my pets get whatever they want~ It's not my fault you refuse to be called my pet. No one made you buy that watch either, the nanites could tell you the time if you asked them..."

Splicer's eyes turned towards the watch still on his wrist, glimmering silver in the sunling, he chuckled nervously.

"Ha, I guess I've still got my old splurging habit, can't help myself." The wolf was one of the most successful in the game, before his capture. He was used to getting the big payouts after his jobs, he always made sure he was paid in full too, anyone who tried to cheap him out always ended up finding some mysterious streaks of bad luck hitting them hard after. Splicer stopped getting gipped after the whispers got around. He never needed to worry about not getting jobs, he was always having companies and politicians clambering for his skills, and his prices reflected those skills. Yet, he always seemed to be running fresh out of money, not that he minded it, he didn't care about the money, more often than not when he was bored of his newest rock or shirt, he'd flick it out the window of his car. He left multiple cars with the keys in the ignition around the town he was in. Most importantly, after each job he spent a large sum of money making sure he delivered a care package of money to his hometown. They never knew where it came from, and he never wanted them to. He just hated the feeling of sitting on money, it made him feel lazy, and if he had money he never wanted to be in the field, so he just burned it as fast as possible to get to his next job.

He was thinking about that as he looked at the silver watch on his wrist, he wondered how his hometown was fairing, he knew they didn't need his money, but he was wondering if they ever questioned why the deliveries stopped.

"You know you'll only be allowed to access that stuff whenever I allow it, so you shouldn't just go wild buying stuff, but then again..." The badger smiled deviously. "If you really want to run up your debt, there's a good jeweler store a block away..."

"I think I'm good for today!" Splicer yelped, he knew if he saw something in there he wanted he'd be unable to add another year's time to his sentence, minimum.

...

They arrived to the hotel but the elevator stopped on the wrong floor, Splicer knew something was wrong, Laguna was behind him now, still using his little guiding box, forcing the wolf to walk forward until he stopped in front of a door.

"I offered someone your services; you'll be entertaining them for the night." Laguna was all business. "Do a good job and I might consider the watch paid for."

Splicer wasn't exactly sure what kind of entertainment he was providing but he had an idea, but even still, striking the watch off his debt was a solid chunk.

_Must be someone important..._Splicer's paw opened the door and he stepped inside. It wasn't like he had a choice any ways, playing a long would pay better in any case.

"Have fun~" With those words the badger was gone taking the skunk with him.

"Well if it isn't my favourite plaything..." Splicer's blood froze. He turned for the door.

Click


** ** He clawed the handle, it wouldn't open. A jet-black paw grabbed his shoulder.

"Last time was a little disappointing but I'm not going to lie, I hope you're as eager to lick blood off the carpet as last time. I don't want to be paying any fees for damages to the room... You on the other paw..." Vay pulled Splicer from the door and pushed him deeper into the room.