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A Switch in Dimash

For Lorvianne

By Draconicon

It was an interesting experience coming into a country by boat rather than by plane. Lorkos had never considered how different it would be to come through the sea port rather than the airport, but considering that Dimash was about three times cheaper to visit this way, he thought he'd give it a try. Particularly considering how expensive it was going to be to visit in the long term.

The wolf stood in line with everyone else as they were herded into one room or another by an official at the head of it. He couldn't tell what was said or done from this far back, but he could tell that everyone had to go into one room, and that some people weren't so happy about the choices made for them.

One in particular, an armadillo, threw an absolute fit. The black-furred wolf blinked as he watched the plated mammal jerk back from the desk, shaking his head.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me. I'm not here to let someone put a leash on me. I'm here to -"

"Mr. Makal. I am afraid that you are not going to be allowed into the country at all with that attitude."

He finally had a chance to see the person sitting behind the desk, and he was surprised to see that she was a bird of paradise, a woman that was immaculately dressed in a black top and white shirt beneath it, her feathers groomed back perfectly. Her beak clicked softly as she adjusted a pair of glasses under the armadillo's ire.

"Now, you may accept the door to my right as your means of entering the country, or you may turn around and book passage out of Dimash on the boat behind you."

"That's bullshit! I'm here for the tourism that you keep advertising, and you're just going to kick me out?!"

"I believe the answer to that question is obvious, Mr. Makal. You would not pass the tests required to do the things that you came here for."

"Tests? Fuck your tests. I have money!"

"Money will do you no good here, sir. If that is all you think is required to indulge in our specialties, I suggest that you take a visit to Amsterdam. Your money will buy you a great deal more there."

"You...you..."

"I have already called the Enforcers, Mr. Makal. Will you be leaving with them, or under your own steam?"

Lorkos was rather impressed with the avian clerk. Despite the raw rage of the guy at the head of the line, and no back-up to speak of, she was holding her own without any apparent issue. He would not have expected that of a woman that was as short and slight as she was, particularly against someone that aggressive.

Eventually, the armadillo turned around, walking back down the line and grumbling under his breath the whole way. Lorkos shifted slightly to avoid getting hit by the other man's suitcase, shaking his head slightly as he turned back to the line.

"Next please."

The rest of the group was processed without incident, and eventually, he was at the head of the line. The bird looked up at him, her feathered fingers crossed over the middle of the table.

"Hmmm..."

"Hmm?" Lorkos asked.

"Intriguing. Name?"

"Lorkos Davy. I've been invited here to stay for a few months."

"Ah, and who invited you?"

"My friend, Dorbrica. She teaches at the university."

He reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a small bundle of letters. Just in case, he had brought all their correspondence, both the hand-written stuff and the things that he'd printed off from her emails. The wolf held them out, though the bird still didn't look through them. Instead, she seemed more content to stare at him, cocking her head to the side as if she was measuring him with one eye.

Eventually, he took the letters back, putting them in his pocket.

"So, which door do I go in?"

"...Neither."

"Excuse me?"

"Pardon me, Mr. Davy, but do you happen to have another letter with you? One that might have been mailed to you shortly before your departure, as a result of a...test?"

"Hmm? Oh!"

He had almost forgotten about that. Lorkos fumbled for his back pocket, pulling one more letter out. The blue envelope had looked rather official, now that he thought about it, but he hadn't recognized the letterhead on it, nor the initials that were printed on the front. The inside hadn't made much sense, either, the letter only directing him to hand it over when he reached border control at his destination.

Seems that it was a good thing that he had brought it along. He'd just thought that it was a random bit of paperwork, but considering the way that the avian woman's eyes lit up as she saw it, he realized that it was probably more important than it looked.

"Yes, that is precisely what I was looking for. If I may, Mr. Davy?"

"Sure, no problem."

She took the letter from him, laying it out on the table. No sooner had she flattened it out than she pulled a blue-light emitter from the underside of the table, running it across the page.

A few lines of text appeared above and below the instructions to hand it over to border security, but the instructions were gone before he had a chance to read them. The bird put the emitter away, smiling back at him. Well, as much as a woman with a beak could smile.

"Welcome to Dimash, Mr. Davy. You will take the door behind me."

He blinked, looking over her head. What he had assumed was just a door for staff - and probably didn't lead anywhere important - clicked at the seam. It opened half an inch, just enough for someone to slide their fingers inside and open the rest of the way.

"Uh, sure..."

"Enjoy your stay, sir. Next."

It was rather confusing, he had to admit. He knew that he was supposed to be tested for something when he got here, but the fact that he had just been waved through made him wonder if Dorbrica had been messing with him. The idea of a test just to get through the border had seemed a bit nuts, anyway, considering that it was more than any other country already did, but -

"Please hold position."

He paused as soon as he walked through the door, the metal sheet clicking shut behind him. An orca sat at the table in front of him, dressed in a tight suit that seemed like it was about ready to rip across his shoulders. Despite the raw size and musculature that he had, though, he had a small smile on his face, as if he was trying to be a little less threatening.

It was only partially working.

"I have a few quick questions for you, if you don't mind."

"Um, okay. I have to say, this is the strangest entry interview that I've ever seen."

"Most people say that. But it's for a good reason. Sit."

He did, pulling his suitcase up behind him and tucking it against the back of his chair. As soon as he was comfortable, the orca gestured at him.

"Before you came here, you filed an application for switch-hood, yes?"

"Yeah. Dorbrica told me to take the test before I came out here. Something about making the whole thing easier."

"Professor Dorbrica was correct in that matter."

"You know her?"

"I was a former student of hers. Minored in medicine in order to make my way here."

"...How does that work?"

"Body-reading. It's a good skill for someone in the border control agencies to have."

Agencies. As in more than one. He wondered what that meant and how it worked, but the orca was already moving on.

"As you have already taken the test for switch status, and passed it, you've been allowed this far. I am just here to test your reactions, and make sure that there wasn't anything that was falsified on the test."

"Well, if you need to, sure."

"Let's start with these."

The orca spread a series of cards out on the table between them, precise yet random. Lorkos arched an eyebrow, trying to keep as relaxed as possible. Despite the relaxed nature in the room, he could still feel a sort of...pressure, in a way, from the orca, almost like there was something going on to make him just obey.

"Now, just consider this a game of free association. I want you to look at the card that I flip over, and you tell me the first thing that pops into your mind."

"Isn't that a bit silly?"

"Pretty much, but a lot of the psycho-babble that we go through is. Doesn't mean it doesn't work, heh."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Well, as long as this goes well."

"And if it doesn't?"

"We'll re-sort you and figure out which of the other two rooms you should have gone into. You're still basically guaranteed to get in, sir. It's just figuring out the best role for you while you're here."

That was a comfort, though a strange route to take. Most people seemed to have some difficulty figuring out where they were supposed to be in life, and Dimash, from all that he heard, expended every effort it could to find someone a comfortable life and a good place to be.

It was just weird that it was based around this sort of dominance and submission route.

"Alright. I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's get started."

The orca turned over the first card, revealing a picture of a collar. It was easy enough for him to come up with a word for that.

"Laws."

"Hmmm, interesting."

Another card flipped, another picture shown. This time, it was a leash. Again, easy enough.

"Guidance."

"Heh. So we're going down that road, are we?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't worry. You don't have to."

Another card, and another, and another. Every time that he made a comment, there was some return statement from the orca, almost as if he was solving a puzzle rather than answering a questionnaire. Lorkos did his best to focus just on the pictures and to keep himself as honest as he could. It felt like, if he decided to start trying to fix his answers, the orca would somehow know.

He had seen people, had seen places, had seen objects. Every time, he said something that he forgot almost as soon as the next card was turned over, but it felt like he was on the right track. Certainly, the orca was grinning at him as they reached the last card. The agent paused with his fingers over it, and Lorkos almost felt like he hit an emotional wall as the flow of their 'chat' was broken.

"Ah, ah. You're almost there, but let me set the pace, hmm?"

"Mmmph. What was that?"

"Just a little trick," the orca said, looking down at the card. "Setting the pace."

"Well, let's flip this over, shall we?"

"You want to take control, then?"

"I think you've been running it long enough."

"Hmm-hmm. Very well, then. Flip it."

Lorkos did just that, and immediately blushed.

On the other side of the card was a creampied asshole, the detail completely photo-realistic, all the way down to the dark, slightly wrinkled flesh that was spread from a recent rut. His cheeks burned as he went from staring at landscapes and people and items to looking at...well, the end result of porn.

"And this?" the orca prompted.

"Fuck."

"...Heh. Well, that was remarkably uninformative, but pretty understandable, hehehe."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you don't expect to be shown something like that during an entry interview, do you?"

"No, and that's part of the reason it's there. If you'd shown too strong a reaction in either direction, it would have meant that switch-hood wasn't for you."

"And you're telling me this because..."

"Mostly because we have tons of other ways of checking on you. This is just the most obvious one."

"Uh-huh..."

The more he heard, the stranger this country seemed. It was like they lived entirely in their heads, like they were living on another planet compared to the rest of them. It was...well, kind of fascinating.

He rested his hands on the table, half-standing. When the orca didn't stop him, he got to his feet the rest of the way. There was almost a feeling of fighting against a pressure to stay down, and he didn't know why. All he knew was that he seemed to have passed some sort of test by pushing himself out of the chair, because the agent chuckled.

"Well, I'd say that you're as close to a switch as we need for this test. Welcome to Dimash, Lorkos."

"Heh, that's it?"

"We could go through more, if you like."

"...And if I said yes, I'd be a sub, wouldn't I?"

"You'd be leaning closer to it, yeah. Smart man."

"I try. So..."

"Door's behind me."

Click. The metal wall opened across the room, and Lorkos did his best not to hustle towards it. The feeling of the orca's stare wasn't...disturbing, precisely, but there was an amusement and slight superiority in the stare that made him feel kinda weird.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he felt like he was back in familiar territory. He was surrounded by other men and women that had gotten off the boat and were coming from the other rooms, though they were wearing a collar or carrying a leash. The black wolf blinked as some of them just ran forward, leaping into the crowd. Particularly the ones with the leashes, he realized, who were whipping around and around like they were trying to find someone to snap it on.

It didn't take long for security to start sorting them out, coming out of hollows and hallways to pull them aside and explain how things worked. Lorkos shook his head, pulling his suitcase out of the entry corridor for arrivals.

As soon as he was past the main swarm, he spotted his host. She was as strange to look at as her letters and photos had suggested, but rather lovely all the same. An orca-bird, she had the face of a bird - almost like a gryphon - with large, swept back ears that were covered in fuzz. The bird look continued down her body, not particularly heavy or curvy as one might expect an orca to be, but that part of her heritage seemed to reside solely in her tail. It swept up and back from her body, showing off the sheer power in that limb with a fin at the end.

She wore a dress today, which was different from what he expected, and she strolled through the crowd with a command in her step that would have made most of the guys back home salute out of sheer habit. He chuckled as she embraced him, black dress against a t-shirt and jeans, and he hugged her back.

"Good to finally meet you in person, Dorbrica," he said.

"Likewise. It's been a long time coming."

They parted, and she took his suitcase. Just as she started to turn, though, she blinked.

"Uh...Where's your collar and leash?"

"Was I supposed to bring one?"

"No, they were supposed to hand you one..." She sighed. "Hold on a second."

"Do you want me to -"

Suddenly poked in the nose, Lorkos bit off a yelp as the orca-bird directed him to stay in that one spot. It stung, just a bit, but it was enough to convince him that she was serious about him not moving from there. He shuffled a bit as she walked off towards one of the sea-port gift shops, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The more he looked around, though, the more he realized that there were only people with leashes and collars around him. Even the locals carried them, and he realized that it was more than just a fashion statement.

I always thought that they were joking about it.

Apparently not, considering that collared folk seemed to be completely subservient to the ones that held the leashes. He didn't know how that would work long-term, but apparently, this was a country that had figured it out.

Lorkos was still watching them, shaking his head slowly, when Dorbrica returned. She slapped a leash into his hand, and then held up a collar, one that was little more than standard black leather with a tag for a leash at the front. He looked at it, then at her, chuckling.

"What, no date first?"

"You joke, but you'll want that if you want to be a switch. Otherwise, you'll have subs swarming you looking for someone to take the leash."

"Oh come on, it can't be that -"

"Sir, sir!"

He blinked, almost yanked off his feet as he was turned around. An elephant that stood almost a foot taller than him panted, then went to his knees, putting his hands up in a begging motion.

"Leash me, please? Lease me?"

"..."

"Come on, please, I just got here, I want to try it out."

"Tourists," Dorbrica muttered, shaking her head. "Come on. And put the collar around your neck. Loosely. It means that you're a switch, instead of a pure sub."

"Got it..."

He shook his head, pulling the collar around his neck and dragging it closed. It hung loosely around his neck and collarbone, and he wondered how he was going to get used to things like that.

Then again, he supposed that tourists were going to be weird. The locals, like Dorbrica, were probably going to be much more stable about things. Or at least, he really, really hoped that they were.

Thankfully, they were able to get a taxi as soon as they were out of the sea-port. Dorbrica helped him load his suitcase into the trunk, and then they hopped into the back. The first thing that Lorkos noticed was that the driver had a collar around his neck, one that was a soft brown and worn smooth.

Dorbrica leaned forward before he could ask anything, snapping her leash around his neck. The driver, a Doberman, stiffened up with a slight gasp and a smile.

"Where to, Mistress?"

"Up to Maritime Lane, number 32."

"Of course, Mistress. Any sight-seeing?"

"Not today, heh. Drive along."

The car pulled out of the harbor, and Lorkos shook his head again.

"Do you do this all the time?"

"Drivers are all subs. Unless you run into one that isn't wearing a collar, in which case, you haven't gotten into a taxi. And besides, this way he knows I can't run out on him without paying my fee."

"Quite correct, Mistress," the Doberman said. "And a fine quality leash you have, if I may say so."

"You may."

"And...you're not going to..."

Lorkos mimed with his fingers a cock going into a hole, and the orca-bird chuckled, shaking her head.

"Not at all. Domination and submission aren't just sexual positions, after all. I thought we went over this."

"It's one thing to go over it, it's another thing to see it."

And that was nothing but the truth. As he looked out the windows, he could see men and women in different pairings. Some men with men, some women with women, some of both, sometimes in arrangements that were impossibly to tell at a quick look. Some of them wore their collars on places other than their necks, too, with some of the subs wearing them around their ankles or wrists, and some -

He turned away before getting too close a look at that, trying not to think about how that would pull some very delicate pieces of anatomy. Shaking his head, he forced himself to look back at his host.

"After I get my stuff put away -"

"You want to know what we're doing?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"Well, I am going to be working on a lesson plan for the start of the next school year. Never can have that done too early. You, on the other hand, are going to be taking a walk down to one of the history museums nearby."

"...Why a walk?"

"Because it's better for you. And because you can see what happens on the streets, that way."

"And if someone decides that I..."

He tapped his collar.

"I know they aren't supposed to, but you said that switches are...valuable. What if someone decides to break the rules?"

"Then shout as loud as you can for the Enforcers."

"Or the Peacekeepers, mistress," their driver said.

"Better the Enforcers. The Peacekeepers will keep them from running, yes, but the Enforcers will actually deal with whoever tries to collar someone illegally."

"That happens?"

"Almost never," Dorbrica said, shaking her head. "But you know how it is. No place is perfect, and you have to keep your eyes out for people doing stupid things."

He slowly nodded, looking back out the window again. They were following a road around Dimash's coastline, he realized, and they were probably going to keep following it for a while if they were going to a road called 'Maritime Lanes'. He shook his head, just watching the beach.

Even there, he saw things that surprised him, particularly with the number of people that were out in public having...relations. His cheeks burned beneath his fur as he saw one dragon out in the surf, wings speckling like stars as he was served by no fewer than a dozen other anthros, each one collared and with a leash leading back to him. Some were rubbing his shoulders, others...further down.

One was even riding him, grinding his ass down on a cock that even from a distance he could tell was hard as hell. A very tender part of him twitched, and he blushed as he looked away.

"Very...brazen out here, huh?"

"Well, there's not much to worry about in terms of modesty," the orca-bird said. "Just because it isn't all sex doesn't mean that it's not partially sexed-up. And we sell that part to the tourists."

"Yeah...I noticed."

"Heh, but not you."

"Well..." He shook his head. "It's interesting, for sure, but it's more just the way that you act out here. Like there's some good reason for everyone to just be ready to follow someone else's orders as soon as they get a leash."

"Following orders is something that we've been doing from the dawn of time. It's just a matter of picking whose orders you follow."

"The collar that guides and the leash that compels, hmm?" He chuckled. "I did read a few things before coming out here."

There had been various philosophies that had come out of Dimash on the subject, actually, and that was only one, written by a dominant personality from what he could tell. There was also one based around the idea of 'the armored collar and the driving leash,' which was a little more interesting to him. The idea of a collar providing a set of laws that both a submissive and a dominant must abide by was more interesting than merely a pair of accessories that put all authority into one pair of hands.

But that was for another time.

Dorbrica paid the taxi driver, then carried his stuff into her apartment. Up on the third floor, it was a decent enough place. Not the biggest, not the smallest, and just large enough for someone like him to be comfortable in without feeling like he was taking up too much space or being too cramped.

Before he could go to his room, however, the orca-bird tossed him a couple of hundreds of the local currency, then turned him around to face the street.

"Like I said, museum time."

"Hey, at least let me freshen up first."

"You were on a boat, then in a taxi, and now you're here. You didn't work up a sweat in that time."

"But I'd still like to be a bit more comfortable."

"You can do that later."

"But -"

"Later. After another guest has left. Understand?"

"Ah...yeah, I get it."

"Good. Now. Off you go."

Shaking his head, he walked down the sidewalk, leaving the apartment building behind. The wolf spared one more glance over his shoulder, looking at the orca-bird through the window. She was already stripping off her dress, so he quickly turned around and fixed his eyes on the street, instead.

It didn't take long to get to a roundabout, and there, he found a couple of signs. One pointed him towards a public park, while the other pointed him towards a cultural center on this edge of the city. Something about a couple of museums and a bunch of stores in the area, as far as he could tell.

That would work as a starting place, he supposed. It'd give him something to do, at least.

He kept his eyes straight ahead, but that didn't stop him from seeing the different men and women on leashes on the street. Sometimes, he spotted ones that were not leashed, but rather collared, and they were...almost normal.

Almost.

If one didn't pay attention to the way that they looked around like a happy puppy, at least. There was something to the way that they eyed everyone going by that made him think of nothing so much as an eager pet, someone that was looking for someone else to love. Someone that would put a leash on them and treat them well.

The fact that people could just expect that here was both heart-warming and strange at the same time.

He stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change, and a vixen walked up beside him. She had a rat on a leash, and the rat was...well, not the most well-dressed. He had a leather harness around his chest, and his crotch was barely covered by a strip of leather, one that ran up and just split the rodent's balls before covering his cock.

Holy...

The raw exhibitionism was nearly enough to leave him blushing again, but after seeing the dragon and his harem on the beach, this was really almost nothing in comparison. Still, he couldn't help but sneak a few glimpses out of the corner of his eye as the normally-dressed vixen - a t-shirt, jeans, some nice sneakers - looked back at him.

"Heh, are you interested in him?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you interested? I'll have used up my three hours with him in twenty minutes, if you want to tag along."

"You mean, he's not yours?"

"Well, he is for the next few minutes; after that, he goes back to being a pleasure slave for rent."

"But...isn't that prostitution?"

"Not really. Steve?"

"Yeah, I ain't getting paid for the sex," the rat said, chuckling. "It's more the company, and the obedience. I get paid to make other people smile, you know?"

"...Well, that's a job."

"I like it," the rat said, shrugging. "So, you interested?"

"Noooot right now, thanks."

"Hey, had to ask." Steve chuckled. "Light's green, Mistress."

They crossed together, then split, the pair going down one road while he went down another. The idea of having someone else pulling him on a leash, dragging him hither and yon, was almost appealing in its own, weird way. Sometimes, it was nice not having to make your own decisions, and if you could find someone to take that responsibility away from you...

He reached up to his collar, giving it a little tug before shaking his head. Probably not the best idea right yet. After all, he didn't know anyone here yet, and even though they seemed more professional and polite than anyone else he had ever met...

Well, maybe better to wait a bit longer. At least until he was sure of what he wanted. After all, being a switch, he had options.

He flexed his hand around the leash in his pocket, shaking his head. Just like putting himself under the control of another person, putting someone else under him was an appealing thought. And there were plenty of folks around making offers.

Even here, around the museum square, he realized. Lorkos looked up to find a series of collared men and women standing outside of the biggest domed building on the square - the Museum of the Collar - and each one seemed to be a different style of submissive. Some were showing off their bodies, making a real display of themselves, while others stood professional, suave and cultured. Still others were bowing on their knees, offering their collar with hands upturned beneath them, truly submitting to whatever fate happened to grab them.

Lorkos approached the line slowly, his eyes flicking from male to female and back again. Some were barely dressed, some were well-dressed and heavily covered, but most fell somewhere in the middle. He eventually walked up to a dragoness with blue scales and red wings, who was...well, as naked as one could imagine, with only a pair of pasties and a strip of duct tape between her legs to accompany her collar.

"I can't believe I'm asking this...but are you a guide for the museum?" Lorkos said, pointing at the building behind her.

"I most certainly am, sir. I am certified in the history of the building, and of all the subjects therein," she said, and even though the subject was plain, her voice was...not. It crooned to him, teasingly making his shoulders hunch, and pulling at something inside. A temptation. "I can educate your mind...and then your body, should you wish."

"Do you always talk like that?"

"It's a skill," she said, her voice suddenly dropping down to gravel. "Would this be better?"

"How in the world did you learn that?"

"There's classes for everything in Dimash. Anything for self-improvement. And considering I used to be a complete nymphomaniac who did nothing but fuck, I think I've done pretty well for myself. So, do you want my services?"

"Yes, if you can keep the gravely voice for now."

"You actually want to learn, huh?"

"Yes, and the other one -"

"Too distracting?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Deal, Master."

She tilted her head back, and he attached the collar to her neck. She bowed her head, sweeping her wings behind her.

"May I be so humbled as to take the lead, Master? Or would you wish that I take my place behind you, so that you may focus on the many artifacts within?"

"Tempting as it'd be to stare at your ass the whole time, let's go with behind me."

"As you wish, Master. I will follow your lead."

He nodded, leading her up the steps to the museum. This was going to be a very...interesting visit, he felt. And considering how she'd offered to educate his body after they walked through the museum...

I hope Dorbrica doesn't mind me being late for dinner...

The End