Slavery Legalized

by Draugr & Element

Chapter 18: Bye Bye, Blackbird

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License](%5C)

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"It's really big..." Randall whispered to his master, looking around the cavernous church.

"Yes it is, Randall, lots of furs come here regularly for religious services, churches like this one are usually this big...-oh, hey!" Georgio said, standing up to greet one of his cousins. Randall busied himself taking in all the sights, smells, and sounds while his master chatted. Pretty soon the ushers came in, letting those in the aisles know the wedding was about to begin. Georgio stood up, indicating to his slave that he was to stand as well.

Randall popped up, looking around, unsure as to what was going on. He wasn't very tall and consequently couldn't see the front when everyone was standing like this, no matter how he strained around everyone. He kept silent, however, not making any noises. Georgio couldn't suppress a small chuckle seeing him act like this.

As the organ music began, Randall perked up, having never heard an organ before. It sounded incredibly rich and full, slightly archaic. Soon, a beautiful female cougar in a white wedding dress began to walk down the aisle with her bridesmaids in tow. Flashes of light appeared from all directions as pictures were taken. Randall leaned out the side of the pew to watch her walk toward the front. He'd never seen such expensive clothing before, or, at least, what he imagined must be quite expensive.

Georgio wiped a few tears out of his eyes, smiling as he watched. Randall looked over, furrowing his eyebrows, thinking something had happened.

"Master, is something wrong?" he whispered, sounding very worried.

"No, no," he replied, shaking his head, "I've known my cousin all her life, and she's had some hard times...I'm just so happy she's finally got something good going for her." He took Randall's paw in his own, seating the both of them as the ceremony began.

"Kind of like me, then?" the wolf asked as they sat down. "I think I know what you mean..." He leaned against his master, resting his head on the lion's shoulder, able to see okay now that everyone was seated.

"True, yeah...you have had a hard life, but it's gonna be sunshine and fun now," Georgio laughed quietly. He kissed his wolf's head, putting an arm around his waist. The lion didn't think it would be too noticeable since all eyes were on the bride, or at least they all should be.

As the ceremony continued, Randall found that he didn't understand too well what the preacher was saying about the marriage, but then again, he was only paying half attention. All he really caught and held onto was something about it being very important that they were all there to see the event, which he could certainly agree with. It seemed very important, as there were so many things and it was inside this pretty church.

There were a lot of furs in this room, although they didn't make him too nervous as they weren't paying one bit of attention to him. All the new sights - the furs, the church, and the ceremony itself were quite distracting, and it wasn't easy to focus on all of them at one time. Randall caught one small cub staring back at him - accidentally making eye contact, and quickly snapped his head over, pressing it into his master's forearm.

Georgio looked down, concerned, then saw a little lynx cub staring in his direction. Georgio waved at him, and the cub waved back, smiling.

"Hehe, what's wrong, Randall? He's just four you know, he's my cousin's little one...not exactly scary, ya know."

"We made eye contact..." Randall whispered, whimpering quietly.

Randall knew the situation was quite ridiculous, here he was, a wolf in his twenty-fourth year, and he'd been scared by a four-year old lynx cub. But eyes always gave him the jitters, whether he wanted them to or not.

Georgio chuckled, kissing his head again. "Silly wolf..."

Both master and slave slowly returned their eyes to the front of the church to watch the rest of the ceremony. Randall kept himself busy by playing with his paws during all this, Georgio wiping away the occasional tear or two. The wolf's attention was abruptly brought back to the real world when his master gripped his leash, pulling him up, and began clapping. The bride and groom were walking down the aisle again.

They fed out with the rest of the crowd, stopping to talk to the newly-weds. Georgio went right up and hugged his cousin, and shook her husband's hand as well. "Congrats, I wish you both the best." Randall sat down by his master's feet, trying to appear inconspicuous.

"Oh, thank you, Georgio, that means a lot...and who is this? Are you Georgio's date?" he asked, laughing.

"Y-yes, sir," he said. He paused a few moments, his thoughts spinning, everything he'd experienced during the ceremony trying to come up all at once. Without moving his gaze from the floor, he said "Your dress looks awful expensive." This was a rather odd way to compliment the bride on her appearance, but Randall was out of his element and was a little too nervous to think clearly. He'd even addressed her without her addressing him first, which was not something he'd normally ever do, unless it was his master whom he felt comfortable enough around to do that sort of thing.

"It was, kind of, but thankfully on sale...thank you though, you look very nice as well, your master spoils you, huh? Well, I hope you join us for the reception...in fact, I insist you sit in the chair next to your master, okay?" The bride reached down to stroke the wolf's head, smiling. Randall's ears splayed to the side as he was petted. The bride was a stranger, but he really enjoyed the sensation, and didn't flinch at all. Master was right next to him so it was okay.

Georgio laughed, giving a small tug on the leash. "Come on, Randall, thank them both for the nice offer, I certainly think he'll take it sweetie, so we'll see you at the reception."

"Um...thank you, both of you, thank you..." the wolf said rather quietly, as they departed toward the car. When they were finally in and driving off, Randall breathed out deeply. Wow, that had been quite something - addressed by not just anyone, but the bride and groom! The two most important people out of all of them.

Well, other than Master, of course, he thought.

"Where we goin?" he asked suddenly, unsure of their destination.

"Well, the reception, of course! Do you know what that is? It's the after-party, Randall, there's...music, dancing, drinks, cake...which you will not go near! Understand?"

"Wha-whyyyyyy?" Randall said, drawing out the last syllable. He sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't understand why his Master had to spoil all his fun like this.

Georgio looked down at him sternly as he stopped at a red light. "Because you'll have a piece when they serve it...you are not to look at, be around, touch, taste, smell, or even think about that cake without my say so. I'm going to be beside you the entire time anyway, so you can have fun with me."

"Okay..." Randall said under his breath. "I haven't even done anything yet..." he pouted, almost inaudibly.

"Are we there yet?" the wolf asked.

Georgio sighed, irritated. "Don't be a child, you don't know how things work and you still refuse to ask questions, and ask if things are proper to do or not, so if you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you as one, alright?"

Randall just wrinkled his nose and looked out the window, not saying anything in response. The day was already starting to wear on him, and they hadn't even made it to the reception yet. The wolf didn't want to be completely honest with himself at this point, but if he did, he'd have to admit that his master was right, it was best to cover everything in advance given his impulsive history. Right now it seemed unfair to him, however.

Georgio watched him a bit, and when they came to the next red light, he reached over to pet his head.

"I love you, Randall, please don't be mad with me...I'm doing it for your own good, trust me, wrecking a wedding reception is definitely a call to the slave police you know, and John and Tom are three hours away, unable to help you."

Randall tried to stick to his guns, but he just couldn't stay argumentative with his master like that. The mention of the slave police helped snap him out of his mood as well.

"Sorry, Master," he said genuinely. "I love you too," he said as they pulled into the reception hall parking lot. Georgio smiled, glad that his slave wasn't mad at him. He left the car, but didn't see Randall crawling out the drivers side after him, shutting the door before Randall could get out. He gave a small yip, causing his master to peer in, thinking he'd had problems with the belt or something. He chuckled, seeing what he had done, opening the door back up.

"Aww, Randall, you're so cute...come on." He took the wolf's leash in paw, heading to the building where they were directed to a large, lavish room. A disco ball reflected light in all directions. A good-sized dance floor dominated one part of the room, and in the corner were the drinks and cake, along with other refreshments.

Randall looked around the large room as they entered, and very noticeably moved in closer to his master, pressing against him to feel safer. Master had said there would be about three hundred furs...he didn't know how many were here already, but it felt like too much.

Despite his nervousness, the wolf's gaze lingered on a table containing an elaborately constructed wedding cake. Even if he had wanted to go over there, he couldn't have - there was a whole sea of strange furs between him and the cake.

"I don't think you have to worry about me stealing any food..." Randall said to his master after thinking about this.

Georgio smiled down, walking over to their table. "Here we are...Georgio and Guest, come on Randall, sit down, the bride and groom already gave you their blessing to." Randall hesitated, thinking the floor might be nicer, with the long tablecloth easily able to hide him, but he sat at the table as ordered. His master had taken a small roll from a basket on the table, setting it down on Randall's plate.

"Now, take your time and eat it, this is the part where you show me your self control, okay?"

Randall had already made a quick grab for the food at the table, and had gotten it almost to his muzzle before his master's words registered with him. He folded his ears back and began to eat - slowly.

"Good boy, Randall, nice and slow...and if you react like that again, you won't be eating anything until we get back to the hotel...a bag of pretzels from the vending machine or something. Just take it slow and remember, you're representing me, in front of my friends and relatives, so behave or I'll get pretty cross and disappointed with you, alright?"

"Yes, Master," he said meekly. He didn't want to let his master down so he tried to focus very hard on all the things he'd been taught to do. His tail lazily wagged out the back of the chair - his mood had slightly improved since the trip over.

It stopped though, and drooped a little, as a thought mortified him. Lords, what would happen if he lost his temper like he had a couple times before? In front of Master's family no less? Randall thought he could understand now why Master had been rather stern with him over this.

A few minutes passed, Randall trying to curl in on himself to make himself look less noticeable, and his master talking with other wedding guests. Georgio noticed this, petting his head a little until he calmed down. Randall looked up and forced a smile, laying his ears back - it always felt so good to have his head pet. Eventually his master was able to simply rest his paw on his knee while continued to chat people up. Randall placed his own paw atop his master's wagging his tail weakly.

Randall had been lost in thought, thinking about all the horrible ways things could go wrong, when the DJ turned down the lights and began playing some music, announcing the bride and groom coming in. The bridesmaids and groomsmen came in first, quickly followed by the newly-weds. Georgio turned, standing up to clap, whistling as everyone paraded in.

Randall let out an unheard yelp amidst all the sudden din, the sound lost in the cacophony of shouting, screaming, whistling, and clapping. The noise had startled the poor wolf, almost sending him backwards off his chair. He slid down off his chair and hid under the table, stuffing his paws in his ears until everything settled down.

"Randall, I'm sorry, I should have warned you about that..." Georgio said, once the noise had died down and he had sat back down. "Come back up with Master, please?" he asked, extending a paw. Randall accepted it, allowing himself to be pulled back into his seat, although he was still trembling a little - he didn't handle being overloaded like that very well.

Returning one paw to the wolf's knee, which seemed to noticeably calm him, Georgio used his other to take a fork and tap his glass, the whole table soon joining in. Randall was focusing on eating his food slowly and not misbehaving, which is perhaps why all the clinking took him by surprise. His ears perked up at the unusual noise. The wolf suddenly got a scowl on his face, grabbed the tips of his ears, and tugged them down, stuffing his paws in them as best he could. The noise was incredibly unpleasant for some reason. Some of the glasses were probably hitting one of those higher pitches as they reverberated. He looked up at his master, seeking an explanation, although he looked more confused than disgusted now.

"It's a tradition, Randall," the lion explained, laughing at the wolf's reaction. "You tap the glass, and the bride and groom kiss each-other." Which, incidentally, was precisely what happened next as the sound died down. The wolf, happy with an answer, went back to eating some more. It took a lot of energy to do something as simple as eating at a normal fur's pace, so his concentration was almost explicitly devoted to that.

The maid of honor stood up and began to give a speech - Randall wasn't sure too much of the content, the words slipping in and out of him as he constantly struggled not to lose control of himself in what was a very public place for him. However, the maid of honor had a nice sing-song voice that was pleasant to listen to. Randall thought that even if he had spoken a different language, he'd still enjoy listening to her talk. He understood something about how the bride had always been like a sister, and that she wasn't losing a sister, she was gaining a brother.

A few more speeches were given, none of which the wolf paid very much to - he was having a hard enough concentrating on behaving, which is why he flinched, surprised, when his master stood up and set the leash down.

"Sit here and focus on eating that roll...I'll get us some drinks, I'll be right back, okay? Now, I'm trusting you with this, Randall, please don't move or try to handle anything, okay?" Randall's eyes got as big as dinner plates as his master left to get a couple sodas. He knew the lion would be right back, but there were so many furs around here... Randall felt like his entire body was frozen in place. He eventually was able to bring his knees up, hugging them and hiding his face in his drawn-up legs. That helped a little, though not much. He at least couldn't see the room, even if he could hear and smell them. When his master came back, he felt okay enough to sit back on his chair like a normal fur, although he was trembling a bit.

"Did you do okay without me for a few minutes?" Georgio asked, placing a paw on Randall's shoulder. He reached over and hugged his master, shaking his head no. That had been quite unpleasant for him. Anything could have happened while Master was gone. He chuckled, putting an arm around the wolf.

"It's alright, I know that was scary, but that was good for you. I could see you the whole time, you were fine." He pet his head, scratching him behind his ears, setting the soda down at Randall's place.

"Here, try this."

Randall had calmed down quickly, enough to take the soda in his paw without shaking it out all over the table. He tentatively took a sip of the soda and started guzzling it...before remembering how he was supposed to act. He gave his master a rather guilty look, folding his ears back, and then took a small sip and set it back down.

Meanwhile, the little lynx cub wandered over to their table. He remembered seeing the wolf and the lion before.

"Hey, you! What's your name? How old are you? I'm four."

Randall gripped his master's hand rather tightly and looked to the floor.

"...Randall, y-young s-sir. I'm...t-twenty-four."

This is ridiculous. He's four. Why can't I feel normal around strangers...and he isn't even really a stranger! He's master's cousin or something...and he's four!

Randall continued to mentally berate himself over the situation.

"Whassa wrong with him?" he asked, looking up at Georgio quizzically.

"Well, hello to you too, Lyle," the lion said, picking the cub up and setting him in his lap. "I haven't seen you for ages, you've gotten so big, I hope you're helping with your little sister back home." The lion tickled his sides, making him laugh. He noticed Lyle still staring at Randall, however. "Well, this is Randall, my slave, he's just nervous with new people...why don't you show him you're not scary at all?"

Lyle impulsively crawled straight over to Randall's lap, causing the wolf to let out a frightened yip. There wasn't much he could do, however.

"I'm not gonna bite or nothin', honest," he said. Randall looked down at the cub in his lap - although without making eye contact. He bit his lip and said quietly.

"Um..no, I guess not." He gave a forced grin, shifting his eyes around the cub's. Lyle was doing his best to lock eyes with the wolf as well, making for a rather comical display of silent moving heads. Suddenly Lyle's mother walked over.

"Lyle! Goodness me, you're so impulsive. Don't wander off like that, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Randall's ears dropped down at the mother's loud voice, wondering if he was about to get scolded for something. He inched his chair closer to his master as Lyle jumped down to the floor and darted over to his mother. Georgio got up and gave her a hug, pecking her on the cheek.

"Hehe, hi Sammy, it's good to see you. Lyle's gotten so big, and he is such a little chatterbox...just like a certain girl I remember, way back when we were cubs..."

"Yes, he does talk a lot...I do hope he wasn't giving you any trouble. Honest, since the moment he could walk it's been nothing but constant panic..half afraid I'll wake up in the morning with the Chinese embassy on the phone telling me they found my son trotting around in Beijing." She looked down at her son with a loving smile though - it was clear she wasn't really very upset, just worried.

"Lyle? No, not at all, he's just trying to help my slave out...he acts like Lyle's about to bite him, but he's just the sweetest thing..."

"Yes, I noticed you had a new...um...acquisition. He appears to be quite well-trained - given you any trouble?" Samantha hadn't seen Georgio in quite some time so she wasn't sure how to make normal small-talk with him. Randall leaned in tightly against his master, hiding his face in his shoulder as the topic of conversation switched to him.

"This is Randall, my new slave. I didn't have a date and he's not used to social interaction so I thought this would be good for him. Besides, he's always wanted to see a wedding. Randall, why don't you introduce yourself?"

The wolf swallowed hard, mustering up all the courage he could. He looked directly at the floor as he spoke.

"I'm...I'm Randall, ma'am," he said after he was told to introduce himself.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. Georgio here has always been a good judge of character, so I'm sure you're a sweet one, as he says. You behave for him, you hear?"

"Y-yes ma'am, of course!"

Sammy smiled and looked back at Georgio, giving a small laugh. "I hope the relatives haven't given you too much crap about him being your date. Most of us don't mind, but, you know...our uncle's branch and the older generation are kind of weird about those sorts of things. They still get all stuffy about cross-species relationships. Wake up! It's the twenty-first century!" she laughed.

"Yep, he's a sweet boy, and being very good, so he's being allowed to sit by me...the bride herself invited him to."

"Well, anyway, it was good to see you again, but I'm afraid I've got to move on to the next table...want to make sure I see Darcy before she leaves."

She took off, looking rather harried, and keeping a very close eye on her son. As the two sat back down, a waiter approached, placing things on their table, once again enticing a clingy response out of Randall.

"Looks like they are starting the meal, you'll be having steak with a baked potato, so use utensils and pace yourself. If I see that not happening at all, we're leaving, and I don't want to leave, okay?"

Randall nodded.

"Yes, Master, of course."

The wolf really had to resist the temptation to tear into the steak as it was brought out - it smelled so good and he was pretty hungry, but he didn't want to leave and even more importantly, he didn't want his master to have to leave. As he ate he relaxed a bit, his concentration breaking as he looked about watching the furs mingle and listening to music playing in the background.

He managed to get about halfway through the steak before he started going at a much more rapid pace, finishing almost the entire thing without realizing what he'd just done.

Georgio sighed, poking his arm. "Slow...unless you don't want cake..." he threatened idly. Randall folded his ears back and slowed his pace back down.

"Sorry, Master...I lost concentration." He was glad his master hadn't followed through on his threat, he would have hated to leave. He managed to make himself eat slowly for the rest of the meal.

"Oh, I love this song..." Georgio said suddenly. "Randall, do you want to dance? It's a slow song," he asked. The wolf's ears flushed red, as though he were embarrassed.

"Um...I dunno how..." he said quietly. Georgio gave him a soft smile, unclipping his leash.

"That's why I'm here," he said, extending a paw. Randall took it, and followed him out onto the dance floor. There were a lot of couples there already, and he led him to a relatively empty spot near the center. Randall was a bit hesitant, not liking being surrounded by all these strangers...but he knew that if his master was with him, he could manage.

Georgio placed his paws on Randall's shoulders and around his neck, placing Randall's around his own waist. He pulled the wolf close, gently swaying to the music, holding him close to his chest. He whispered in his wolf's ear as they danced to the slow beat, feeling Randall's very palpable tension. "Just close your eyes, Randall...don't pay attention to those around us. Focus on me, on my heartbeat...and then just listen to the music and dance."

Randall closed his eyes and pressed the side of his head against his master's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and using that rhythm to drown out the noises of all the other furs. Pretty soon it was as if only him and his master existed right now.

Once he had narrowed everything down that far, he felt safe enough to let something else in, and began listening to the beat of the music. It wasn't nearly as difficult as he'd thought it was. Randall followed his master's movements, and with the aid of the music, the result was fairly smooth - for a first-time dancer.

Georgio beamed, holding his wolf close. As they swayed, he gently nuzzled his head, and even risked giving him a small kiss - they were already dancing, after all.

"You're making me so proud right now...good boy..." he whispered into the lupine's ear.

Randall moved his head up and rested it in his master's mane, enjoying the feel of it falling over his muzzle. He wagged his tail as his master called him a good boy, feeling happy that he was able to please him. The wolf continued to sway back and forth - with his master leading he found it easy to follow in step. He was so wrapped up in the moment that he didn't even notice a few looks turning their way. Not accusing looks, just smiles, and perhaps one or two of bewilderment at seeing a slave so attached and clearly in love to his master.

Georgio saw some of these looks, just smirking a little. "We're getting some surprised looks...I don't think they have seen such a dedicated slave to his master before...looks like I've broken that scared little wolf from a few days ago into a wild little companion, huh?" he said laughing, chosing his words carefully to avoid a hissy fit resulting from the "t" word.

"Yeah...I guess you did, Master." Randall was thinking as they danced - had this really been what he wanted all along? What he was all along? Sure, he'd admitted he'd liked being Master's slave, but that was different - Master had shown him how things could really be. But...maybe he was angry and defensive before because he had to watch out for himself, and now that someone else was willing to do that for him...was this actually the "real" Randall?

He didn't like that thought too much, still, so he didn't dwell on it. It quickly flew out of his head like the bird in the song.

_All thru the winter you hung around

Now I begin to feel homeward bound

Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on my way

Where there's sunshine galore

Pack up all my care and woe

Here I go, singing low

Bye bye blackbird_