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A Vixen's Tail

Catfood - Episode 7 - Test Results

© 2004 Nameless

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I unlocked the door of our apartment and went in.

" Lye!" Jen had spotted me. A few moments later Kaye joined her. They both stared at my face. No, actually they were staring at my collar. I blushed in embarrassment. "What a nice necklace you have there." Jen teased me.

"Hello." I put the bag on the locker and searched the side pockets. In the third one I found the key, a coin-sized plastic disk. I touched it to the lock and breathed a sigh of relief when the collar snapped open.

"You all right?" Kaye asked, slightly anxious.

"Yes. I guess so." I picked up the bag and the collar and carried them to my room. For a moment I thought about staying in my room, but I found that the desire to talk to someone was stronger.

I fetched a glass of fruit juice and joined my friends in the living room. Since there was no way I could avoid it and since I didn't really want to, I told them what had happened to me today. I didn't go into very much detail and I conveniently 'forgot' to tell them about the present Tammy had given me after the examination.

Kaye interrupted my account of the 'gynecological' examination and asked "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"How...?" I asked, Kaye just grinned and sniffed the air. I blushed, now that she had reminded me, I could clearly smell my arousal. Then I sniffed again and grinned first at her, then at Jen "You two are enjoying this as well, aren't you?"

They both blushed. After a moment Jen grinned "I've been thinking about getting a bit more education, maybe I should try a nursing school. I wonder if that clinic is hiring?"

"Ummm..." I stared at her "Seriously?"

"I don't know..." She winked.

When she didn't say anything else I went on with my story.

By the time I was finished it was dinnertime, so we went to the kitchen to fix something to eat. Talking about the events of the day had helped me a lot. Jen and Kaye were good company and were eager to help me. Jen seemed all too eager, I was beginning to wonder about her. At some point must I have mentioned the stories and other 'educational' resources Tammy had given me, because they (especially Jen) began to badger me about them as soon as we finished off our food.

I found it impossible to say "no" to them and a few minutes later we sat in front of my computer, browsing the catalog of bondage gear. We had a lot of fun joking about what kinds of crazy things one could do with the stuff. I was not quite sure if I liked the glint in Jen's eyes and the speculative way she looked at me. By the time I finally managed to shoo them out of my room the fur on my thighs (and the dress, I had not put on any panties) was damp. Unless my sense of smell played a big trick on me, both my friend's panties, especially Jen's, would be just as wet. I also had to give them a copy of all the bondage stories, they wouldn't leave my room before I did.

I sat on my bed for a few minutes, trying to calm down and think about something else than being tied up and being pleasured by a male. Suddenly I remembered that I had to work at the bar. I scrambled to the bathroom to clean up a little, I wanted to take a shower, but knew I was going to get there late as it was. I found some clean clothes and got there only a few minutes after I should have. The owner scolded me a bit but mostly forgave me when I told him that I'd been examined at the hospital for several hours. I didn't give him any details, though. The rest of the evening went well enough.

#####

I woke up rather early on Sunday. (Ok, not early for a workday, but pretty early considering how late I had worked the day before.) I did not feel like getting up, but I could not sleep either, so I grabbed the computer screen, curled up in bed with it and opened the folder of stories Tammy had given me. I did not think I wanted to read about the medical examination, but my curiosity had been piqued enough that I could not just ignore the story. And once I opened it and saw the author's name, I just could not 'not read' it: It was none other than Tamara Nadir.

I was halfway through the story before I realized how wet my left paw was. It almost shocked me how natural it felt to paw off to a story where the main character was tied up and deliciously tortured. I got up and fetched a towel and James. He got quite a workout.

Some time later I had a shower, but there was no way of fooling Kaye, the grin she gave me spoke volumes. I'm pretty sure Jen could not smell it, but she caught Kaye's grin and it did not take her long to realize what that meant. They taunted me good-naturedly about it every now and then for most of the rest of the day.

In the evening Tammy phoned. "Tammy here, hello Lydia"

"Hello. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we'll get the results of your test tomorrow. If it's not a problem for you, I'd like you to swing by my office after work."

"That's fine. Anything yet?"

"The preliminary results are fine. How are you today?"

"I'm fine... I read your story... and I gave James a test run today..." I could not help wondering why I volunteered that info.

"That's good. Were you satisfied?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Ok. Don't forget to bring your ID for your visit tomorrow."

"Ummm... You mean the collar?"

"Yes. And put it on right after you leave your work place."

"Ok."

"Bye. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Another trial run for James before I went to bed proved pretty satisfactory.

#####

I stood just inside the employee entrance of the shop where I worked. I was scared to step outside, afraid because I would have to put on the collar once I did. The knuckles of the paw that held the item in question inside my purse were almost white. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, then I stepped outside. With a deep sigh I removed the collar from my purse and put it around my neck. It snapped shut with a loud click. The key that would unlock it was in my purse, but I knew I was not allowed to take it off before I got home. I did not dare to disobey Tammy in this, I was pretty sure she would know. Another deep breath, then I walked towards the bus stop.

Several people on the bus looked at me strangely, more so than usual, but none of them made any comment, for which I was thankful. There were a few snickers that might have been about me, but then again they might not have been.

A quarter of an hour later I stood in front of the office complex that was the head quarter of "Bonded Personnel Services Inc." After a few more deep breaths I started forward and entered the lobby.

The male receptionist grinned when he saw the collar around my neck. I walked up to him and asked "Where can I... change?"

"The lockers are in this corridor!" He pointed at the corridor right across the lobby. The walls were lined with lockers. If that was where I had to change I would have to do so in full view of the receptionist and anybody else in the lobby.

I cringed "I guess I should have expected something like this."

"This is your first time, I guess."

"Yes."

"Ok. A few points: You address everybody as Sir or Madam while you are here. Understood?"

I swallowed. They were doing their best to rub in the fact that they considered me a slave. "Yes, Sir."

"You may address your 'buddy' by name as well as anybody who gives you permission to do so." He waited for a moment, then he went on "The collar is your ID badge, use it to unlock the turnstile. All the scanners that can be activated with the collar are marked with our company logo."

I looked and found that the scanner in question was set at about knee height. I blushed at the thought that I would have to kneel to activate it.

"Next activate the scanner on the left wall" He pointed "and it will assign you one of the lockers. Any questions?"

"No, Sir."

"Good. Go."

I could feel his gaze on me as I crossed the lobby. It took a lot of willpower to make myself crouch down and bring the collar close to the scanner. After a few seconds there was a confirming beep and the light on the turnstile turned green. I stood up and walked through. The next scanner was also set at knee height. I crouched down once more and pressed my face against the glass plate. After a moment the number "12" was displayed.

I stood up and walked to the indicated locker. Again I had to crouch down to activate the lock. A glance back confirmed that I had the undivided attention of the receptionist. At least he was the only person in the lobby at the moment. Blushing furiously I began to undress. It did not take me long to remove my clothes and store them in the locker. I kept my purse since I might need some of the things in it, especially the datapad. I closed the locker and walked back into the lobby. At least I did not have to activate the scanner to leave the 'changing area'.

The receptionist was still watching me, grinning widely and clearly enjoying my discomfort. I could not help but ask "Do you have to look at me like that... Sir?"

He grinned even more "Would you rather be so ugly that I didn't want to look at you?"

I stopped cold at that. I didn't really have any good answer to this. "No, Sir." Then I turned and turned to the elevator.

I rode up the elevator and made it to Tammy's office without meeting anybody else. Since it was past the regular office hours, that seemed not too unusual. I knocked on the door and entered when Tammy called "Come in." I stopped dead when I saw a male human sitting in one of the chairs. Suddenly I wanted to hide, to run away, but I dared not. "Close the door, please." That shook me out of the daze, I did as she had bid me, then I reluctantly approached the two humans. She introduced us "Lydia Catbait. My boss Peter."

He stood up and held out his hand "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lydia."

The way his gaze seemed to shave the fur from my privates left no doubt that it was a pleasure for him, if not for me. Still, I felt that I could not afford to be impolite to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you P..." Suddenly I remembered what the receptionist had told me "Sir." He smiled at me, it seemed I had passed that test.

"Hello."

"Hello, Tammy." We shook hands.

"Please have a seat." Tammy's boss pointed at the other chair in front of Tammy's desk. We both sat down. The chair was turned so that they both could see my nude body. I was pretty sure that it had been arranged with that in mind so I did not try to move it. "We were just discussing your case, Lydia."

"And?"

"The results of the examination are very positive. I was particularly impressed by Tammy's account on how you handled yourself."

"Thank you... Sir."

"I look forward to have you working for us. I really hope your other examination tomorrow will not turn up anything that forces us to reject you. I can honestly say that I would be very disappointed if that happened."

"Thank you, Sir." Relief flooded me, I had taken the first big hurdle. As much as my current situation embarrassed me, I could not help smiling.

"Then I'll leave you two ladies to talk about the details." He stood up and held out his hand "Goodbye, Lydia, it's been a pleasure to meet you."

"Goodbye, Sir." He took his time shaking hands with me. He wore a very happy grin when he left.

I looked at Tammy and shook my head "That was weird."

"Weird? How so?"

"The whole thing... One moment I feel like a piece of meat that is on display and waiting to be sold without any consideration for my feelings... then the next moment I feel like I'm a VIP or something. I mean, it's long past regular office hours and you are here just to meet me. I just can't figure this out. Which of the two is right."

Tammy looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before she answered "Both are. On one hand you are a slave, well, legally you are an indentured servant, but... Anyway, you are a pleasure slave, so we treat you as such. Well, you will be one once you sign the contract. On the other hand you are an important customer to us. After all, you will bring us several hundreds of thousand dollars in turnover and several tens of thousands in profits. So we do our best to make you feel welcome and treat you with respect."

"Ok." I said slowly "That I can see. But why all this stuff with the collar and me having to walk around nude and addressing everybody as if they were my master or something."

"You can't figure it out?" I tried to, but I could not, so I finally shook my head. "Well, mostly this is a training exercise for you. Once you are 'rented' to a master, you have to behave like a real slave. One of the main reasons you have to behave like this is to get you used to it. Think of it as a kind of 'boot camp' or something."

"Ok."

"And, well... it is fun. For us, that is."

"I can't help but wonder how I failed to notice how much fun it was." I said sarcastically. Tammy struck her tongue out at me and we both began laughing helplessly.

When we had calmed down enough Tammy said "Ok, back to why I invited you here. Well, first to tell you the results of the examination. My boss told you the high points already, unless the cancer does turn out to be a very big risk you are accepted."

"Ok."

"And... I have an offer for you. A chance to earn quite a bit of money, actually."

"Oh. Is this personal?"

"You mean from me? No. This is an offer every slave gets. Almost all of them accept."

"Ok, what is it?"

"We call it 'tryout day'." She grinned at me.

I thought about it for a moment "You mean... I'd get to 'play' slave for a day?"

"Basically, yes."

"What's the point? I mean how is this different from what I'll be doing afterwards?"

"In some ways it is no different from a short-term assignment you might get once you serve here. But there are some very important differences. First, you can bail out at any time if it gets too much for you. Depending on your master-for-a-day, he might allow you to take a break to calm down if it gets too much for the moment, or he might stop doing something if it freaks you out. Then again, he might just send you home. For some people it helps a lot to know that they can stop at any time, it keeps some people from panicking even if what they have to do is very hard to take."

"Ok."

"The second thing is that only selected customers get to do this. Customers who have a lot of experience and who are willing to take care of you. Your master will push you, make you do things that you thought you could not do, but he will also watch you carefully and do his best not to push you too far, that he won't actually hurt you, physically as well as mentally. You can be sure that you'll be in the hands of someone who knows what he is doing. He will do unpleasant things to you, but he will make sure you get through them safe and sound."

"Ok. Why would someone do this? I mean, when he can have someone who'll do whatever he wants rather than someone with whom he has to be especially careful?"

"I don't really know. One thing I have learned is that when it comes to how two or more people have fun together, have sex, tie each other up or whatever, there is nothing so strange that someone won't be interested in it. That you won't find someone who enjoys it." She gave me a lop-sided grin "I guess some people just enjoy 'showing a girl the ropes'."

I could not help but giggle at this "All right. What's in for me?"

"First, it is a safe way for you to get a lot of experience in a short time. It will help you a lot when you start to serve your first master. Second, if you make it through, you get $1000. If you bail out, you get up to $500, depending on how long you keep going before you bail out. If you make it through and impress your master it is very likely that he'll give you a gift or a nice tip on top of that."

"Ok. How long does it take?"

"Officially, your master can keep you for 12 hours. In practice it is often shorter. Some want to spend the day with you, you'll usually be required to show up in the morning and he'll let you go in the evening. Some prefer to have you overnight, then you'll have to go there in the evening and he'll release you in the morning. A few add some extra time, for example he'll invite you to dinner to get to know you but the actual 'tryout day' only starts counting afterwards."

"I see. What would I have to do?"

"Mainly just show up at a certain location at a certain time. And then you'll have to do whatever you are told, of course."

"No, I mean... what would my master be allowed to do to me?"

"Just about anything one of your other masters will be able to do. Sex, bondage and some pain will almost certainly be involved. Not extreme pain, but spanking or something similar is almost a given. Since this is a short term assignment, your master is not allowed to do anything to you that takes longer than one day to heal or for the pain to wear off. Not without your permission at least. If, for some reason, he wants to dye your fur, then he either has to get your permission or use a dye that washes out easily."

"Ok. Can't you give me a bit more about what I would have to do? "

"No. First, I don't know yet who your master will be. Second, we don't know what your master would do to you. We don't ask him for an 'itinerary' of what he plans. Some masters make a detailed plan of what they want to do beforehand, others improvise as they go. Especially on a tryout day the master has to take your reactions into consideration. Third, we don't tell a slave what exactly her master expects from her. Unless he wants us to."

"I see." I did not like this very much. Well, actually, the idea of giving up control to a master did excite me somewhat. And scare me. "When do I have to decide?"

"That is up to you. Once you agree it usually takes us a few days to arrange it. In your case you might want to decide rather soon, so you can do it before your chemo starts."

"Ok." I closed my eyes for a moment, then I looked down at my paws. It wasn't something I wanted to do, but from what Tammy had told me it would help to prepare me for the 'real' thing. After a minute I looked up and expelled the breath I had not noticed that I had held in "Ok, I'll do it." A shiver of excitement ran down my spine.

"Really?"

"Yes." Barely above a whisper I added "Fix it before I lose my nerves."

Tammy blinked a few times, then she stood up and walked around the table. She hugged me. At first I wanted to push her away, but it felt good. Not in a sexual way, simply as an expression of compassion. Suddenly I realized that I had balled my paws into fists. I slowly relaxed and returned the hug. After a minute Tammy stood up and smiled at me "You looked like you needed it."

I felt a lot better "Thank you. I really did."

She gave my paw a gentle squeeze, returned to her seat and said "Ok. I'll set everything up." She produced the contract. I read it and signed it.

We talked for a while, Tammy told me more about her experiences as a slave, then we said goodbye. As I walked down the corridor, I realized that I had not minded being nude in front of her at all, I had hardly thought about it. It did embarrass me to crouch down to open the turnstile in front of a male. One who very clearly enjoyed watching me. I put on my clothes and left. It bothered me that people looked at me funny, stared at the collar around my neck, but it bothered me less than it had before.

When I got home I decided to follow a suggestion Tammy had made and kept the collar on. It was not really uncomfortable, but I could not just forget about it, it continued to remind me of the fact that I was a slave. Or, that I would soon be one. Jen raised her eyebrows when she saw it, but she made no other comment. A slightly worrying grin seemed to be etched into her face, however.

Wearing the collar made the story I read that evening much more real, made the experience a lot more intense. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Jen or Kaye had heard how much I had enjoyed the story and James. I cleaned myself off a bit, then I braved the outside for a quick dash to the bathroom and a thorough shower.

#####

The next morning I got up later than usual. The knowing grin Kaye gave me left no doubt about whether she had heard (and smelled) me the day before, but she did not make any comments. Of course, given the situation, even the question "Did you have a pleasant night?" might well have been loaded with meaning, especially since she seemed to stress the word "pleasant" too much, or so it seemed to me, at least. Whatever the case, she was my friend and it felt good to talk to her, especially considering what I would have to go through in a few hours. I ended up telling her a little more than I might have under different circumstances. While it shamed me a little to talk about such intimate things, I actually felt better when I was done. I finished my unusually meager breakfast (the doctor had told me not to eat too much before the examination) and got ready for the day.

While the examination was not anywhere as humiliating as the previous one, in almost every other way it was a lot more unpleasant. I had to go through another CAT scan, then they poked needles into me to take samples of just about any type of body tissue and bodily fluid known to the medical sciences. They poked and prodded me for the better part of the day. The specialist for cancer told me what they would do to me to heal me, what the chemo would do. I was close to tears by the time he finished. When I went home late in the afternoon I was sore and very much exhausted. I would have to wait a few more days for the results, it would take that long for the samples to be analyzed in the lab. On the whole I would have preferred to have another one of the previous examination to this one.

When I came home both Jen and Kaye were still out. I fixed myself a mug of coffee and curled up in my bed. I did not feel like doing much, but even though I was quite exhausted, I was too wound up to nap, so after a while I fetched my computer and started reading another yiffy story. After a few minutes I stripped and put on the collar. I did not know why, but it felt reassuring. James' purring helped me forget about my troubles for a while. I finished cleaning myself up just in time.

"Hello, Lye! Are you all right?"

"Yes, Jen. Well, not good, but okay."

She looked at me strangely "Why are you wearing that collar?"

"Ummm..." I suddenly blushed, I really had intended to take it off before leaving my room. "I... well, I read one of the stories to... distract me. It... just felt right to put it on. And I... I don't know, somehow it makes me feel safe." I stared at her "That's weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She studied my face "You really like wearing it?"

"I don't know, yes and no. I don't really like it, but it makes me feel safe. Am I going crazy?"

"I don't think so. If there is any truth to those stories quite a few people enjoy doing kinky things like that." She reached out and ruffled my headfur "You may be furry, kinky, weird and crazy" She grinned "but I love you anyway."

"Thank you."

She giggled and gave my collar a light tug "I really like your choice of jewelry, Lye." She winked "It's so much more useful than the regular jewelry..."

I was pretty much useless during the next two days. I found it almost impossible to think about anything but the examination and my cancer. I barely made it through work without giving my boss a reason to fire me. If he had not known about the circumstances, he might well have considered my poor performance reason enough to do so anyway. On Friday afternoon I got the call that I had been waiting for and dreaded all week long. The results of the examination had come back and Dr. Parkinson wanted to discuss them with me. My boss graciously allowed me to leave early, but truth to be told, I think it was more because he knew I would not have managed a lot of productive work if I had stayed, than out of simple goodness.

After a surprisingly short (but still extremely nerve-wracking) wait Dr. Parkinson called me into his office.

"Good afternoon, Miss Catbait. Have a seat."

I sat down "Hello... doctor. Will I..." I stared at him, suddenly unable to speak.

He looked down at the paper on his desk for a moment, then he asked "Let's start with the bad news: You are allergic to one of the main agents used in the chemotherapy."

My eyes filled with tears "Does that mean..."

"That you can't be treated? No." My heart began beating one more "You are far from the only person who has this type of cancer and an allergy to the drugs. We have found ways to work around it, but this will make the therapy much more taxing for you. You will have to take other drugs to counteract the allergy. Unfortunately this means that this will weaken you very much, you will be pretty much invalid the whole time."

"Oh."

"The good news is that I don't foresee any other big problems. There is one more complication, and that is the fact that your species is pretty rare and so we don't have any reliable data to calibrate the dosage. This shouldn't be a big problem, but it means that the chemotherapy will take longer than normal and you'll have to be checked more often."

"So... I can be cured..."

"Yes."

"But it will be more difficult and expensive?"

"Pretty much."

We talked for another twenty minutes or so, then I called Tammy to give her the news and the doctor forwarded the results of the examination to her. I was in a very strange mood on the way home, caught somewhere between euphoric hope and crushing despair. I prayed that the extra cost and risk wouldn't force Tammy to reject me.

Jen and Kaye did their best to cheer me up. It helped, but not a whole lot, I was simply too much afraid that I would be turned down by Tammy's superiors. After a therapeutic session with James and a good night's sleep I felt a lot better the next morning. I don't know what made me do it, but once I put on the collar I felt a lot calmer. It almost seemed to speak to me, seemed to say "There's nothing you can do right now, so stop worrying about things you can't change." I even left it on when I went to work at the bar that evening. It earned me a lot of raised eyebrows and a few subtle and not-so-subtle comments but I didn't really care, wearing it made me feel safe.

#####

On Monday, shortly after lunch, Tammy called and told me to meet her after work. She refused to tell me if I had been accepted, she just told me that I would find out tonight. She reminded me to put on the collar as soon as I left work and to abide by the rules on how I had to behave in her office. "See you tonight." With that she hung up without waiting for my response.

At first I was a little annoyed by her sudden rudeness, but once I thought about it, it actually gave me hope that she had treated me like this because they had decided to accept me.

After a seemingly endless afternoon work was finally done. This time I was actually eager to put on the collar, I didn't even wait until I left the mall, I put it on as soon as I finished changing my clothes. The euphoric hopefulness carried me all the way to the office building. I hardly minded stripping in front of the receptionist. Even the fact that more than a dozen other people also saw me wearing nothing more than the collar failed to disturbed me very much. I felt a certain amount of shame, but somehow it seemed to be very far away, almost as if I was only watching what happened to someone else.

Then I finally stood in front of Tammy's office. I knocked on the door and entered when I was bid. Tammy was there, as was her boss and the lawyer I had met before my visit to the doctor.

Tammy grinned at me, pointed at a free chair and said "Hello, Lydia. Have a seat."

I stopped cold, suddenly very much aware of my nudeness and the appraising looks the three were giving me. I almost tried to cover my private parts, but stopped myself at the last moment. "Uh... hello."

End of Episode 7