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"Possession Part One - Benny's Penance"

The city of New Toronto; a cold seemingly frozen in time capa of shiny buildings and towers that stretched out of the tundra reaching toward the sky. Winters were always the harshest here, but ever since Earth's shift in the orbit it was almost unlivable at night. The good news was that homelessness was pretty much a thing of the past, men and women in thick coats and scarves hardly could be found in the city streets. The entire country past the American states of Wyoming or Michigan ranged in weather from fourteen degrees in the highs to negative twelve in the lows. Nasty winter nights could stretch down to negative forty, which quickly cleared the stray pet population. Ever since the planet wobbled off its previous axis, Earth came in contact with another realm; one which humans feared to tread. The creatures that came from it, called themselves the Relics, but they were in essence werewolves. Massive males took up about eighty percent of the groups that vacated to Earth from their own hellish world, the females, though fewer in number were still quite frightening and had up to five pups a year, and they were always breeding, always wanting to keep their numbers in this new found world.

Eventually the Relics divided into two sects; the Roamers, who lived off the land and in the wild, and the Royals, a hierarchal group run by a single ruling family that assisted in the matters of government, politics and the attempts to properly integrate themselves with the humans. However the Royals also had a fatal flaw; they were arrogant, they took humans often as laborers and as pets. They paid their charges for their services, but punished those who would not cooperate, and the human governments often were barred by red tape they themselves had established with their agreements on these sharp-tongued beasts. Ties were strained, humans often denied Relics their own services, but oftentimes those complaining about these creatures were often biting off more than they could chew. The Relics' only law that kept humanity on the boundaries of safety was that they were forbidden to kill. Even in their most desperate moments, even if it meant killing in self defense, a human's death often marked the offending Relic to a lifetime of shame and backs turned to all aid. A Rogue would find no solace with the Royals or the Roamers, and soon died off due to their own inability to survive in this harsh new world.

A blast of steam from a vent made Benny jump as he made his way across it. His long trench coat flapped wildly in it, but he didn't get the blast of warmth he was hoping for, just cold that made him practically shrivel up under his trousers. "Fff-fuck that's cold!" He belted out as he jumped across the drain. "I thought steam was supposed to be hot!" He said angrily, but realized the distance probably cooled the pipes and only the first part of the puff was warm.

"Aces High" was the name of a local night club his band played at, his hands slipped into his massive coat pockets as he approached it. Despite the long black coat that resembled a cloak, Benny had long blond hair that made him stand out and as he approached, he was still greeted gruffly by the spot's manager, "Hardon" Harry, though the Hardon part was probably not known to the big bellied Russian who was usually less than jolly. His stubby fingers shoved Benny back before he could make his way in the door.

"Benny! It is good to see you." He said.

"It--it is?" Benny asked, scratching his temple in confusion. "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing at all. You are my only band, to come in here with it so bitterly cold outside is good thing, yes?"

"Yeah, well... I guess so." Benny smiled weakly.

"So. I offer you a favor." Harry said, rather quickly moving on from this subject as he investigated his cuticles, and when Harry stared at his fingers, a dry lump tended to force its way down the throat of anyone watching, especially if they knew him. "So the good news is, I let the Jets play tonight, but... bad news is--I cannot afford to pay you your asking fee."

Benny's expression fell into a sullen glare. "Uh---huh..." He said, the sense of amusement gone from his voice.

"But more good news is, I can offer you beer at fifty percent cover!"

"Yeah, but that's what you normally give us." Benny explained. "And if you can't pay us enough, why the hell would we want to buy any of your watered down pissing water you call beer anyway?"

Another bad sign of Harry getting into a bad mood was when his cheeks started glowing like christmas tree lights. "What did you say?" He asked angrily.

"I say... you don't pay. We don't play." He spoke slowly. "The Quarter Street Bar offered to pay twice what you were offering, but I figured I'd come here tonight and save me the trip. But if you're going to be stingy and try to back out of our deal, I'm sure they'd be glad to have us."

"No!" Harry stomped his foot. "I like your old timey classic music." He said. "It brings in customers to my meager establishment. I will pay double our offer."

"This is also not a nice place, even for a dive." Benny sighed softly. "I'm not sure my boys are going to want to play here anyway."

"Triple." Harry's lips burst open with the number like they'd been trying to escape for a sentence or two. "I will pay triple our agreed salary if you play here tonight. My wife likes your music."

"Hmm." Benny sighed. "I'll have to check with the band, but I think we can come to an agreement. We'll be back at six then."

The man turned on his heel and started to walk out, bumping his head squarely into the massive chest that had made its way into the lane behind him. "Oh, sorry about that." He said rubbing his nose. "I'm clumsy as a--" He paused and looked up to see a massive white Relic standing in front of him. He was dressed in all black with a low cut neck shirt, heavy, thick boots that made him about six inches taller than he should be and a black leather coat that almost filled the entire doorway. Benny immediately lost his train of thought. "Ermm ah..." He said.

The beast's expression was stagnant. He didn't look either amused or annoyed at the human's clumsiness, he simply stood there and stared at him for a moment. "It's quite alright." He said in a booming voice that vibrated the floor. "My fault, I'm sure."

Benny nodded quickly and skirted around the male, and his entourage of two equally large wolf beasts standing behind him. They weren't quite as tall as him, and their fur colors were tan and red, but they still gave him the chills when they looked back at him, they did look rather irritated after all.

He walked the three blocks back to his van with his hands deep in his pockets, his head to the ground and his eyes continually scanning his peripherals to be sure he wasn't being followed. He shrieked when the van's horn went off, he was walking past it already and he hadn't the slightest clue.

"Jeeze, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jessie asked as she pulled the van door open, the red headed spitfire was also the drummer of their band. She gnawed openly on her gum as she let him inside. "You can't really see black in a dark alley, can you?" She said with a snort.

"So? What happened?" Kevin asked from the driver's seat. "You get us in?"

"Oh... y-yeah, he'll be paying us triple." Benny answered, running a hand through his hair.

"WOO!" Kevin unfed a fist. "I knew you could do it, buddy!"

"You okay?" Jessie asked with a frown.

"Hm? Oh, yeah... I just ran into a few Relics at the club." He answered.

Kevin's expression soured a bit. "Roamers?"

Benny shook his head. "Royals, I think." He said. "It was creepy, I've never seen them before."

"There's nothing to freak out about." Jessie said. "I mean, they were bound to pop into this town sooner or later." She said, putting a hand on Benny's arm. "They didn't hurt you or anything, did they?"

"No, they didn't. They just looked at me."

"Hey Jess, wasn't it your sister who ended up getting in with them a couple years back?"

Jessie scowled. "It was my sister, and she became their property." She answered through her teeth. "I get a video call from her every couple of months and that's it, so don't you even get started on that."

"Alright, alright. Damn." Kevin uttered before turning the keys in the ignition and bringing the van to life.

"It's not funny." Jessie said. "These guys can do pretty much whatever the fuck they want with us, and there's not a thing the law can do about it." She patted Benny's hand. "You just be careful."

"Heh. You kidding? I live on careful." He said. "So, are we going to go pick up John? The show starts at six."

Kevin was already pulling out as he answered. "Heading that way now, I hope he's feeling up for the show tonight."

John was a hypochondriac with some very quirky habits. His latest fear was that he was on the verge of an aneurysm, due to a nose bleed he'd gotten the day before. He sniffled and coughed as he let the others into his house; the floors were white carpeted, the walls were a bright white color as well, everything in his apartment was covered in one form of white or another. Benny always wondered why they didn't take sunglasses over to blot out the brightness, but he always seemed to shrug it off.

"I don't know you guys." John sank into a white vinyl chair that looked like it was ready to fall apart as he did. John wasn't a big guy, in fact, quite the opposite, but he also didn't like changing things. The chair he sat upon was at least twelve years old. He sniffled. "I haven't really been feeling very well."

Jessie sighed aloud and leaned against the chair. "John, we've told you before. It's all in your head." She said, pointing at his forehead. "You need to find some better way to spend your time than being afraid so much."

"What's being not afraid?" John asked. "Going out into the freezing streets? Going to some dive with who knows what's smeared on the walls?" Kevin and Benny passed a glance, resisting a laugh. "Well, shoot, Jessie, if that's being too careful, I'd rather be that than dead. He paused and glanced at Benny. "Or even worse, a slave to those damned creatures."

Benny's amusement fell. "How the hell do you do that?!" He asked in shock.

"Do what?" John asked innocently.

"He ran into some of those Relics tonight." Jessie explained. "They're going to be at the club when we go play, are you saying he has something to worry about?"

"Huh? No!"

John always had some sort of a sixth sense, but it wasn't grounded. He tended to remember things he shouldn't know, or forget things he should. His thoughts and ideas always had his friends guessing, but he kept on looking at Benny with concern. Maybe if they'd known what he would have gotten into they would have taken it more seriously and stayed in that night.

The evening was already getting darker by the time Benny and the others left John's house. John was still conflicted about making it out, but other than just being the keyboard player, he was also the technical genius to the band. Piling into the black van, Kevin turned the engine over and they were on their way. The lights were already turning on as they passed the old street lamps. Many of them had long since been out of service, their ambient orange light filtering into the van's windows as they rode along.

"S-so Jessie, how do you know your sister's being held against her will?" John asked, leaning back against the back of the passenger seat.

Jessie glared at him; when they were in high school, she was the tough bully girl that would take John's glasses and throw them in a toilet. While since their graduation and forming a band together had mellowed out their relationship, she still terrified him. But her glance backed down and fell into her lap. "Tiffany's always been a tough nail." She said. "Before she graduated herself, she was sort of my role model. I mean she didn't take shit from anyone, right?" She gave a half laugh and shrugged. "And then one day she tells me she met a group of Relics. Said they eyed her like a piece of meat or something and it pissed her off so bad, so she was going to go over and kick their asses." She frowned. "She left that night, and I haven't seen her in person ever since." She exhaled loudly through her nose. "She tells me she's fine on our video calls, but something's wrong. It's like she's not my sister." She crossed her arms. "At least not the sister I knew."

"Well, Relics are really public people." Benny said. "I mean just because they haven't been around here doesn't mean anything. They're in the news, they walk down the street like everyone else, hell, I've heard they walk out in broad daylight with humans on leashes completely naked."

"Oh, not always." Kevin said. "Sometimes they wear like loincloths or leather straps, I dunno, to hide their shame, I guess."

A double glance from Benny and Jessie caused him to close his mouth. "The point is..." Benny continued slowly. "They don't hide their humans from anyone. People would have noticed your sister being dragged around against her will, wouldn't they?"

"It's a conspiracy." John said. "The way I heard it is that they have a technology to disguise their humans from being recognized by anyone else. And they break them before they get that far with them, so they don't have to worry about a fight."

"John, you and Kevin think everything's a conspiracy." Benny said shaking his head. "Nobody has it planned that perfectly."

"And the real thing is that this isn't even them being malicious or anything." Kevin added. "The way I hear it, the Relics actually treat their humans like a pet, including putting the care into them that any pet would generally get. They get them good and willing and if they're willing enough, they make them some part of a sick harem that devotes themselves to fucking the ever livin--"

"KEVIN!" Benny shouted. "Just shut up and fucking drive!"

Silence filled the van after that, Benny mouthed the words "I'm sorry" and Jessie shrugged an acknowledgement to him as she rested again against the side wall of the van's open cab, listening to the road noise as they continued on into the falling evening.

The crowd was light at the club, but it was livelier of a weekend than the ones before it. "And now the evening can begin! Featuring the music from the late nineteen seventies to the early nineteen eighties, please welcome the Jets!" Harry's voice trailed off, and there was a small amount of applause in the room as the curtains pulled aside to reveal the band behind it with Benny standing at the front next to the microphone.

"We're glad to be back here at the Aces High!" He howled into the microphone, letting a scream fill the silence of the room for a moment before the chattering resumed in the room. "So, it's time to introduce the band I guess." He cleared his throat. "On keyboards, our technical genius, the stylings of John Forrester." John bowed and smiled a bit apprehensively before returning to his position. "On drums, the lovely Jessie Turner." She performed a collective beat on the set and twirled her sticks in her fingers. "Bass guitarist Kevin James..." The riff that Kevin played brought about a sense of anticipation he'd always felt during the introduction. "And I'm--" His voice trailed off as he noticed the Relics from earlier staring directly at him. They whispered among themselves, making his heart beat a little bit faster. "I'm Benny Adams."

"BUAHH!" An older, large man near the front of the rows expelled a laugh of spit and food. "So we've got Benny... and the Jets! AHAHA!"

"Glad you're paying attention, sir." Benny added sarcastically as he stepped back before they started to play.

The armory of music the band had were covers of 80's and 70's music; Jesse's Girl, Billy Jean and White Wedding among them. The in joke really met the era of music they were playing, but the entire time, Benny couldn't help but keep glancing at the three Relics sitting in the back corner. Among all the patrons there, they were the only ones who weren't human, and they were the only ones that began to make him nervous. Somewhere around the fifth song, they'd disappeared completely from their seats, and by the time their set ended, Benny had been having the worst night of his musical career. He was a bundle of nerves ready to explode.

"Benny?"

"WHAT!?" Benny shrieked suddenly as the group began to pack up their equipment, and he watched Jessie jump in response to his snap. "I'm-I'm sorry..." He said with a sigh as he put his hand on his cheek. "I'm just a little frayed at the moment."

"I could tell, you really weren't holding much tonight, were you?"

"It's just... I saw those Relics in the audience. You know, the ones I told you guys about earlier? And they disappeared about a song or two back."

"Really?" John asked, folding the legs on his keyboard stand and collapsing it down. "I don't remember seeing anyone, but the stage lights were in my eyes."

Kevin shrugged. "I don't remember it either, are you sure you saw them, Benny?"

"Guys, I'm not making this stuff up." He groaned. "They really were out in the audience."

"Maybe you've just been playing too hard." Jessie suggested. "We have been hitting it every night this week."

"It's not a hallucination, Jess. I mean, I've never seen them before..."

"Maybe all the rumors about them have finally gotten to you." John suggested.

"Oh, what the hell you guys?" Benny exclaimed. "Were you guys even in that van? There were three of them I saw when I came to talk to Harry, and those same three were at that back table until about ten minutes ago!"

"Hey, hey. Cool down." Kevin said softly. "Let's just sit down and have a few beers, maybe that'll lighten you up."

"I--" There was no point in Benny arguing the point, he knew what he'd seen, whether or not the others saw it too wasn't their fault. "Yeah. Maybe you're right." He said.

After packing their equipment into the van, Benny couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Stepping out into the parking lot alone sent goosebumps across his skin, and not just from the cold air that the night was sending out. He shivered as he finished putting his guitar and equipment into the van and he locked it. Starting inside he turned around and could have sworn he saw something disappear around the dark corner near the edge of the building, which made him rush inside even quicker.

"Hey, Harry." Benny asked as he stepped inside and brushed the snow off his jacket. "Those Relics that were here during the show, did they go home or something?"

"Relics?" Harry asked. "I don't know where they went, I have not seen them in many hours."

"But they were at your back table not twenty minutes ago." Benny said. "Surely you remember..."

Harry gave a shrug. "I am a very busy man, Benny." He said. "Surely you can't expect me to keep tabs on all my customers."

"N...no I guess not." Benny said.

The rest of the band had been sat at the very table that Benny had seen the wolves in earlier, his edginess had returned as he slid into the booth and took his first shot of the night. "Y'know, maybe you guys were right." He said at last. "Harry doesn't even remember those guys sitting here." He shrugged. "Maybe it was just my imagination."

"Maybe it wasn't." John suggested with a shrug.

"John!" Both Kevin and Jessie snapped.

"What do you mean?"

John smiled nervously and shrugged. "Well it's just more rumors, nothing you'd really want to hear about..."

"Trust me, I'm all ears." Benny said. "What rumors are you talking about?"

"Well... the way I hear it, is that the Relics have some sort of... power of suggestion." He said. "They can make it; if they don't want to be seen, that they aren't." He explained. "Maybe they were here. Maybe they were sitting in this same booth... and maybe you were the only one they wanted to know it."

Benny felt shivers crawl up his spine as Jessie intervened. "Cut the bullshit, John. He's just been working too hard..."

Her voice faded off as John pulled up a single short hair from the table, it almost didn't even register to the others what he was holding for a few moments before he explained. "I found this when we sat down here." He said. "You said those Relics were sitting right here, and I can easily tell this is a dog hair. You be careful, Benny, because for some reason, they've told you that they can just make things like this happen and there's nothing you can do about it."

Several shots passed before Benny had loosened up enough to forget about John's eerie warning. The sounds of cheering turned his attention to a game of pool being played. He was pretty well adept at the game, but he never made it apparent. He approached the table and the group separated while a long-bearded man stood at the other end of the table staring him down as he leaned heavily onto the side of the table, feeling the felt under his fingers as he did so.

"Hey!" The man sounded gruff, but for a moment Benny ignored him. "Hey, fuckin' asshole!" He announced again.

"Hm?" He asked. "Who? Me?"

"Yeah. You." The man growled. "You play?"

"Mmm... a little bit. But you should see me at lawn darts." He said, stumbling a bit off to the side of the table and catching his balance. "I am a king of lawn darts."

"Haha..." The man laughed with a girl off to the side. "You wanna play?"

"Oh s-sure..." Benny said. "But you'll have to go easy on me." He took one of the pool cues into his hand and fumbled it, dropping it with a loud clatter to the floor. He tried to pick it up deftly but ended up dropping it about two or three times before actually getting a grip on it. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm fine... I'm fine, just had a few too many drinks. That's all."

"Hmm... say." The man said, approaching Benny. "Why don't we make this interesting?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Benny asked.

"Well, a game without a little wager isn't really a fun game is it? Do you gamble, Elton?"

"My name's Benny, why would you--" The dawn of realization came across him. "Ohhhh--ha--haha... my band's name is the Jets, you're playing off Benny and the Jets by Elton John. Gotchaaaa..."

"Hrm." He chuckled. "So, do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you want to play for money!?" The man asked, slamming his fist down onto the table.

"Ohhhhhhhhh..." He let out a long groan. "Well I've been known to surprise people." He tried and failed to twirl the cue which fell, struck the table and rolled halfway across the table before he stopped it. "Let's do it. I got six hundred dollars... is that enough?"

"Benny! Are you crazy!?" Jessie angrily pulled his arm. "That's all our cash!"

"Don't worry!" He staggered to the side of the table. "I'm not stupid."

"Six hundred is perfect, maybe you could wager your pretty lady friend too." The man teased.

"Oh, please, she's not mine to give away. She's like my best friend." He said, pulling out a small roll of cash from his pocket and he put it on the table. "Go easy on me, man. This is all I've got though."

"Hmmhmm..." He said. "Well, it won't be much of a challenge without a high stake." He put down a matching amount and then looked around him. "This'll be the easiest money I"ve ever made." He laughed and the men shook hands and Benny took his place back at the other end of the table. "You break." He said teasingly.

"Sure." Benny said dropping down to the table with his cue pointed backwards at the cue ball in front of him. There was another belt of laughter.

"Tell ya what? How about I put this down double or nothing?" He said, putting down another roll of money.

"Mike..." The girl next to him hissed.

"Oh doll, it's a sure thing, I mean, look at him!"

"Is that a deal then? Double or nothing?"

"If you can pay it back, then sure." The man snorted, crossing his arms.

"Deal." Benny said, standing upright, suddenly sobered up in his stance. He flipped the cue stick around and suddenly could aim it properly.

"Wait... what the?" Mike said, trembling suddenly in surprise.

"What can I say?" Benny teased with a wink, Jessie smirking as she stood next to him. "A bet's a bet." He drew back the cue and the sound of it striking the ball echoed in an expert, perfectly sounding impact as it hit the rest of the balls at the center of the table.

The van was coming to a stop already as Benny's body swooned forward and lurched back. He laughed a bit. "Oh that was fun." He said aloud, but not really sure he meant to.

The crew had spent most of the evening drinking, though John, being himself decided to stay away from it and became a designated driver. Kevin was completely blitzed and practically comatose in the passenger seat as a gleeful Jessie was still flipping through the remainder of their cache.

"Oh, you could make a career out of hustling ass hats like that one." She said with a laugh. "Can't we just get married? I mean I can forgive some of your... eccentricities if you can forgive my--"

"Your what? What you have up top and what you're missing on the bottom?" Benny teased. "You're beautiful Jess, I've always thought you need to get married, but not to a crazy queer like me." He winked.

"It's your stop, Benny." John said, shifting the van into Park. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah." Benny said waving his hand dismissively as he pushed the sliding door open. "I've got like ten feet to my front door, I think I can find my way there." He slid out foot first and staggered to his feet. "You guys go have a good night, I'm going to get in my house, play with myself, and go to bed."

"Benny. Eww." Jessie shook her head. "T.M.I."

Benny winked. "Knew you were listening." He said before getting a door slid shut in his face.

As the van began to drive off into the darkness, Benny turned and slid his hand down into his pocket, extracting a set of keys from his pocket, he listened to them jingle some as he slowly rose up the steps at the front of his small city house. He put his key to the lock and was somewhat startled to feel the door push open, revealing the dark room inside. "What... the fuck?" He asked in some frustration. He'd dead bolted his door, but the bolt was still completely intact, he had an alarm system, but it hadn't gone off. As he stepped into the house, a creepy feeling of being watched began to scream across all his senses again. He began to breathe heavily as he took a few steps into the room, and then began to back away from it. He heard the door slam behind him, then before he could scream he felt two sets of arms grab him from behind and a cloth clamped over his mouth.

Benny struggled hard to keep from breathing it in, he tried to kick, but another massive pair of arms grabbed his legs and pulled them tight. He felt his breath growing short and he instinctively inhaled. The buzz flooded his mind, he felt his eyes roll back with how immediately his mind began to swim now. He couldn't tell the difference between the darkness in the room and where his unconsciousness began, but he went numb and he didn't feel the arms around him anymore.

The sound of the car's engine was so quiet that it sounded like nothing more than a hum to Coran who sat quietly in the driver's side back seat, trying not to listen to his father boasting about his son's graduation to his golfing companions. The Relic sighed a bit, feeling his ears fall flat on top of his head as he stared into his blue-eyed reflection in the limousine's shiny window. He was just as large as any of them were, maybe a little bit bigger. He filled out his suit well, but he always complained about how tightly human clothes tended to fit on him. Unlike his father who was a darker gray pattern for his pelt, Coran's fur was much lighter in color, a silvery white to pure white that stretched from his ears down to his massive feet. He groaned uneasily and pushed his foot from his dress shoe and began to scratch at it with the heel of his other.

"Coran!' His father snapped in a whisper. Rekhis glared at his son, shaking his head as he held his hand over the mouth of his phone. In spite of his father, Coran groaned even more loudly and kicked his shoe under the seat. "I'm sorry Zhane, can I call you back? Thanks." He said snapping the receiver shut. "What the hell is the matter with you? You've just graduated, and you're acting like a child."

"Well maybe if you could spend a little time talking to me instead of gloating to your friends I might be in a better mood about it." He said. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" He crossed his arms and pouted.

"You are an adult, Coran. Act like it." Rekhis snarled. "Your mother and I have given you everything you've ever needed. A little gratefulness will go a long way to your future career.

Coran's lips pursed as best as they could in their lupine fashion. "I'm sorry, dad." He said "Maybe it's just this human environment." He shrugged. His ears flicked from left to right and he turned in his seat to look around. "Say, where are we going?"

"To your mother's congratulatory gift." Rekhis laughed aloud. "I do trust you'll like it."

There was a rumbling under the tires of the limo as they made their way up a loose rock driveway that climbed a hill toward a beautiful single level house. The concrete that surrounded the base and the roof's cap was a stone washed white, most of the walls were actually glass, providing a nearly full panoramic view of the entire deserted surroundings. The areas not showing in glass were mostly white bricks, and a long curling driveway that entered a roundabout which led to the gates they were now approaching. Each gate door embossed with a 'C' in gold.

"Oh... wow..." Coran said as they pulled through the gates. He admired the intricate landscaping, his very wolflike tail flapped a few times as they approached the front door and he was the first to burst out of his door. "I-I can't believe this!"

"Your things are already moved in." Rekhis said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver colored key. "We only needed to give you this."

The key was nearly out of Rekhis' hand before it left his pocket. "I can't believe you guys did this!" He exclaimed. "Where is mother? I have got to thank her for this."

"Thanking." Rekhis said sarcastically. "Not exactly your strong suit, is it, son?" He noticed the glance Coran gave him and he waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sorry, she won't be able to make it today, that's why she had me come out and give you this. And don't worry I'm currently searching for a present that requires your equal attention of responsibility as this one does."

"And what is that?" The wolf asked.

Rekhis grinned slightly. "If I told you that son, it would not be a present." He looked at his watch and sighed softly. "And now I must be going. I'll send Gwen up to deliver your vehicle and the rest of your things." He smirked coyly. "Perhaps she can be your human for a while?"

Coran winced a bit. "I-I apologize, dad." He said. "I've told you before, I am not interested in your humans." He said, wriggling his fingers. "Too.. 'dainty' for my tastes."

"For your tastes, huh?" Rekhis huffed and shrugged. "Well, do not blame an old father for trying."

***

It was dark. Benny could barely feel his bare fingers rubbing against the cold metal floor under him. As his senses came to him, so did the realization that he wasn't at home, and that he'd been attacked. He bolted upright immediately in a panic and received a sudden jolt to his neck that threw him back against the barred walls of a small cage that he found himself in. He shivered, he realized he was naked as well in the cold crate.

"Sorry about that." A gruff voice said in the darkness as a familiar looking Relic appeared in the dull lighting. In his hand he held a small box with a red button on the top of it. "Still getting used to these things."

"Who are you? Where the fuck am I?" Benny asked angrily.

The Relic wordlessly pressed the button on the box and again, a nasty shock was delivered. As Benny clasped his neck he noticed a collar of some sort tightly wrapped around it. "You ask too many questions, human." He said. "And I do not like your tone."

"Fuck you."

The Relic smirked this time before delivering another shock. This time holding it down long enough for Benny to cry out in pain. When the pain ended, he flopped to the bottom of his cell, convulsing uncontrollably as he looked at the male. "You've got quite an attitude." He said. "Admirable, but useless."

Suddenly, the larger white one appeared that Benny remembered from the bar the night before. Snatching the box away from him he snapped. "Give me that you idiot!" He said angrily. "Leave it to you to damage the goods before we even get him on the block!"

"The goods?" Benny asked aloud, forcing himself to stand on his knees and look at the two. "I am not going to let you just do whatever the hell you want with me, now you freaks let me out of this fucking cage or I'm going to let you have it!" He yelled loudly. "HELP! Somebody help me!"

The Relic's ears were folded back some as he approached the cage. Benny glared at him and was even more frustrated by the look of amusement the beast gave him. "Now, if we had you in a place where someone cared for your current situation, we would have had to gag that pretty short muzzle of yours, human." He said. "As it is, it's a huge breach in our ways to have you ready for the auction block before you are properly broken in." He idly ran his claws along the crotch of his pants. "But many of our patrons are often more generous if we have one like you near the end of the auction."

"I'll bust my face in." Benny warned. "I bet your slave traders won't appreciate a human with a collapsed nasal cavity for their amusement."

"As amusing as that would be to see you try, I am afraid you won't be allowed to cause harm to yourself unless your new master is just malicious, in which case we may not sell to someone like that. We do have our ethics, however shrouded your kind might see them."

"How are you going to stop me?" Benny grinned.

"That is Otho over there." He pointed to the red colored Relic, currently picking at his teeth with his pinkie claw. "He has the worst trigger finger I've ever seen, he's often left humans in shock mode for five, ten minutes at a time. Often for his own amusement. We have even had a couple that went into cardiac arrest..." He glared. "Which you still owe me fifteen hundred dollars for damages on." Otho cringed. "But he is pretty adept at CPR, so in the event that happens he can probably resuscitate you and do it again." On Benny's apprehensive look he leaned in to whisper. "I find it's funner not to give him that opportunity." He stood up and handed the wolf the box. "Now don't press that unless he does something, or I'm going to have your hide on a stick."

A large grey Relic passed through the door and began to examine the boxes indiscriminately while the other two watched.

"Excuse me." The smaller of the trio spoke first, rubbing the red fur on his scalp. "This is not a private viewing. You'll need to wait to bid like everyone else."

"Mister Rekhis!" The larger one exclaimed, suddenly sounding more pleasant. "Y-you will have to forgive my companion, he is quite new and--"

"Save forgiveness for another time Roog." The older Relic growled. "It is my son's graduation, and to compliment him getting into the Wester Firm, I intend to buy him an attendant."

"Wester Firm?" Roog's eyebrows raised. "That is quite prestigious, sir."

"Indeed." He said, looking at the human. "One man? I thought you were a reputable dealer."

"Oh, we are. This one is not broken though, we only acquired him last night."

"Really?" He hummed, intrigued at the concept. "My son could really use a lesson in how to break them in. How much?"

"Really, sir. He isn't yet ready, we were hoping to catch him at the end of the--"

"Twenty-thousand credits." Rekhis said, not listening to the objection.

Roog's mouth snapped shut while Otho's fell open. In the Relic economy, one credit was worth the equivalent of fifty dollars. To suddenly drop one hundred thousand dollars on a dime put the entire room to a stand still. Trying to regain his composure, Roog simply cleared his throat and smiled. "Would you like him in paper or plastic?"

Rekhis glared at the male. "Just have him cleaned up, clothed and I will have someone come around in twenty minutes to pick him up." He said. "I will make payment arrangements with your third stooge." He said as he brushed through the curtain and out the door behind it.

"Well, that was the fastest sale I've ever heard." Otho snickered.

"That man comes by once in a blue moon and pretty much single-handedly funds an entire year of our operation." Roog smiled. "I love seeing that old muzzle come around here." He looked at Benny. "Well, kid. While it has been nice having you, I am afraid we must part ways."

Benny didn't have much of a say in the matter. The cage was opened and he was immediately wrestled into an arm hold. He was thrown into a second room and doused with large amounts of freezing water and dried roughly. He was pulled into his discarded clothes from the night before and escorted outside. He couldn't really see where he was, the sign to the store front was blocked by gutters, and he was almost struck by an oncoming black car. A human girl slid from the driver's seat and Benny smiled hopeful that she would take him away from this nightmare. Instead she pushed her hand down on his head and shoved him into the vehicle where he found himself sitting two feet from the gray wolf who sat ominously in his seat. The glance between them was awkward, and it grew more so when another human female appeared in the door. She didn't look directly at Rekhis or at Benny as she slid in across from him. She took his hands in hers and gently clicked in a pair of cuffs.

"Sorry." She said, the pinch of the cuffs closing making the man flinch.

"This is for your own good." Rekhis said, crossing his arms and putting a foot on his knee as a burlap sack was thrust down over the human's eyes. "You cannot know the way back."

"Yeah, I know that trick. It's what probably happened to the slaves like, three hundred years ago, right?"

There was no warning, there was a sudden shock that made him screech out a sound of surprise. He gasped and flopped back as the surge ended. "There will be no smart tongue with me, boy." The curmudgeonly Relic growled. "You may be a pet for my son. But I will not tolerate such insolence."

On it went from that point, not a word was spoken from anyone in the vehicle. Benny was worried, terrified, but mostly he was hungry. But the growls in his stomach only succeeded in getting a growl from the Relic sitting next to him. He could feel the roads twisting and turning, a lack of light shooting through the bag from street light reflections told him that they'd been out of the city for quite some time now. He was feeling hot under the bag, he could feel drops of sweat starting to form, his nervousness was being replaced now with a bit of claustrophobia and he couldn't help the trembling.

"Ah, good. We're nearly there."

That was the first time a Relic's voice brought relief to Benny as he let out a sigh and knew he could put up with it a few minutes longer. He rubbed his fingers together for comfort as they came over the rise and back down. He felt the car rise again, and could hear the rustling of rocks under the tires. The driver stopped and exited the car, returning a few moments later and driving it again. A soft thump, and he felt them on a smoother road for a few moments before it came to a stop. The door opened, letting in a cool night breeze and he was moved out of it by the human as the other door opened and Rekhis disembarked as well.

"Father, I told you I don't need any of your pets." Another voice, slightly younger said with a sigh. "Your type really isn't in my--" The hood was removed abruptly, and the wolf's sentence faded as he finished it. "...taste." He paused for a minute and observed the human.

"Is it more in your taste now, son?"

"Humph." The wolf grunted and crossed his large arms. "Well I guess he's alright."

"I thought so." Rekhis said, shoving Benny toward him. "He's yours. A congratulations for getting in with Wester."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Benny scowled, listening to the males talk to him like he was a piece of meat, but each time he went to open his mouth, the feeling of that collar around his neck made him think about his position. "Now, he is not broken." Rekhis said, firmly planting his hand on Benny's shoulder. "He will try to escape you. I know you are a responsible Relic, but you can't give at all on this. He must be trained."

"Fuck you. I'm not being trained by either one of you!" Benny's mouth snapped shut as quickly as it had opened. He hadn't expected such an outburst and his heart was racing as he watched the anger rise in Rekhis' eyes.

"Why you worthless piece of garbage!" He roared as he raised a hand to strike Benny. "I paid top dollar to bring your carcass out here!"

"I didn't fucking ask you to!" Benny said readying a punch of his own, his hand was suddenly pulled firmly upward as Coran stepped between them and accepted the blow from his father with a grunt.

"I will deal with this." The silver wolf said, turning to his father. "You go home. Thank you for the gift." He pulled harder up on Benny's arm, making him stand on his bare toes. "And you, get in the fucking house, human. We will discuss your place there."

"You are not my master." Benny sneered defiantly.

"No?" The wolf's grip suddenly released Benny's arm and he fell hard to the ground. "But I've got this." He said, taking out the controller and pressing the button, sending shocks through Benny's neck and making him scoot back in pain and fear. "Get in the house. NOW!" He barked angrily.

With the teeth staring him down, Benny didn't dare ignore him, he got to his feet and scrambled through the door, entering the house and closing the door behind him. Coran turned to his father who stared him down fiercely. "You better get him under control, Coran. He will not be easy to break."

"I won't be either." He said, crossing his arms.

"Hmph. We will see." Rekhis' ears perked for a moment. "I best be returning home. You have your own problems to deal with, I believe I just heard your "under control" pet lock your front door." Coran turned toward the house only to see Benny scrambling to find something. Turning back, he eyed the coy smirk on his father's muzzle. "Best of luck." He said as he turned around and headed back to his car.

Inside the house, Benny had overturned the couch, making it knock over the lamp that fell dully to the floor. He scoured the countertop, opened the cabinets, he even checked in the fridge to see if there was a phone in the place. He turned around and ran directly into the bare chested Relic now towering over him, imposing his mass and height in a frightening way. Rather abruptly, he grabbed the human by the neck and drove him quickly to the ground. "Enjoy the tour you gave yourself?" He asked.

"Let me--let me go! I want to get out of here, I have to get out of here!" Benny shrieked, suddenly getting a shock from the wolf whose fur grounded him from the runoff of electricity. "GGCK!" He gagged, grabbing his collar.

"You're not going anywhere, pup." Coran grinned, putting his hand in the center of the human's chest. He brandished the collar control. "In fact, you'll be doing exactly what I want from now on."

"What with that thing?" Benny responded crudely. "I've gotten used to it, it's starting to tickle."

"Is it?" Coran chuckled. "It's on setting three of ten. I can make it tickle... and I can make it hurt." He observed the human's rapid breathing and sniffed him. "What did you piss yourself, human?"

"The name is Benny." He said. "And no, I didn't, I just haven't had a bath in two days and I'm a little ripe. Okay?"

"Say whatever you want, human. But you will bathe before you go to bed tonight."

"So... where is it I sleep then?"

"You will be sleeping in my bed, like any good dog, at the foot of it." As he started walking away, Benny got back to his feet and slowly turned his eyes toward the door. Coran sighed and stopped, eyeing Benny out of the corner of his eye. "Don't even think about it." He said. "We're miles from town, you do not even know which direction the city is from here, and I really do not feel like chasing after you so--" He turned around to see the human gone and the door wide open. "Crap."

It was nearly two hours before Coran returned home. The human slung over his shoulder as he kicked open the front door and yawned. Benny was pretty light, but heavier than he'd expected, and he was exhausted from chasing him. Benny had been subdued by the forceful tranquilizing effects of his collar had sent him into a convulsing unconsciousness by the time an exhausted and panting Coran caught up with him. Too tired to deal with the human's unfamiliar scents he grumbled and dropped Benny over the foot of his bed. Yawning he unfastened his pants and dragged them off with his undergarments.

"Nngh. I tell you, for a pet human, you are really making me work hard on the first day." He said as he climbed up into the bed and pulled his blanket over himself, promptly sliding his feet under Benny's warm body as he turned over and fell asleep.

The night seemed to slip past quickly and before he knew it he noticed the pillow his feet were under was gone. He awakened with one leg hanging out of his covers and his pillows strewn about. Benny was missing from the foot of the bed. "Human? Where are you?" There was no response. "The windows are tempered, and the door is quite sturdy and locked. I doubt you have left again."

Benny edged around the corner some and looked at the Relic lying in the bed. Without hesitation, Coran raised the controller for the collar and the human gasped, grabbing at it in preparation. "Oh, please! No more of that. I'm s-sorry." He said. He was interrupted by the sound of his stomach growling.

"Hmm-hmm. Hungry, are we?" He asked teasingly. "A pity I added those locks to my cabinets, isn't it?" He asked as he slid out of the bed, not shy about revealing himself to his pet. As he reached over, he grabbed a robe hanging over his nightstand and slid it on. "I'm hungry too, let's see what I can get myself to eat."

The meals were somewhat prepared and wrapped in plastic wrap when the wolf opened the refrigerator and pulled out a plate. He placed it into the microwave and turned it on, almost immediately the smell of bacon and eggs filled the room, making Benny's stomach more anxious. But when Coran extracted the plate from the box he seated himself in front of it and began to eat, leaving Benny standing there.

"W-what about me?" Benny asked, feeling somewhat annoyed that his question was casually ignored by the Relic, who had pulled open a newspaper and started to read from it. "Coran? Can... can I have some food?"

"You will need to beg much harder than that, pup." Coran said, not looking up from the paper. "That, or you can go hungry. I will leave that for you to decide."

Benny frowned and leaned down awkwardly. "P-please, Coran? Please let me have some food?"

"Lower." Coran said stoically. "And... don't call me by my name, it's a bit inappropriate for our relationship."

"Relationship?" Benny asked.

Coran looked at the human and pointed at himself. "Me, master." He pointed at Benny. "You, pet. Understand?"

At last, Benny did understand. Before he wouldn't have lowered himself to such a position, but he hadn't eaten in almost two days and he was extremely hungry. He whimpered slightly and dropped flat to his knees. "Please, master. Can I have some food?" Coran ignored the plea at first, making Benny feel more desperate. "Please? Please!" He cried out unexpectedly on that last one and rested his chin on Coran's forearm resting on the table. At last, the Relic turned an eye at him. "I need food, please? Can I have some?"

Coran sighed long and deep. "Fine." He said taking a strip of bacon and breaking it in half with a bite before throwing the other half onto the floor. Benny made a grab for it, but Coran stopped him. "Ah! Ah! Dogs don't eat with their hands." He said.

Quickly, Benny rested on his hands and leaned down to take the bacon into his mouth, the salty flavor like heaven after two days. Just as he finished gobbling it up, the wolf threw out a few small piles of eggs, which Benny happily ate from his new position.

"I don't like messes, while you're here I'll be having you do chores around the house to clean, they won't be easy to do, but I'm sure you'll be a good pet and do them. You can start by licking a polish onto the floor where you ate up that food."

"Couldn't I get a sponge to--GGCK!" He felt the shock of his collar hit him as Coran pressed the button on his remote.

"No talking unless I expect you to answer back!" He barked loudly. "Now clean those spots with your tongue!"

Benny cringed and applied his tongue to the smooth floor. Dragging it across the small greasy spots that the eggs and bacon had been quickly vacuumed up from, he began to realize he was still pretty hungry. He frowned at the wolf and tried to give him the best begging face he could. It worked, and the wolf tossed a whole sausage patty to him, along with a bit of ham that was three quarters eaten. Benny didn't care, it helped to sate his hunger and he quickly slobbered up the floor with his tongue. The floor was grainy and somewhat dirty, Benny could taste it on his tongue and he almost gagged at the idea of dragging his tongue across it.

Coran stood up from his seat and took his plate into the small kitchen area just off the dining room. After retrieving a sponge out from under the sink he dabbed it with water from the tap and threw it on the floor in front of Benny. "Here. Now clean it up, but the same rules; no touching with your hands. I might let you use the mop later to clean the floors, but these fresh wet spots are nasty." He smiled as Benny picked up the sponge with his teeth and began to rub it over the areas he'd been licking. "Very good." He said as he walked past the human and stepped into the living room, he hoisted the couch and flopped down on it, activating the television. "Now do you have any clothes other than the rags you are wearing?" He paused a moment before his head rose over the back of his couch. "Oh, it's okay, you can answer that."

Benny sighed. "No, sorry. I've only got the clothes I was kidnapped in." A sudden shock jolted him and he fell onto the floor "Hey! You said I could answer that."

"It could have been done without the sarcasm." Coran said.

"Then you shouldn't have asked."

"UUGH. Why must you complicate things? You are a pet, I am your owner, this is how our ways work."

"They're your ways, not mine. We don't kidnap people and force them to work for us anymore, that's not how it's done." He received another shock, this one was enough to send Benny to the floor, it didn't stop for several seconds until the human was slapping the floor with the palm of his hand. When it finally released he coughed and breathed heavily.

"That was setting five." Coran warned. "The strength will increase and decrease when you are willing to not cooperate with me or willing to. It's entirely up to you."

"No, it's not." Benny said as he finally gathered the strength to stand on his hands and knees again. "Is it?"

Coran chuckled a bit. "Come here, pet." He said, waving his hand with the controller teasingly. "I need something to rest my feet on."

"You've got to be kidding me." Benny muttered to himself before receiving another shock. "GGH! What was that for?!" He shrieked.

"I... do have really large ears." He pointed out. "Now come."

Benny sighed and stood up to walk over in front of the couch where the wolf's eyes were glued to the television. Wordlessly he pointed at his feet and Benny crouched down in front of him, resting down on his forearms and knees as he felt the heft of the Relic's massive feet lay on his back. The human tried to space himself out to rest more comfortably, but even the area rug underneath him wasn't providing much comfort. He felt himself trembling, but for the first time, he realized he wasn't cold, but he was missing home. "May I get a drink, master?" He asked, almost choking on the last word. "I'm parched and haven't had anything to drink."

"Maybe." Coran said, looking down at his pet. "But I would like my pet to do something else for me first." He wiggled one of his toes. "I have an itch on the bottom of my pad, if you lick it clean I will give you a good, long drink. How about that?"

Benny felt Coran's foot lift from his shoulder and lower itself in front of him. The short fat wolf-like digits wiggling in front of his face made the human cringe. "I-I don't know." He said. "I've never licked another man's feet before."

"I bet you would like to, pup." Coran grinned even wider. "It is either that, or go thirsty. The choice is yours."

Benny leaned in and dragged his tongue up the soft pad. It had an almost leathery texture to it and definitely tasted better than licking the ground. He heard Coran sigh in satisfaction as he leaned back into the couch and began to flick through the channels of the television. Soon, the bottom of Coran's foot was drenched in the human's saliva who pulled his tongue away, clicking it a few times in the roof of his mouth to get the taste back. "Is that... ah, better, master?" Benny asked. "Can I get a drink now?"

"You'll get a drink when you're done." Coran answered, not looking down at him, pressing his paw forward into the human's lips.

Benny continued, wrapping his lips around each of the canine toes, carefully avoiding the sharp claws as he did so. One after the other, he glanced up and could definitely notice a tent pressing against the robe; this crazy Relic was getting off on this. Though curiosity of what laid underneath the robe was conflicted by his utter anger at what he'd been reduced to. He finished the foot and Coran slowly extracted and examined it. "Can I get a drink now, please?" He begged.

"It is a start." He said. "I think I will have you do this more often." He grinned. "Alright, you have earned it"

The next week was hard on Benny, who was forced to constantly serve as a foot warmer for the Relic at night, and a footrest for his big paws for most of the day. He was forced to do much of the house labor, but Coran made it even more interesting by forcing him to perform tasks around the house. Cleaning the floor with a toothbrush, clearing dead leaves from the trees in the yard without a ladder, even forcing him to do grimey shower cleaning using his shirt which quickly wore the fabric out. Soon the rest of his clothes were in tatters and he was forced to walk around the house nude which embarrassed the human to no end. One day though, things seemed to take a turn for the better.

"Hey, pup." Coran called to Benny as he passed the bedroom door.

Coran was lying on his bed, watching a movie from his old movie archive. Nothing but a blanket was draped over his naked body, but a bare leg was out in the middle of the ocean of his large bed. How he had to insist on keeping his feet under Benny at night he would never figure out. "Yes, sir?" He asked coyly stopping in the door.

"Oh do not be shy, Benny. I would be lost without your help. Come in, I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" Benny asked, stepping inside.

Coran nodded. "How would you like to go for a walk downtown?"

"Walk, like.... a dog's walk-walk kind of walk?" Benny asked shaking his head. "No way."

"Why not?" The Relic asked. "I am sure you are tired of hanging around here all the time. You could use the fresh air."

"I'm still not a dog." He looked warily as Coran put the collar's hot button on the head of his bed. His eyes slid rather easily now to the wolf's exposed feet and he frowned a bit. "I just don't feel like getting out today..." He knew it was coming, but he didn't want to hear it--

"Come sit over here and rub my feet." Coran said at last, stretching his hidden leg out to expose his foot as well, leaving a thin layer of material covering his crotch. "Unless you would like me to enforce you coming with me through the collar again."

Not wanting that in the slightest he swiftly moved across the room and settled himself on the bed. The mattress was plush under Benny's butt, having to sleep at the foot of the bed nightly was often hard and cold to do, but he was slowly getting used to it. Benny tried his best not to glance up as the wolf leaned back, nearly exposing himself completely, but leaving it limited to the bottom of his sack. A sight that made Benny's throat go dry.

"Ahh, that's nice." Coran sighed, wiggling his toes as he felt the human's hands kneed and massage at the fur and pads at the bottom of his feet. He looked at Benny, seeming quite serious now. "Do you miss your home and family Benny?"

Benny shook his head. "To be honest, no." He said. "My family's not really the easiest to get along with."

His fingers slid in between the toes and he Relic's toes wiggled as they responded almost ticklishly. Benny's grip moved down the sides, rubbing deeper and harder against the flesh. "That is strange. Normally humans are quite sensitive to the absence of their home and families. Have they done something to wrong you."

"No, it's nothing like that." Benny shrugged. "I just haven't talked them in a few years. The shit really hit the fan when I came out."

"Came out of what?"

"It's a human expression. Coming out, or coming out of the closet is being openly gay."

"I am confused. Why would your family dwell on such a trivial matter?"

"That's what I've always said. But dad threw me out, and I turned my college funds into funding for my band..." He paused. "Damn I wonder what's been going on with them lately."

"Ah. So you miss your friends then."

"No it's--" He paused. "Wait, hang on, just a second. Are we actually having a conversation?"

"How else would we pass the time while you massage my paws and I mull over what to dress you in for our outing."

"I told you don't want to go."

"And who said you really had a choice? We need to get you some new clothing, something more fitting for one of my pets, and I am quite bored here." Frustrated with having to put up with the trick, Benny got up and started walking away. "You have not done my other foot..."

"Fuck you!" Benny retorted.

Almost serenely, Coran reached behind him and took the controller, he pressed the button to hear Benny cry out and fall to the floor in the other room. Amused he leaned back onto his pillows and put his hands behind his head.

"Look, I don't want to go!" Benny argued, but held his mouth open as the wolf pinched his nose and shoved a small grey disk in his mouth. It suddenly snapped shut around the object, and Benny couldn't move his lips or his teeth for the life of him.

"That is to keep you from speaking out of turn." Coran said. "You can have it in now, or when we get to the city. The decision is up to you."

Benny muffled a bit. Coran pressed a button on his silver watch that made the human's jaw fall free and he extracted the disk. Benny knew why he didn't want him to talk; it had to be the same with all of their pets, they don't speak, they can't warn people about their situations. The sheer maliciousness made him sick, but for the time being he was caught in it. "Okay, pet. Are you ready? Have you relieved yourself?"

"I took a piss about an hour ago. Yes." Benny answered, knowing the awkward glance that the wolf gave him, he was somewhat unused to the casual cursing that humans seemed to be fluent in.

"Very good." He said, latching a red and silver lined leash to the human's collar.

"A leash? Are you kidding me?"

Coran looked annoyed and tugged the leash, bringing the human face to chest with him and Benny had no choice but to look up at his master. "I have dealt with much of your attitude, but frankly you are killing my good mood, human." Benny cringed, Coran usually only called him "human" when he screwed something up or really got on his bad side. "Now you will shut up and come with me, or I will use the disk to fuse you to a lamp post!"

There was a sudden slack and Coran allowed Benny to back up a step or two. "Y-yes sir."

Stepping outside, Benny noticed the only vehicle in the driveway was a small sports bike motorcycle standing out on its kickstand. When the wolf produced a helmet with a completely black visor Benny looked at it awkwardly. "How am I supposed to see out of this thing?"

"It is more comfortable than my father's burlap sacks. Now, put it on and let us go."

Before he said anything else, Coran shoved the helmet on Benny's head and clapped it down firmly. It was roomier than the sack, that was for sure. And slight holes in either side of the helmet pushed air in on him. "H-how am I supposed to see anything? I don't know if I can ride like this."

Benny's leg was hoisted suddenly over the back of the bike as he felt Coran's body shift in front of him. "Do you not trust me?" Coran asked.

"Do I have any choice?" Benny asked as he tightened his grip around the wolf's large waist.

Coran chuckled. "No." He answered honestly as the vehicle suddenly jerked to life, and they were off like a shot.

The road was rough for a bit, it took a long time for Benny to loosen his grip on the Relic, and even as he did, continual bumps tightened his grasp again, usually they were accompanied by a laugh from the wolf, but it was pitch black under the helmet visor. Only hints of light made their way into the helmet as his head shifted back some to allow the air holes to let it slip in. Benny could feel his hair flapping madly against his back, his torn and tattered shirt fluttering soundly against the wind as they tore through the unseen country side.

Benny had lost track of the time, had it been thirty minutes? Forty by the time they reached a sudden slow down and he could hear the loud cluttering of traffic surrounding them. Benny was tempted to let the wolf go and jump down, but he hadn't a clue to how fast they were riding. His leash was still being held by the male's belt loop in front of him that he couldn't hope to loosen. He would kill himself in the escape. He just held on tighter and rested his head against the wolf's back. Coran inhaled and exhaled deeply in the moment.

"Hang on. We are making our exit." He said as he suddenly jerked the bike to the right and they came off the off ramp.

The visor suddenly lifted from Benny's face and he could see his surroundings now; it wasn't at all like Toronto or anyplace he'd ever been. This city was bright, sunny, and somewhat warmer than where they had been. He was confused at exactly how far they traveled, and for all intents and purposes, the location of Coran's home was completely unknown now. There wasn't even a hint. As he settled into the scenery he saw an oncoming park, and Coran slowed to a parking pace and pulled into a spot just across from the gorgeous greenery.

"So... this is it?" Benny asked, trying to sound unimpressed.

"This is it." Coran said grinning as he pulled the helmet off the human. "And on the other side of the park, one of the best hot dog stands around."

Benny's stomach rumbled at it. "You're not... going to make me eat off the ground, are you?"

"Are you still my pet?"

Seeing the obvious trap coming up, Benny tried to quickly answer. "Uh-no?"

"EHHHHH!" Coran imitated a buzzer as he pressed the button, laughing aloud as Benny reacted to the unexpected jolt. "You are wrong, sir." He said. "You are my pet, and you will eat the scraps I feed you like any puppy."

Before Benny could argue, his mouth was pulled open and the disk inserted it into the human's mouth, making it clamp shut suddenly. Tugging on his leash, he realized exactly how obvious it was. He had mere tatters of a shirt with a solid black collar and a bright red leash coming off of it into his master's hand as he was led away from the bike. The human tried his best to avoid the gaping stares and the pointing children as he was led into the park. Tucking his arms in, Benny just wanted to make himself the smallest creature on the earth at that very moment, and compared to Coran's massive size he thought it would be a lot easier than it was.

As they walked briskly along, Benny could smell the heavenly scent of a hot dog stand as they approached it. It stood on the edge of the small pond that encompassed a lot of the walkways through the park. It was there that Coran finally slowed his walking and loosened his grip on the collar.

Benny kept looking around at the passers by who kept on pointing at him and chuckling. It only took a few minutes for him to realize that his pants had caught a small hole that had been growing throughout the ride possibly and definitely during the walk. He turned sharply to the Relic who was paying the man behind the counter and glared at him.

"What?" Coran said as Benny turned and showed him the exposed skin of his rear. He could tell the Relic stifled a laugh at the sight. "It is... what you humans call a fashion statement, yes?" He said as he picked a large hot dog on a bun off the counter.

Instantly, Benny's instincts kicked in and he put his head on Coran's arm, sniffing the food in his hand. He jerked his head back and looked at the humans around them now staring at them as Coran took a bite off the end of his dog and walked the two of them over to a bench and sat down. Benny knelt down beside his master, it had become nature for him now to crouch there. Coran looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "Now, pet. If I release the disk in your mouth, do you promise you'll eat my scraps like a good boy? Or are you going to risk not eating at all by causing a scene?"

Benny nodded, then shook his head, putting his chin on the wolf's forearm. Coran sighed and pressed the button on his watch, suddenly freeing Benny's mouth and he extracted the disk. Coran smiled a bit at the gleeful look from his pet and threw a sizeable chunk of meat onto the ground for Benny to eat up. "No need to worry about spot cleaning out here, pup." He said assuringly as he patted Benny's head.

"Excuse me!" A woman's voice turned Coran's attention to a young human female and her son who couldn't have been more than twelve years old who was staring at Benny awkwardly. "Is this yours?" She asked.

"Let us see... collar..." Coran held up the leash. "Leash." He mused. "Hmm, yes, I do believe he is mine."

"You're a monster!" She gasped in horror as she crouched down trying to pull Benny away from his food. "How dare you do this to a human being!?"

Benny growled at her. "Release me." He said.

"W-what?" She asked in shock.

"I SAID UNHAND ME YOU BITCH!" He roared loudly as he engulfed another chunk dropped before him by the Relic.

The woman screamed and threw herself back. She grabbed her son who had just begun to laugh, and the pair of them suddenly disappeared into the crowd now stopping to observe the scene. Coran turned to look at Benny who had happily finished eating his scraps and he smiled. "That was... quite a show, Benny."

"I was hungry." Benny said, greedily. "She can't bug me while I'm eating." He stood back up onto his knees, looking at his master for more scraps.

Coran's smile faded a bit, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I will tell you something, Benny, that surprised even me." He said as he led the human over to the vendor. "Let me get you something to drink..." Impulsively, Benny knelt down again and tried to grab the wolf's leg. "Oh, no. This time none of that. I feel like I owe you, my pet."

Confused, Benny watched as Coran ordered a small cup of water and hand it to him. Benny watched his master apprehensively as he began to sip from the cup. The sip turned into a slug and soon the entire drink had vanished into his mouth.

"Better?" Coran asked.

"M-much..." Benny asked. "But don't think you're getting a thank you out of me, that little outburst just told me exactly how much of a monster you are, what did you turn me into?"

Coran paused for a minute, unsure if he should provide an answer. When Benny put his empty cup down he gave another yank on the leash. "Alright, you have had your drink. Now come." He said briskly as he pulled the human with him. "We must get you new garments. I do not like having you exposed to any wandering eye."

"Pretty defensive of your possessions, aren't you?" Benny said snidely.

Coran resisted reaching for the collar's shock button, instead his fingers clenched and released slightly. "I suppose I am. And that is what you are to me; a possession."

"It's what I get for looking one of your kind in the eye."

"Now that is enough!" Coran snapped, sending a light shock into Benny's collar and making him cringe as the wolf loomed over him. "I was not responsible for your situation, I have simply taken you into my home. Given you food, shelter, and we are getting you clothing to replace what has been tattered and torn. You should be damn grateful of that, pup!"

"You've also abetted in my kidnapping, humiliated me, made me your slave and your dog, tortured me, and damn near starved me..." Benny said, before pausing his continued sentence. "Master..."

"For one unbroken such as you, you have certainly taken to calling me that. And you have restrained from calling out to the humans. I removed the disk from your mouth and I have every freedom to put it back in so do not... TEST ME!" He lurched high over the human who fell to his knees and cowered back. Suddenly overwhelmed with calm, Coran sighed. "Good pet. Let us continue on and forget about this." He tugged on the leash, allowing Benny to stand and for a moment the human leaned against the Relic before stepping back and they continued on their way. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as Benny sulked behind him, looking down at the sidewalk. "Hey, cheer up. I am taking you to a good clothing shop, the owners are friends of mine and they will see to it your needs." There was still a long silence and Coran returned his eyes forward as the pair stepped off the curb. It wasn't like him to miss the clear signs, maybe something was on his mind that distracted him, but in a split second Coran heard Benny cry out.

"Coran! Look out!" Benny's voice cried out.

There was the screeching of an oncoming truck's tires and a dull thud...

TO BE CONTINUED...