Volunteer Job
Story done for DezFoley as a stream slot, picture by Sabretoothedermine original link to the picture found here http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14696582/ Enjoy!
"This is #342-A, signed up yesterday, passed the medical routine that we wanted him to go through and then some." The slight female doctor spoke with an amused tone that Dan squirmed at as he was held lightly between two orderlies. "One of the volunteers."
"Volunteer?" An older man in a lab coat looked at him with a bit of amusement. "You actually signed up for this, boy?"
"I.. yes..." He managed in a small voice, squirming a bit as the hold tightened on either arm. "But it wasn't like that! I didn't-"
"We have all the proper papers in order, payment has been transferred of course," The doctor, he thought her name was Samantha, sounded more than a little amused at his attempts to say what he really meant.
The Institute, he didn't know what else it was named, just that simple word, was something of a mystery to most people. They were a breeding operation that specialized in working dogs of all sorts, from military to search and rescue to service dogs for the disabled. They had come up in the last ten years and blossomed into several different locations throughout the US to support supply and demand. The government, officially, had inspected each one and approved of them, but most people understood differently. They benefited too much from them, the fact that the Institute might border on the edge of illegalities meant nothing to them when they weighed it against what they gained. Dan had known that when he'd been at the bar with his friends and one of the reps came in with her little clip board and sweet smile to talk to them about chances to join on in the illustrious company from the ground up and what they had to offer.
He had been half drunk at the time, tilting his head and grinning as he chattered with the pretty young thing that had been oh so happy to laugh at his jokes and speak with him. It had been thrilling, and if he had had the sense god had given a little grey squirrel he would have known something was up from the very start of it all. As it was, he had simply listened to her talk passionately about her company and what they could offer him if he signed on. He honestly couldn't say he had listened to half of what it was, only that she had invited him to sign up as a volunteer to work at the center. If she had talked about employing him he wouldn't have signed up or agreed to anything, he already had a job, but volunteering was nothing. Dan had justified signing himself up with the idea that he could come and see what things were about, and see her.
"I didn't know what I was signing up for!" He protested again as Samantha flipped her charts and gave him a look of amusement. "I was drunk."
"Well now, a bit late for that, now that we've paid off all your bills and given you a chunk of money in to your account." She answered with a shake of her head. "I've got him set up for the collie trial, he's smart enough, despite the fact he was easily signed on, the drink could account for that."
"Wait a minute.. I didn't agree to all of this!" Dan squirmed and tried to step forward, but one of the orderlies pulled him back firmly, tugging him back so that he was pinned back in place. "I thought I was just going to help out here."
"Get him settled in exam room five, we'll start the injections tonight and have him ready for the morning." The older man spoke without even listening or acknowledging what he was saying. It made him squirm while the orderlies pulled him to one side. "I wouldn't try those arguments, boy, you signed extensive paper work outlining exactly what it means and that you understood. It won't get you anywhere."
"But..." He started to protest again, but the woman moved and gestured to the orderlies to move him away from the older man.
He didn't know what he had signed. There had been pages after pages of the paper work to volunteer, surprisingly he could almost remember that there had been language spread out inside of it that had to do with being paid something. He had been more than drunk by that point, he had been doing shots with the pretty lady, that's all he could remember and now he was sitting there trembling and struggling to remember just why he had signed up in the first place. This couldn't be legal, they couldn't use a document and then do what they wanted with him here!
The orderlies took him to a room that was very little like an actual doctor's office, there was no table for him to sit on and certainly no helpful padded chairs for him to sit on. It had a set of cabinets and beneath them there were several sets of drawers, there was even a sink. The only bit of 'furniture' in the place was what looked like a thick metal tube that rested on a squat stand so it was raised up only two feet in the air. There were cross bars that spread open nearly half a foot in either direction, complete with leather restraints hanging down from it. The large metal tube was barely two feet long and a foot and a half wide, not something someone could stand on or even manage to sit on that well. He was escorted straight towards it as he dug his feet in and tried to stop the orderlies from manhandling him.
"I have rights! This isn't... hey wait! STOP THAT!" He yelped out the last words as a hand reached out and pulled at his t-shirt, dragging it up over his head.
He hadn't been allowed to change since he had gotten here, it should have been a relief to have the old shirt pulled off him, but it was more of an embarrassment as it was tugged over his head without his help. It set his glasses askew as he tried to grab the material back from them, only to have his pants grabbed next. The orderlies didn't care about his protests, they seemed to know exactly how to handle them as they gripped the band of his pants and forced him to lift up into the air as he was heaved higher. The band of the pants began to be pulled off with forceful movements that had him writhing in place. He tried to push away, reaching out and grabbing at the orderly that held him still as his pants were pulled down to his ankles revealing his boxers. It was impersonal and forceful, nothing he could do could get him free.
His attempts to protest were strangled as Samantha, the female doctor, took his clothing from the two nurses and folded them neatly on the table out of the way. She was looking at him. Blood rushed to his cheeks, utterly humiliated as he realized he couldn't hide himself from her even if he tried. He still didn't really understand what he had signed himself up for, only that it had something to do with the canine program. They left him his boxer shorts, a fact that he was grateful for, but they didn't let him stand in place for long. Instead, he was dragged along the floor and towards the cold metal device that was standing in the middle of the room as if it were just waiting for him. He drew in a breath, struggling before he was pushed forward and forced right down over the rounded edge.
It was cold enough to make him cry out, chilling his chest and stomach, his nipples tightened in response as he tried to pull away from it. His stomach went tense as he squirmed back and forth, his breathing coming out in a bit of a bursting rush as the orderlies pushed him down harder and kept him pinned in place. His chest wedged close down against the ground as the doctor moved around him and helped to pull his arms up so that they were draped forward right along the metal bar that boasted the leather restraints making him jerk backwards. The movement was stopped by the sudden push against his back, a knee pushing down firmly in place and keeping him pinned against the cold metal as straps were brought up and over his back.
"Stop moving about like that, there's nothing for you to do about it here." The woman spoke and gave a firm pull of leather straps that were drawn up and over his back, pushing down roughly. "We will sedate you if we have to, but we prefer not to."
"I.. please, just, what do you want to do with me?!" Dan swallowed and writhed as the leather tightened further along his back, his legs pulled out behind him so that they were resting right on the twin broad bars. It was natural the draw them up and rest there, but that put his ass up higher in the air, something that had him flinching at.
His wrists were pulled forward by one of the men, the soft leather cuffs slipped around and the buckles done up so tightly that he let out a whimper of protest. It hurt, pinching and making him squeeze his eyes shut, but they didn't seem to care about his protests. It made his body become hunched up strangely, the stand wasn't meant for him, at least he didn't think it was. The orderlies left as soon as the straps were pulled down, their jobs done, he was left alone with the strange woman who helped settle him. Her hands were surprisingly gentle as they curled along the edge of his boxers and pulled them down. He didn't know if it was a mercy for him so he didn't have to stand naked in front of her or simply because it was easier to do without him struggling against it. His stomach hung lover over the block as his cock slipped free with his balls.
"You're going to be added to the program, border collie division in fact, there's a great deal of room in that particular area for someone who has high test scores." Samantha reached out and spread his legs a bit wider despite his protest. "Most of the ones we get signed up here tend to be more muscled and athletic, we need intelligence added into the gene pool."
"Gene pool?" He felt his cheeks pale at the idle commentary, his nostrils flaring open delicately before the hands ran down the length of his back. The gentle touch made him writhe in place, twisting slightly and squeezing his eyes shut.
"Yes, as per the contract you signed, you'll meet your donation requirements and be allowed to go your way pending successful birthing of the litters." Her hand reached down right along the curve of his bare ass and suddenly swiped something cold right over the spot.
"Litters? Listen lady, I never agreed to anything like this! I never agreed to sign up to do this! I thought I was volunteering to do chores on the c-campus." He stammered out as his ass cheek was rubbed in circles, the wet patch working firmly.
He could smell alcohol on the air, the bite of it making his nose wrinkle out before the doctor leaned back and suddenly there was a jab against his bare ass. He muted a shocked cry and turned his head back, his glasses sliding along his nose as he saw a rather large syringe being pushed right on his ass cheek. A cool rush of fluid spread over the edges of his rump, he could feel the chill there that made his skin start to turn up with little goose bumps while he strained forward. His hands were going numb from the tightness of the restraints, his arms aching strangely.
"What is that?!" He cried out as the woman pulled the needle out of him in a smooth stroke and gave the area a rub with her fingers.
"It'll take several hours to work, I believe, but just relax. If you try to fight it you'll end up just making it worse. Not that you can really fight it, just relax into the sensations and enjoy them if you can." She straightened up with a small smile on her face. "You'd be surprised how pleasurable it can be as long as you sink into the sensations."
~ ~ * ~ ~
Hours later Dan would recall those words and bitterly snarl at the very idea that anything like this could be even amount to being partially pleasurable. A fever raged in him as he remained bound on the stand, his breathing coming out in short pants that sounded more like an overheated dog than a human. And dog was right, the drug that was coursing through his veins was changing him slowly, the steady sensation of his body being elongated and shifted were terrifying to experience as he was turned. He couldn't see the changes at first, they were so slow that if he watched his body he saw nothing different, but he glanced away and looked down again they were there. Fur was covering his arms, a fine velvety sheen of fur that was meshed over with dark patches higher up. He could see his nails were darkening and thickening by the moment, the same was happening to his face and head. He was being changed, physically changed, his bones ached and thinned down, thickening in other places.
He whined softly to himself and shifted, his back aching slightly as he pushed down against the restraints on his wrists. His fingers were growing shorter, the wrists were more slender, he could feel it in the way that the restraints that were wrapped around them. They no longer bit him, his hands were no longer going numb with pain, they were just warm and swollen feeling as the fur became softer and thicker. He could feel his teeth were sharpening down into points, curling down in his mouth while his tongue flicked out, lashing along his lips, making him whimper softly. What had the woman given him? What sort of drug could turn a man into this? He arched and kicked back, struggling to get his legs up, but the movement drew his attention to the fact things weren't quite right with his legs either. He didn't know when they had begun to change, only that it had happened when he hadn't been paying nearly the attention he should have. His ankle felt like it was far too high in the air, his toes lower than they should have been while he let out a ragged grunt and dropped his head down against the edge of the metal stand.
Samantha had told him that he should relax into this sensation, but there was no relaxation into any of the sensations that tore through him. His back ached and itched, his fingers became stiffer and harder, unable to bend the fingers the way he wanted to move them. The blunt finger nails curled outwards as the underside of his fingertips became padded and heavier, horned with thick rough callouses that bumped against the ground. He whined and arched a little bit, opening his eyes to see the fur growing thicker and smoother, covering the soft pink of his flesh entirely as his jaws began to push outwards. The jaws stretching outwards as his fangs began to form and his tongue grew broader in his elongating mouth. His heart was fluttering in his chest, feeling as if he was half mad with the fever that was burning rampant over him.
He didn't hear the door open as he concentrated on the ache of his back, the bones that were shifting strangely as long silky fur coated down along either side of his back. His legs were pulling up higher, his knees lifting from the metal brace so he was putting most of his weight on his toes and what had been the ball of his feet. The clatter of claws brought his head up, looking away from his shifting arms and found his nose darkening and pushing out as he looked towards the door. A small white and black dog was pushed into the room by one of the orderlies from before. He didn't glance at Dan, or make a single comment as the dog whined a little and peered back at him before the door was shut. It was a border collie, mostly black all over except for a white dash on her face and snowy paws, her dark brown eyes looking confused as she sniffed at the base of the door.
Dan closed his eyes again and shuddered out a groan as he saw stars and there was a popping sound as his nose pushed out further from his face. He was going cross eyed to see the extending muzzle as he leaned forward and cried out. His hands were compacting down tightly as he felt his stomach and chest shifting beneath him, his chest starting to change shape as he huffed out in short hot bursts. He tried to ball his fists up, but the only thing that happened was the stiff toes flexed down as his arms became forelegs, no human at all, thick compact paws were bound in place as he gasped out and sucked in a deep breath. The moment he did, the world went to the background as something filled his nose, something hot and arousing, sweet and alluring that had his eyes snapping open wide. He drew in a breath again, his chest rising up in the air.
He whined shallowly as the warm smell seemed to make his mind slow to a grind as it filled his body with a rush of tightness and heat that made his ears burn hotly. It wasn't the change that had the ears burn bright red, it was that warm alluring tang on the air that had him whimpering, turning his head blindly towards the source of that scent. His stomach was growing hot as his loins tightened, it was a rush of arousal the likes of wish he had never imagined before, he felt his lower loins starting to swell. Dan shook his head wildly, his glasses sliding from his face as he saw the dog trotting around the room loose, the long thick fringed tail wagged back and forth behind her as she sniffed here and there. She cast around without a care, not realizing that he was staring at her in growing horror and disgust as he realized that the scent was coming from her. The heat running along his lower belly, starting to make him aware of certain parts of him he had been trying to ignore.
His cock had been hanging soft between his thighs, but he could feel it beginning to rouse as he breathed in another lungful of that scent as his legs began to spread open wider. His feet were turning more into paws, he could feel it as the thick silky fur coated either side of his back, falling down to either side of his back. He tried to give a little bit of hunch of his back, feeling the length of his cock sliding higher up in the air along his inner legs. The tip of his cock rose up, brushing through fur as he began to breathe in short soft puffs of air, the sweet musk was filling the air as his shaft rubbed up along his lower belly messily and began to feel hotter, more swollen by the moment. His ears dropped down along his head, flopping forward while he panted in short shallow bursts that had him flexing and pushing forward against the stand.
His hind legs were pushing outwards as they grew more powerful, but his attention wasn't on that, his attention was on the throbbing of his cock and the bitch's scent. He turned his head and flushed, humiliated as he tried to snuffle after her as she trotted around. He tried to argue with common sense, reason with himself, but there was no reasoning with the hot scent of her on the air. His eyes looked over her, the long black wagging tail was set right above an equally dark spade shaped sex that was puffy and swollen looking. He whined at the sight of it, his ears went down flat against his head while he hunched his back forward and his tongue lolled out from a tapered muzzle. His cock felt all wrong, something was horribly different about it as it bobbed under his belly, splattering precum messily towards the ground.
The strange dog whined a little and trotted towards him with a friendly look on her face, wagging her tail a little back and forth as she snuffled towards his nose. She brought that scent with him and made him gulp down the scent as he strained forward, pushing forward as far as he could reach. She was delicate looking, small like any border collie and friendly as she licked out right against his muzzle before letting out a bit of a bark. He lunged, he couldn't stop himself, he struggled to keep himself in check but the rich sweet scent of estrus was flooding into his muzzle as fast as he could taste it. It was gloriously erotic, fertile and needy, his cock began to bob harder beneath him, jabbing at nothing beneath him as he hunched up his back. Pressure was forming along the curve of his ass, he turned his head slightly with a whine....and froze.
In his mind, he was still human, no matter the silky fur that was covering him, he still felt as if the changes made weren't that dramatic, but they were. He looked back at the thickly furred black and white body of a border collie, a snowy white line of fur ran up along his neck and shoulders, the black coating trailed down along the length of his back and towards the haunches of a dog complete with a long tail that was growing out behind him and hanging down behind the curve of his rump cheeks. Dan whined out, shuddering as he looked at the strong paws stretched out beneath him, bunched up in his boxers, and what hung under him was nothing like what he knew he was supposed to have. The violet-purple cock was swaying down under him, bobbing and jumping up and down from a snowy white sheath, trailing all the way down towards a narrow scoop shaped tip that was swinging around beneath him messily with a dribble of precum.
It shocked him enough to make him forget about the bitch trying to lick at his face, he whined and twisted, jerking at his paws in their bonds, trying to free himself as he stepped nervously on two hind paws. His cock throbbed up along his belly, he couldn't make it go away as he licked his lips. Not his lips, he licked his muzzle, a long white muzzle as his ears pin right back along the sides of his head and he whined out. The female dog licked him again, snuffing and whining softly at him and her scent came with her shamelessly. He tried to ignore it, the horror of seeing himself as a dog couldn't prevent him from drawing in a deep breath of that alluring female scent. It was in his nose, coating his senses and tongue, making him want more and more while he scrabbled backwards and yanked against restraints roughly. She kept trotting towards him, whining and sniffing along her shoulder with a hot puff of breath that made him feel his cock flex under him, his haunches hunch in a wild thrust.
"Ahh excellent, right on schedule." Samantha's voice came into the room, he hadn't heard the door open, he hadn't heard anything, he'd been too focused on the little female border collie. "I see that you and 128-X have made friends."
"Rrrrffff.." The sound that came from his attempt to speak was garbled and growled out as he shuddered in place.
The woman came in, she wore the same lab coat as she went immediately towards the set of cupboards and spared a brief pet for the female dog that was leaping around her with a wagging tail. Had that dog been a human too? Dan swallowed, gulping down as Samantha opened a drawer and pulled out two loops of joined leather and a short leather strap that had a buckle at both end. She didn't waste any time to come over to him with a pat right along the line of the shoulders, sliding down the length of his spine as he turned his head and let out a ragged little whimper at the feel of her hand on his body. She rubbed back up towards his floppy ears, rolling it back and forth playfully, kneading them and tugging lightly as the leather loops were slipped over his head before he could dodge them. The thicker band went behind his head and neck, fitting like a collar, but the thinner one wrapped around his snout in a loose muzzle.
"Easy..easy... we'll make this happen short and sweet, won't we? The more easy going you are, the better off it'll be for you." Samantha murmured and clipped one end of the double ended strap at the joined part of the two loops of leather. "Once we get a good sample and check for sperm count we'll be able to see if you'll have a nice set of pups with 128."
_I don't want pups! _ He jerked his head back, trying to wriggle backwards, but the short strap of leather was clipped onto a ring on the metal block to keep him from wriggling away.
Samantha didn't seem to have a lick of shame as she moved around him, reaching down with a long gentle hand to slide beneath the white furred belly to brush against his jutting cock. He yelped out at the stroke towards the tip, the caress that made his shaft leap and stiffen, so incredibly sensitive that it was almost painful. He bucked forward, humping wildly into the palm of the hand that wrapped around him, her thumb glided right over his tip. His ears were burning hotly, he couldn't think as she stroked him, only sucked in a breath that was flooded with the sweet musk of the female in the room. It confused him, set him off his guard, made him writhe as she crouched down and depressed a small drawer that opened up at the base of the device. He heard it, his ears twitched back, but he couldn't wrap his mind around what it meant. He leaned forward, arching his back and squeezing his eyes shut while her hand reached back and ran towards the base.
He'd never felt this sensitive before, his nerves were almost raw feeling as the urge to hunch his hips and thrust wildly into her hold came over him. He barely held back, his pants came out in rapid bursts as his tongue lolled out of his white muzzle and she stroked with a fluttering caress right up to force the ridge of the sheath that was at the base and pushed up and over something. He bucked forward into her palm, splattering precum beneath him so that she let out an approving noise and moved her hand away. He dropped down, relaxing and trembling, his entire face hot and flushed with humiliation at how he was acting, but he couldn't seem to stop himself, no matter how hard he tried. How could he act like this? The female licked his muzzle with a needy little whine, the stroke a caressing reminder and enhancement of her scent. God, that smell, he humiliated himself by pushing into her fur, sucking down a breath, trying to lick out at her. He was trembling, his dangling forepaws curled a little bit before the woman lifted something up to brush right up and along the glans with a stroke.
He bucked forward, his eyes squeezing shut as he pushed over a soft padded ring that slid up and over his cock in a smooth stroke that him crying out in muffled pleasure. Smooth latex wrapped around his cock tip, the tip looser than it should have been to be a condom, but even that pressure delighted him as he gave a wild thrust forward. The padded ring close down nearly all the way up his cock, tightening and swelling into a taut embrace that caused him to whimper out. He turned his head away from the other dog, looking wildly back at the woman who was tormenting him, his breathing puffing out rapidly. He didn't want this, he wanted to stop, but his body refused to listen to him. His body was locked in with the beating of his heart, the scent on the air, the feel of the ring suddenly pulsing to life around his cock with a caressing stroke, a vibration that had him whining out shallowly.
"C'mere girl.." The doctor moved away from him as the thrumming ring caressed the length of his shaft, making his cock flex up higher as he closed his jaws tightly shut.
He didn't watch as Samantha walked around, he was shuddering with his eyes shut, hunching forward with a short buck forward into the thrumming ring. It was so tight around his cock, squeezing him in a way that had his paws flexing down, scrabbling to grip against the metal device that held his forelegs up to either side and squeezed. He bucked his hips forward in a wild movement, thrusting into the hold, his muscles tensing up as the vibrations flared higher up and his cock thickened further as he panted out shallowly. It felt good, humiliatingly good, the pressure wrapped around the mid point of his cock stimulated nerves that he had never known he had had. He tried to shift his hips, his paws tangled in his boxers as he stepped to one side, his tail flicking behind him while precum jetted out from his cock tip and oozing down into the condom wrapped around his glans.
He gave another shuddering buck forward, struggling to ignore the sensation of it throbbing over him, squeezing and vibrating in ways that had him lunging forward. He didn't realize when the female dog was backed up against him, not until his nose was suddenly stuffed in the source of that delightful scent, the sweetness of it covering his nose and tongue. He closed his eyes, arching his back with a high pitched groan as his eyes snapped open and his muzzle was pushed against the heat swollen spade. The dark thick lips rubbed along his nose, wet and slippery, making him lash his tongue out in a stroke that pushed out and rolled along the outer lips. He swallowed, the spice of her flooding his senses as he tightened his forelegs and began to hump hard against the device blindly. The juices coated his tongue, her scent making his cheeks go hot in humiliation and need as he drove himself into the condom and the ring that clutched around his cock.
He jabbed roughly, thrusting and swaying his cock back and forth as the machine began to whirr and roll ever so slightly, rubbing over him in a teasing clutch that made his girth swell even wider along the base. He had no idea if this was an animal or a human like himself, and his body didn't care, he pushed his tongue out, slathering out the long thick appendage to plunge into the needy hot folds. They spread open around his tongue, wrapping tightly as he worked inwards, scooping up the sweet juices before hunching forward again in a blind thrust against absolutely nothing. He hammered forward, his paws tightening against the metal device, trying to tug it back against him as the vibrating ring pulsed and tightened again, sliding towards the very base of his cock. His sheath was rolled all the way down around a thick bulb that began to swell open wider.
He groaned out, hating himself as he began to lick further, rolling and caressing over the edges as he ran his tongue outwards with a wet noise that scent the juices splattering up along the bridge of his newly made muzzle. God, she smelled so good, he wanted her, the things he wanted to do TO her he could barely think about, but he continued to work his tongue in. The bucking strokes became faster, wilder, his hips constantly thrusting downwards into absolutely nothing, but the device was beginning to thrum faster. The steady vibration like a spark of electricity that went straight through him, so pleasurable it was almost painful, spearing right through his lower belly. His muzzle opened wide, stuffing as much of his tongue into the tight silky passage in front of him, feeling the walls clutching down tightly around the oral muscle.
His balls pulled up between his haunches as he struggled to scrabble forward, his mind rolling under a wave of instincts and pleasures too visceral to control as the bitch whined around his tongue. He panted hotly against her, his jaws as wide as they would go before his tail tip went down, twitching lower before the first hot spray of canine cum erupted from his trapped cock. He felt the ring pulsing, another stab of electric pleasure to help empty his balls in a wave of sperm rich seed pouring from his tip. The base of his shaft swelled wide, pushing the ring down with the sheer size of the knot as rope after rope streamed out of his tip and poured into the condom, flooding it until he felt the warm wetness dragging the latex down and straining it as he shuddered and humped his hips forward in a few trembling strokes.
The dog in front of him whined out, the high pitched needy sound making him whimper in response before she was pulled away. His long pink tongue slurped out of her with a wet noise, splattering arousal down over his muzzle in a messy coating as he panted and trembled. His eyes felt unfocused and Dan went entirely loose, his legs hanging down to either side, feeling nothing more than exhaustion as the throbbing tight ring continued to pulse and milk him. Every stroke coaxed another spurt of cum into the condom as he was helpless to stop it. His ears burned in humiliated helplessness as the female dog whined and hunched away from him. Her spade shaped sex messy with his saliva and her own juices as Samantha kept a firm hold on the collar to keep her from going back to him. Her other hand was typing onto a keyboard.
"Good boy." She praised him distractedly. "Well send this sample to the lab before we initiate the second session. Hopefully, given your admirable testing scores in college, it will come up adequate so we can have a litter from you and 128. We have precious few dogs to work the service sector instead of security and your pups should prove to be exactly what we need."
_Second session? _ Dan lifted his head and whined out as he stared at her, tugging at the muzzle wrapped over his head while he did so, his cock still throbbing heavy and hard beneath him. The condom was weighed down with his seed and still it was oozing out, the knot broad and swollen, refusing to deflate. Trapped, a new stud for the Institute, until his contract was up.