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honeycollectswhump · 11 months

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Thorns of a Nightmare

[masterlist]

CW: pet whump, it-pronouns used for (internal) dehumanization, gore (?? kind of?? its the description of a nightmare), chronic pain (if i missed something, feel free to tell me)

Mutt awoke with a start, barely escaping the claws of its latest nightmare, drenched in sweat. Its tears had left a salty taste in its mouth. Even that couldn’t overshadow the lingering taste of blood staining its mouth. It could only hope it hadn’t screamed, hadn’t woken its owner up like an ungrateful brat. The raw feel of its throat told it otherwise.

The memory of the horrific punishment was still too fresh in its mind. It had been deserved –of course– but the pain had haunted the Pet ever since. It couldn’t even remember what it had done, though it knew it must have done something. It just remembered its old Master’s rage.

He had bound Mutt’s wrists with barbed wire and chained it to the wall. If it dared to close its eyes now, it could see its old Master approaching with a broken pipe in hand, burning fury twisting its Master’s features. He knew where to hit, knew how to shatter bones into tiny pieces. Blow after blow came raining down until Mutt’s hands were a bloody pulp, its fingers barely discernable. They never healed quite right afterwards –nothing ever did, instead growing so twisted and crooked that Mutt could hardly move them. Master hadn’t allowed his disobedient Pet a reprieve then, only hours later when Mutt was a grovelling sobbing mess on the floor.

When it looked down at its hands, it could still see the thick and ragged scars the barbed wire had left behind as it had dug into the Pet’s skin. They never stopped burning and itching, but now it was even worse. It was as if the wire had never left. Mutt found that it couldn’t move its fingers at all aside from involuntary twitching. Instead, they were cramped up just as they had been when bound: a constant reminder of its failures.

Soon, real pain would follow. Mutt knew such an offence would not go unpunished. Even if Master didn’t hear the scream, it would fess up in the morning so that Master could take disciplinary action. That was the least it could do. Mutt didn’t dare go back to sleep. The nightmare wouldn’t have allowed it to anyways. But more so, it desperately wanted to be good. It vowed to show its Master how willing it was to be corrected.

As silently as its forever broken limbs allowed it, it clambered out of its bed. It still could barely believe that its Master would grant it such a privilege, especially after all the times it messed up so badly. Just like now.

Once Mutt reached the cold floor on its hands and knees, it immediately missed the soft warmth of the bed. There was a fluffy-looking rug on the floor. Mutt was sure it would feel wonderful for its mutilated knees. However, it knew it wasn’t allowed. Mutt would dirty the beautiful carpet with its disgusting animal body.

Instead, it crawled in front of the door, careful not to accidentally touch the carpet. There it knelt, head bowed, hands on the ground, ready and open for its Master. She would come –eventually– Mutt knew. If not now, then in the morning when she would get the Pet out of the confines of the room it was kept in. It knew its place. Nothing else mattered.

To its horror, Mutt could hear footsteps coming closer. It really must have woken its Master up. Steeling itself, it pressed itself closer to the ground. It would be good and obedient for its owner.

From its position on the ground, Mutt couldn’t see the door open but it could hear the creaking of the old wood, no matter how soft Master tried to open it. There was a pause before she took a silent step inside.

“Atlas? Everything alright?” Master whispered.

Only react when your Master directly tells you to. You are nothing until your Master has a use for you.

“Oh, Atlas, no…” It heard a soft thump then a hand came into view. Mutt shuddered, suppressing a flinch. It knew better than to move away from its Master.

Master pulled her hand back without having touched her Pet. Mutt wished she did.

Pets don’t have wishes. Or wants.

“Atlas, please look at me. It’s okay, I promise.” Its Master said. Mutt loved her so much. Her, and her calm voice, and soft touches, and It’s okay’s. It would do anything for her.

(It had never been allowed to look its old Master in the eyes. If it did, its vision would be taken away. It had only been temporary, but even a stupid Pet like Mutt could grasp the underlying threat.)

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Its entire body vibrated with fear, but Mutt knew deep inside its bones that it had to fess up. Maser was giving it the chance to admit its wrongdoings. But at the same time, there was no reason for it to whine about a silly little nightmare it had. Master wouldn’t concern herself with such irrelevant nonsense. She simply wouldn’t.

It had been so determined to say something, to show its willingness and obedience, but now that the time had come it didn’t know what to say.

Say something, you useless Mutt! it wanted to scream at itself, but no matter what its body stayed frozen on the ground.

“It’s alright. You can tell me.”

A whimper escaped Mutt’s lips, the memory of the nightmare never having left its mind. It could feel thorny wire digging into its skin, binding its arms together, its pleas for mercy going unheard. Broken bones grinding against each other. Mutt knew it had been a necessary punishment but still… It was hurting all over.

“Please fo-forgive this Pet, Master.” It stuttered, still unused to speaking even after months of being with its new Master. Just another proof of how braindead it was.

“This P-Pet, it had a… a bad dream. It believes it screamed, Master. It knows this is un-unacceptable behaviour. Please correct this stupid Pet, s-so that it can continue to serve you in the future.”

Mutt just hoped it wouldn’t be thrown out. This wasn’t the first time it had awoken its new Master by being such a noisy nuisance, and it doubted it would be the last. So far, mercifully, Master hadn’t yet decided to take action, but Mutt knew deep down that any day could be its last.

“It’s quite alright, I promise,” Master assured it. “I was already awake when I heard you.”

“It is so sorry. This Pet will try to be quiet, it promises. You could–” Mutt dreaded the suggestions but knew they were necessary.

It would do anything for its Master.

“If-if it would please you, Master, you could tie this Pet up and stuff its mouth, or-or lock it outside. But if… if you would pre-prefer a long-lasting solution… you could c-cut this Pet’s vocal cords.” Mutt tried to force a smile. “It knows it isn’t there anymore, but its old Master saw this as a feasible option… al-although he never went that far.”

Master took in a sharp breath, which made Mutt shake even more.

“No! You don’t–that won’t be necessary.” Master paused. Surely, she was judging her worthless Pet, debating how lenient she should be, debating when her patience would run out. “It’s not a big deal, I promise. As I said, I was already awake. And even if I weren’t it would still be alright. Really.”

Mutt wanted to believe her so badly. It didn’t matter if it was all a lie and she would punish her Pet later on –rightfully so. It wanted to believe everything would be alright, that it would be a good Pet, even as the pain all across its body reminded it of its inevitable shortcomings.

To its horror, big, fat tears started rolling down its face. The nightmare, the memories, the pain. Master’s gentleness. It was all too much.

Shrinking back from its Master, Mutt tried to stifle the sob that threatened to break free, tried to hide those traitorous tears. It couldn’t cry! Not without explicit permission. But no matter how hard Mutt tried, it was like its body had forgotten all those lessons that had been beaten into it.

Once the tears started there was no end to them. They would just get worse. It couldn’t stop the tears or the heavy rasping breaths, or how its nose immediately clogged up. It tried to turn its head away to hide the shame of its cries.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Master whispered, carefully cupping its face in her hands, preventing it from looking away. Mutt could feel its tears catch on her soft hands and its stomach twisted painfully.

“I–I can’t!” Mutt sobbed. “I’ll dirty you! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This Pet isn’t worthy.”

“It’s alright.” Master's soft voice washed over Mutt. She waited for a moment, then scooted closer. Mutt’s protests (that a Pet like it shouldn’t have anyways) died right on its tongue.

She drew it closer to herself, wrapping it gently in her arms. Mutt’s breath hitched.

“Just let it all out. You will be alright, I promise.” Master assured it. A moment passed, then another.

Mutt couldn’t help it. It melted into her embrace, her soothing voice, her warmth. In this moment, wrapped in Master’s arms, Mutt didn’t care if it would be punished for this later, for the tears soaking into the fabric of her pyjama.

Distantly, it could feel her rocking it back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into its hair. Its hands grasped the back of her shirt like a dying man, burying its face in the crook of her neck. She pressed its body a little bit closer to herself, and Mutt could feel its heart nearly beating out of the ribcage against her chest, her calm breaths a steady rhythm.

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