Linden & Colton - 26
(masterlist)
CW: pet whump, dehumanisation, a tiny mention of throwing up
this is a flashback chapter! but since I want to keep the chapters specifically titled Flashback to be about Col's old master, this one can be a proper chapter. besides, it's been long enough <3 this chapter incorporates some text from this ask and I suppose this ask is a continuation!
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Linden looked between the bored council worker and the pet at his feet.
He and the worker exchanged meaningless pleasantries. It all became very real in an instant. He couldn’t back out now. He didn’t want to back out, but- the reality still hit him like a blow to the stomach. His hand tightened around the doorknob.
The pet was frozen; the only part of him that was moving at all was his hair, a breeze lightly combing through it.
“No problems with sight, no sign of illness, uh, ate what he was given, uh….”
Linden bent at the waist slightly, smiling down at the pet, although the smile went unseen.
“Hello, there.”
Nothing. The man didn’t move an inch, except to squeeze his eyes shut. Linden paused.
“Can he speak?”
“I don’t think so, hasn’t said a word since we got him in… can you speak, pet?”
Linden watched, hoping for some reaction, but he stayed motionless.
“He can hear, though,” the worker added, predicting Linden’s next question. “Yeah, so… there’s that.”
The breeze picked up, but the man knelt in Linden’s doorway didn’t react.
“I suppose there isn’t much else you can tell me about him,” he asked flatly.
The worker stretched his neck, thinking. “Uhhh… he’s a big fella, but not a fighter by the looks of it.”
Linden noted the slim leash. Other than that, the only other restraints were the handcuffs holding his hands behind his back.
It was true, the man looked like he’d be tall if he stood to his full height, but at present he wasn’t even daring to look up. Linden hadn’t fully considered the fact that the pet might have been violent. God, he might have had to actually restrain him, if that had been the case.
Am I insane? Linden suddenly thought, both frantic and oddly calm. Is this an insane thing to do? It’s too late now, anyway. What on earth is Vik gonna say?
“Okay, thank you. Enjoy your day.”
The leash was exchanged, the handcuffs removed. The worker gave him a quick nod goodbye and rattled away in his van as Linden looked down at the figure outside his house.
. . .
Pet couldn’t breathe.
He really couldn’t breathe. Terror weighed so desperately on his chest that he couldn’t draw any air into his lungs.
He was back. After all these months he was back, back in the clutches of a sole human, outside the house that would become his entire world in just a few moments.
It was all going to start again. He was going to re-learn how to please his owner. Every bit of his body and mind was going to be broken and re-set to his new Master’s desires.
“Hello, there.”
Pet hadn’t been spoken directly at in a long time. He was so accustomed to having humans talk about him as if he wasn’t there.
He was used to being tested, however. He’d been given no direct orders, nor permission to answer. He kept being good, with his head bowed low.
“Can he speak?”
“I don’t think so, hasn’t said a word since we got him in… can you speak, pet?”
The last thing I’m going to do is take an order from someone other than my Master, thought Pet. No. I have to show him that I’m loyal. If Master asks me, then I’ll speak.
His new owner was apparently satisfied with his silence, though.
Distantly, Pet felt himself wilt, just a tiny bit. This Master didn’t care to let him speak, then. This could be it for life. He might never utter another word.
But it was fine, it was fine, he was owned and this was what he was for, wasn’t it? Hadn’t he felt empty and scared and lonely on the streets? Hadn’t he been just days from starvation before those humans stuffed him into a cage at the local shelter?
His sinking heart was betraying him. He wished he could just be good, he wished he could be overjoyed at being given another chance to serve his only purpose.
The thought of punishments shouldn’t scare him, they were necessary. They helped.
Why did he want to throw up?
Pet would do anything to please this man. What silly animal thoughts could he ever need to articulate, anyway? Why was he acting like he was capable of having ideas worth saying?
“He can hear, though. Yeah, so… there’s that.”
“I suppose there isn’t much else you can tell me about him.”
Pet would know displeasure a thousand miles off. His new owner was looking down at him in irritation. Pet wondered what the punishment would be if he pressed himself to the cold stone and begged then and there that he would be worthy.
“Uhhh… he’s a big fella, but not a fighter by the looks of it.”
That’s right, thought Pet, his eyes widening with emotion. I’m not a fighter, I’m nothing, I’m absolutely nothing. You can mould me, Master. I’ll be whatever you want. I’ll earn my stay and maybe you won’t have to hurt me too badly.
Having got all the information he needed, Pet’s new Master sent the handler away and Pet took the deepest breath of his life. In half a second he took in the coolness of the wind, the fresh air, the sound of birds and dogs and cars, knowing with absolute certainty that he would never be among any of it again.
. . .
The man was dressed in shorts that looked too small, and a t-shirt with a design so faded it looked like static. Even after the handcuffs had been taken off, his wrists remained crossed across his back. Like any movement might be the wrong one.
“Come in, come in.”
Linden was put further on edge when the man crawled in, still staring at the floor, still silent.
He bent down to unclip the leash and saw him flinch, oh god, oh fucking hell he was in so far over his head.
He took several steps back, winding the leash around his hand nervously. He needed a second.
All he knew was he had a spare bedroom, and enough time off work. He had food, and a harmless cat, and he guessed he would figure the rest out as he went.
“It’s okay, everything’s okay, I’m- I’m- I’m going to make it okay.” Linden felt like he was speaking to himself rather than the pet. “You don’t have to stare at the floor. You can look around.”
He felt more than a little relieved when the man obeyed.
His hair was a sandy kind of blond, and Linden was fairly sure that his eyes were green. It was hard to tell when they were moving across his house so rapidly. Linden had naturally noticed the endless collection of scars up and down his body, but as the pet lifted his head, he could see one more: a white line across his left cheek.
He lifted a hand to his own cheek and felt the soft flesh there. He was uneasy even imagining the pain that accompanied that single wound. What on earth had this man gone through? And- Linden thought despairingly- how would he ever earn his trust?
Looking to the side, into the living room, Linden saw Jaffa's empty cat bed, a small symbol of his peaceful household. Okay. Maybe things could be okay.
No- he would make sure they were okay. This man was his priority now. His property too, unfortunately.
He made his way a little bit closer to the man. “This will be your home now. For… the foreseeable future. I know you didn’t get a choice in this, and I’m sorry. My name is Linden.”
. . .
Pet couldn’t take it all in. A new house, a new Master, a new life. It felt like his thoughts were moving too fast for his brain.
“It’s okay, everything’s okay, I’m- I’m- I’m going to make it okay.”
Pet exhaled and breathed in the indoor air for the first time. He would have to savour this too, before he was taken down to the basement. He remembered the smell of his old home well enough- his own blood and filth, with nothing to dilute it.
The wording was odd, but it sounded as if his new Master was looking for a project. A pet that needed some heavy refurbishments. And of course, he could speak however he liked- Pet would need to get used to it, learn to read between the lines.
“You don’t have to stare at the floor. You can look around.”
Pet obeyed without thinking, but it struck him what a kindness this was. There was no need for him to see the house; he would spend most of his life chained away or blindfolded, and it wasn’t as if he were allowed to speak to compliment his new Master’s home.
Crouched in the doorway, he looked into the house. It was wooden and old; the bannisters were worn with age, the floorboards were exposed, and Pet’s new owner stood amongst it like an add-on. He was dressed in brown and pine green, with long black hair, and dark skin. Shadowy, Pet thought. The man, his Master, had a faraway look to him. Guarded, even a little suspicious.
Particles of dust floated between them as Master slowly came closer. Pet could only brace himself for whatever was about to happen. Master could strip him down, inspect him, hurt him, throw him into the basement and lock the door. He could do whatever he wanted to his new living property.
“This will be your home now,” Master said slowly. “For… the foreseeable future. I know you didn’t get a choice in this, and I’m sorry. My name is Linden.”
Pet listened. Master’s name went through his head, but didn’t linger. He knew it wasn’t for him to use.
“I’m going to take this off,” Master said, and usually this kind of warning meant Pet was supposed to prepare himself- take his shirt off, or turn around to offer his back, or hold out his wrists- but he had no idea what Master was even referring to. Panic set in. What was he going to do to him? What was there to take?
Master reached out and Pet didn’t flinch this time, because he knew better. He couldn’t suppress a gasp, however, when he felt cold fingers brushing against his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to swallow his fear.
He was so distracted by his own terror at what might be happening that he didn’t realise Master was undoing his collar until he pulled it away from Pet’s neck entirely.
He was untethered, again.
He’d been without a collar the whole time he’d been a stray. So long in fact that when he was collared just a few days ago, he had felt trapped, frightened, hardly able to breathe. Pets were meant to be collared. It had only backed up what he already knew, that he was defective in every way, that he never learned, that he needed to take a lot more pain before he could serve his purpose.
He almost reached a hand up to feel his bare skin, but caught himself. Was he trying to get a beating?
“That’s okay, you can touch it. You don’t need a collar in this house.”
Pet was so shocked he almost looked directly at his Master. He wasn’t just replacing the collar with another one? This was it?
He shouldn’t have felt relieved. He was bad. At least his old master had known that, and knew how to keep him in line. This Master was going to find out by himself. Pet was going to disappoint him at every turn until he realised that only the harshest discipline could keep him in line. And that meant a trip to the bedroom, an extended session with the handcuffs and restraints and-
His own pounding heartbeat brought him back to the present.
���You look so cold,” Master mused, though he spoke so quietly Pet wasn’t even sure if he was meant to hear it. “Come, follow me, and I’ll see what I can do.”
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taglist part 1:
@newbornwhumperfly @whumpadump1939 @firewheeesky @whump-me-all-night-long @captain-seconds @grizzlie70 @unicornscotty @lave-whump @princessofonwardsworld @cupcakes-and-pain @bumbumbea @whumpfigure @yet-another-heathen @secretwhumplair @whumps-up @as-a-matter-of-whump @getyourwhumphere @itzagoodthing @whumpymirages @soapparentlyilikewhumpnow @the-monarch-whumperfly @penny-for-your-whump @briars7 @legallylibra @angel-stars @loyds-of-registry @tears-and-lilies @badluck990 @rosesareviolentlyread @vickytokio @neuro-whump @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @whumpsy-daisies @control-whump @theydy-cringeworthy @starnight-whump @cursedandtired @jo-doe-seeking-inspo @justabitofwhump @glamrockgregory @rippedjeansandfadeddreams @genesissane @justbreakonme @addyez @httyd-chocolate @littlespacecastle @haro-whumps @extrabitterbrain @neverthelass @downrivergirl914
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