Hound [Touch]
May. 27th, 2018 09:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 and touch.
Notes: Starts near the beginning of the timeline, but it’s spread over a long time.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,248
Total word count: 8,205
Status: Work in progress
M-21 stared at the spot Jake had been standing in. There was nothing left except for the scent of blood clinging heavily in the air.
Jake was gone.
He'd failed to protect his owner.
He slumped, wincing at his broken bones, but they didn’t matter. They would heal.
Not that it mattered.
He’d failed to protect his owner.
He was supposed to die to make sure his owner lived but he’d been too shocked at his collar being destroyed by the blond human, he’d just stood there and watched the blood funnel envelop his owner.
His neck was too exposed.
He was supposed to die before his owner and he was never to take off his collar.
He’d failed at both. That was his job as a hound; he was nothing without an owner or a collar.
Mistress would be angry at him and kill him.
He whined at the thought, waiting for her swift action.
He heard voices, but they were muffled, far away. He couldn’t hear much over the buzzing in his ears. One of the voices was familiar but he couldn’t dredge up the energy to remember.
Footsteps getting closer.
He looked in that direction from the corner of his eyes. He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. Mistress.
The footsteps stopped and he trembled harder, hoping she would be fast. But she wouldn’t. She would take her anger out on him first, make sure he was aware of it all.
Something touched the back of his neck and he sucked in a breath, bracing himself for a blow.
None came.
The touch was cool and soft, not something that was living.
Movement. The thing - M-21′s eyes snapped open, but he didn’t dare move. The thing circled his neck, pulling slightly at the throat as more feather-light touches brushed the back of his neck.
What was happening? It was like a collar, but without the usual weight or pressure against his throat.
“Lift your head, please.”
He did as he was ordered in a daze, because he had-? He’d been given a new-?
He shivered as the collar was dragged around so the heavier part rested at his throat.
“Thank you.”
What did that mean? He peeked at - at - he didn’t want to think it right now, but he’d been wrong before. It hadn’t been his Mistress he’d seen, but someone else with similar black hair.
Who was now his owner.
“Do you want to come with us?”
Of course. He did whatever his owner ordered him to.
He lurched back onto all fours and followed his new owners.
* * *
M-21 trembled as he tried to look anywhere but at the blond owner. Frankenstein. His name was Frankenstein.
Looking away didn’t help, because he was in a Union room, all the surfaces metal. Pain only happened within those walls.
Frankenstein was wearing the same clothes as Mistress, and he had to be looking for revenge for their fight earlier. For hurting him.
“Now, I’m going to have to take you collar o-”
He whined, trying to back away on what little space he had on the table. Nonono, he couldn’t take his collar! If the blond owner took his collar, he wasn’t a hound anymore! Hounds whose collars were taken by their owners were killed soon after. They didn’t need the collars anymore.
“M-21, I’m not going to-”
He couldn’t run, the only exit was closed anyway, but he hunched over, trying to protect his collar. It was wrong, he wasn’t to go against orders from an owner, but this was about his collar.
There were a few heartbeats where the blond owner didn’t say anything. “Very well,” the blond owner said. “I won’t remove your collar-” He stilled at the owner’s words. “-but I will need to move it while I clean your wounds.”
Why did he need to do that? He would heal like he always did.
But he was already pushing the blond owner’s patience so he slunk forward, presenting his neck to his owner. It could be a trick and his collar would be ripped off him, but that would be his punishment for disobeying.
“Thank you.”
That phrase again. It meant nothing.
The blond owner had set a basin full of water on the table and he braced himself when the owner reached over with a damp cloth.
...It was warm? There was no chemical bite to the scent or touch.
“This is all I’ll be doing,” the blond owner -Frankenstein, right- said. “Though I’ll also have to disinfect your wounds — that will sting a little.”
Which meant it would hurt a lot.
Frankenstein’s touch was like his new collar: light, almost like it wasn’t there. Where his old collar had rested hurt when the cloth brushed it, but it was like Frankenstein was trying to put as little pressure as he could. Every time Frankenstein reached over he leaned away, expecting a grab or a pin but it never happened.
The basin was a murky brown by the time Frankenstein was finished and he watched Frankenstein as he walked away with the basin.
He came back with a towel, and underneath it was a small tube and a packet of cotton wipes. That had to be where the pain would come from.
“Now to dry you off,” Frankenstein said and M-21 presented his neck to him.
Frankenstein’s touch was as soft as it had been before and it didn’t take long until Frankenstein was finished.
He eyed the tube with a lowered head as Frankenstein applied what was inside to the wipes, smelling the chemicals that it was made of. This was it. This was where he would be punished.
“This will sting a little bit,” Frankenstein repeated and M-21 braced himself for the pain as Frankenstein reached over.
He flinched at the touch but... It was what Frankenstein said? There was only a small nip to the touch and he waited for something bigger to affect him.
Nothing did and Frankenstein continued to apply the stinging stuff to his neck until he’d covered everything.
“One last thing to do,” Frankenstein murmured as he set the tube down next to the used wipes.
Of course there was.
Frankenstein brought over some bandages and he blinked at them. Wasn’t that for-?
He stared at a wall as Frankenstein wrapped the bandage around his neck. Bandages were for humans and owners. Not hounds. Why was...?
When Frankenstein was done, it almost felt like he had his old collar back. It wasn’t as tight and was spread over more of his neck, but he relaxed at the familiar feelings.
“All right,” Frankenstein said. “That’s everything. You can go now.”
He perked up at that and then dashed for the door, because Frankenstein’s kindness was temporary and he could change his mind at any time.
* * *
“Heeere, M, ya hungry?”
M-21 eyed the food in Tao’s hand. Was he talking to him? But he hadn’t said his name...
“It’s good, I swear.”
It did smell nice, and while he licked his lips at the scent, he stayed where he was. He wasn’t to eat until he’d been told to, or he was allowed to hunt.
“You’re not coming any closer, huh? I don’t really wanna throw food on Boss’ floor...but I can clean it up afterwards.”
He turned his head at the sound of something light hitting the floor.
It was a piece of the food the owner had thrown there. But he still wasn’t allowed to eat it.
“When was the last time you ate anyway? Go on, eat!”
That was an order and he pounced on the morsel. There were more near him by the time he lifted his head again, and M-21 ate those as well.
“Here.”
He looked over and there was food in the owner’s hand. He’d wandered closer than he’d realised and he backed away.
“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay! I’m just holding food out for ya, see?” The hand was stretched out farther, but the food wasn’t thrown like it had been before.
He edged closer before taking a step back again. It could be a trap. Tao might just want him closer to grab. But owners usually ordered him to go to them, or just approached until they were close enough to grab him.
Maybe it would be safe?
He continued to hesitate and Tao didn’t seem to get impatient, though Tao did wave the food as he stared at it.
He was hungry...
Step by step he moved closer to Tao, pausing every time he moved forward to make sure Tao’s body language hadn’t changed.
Tao still hadn’t moved and he grasped a piece of the food between his teeth. He tugged at it and skittered away in case that was only a distraction.
It wasn’t and he swallowed the food.
“There’s still more left,” Tao said, pushing the food to the tips of his fingers.
He edged closer again, still checking Tao’s body language.
“It tastes nice, doesn’t it?” Tao said as he took the rest of the food, close enough his teeth brushed the fingertips.
He froze at the contact, knowing he wasn’t allowed to touch his owners. But there wasn’t a reaction from the owner, who only reached for more of the food.
“Have some more.”
Why didn’t Tao react? He’d broken a rule! Maybe Tao hadn’t realised and he wasn’t going to bring attention to it, so he took the next bit of food offered to him, careful of where he put his teeth.
* * *
M-21 eyed the puppy and backed away. But the puppy continued to bounce towards him, claws clattering against the tiles.
What was he supposed to do? Creatures that size was usually food he hunted but he knew the puppy was adored by his owners. He couldn’t hunt or hurt the puppy or else his owners would be mad.
He stiffened when he hit the wall, the puppy still charging at him.
Run. He had to run.
The puppy seemed to know what he was thinking, changing direction to corner him and M-21 looked away, whining. Maybe if-
The puppy hopped up so his front paws were on his knee, reaching up, a small pink tongue flashing out.
Huh?
The puppy toppled over in between his legs but that didn’t seem to alarm him, who started to climb him.
He couldn’t get up, not with the puppy there, and as soon as puppy could, the puppy started - licking his face?
He waited, seeing if the puppy would do anything more, but that was all the puppy did.
Oh. He wasn’t being attacked?
* * *
“Come here, please.”
M-21 lifted his head and trotted over to his owner. He glanced at his owner, but he seemed more interested in drinking from his cup. That was fine. That meant he wasn’t being tested, and he sat down by his owner’s leg.
His owner moved his leg. It brushed against him and he froze, unsure of the contact. Should he move? He was in his owner’s way.
It wasn’t a kick and his owner didn’t tell him to move, so he stayed where he was, peeking at his owner.
Just in time to see the hand moving in his direction and he ducked his head. It didn’t deter his owner, who touched his hair.
He whined, sinking lower from the touch. He didn’t know why his owner wanted to touch him, but whenever owners did, there was a reason for it.
His owner kept going, running his fingers over the top of his head and he waited, bracing himself for whatever his owner would do.
That was all his owner did, moving his fingers over his hair.
He didn’t move anyway, in case his owner didn’t like that but he slowly relaxed as the longer his owner went with just rubbing his head.
“The puppy likes this,” his owner said. Oh. He did?
He could see why. The contact was...nice. Not stressful like he thought it would be.
He wouldn’t mind staying like this for a while.
* * *
M-21 poked his head into the living room, and saw Takeo’s purple hair above the sofa. He circled the sofa, hoping Takeo wasn’t busy, but he was in the living room, so it should be okay.
Takeo’s hand was over the arm rest and M-21 hesitated, taking a step back before taking another step forward again.
Except Takeo’s fingers moved, in the same way they would if they were scratching M-21′s head. It happened again and M-21 glanced at him.
Takeo’s lips were curved into a smile though he was still focused on something in front of him.
“You can come get a scratch.”
With that permission granted, M-21 pressed his head against Takeo’s fingers with a sigh, his tail wagging.
* * *
“Heya, M!”
M-21 looked over at the call, going over to Tao. “Hey.” That was usually enough to satisfy his owners that he was trying be a ‘person’.
Tao grinned. “C’mon, I’ve got a couple new treats for you to try!” He held his hand out and M-21 huffed, knowing what Tao was asking.
He placed his hand in Tao’s hand, and Tao pulled him up so he was only standing on two feet.
“I think you’ll like ‘em! I spent aaages trying to find the right type. For some reason they’re only sold in like, three shops.”
M-21 followed, taking it a step at a time, Tao’s hand never leaving his.
There were going to be two more scenes, but they didn’t quite fit at the moment.
Summary: M-21 and touch.
Notes: Starts near the beginning of the timeline, but it’s spread over a long time.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,248
Total word count: 8,205
Status: Work in progress
M-21 stared at the spot Jake had been standing in. There was nothing left except for the scent of blood clinging heavily in the air.
Jake was gone.
He'd failed to protect his owner.
He slumped, wincing at his broken bones, but they didn’t matter. They would heal.
Not that it mattered.
He’d failed to protect his owner.
He was supposed to die to make sure his owner lived but he’d been too shocked at his collar being destroyed by the blond human, he’d just stood there and watched the blood funnel envelop his owner.
His neck was too exposed.
He was supposed to die before his owner and he was never to take off his collar.
He’d failed at both. That was his job as a hound; he was nothing without an owner or a collar.
Mistress would be angry at him and kill him.
He whined at the thought, waiting for her swift action.
He heard voices, but they were muffled, far away. He couldn’t hear much over the buzzing in his ears. One of the voices was familiar but he couldn’t dredge up the energy to remember.
Footsteps getting closer.
He looked in that direction from the corner of his eyes. He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. Mistress.
The footsteps stopped and he trembled harder, hoping she would be fast. But she wouldn’t. She would take her anger out on him first, make sure he was aware of it all.
Something touched the back of his neck and he sucked in a breath, bracing himself for a blow.
None came.
The touch was cool and soft, not something that was living.
Movement. The thing - M-21′s eyes snapped open, but he didn’t dare move. The thing circled his neck, pulling slightly at the throat as more feather-light touches brushed the back of his neck.
What was happening? It was like a collar, but without the usual weight or pressure against his throat.
“Lift your head, please.”
He did as he was ordered in a daze, because he had-? He’d been given a new-?
He shivered as the collar was dragged around so the heavier part rested at his throat.
“Thank you.”
What did that mean? He peeked at - at - he didn’t want to think it right now, but he’d been wrong before. It hadn’t been his Mistress he’d seen, but someone else with similar black hair.
Who was now his owner.
“Do you want to come with us?”
Of course. He did whatever his owner ordered him to.
He lurched back onto all fours and followed his new owners.
M-21 trembled as he tried to look anywhere but at the blond owner. Frankenstein. His name was Frankenstein.
Looking away didn’t help, because he was in a Union room, all the surfaces metal. Pain only happened within those walls.
Frankenstein was wearing the same clothes as Mistress, and he had to be looking for revenge for their fight earlier. For hurting him.
“Now, I’m going to have to take you collar o-”
He whined, trying to back away on what little space he had on the table. Nonono, he couldn’t take his collar! If the blond owner took his collar, he wasn’t a hound anymore! Hounds whose collars were taken by their owners were killed soon after. They didn’t need the collars anymore.
“M-21, I’m not going to-”
He couldn’t run, the only exit was closed anyway, but he hunched over, trying to protect his collar. It was wrong, he wasn’t to go against orders from an owner, but this was about his collar.
There were a few heartbeats where the blond owner didn’t say anything. “Very well,” the blond owner said. “I won’t remove your collar-” He stilled at the owner’s words. “-but I will need to move it while I clean your wounds.”
Why did he need to do that? He would heal like he always did.
But he was already pushing the blond owner’s patience so he slunk forward, presenting his neck to his owner. It could be a trick and his collar would be ripped off him, but that would be his punishment for disobeying.
“Thank you.”
That phrase again. It meant nothing.
The blond owner had set a basin full of water on the table and he braced himself when the owner reached over with a damp cloth.
...It was warm? There was no chemical bite to the scent or touch.
“This is all I’ll be doing,” the blond owner -Frankenstein, right- said. “Though I’ll also have to disinfect your wounds — that will sting a little.”
Which meant it would hurt a lot.
Frankenstein’s touch was like his new collar: light, almost like it wasn’t there. Where his old collar had rested hurt when the cloth brushed it, but it was like Frankenstein was trying to put as little pressure as he could. Every time Frankenstein reached over he leaned away, expecting a grab or a pin but it never happened.
The basin was a murky brown by the time Frankenstein was finished and he watched Frankenstein as he walked away with the basin.
He came back with a towel, and underneath it was a small tube and a packet of cotton wipes. That had to be where the pain would come from.
“Now to dry you off,” Frankenstein said and M-21 presented his neck to him.
Frankenstein’s touch was as soft as it had been before and it didn’t take long until Frankenstein was finished.
He eyed the tube with a lowered head as Frankenstein applied what was inside to the wipes, smelling the chemicals that it was made of. This was it. This was where he would be punished.
“This will sting a little bit,” Frankenstein repeated and M-21 braced himself for the pain as Frankenstein reached over.
He flinched at the touch but... It was what Frankenstein said? There was only a small nip to the touch and he waited for something bigger to affect him.
Nothing did and Frankenstein continued to apply the stinging stuff to his neck until he’d covered everything.
“One last thing to do,” Frankenstein murmured as he set the tube down next to the used wipes.
Of course there was.
Frankenstein brought over some bandages and he blinked at them. Wasn’t that for-?
He stared at a wall as Frankenstein wrapped the bandage around his neck. Bandages were for humans and owners. Not hounds. Why was...?
When Frankenstein was done, it almost felt like he had his old collar back. It wasn’t as tight and was spread over more of his neck, but he relaxed at the familiar feelings.
“All right,” Frankenstein said. “That’s everything. You can go now.”
He perked up at that and then dashed for the door, because Frankenstein’s kindness was temporary and he could change his mind at any time.
“Heeere, M, ya hungry?”
M-21 eyed the food in Tao’s hand. Was he talking to him? But he hadn’t said his name...
“It’s good, I swear.”
It did smell nice, and while he licked his lips at the scent, he stayed where he was. He wasn’t to eat until he’d been told to, or he was allowed to hunt.
“You’re not coming any closer, huh? I don’t really wanna throw food on Boss’ floor...but I can clean it up afterwards.”
He turned his head at the sound of something light hitting the floor.
It was a piece of the food the owner had thrown there. But he still wasn’t allowed to eat it.
“When was the last time you ate anyway? Go on, eat!”
That was an order and he pounced on the morsel. There were more near him by the time he lifted his head again, and M-21 ate those as well.
“Here.”
He looked over and there was food in the owner’s hand. He’d wandered closer than he’d realised and he backed away.
“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay! I’m just holding food out for ya, see?” The hand was stretched out farther, but the food wasn’t thrown like it had been before.
He edged closer before taking a step back again. It could be a trap. Tao might just want him closer to grab. But owners usually ordered him to go to them, or just approached until they were close enough to grab him.
Maybe it would be safe?
He continued to hesitate and Tao didn’t seem to get impatient, though Tao did wave the food as he stared at it.
He was hungry...
Step by step he moved closer to Tao, pausing every time he moved forward to make sure Tao’s body language hadn’t changed.
Tao still hadn’t moved and he grasped a piece of the food between his teeth. He tugged at it and skittered away in case that was only a distraction.
It wasn’t and he swallowed the food.
“There’s still more left,” Tao said, pushing the food to the tips of his fingers.
He edged closer again, still checking Tao’s body language.
“It tastes nice, doesn’t it?” Tao said as he took the rest of the food, close enough his teeth brushed the fingertips.
He froze at the contact, knowing he wasn’t allowed to touch his owners. But there wasn’t a reaction from the owner, who only reached for more of the food.
“Have some more.”
Why didn’t Tao react? He’d broken a rule! Maybe Tao hadn’t realised and he wasn’t going to bring attention to it, so he took the next bit of food offered to him, careful of where he put his teeth.
M-21 eyed the puppy and backed away. But the puppy continued to bounce towards him, claws clattering against the tiles.
What was he supposed to do? Creatures that size was usually food he hunted but he knew the puppy was adored by his owners. He couldn’t hunt or hurt the puppy or else his owners would be mad.
He stiffened when he hit the wall, the puppy still charging at him.
Run. He had to run.
The puppy seemed to know what he was thinking, changing direction to corner him and M-21 looked away, whining. Maybe if-
The puppy hopped up so his front paws were on his knee, reaching up, a small pink tongue flashing out.
Huh?
The puppy toppled over in between his legs but that didn’t seem to alarm him, who started to climb him.
He couldn’t get up, not with the puppy there, and as soon as puppy could, the puppy started - licking his face?
He waited, seeing if the puppy would do anything more, but that was all the puppy did.
Oh. He wasn’t being attacked?
“Come here, please.”
M-21 lifted his head and trotted over to his owner. He glanced at his owner, but he seemed more interested in drinking from his cup. That was fine. That meant he wasn’t being tested, and he sat down by his owner’s leg.
His owner moved his leg. It brushed against him and he froze, unsure of the contact. Should he move? He was in his owner’s way.
It wasn’t a kick and his owner didn’t tell him to move, so he stayed where he was, peeking at his owner.
Just in time to see the hand moving in his direction and he ducked his head. It didn’t deter his owner, who touched his hair.
He whined, sinking lower from the touch. He didn’t know why his owner wanted to touch him, but whenever owners did, there was a reason for it.
His owner kept going, running his fingers over the top of his head and he waited, bracing himself for whatever his owner would do.
That was all his owner did, moving his fingers over his hair.
He didn’t move anyway, in case his owner didn’t like that but he slowly relaxed as the longer his owner went with just rubbing his head.
“The puppy likes this,” his owner said. Oh. He did?
He could see why. The contact was...nice. Not stressful like he thought it would be.
He wouldn’t mind staying like this for a while.
M-21 poked his head into the living room, and saw Takeo’s purple hair above the sofa. He circled the sofa, hoping Takeo wasn’t busy, but he was in the living room, so it should be okay.
Takeo’s hand was over the arm rest and M-21 hesitated, taking a step back before taking another step forward again.
Except Takeo’s fingers moved, in the same way they would if they were scratching M-21′s head. It happened again and M-21 glanced at him.
Takeo’s lips were curved into a smile though he was still focused on something in front of him.
“You can come get a scratch.”
With that permission granted, M-21 pressed his head against Takeo’s fingers with a sigh, his tail wagging.
“Heya, M!”
M-21 looked over at the call, going over to Tao. “Hey.” That was usually enough to satisfy his owners that he was trying be a ‘person’.
Tao grinned. “C’mon, I’ve got a couple new treats for you to try!” He held his hand out and M-21 huffed, knowing what Tao was asking.
He placed his hand in Tao’s hand, and Tao pulled him up so he was only standing on two feet.
“I think you’ll like ‘em! I spent aaages trying to find the right type. For some reason they’re only sold in like, three shops.”
M-21 followed, taking it a step at a time, Tao’s hand never leaving his.
There were going to be two more scenes, but they didn’t quite fit at the moment.