Servitude
By Dirt
	Michael stopped his work to reach down and rub his knees. The cold slabs of marble tile spared no mercy to him as he did his work. The cheetah had been down on all fours inside of the main ballroom, scrubbing the tiles in preparation for his master’s dance. The room would be flooded with guests in less than a week, and he had only covered a small section of the large room. He knew that it would literally be minutes before the ball until he finished scrubbing the last tile.
	Michael turned to his side, laying on his hip to give him some relief. The feline was different from the typical slaves that his master owned. Most of them worked out in his master’s fields, working with the vines in the humid environment. Their fur was usually covered in knots and their bodies were bruised and beaten from the hard labor. They lived their grim lives inside small shacks that did not support their numbers.
	Michael was more of a show slave. When masters needed their guests to be served, they would bring out only their most polished slaves. Michael’s fur was groomed daily to give the guests the impression that his master treated his slaves well. It was not really a sign that his master was proactive, but rather, a pompous jab at the guests that even his slaves lived more flourishing lives than some of them. Even the restraining gear that he wore was made out of gold and silver.
	The cheetah was not as dense as some of the guests were though. He did not truly believe that he lived an ‘upper-class slave life’ that some might envy him for. In the end of it all, Michael was just another slave. Though his restraints could have landed him a small fortune had he ever been able to sell them, he knew that they were just things that kept him from leaving this life of servitude. 
	As Michael ran his hand up and down his knees, flicking his ears as the chain that ran from the bracers on each of his wrists dragged against the floor. The sound of metal scrapping up against the tiles shouldn’t have bothered him anymore, but it always found a way of reminding him of his place. The chain that attached the shackles on his ankles also clanked nonstop as he scrubbed the floors. Every move that the slave made alerted everyone in the room of his presence in a humiliating way.
	However, some of the slave gear that he wore was less passive in its humiliating aspects. The gold collar that was welded around his neck had a small bell attached to it that jingled whenever he so much as lifted his head. Its purpose was redundant at this point. It was mainly used to alert others of his status when he was not wearing the chains around his wrists and ankles, which was almost never. If anything, it was a traditional item that was used to further degrade the cheetah as though he was not degraded enough.
	Though, compared to his tail ring, it was a synch to wear it around publically. The ring that clasped at the base of the cheetah’s tail was made for more than show. What guests saw as an ornament to further boast the master’s status, was actually a tool to further ridicule he slaves. The top of the ring that others could see was rounded at the ends in a very lavish fashion. The bottom, however, was not nearly as rounded off. It coned off at the base, creating a sharp prodding tool that jammed into the base of Michael’s tail if he brought his tail down enough. This forced the feline to raise his tail high throughout the day and display himself for everyone to see.
	To top it off, Michael was not given the tattered rags that the outdoor slaves had. Instead, his only clothing was a white silk loincloth that covered his privates and backside. Rather, it barely covered his privates and backside. The two silk clothes that reached over his front and back were only enough to shield himself if he stood completely still and closed his legs. Otherwise, it had a tendency to fly up and expose himself to those who spent enough time eyeing him. The sheets were not even enough to hide his hips and cheeks from those around him. 
	Michael continued to rub his knees, trying to sooth the aches before he would have to get back to work again. The break was soothing to the cheetah. If Michael ever found himself with a moment of free time, he spent it passed out and dreaming of someplace better for him. He spent so much time focusing on himself, he had not heard the guard coming up from behind him.
	“53!” Shouted a familiar gruff voice, “Did Anthony say that you could take a break?”
	“No Sir!” Michael responded back, rolling over quickly and trying to scrub the floors.
	“Was it Peter then? Or maybe it was that piss ant, Luke?” The loud wolf asked in a condescending tone. 
	“No Sir. None of them said I could have a break.”
	“Then why did you feel the need to allow yourself one?”
	Charles was Michael’s favorite guard. By favorite, Michael really meant that given the opportunity, he would strangle the wolf with his chains. Charles had a thing against the indoor slaves. It might have been from his background of living as an outdoor slave, but it was hardly a reason for his aggravation. Michael often watched the wolf purposely knock over slaves as they tried to work or give a slave a hard time if they strayed too close to the exits of the mansion. His outbursts were mostly annoying, but the persistence wore on every show slave.
	“I’m sorry sir. I’ll get back to work.” Michael said, hoping that the wolf had someplace better to go. Of course, he didn’t.
	“Oh, no. It looks like you missed a spot.” Charles said as he inched his foot over to a speck of dust.
	Michael quickly took care of the smudge, grabbing hold of one of his brushes and scraping over it until it was perfectly clean. All the while, he forced himself to not to grumble or give lip to Charles while he was so close. The wolf bent down and took a good look at the spot he pointed out, making sure that it was perfectly clean before shrugging his shoulders.
	“Aww, well, the master would not want any more spots like that to show up. I think it might be best if you start over from the beginning.”
	Charles has his thick around his chest with a bit of a smug smile leaking off of his face. Michael stared up at the wolf in horror, turning his back to all the tiles that he had already worked on and letting out a loud groan. His ears dropped down to the back of his head and his tail tried to tuck between his legs. His tail quickly jerked up though when the spike pushed up against his backside irritatingly. 
	“B-b-but that’s not possible!” Michel argued, lifting his head up to the wolf to see him eye to eye.
	“Sure it is. All we have to do is cut some of your sleep time and it’ll get done.” Charles said without a hint of sympathy.
	“Please, Sir. I’ll do anything. Just don’t make me rework these tiles.”
	Michael knew that it was a bad thing to say to a guard, but he also knew that his choices were very limited at this point. Using the word ‘anything’ to a guard was like telling a cub they can have any amount of chocolate inside of a store. He knew that the wolf was going to go for the biggest amount of things he could get away with first before even thinking about the little things. Charles was not one to hold back when he was given an offer, and he certainly was not going to change his habits now.
	“Well, I suppose we could just have you clean something else to make sure you’ve been thorough.” Charles said just as he reached down and unlaced his sandals. 
	Michael heard about this before, but he had never actually experienced it yet. Charles kicked off his sandals and lifted his foot just above the cheetah’s muzzle. The cheetah watched the sole of the wolf’s foot, knowing damn well what the wolf wanted. Michael was not comfortable with the idea, and he had never actually expected himself to submit to Charles this way. He even told the other slaves that if he was made to perform the wolf’s deed, he would take one of Charles’s toes off. 
	But talk was easy when he never had to be subjected to the wolf’s humiliation. His eyes lifted to see the wolf’s face, trying to read his expression. Charles did not look like he was joking. In fact, the wolf looked like he was growing extremely impatient with holding his foot in the air. Michael’s past ideals began to melt into a puddle underneath him, and he was only left with the reality of the situation in front of him.
	Michael lifted his muzzle up to the wolf’s sole and took a quick sniff of Charles’s foot, half expecting a thick smell to it. Fortunately, Charles was not the hardest working guard around the mansion. In fact, gauging from the scent, the only actual movement that Charles made that day was probably getting up to torture the feline. Charles patience wore thin and he decided to help the cheetah proceed to the following steps.
	The wolf’s foot arched forward into Michael’s muzzle and stuffed the base of his sole straight onto the cheetah’s lips. Michael pulled back, but Charle’s foot just pushed forward until he stopped moving backwards. Michael knew that there was no real escape out of the situation (At least, none that would end in his favor). Still, it was excruciatingly hard to follow through with the task that he had been given. His nose and lips twitched angrily as he opened up his maw for the wolf.
	Michael closed his eyes as he stuck his tongue out and ran his tongue against the wolf’s sole. The wolf hardly flinched from the sensation of being ‘cleaned’ by the cheetah. His muzzle remained stern and aggressive, staring down the cheetah while he worked. Michael could feel the glare and put more effort into his work. He started by dragging his tongue against the side of the wolf’s paw up to his toes.
	Despite the smell of the wolf’s feet being pretty light taste was distinct to Michael. It was a very potent and lingering flavor that mixed with the cheetah’s saliva. The taste was not really something that fought with the cheetah’s senses though. Michael had expected the taste of the wolf’s foot to be something that he couldn’t stomach, and instead, it was something that he did not mind at all. In fact, his curiosity began to peak as he continued to explore the wolf’s foot.
	Michael let his tongue hang off the wolf’s toe, swirling around the tip of his toe to inspect the different taste that he was getting. Charles noticed the difference in the cheetah’s face. The feline had gone from reluctantly performing his duty to openly indulging in the task. The change in attitude partially killed his buzz, usually only getting a rise out of picking on the slaves, but another part of him was seeing it differently. He too had become curious about what the cheetah was going to do next.
	Michael continued to wrap his tongue around the wolf’s toe, sliding it round and round until he dipped his muzzle down. He gave the wolf’s toe a kiss before stuffing the entire thing into his muzzle and sucking on it. Charles finally made a reaction, letting out a loud moan and turning his head frantically back and forth. He made sure that there were no other guards in the ball room, not wanting to be caught by anyone. Usually a slave would have hardly taken a single lick from his foot before giving up and accepting whatever punishment the wolf could dish out. Michael was still going. His lips exchange from one toe to another, lathering each one up until he moved on to the next.
	The feelings were too much for the wolf, and he quickly pulled himself back from the cheetah. Michael looked up in surprise, not realizing that he was enjoying it so much, he almost did not let the wolf have his foot back. The two of them stared at each other, both surprised at how much they were getting into it. Charles being too confused about the feelings decided to make the first move.
	The wolf reached down quickly and grabbed his sandal, not bothering to put it on as he walked towards the nearest exit. Michael tried to say something, but before he could, the wolf’s lathered up foot along with the wet tiles caused him to slide about and fall onto the tiles. Michael tried to crawl over to the wolf to help him up, but the wolf just scrabbled to get on his feet and dated towards the door. 
	Michael let out a sigh, glad that he did not have to rework the tiles for the wolf, but also a bit disappointed that the moment had to end so early. He was hoping that he would at least be able to service the wolf’s other foot too. The cheetah went back to working though, knowing that he was not going to have to wait long before experimenting with Charles again. After all, he could see the wolf poking his head out from the hallway and watching Michael do his work.