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Does not incldue side stories.", "count": "65", "submission_left_submission_id": "1793705", "submission_left_file_name": "2571963_TerraMGP_hunt_part_2.doc", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/2571/2571963_TerraMGP_hunt_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2571/2571963_TerraMGP_hunt_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2571/2571963_TerraMGP_hunt_part_2.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "300", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "300", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "120", "submission_right_submission_id": "1639155", "submission_right_file_name": "2339079_TerraMGP_by_necessity_vigil.doc" } ], "description": "This one took a while, and more to the point was actually written before the last three stories in this block. So everything between the two was me knitting them together. Basically while Kani taking on her gang in the last arc was sort of the end of most things for main plot, this helps seed what may happen next and resolve things.\n\nAlso, if you don't wish spoilers, avoid below until after reading\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSo, there is a scene in this where Sean gets Kanina a new outfit. I showed it to [iconname]MoniBunny[/iconname] for obvious reasons. I put a ton of time, effort and care into the outfit. Worked my butt off thinking about every detail I wanted. Did my best to get my 'can't make real mental pictures' butt to make mental pictures.\n\nAnd, as it turns out, she loved it. Because it's how she dressed her 'sona in Sonic forces.\n\nAnd she showed it to me. More than once.\n\nAnd I mean this is an eerie amount of detail. Right down to the bows and the purple and black plaid socks, even the cuffs. So either I just know my Moni very very well, or I remembered deep down but didn't know I remembered. I literally don't have words to describe how happy or proud of that I am. Not in the least.\n\nEither way, tons of fun and hope you will enjoy! Expect gears to shift though as I have to catch other things up to speed.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "This one took a while, and more to the point was actually written before the last three stories in this block. So everything between the two was me knitting them together. Basically while Kani taking on her gang in the last arc was sort of the end of most things for main plot, this helps seed what may happen next and resolve things.

Also, if you don't wish spoilers, avoid below until after reading









So, there is a scene in this where Sean gets Kanina a new outfit. I showed it to \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoniBunny\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoniBunny\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
for obvious reasons. I put a ton of time, effort and care into the outfit. Worked my butt off thinking about every detail I wanted. Did my best to get my 'can't make real mental pictures' butt to make mental pictures.

And, as it turns out, she loved it. Because it's how she dressed her 'sona in Sonic forces.

And she showed it to me. More than once.

And I mean this is an eerie amount of detail. Right down to the bows and the purple and black plaid socks, even the cuffs. So either I just know my Moni very very well, or I remembered deep down but didn't know I remembered. I literally don't have words to describe how happy or proud of that I am. Not in the least.

Either way, tons of fun and hope you will enjoy! Expect gears to shift though as I have to catch other things up to speed.", "writing": "By Necessity: Bonding\nBy TerraMGP\n\n\t“Alright, ladies and gents. It’s that time of night again. It’s Holo-night!” Kanina burst through the door with all the newfound energy her augs would allow. The bunny grinning ear to ear as she hugged a huge stack of takeout boxes to her body and fumbled her way through the familiar apartment towards the coffee table. Her path made it a full five steps before something big, warm and fuzzy blocked her way. The boxes in her arms flying out all over the place and more than one of them splattering her with sugary frosting and fillings.\n\n\t“Gahh. Gah damn it. Woz damn it what the fack…” She looked down to the couch to see Sean sitting there. An old style paper book held in his paw as he leaned up against the couch arm. Bri was laying on his side, her muzzle tucked under his arm as she slept soundly. Her glasses skewed on her face.\n\n\t“What the… what the fack” Kanina growled. Catching herself and shifting to a whisper. “Damn it, you knew today was my day.”\n\n\t“She called me this morning.” Sean whispered back angrily. “What was I supposed to do. Tell her ‘we made a schedule’? He sighed and looked down at the sleeping Dormouse. His unoccupied shoulder rolling to get some of the sleep and strain from it. \n\n\t“Well you could make something up.” The bunny grumbled “Or maybe told me before I dragged all this stuff over here.”\n\n\tSean looked down at the mess and sighed. His hand reaching and snagging up one of the few slices of pizza that had landed face up. He took a hard bite and swallowed it before slumping back and groaning. “Can we just talk about this later? Look I’ll clean it up when she wakes up. Just give me some time with her and we’ll switch out. I just don’t wanna.”\n\n\t“What, you don’t think I can handle my best friend?” Kanina growled, her voice raising up a bit.\n\n\t“I didn’t say that.” The bear snarled back, rolling his eyes.\n\n\t“Look just because you made me your fake slave for a few months doesn’t mean I’m going to just do whatever you want.”\n\n\t“I didn’t say that was what I wanted. Will you quit over reacting? Besides she’s still fragile right now. Watching a bunch of high action movies probably isn’t the best thing for her.”\n\n\t“Oh and reading her smut in hopes of a blowjob is?” The pretense of whispering had fully dropped by this point. Kanina gripping the couch and gritting her teeth.\n\n\tSean tensed. He nearly stood, stopped only by the sleeping mouse atop him. “I never said what I was reading, and anyways what in Tyr’s makes you think I want a blowjob?”\n\n\t“Well you’re fly is open for one and I see pink poking out.”\n\n\t“My fly is not! Oh… Ok it is!”\n\n\t“I know, that’s what I as saying.”\n\n\t“Well you don’t have to shout about it!”\n\n\t“Well you could let me take my shift with her without showing up to be Mr. perfect.”\n\n\t“Well you could stop freaking out over every little thing I do like I’m going to hurt her.”\n\n\t“This is the fourth time you did it.”\n\n\t“Third at most!”\n\n\t“That makes it better?\n\n\t“Shut up!”\n\n\tBoth stopped and looked at the source of the voice. Brinna yawned loudly and shifted herself away from Sean. Her body trembling as it lost the warmth of his chest and slipped back into the familiar embrace of the couch. “Both of you. Just… stop. Please. I’m tired.\n\n\t“I know you are pet. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up and.”\n\n\t“No.” She squeaked, cutting Sean off with a sharpness that didn’t seem to suit her at all. “I’m tired of you two fighting all the time. I already know what you’re trying to do and it shouldn’t be a big deal. Is it really that hard for both of you to be in the same room together?”\n\n\tThey both looked at each other. Shrinking back under her accusing gaze and shuffling nervously.\n\n\t“Master? Kanina?” She whimpered. The overwhelming look of pain and confusion on her face soon settling into one of disappointment. Bri pulled herself up and grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch, pulling it tight around herself and marching towards her room.\n\n\t“Wait, Bri, where are you going?” Kanina whimpered.\n\n\t“Puff and I need a nap” She snapped as she snatched up her stuffed ankylosaurus from by the holoprojector. “I think you two need to take a walk or something. Ma-maybe come back when you can get along.”\n\n\tWith that the door to her room shut and the two were left to gaze at each other in stunned silence. Neither seeming able to fully process what had just happened.\n\n\t“You know…” Kanina muttered “Say this for the girl. She can be pretty assertive when she’s exhausted.”\n\t\n--------------------\n\n\tTwin Oak was becoming familiar to the pair by now. Even as they strode into the currently half-empty shopping center both bunny and bear noticed the other relaxing considerably by the tacky rows of shops and blathering teens skipping out on classes hitting the world as a kind of cathartic white noise. Every sight, sound and smell drew back a bit of the tension that had been the ride over, the two slowly swapping glances as they began to visibly relax.\n\n\t“So how are we going to do this?” Sean sighed the words with most of the contempt behind them held back reasonably well. He glanced down to the bunny girl a moment and watched her wince. Those sharp red eyes glancing up at him sideways.\n\n\t“Do what? I figured we’d just walk around a while and do whatever it is we have to do in AR. Technically that’s all Bri asked.”\n\n\t“You know she won’t go for that.” Sean muttered.\n\n\tKanina flared a nostril and then looked away shaking her head firmly “The fack do you care, Rich boy? She’s your property now? What. You afraid she’s not gonna put out or something?”\n\n\t“Do you really think I’d… I mean…” Sean wrinkled his nose a bit and growled “For your information, Missy, we haven’t done anything serious yet to begin with.”\n\n\tOne of Kaninas ears perked at that. She stifled a small laugh and glanced up at him with a massive grin smeared on her muzzle. “Wait really? Like nothing? Oh come on after everything you went though you’re gonna tell me you two haven’t had any ‘fun’?”\n\n\t“Fun, sure” Sean shrugged “Dates. Hanging out. Giving her dirty lil assignments. The kinda stuff I figured she’d have told her best friend about.”\n\n\t“Incessantly.” Kanina nodded.\n\n\t“Right.” Sean chuckled as he slipped his hands into the rather narrow pockets of his leather trousers. “But really that’s it. And I’m kinda enjoying it that way. Her therapist said it was better for us, too. I mean, it’s not like I need her for sex or anything. Not that it wouldn’t be nice. But Bri’s different.”\n\n\tKanina flipped herself around and took a couple backwards hops to face the bear, her grin growing wide. “Wait you actually listen to her therapist? You. Mister big bad prince of the company himself? Mister Heir apparent?” She snickered a bit and leaned in without ever breaking her stride. “Woz damn, man. You sound like some nervous gradeschooler with his first girlfriend.”\n\n\t“Ok first of all miss ‘clearly flunked poli-sci.” Sean growled “I’m a Jarl, not a prince. And technically I can’t be CEO anyways. There’s the whole ‘bastard son’ thing. And the whole ‘son’ thing. You’d be thinking of my sisters. Runa has more stock than I do anyways. And besides what’s so wrong about treating Bri special? All my pets are special in some ways. Even the ones who ‘age out’.”\n\n\t“Age out?” She blinked.\n\n\t“Yeah, I mean. Sure a few of them are exceptions. But you don’t think I just go around buying any random slave I take a liking to, do you?” he laughed.\n\n\tKanina gave a rather non committal shrug. Her eyes screaming her aloof boredom, which Sean utterly failed to recognize.. Much to her continued annoyance.\n\n\t“Look, I have a type, especially when it comes to Cubs. So every suckup scared of dealing with my sisters gets me things they think I’ll like. Especially slaves. They end up being smart most of the time, so along with using them as lil fucktoys I tend to train them up for whatever scientific field they might find interesting and then when they get old enough I free em off under contract to a job I figure works for them. It’s not really that hard to understand.”\n\n\t“Yeah, sure. That’s nice.” Kanina muttered “Look that’s fine and altruistic and all that, but it still doesn’t explain why you’re bending over backwards for Bri. I at least want a straight answer about what you’re up to.”\n\n\tSean stopped a moment and let out a sigh. His abrupt actions nearly causing Kanina to fall over as she attempted to stop with him, breaking her stride and shocking herself with the suddenness of the still foreign reflex boosters. The man gave a few uncomfortable fidgets and slumped to the side, taking a look around the shopping center rather wistfully. “Look it’s… I don’t know. Ok? Maybe I just enjoy having her around. I’ve never really had to justify how I treat my toys before. I just kinda enjoy this I guess.” The bear narrowed his eyes a bit and glanced up at Kanina. He leaned in and gripped her shoulder with one big paw, grinning ear to ear. “And for now, that includes you miss ‘under consideration’. Which means what I say goes. And I say we at least give this a shot for her sake. That way when we tell her it inevitably blew up in our faces we don’t have to lie.”\n\n\t“Fair enough.” Kanina muttered as she rolled her eyes and tried like hell not to smile. “Ok then ‘sir’. How do you suggest we go about this? You know I wasn’t exactly planning to do anything beyond maybe snagging a snack today, right?”\n\n\t“You were? I already ate.” Sean smirked “Look. How about this. We take turns picking stuff we want to do. Nothing too long or designed to intentionally annoy. Or at least to annoy too much. Maybe fifty fifty.”\n\n\tKanina shifted around and leaned up against the nearest storefront. Her hands shoving in to her pockets as she eyed him carefully. “Ok but a few ground rules. No slave shops. No fawning over battler parts for an hour. No buying Bri something expensive while I wait around like an ass. Also half an hour for lunch at the food court and a quick smoke. You’re buying the food.”\n\n\t“Fine.” Sean nodded.\n\n\t“And I’m not calling you ‘Master’.” She added\n\n\t“On your turns.” He chimed in “Gotta play nice for corpsec after all, right?”\n\n\t“Once.” She muttered\n\n\t“Per store.” He chuckled\n\n\t“Per hour.”\n\n\t“Per half hour.”\n\n\tShe fell silent a long moment. A growing static of stewing rage radiating from her and yet bouncing off the bemused bear as he leaned over her, one hand pressing up against the storefront. “Fine.” She muttered “You do this just to torture me, don’t you?”\n\n\t“I am a sadist, little bun.” He chuckled.\n\n\t“You’re an asshole.” Kanina barked back. “Well fine let’s get this over with. You pick first. This was your idea after all, and I’ve still gotta think up some way to annoy you.”\n\n\tSean nodded and pulled himself back, nearly bumping some poor woman into her kid as he did. “I knew you’d say that.”\n\n\tKanina paused for a long moment. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him, then looked up to the floor above in the hopes of catching what he’d been looking at. She finally traced his gaze to the big AR sign over the storefront they’d been leaning over. A deep pit in her stomach forming as she saw the familiar sign. ‘Euphoria Silks’.\n\n\t“Oh. Fack me.”\n\n--------------------\n\n\tEverything about the little shop put Kanina off. It was white, for one. Worse than white. The walls were some oddly brownish white tinted with brown. If a smug, undeserved sense of self superiority could possibly have a physical form then this was the color she imagined it had to be.\n\n\tSecond was the woman in charge. A prim and proper looking woman who seemed to have come straight from Thursday night worship and felt no need to change her stuffy attire for the sensibilities of more ‘common‘ folk. The AR readout hovering near her displayed her name as Mrs. Hayne. A name rather fitting for such a dour, sour lemon looking German Sheppard.\n\n\t“Ah, good evening Mr. O‘Brian, sir.” The woman chirped to the two. Her grey-green eyes barely landing on Kanina. “Welcome to Euphoria silks. I trust this is your first time with us?”\n\n\tThe bear could cut an imposing figure when he wanted to. Or at least a rather large one. His normally half drooped posture straightening up to project all the authority and strength this woman likely expected to see from her customers. Though Kanina doubted that someone so serious could pick up on how much he was already enjoying himself. Probably at both of their expenses.\n\n\t“Yes. I just put my dear little Kani here under consideration, officially that is. I‘m not quite ready to collar her, but I wanted something special to see how she fits with my things. And her sister slaves, naturally.” The bear started to swell his chest seemingly in synch with the radiating rage and hatred steaming silently from the bunny girl. He took a few steps forwards and slipped past the shopkeeper towards the racks of cloth. Feeling a bit of it between thumb and forefinger before turning his eyes to a small opening in the wall hidden by a curtain. One with a massed array of what looked to be odd machines slotted on it.\n\n\t“This certainly doesn‘t seem like it‘d fit in a printer. I take it what I read about your establishment was true, then?”\n\n\t“I would presume so, yes.” Mrs. Hayne nodded. “We use all real materials here and each design is a custom work. Our company employs a stable of hot, up and coming designers who will personally craft the design to fit your image with your property“ Her eyes flashed to Kanina as she said this, giving the bunny a look that might be considered kind if not for how condescending it was. “Giving them a chance to reflect your personal tastes without having to spend too much on a simple toy.”\n\n\tThe young man bellowed out a hard laugh that was only marginally forced. He turned to face the woman and nodded his approval before talking over and slipping his arm around Kanina. “Very good. Very good indeed. Our sweet bunny girl here is very new. She was ‘free‘ until recently. Lower class, you understand. I don‘t want to spend too much. But it‘s my right to give her a little bit of luxury isn‘t it little treasure?” Sean smirked and gripped her into him hard. \n\n\tThe fuming rage of the rabbit was barely contained. Her mouth forcing itself into an unmistakably hateful smile as she looked up at him with murder in those pretty red eyes. “Why yes, Master. Thank you for being so considerate of your lowly toy.” She growled the words like ice and venom. Her fingernails digging into his thigh in a futile attempt to harm him though the lather pants.\n\n\t“I see. Well I admit, Sir, she doesn’t quite look how I’d expect.” The woman narrowed her eyes a bit and took a nice slow scan over Kanina. It took everything the bunny had not to screw with the bog-standard program their ‘hostess’ was using. Not that the older Sheppard seemed to notice. “Well I will admit we don’t usually see work for anyone under consideration. Our clientele are usually more concerned with, well.”\n\n\t“Yeah?” Kanina growled as she leaned closer and grinned ear to ear. Her eyes fixing the canine woman firmly and twisting to hold her gaze. An experience that was wonderfully unpleasant for her.\n\n\t“No offense to your Master, dear. But it does seem that you’re a bit, unrefined. What exactly did you say your role was in his household?”\n\n\t“A Handmaiden.“ She spat. Kanina narrowed her eyes and growled softly. After what she’d jut gone though it was taking more and more of her self restraint to avoid doing something rash. Something which would probably get them kicked out. Something that the woman obviously felt since she backtracked almost instantly and turned to the large wall of fabric behind her.\n\n\t“I see. Well unfortunately we are not Renee, so we can only offer a limited amount of help for your… situation. But then that’s not really up to me, is it?”\n\n\tThe German Sheppard gestured to a small pedestal sitting to one corner of the room near the heavy racks and rows of fabric. Kanina eyed it a long moment. Flipping though a small database of items for a match, splitting her view between Sean and the saleswoman the whole while. “I still don’t see why you can’t just pick something out of a catalogue and print it, sir.” She growled though gritted teeth. Setting foot on the pad.\n\n\t“Ah, uh uh uh. I’m sorry but you can’t be wearing any heavy garments on here, dear. The designers won’t be able to work their magic.\n\n\t“Well that’s kind of a spliced little setup you have there. I mean what kind of program needs to scan me naked just to figure out my dimensions?”\n\n\t“Program?” Sean snickered again as usual, but it was actually the sales woman who burst out laughing this time. The middle-aged canine never seeming to notice the purple bunny girl’s quivering leg as she ground it into the faux wood flooring. “My dear, Euphoria Silks Did not get where it is by something as simple as a design program. We strive to bring designer flare to discerning owners at a… reasonable price point. While you will get the initial pattern file, each creation is uniquely tailored. An expression of owner and, to a lesser extent, slave. Should that be what the owner wants.”\n\n\tBoth Kanina and Sean rolled their eyes at this. Even as the bunny relented and slipped off her running shoes and the thick grip socks under them. She then tried to take another step on only to be stopped by the sales woman. Kanina bristled, but relented again. This time pulling her top off and dropping her pants as well. The young woman now standing in nothing more but a cheap pair of panties and a rather annoyed glair. “Like what you see?” She snapped at the sales woman. Turning full force and fidgeting her foot.\n\n\tThe woman shook her head and looked past Kanina over to Sean. “Sir, I must ask that you please control your pet.”\n\n\tAnother soft chuckle sipped past Sean in spite of himself. He rolled his eyes and leaned forwards in the seat trying like hell not to make any comments which would drive the poor rabbit further than she already was. “Come on, Kani. The nice woman is just doing her job. It’s not her fault their designers are a bunch of voyeurs.”\n\n\tThe expressions on the two women instantly switched. The canine reeling back in shock as Kanina blurted out laughing at the unexpected snark. When she finally regained herself the woman was clearly at her limit. Something that, if nothing else, made the bunny feel a bit better.\n\n\t“Ok then, so do they need to see my data tap, too? Or do I get to keep a bit of dignity?” Kanina asked as she patted her package in as vulgar a manner as she could.\n\n\t“Well yes, they absolutely will need to see… that.” The woman snooted. “It’s important to know how you dress so as best to accommodate your body type. I’m sure if your owner feels bad about displaying his property in this manner-”\n\n\tKanina waved her hand and quickly slipped out of the clothing. Hopping up on to the platform and striking an almost stereotypical ‘idol’ pose with her butt wiggling in full view of the back mirror, and Mrs. Hayne. “Nah, lady. Let’s do this like Judas!” She cackled happily, sparing one glance back at Sean who was now struggling to stay in his seat as he laughed. The poor bear gasping for air and gripping the wall so the chair didn’t slip out from under him.\n\n\t“Mph. Very well. Hold still if you would, please.” The poor Sheppard woman muttered. A few moments later Kanina could feel herself bathed in a heavy wave of blue-white light. The faint lines of a holographic imaging system leaping up around her\n\n\t“It should just take a few moments to get her needed data, Mr. O’Brian. But naturally as she’s part of your household I must ask if there is any sort of aesthetic you hold to. We wouldn’t dream of having your slave clash with the furniture after all, or with her sibling slaves.”\n\n\t“Maids.” Sean said firmly. The word not even requiring a second thought. Not even when Kanina turned to give him a glare of pure unadulterated death and rage.\n\n\tHer eyes flashed to a small icon slipping up in the corner of her view. A request for her shop profile. She glanced over at Sean who seemed to realize what was probably wrong. Plenty of people filled out the damn things after all. Most shops even tried to use them for ‘pinpoint marketing’. And for the most part only the most brainwashed, work-a-day sprocket would ignore the countless free programs out there to spoof these kinds of commands.\n\n\tShe did have one, though. Well, one that wasn’t a complete joke at any rate. She let the mostly false but true enough to fit her personality file though and took a small breath. Tapping her foot incessantly. “So, is this supposed to like, do something?” She muttered, holding one hand up and looking it over.\n\n\tMoments later her question was answered. Fishnets. A trashy and seemingly tattered-by-design pair of them slowly forming around over her feet. The garments slipping up slowly to end at her upper thighs in a pair of white-laced hip garters, each with a solid looking leather-bound case on it about half the volume of a pants pocket. A similar pair of fingerless gloves began to form next. The gloves were weightless. Nothing more than a vague feel of heavily filtered leather gracing her palm and fingertips. These two went part way up her bicep with the same garters holding them on. A thin purple and plaid backing material under it. \n\n\tThe bunny looked at Sean and narrowed her eyes, which seemed to please Mrs. Haney to no end. Another blue flash made her look back to see a black bow tied around the base of her tail. One she actually tried to pick at for a moment in spite of the obvious AR display.\n\n\tBy this point Kanina was grumbling and fuming. Thrashing at nobody in particular. Her mind slowly churning all the ways she could slag the saleswoman, and whoever it was sitting in their house drawing this stuff on her. Probably some first year design student. Someone reveling in her displeasure. Someone who probably wouldn’t’ expect a little biofeedback ICE. If only, only she didn’t have to play nice.\n\n\tThen of course, it hit. The flashes starting up again. A pair of thick black leather cuffs, far thicker and a bit more loose than they needed to be, drawn with painful care over her wrists and ankles. Each one was heavy, it had an odd grain to it, something that looked far closer to real than the cheap synthetics most class 2 and 3 people got. Each one with an overly large buckle and D ring, not to mention the spikes. Sharp looking silver spikes that studded the things evenly all the way around.\n\n\t“Oh Woz, he’s making me a man cartoon character.” She grumbled.\n\n\t“You were already a cartoon, Kani. I think the designer is just bringing that out for ya.”\n\n\t“Oh Get slagged, Master.” Kanina muttered the last part bitterly. Shrinking back a bit at the odd look the woman gave her for it. The impotent rage soon shifted its focus as the blue flash came once more and Kanina watched a bright white lacey ribbon slowly curling itself around her waist. Pulling around the blue outlines of unrendered data which themselves began to form into black cloth and white lace which began to creep up her body and down from the ribbon bottom in draped, lacey frills. The top moved quickly up to her neck and over to her shoulders. Ending in yet more white frills that left her shoulders exposed and a shockingly modest neckline all things considered, though that too seemed to have a bit of intentional looseness on her frame. The frilly maid skirt likewise only went down about three quarters of her thighs.\n\n\tAt this point Kanina was simply resigned to slumping down and letting the designer finish. She felt a few more flashes and reached up to grip her ears a moment. The Sheppard woman, seeing Kanina’s discomfort, was more than happy to bring up an AR mirror to let her see. Piercings. About half a dozen silver and metallic black rings and bars going though her ears in an anarchic pattern. Each ear with a white bow at the bottom and each of these locked in place around the ear with a silver skull shaped finding. It was horrible, in no small part because it wasn’t actually that horrible.\n\n\tShe reached up to fiddle with them and watched as a septum ring formed into place as well, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head in displeasure at the very thought. Her bare foot stamping hard on the pad. “Why do I feel like a freaking dress up doll?”\n\n\t“Because you are, my little coral… Tyr’s hand I really gotta come up with something for that.”\n\n\t“No. That’s ok. No you really don’t.” Kanina muttered. “Maybe just say I don’t have to put up with all the piercing instead?” It wasn’t really a question, though in her agitated state Kanina sounded rather exhausted and really didn’t have much more fight in her. “So what, is that it? I mean I’d assume that this thing at least has some panties to it.”\n\n\t“Undergarments, yes.” The shopkeeper nodded. Her smug smile again returning in full force. The mirror shifted perspective to show Kanina her own thick bunny shaft, sporting a set of piercings including a prince Albert that made even her blush at the size. There was even a thick sleeve of white lace with the same maid frills wrapped around it. Though after a few moments it shifted to one of purple and plaid with black frills, the two alternating a bit. “Naturally in a few styles, with more at your Masters request. Can’t have everything be too boring now can we dear? Must keep your owner happy.”\n\n\t“Y-yeah.” Kanina grumbled. “That’s always a good thing.”\n\n\tOne last flash of light surrounded her feet. Kanina winced a bit in dread as she looked at the shopkeeper. “Hey now. The shoes stay. I need those for, Handmaiden stuff.” She snarled. The woman took a half step back and shifted in fear. Another little moment of gratification in this sea of frustration and rage.\n\n\tThe black shiny material she expected began to pop up around the tops of her feet. Then shifted, then twisted. The normal dome or point expected of a maid shoe instead shifting to the sleek, angular bent of a running shoe. Lines of white breaking it up to give the appearance of lace though clearly made of one seamless peace, going down to a very well-tredded bottom of white and black. Much like her old shoes, and indeed most parkour shoes, the tread creeping up the sides and the back of the heel. Each one ended in one final sparkle forming a bow with the same skull finding on each ear. The whole AR display now flashing and twitching into a more stable rigged AR image.\n\n\t“So… is my magical girl transformation done?” The bunny asked hesitantly, looking between the other two for some sign that she could get off the damn pedestal.\n\n\t“Not very grateful, is she?” The canine snorted in disgust and shook her head. “You know most people could only dream of owning these sorts of garments. Hand-designed and woven of real materials. Only slaves in the spire could hope to get better.”\n\n\tKanina held her hand out past the rim of the platform. Looking over the AR display a moment and then glancing up at the woman. “No offense but, AR cloths?”\n\n\t“It’s simply a pattern.” Mrs. Hayne sighed. “If you will forgive me, sir. I am quite unsure how to handle your girl. She’s very… opinionated.” The woman tapped the air vigorously for a few moments and then flicked her finger towards Sean. Her body visibly relaxed as he grinned at the readout. The growing indignation of her sneer softly fading into a dull hateful simmer. “I trust this is an acceptable price?” She almost cooed.\n\n\t“Oh more than fine. He flicked his own finger and smirked at her. Rolls of cloth starting to spin as heavy machines fired up at the back wall. Spooling out blacks and purples and white lace at a frantic pace.\n\n\tBoth Kanina and Sean watched this, fascinated by the few twitches of shadow they could see behind the thick curtain. When the curtain itself parted, the dress was revealed in all its glory. Perfectly stitched around a form-shifting mannequin to meet every one of Kanina’s curves and contours. Even she had to admit that the thing was… impressive. Almost disgustingly so. So much so that she didn’t even notice the AR display of her own clothing fading off of her leaving her bare again.\n\n\tA sharp whistle finally dragged the bunny back to reality. She snatched up her clothing and began to throw it on again taking just enough time to toss one shoe at Sean before yanking her panties and top on.\n\n\t“Shall I assume I should box this up for you, Mr. O’Brian, sir?” Mrs. Hayne sighed.\n\n\t“Yeah. Go ahead. And don’t worry. This was a really good time. I may just have to bring all of my pets here to give it a try.” Sean growled as he leaned in and grinned devilishly.\n\n--------------------\n\n\t“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”\n\n\t“What?” Kanina smirked a bit at the bear and jabbed him in the ribs. “You made me head in to that toxic little sewing room of doom.”\n\n\t“That was two stores ago and already you’re whining about it?” The bear slumped a bit and shoved his hands in his pockets. His shoulders rolling a few times, showing the firm, strong bicep resting just under the fat and fur. A look likely helped by the sudden tension running though his body.\n\n\t“Fine, ya big baby. We’ll slip in one of your game stores afterwards. How’s that sound?” The bunny perked one of her ears and started to slip in with her rump wiggling a bit. An effect not helped by either her lack of experience with ‘traditional’ sensuality or the big bag with a dress box in it that barely managed to slip over her forearm.\n\n\tSean rectified the latter problem by snagging up the bag and throwing it over his shoulder, his knuckles resting on his wrist as he followed her in to the tacky, half used storefront of Wyld Nites.\n\n\t“Jokes on you, Kani. I was going in anyways. I forgot I gotta snag someone a birthday gift.”\n\n\t“Couldn’t you just, like, order something?” She scoffed “Seriously I don’t even know why you come here. For me it’s a bit high end but don’t you have people who like, go to your house and give you this stuff?”\n\n\tSean squinted and smirked. “Wyld Nites is high end for you?” He chuckled.\n\n\t“Sure!” Kanina giggled and made her way quickly to the back end of the store. She reached up slowly and ran her hand along the wall. Tracing a line that seemed to form some pattern, though Sean couldn’t quite make it out. The back wall shifting and shimmering in a sea of heavily encrypted AR static. The bunny wiggled and waggled her tail happily as she looked over the wall slowly and smirked ear to ear bouncing hard on the balls of her feet.\n\n\tFilters flipped though Sean’s vision. To the outside world it simply looked like Kanina was standing before a wall of super cheap sex toys and trashy accessories that even the most impoverished class 3 citizens would never wear. None of them could see the massive break-away into an AR warehouse. Racks upon racks of images both two dimensional and three dimensional. Each rendered in a wildly different art style and with all manner of runes and words and symbols surrounding them to draw the eye.\n\n\tSean caught this and smirked a bit. His own gear filtering though the blocks to catch it as she slowly rummaged around the phantom items “Ok, what did I just stumble into, and do I have to call corpsec?” he muttered in a futile attempt to sound angry.\n\n\t“Oh will you relax. You know Squeek never complains when I drag her in here.”\n\n\t“Wait you drag Bri in here?” Sean blinked.\n\n\t“I mean she doesn’t know what I’m doing. Far as she knows I come in here looking for earrings. Sometimes I do, actually. But…”\n\n\tThe bear rolled his eyes and took a few steps closer. Looking over the racks of items more closely. Some of it he recognized. Typical patterns for weapons and equipment. You’d see from all manner of ganger or low level criminal. Others were a total mystery to him. Big, flashy hologame looking weapons and armor, 2d boxes displaying a cacophony of bloom effects. He could already see a bundle of odd items added to Kanina’s cart.\n\n\t“I hope you don’t expect me to pay for all of this.” He muttered.\n\n\t“Oh please. Your money is no good here.” She quipped.\n\n\t“Well I mean, if it’s not too expensive I guess. Provided it’s nothing too bad.”\n\n\t“No, I mean your money is literally no good here. I’m clearing out the Tarot’s cache points. With the others all dead or locked up I’m technically free to splurge as much as I want.”\n\n\tThe bear perked up onto his tiptoes a moment and shifted his weight forwards, getting a good, close look at the operation. “So let me guess. You going for a plasma launcher? Or is this like when they give physical prizes at divegame arcades. Because I probably have a spare Stormfront model laying around. No need to waste all your tokens.”\n\n\t“Oh ha ha very funny.” Kanina sighed. “You know considering that Seb tried to get me killed I figure I’m at least entitled to a few goodies.”\n\n\tSean could hear something shifting behind the wall. The faint but noticeable whir of magnetic rails. It would be all but impossible to catch from outside. Hell even from the other end of the store it might be hard. Another twitch from Kaninas ears made him wince. She was apparently able to hear it just fine. He turned his eyes back to her cart. A small pile of what looked to be tools sitting atop the flat bloom fields and odd objects.\n\n\t“Ya know, Kani, If you really want out of this I’m sure I could find you work. Tyr’s sake you already busted up a datagang solo. Even if it was your own. There are at least a dozen departments in the main corp alone that would literally kill for someone like you. They have in fact.”\n\n\t“Yeah, well maybe if getting talent was a bigger priority than making sure all the precious little highborn babies have a cushy career path they wouldn’t be so strapped for people to dig or dive. She looked up at him. A massive grin slowly crossed the bunnys face. She very clearly, very deliberately let a small bolt of shockweave cloth slip into her cart. Cloth that seemed just the right color and texture to nearly match the frills on her new outfit.\n\n\tSean said nothing. Simply looking away in flustered frustration.\n\n\t“For now Squeek wants us to get along. Far as I’m concerned that’s the extent of it. We do our best to make nice in front of her. You mind your business and I’ll mind mine. You don’t break her heart again, I don’t eviscerate you and send your balls to your mom in a box.”\n\n\tThe bear shrugged and nodded somberly. “Sounds reasonable. I accept.”\n\n\t“I wasn’t making an offer.” Kanina laughed. A few more items slipping into her basket.\n\n\tHer distracted state made it easy for Sean to hijack the cart list and drag it up, looking over a few of the items. He balked in disgust and let loose a soft growl. “Oh come on, more of this cheap back ally aug stuff?” He snapped bitterly.\n\n\t“Just some base cosmetic stuff to see if savvy can give me a few tweaks. Null it, papa bear.” She laughed. “And maybe a couple sub dermal data spike charges. Saved this cute bunny butt you’ve been staring at in that last fight. Kinda hard for Seb to keep wrecking my shit when his arms don’t work.”\n\n\t“You realize how hard it was to get what we could out of you the last time, right?” Sean muttered “And we couldn’t do jack to the reflex boosters or the sense boosters. I mean given some time I could probably work around them to something stable, but.”\n\n\t“Don’t. Ok? Just… don’t.” Kanina turned around now. All humor had melted from her face. Her red eyes narrowing a bit. “look, I owe you. Ya got me away from Corpsec. Fine. I saved Bri. The way I see it that makes us even enough. I mean I woulda saved her anyways but, slag it if she wasn’t with you then she wouldn’t need saving now would she?” Kanina turned back to look at the cart and sighed, scratching her chin a moment as she looked at a small readout. She finally grabbed two items, a box set of some cheesy semi-banned Third Sun soap opera, and a limiter free dive program whose title she tried desperately to hide. Though Sean did catch a glimpse.\n\n\t‘Fun with ferals: Rough pups’\n\n\tThat done she hit the checkout button and winced as the data began rushing freely into her. A stream of blue-green code hammering though the air and into her jack in an overly dramatic display. A moment later it was done, the wall making a soft ding as it opened to reveal a hardened lock box about the side of a bread loaf.\n\n\tKanina snatched the box out of the wall hole and let it close once more. She slipped it in to the bag with the dress and glared at Sean a long moment. “You gonna squeal on me, rich boy?”\n\n\t“To corpsec?” Sean smirked. “No. Though maybe next time you snag high end smut, try a better hiding trick than the old ‘other program on top.” With that he turned to walk out, his hips swaying in a near mocking manner quite akin to Kani’s sexy ass on the way in.\n\n--------------------\n\n\tAs one might expect there were dozens of Drassi owned chain establishments scattered around the shopping center. Stores with high end printers producing goods that would be difficult for even most class 2 citizens in a standard apartment sat in a three-story-high wall flanked on either side by all manner of chain eateries and the occasional luxury ‘fresh food’ store. It felt rather redundant considering that, like the other station shopping centers, most of the locations were also set up closer to the tram stations or other exist and a few likely had a presence in the actual food court.\n\n\tInterestingly it was one of the few ‘tricks’ Kanina could recall from back in school. One of her teachers trying to explain psychology by pointing out that the goal of a corp was consumption, and thus it was only logical to make the food readily available and quick so that the customers themselves could focus on shopping and the ‘in the moment’ mindset.\n\n\tThe bear had assured her that he knew the perfect spot to eat. Though considering how close they already were to this little foodie alcove after their last stop at the curio shop to check on leaf burners, she had to wonder if the high and mighty princeling was just as susceptible to the trap as anyone else.\n\n\tThe bemusing motion died coldly in the back of her mind as she finally glanced up from her small bag of purchases to see the restraint. A sharp, modern looking café complete with walls set with small dots for aiding AR placement and a small list of themes springing up in her HUD quarantine queue when they got near. A teenager, a bunny of about seventeen or so stood at the door in a very traditional looking maids uniform. He gave a small bow and smiled widely to the pair with the kind of genuine warmth that could only come from years of practice.\n\n\t“Welcome to 4:15. A New Avalon subsidiary. Table for two?” He cooed happily as he gestured to the two.\n\n\tRealization hit Kanina like a truck. She looked up at Sean, who glanced back down at her with a wide grin. His body swaying with satisfied contentment.\n\n\t“Oh, get fragged, ya burned jack.” she snapped as she followed the host into the near empty café. The smell of warm baked goods and bitter twist of tea smacking her nostrils sharply. They made their way to a pair of padded stainless steal seats and a small table fitting along the far edge of the little eatery. The bunny boy bowing and hurrying back to the front, replaced by a pudgy raccoon about half a decade his junior. The blushing boy stumbling awkwardly in his high heels and struggling with a tent in his skirt as he set a nice rack of traditional Danish baked goods and English finger sandwiches down in the middle of the table.\n\n\t“G-good evening Master and Miss” he said nervously, giving a small bow. “Can I interest you in our spring salmon today? We just got the pattern downloaded and it came with a new specialty flavor.”\n\n\t“Burger.” Kanina muttered as she glanced up at him. A small glare pinning the poor boy in place. Part of her felt bad for making the poor thing squirm under her cool red gaze. Part of he. The rest just reveled as she wrapped her fingers around something warm and flaky, shoving it into her muzzle without a second thought. He watched her chew for a long time. Watched her eyes watching him. His whole body trembling at what he likely presumed to be the teenage bunny giving him every inch the once over.\n\n\tWhen he finally managed to nod it was clear he had no idea what to do with himself. Those sharp pink eyes quickly turning up to Sean. “A-and for you, sir?” he whined.\n\n\t“I’ll have that salmon. And two Aethers for us.” He chuckled as he gave the boy a small pat on the head and waved him on his way. Kanina had already finished her, whatever it was, and was busy on one of the sandwiches now. Her tail waggling.\n\n\t“You didn’t have to do that, ya know.” He laughed.\n\n\t“Eh, I set him up with a decent tip. Besides, they’re kinda cute when they get all nervous. Way worse after school jobs he could be doing.”\n\n\tSean narrowed his eyes a bit and let a gin pass his muzzle. “And how do you know he is an after-schooler?”\n\n\t“No collar” Kanina said, pointing to her own bare neck “Not even an ID broadcast. Usually anyone who lets a slave out to work is gonna do that for the sake of liability. I mean, the ones who are doing legit work anyways.”\n\n\t“You sure seem to know a lot about this sort of thing.” Sean laughed. “This all vital robin hood style information? Should I be taking notes?”\n\n\tA half hearted snerk was the buns only reply as she leaned back into her seat and looked over the offered items carefully.\n\n\t“That’s Sprekkoek” Sean noted\n\n\t“Ok.”\n\n\t“Banketstaff”\n\n\t“Yeah… ok.”\n\n\t“Gudah cracker”\n\n\t“Right. Ok.”\n\n\t“Scones”\n\n\tKanina finally growled and snatched up something utterly at random. Giving a few hard chews before wincing and spitting it back out into her hand.\n\n\t“And thaat would be a cupcake. With paper.\n\n\t“Gahh. Gross. Why did you make me do that?” She growled glaring sidelong at the snickering bear as he just shrugged and leaned back in his seat. “Fack. I’ll just wait for my burger.” she muttered. Her fingers still fidgeting with the silvery plates that hung from the display tray sitting between them.” You know, this proly would have worked better with Bri.” She growled absently.\n\n\t“Oh yeah?” The bear smiled a bit\n\n\t“Yeah. Sitting here across from you, hanging on your every word while you give her all the info on every one of these lil snacks. Trying to impress you by ordering the fanciest sounding thing on the menu.”\n\n\t“I really want to say you’re wrong.” Sean laughed. “Though you know at the very least she’d probably be a bit sweeter to the staff.”\n\n\t“She’d apologize to them until they got fed up and yelled.” Kanina smirked “Last time we went out for noodles a beggar girl actually got fed up with her asking twenty questions when we decided to buy the poor thing a meal. I swear to Woz it’s a damn compulsion with her.”\n\n\t“She has her quirks.” Sean agreed slowly “But she means well. Can’t fault her for that now can we?”\n\n\t“All depends on what that gets her stuck into.” Kanina sighed heavily and let her eyes slip shut. Her ears lopping down with only the occasional minor twitch. Her body finally sprang to life when the server came back with a comically large serving tray. Kanina managing to slip the snack stand that had been on the center of the t able far enough out of the way that the blushing maid could slip it down and place the two orders without any serious problems.\n\n\tSean chuckled and tugged the salmon closer to himself, giving the raccoon boy a firm squeeze and swat on the rump in approval before turning his bright blue eyes back to Kanina. “Showoff.” He chuckled.\n\n\t“Still getting used to these augs. Well, re-used to them.” She muttered “You know it’s bad enough trying to adapt to Savvy’s work. The slag your docs did to me while I was out.”\n\n\t“You mean drag a small cars worth of knockoff augs out of your body? Or slip in something that won’t see you crippled at forty?”\n\n\t“They hadn’t even settled in yet.” Kanina grumbled as she scratched the back of her jack. The placeholder plate still feeling far too awkward. Too clean and sterile for her touch as she ran her finger along the rim hesitantly. \n\n\t“Good.” Sean snorted “Probably why they were able to get so much of that junk dug out. I don’t know who was giving you those upgrades but he might want to check in to his suppliers before he gets someone killed.”\n\n\t“Yeah, well at least I actually asked him to put it in me.” She scoffed “I didn’t wake up with two weeks of my life gone and an overhaul I wasn’t prepped for.”\n\n\t“let’s not get into this.” Sean muttered as he cut though the printed flank of fish, Slowly sopping up some of the honey drizzle and a few of the almond slices with the protruding char of the flesh. “We promised Bri we’d try to get along. No sense beating this into the ground right now.”\n\n\tKanina bit hard into her burger and nodded. Her bucked front teeth tearing a huge chunk through bun, cheese and meat with only the barest hit of resistance. She glanced down at her drink a moment and picked it up part way, then set it back down and focused on swallowing the overlarge mouthful. “Yeah, sure. Fine. I don’t’ see why it matters though. Not like you mind keeping slag from her.”\n\n\t“Excuse me?” Sean blinked and titled his head a bit.\n\n\t“Sorry. Prolly crossed a line.” The bunny muttered as she slipped a few fries into a small reservoir of sauce and munched them slowly.\n\n\t“No, no this one I think I need to hear.” Sean grumbled\n\n\tHis words made the poor rabbit wince. She took even longer with the fries than she had the bite of burger. Using the chewing as an excuse until the flecks of printed potato flavored goodness were nothing more than stray particles bouncing around in the corner of her cheek. “Look, I’m a bit on edge. I admit that. But far as I can tell you still haven’t told Bri everything you’ve done for her.”\n\n\t“Like what?” Sean’s tone was far more calm, but still held a slightly resentful edge to it. The bear shifting side to side.\n\n\t“Well for one you could tell her about how you bought off her parents’ apartment. It might be nice of her to know that. I mean it’s not like it’s a dick move or anything. Why keep it a secret?”\n\n\t“Of course I didn’t tell her how I set her parents up. I don’t want her to go back and feel like I’m just bribing her affections again. I told them to tell her when they feel it’s right, so I’m not lying. Mostly. I’m just not ready to brag about it. I mean I almost was.”\n\n\t“Yeah. I kinda facked that one up, huh?” Kanina sighed sipping a handful of fries into her mouth.\n\n\t“No. That wannabe mob boss fucked it up. You made sure he didn’t get away.”\n\n\t“Hooray me.” She sighed as she slumped her shoulders a bit harder.\n\n\tSean growled a bit and sipped his bottle of pop, gazing at the girl for a long moment as he fought for the words he wanted to speak. “Look, the trust issues she has with me are my deal. That’s all on me. But so long as she has them I gotta figure out how to deal with it. You think she can handle it without feeling like her life is being bought for her or being pissed off be my guest. You know her better than I do.”\n\n\tThe bunny shook her head and leaned back in the chair. Her foot snagging the table and keeping the curved and chipped stainless-finished thing from falling over by mere newtons of force. “That’s where you’re wrong, big bear. I got so freaked out about keeping her in my life I kinda let things go full slag. Splicing Seb doesn’t fix that. Kinda wish I could say it at least felt good.”\n\n\t“It didn’t’?” He asked.\n\n\t“You ever kill someone before? I mean directly.” Kanina muttered\n\n\tSean nodded softly and let his eyes slip shut. “Once. About a decade ago.” He glanced at the bunny as she leaned forward glaring expectantly at him. He could see her tail waggling and ears perking. “Oh no. You gotta get me good and drunk before I tell you that one.”\n\n\t“Oh come on.” Kanina growled. “You owe me.”\n\n\t“For what?” Sean growled back.\n\n\t“Well for that thing with my mom, for one.”\n\n\tHe rolled his eyes and sighed. “Thing with your mom. You mean giving her enough cash to get her out of that job? To move up in the world?”\n\n\t“Yes. No. I mean, Gahh. Ok fine then why are Bri’s folks still living down in the Class 3 slums?”\n\n\t“Because she’s comfortable with it. I’m not going to rip her out of her childhood home while she’s still healing. Especially not after what those Yaldsons did to her.”\n\n\t“Which ones? The cops? Or the goons Seb hired?”\n\n\t“Both.” \n\n\t“Yeah. What ever happened to those cops anyways?” Kanina asked as she titled her head. “They weren’t… that wasn’t the time that you…”\n\n\tSean snarled and shook his head. “I let my little sister handle it.”\n\n\t“Your sister? Like the crazy lady who shows up in all the military ads?”\n\n\t“No, the other one. And for your sake it’s best if you just don’t talk about her.” He muttered, looking around the mall. “Just trust me. It’s a lot easier that way.”\n\n\t“Whatever.” She sighed “Look, I really don’t care about you, or your family, or the company for that matter. The tree doesn’t exactly do us ‘little people’ any favors.”\n\n\t“Yeah I know.” Sean sighed.\n\n\tKanina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes a bit. Her blood running cold as a little twitch shuddered though her limbs. “No, no I don’t think you do know.” The bunny growled. \n\n\t“That so?” Sean asked. His own muzzle furrowing a bit. “Mind telling me what exactly I’m missing, then?”\n\n\t“… nothing.” She muttered. Kanina slipping back into her seat and glancing down at the mostly finished burger.\n\n\t“No, no I think it’s something.” Sean titled his head and leaned in a bit closer. “You got something to say to me, then go ahead and say it. I’m a big boy. Try me.”\n\n\tA long silence passed between the two. Kanina passed a short glance to some of the nervous looking maid bois standing close by and trying to remain prim and proper. Her eyes barely shifting back now and then as she visibly chewed on her rage. “Ok, fine. You want the truth? Here’s a start. Why the fack are there class 3 citizens?”\n\n\t“I’m sorry, What?” Sean blinked\n\n\t“Class 3s. You got people working their asses off down in the Class 3 slums for basically nothing. I mean sure, most of them don’t really know better. But I’ve done runs around here. I know the score. You got people working on their feet for seventy hours a week or more in hard, pointless, mindless jobs that a drone could do.”\n\n\t“Look, I-”\n\n\t“and it’s not like you can’t automate that slag. We both know better than that. Hell most class 2s think that their little 3 or 4 day work weeks are a chore, and half their jobs are just jerking each other off. That snooty bitch who ‘made’ that dress or whatever she did. Hell she didn’t even do anything. Just acted like she’s better than me. How much you wanna bet she could buy someone like me or Bri outright.. Like, not even think much about it. Just ‘oh I guess I’ll have to dip into the entertainment budget’” The bunny girl warbled the words out in her best impression of the saleswoman. Something that came off with far too much snoot and whine.\n\n\t“Probably pretty good. Probably real good.” Sean growled.\n\n\t“Exactly!” Kanina barked “And you heard what that woman said. Talking about the damn rags you made me get like, like it was some kind of honor? As far as she knew I should be happy to play dressup doll. Fack as far as she knew you were only marginally more well off than her. Everyone like her has one or two slaves and she thinks they’re better off than us lowly Class 3 trash. And she’s kinda right!” The girl snatched up her drink and downed the rest of the Aether with a determined glair on her face. Glowing blue drops of pop hanging from her lips. “You seriously going to tell me you think Bri could get something like this working whatever cheap factory job a girl like her would have ended up with?”\n\n\tSean rolled his holders and gritted his hands together before him, those piercing blue eyes fixed on Kanina as he stewed in growing frustration. “No, I don’t. In fact I know she can’t. It cost more than her parents’ apartment. In fact it cost more than the last little job you pulled before your gang went all sideways on you.”\n\n\t“How’d you know about that?” She yipped.\n\n\t“Oh come on. You think I wasn’t going to keep an eye on what you were running? You may not be like them, Kani, but Tyr knows you handed out a lot of candy to a lot of punk ass class 2 teens.”\n\n\t“It’s how you get by.” She shrugged “They wanted tow waste the jink on it, that’s between them and their mommies and daddies. Besides it’s not like I was throwing out Novawoad or getting kids hooked on the Laud.”\n\n\t“You weren’t, maybe.” Sean muttered. \n\n\t“Yeah then why were you bringing it up?” Kanina snapped\n\n\t“Because you’re trying to drag me in on all of this.” Sean barked back. His cool calm snapping as he gripped the table. “You think I like it? You think being a Jarl means I get to do whatever I want? It’s a bullshit title. You think my stock means jack? There are hundreds of companies tied to the great tree. They decide to fuck us over and we’d be kneecapped in a week. Not to mention Oversight. They answer to only one person and she’s up in that spire right now dealing with Gods know what. You want to go up and have this conversation with her? Because I’m sure you’ll make an impression.”\n\n\t“So what, it’s just totally fine to go ahead and let people suffer and starve? You gonna go up to the next tram out to the outer ring and tell them that? ‘oh hey, sorry people. I know we’re sending you to a slow painful death cause you can’t keep up on your rent. It’s just cheaper than making you into literal sex dolls for your betters.”\n\n\t“It is cheaper.” Sean snapped “Hel’s name that’s the only reason we have class 3s to start with! Don’t you get it? Our whole gods damned society is built on it. You get slaves, you have to at least meet some standards if you don’t want to get arrested. You have class 3s? If they get fucked over it’s on them. Been that way from the start. Not that most of em are better than what’s out there waiting for the classless.”\n\n\t“How do you know?” Kanina snapped, tears in her eyes.\n\n\t“I’ve had to watch what those… fucking freaks do to their slaves.” He bellowed\n\n\t“And I had to grow up in that nightmare!” Kanina snapped. “You know what? Fack it. Fack it, and fack you. This whole thing has been a Woz damn waste of time.”\n\n\t“Finally, we can agree on something.” Sean growled.\n\n\t“Good. Then take me home. Tired of trying to make nice with a slumming rich boy.”\n\n\t“Fine.”\n\n\t“Fine.”\n\n\t“Fine!”\n\n--------------------\n\n\tThe room was deathly quiet. It had been for at least the past hour. A single, simple blue light at the far corner providing the only illumination in the small windowless space. The two looked at each other. Each one half hidden under the thick furs and cheap faux satins resting on the bed. A heavy yet not entirely unpleasant pain jolting though her with every little movement.\n\n\tKanina looked over at the nude grizzly. Watching him still staring at the blank wall facing the foot of the bed.\n\n\t“Oh, Woz damn it…”\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "By Necessity: Bonding
By TerraMGP

\t“Alright, ladies and gents. It’s that time of night again. It’s Holo-night!” Kanina burst through the door with all the newfound energy her augs would allow. The bunny grinning ear to ear as she hugged a huge stack of takeout boxes to her body and fumbled her way through the familiar apartment towards the coffee table. Her path made it a full five steps before something big, warm and fuzzy blocked her way. The boxes in her arms flying out all over the place and more than one of them splattering her with sugary frosting and fillings.

\t“Gahh. Gah damn it. Woz damn it what the fack…” She looked down to the couch to see Sean sitting there. An old style paper book held in his paw as he leaned up against the couch arm. Bri was laying on his side, her muzzle tucked under his arm as she slept soundly. Her glasses skewed on her face.

\t“What the… what the fack” Kanina growled. Catching herself and shifting to a whisper. “Damn it, you knew today was my day.”

\t“She called me this morning.” Sean whispered back angrily. “What was I supposed to do. Tell her ‘we made a schedule’? He sighed and looked down at the sleeping Dormouse. His unoccupied shoulder rolling to get some of the sleep and strain from it.

\t“Well you could make something up.” The bunny grumbled “Or maybe told me before I dragged all this stuff over here.”

\tSean looked down at the mess and sighed. His hand reaching and snagging up one of the few slices of pizza that had landed face up. He took a hard bite and swallowed it before slumping back and groaning. “Can we just talk about this later? Look I’ll clean it up when she wakes up. Just give me some time with her and we’ll switch out. I just don’t wanna.”

\t“What, you don’t think I can handle my best friend?” Kanina growled, her voice raising up a bit.

\t“I didn’t say that.” The bear snarled back, rolling his eyes.

\t“Look just because you made me your fake slave for a few months doesn’t mean I’m going to just do whatever you want.”

\t“I didn’t say that was what I wanted. Will you quit over reacting? Besides she’s still fragile right now. Watching a bunch of high action movies probably isn’t the best thing for her.”

\t“Oh and reading her smut in hopes of a blowjob is?” The pretense of whispering had fully dropped by this point. Kanina gripping the couch and gritting her teeth.

\tSean tensed. He nearly stood, stopped only by the sleeping mouse atop him. “I never said what I was reading, and anyways what in Tyr’s makes you think I want a blowjob?”

\t“Well you’re fly is open for one and I see pink poking out.”

\t“My fly is not! Oh… Ok it is!”

\t“I know, that’s what I as saying.”

\t“Well you don’t have to shout about it!”

\t“Well you could let me take my shift with her without showing up to be Mr. perfect.”

\t“Well you could stop freaking out over every little thing I do like I’m going to hurt her.”

\t“This is the fourth time you did it.”

\t“Third at most!”

\t“That makes it better?

\t“Shut up!”

\tBoth stopped and looked at the source of the voice. Brinna yawned loudly and shifted herself away from Sean. Her body trembling as it lost the warmth of his chest and slipped back into the familiar embrace of the couch. “Both of you. Just… stop. Please. I’m tired.

\t“I know you are pet. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up and.”

\t“No.” She squeaked, cutting Sean off with a sharpness that didn’t seem to suit her at all. “I’m tired of you two fighting all the time. I already know what you’re trying to do and it shouldn’t be a big deal. Is it really that hard for both of you to be in the same room together?”

\tThey both looked at each other. Shrinking back under her accusing gaze and shuffling nervously.

\t“Master? Kanina?” She whimpered. The overwhelming look of pain and confusion on her face soon settling into one of disappointment. Bri pulled herself up and grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch, pulling it tight around herself and marching towards her room.

\t“Wait, Bri, where are you going?” Kanina whimpered.

\t“Puff and I need a nap” She snapped as she snatched up her stuffed ankylosaurus from by the holoprojector. “I think you two need to take a walk or something. Ma-maybe come back when you can get along.”

\tWith that the door to her room shut and the two were left to gaze at each other in stunned silence. Neither seeming able to fully process what had just happened.

\t“You know…” Kanina muttered “Say this for the girl. She can be pretty assertive when she’s exhausted.”
\t
--------------------

\tTwin Oak was becoming familiar to the pair by now. Even as they strode into the currently half-empty shopping center both bunny and bear noticed the other relaxing considerably by the tacky rows of shops and  blathering teens skipping out on classes hitting the world as a kind of cathartic white noise. Every sight, sound and smell drew back a bit of the tension that had been the ride over, the two slowly swapping glances as they began to visibly relax.

\t“So how are we going to do this?” Sean sighed the words with most of the contempt behind them held back reasonably well. He glanced down to the bunny girl a moment and watched her wince. Those sharp red eyes glancing up at him sideways.

\t“Do what? I figured we’d just walk around a while and do whatever it is we have to do in AR. Technically that’s all Bri asked.”

\t“You know she won’t go for that.” Sean muttered.

\tKanina flared a nostril and then looked away shaking her head firmly “The fack do you care, Rich boy? She’s your property now? What. You afraid she’s not gonna put out or something?”

\t“Do you really think I’d… I mean…” Sean wrinkled his nose a bit and growled “For your information, Missy, we haven’t done anything serious yet to begin with.”

\tOne of Kaninas ears perked at that. She stifled a small laugh and glanced up at him with a massive grin smeared on her muzzle. “Wait really? Like nothing? Oh come on after everything you went though you’re gonna tell me you two haven’t had any ‘fun’?”

\t“Fun, sure” Sean shrugged “Dates. Hanging out. Giving her dirty lil assignments. The kinda stuff I figured she’d have told her best friend about.”

\t“Incessantly.” Kanina nodded.

\t“Right.” Sean chuckled as he slipped his hands into the rather narrow pockets of his leather trousers. “But really that’s it. And I’m kinda enjoying it that way. Her therapist said it was better for us, too. I mean, it’s not like I need her for sex or anything. Not that it wouldn’t be nice. But Bri’s different.”

\tKanina flipped herself around and took a couple backwards hops to face the bear, her grin growing wide. “Wait you actually listen to her therapist? You. Mister big bad prince of the company himself? Mister Heir apparent?” She snickered a bit and leaned in without ever breaking her stride. “Woz damn, man. You sound like some nervous gradeschooler with his first girlfriend.”

\t“Ok first of all miss ‘clearly flunked poli-sci.” Sean growled “I’m a Jarl, not a prince. And technically I can’t be CEO anyways. There’s the whole ‘bastard son’ thing. And the whole ‘son’ thing. You’d be thinking of my sisters. Runa has more stock than I do anyways. And besides what’s so wrong about treating Bri special? All my pets are special in some ways. Even the ones who ‘age out’.”

\t“Age out?” She blinked.

\t“Yeah, I mean. Sure a few of them are exceptions. But you don’t think I just go around buying any random slave I take a liking to, do you?” he laughed.

\tKanina gave a rather non committal shrug. Her eyes screaming her aloof boredom, which Sean utterly failed to recognize.. Much to her continued annoyance.

\t“Look, I have a type, especially when it comes to Cubs. So every suckup scared of dealing with my sisters gets me things they think I’ll like. Especially slaves. They end up being smart most of the time, so along with using them as lil fucktoys I tend to train them up for whatever scientific field they might find interesting and then when they get old enough I free em off under contract to a job I figure works for them. It’s not really that hard to understand.”

\t“Yeah, sure. That’s nice.” Kanina muttered “Look that’s fine and altruistic and all that, but it still doesn’t explain why you’re bending over backwards for Bri. I at least want a straight answer about what you’re up to.”

\tSean stopped a moment and let out a sigh. His abrupt actions nearly causing Kanina to fall over as she attempted to stop with him, breaking her stride and shocking herself with the suddenness of the still foreign reflex boosters. The man gave a few uncomfortable fidgets and slumped to the side, taking a look around the shopping center rather wistfully. “Look it’s… I don’t know. Ok? Maybe I just enjoy having her around. I’ve never really had to justify how I treat my toys before. I just kinda enjoy this I guess.” The bear narrowed his eyes a bit and glanced up at Kanina. He leaned in and gripped her shoulder with one big paw, grinning ear to ear. “And for now, that includes you miss ‘under consideration’. Which means what I say goes. And I say we at least give this a shot for her sake. That way when we tell her it inevitably blew up in our faces we don’t have to lie.”

\t“Fair enough.” Kanina muttered as she rolled her eyes and tried like hell not to smile. “Ok then ‘sir’. How do you suggest we go about this? You know I wasn’t exactly planning to do anything beyond maybe snagging a snack today, right?”

\t“You were? I already ate.” Sean smirked “Look. How about this. We take turns picking stuff we want to do. Nothing too long or designed to intentionally annoy. Or at least to annoy too much. Maybe fifty fifty.”

\tKanina shifted around and leaned up against the nearest storefront. Her hands shoving in to her pockets as she eyed him carefully. “Ok but a few ground rules. No slave shops. No fawning over battler parts for an hour. No buying Bri something expensive while I wait around like an ass. Also half an hour for lunch at the food court and a quick smoke. You’re buying the food.”

\t“Fine.” Sean nodded.

\t“And I’m not calling you ‘Master’.” She added

\t“On your turns.” He chimed in “Gotta play nice for corpsec after all, right?”

\t“Once.” She muttered

\t“Per store.” He chuckled

\t“Per hour.”

\t“Per half hour.”

\tShe fell silent a long moment. A growing static of stewing rage radiating from her and yet bouncing off the bemused bear as he leaned over her, one hand pressing up against the storefront. “Fine.” She muttered “You do this just to torture me, don’t you?”

\t“I am a sadist, little bun.” He chuckled.

\t“You’re an asshole.” Kanina barked back. “Well fine let’s get this over with. You pick first. This was your idea after all, and I’ve still gotta think up some way to annoy you.”

\tSean nodded and pulled himself back, nearly bumping some poor woman into her kid as he did. “I knew you’d say that.”

\tKanina paused for a long moment. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him, then looked up to the floor above in the hopes of catching what he’d been looking at. She finally traced his gaze to the big AR sign over the storefront they’d been leaning over. A deep pit in her stomach forming as she saw the familiar sign. ‘Euphoria Silks’.

\t“Oh. Fack me.”

--------------------

\tEverything about the little shop put Kanina off. It was white, for one. Worse than white. The walls were some oddly brownish white tinted with brown. If a smug, undeserved sense of self superiority could possibly have a physical form then this was the color she imagined it had to be.

\tSecond was the woman in charge. A prim and proper looking woman who seemed to have  come straight from Thursday night worship and felt no need to change her stuffy attire for the sensibilities of more ‘common‘ folk.  The AR readout hovering near her displayed her name as Mrs. Hayne. A name rather fitting for such a dour, sour lemon looking German Sheppard.

\t“Ah, good evening Mr. O‘Brian, sir.” The woman chirped to the two. Her grey-green eyes barely landing on Kanina. “Welcome to Euphoria silks. I trust this is your first time with us?”

\tThe bear could cut an imposing figure when he wanted to. Or at least a rather large one. His normally half drooped posture straightening up to project all the authority and strength this woman likely expected to see from her customers. Though Kanina doubted that someone so serious could pick up on how much he was already enjoying himself. Probably at both of their expenses.

\t“Yes. I just put my dear little Kani here under consideration, officially that is. I‘m not quite ready to collar her, but I wanted something special to see how she fits with my things. And her sister slaves, naturally.” The bear started to swell his chest seemingly in synch with the radiating rage and hatred steaming silently from the bunny girl. He took a few steps forwards and slipped past the shopkeeper towards the racks of cloth. Feeling a bit of it between thumb and forefinger before turning his eyes to a small opening in the wall hidden by a curtain. One with a massed array of what looked to be odd machines slotted on it.

\t“This certainly doesn‘t seem like it‘d fit in a printer. I take it what I read about your establishment was true, then?”

\t“I would presume so, yes.” Mrs. Hayne nodded. “We use all real materials here and each design is a custom work. Our company employs a stable of hot, up and coming designers who will personally craft the design to fit your image with your property“ Her eyes flashed to Kanina as she said this, giving the bunny a look that might be considered kind if not for how condescending it was. “Giving them a chance to reflect your personal tastes without having to spend too much on a simple toy.”

\tThe young man bellowed out a hard laugh that was only marginally forced. He turned to face the woman and nodded his approval before talking over and slipping his arm around Kanina. “Very good. Very good indeed. Our sweet bunny girl here is very new. She was ‘free‘ until recently. Lower class, you understand. I don‘t want to spend too much. But it‘s my right to give her a little bit of luxury isn‘t it little treasure?” Sean smirked and gripped her into him hard.

\tThe fuming rage of the rabbit was barely contained. Her mouth forcing itself into an unmistakably hateful smile as she looked up at him with murder in those pretty red eyes. “Why yes, Master. Thank you for being so considerate of your lowly toy.” She growled the words like ice and venom. Her fingernails digging into his thigh in a futile attempt to harm him though the lather pants.

\t“I see. Well I admit, Sir, she doesn’t quite look how I’d expect.” The woman narrowed her eyes a bit and took a nice slow scan over Kanina. It took everything the bunny had not to screw with the bog-standard program their ‘hostess’ was using. Not that the older Sheppard seemed to notice. “Well I will admit we don’t usually see work for anyone under consideration. Our clientele are usually more concerned with, well.”

\t“Yeah?” Kanina growled as she leaned closer and grinned ear to ear. Her eyes fixing the canine woman firmly and twisting to hold her gaze. An experience that was wonderfully unpleasant for her.

\t“No offense to your Master, dear. But it does seem that you’re a bit, unrefined. What exactly did you say your role was in his household?”

\t“A Handmaiden.“ She spat. Kanina narrowed her eyes and growled softly. After what she’d jut gone though it was taking more and more of her self restraint to avoid doing something rash. Something which would probably get them kicked out. Something that the woman obviously felt since she backtracked almost instantly and turned to the large wall of fabric behind her.

\t“I see. Well unfortunately we are not Renee, so we can only offer a limited amount of help for your… situation. But then that’s not really up to me, is it?”

\tThe German Sheppard gestured to a small pedestal sitting to one corner of the room near the heavy racks and rows of fabric. Kanina eyed it a long moment. Flipping though a small database of items for a match, splitting her view between Sean and the saleswoman the whole while. “I still don’t see why you can’t just pick something out of a catalogue and print it, sir.” She growled though gritted teeth. Setting foot on the pad.

\t“Ah, uh uh uh. I’m sorry but you can’t be wearing any heavy garments on here, dear. The designers won’t be able to work their magic.

\t“Well that’s kind of a spliced little setup you have there. I mean what kind of program needs to scan me naked just to figure out my dimensions?”

\t“Program?” Sean snickered again as usual, but it was actually the sales woman who burst out laughing this time. The middle-aged canine never seeming to notice the purple bunny girl’s quivering leg as she ground it into the faux wood flooring. “My dear, Euphoria Silks Did not get where it is by something as simple as a design program. We strive to bring designer flare to discerning owners at a… reasonable price point. While you will get the initial pattern file, each creation is uniquely tailored. An expression of owner and, to a lesser extent, slave. Should that be what the owner wants.”

\tBoth Kanina and Sean rolled their eyes at this. Even as the bunny relented and slipped off her running shoes and the thick grip socks under them. She then tried to take another step on only to be stopped by the sales woman. Kanina bristled, but relented again. This time pulling her top off and dropping her pants as well. The young woman now standing in nothing more but a cheap pair of panties and a rather annoyed glair. “Like what you see?” She snapped at the sales woman. Turning full force and fidgeting her foot.

\tThe woman shook her head and looked past Kanina over to Sean. “Sir, I must ask that you please control your pet.”

\tAnother soft chuckle sipped past Sean in spite of himself. He rolled his eyes and leaned forwards in the seat trying like hell not to make any comments which would drive the poor rabbit further than she already was. “Come on, Kani. The nice woman is just doing her job. It’s not her fault their designers are a bunch of voyeurs.”

\tThe expressions on the two women instantly switched. The canine reeling back in shock as Kanina blurted out laughing at the unexpected snark. When she finally regained herself the woman was clearly at her limit. Something that, if nothing else, made the bunny feel a bit better.

\t“Ok then, so do they need to see my data tap, too? Or do I get to keep a bit of dignity?” Kanina asked as she patted her package in as vulgar a manner as she could.

\t“Well yes, they absolutely will need to see… that.” The woman snooted. “It’s important to know how you dress so as best to accommodate your body type. I’m sure if your owner feels bad about displaying his property in this manner-”

\tKanina waved her hand and quickly slipped out of the clothing. Hopping up on to the platform and striking an almost stereotypical ‘idol’ pose with her butt wiggling in full view of the back mirror, and Mrs. Hayne. “Nah, lady. Let’s do this like Judas!” She cackled happily, sparing one glance back at Sean who was now struggling to stay in his seat as he laughed. The poor bear gasping for air and gripping the wall so the chair didn’t slip out from under him.

\t“Mph. Very well. Hold still if you would, please.” The poor Sheppard woman muttered. A few moments later Kanina could feel herself bathed in a heavy wave of blue-white light. The faint lines of a holographic imaging system leaping up around her

\t“It should just take a few moments to get her needed data, Mr. O’Brian. But naturally as she’s part of your household I must ask if there is any sort of aesthetic you hold to. We wouldn’t dream of having your slave clash with the furniture after all, or with her sibling slaves.”

\t“Maids.” Sean said firmly. The word not even requiring a second thought. Not even when Kanina turned to give him a glare of pure unadulterated death and rage.

\tHer eyes flashed to a small icon slipping up in the corner of her view. A request for her shop profile. She glanced over at Sean who seemed to realize what was probably wrong. Plenty of people filled out the damn things after all. Most shops even tried to use them for ‘pinpoint marketing’. And for the most part only the most brainwashed, work-a-day sprocket would ignore the countless free programs out there to spoof these kinds of commands.

\tShe did have one, though. Well, one that wasn’t a complete joke at any rate. She let the mostly false but true enough to fit her personality file though and took a small breath. Tapping her foot incessantly. “So, is this supposed to like, do something?” She muttered, holding one hand up and looking it over.

\tMoments later her question was answered. Fishnets. A trashy and seemingly tattered-by-design pair of them slowly forming around over her feet. The garments slipping up slowly to end at her upper thighs in a pair of white-laced hip garters, each with a solid looking leather-bound case on it about half the volume of a pants pocket. A similar pair of fingerless gloves began to form next. The gloves were weightless. Nothing more than a vague feel of heavily filtered leather gracing her palm and fingertips. These two went part way up her bicep with the same garters holding them on. A thin purple and plaid backing material under it.

\tThe bunny looked at Sean and narrowed her eyes, which seemed to please Mrs. Haney to no end. Another blue flash made her look back to see a black bow tied around the base of her tail. One she actually tried to pick at for a moment in spite of the obvious AR display.

\tBy this point Kanina was grumbling and fuming. Thrashing at nobody in particular. Her mind slowly churning all the ways she could slag the saleswoman, and whoever it was sitting in their house drawing this stuff on her. Probably some first year design student. Someone reveling in her displeasure. Someone who probably wouldn’t’ expect a little biofeedback ICE. If only, only she didn’t have to play nice.

\tThen of course, it hit. The flashes starting up again. A pair of thick black leather cuffs, far thicker and a bit more loose than they needed to be, drawn with painful care over her wrists and ankles. Each one was heavy, it had an odd grain to it, something that looked far closer to real than the cheap synthetics most class 2 and 3 people got. Each one with an overly large buckle and D ring, not to mention the spikes. Sharp looking silver spikes that studded the things evenly all the way around.

\t“Oh Woz, he’s making me a man cartoon character.” She grumbled.

\t“You were already a cartoon, Kani. I think the designer is just bringing that out for ya.”

\t“Oh Get slagged, Master.” Kanina muttered the last part bitterly. Shrinking back a bit at the odd look the woman gave her for it. The impotent rage soon shifted its focus as the blue flash came once more and Kanina watched a bright white lacey ribbon slowly curling itself around her waist. Pulling around the blue outlines of unrendered data which themselves began to form into black cloth and white lace which began to creep up her body and down from the ribbon bottom in draped, lacey frills. The top moved quickly up to her neck and over to her shoulders. Ending in yet more white frills that left her shoulders exposed and a shockingly modest neckline all things considered, though that too seemed to have a bit of intentional looseness on her frame. The frilly maid skirt likewise only went down about three quarters of her thighs.

\tAt this point Kanina was simply resigned to slumping down and letting the designer finish. She felt a few more flashes and reached up to grip her ears a moment. The Sheppard woman, seeing Kanina’s discomfort, was more than happy to bring up an AR mirror to let her see. Piercings. About half a dozen silver and metallic black rings and bars going though her ears in an anarchic pattern. Each ear with a white bow at the bottom and each of these locked in place around the ear with a silver skull shaped finding. It was horrible, in no small part because it wasn’t actually that horrible.

\tShe reached up to fiddle with them and watched as a septum ring formed into place as well, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head in displeasure at the very thought. Her bare foot stamping hard on the pad. “Why do I feel like a freaking dress up doll?”

\t“Because you are, my little coral… Tyr’s hand I really gotta come up with something for that.”

\t“No. That’s ok. No you really don’t.” Kanina muttered. “Maybe just say I don’t have to put up with all the piercing instead?” It wasn’t really a question, though in her agitated state Kanina sounded rather exhausted and really didn’t have much more fight in her. “So what, is that it? I mean I’d assume that this thing at least has some panties to it.”

\t“Undergarments, yes.” The shopkeeper nodded. Her smug smile again returning in full force. The mirror shifted perspective to show Kanina her own thick bunny shaft, sporting a set of piercings including a prince Albert that made even her blush at the size. There was even a thick sleeve of white lace with the same maid frills wrapped around it. Though after a few moments it shifted to one of purple and plaid with black frills, the two alternating a bit. “Naturally in a few styles, with more at your Masters request. Can’t have everything be too boring now can we dear? Must keep your owner happy.”

\t“Y-yeah.” Kanina grumbled. “That’s always a good thing.”

\tOne last flash of light surrounded her feet. Kanina winced a bit in dread as she looked at the shopkeeper. “Hey now. The shoes stay. I need those for, Handmaiden stuff.” She snarled. The woman took a half step back and shifted in fear. Another little moment of gratification in this sea of frustration and rage.

\tThe black shiny material she expected began to pop up around the tops of her feet. Then shifted, then twisted. The normal dome or point expected of a maid shoe instead shifting to the sleek, angular bent of a running shoe. Lines of white breaking it up to give the appearance of lace though clearly made of one seamless peace, going down to a very well-tredded bottom of white and black. Much like her old shoes, and indeed most parkour shoes, the tread creeping up the sides and the back of the heel. Each one ended in one final sparkle forming a bow with the same skull finding on each ear. The whole AR display now flashing and twitching into a more stable rigged AR image.

\t“So… is my magical girl transformation done?” The bunny asked hesitantly, looking between the other two for some sign that she could get off the damn pedestal.

\t“Not very grateful, is she?” The canine snorted in disgust and shook her head. “You know most people could only dream of owning these sorts of garments. Hand-designed and woven of real materials. Only slaves in the spire could hope to get better.”

\tKanina held her hand out past the rim of the platform. Looking over the AR display a moment and then glancing up at the woman. “No offense but, AR cloths?”

\t“It’s simply a pattern.” Mrs. Hayne sighed. “If you will forgive me, sir. I am quite unsure how to handle your girl. She’s very… opinionated.” The woman tapped the air vigorously for a few moments and then flicked her finger towards Sean. Her body visibly relaxed as he grinned at the readout. The growing indignation of her sneer softly fading into a dull hateful simmer. “I trust this is an acceptable price?” She almost cooed.

\t“Oh more than fine. He flicked his own finger and smirked at her. Rolls of cloth starting to spin as heavy machines fired up at the back wall. Spooling out blacks and purples and white lace at a frantic pace.

\tBoth Kanina and Sean watched this, fascinated by the few twitches of shadow they could see behind the thick curtain. When the curtain itself parted, the dress was revealed in all its glory. Perfectly stitched around a form-shifting mannequin to meet every one of Kanina’s curves and contours. Even she had to admit that the thing was… impressive. Almost disgustingly so. So much so that she didn’t even notice the AR display of her own clothing fading off of her leaving her bare again.

\tA sharp whistle finally dragged the bunny  back to reality. She snatched up her clothing and began to throw it on again taking just enough time to toss one shoe at Sean before yanking her panties and top on.

\t“Shall I assume I should box this up for you, Mr. O’Brian, sir?” Mrs. Hayne sighed.

\t“Yeah. Go ahead. And don’t worry. This was a really good time. I may just have to bring all of my pets here to give it a try.” Sean growled as he leaned in and grinned devilishly.

--------------------

\t“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

\t“What?” Kanina smirked a bit at the bear and jabbed him in the ribs. “You made me head in to that toxic little sewing room of doom.”

\t“That was two stores ago and already you’re whining about it?” The bear slumped a bit and shoved his hands in his pockets. His shoulders rolling a few times, showing the firm, strong bicep resting just under the fat and fur. A look likely helped by the sudden tension running though his body.

\t“Fine, ya big baby. We’ll slip in one of your game stores afterwards. How’s that sound?” The bunny perked one of her ears and started to slip in with her rump wiggling a bit. An effect not helped by either her lack of experience with ‘traditional’ sensuality or the big bag with a dress box in it that barely managed to slip over her forearm.

\tSean rectified the latter problem by snagging up the bag and throwing it over his shoulder, his knuckles resting on his wrist as he followed her in to the tacky, half used storefront of Wyld Nites.

\t“Jokes on you, Kani. I was going in anyways. I forgot I gotta snag someone a birthday gift.”

\t“Couldn’t you just, like, order something?” She scoffed “Seriously I don’t even know why you come here. For me it’s a bit high end but don’t you have people who like, go to your house and give you this stuff?”

\tSean squinted and smirked. “Wyld Nites is high end for you?” He chuckled.

\t“Sure!” Kanina giggled and made her way quickly to the back end of the store. She reached up slowly and ran her hand along the wall. Tracing a line that seemed to form some pattern, though Sean couldn’t quite make it out. The back wall shifting and shimmering in a sea of heavily encrypted AR static. The bunny wiggled and waggled her tail happily as she looked over the wall slowly and smirked ear to ear bouncing hard on the balls of her feet.

\tFilters flipped though Sean’s vision. To the outside world it simply looked like Kanina was standing before a wall of super cheap sex toys and trashy accessories that even the most impoverished class 3 citizens would never wear. None of them could see the massive break-away into an AR warehouse. Racks upon racks of images both two dimensional and three dimensional. Each rendered in a wildly different art style and with all manner of runes and words and symbols surrounding them to draw the eye.

\tSean caught this and smirked a bit. His own gear filtering though the blocks to catch it as she slowly rummaged around the phantom items “Ok, what did I just stumble into, and do I have to call corpsec?” he muttered in a futile attempt to sound angry.

\t“Oh will you relax. You know Squeek never complains when I drag her in here.”

\t“Wait you drag Bri in here?” Sean blinked.

\t“I mean she doesn’t know what I’m doing. Far as she knows I come in here looking for earrings. Sometimes I do, actually. But…”

\tThe bear rolled his eyes and took a few steps closer. Looking over the racks of items more closely. Some of it he recognized. Typical patterns for weapons and equipment. You’d see from all manner of ganger or low level criminal. Others were a total mystery to him. Big, flashy hologame looking weapons and armor, 2d boxes displaying a cacophony of bloom effects. He could already see a bundle of odd items added to Kanina’s cart.

\t“I hope you don’t expect me to pay for all of this.” He muttered.

\t“Oh please. Your money is no good here.” She quipped.

\t“Well I mean, if it’s not too expensive I guess. Provided it’s nothing too bad.”

\t“No, I mean your money is literally no good here. I’m clearing out the Tarot’s cache points. With the others all dead or locked up I’m technically free to splurge as much as I want.”

\tThe bear perked up onto his tiptoes a moment and shifted his weight forwards, getting a good, close look at the operation. “So let me guess. You going for a plasma launcher? Or is this like when they give physical prizes at divegame arcades. Because I probably have a spare Stormfront model laying around. No need to waste all your tokens.”

\t“Oh ha ha very funny.” Kanina sighed. “You know considering that Seb tried to get me killed I figure I’m at least entitled to a few goodies.”

\tSean could hear something shifting behind the wall. The faint but noticeable whir of magnetic rails. It would be all but impossible to catch from outside. Hell even from the other end of the store it might be hard. Another twitch from Kaninas ears made him wince. She was apparently able to hear it just fine. He turned his eyes back to her cart. A small pile of what looked to be tools sitting atop the flat bloom fields and odd objects.

\t“Ya know, Kani, If you really want out of this I’m sure I could find you work. Tyr’s sake you already busted up a datagang solo. Even if it was your own. There are at least a dozen departments in the main corp alone that would literally kill for someone like you. They have in fact.”

\t“Yeah, well maybe if getting talent was a bigger priority than making sure all the precious little highborn babies have a cushy career path they wouldn’t be so strapped for people to dig or dive. She looked up at him. A massive grin slowly crossed the bunnys face. She very clearly, very deliberately let a small bolt of shockweave cloth slip into her cart. Cloth that seemed just the right color and texture to nearly match the frills on her new outfit.

\tSean said nothing. Simply looking away in flustered frustration.

\t“For now Squeek wants us to get along. Far as I’m concerned that’s the extent of it. We do our best to make nice in front of her. You mind your business and I’ll mind mine. You don’t break her heart again, I don’t eviscerate you and send your balls to your mom in a box.”

\tThe bear shrugged and nodded somberly. “Sounds reasonable. I accept.”

\t“I wasn’t making an offer.” Kanina laughed. A few more items slipping into her basket.

\tHer distracted state made it easy for Sean to hijack the cart list and drag it up, looking over a few of the items. He balked in disgust and let loose a soft growl. “Oh come on, more of this cheap back ally aug stuff?” He snapped bitterly.

\t“Just some base cosmetic stuff to see if savvy can give me a few tweaks. Null it, papa bear.” She laughed. “And maybe a couple sub dermal data spike charges. Saved this cute bunny butt you’ve been staring at in that last fight. Kinda hard for Seb to keep wrecking my shit when his arms don’t work.”

\t“You realize how hard it was to get what we could out of you the last time, right?” Sean muttered “And we couldn’t do jack to the reflex boosters or the sense boosters. I mean given some time I could probably work around them to something stable, but.”

\t“Don’t. Ok? Just… don’t.” Kanina turned around now. All humor had melted from her face. Her red eyes narrowing a bit. “look, I owe you. Ya got me away from Corpsec. Fine. I saved Bri. The way I see it that makes us even enough. I mean I woulda saved her anyways but, slag it if she wasn’t with you then she wouldn’t need saving now would she?” Kanina turned back to look at the cart and sighed, scratching her chin a moment as she looked at a small readout. She finally grabbed two items, a box set of some cheesy semi-banned Third Sun soap opera, and a limiter free dive program whose title she tried desperately to hide. Though Sean did catch a glimpse.

\t‘Fun with ferals: Rough pups’

\tThat done she hit the checkout button and winced as the data began rushing freely into her. A stream of blue-green code hammering though the air and into her jack in an overly dramatic display. A moment later it was done, the wall making a soft ding as it opened to reveal a hardened lock box about the side of a bread loaf.

\tKanina snatched the box out of the wall hole and let it close once more. She slipped it in to the bag with the dress and glared at Sean a long moment. “You gonna squeal on me, rich boy?”

\t“To corpsec?” Sean smirked. “No. Though maybe next time you snag high end smut, try a better hiding trick than the old ‘other program on top.” With that he turned to walk out, his hips swaying in a near mocking manner quite akin to Kani’s sexy ass on the way in.

--------------------

\tAs one might expect there were dozens of Drassi owned chain establishments scattered around the shopping center. Stores with high end printers producing goods that would be difficult for even most class 2 citizens in a standard apartment sat in a three-story-high wall flanked on either side by all manner of chain eateries and the occasional luxury ‘fresh food’ store. It felt rather redundant considering that, like the other station shopping centers, most of the locations were also set up closer to the tram stations or other exist and a few likely had a presence in the actual food court.

\tInterestingly it was one of the few ‘tricks’ Kanina could recall from back in school. One of her teachers trying to explain psychology by pointing out that the goal of a corp was consumption, and thus it was only logical to make the food readily available and quick so that the customers themselves could focus on shopping and the ‘in the moment’ mindset.

\tThe bear had assured her that he knew the perfect spot to eat. Though considering how close they already were to this little foodie alcove after their last stop at the curio shop to check on leaf burners, she had to wonder if the high and mighty princeling was just as susceptible to the trap as anyone else.

\tThe bemusing motion died coldly in the back of her mind as she finally glanced up from her small bag of purchases to see the restraint. A sharp, modern looking café  complete with walls set with small dots for aiding AR placement and a small list of themes springing up in her HUD quarantine queue when they got near. A teenager, a bunny of about seventeen or so stood at the door in a very traditional looking maids uniform. He gave a small bow and smiled widely to the pair with the kind of genuine warmth that could only come from years of practice.

\t“Welcome to 4:15. A New Avalon subsidiary. Table for two?” He cooed happily as he gestured to the two.

\tRealization hit Kanina like a truck. She looked up at Sean, who glanced back down at her with a wide grin. His body swaying with satisfied contentment.

\t“Oh, get fragged, ya burned jack.” she snapped as she followed the host into the near empty café. The smell of warm baked goods and bitter twist of tea smacking her nostrils sharply. They made their way to a pair of padded stainless steal seats and a small table fitting along the far edge of the little eatery. The bunny boy bowing and hurrying back to the front, replaced by a pudgy raccoon about half a decade his junior. The blushing boy stumbling awkwardly in his high heels and struggling with a tent in his skirt as he set a nice rack of traditional Danish baked goods and English finger sandwiches down in the middle of the table.

\t“G-good evening Master and Miss” he said nervously, giving a small bow. “Can I interest you in our spring salmon today? We just got the pattern downloaded and it came with a new specialty flavor.”

\t“Burger.” Kanina muttered as she glanced up at him. A small glare pinning the poor boy in place. Part of her felt bad for making the poor thing squirm under her cool red gaze. Part of he. The rest just reveled as she wrapped her fingers around something warm and flaky, shoving it into her muzzle without a second thought. He watched her chew for a long time. Watched her eyes watching him. His whole body trembling at what he likely presumed to be the teenage bunny giving him every inch the once over.

\tWhen he finally managed to nod it was clear he had no idea what to do with himself. Those sharp pink eyes quickly turning up to Sean. “A-and for you, sir?” he whined.

\t“I’ll have that salmon. And two Aethers for us.” He chuckled as he gave the boy a small pat on the head and waved him on his way. Kanina had already finished her, whatever it was, and was busy on one of the sandwiches now. Her tail waggling.

\t“You didn’t have to do that, ya know.” He laughed.

\t“Eh, I set him up with a decent tip. Besides, they’re kinda cute when they get all nervous. Way worse after school jobs he could be doing.”

\tSean narrowed his eyes a bit and let a gin pass his muzzle. “And how do you know he is an after-schooler?”

\t“No collar” Kanina said, pointing to her own bare neck “Not even an ID broadcast. Usually anyone who lets a slave out to work is gonna do that for the sake of liability. I mean, the ones who are doing legit work anyways.”

\t“You sure seem to know a lot about this sort of thing.” Sean laughed. “This all vital robin hood style information?  Should I be taking notes?”

\tA half hearted snerk was the buns only reply as she leaned back into her seat and looked over the offered items carefully.

\t“That’s Sprekkoek” Sean noted

\t“Ok.”

\t“Banketstaff”

\t“Yeah… ok.”

\t“Gudah cracker”

\t“Right. Ok.”

\t“Scones”

\tKanina finally growled and snatched up something utterly at random. Giving a few hard chews before wincing and spitting it back out into her hand.

\t“And thaat would be a cupcake. With paper.

\t“Gahh. Gross. Why did you make me do that?” She growled glaring sidelong at the snickering bear as he just shrugged and leaned back in his seat. “Fack. I’ll just wait for my burger.” she muttered. Her fingers still fidgeting with the silvery plates that hung from the display tray sitting between them.” You know, this proly would have worked better with Bri.” She growled absently.

\t“Oh yeah?” The bear smiled a bit

\t“Yeah. Sitting here across from you, hanging on your every word while you give her all the info on every one of these lil snacks. Trying to impress you by ordering the fanciest sounding thing on the menu.”

\t“I really want to say you’re wrong.” Sean laughed. “Though you know at the very least she’d probably be a bit sweeter to the staff.”

\t“She’d apologize to them until they got fed up and yelled.” Kanina smirked “Last time we went out for noodles a beggar girl actually got fed up with her asking twenty questions when we decided to buy the poor thing a meal. I swear to Woz it’s a damn compulsion with her.”

\t“She has her quirks.” Sean agreed slowly “But she means well. Can’t fault her for that now can we?”

\t“All depends on what that gets her stuck into.” Kanina sighed heavily and let her eyes slip shut. Her ears lopping down with only the occasional minor twitch. Her body finally sprang to life when the server came back with a comically large serving tray. Kanina managing to slip the snack stand that had been on the center of the t able far enough out of the way that the blushing maid could slip it down and place the two orders without any serious problems.

\tSean chuckled and tugged the salmon closer to himself, giving the raccoon boy a firm squeeze and swat on the rump in approval before turning his bright blue eyes back to Kanina. “Showoff.” He chuckled.

\t“Still getting used to these augs. Well, re-used to them.” She muttered “You know it’s bad enough trying to adapt to Savvy’s work. The slag your docs did to me while I was out.”

\t“You mean drag a small cars worth of knockoff augs out of your body? Or slip in something that won’t see you crippled at forty?”

\t“They hadn’t even settled in yet.” Kanina grumbled as she scratched the back of her jack. The placeholder plate still feeling far too awkward. Too clean and sterile for her touch as she ran her finger along the rim hesitantly.

\t“Good.” Sean snorted “Probably why they were able to get so much of that junk dug out. I don’t know who was giving you those upgrades but he might want to check in to his suppliers before he gets someone killed.”

\t“Yeah, well at least I actually asked him to put it in me.” She scoffed “I didn’t wake up with two weeks of my life gone and an overhaul I wasn’t prepped for.”

\t“let’s not get into this.” Sean muttered as he cut though the printed flank of fish, Slowly sopping up some of the honey drizzle and a few of the almond slices with the protruding char of the flesh. “We promised Bri we’d try to get along. No sense beating this into the ground right now.”

\tKanina bit hard into her burger and nodded. Her bucked front teeth tearing a huge chunk through bun, cheese and meat with only the barest hit of resistance. She glanced down at her drink a moment and picked it up part way, then set it back down and focused on swallowing the overlarge mouthful. “Yeah, sure. Fine. I don’t’ see why it matters though. Not like you mind keeping slag from her.”

\t“Excuse me?” Sean blinked and titled his head a bit.

\t“Sorry. Prolly crossed a line.” The bunny muttered as she slipped a few fries into a small reservoir of sauce and munched them slowly.

\t“No, no this one I think I need to hear.” Sean grumbled

\tHis words made the poor rabbit wince. She took even longer with the fries than she had the bite of burger. Using the chewing as an excuse until the flecks of printed potato flavored goodness were nothing more than stray particles bouncing around in the corner of her cheek. “Look, I’m a bit on edge. I admit that. But far as I can tell you still haven’t told Bri everything you’ve done for her.”

\t“Like what?” Sean’s tone was far more calm, but still held a slightly resentful edge to it. The bear shifting side to side.

\t“Well for one you could tell her about how you bought off her parents’ apartment. It might be nice of her to know that. I mean it’s not like it’s a dick move or anything. Why keep it a secret?”

\t“Of course I didn’t tell her how I set her parents up. I don’t want her to go back and feel like I’m just bribing her affections again. I told them to tell her when they feel it’s right, so I’m not lying. Mostly. I’m just not ready to brag about it. I mean I almost was.”

\t“Yeah. I kinda facked that one up, huh?” Kanina sighed sipping a handful of fries into her mouth.

\t“No. That wannabe mob boss fucked it up. You made sure he didn’t get away.”

\t“Hooray me.” She sighed as she slumped her shoulders a bit harder.

\tSean growled a bit and sipped his bottle of pop, gazing at the girl for a long moment as he fought for the words he wanted to speak. “Look, the trust issues she has with me are my deal. That’s all on me. But so long as she has them I gotta figure out how to deal with it. You think she can handle it without feeling like her life is being bought for her or being pissed off be my guest. You know her better than I do.”

\tThe bunny shook her head and leaned back in the chair. Her foot snagging the table and keeping the curved and chipped stainless-finished thing from falling over by mere newtons of force. “That’s where you’re wrong, big bear. I got so freaked out about keeping her in my life I kinda let things go full slag. Splicing Seb doesn’t fix that. Kinda wish I could say it at least felt good.”

\t“It didn’t’?” He asked.

\t“You ever kill someone before? I mean directly.” Kanina muttered

\tSean nodded softly and let his eyes slip shut. “Once. About a decade ago.” He glanced at the bunny as she leaned forward glaring expectantly at him. He could see her tail waggling and ears perking. “Oh no. You gotta get me good and drunk before I tell you that one.”

\t“Oh come on.” Kanina growled. “You owe me.”

\t“For what?” Sean growled back.

\t“Well for that thing with my mom, for one.”

\tHe rolled his eyes and sighed. “Thing with your mom. You mean giving her enough cash to get her out of that job? To move up in the world?”

\t“Yes. No. I mean, Gahh. Ok fine then why are Bri’s folks still living down in the Class 3 slums?”

\t“Because she’s comfortable with it. I’m not going to rip her out of her childhood home while she’s still healing. Especially not after what those Yaldsons did to her.”

\t“Which ones? The cops? Or the goons Seb hired?”

\t“Both.”

\t“Yeah. What ever happened to those cops anyways?” Kanina asked as she titled her head. “They weren’t… that wasn’t the time that you…”

\tSean snarled and shook his head. “I let my little sister handle it.”

\t“Your sister? Like the crazy lady who shows up in all the military ads?”

\t“No, the other one. And for your sake it’s best if you just don’t talk about her.” He muttered, looking around the mall. “Just trust me. It’s a lot easier that way.”

\t“Whatever.” She sighed “Look, I really don’t care about you, or your family, or the company for that matter. The tree doesn’t exactly do us ‘little people’ any favors.”

\t“Yeah I know.” Sean sighed.

\tKanina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes a bit. Her blood running cold as a little twitch shuddered though her limbs. “No, no I don’t think you do know.” The bunny growled.

\t“That so?” Sean asked. His own muzzle furrowing a bit. “Mind telling me what exactly I’m missing, then?”

\t“… nothing.” She muttered. Kanina slipping back into her seat and glancing down at the mostly finished burger.

\t“No, no I think it’s something.” Sean titled his head and leaned in a bit closer. “You got something to say to me, then go ahead and say it. I’m a big boy. Try me.”

\tA long silence passed between the two. Kanina passed a short glance to some of the nervous looking maid bois standing close by and trying to remain prim and proper. Her eyes barely shifting back now and then as she visibly chewed on her rage. “Ok, fine. You want the truth? Here’s a start. Why the fack are there class 3 citizens?”

\t“I’m sorry, What?” Sean blinked

\t“Class 3s. You got people working their asses off down in the Class 3 slums for basically nothing. I mean sure, most of them don’t really know better. But I’ve done runs around here. I know the score. You got people working on their feet for seventy hours a week or more in hard, pointless, mindless jobs that a drone could do.”

\t“Look, I-”

\t“and it’s not like you can’t automate that slag. We both know better than that. Hell most class 2s think that their little 3 or 4 day work weeks are a chore, and half their jobs are just jerking each other off. That snooty bitch who ‘made’ that dress or whatever she did. Hell she didn’t even do anything. Just acted like she’s better than me. How much you wanna bet she could buy someone like me or Bri outright.. Like, not even think much about it. Just ‘oh I guess I’ll have to dip into the entertainment budget’” The bunny girl warbled the words out in her best impression of the saleswoman. Something that came off with far too much snoot and whine.

\t“Probably pretty good. Probably real good.” Sean growled.

\t“Exactly!” Kanina barked “And you heard what that woman said. Talking about the damn rags you made me get like, like it was some kind of honor? As far as she knew I should be happy to play dressup doll. Fack as far as she knew you were only marginally more well off than her. Everyone like her has one or two slaves and she thinks they’re better off than us lowly Class 3 trash. And she’s kinda right!” The girl snatched up her drink and downed the rest of the Aether with a determined glair on her face. Glowing blue drops of pop hanging from her lips. “You seriously going to tell me you think Bri could get something like this working whatever cheap factory job a girl like her would have ended up with?”

\tSean rolled his holders and gritted his hands together before him, those piercing blue eyes fixed on Kanina as he stewed in growing frustration. “No, I don’t. In fact I know she can’t. It cost more than her parents’ apartment. In fact it cost more than the last little job you pulled before your gang went all sideways on you.”

\t“How’d you know about that?” She yipped.

\t“Oh come on. You think I wasn’t going to keep an eye on what you were running? You may not be like them, Kani, but Tyr knows you handed out a lot of candy to a lot of punk ass class 2 teens.”

\t“It’s how you get by.” She shrugged “They wanted tow waste the jink on it, that’s between them and their mommies and daddies. Besides it’s not like I was throwing out Novawoad or getting kids hooked on the Laud.”

\t“You weren’t, maybe.” Sean muttered.

\t“Yeah then why were you bringing it up?” Kanina snapped

\t“Because you’re trying to drag me in on all of this.” Sean barked back. His cool calm snapping as he gripped the table. “You think I like it? You think being a Jarl means I get to do whatever I want? It’s a bullshit title. You think my stock means jack? There are hundreds of companies tied to the great tree. They decide to fuck us over and we’d be kneecapped in a week. Not to mention Oversight. They answer to only one person and she’s up in that spire right now dealing with Gods know what. You want to go up and have this conversation with her? Because I’m sure you’ll make an impression.”

\t“So what, it’s just totally fine to go ahead and let people suffer and starve? You gonna go up to the next tram out to the outer ring and tell them that? ‘oh hey, sorry people. I know we’re sending you to a slow painful death cause you can’t keep up on your rent. It’s just cheaper than making you into literal sex dolls for your betters.”

\t“It is cheaper.” Sean snapped “Hel’s name that’s the only reason we have class 3s to start with! Don’t you get it? Our whole gods damned society is built on it. You get slaves, you have to at least meet some standards if you don’t want to get arrested. You have class 3s? If they get fucked over it’s on them. Been that way from the start. Not that most of em are better than what’s out there waiting for the classless.”

\t“How do you know?” Kanina snapped, tears in her eyes.

\t“I’ve had to watch what those… fucking freaks do to their slaves.” He bellowed

\t“And I had to grow up in that nightmare!” Kanina snapped. “You know what? Fack it. Fack it, and fack you. This whole thing has been a Woz damn waste of time.”

\t“Finally, we can agree on something.” Sean growled.

\t“Good. Then take me home. Tired of trying to make nice with a slumming rich boy.”

\t“Fine.”

\t“Fine.”

\t“Fine!”

--------------------

\tThe room was deathly quiet. It had been for at least the past hour. A single, simple blue light at the far corner providing the only illumination in the small windowless space. The two looked at each other. Each one half hidden under the thick furs and cheap faux satins resting on the bed. A heavy yet not entirely unpleasant pain jolting though her with every little movement.

\tKanina looked over at the nude grizzly. Watching him still staring at the blank wall facing the foot of the bed.

\t“Oh, Woz damn it…”

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