In Tykhe's Grasp
Chapter 16: Preparations
by time_to_occur
Tags:
#dubious_consent
#m/m
#m/nb
#multiple_partners
#ownership_dynamics
#scifi
#3rd_person
#ownership
Consent is paramount in real life. I do not condone non-consensual acts.
Title: Preparations
Synopsis: Seth informs Jasper about Nova and Julian's capture. Jasper discovers that Aristotle is preparing to auction them off. Nova gets indoctrinated as a pet. Orion becomes a new ally to the Sweetmeadows.
---
Rhys's last words echoed in Jasper's mind as his face immediately became carefully neutral.
'Anthix Sweetmeadow called. Do you know why someone named Seth would urgently need to speak with you?'
It was a survival mechanism. On a job, how Autolycus reacted to a stressful situation could mean the difference between freedom, imprisonment, and possibly death. When Rhys said Seth's name and that it was urgent, Jasper shut down.
His thoughts a maelstrom, Jasper said the first thing that came to mind, close to the truth, as he pulled up his pants. "A family member. We're...estranged."
To Rhys's attentive eye, Jasper's sudden shift in expression seemed out of place. "I... see." He eyed his pet carefully. "Is there anything I should be aware of? Or perhaps concerned about?"
Trying not to let his eyes shift, Jasper shook his head. "Well, I haven't spoken with him yet, so I can't say."
"Then I would assume you do in fact wish to speak to them." Rhys was confident that Jasper wasn't telling the whole truth. Surely he would have some idea of why this family member might reach out. "A secure link was provided. Shall I set up a call in your new office?"
"Yes, please, Rhys," said Jasper, his hand rubbing at Rhys's forearm in a way that suddenly felt manipulative instead of just loving. He hated that feeling. Quietly, he followed Rhys into the office, wondering what Seth wanted. Maybe to convince him to come back to the slums? But why was Seth openly associating with Anthix Sweetmeadow? When his old crew had arrived in the gardens, he had assumed that they had managed to sneak in somehow, but clearly something else was going on.
Not wanting to upset his pet more than needed, Rhys simply smoothed out Jasper's shirt collar and moved back inside. "Come, pet," was all the Coin said, though he wanted to tell Jasper so much more. His pet's reaction was guarded, but that shouldn't be necessary with his Owner. Rhys hoped this was all just old habits, and that Jasper would come around to revealing his concerns. Whatever it was, he wanted to be there for his pet.
Was there any way that contacting Jasper through Rhys by way of Anthix could be a ploy of some kind? Jasper's old associates were unscrupulous if that Iskios was anything to judge by. Jasper himself might also be more devious than Rhys cared to entertain.
No. Rhys felt that he could trust Jasper implicitly. The Coin would follow his instincts, even if his anxieties disagreed and worked to plant seeds of doubt.
Rhys placed his palm on a biometric panel just inside the door, and the ceiling lamps quickly brightened to a comfortable intensity, and the computer came to life with a gentle tri-tone.
"AthenAI, import all my contacts into your database and adopt Jasper, biometric scans forthcoming, as your new Primary Administrator. Designation: Director Jasper. Once completed, complete a call using the details I've just forwarded to you."
When the call picked up, it was audio-only, though Jasper's desk was fully equipped for holo-emission and even full-dive VR.
"Are you alone?" Seth's tone was even and sombre.
"Hey. Yeah. Yeah, I am," replied Jasper awkwardly. "Are you okay?"
Seth took a deep breath. "I am, yes," he said. "There is something you need to know, though. How long do you have to talk?"
Jasper felt a tightness in his chest at the unspoken admission that someone wasn't okay. He swallowed hard. "As long as we need. Rhys will understand. What's wrong? And how do you know Anthix Sweetmeadow?"
"We'll get to the Sweetmeadows," Seth said. He felt himself getting agitated from even having this conversation. Seth decided to just get it out already. "You need to know that after we last spoke, you hadn't convinced us that nothing is wrong, so we tried to get proof. We went back to the lab. It didn't go well."
Jasper's stomach dropped with a flash of horror and fear. He wanted to be angry at Seth for insisting that he was being somehow coerced into this beyond the initial deal that he had made to keep his freedom, that he didn't know his own mind or feelings. More than that, he was afraid for his friends, especially since they were having this call.
"I didn't ask you for that, but what's done is done. I'm grateful you care. Now what happened and how can I possibly help?"
It felt strange, speaking to Seth like this at a remove, to not be intimately involved in every detail of whatever plan he had. To not know why he was hanging out with a fashion designer and possibly their meathead brother that Jasper had socked in the jaw. To not know whether everyone in his old crew was even still alive.
"Nova, Julian, and Iskios went in the night of the opening ceremony," Seth continued. "Tykhe must have been leaning pretty heavy on the rudder. They were spotted after a brownout fucked the locks. Nova and Julian got caught."
Jasper let out a heavy gust of breath. "Fuck me, that's awful. Where are they now?"
"That's the thing. They are still at the lab." The hacker let that statement sink in. "No arrest. No hospital visit for bumps and bruises. The break-in wasn't communicated to the staff. Nothing. I can't think of any likely or reasonable explanation for that. Can you?"
It wasn't hard to read the dig in that last comment. Seth thought Jasper was a fool who didn't understand that he was being used or coerced into loving Coin dick or something like that. Jasper made up his mind to let it roll off his back and focus on getting Julian and Nova back. "No, nothing comes to mind. Bad luck that they both got caught."
"Yeah, that's what I said." Seth wasn't sure he had Adrien's full attention, but that might've been because he still hadn't answered Adrien's questions. Seth supposed they were reasonable. Fine. That made sense. Hopefully, there was enough of his old friend left in this new creature that Seth could trust him. "About the twins, they came looking for us. One of them started dropping hints in the right places that they wanted to talk to your old friends. It didn't take me long to track them down."
What Seth left unsaid was all of the hours of pain and frustration that it had taken to find traces of Adrien. This account made it sound smooth, effortless.
"We looked into them, of course, especially what happened with your...employer's old pet, Marin. Then we ran one of them through an interview of sorts." Seth remembered the moment that he had decided that Anthix was a worthy ally and how different they had been from what he had been expecting from a Coin fashion designer. Instead of a vapid, self-centred asshole, they were attentive, creative, kind. "They didn't seem like total dirtbags, so we explained our worries to them. They had similar concerns — that one of the two of you was being used by the other — so we worked with them so we could check into your...lifestyle change."
It was strange to hear Seth use these euphemisms, but Jasper appreciated that he was trying to stay polite and not bring the obvious subtext to the fore. "Right. That tracks with what I've observed of them. Maybe not Calix, but I'm willing to believe that we didn't make the best first impression on each other. So then, I guess since Rhys is close to Aristotle Brandywine, you want me to feel things out a little if I can? Keep my ears and eyes open?"
The habits from planning well over a hundred jobs together were easy to slip back into; Seth found himself nodding as if Adrien were still sitting beside him. "That's right. We'll let you know when we find something, and now that you know how to contact us, you can do the same. Oh, and don't tell Fairmount about this. Not until we can be sure he isn't involved."
"Right," said Jasper, feeling the ache of the gulf between them. He could not be there for Seth in the same way that he once had and not just because of the physical distance. "I'll do whatever I can to help. Uh...be careful. You can't help them if you get nabbed, too. Take care of yourself, Seth."
By the time they hung up the call, Jasper's throat was constricted as he held back a strange species of grief that he wasn't sure that he could stop if he let it start overtaking him now.
---
What woke Nova up was the too-bright artificial lighting penetrating his eyelids. His body was fully supported in a reclined position and he felt oddly boneless. Donovan Fullbright's tension was the scaffolding that held him up. Without it, it felt as though he was just a floating consciousness.
His arm drifted up to his forehead, where he rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to shake himself loose from the lethargy that gripped his limbs. Opening his eyes painfully to the brightness, Nova realized that he had no idea where he was.
A large, elegant-looking machine of ceramic and metal towered over his body. It was clear that the chair he was reclining in was meant to interface with it. Beyond the machine was a sterile-looking space with matte metal panels on the walls. One wall had large one-way observation windows cut into it at waist height. The ceiling was high, at least twelve feet, and filled with a cloud-like material that glowed with shifting colours from within.
The source of the bright light that made him hate life was on the machine itself. It was obviously meant to mimic natural light, maybe the morning sun or something like that. With a groan, he flung his forearm over his eyes and closed them again.
"Nova, it's time to leave this training room," said a voice over some hidden speakers in his headset. "It looks like you're having a hard time, so I'll come in and help you."
Nova froze at the sudden sound. After a heartbeat, his years of working dangerous jobs pulled him out of it. The voice clearly knew Nova, even if Nova didn't recognize them. Strangely, that didn't worry him as much as it should.
The doors slid open with a pneumatic hiss. Nova's head pivoted to watch as a bulky man with brown skin and silvery grey hair strode in. His hair was shaven along the sides, with two thick braids along the edge of the remaining strip of the mane atop his skull.
Moments later, the Coin, for that was clearly what he was, moved to place an arm underneath Nova's. Nova held up a hand to stop him, locking eyes with the stranger. "Who are you and where am I?"
The Coin made a show of tilting his head in confusion before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, your memory! I'm Chiron, your recovery specialist. You're at the Brandywine Institute's Trauma Recovery Labs. In exchange for your treatment, you are contributing to the future of trauma recovery medicine."
"We've met before?" said Nova cautiously. He searched his memory, but the last thing he could recall was Jewel's smiling face as they ate at a noodle bar together. Jewel had just signed a contract with some bigshot Coin.
"Yes, I've been helping you since you arrived here a few weeks ago. You had an accident, Nova. Here, let me help you up so we can get you some food and water," said Chiron gently, offering Nova a hand.
Nova ignored Chiron's arm and stood. The hard tile was unexpectedly warm under his feet. Looking down, Nova noticed he was wearing a skin-tight haptic feedback suit that insulated him from the floor and covered him up to the jawline. Assuming that they had to leave the room by the doors, Nova walked toward them, feeling out his body for any discomfort or injuries. With no pain or stiffness, it was hard to believe that he had been in an accident. Maybe it wasn't recent. Or maybe a Coin was lying, a phenomenon as natural as the dawn approaching with rosy fingers.
Not reacting to Nova brushing him off, Chiron kept pace beside him. "Hey, your sense of balance is back. You're recovering so well!" the Coin said encouragingly. "Good! That means we can use a wider array of training programs."
"Can't really afford to be indebted to Coins. Nothing's free," said Nova firmly, pulling away the edge of the suit from his throat, where it had started to feel constricting. "Thank you for what you've done so far, even if I can't remember very much of it. It's time for me to be getting home."
Chiron shook his head and let out an exasperated laugh. "Oh, not this again. Jewel and I keep going over this with you. There is no debt for you to pay here." He placed a comforting hand on Nova's shoulder. "You owe no one. Coins owe you. It's a contract."
Nova usually would have shoved the hand away, but something felt different about Chiron's casual touch. He looked at the Coin sidelong, trying to read his face. A contract? He decided to go with it for now. "All right, boss. And when does this contract end? Is it deliverables-based? One well patient who no longer has memory issues?"
"Well, the medical contract has a long tail since we'll want to keep following you, but that's not where the money is. The auction contract is your meal ticket, so long as you don't get cold feet," Chiron answered, pushing his shoulder playfully. The Recovery Specialist considered that for a moment before whipping his holographic datapad out of his breast pocket and taking a quick note. "This is a new reaction to this conversation. Trepidation could be a sign of neural repair and regrowth."
There was enough new information to parse in what Chiron had said that Nova found himself having to literally stop to think it through. One, he had apparently agreed to partake in some auction. Two, Chiron had implied that this wasn't the first time they were having this conversation. Three, he remembered none of it. He tried to keep his voice carefully neutral. "Tell me more about this auction. What are the expectations and duties of the contract?"
Chiron didn't even lift his eyes from his datapad at first. "Because of your experience in security, I would expect it to include physical protection, as well as the standard domestic and sexual companionship. Your particular skillset is a big part of your appeal as a pet, after all."
Nova seldom blushed, but the colour rose in his cheeks now. Half-formed memories of making out with his employers and attendees at events that he had run security for came to the fore. They didn't quite feel right; there was a deeper core that rejected the idea. But then, he couldn't deny that the prospect of becoming a pet also excited him. "That sounds more in Jewel's line. Me, a pet?"
"Are you sure about that? Jewel told me a different story," said Chiron, cocking a cheeky eyebrow at Nova. "He said that you talked about how worry-free and pleasurable a pet's life must be on the few occasions you drank together heavily."
Nova laughed, hiding his doubt. "You've met Jewel. He's hardly a reliable source. Can't believe he told you that shit."
As Chiron pushed open a nearby door, he turned to pass through it rather than cause pointless trouble. Inside was a small, well-decorated dining room with an impersonal style that marked it as belonging to an institute. There was already food on the table. When Nova saw what it was, the skin on the back of his neck pricked. It was one of his favourites, balanoi noodles with cheese and onion opson, a staple of slum kitchens. It was not something you'd see in a Coin neighbourhood unless it was some kind of quaint fusion dish.
"What's wrong?" Chiron asked, stopping beside Nova and crossing his arms with a look of amusement. "You look like you've seen a shade."
"I gather you've asked me about foods that I like in the past," said Nova. It was getting easier to believe what Chiron had been implying about his memory and recovery. "It was just a bit of a shock to see balanoi noodles outside of the slums."
Chiron shrugged and moved to sit at the table across from the plate. "Yes, well, it's not to my taste, but I understand the rest of the staff like it. Well, come on then. Eat up."
Sitting heavily, Nova pushed the noodles across the bowl, letting the smell drift up toward him. Chiron, meanwhile, fidgeted with his datapad, looking up at Nova from time to time to make sure he seemed all right.
As Nova ate, he watched Chiron carefully, trying to get a better read on him. Chiron was clearly self-assured and knew a lot about Nova. He bordered on condescending, but then, that was a common trait for Coins.
There was one question that Nova couldn't get out of his head. Between bites, he met Chiron's gaze and put down his fork. "I need to know. Did I sign the auction contract already?"
"Oh, no, of course not," Chiron quickly answered, waving the thought away with his free hand. "We wouldn't dream of asking you to sign something like that before you had recovered. You seem ready now, so you can sign it whenever you're ready."
Nova nodded, pushing away the bowl. "You know, I really don't think this is for me. Like you said, I'm pretty well recovered, and I don't want to be auctioned off like a piece of meat, so you can prepare the discharge papers."
"That's what you said the last few times, too. You're nothing if not consistent, Donavan Fullbright," said Chiron with a sigh. He put the datapad down and turned to face Nova directly. "Listen closely now, Nova: sigma-nu-psi."
Nova slumped in the designer cafeteria chair, his eyelids fluttering, as an enormous sense of weakness overcame him, like a lead weight pressing down on all of his limbs. Finally, his eyelids closed and stayed that way. Two large men entered the cafeteria to carry his limp body back into Project Mnemosyne's embrace.
"We'll try again tomorrow," murmured Chiron, frowning.
---
Merit was nuzzled up to Jasper's back, stroking his fingers through the pet thief's soft brown hair. His movements were slow and soothing. His cock was nestled between Jasper's thighs, but his hips were still. "Your hair is so much silkier than it used to be, Jas."
The pair of them were cuddling on a large round cushion in the centre of the room, their respective owners reclined around the rim of the room in padded chairs, talking and laughing. Aristotle was showing Rhys something on a large projection on the wall at an angle that neither Merit nor Jasper could see.
Jasper sighed softly. Despite the situation with Nova and Julian's capture, he was more content than he had been in a long, long time. "What can I say? You Skyfolk have very fancy shampoo." He softly dragged his fingertips along the arm that Merit had draped over Jasper's side.
His first impression of Merit during the Golden Lattice Ceremony had been that he was more of a Hercules than an Odysseus. That impression had only grown in the time that they had spent together since. Merit was good-natured but prone to inattentive mistakes and very, very easy to tease, much to Chalcedony's frequent delight. Yet, there was a kindness and loyalty in him that was endlessly appealing. Jasper loved to watch Chal and Merit together. Being alone with him now was different — now he was the sole focus of all that care and energy.
"Skyfolk! That's a funny thing to call us, like we were some mythic people," laughed Merit.
It was strange to think that Merit had more in common with the Coins than he did with other pets. Jasper had heard what Aristotle and Chalcedony playfully called him — "counterfeit coin", "obol", and more — and he had asked Rhys about it one day. Rhys had explained that one of Merit's parents was a Coin while the other was that same Coin's pet. They had fallen in love and (ill-advisedly) decided to have a child in the "natural" way. Merit had been the result. His Coin parent already had an heir, so, he wouldn't inherit much. Instead, he had been raised as a unique pet. Aristotle liked to collect unique things.
"Are you excited for next month, Jas? I can't wait! Even Swan's in the catalogue!" said Merit in sudden excitement, remembering to pull his head away so that he wasn't shouting in Jasper's ear.
Jasper turned his head toward the excitable pet. "Next month? I haven't heard about any catalogue. Is there a fashion event going on or something?" Before Rhys, Jasper used to look at high fashion as indulgent and maybe a bit pretentious, but after meeting Anthix Sweetmeadow he was starting to understand how it could be used for artistic expression.
"Well, I mean, I'm sure they won't be naked on the auction stage," said Merit with a grin. "Swan's only being put up for a week of use, but you should see the other guys in the catalogue that you can take home for good. You should totally get Rhys to get you a friend. It must be so lonely being the only pet around at home!"
The back of Jasper's neck prickled. "Aristotle's hosting an auction."
"Yeah, that's what I said! I was sure he would have sent out the invitation and catalogue by now...Oops. I guess the cat's out of the bag now," laughed Merit, rubbing the back of his ginger hair awkwardly.
"...that's alright, I won't tell anyone. Tell me more about the guys in the catalogue. Do you remember the names of any of the hottest ones?" said Jasper cagily. He could feel his heart pounding. For the first time in months, Merit's words snapped Jasper completely out of his pet persona, and he was once again Autolycus, Adrien, a thief from the slums with a deep animosity toward the Coins, and one Coin in particular. 'I swear, if that fucker is selling them off...' Adrien didn't even want to finish that thought. What could he do about it?
Adrien took a mental step back and steeled himself. He remembered his friends. 'Whatever it takes.'
---
Seth leaned forward with his VR headset blinking, his knuckles white around the edge of the table in the real world. The hacker could barely contain himself as he listened to the call.
"...Okay, I have to go. Rhys is coming. I'll let you know if I find out anything else," said Adrien on the other end of the line before hanging up.
Pulling himself away from the table, Seth turned to the others. Iskios was pacing the length of the room, fuming, while their hosts sat together on a couch. Marin sat in Calix's lap, their legs crossed and tucked beneath them while they held Anthix's hand pulled toward them, resting it against their thigh. Calix's arms were wrapped around Marin's waist while Anthix leaned in close, reassuring them that they would find a way to help.
"So how do we stop this?" asked Iskios sharply, looking between the two Coins and Seth. He kept moving, fists clenched. "We have to fuck this up somehow. They're going to be sold like...like livestock!"
Calix opened his mouth to explain that pets usually volunteered to be auctioned and got a large cut of the winning bid, but decided better. Rather than defending the practice, he shook his head as he spoke. "Well, if we want to figure out how to do that, we need to get someone close to the action to feed us information. If we don't already have someone, we manoeuvre someone into place."
Slightly taken aback, Seth looked at Calix. A Coin had voiced the idea of sending in a plant before the trained thieves did. Not too shabby. Seth took a deep breath to steady himself. "Agreed," he said, calmer. "But we need someone else. It's too soon after the lab clusterfuck for it to be Iskios, and it's not in my skill set. Iskios, you know someone we can trust?"
Iskios glanced over at Marin. He knew from their conversations that they were tougher than they seemed, but he doubted that the twins would let them volunteer for this. He thought carefully for a moment before shaking his head. "No one that I'd be willing to put in the situation who could also pull it off."
They needed someone who understood the games that Coins and their pets played. Calix knew that. But it was hard to think of someone like that who didn't also play those games themselves. They needed someone observant who would share their convictions. They needed someone who would keep their secrets.
Marin's familiar weight in Calix's lap reminded him of someone else who just might fit the bill.
"I know who we can ask," Calix offered. He glanced briefly at Anthix and Marin before looking back to the thieves. "I think I know how to get them in, too."
While the thieves looked askance between Anthix and Calix, Anthix brought their hands to their chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. Then, in that strange way that twins have of seeming to read each other's minds, Anthix nodded and spoke. "Orion is known to keep secrets. A gossip could never have built what they have as the trusted, independent companion to the most important Coins. Yes, I think he's the perfect person to ask."
"You mean that pet who always releases his own nudes during the Dionysia festivals?" Iskios arched an eyebrow.
Seth blinked at Iskios. "Wait, Orion is a person? I see that name on event budgets all the time — I thought it was a specialized equipment rental company or something."
Calix laughed loudly at the confusion. "Oh, Orion is nothing like that. He's sort of a freelance pet. Incredibly popular and highly sought after."
"It's a bit graceless to call it a payment, but they get so many invitations and they can't accept all of them, so it's common to pay them an...offering or a gift," laughed Anthix. "We all do it. Having him at a party is a mark of prestige, and he more than delivers on the promise of his presence."
'Of course they hire a pet just so they can pass them around like wine,' Seth had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. 'Fucking Coins.' "Okay, then, let's say we do get Orion onboard. What's your idea for getting them behind the scenes at the auction, Calix?"
"We ask him to sign up to be auctioned," said Calix brightly.
---
The slick, dark pink tongue moved up and down the length of the handsomely engineered shaft with a single-minded focus and perfect timing. There was a whole-body athleticism to how the pet beneath the desk moved, a grace that one would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The soft groans from above encouraged the pet to cast his eyes upward to look at his Owner, his Kyrios, and watch how he enjoyed his mouth.
"Oh, my dear little Swan, how well you perform for me..." murmured Aristotle, reaching a hand down and running it through Swan's hair. Above the desk, he was working on an elaborate invitation, words flitting from his eye implant onto the holo-screen so that he could see how it would look when others received it.
Swan cooed softly at his Owner's touch, leaning into it for just a second or two before bringing his focus back to the perfection that he was servicing. He rose up higher on his knees and tilted the cock towards him, allowing him to comfortably slip his lips around the head and slowly take it in.
As the cockhead made its way to the back of Swan's throat, the pet undulated his lips and tongue, just enough to keep it firm and ready, like a good cockwarmer should. Swan enjoyed the sensation of the firm tip of Aristotle's cock rubbing gently along the ridges of the roof of his mouth, mostly because he knew that his Owner was likely enjoying the texture so much more. The incredible sensitivity of the Coin cock let the man feel the details of Swan's warm mouth almost as if the organ were a fingertip.
Aristotle's face relaxed into pleasure. The auction invitation was nearly complete. The catalogue was just missing a few last details, like — "Swan, my darling dancer, that reminds me. How long do you want to be auctioned off for? Does a week still suit you, dear one?"
As Swan was about to reply, an alert on Aristotle's implant told him that he had a call waiting for him from none other than Orion. He pulled his cock out and laid it across Swan's lips like a shushing finger. "Just a moment, sweeting, I've got to take a call. Take a moment to think about it."
Then, Aristotle pushed his cock back into Swan's throat. "Orion! What a lovely surprise. I hope that you're well."
"Yes, I'm well," Orion responded. His quiet confidence and charm were as unwavering as ever, despite the grave possibilities that the Sweetmeadow twins had described to him and which had led to this call. "But I worry I'm being left out, my platinum-maned friend! Do you have a moment?"
"For the famed Orion? Why, I'm grateful I merit your time. What can I do for you?" Aristotle laughed politely and pulled back from Swan's mouth before thrusting forward again. Swan made a soft 'hrk' of surprise but then reapplied himself to his task.
Orion spoke in a playful hushed tone, "I heard through the grapevine that you are planning on some sort of philanthropic auction. That wouldn't happen to be true, would it?"
"Has news of my little evening already leaked, then? There are truly eyes and ears everywhere," said Aristotle, his voice light. He wondered briefly who had told Orion. It was probably someone on the university research team. 'Well, no harm done...'
Aristotle straightened up in his chair. Time to find out what Orion wanted. "Yes, I'm hosting a pet auction in a few weeks' time. So far, it's a limited roster of five pets."
"Gasp! So few?" Orion said in mock surprise. "Well, since this is a charity event, I'll help you out. Let's see what I sell for these days."
A sudden rush of silky pre-cum splashed into the back of Swan's throat, making his eyes go wide. He swallowed, drawing the hot, delicious stuff further into his mouth, loving the sensation as it swirled around. Orion excited Aristotle just as much as they did everyone else. Though Swan hated to share the spotlight, at least it was with the Orion.
'Now, this is interesting...' Aristotle paused briefly to thrust into Swan's mouth. "The Orion, offering himself for my charity auction? Truly, the gods must favour me. What can I do but graciously accept?"
---
Nova passively slurped up the last of the balanoi noodles in the sterile research lab kitchen as Chiron prepared the pet auction contract for his signature. Though Nova couldn't remember much about his recovery, he felt strangely trusting of Chiron.
Chiron had been the first face he had seen when he woke up that day and when Nova had seen him, it had stirred something in his stomach that felt an awful lot like infatuation. He told himself that Chiron was his recovery specialist and that it wasn't unheard of for patients and caretakers to develop these kinds of temporary feelings. Anyway, the upshot was that when Chiron explained the situation, Nova believed him.
Breaking Nova down had taken longer than expected, but it had been inevitable. Chiron was just so glad to finally see results. The researcher pretended to draw up the contract that had been ready for days. It was the last step in this farce before they moved on with Nova's pet training in earnest. Chiron only hoped that the other researchers and trainers were still making some progress with Jewel.
"I'm so happy for you," the Coin said. "Not only do you finally get to become a pet, but you get to be introduced at such a prestigious event!"
"I just hope that I've got what it takes and that someone will take pity on me and buy my contract." Uncharacteristically, Nova found himself beaming at Chiron as he put down his fork and pushed the metal bowl away. "So it's all ready to sign?"
With a flick of his wrist, Chiron turned on his datapad's projector and tossed it onto the table. "Just finished it." Chiron handed Nova a stylus as the semi-solid hologram appeared in the air between them. "Take your time, and sign it whenever you are ready."
"Oh, believe me, Chiron. I'm ready. Thank you!" said Nova, but even as he said the words, an unsettling feeling lodged itself in his stomach. Thinking that it must be the noodles and maybe the remnants of the concussive injury he had experienced, Nova turned his attention back to the contract. And though his mind was addled, he did read it through. Then, he signed it with steady, simple lines and pressed his thumb to the hologram for it to be scanned. "Well, that's done. What comes next?"
Chiron picked up the stylus and datapad, then sent the contract out to the university's legal department. "Now we get you more training," the recovery specialist said cheerily. He couldn't wait to hear Aristotle's reaction to finally having Nova onboard. As far as Chiron was concerned, this was proof that the Mnemosyne worked as intended. "We need to get started if we want to be sure you present yourself well at the auction."
Nova raised a hand to the back of his head and rubbed at it, as though he'd be able to find the spot where he'd gotten hit. "Okay. Let's get started, then."
With that, Nova found himself following after Chiron down an unfamiliar hallway and into a room with a wall of mirrors and different bars installed at different heights.
"Is this a dance studio?" Nova padded around, still in the thin VR suit that he had left the virtual recovery machine wearing.
"I suppose you could look at it like that," Chiron conceded. "It's a VR suite that doubles as a space for various types of physical therapy and training. Especially dance therapy. We won't use the VR capabilities for now," The Coin continued towards the center of the room while he gestured at the mirrors. "Let's figure out exactly how you will be showing the goods to prospective Owners."
Taking a moment to look the new pet up and down, Chiron considered what might be the best thing to 'break the ice' for Nova. "Let's just start with poses in no particular order. We can choose the ones we like and order them afterwards."
Nova's build was more functional than the average pet. Buff in a way that was not for show. Under most clothes, it would be subtle enough to not even be noticeable. In fact, it was much like Rhys's pet from a few months back, just less lithe and more solid. "Let's start with something that shows off those muscles of yours. Are you familiar with the 'side chest' pose?"
Nova shook his head. "Never really done much posing before. Never really had much call for it. But I'm ready to try."
The mirrors doubled as screens. The suite immediately started to play a silent instructional video, leaving space for Chiron to speak over it.
"Just watch and try to imitate the model," Chiron said as an image of a naked and impossibly muscled person appeared in the mirror beside Nova's reflection. "Try to tense your midsection just enough to solidify your core. Now take firm hold of your right wrist and force your arms apart."
Nova looked at his sinewy build in the mirror and tried to imagine being that huge. He told himself that it was all show muscle. That he'd rather be compact and have useful muscle instead. Still, a part of him kept wondering.
Focusing on Chiron's instructions, he contorted his body awkwardly into the pose. The image in the mirror mapped a line of best fit onto his frame and highlighted areas that needed adjustment. With effort, Nova aligned himself with it. "This is harder than it looks...is this actually attractive to people?"
Chiron's eyes followed the string of taut muscles all the way from Nova's shoulders to his surprisingly chiselled ass. His gaze lingered there a moment before answering. "You may think you look a little silly, but there is more to these poses than meets the eye. Yes, they show off muscles, but they also show your control over your body and demonstrate what you actually have rather than try to warp appearances. Treat this like a standardized test, allowing you to be properly compared to what your audience has seen before."
"I like this one for you, Nova," the specialist said with a hint of excitement. "I'll make note of this one so you can work on it more later. Let's move on for now."
Chiron crossed his arms. He liked this new pet's build. There was something so alluring and almost exotic about it. Chiron especially loved how the skin-tight VR suit detailed Nova's ass, and he wanted to see more. "Try this one now. It's called the 'Most Muscular' pose. For obvious reasons."
Even with Chiron's advice, Nova felt his face flush as he moved into the new position. It made him look showy and aggressive in a way that he had never aimed for before. The way it made his muscles stand out and strain felt obscene. He glanced at Chiron's face in the mirror and saw his trainer's concentration.
The uncertainty on Nova's face spoke to how new and yet exciting this was for him. Every time that Nova looked to Chiron for approval and encouragement, it warmed his heart and hardened his cock. Not being one to let the opportunity to break in a new pet pass him by, Chiron considered his words carefully.
"That's it. Very good! You're a natural," the Coin encouraged. "This will definitely get everyone at the auction horny for you. I'm already hard for you, pet."
Nova stopped posing and scratched at his temple awkwardly. "Th-thank you, Chiron?"
Chiron tutted softly and chuckled. "You're physically fit and you carry yourself with confidence in that regard. We'll have to work on your sexual confidence and approach. Remember, you're a pet. Sex is part of your day-to-day now."
"Right." Nova internally chastised himself for not taking that part of the deal more seriously. Why was he feeling shy about posing when such a big part of being a pet was fucking lots of hot Coins? Hot Coins with huge genetically engineered cocks. "I think that's one area I am a little under-prepared for. I've yet to have— be had by a Coin. Is there something we can do to make sure I don't get hurt?"
"This shyness has its appeal, too, but I don't think that's the persona we'll be using at the auction for you. And there are modifications that I can make to help you handle someone my size. I can perform the injections here in the clinic," said Chiron casually. "But there is so much more we can do in the meantime. Let's explore what you would do once you've caught someone's attention like this. How would you keep them interested? What would you do and say?"
Tired of looking at their reflections, Nova turned to face Chiron instead. "I'd have to play to my strengths," Nova answered. He tried to think of what Jewel would do in the same situation. While Nova knew he shouldn't try to mimic his ex-partner much, there were elements he could use. In particular, Nova considered how Jewel made himself alluring without opening up too much. "I could leverage my previous work. You know, be more gruff, and try to sound mysterious. Or even a bit dangerous. I figure that if I seem just the right amount of distant it'll make them want to know more."
Chiron looked Nova over appraisingly. He walked around him slowly, his eyes roving over every part of him. "A sort of silent bad boy with a troubled past who just needs the right coaxing to blossom into an eager slut — all while being a devoted bodyguard who would take a bullet for you. Yes, I like that."
A smile almost found its way onto Nova's face, but he caught it in time. He was supposed to be a bit impassive, after all. The pet cleared his throat to help keep his composure. "I'm glad, uh, I mean, that's good."
"Let's try that again. What would this persona of yours do to draw me in and keep me interested? Would you make a physical move, maybe, or talk rough to me? Just toss me a dirty look?" Chiron kept pacing around, his hand at his chin, rubbing thoughtfully. "Go on. Try it."
Nova paused to consider his options. 'Strong, needing help to come out of my shell, but leaning on the protective angle. How do I pull that all together?' Deciding to go with the first option that came to mind and work from there, Nova backed up a few steps, took a deep breath, and turned to face Chiron.
Doing his best to give off an air of confidence, Nova flicked his hungry yet controlled gaze up and down Chiron's form, evaluating him. When Nova reached Chiron he held out a hand to him and subtly leaned to look behind Chiron, then briefly side to side. "So, are you here with anyone?"
Chiron blinked, charmed that Nova was going all in on the acting. The new acquisition clearly took his tasks seriously, which was a mark in his favour. Chiron tried to do the same to avoid breaking Nova's concentration. He looked down his nose at Nova imperiously, playing the haughty Coin. "Who's asking?"
"Someone you'd like to impress," Nova answered quickly. "I saw you checking me out from across the room."
"I was surprised to see someone like you at auction," said Chiron evenly, with just a hint of disdain. But, he turned his feet toward Nova and parted his legs a little, tilting his head in interest. "You don't seem like one of those genetically-engineered pets. You don't even seem like you've been to a pet training school."
Nova offered the hint of a wry smile. "If all you want is the boring standard training all pets get, then maybe you aren't as interesting as I hoped."
Chiron grinned, breaking character. "Nicely done, Nova. Other Coins will eat that kind of thing up. Very good. We'll practice more of that in the coming days. Now, tell me about how you like to have sex. How do you feel about being penetrated? Have you had any enhancements to take larger sizes?"
Taken aback by the sudden change in topic, Nova blushed. "Well, I, uh, don't have any sex enhancements at all." The soon-to-be-auctioned pet continued to fumble for words, "For sex, I'm pretty eclectic— No, I mean I like lots of things... I haven't been penetrated in a while but I like it."
"Okay, I'll inject you in the throat and ass, then, to improve the elasticity and capacity of your holes," said Chiron as casually as if he was saying he was going to get Nova a glass of water. "Come on."
---
Three days later, Nova entered a new section of the lab that he had just been directed to. He was in his skintight VR suit. Spotting Chiron fiddling with a large machine in the center of the room, Nova approached his trainer's side. Then, stood at attention, his arms behind his back, with one hand grabbing the wrist of the other.
Chiron turned to glance at Nova and put down the wrench he was working with. The trainer nodded and made a brief hand gesture. Nova stepped forward and pressed his body into Chiron, who in turn pressed his lips into Nova's, pushing his tongue into the new pet's mouth.
They made out in a practiced, familiar way before Chiron put his hands on Nova's shoulders and pushed him back gently. "Good pet. Very good. You knew exactly what greeting I wanted from my signal."
Leaving Nova standing at attention once again with reddened cheeks, Chiron turned back to the equipment he was working on and gestured to the reclined seat and stirrups. "Hop up into the chair and lie back while I get everything in place."
Nova inhaled sharply as he approached the fuck machine that Chiron was tuning. It had some other fancy name, but Chiron had explained that, three days past the time that he had been injected, his modifications would reach their maximum effect on his ability to take more length and girth in his holes. Now, it was time to see if he needed other treatments by doing a benchmark test and measuring his limits. So, this was the fuck machine that would do it.
He unzipped his suit's back panel and climbed into the chair in one fluid motion. As he set his feet in the stirrups, he felt a flare of arousal and fear. He was about to get reamed by increasingly long, thick artificial cockmeat. Already, Chiron had been teaching him to crave it in their lengthy training sessions, and he had also hinted at a special "surprise" if Nova made it through the official benchmarks. Nova bit his lip and looked at his trainer for reassurance.
"Don't worry, pet," Chiron offered with an unworried smile. He casually slid the piston arm up the steel bar and fastened it in place. "These treatments are highly effective. Of course, I certainly would have preferred breaking you in the old-fashioned way, but we only have so much time before the auction."
Strangely, Nova felt attracted to the idea of Chiron taking his time to train his holes. It had never been a particular thing for him before, but day by day, doing what Chiron wanted had been rewarding and so, he was finding that he wanted what Chiron wanted, a lot of the time. Maybe this was what it was like for Autolycus with Fairmount.
There was a brief flash of confusion as he tried to remember who that was. Then, a face appeared in his mind's eye. A copper-haired, green-eyed man, just a little younger than Nova. Another pet? No, a thief...? Both? He focused his eyes and mind on Chiron instead, and the weird urgency of those thoughts faded.
Chiron continued, not noticing the change in Nova's expression. With practiced motions, Chiron picked Nova up just enough to gently shift him to the side. Nova didn't have the time to react, but he never seemed to get over the surprise of how strong the Coins were. Without slowing, Chiron reached over and pulled two wide straps out from the seat's base, over Nova's torso, and clipped them in on the opposite side of the seat. Nova's chest was covered in a web of straps from the base of his pectorals to his collarbone. It made Nova shiver to think of having his entire body restrained in those webs, helpless to Chiron's whims.
Then, Chiron bound Nova's forearms to the armrests and that thought started to become reality. From there, both his calves and thighs were strapped down to the padded supports leading to the stirrups. "This should make it nice and snug, but not too tight," Chiron said. With the flick of a switch, the seat's electric motors whirred and cinched all the straps down, firmly restricting almost all movement. Of course, he could have controlled the entire machine through his implant, but Chiron liked the aesthetic of the controls and the visual stimulus that they added for the patient. He liked to let them watch as he fine-tuned their experience.
Distantly, a part of Nova panicked. This voice insisted that the Coins were perverts; too used to getting what they wanted. That they had no sense of morality and that he was being changed. But Nova already knew that he was changing. That was the point of having a trainer. And Chiron hadn't made him do anything that he hadn't agreed to in his contract. He doubted that would start now.
Humming absently, Chiron pressed a button on the console, causing a cleverly concealed rack to slide out of the machine, holding several attachments of various shapes, sizes, and materials. He selected a long, thin black implement, and turned back to Nova, leaving the rack to automatically slide closed behind him. "Just about ready, pet." Chiron pushed the innocuous-seeming phallus onto a piston, then slid the piston up a rail, fixing it in place at the correct height to match Nova's hole.
Nova felt a flutter of anticipation, his eyes locked on the tool that was about to penetrate him. He knew it would feel good. His training told him so. His experience told him so. But it was hardly the Coin cock he had started to dream about after his training sessions these last few days, was it?
At any rate, all he could do was stare at it and Chiron as he methodically adjusted the machine, lightly tapping Nova's sphincter with the soft, almost silken head of the cock. He gave light gasps. Chiron was encouraging him to become more...expressive. His trainer said that Coins loved it when tough men dissolved into needy whores for them.
'Fuck...I'm so wet...' It was the first time that Nova's newly altered glands had activated. It took time for the injections to take effect and he hadn't even realized that he had triggered the first of the slick that his ass now naturally produced with his arousal until it began to trickle out. He groaned; it was such a lewd sensation.
"Now just lie back, and don't tense," Chiron instructed. The recovery specialist-turned-trainer flicked a switch and the piston slowly began to push into Nova's ass. It slipped only a few inches in, but it met with no resistance and came back out dripping with Nova's juices. Chiron watched intently as the synthetic cock moved back and forth a few more strokes, and then turned the dial to increase the depth.
Nova did his best not to tense, but his ass still tried to cling to its new friend, the silken intruder that was his first test. He took a deep breath and consciously directed that breath into his ass muscles, trying to relax. Still, it felt as though he was straining against the straps holding him down to get a better look. "It feels...small."
Chiron grinned. "It was meant to, but far be it from me to discourage you from moving things along a little faster." The Coin reached over to the control panel and paused. "Remember to stay relaxed, let me know when it becomes too much." With a turn of the dial, the synthetic cock quickly thickened as it fucked Nova. It steadily inflated mid-thrust, almost doubling in diameter, forcing Nova's newly sensitized hole to stretch open further. Chiron had been sure to give him the full suite of injections, from extra elasticity to increasing the number and sensitivity of nerve endings, to the lube that he now produced whenever sufficiently aroused.
The pet bodyguard's eyes widened in surprise as he felt that stretch. The intensity and pleasure of it stole any words he had been about to say. He clutched at the armrests and let his body arch backwards. He pushed against the bonds, his head thudding against the chair.
Nova's reaction drew a satisfied chuckle from Chiron. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Let's dive a little deeper." With another quick change to the settings, the shaft pumped three inches deeper. All the while, the unyielding force that drove it never faltered.
Panting, Nova's dazed eyes found Chiron's face and he tried to focus on the fact that he was pleasing his trainer, a Coin, and pleasing Coins was his purpose. He tried to hold on and let Chiron continue, knowing that Chiron would stop if he asked. The stretch was pleasurable, but it was more than Nova had ever experienced, even just a few minutes into the test. A person could go mad. It was sort of like being tickled and being blown directly after an orgasm. Would it always be like this?
Chiron knew the expression on his trainee's face well. "I know, it is a lot, isn't it? Especially since you haven't had anyone inside you since well before we increased your sensitivity." With a few steps, Chiron was standing over Nova. He caressed the pet's hair with his right hand. "Don't worry, little fucktoy, your body will adjust to these changes in time. The more you fuck, the more you'll be able to function when you're being used. For now, your generous trainer is going to let you enjoy it just like this for a while before moving on." The Coin's right hand sat gently on Nova's cheek, while the left slid along Nova's chest, stopping at his nipples to gently squeeze and pull on them.
'Fuck.' It was the only word that Nova was capable of conjuring. His thoughts were a jumble, every twinge of pleasure in his ass interrupting and scattering them. He felt an eagerness to find out what it would be like to be a sex-obsessed pet, new pathways of bliss burning themselves into his brain. He felt a deep trepidation right alongside that. He felt the humiliation of being unable to act to change his situation, strapped down as he was. Overlaying it all was a deep gratitude to Chiron for helping him through all this, for training him so that he was worth something after his injury. For healing him and augmenting him.
'Is this what it has been like for Autolycus?'
Again, that familiar, foreign thought, that name...He knew it. He could see the face of the man who answered to that name. But...It was hard to keep hold of those green eyes and that face. They slipped away with another thrust of the fuck machine. Still, Nova became certain of one thing: he had to remember that name.
A few minutes passed by as Chiron teased and played with Nova's body. Nova was now hanging limply in the chair, a low, continuous moan issuing from his mouth. As the fuck machine did its relentless work, Chiron kept one hand on the controls and used his other hand to feel up his trainee. He stroked Nova's naturally generous cock through the thin VR suit, feeling it twitch in time with Nova's heartbeat. When the fuck machine measured the involuntary contractions in Nova's ass that signalled he was approaching orgasm, Chiron let up on his cock and moved to his trainee's defined musculature instead. The trainer groped Nova's inner thighs, sliding his hands up the sleek, silken suit to those meaty pectorals.
The shift away from his cock helped Nova to start coming back to himself. His previously limp hands were holding tight to the armrests, and his eyes stopped fluttering and started to focus more. Chiron knew it was time to step it up again. "You're doing so very well, pet. Here's your reward. A bigger treat for your hole."
With only a glance, the experienced trainer was able to see just how much Nova had loosened up. 'It's still not that big. He can double this, for sure.' Another quick adjustment and Chiron watched as the carbon black shaft fattened up again, forcing more of Nova's new juices out and causing them to spatter on the ground.
Nova's toes curled and he tried to squirm away from the feeling of having his ass stretched. There was no pain, but the ecstasy of it was overloading him. He could feel his hole conforming. He could sense the additional pressure on his inner walls and prostate as it inflated and hung there momentarily. He felt his outer rim continuing to stretch to accommodate it with no conscious thought on his part. He gave an experimental squeeze with his muscles and found that being able to bear down made it easier to control the intensity of the feelings, which grounded him.
Then, the piston began to move once more and he was undone all over again.
Chiron's expert control of the machine kept Nova's mind guessing. It sped up, inflated just a bit more, then slowed down again, growing yet again. Whenever the Coin felt that the new pet was starting to get ahold of himself, the fuck-machine would soon undercut that progress back toward sanity. Nova's moans were getting louder and louder. Chiron started to salivate as he watched the sweat dripping off of the pet's tense muscles.
"You've done so well, pet," Chiron said, encouraging his new plaything. "In fact, you've taken so very well to the modifications that I think you can take even more" Without ever prying his eyes off of Nova, he reached over and increased the size further. "This is the Daedalus. You probably wouldn't even have been able to survive this without all the work we've done."
As the black phallus steadily expanded, Chiron watched and waited for the right moment. When Nova's eyes began to widen with anticipation, then fear, Chiron flicked another switch. "Whoops! Was that the vibration button? Oh no, it's turned on very high! Is that too intense?"
Nova could taste his own orgasm in his mouth. It was a sweet, sweet ache, followed by overwhelming heat and a sensation like he was being tickled from the inside. Then, it was like a thick, syrupy pleasure, molten hot, was poured into his core. He lost himself to it, forgetting where he was, who he was. He existed as a wave of bliss.
As Nova came back to himself, he was aware that his whole body was shaking. He whimpered and clutched at the armrests. He found that at first, his eyes wouldn't focus. When they finally did, he found himself staring at Chiron, endorphins and oxytocin flooding his system as he looked at the man who had done this for him.
And that was how Nova fell in love with his new life.
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