Whining Limon forced himself to stand on his hands and knees, before he turned to crawl towards the couch on all fours, despite his aching body. As soon as he arrived, Jackson propped his heavy paws up with a thud on the fox's back. Limon staggered and his slender back sagged under the weight of the paws that abused him as footstool. He sighed heavily and was promptly greeted by Brandon's yellow soccer shoes, which landed right in front of his nose.
"While you're already down there..." the wolf spoke with a giggle, "how about you give my boys a lil cleaning? They could really need a polish!"
Disgusted Limon beheld the shoes. Especially the underside was still caked with remnants of dried grass and dirt from training. He didn't want to do this. But what he wanted even less was to end up under those murderous things again! Eventually the fox began to lick the shoes that were offered to him. He was thoroughly, for he knew a tenuous result would only engender even worse tasks! An earthy taste quickly filled Limon's mouth and he noticed how the sand scrunched between his teeth.
"That's a good fox!" Jackson praised and ungently patted Limon's head with his left paw, before he let it fall back down on his back.
The impact made Limon flinch. "Th-thank you, Sir..."
And again Limon had a long gaming session ahead of him. This time at least the pain was bearable, even though the groveling position he was in got less comfortable with every passing minute. It helped some that he could concentrate on the task ahead, even if it wasn't the most pleasant one. Limon did his best to get the shoes clean. Dutifully he pressed his dainty tongue against the footgear's hard sole and dragged it over the worn surface to lap up the grime that had accumulated there. The fox paid special attention to the cold metal cleats by curling his tongue around and sucking firmly on them to loosen the dried soil. He had the taste of a freshly cut lawn in his maw!
Suddenly the doorbell rung again!
Panicky Limon's long ears raised and then fearfully folded down again. Who could this be? Did Jackson maybe invite more guests to show the fennec off to? He certainly wouldn't survive another trampling session like the one Brandon gave him earlier!
Much to the fox's relief, though, Jackson remarked, "That's finally gotta be the damn pizza. Thanks god, I'm starving!" The bear took his heavy paws from Limon's stricken back and gave him a harsh kick in the flank, which knocked the fennec to the ground. "Go and open, fox!" he ordered. "You're buying, and don't forget to give the looser a nice tip!" Both boys laughed at the fox.
Clumsily Limon went to the door and opened. A bored looking, young cougar stood on the porch, in his hands a large pizza box. "XXL, triple cheese, onions, hot peppers and extra salami?" the delivery boy asked. Limon nodded and pulled his wallet from the back pocket. "That'll be sixteen dollars and ninety-nine cents, please.
"Uhm, here!" the fox said and gave the man a fifty dollar bill. "Keep the change."
"Thanks, man!" the cougar boy spoke with an honest smile as he handed the big box to the fox. "Really nice of you, good night!" he added before he went back to his motor scooter and drove off.
For a moment Limon kept standing in the open door and watched as the cougar disappeared into the falling night. A cool breeze blew around his sensitive ears. Then Jackson called from the living room, "What the hell is keeping you so damn long?! Bring the pizza before it gets cold!"
In a hurry the fennec closed the door and followed Jackson's instructions. "Did you suck the guy off since you was short on money, or what?" Brandon laughed as Limon put the box down on the coffee table. "Man, I'm hungry!"
Both boys put the controllers down and greedily pitched into the greasy treat. Neither of them bothered to offer Limon a piece, so the fennec contained himself, even though he was just as hungry! As he was forced to watch how Jackson and Brandon devoured their first pizza slices, his mouth began to water. A warm, cheesy smell spread out and Limon's stomach grumbled.
"Mhmf... Limon..." the bear smacked with his maw full. "Lay down before us. Your ugly mug spoils my appetite!"
If Limon only wanted as much as hope for a slice of pizza, he would better do as he was told, he thought and swiftly crawled between the coffee table and the couch, on which his two tyrants sat. Readily the bear placed his right paw down on Limon's thin neck to keep him in place, before the left one spread over his face.
"You should grant him a reward as well, Brandon," Jackson chuckled. "He paid for our dinner, after all."
The gray wolf laughed. "Heh! Well, I certainly don't wanna seem ungrateful..." he scoffed and then slipped his cleats off of his black sports socks. "Enjoy them, fox! They're still fresh from training!"
Jackson took his heavy foot from Limon's face to make way for Brandon. The wolf's warm, sock-footed paws immediately came down on the fox. They were slightly moist and filled Limon's nostrils with a strong, musky smell. And Brandon did his utmost do get the stench everywhere! He rubbed his paws over Limon's entire face and paid special attention to the sensitive fox nose by grabbing it with his toes.
"I wouldn't mind if you'd struggle a bit down there, fox," Brandon suggested, while he reached for his third slice of pizza. "I like that, to be honest..."
But when Limon didn't react on the spot, Jackson firmly pressed his paw to the fennec's throat and thus cut of his airflow. "Didn't you hear, Limon?! He wants you to struggle!" the bear bawled at the gasping fox.
Instantly Limon began to twist his head left and right in an attempt to escape the raunchy socks, but the wolf made a play out of capturing him time and time again. He pushed Limon's head back and forth, forced him into a position he couldn't get out of anymore and then pressed both paws onto his face to show the fox his place, until he could free himself once more only to start the game anew. The wolf particularly found joy in grabbing Limon's nose with his strong toes to help him to a thorough whiff of his sweaty socks!
"That's right... Just try to get away," Brandon chuckled as he watched how the fox writhed desperately underneath his paws. "You won't ever make it, but it doesn't hurt to try, does it? In the end we both know that you are exactly where you belong!"
Suddenly the wolf's brisk paws got a lot cruder. Brandon enclosed the fennec's muzzle with his skilled paws and pressed his toes to Limon's flews. With a bit of force he managed to spread the fox's yaws apart and squeeze his socked toes inside. The fennec whimpered as the sweaty fabric touched his tongue, but it didn't do him any good. If at all it spurred the wolf on even more, since he shoved his paw deeper into Limon's maw. His yaws got spread further and further, until the fox could feel how Brandon's toes tickled the back of his throat. And they did tickle him indeed: He wiggled his toes as if he was searching for his damn keys!
All the while Jackson's heavy paws rested on Limon's neck and tightened his airways. Now, with Brandon's one paw stuffed into his throat, while the second one clutched his nose, the fox quickly ran out of air. Fortunately for him, though, it seemed as if Jackson wanted to join the game as well, since one of his massive paws pushed the wolf's feet aside to get comfy on Limon's face itself.
A little competition flared up and both boys tried to bogart more of the fox's face than the other. For Limon it felt like his head was a football! He got pushed and twisted, nudged and pulled, rubbed and pinned... It was horrible! And every now and then a toe or two tried to squeeze itself into his maw. There was no nook these four paws couldn't reach in their combined effort. They didn't even spare Limon's beloved ears!
Above this turbulent scene, Jackson and Brandon had meanwhile finished their meal. Merely one slice of pizza was left and the bear snatched it along with the box. "Hey! Check this out!" Jackson announced and then nudged Limon with his paw until he had his attention as well. "Get up, fox! C'mon up!" he urged and pushed Limon aside to have enough space. Then he put the box on the ground and stepped on the last, by now cold, pizza slice with his paw. He ground the cheesy triangle on the cardboard and flexed his toes until the greasy pulp squidged between them. After he had completely pulverized the once tasty meal, Jackson lifted his paw and propped his leg up on the small table in front of him to present the crushed dinner to Limon. "Lick up!" was all he had to say.
"Whoa, dude! That's disgusting!" was Brandon's comment as Limon obediently began to lick the destroyed pizza off the bear's sole.
Jackson laughed, "Yes, and he's totally into this Look how he's going at it. He's practically begging me to step into his food!"
Limon felt degraded beyond all measure. This was not true! Jackson was the one who started this bullshit! But what should he do? Object the bear? After he just started to lick Jackson's paw on command like a trained pet? No... He could only suffer in silence, endure Jackson's indignities and lick his sole clean like a good fox.
After Limon was done with his paw, Jackson offered his friend to step into the smushed pizza and have it licked off his paw as well. Fortunately for Limon, the wolf declined the offer, "Nah, thanks, man. I had enough fun for today and don't feel like getting my paws dirty for this pipsqueak." But the wolf had even more good news for Limon! "It's quite late already. And I really gotta go now."
"Aww. Already?"
The wolf nodded as he put his cleats back on. "Yes. I need to be at training tomorrow again."
"Then you should have the fox come to your place afterwards," Jackson suggested. "He's quite good at massaging paws. Might help you to relax?"
Brandon pondered, "Hmm... Actually not a bad idea. My paws always hurt after training." Suddenly his sharp eyes targeted the kneeling fox. With long, powerful strides he approached the fennec and stopped right in front of him to plant one shoe on his chest and push him down onto his back. "Would you like this, fox?" he barked. "To help me relax after a long game?"
Frightened the small fox trembled when he felt the mean cleats once more on his chest. "Ah! Y-y-yes..." he yelped panicked and immediately regretted his answer. Even though he knew it was the only answer his tormentors would accept.
"Then it's settled. I expect you at ten at my place!" the wolf said and then simply trod down on the groaning fox to walk over him. ""See ya, Jacks!"
"Ciao!" the bear answered. "And don't shower after the game, he likes it!"
I audibly gasped in excitement when I saw that there was a new submission by you in my inbox! I was actually very fascinated to find that despite not being into footpaw-related stuff, the descriptive writing of the sensory and textures at play were so easy to evoke mood and sensation that I found myself hooked regardless.
I really love the way you capture feelings of hopelessness and almost this sense of apathetic acceptance or learned helplessness of Limon in this. One line that particularly stood out to me was, "...he yelped panicked and immediately regretted his answer. Even though he knew it was the only answer his tormentors would accept."
Keep up the amazing work, it's always a treat to read what you write!
I audibly gasped in excitement when I saw that there was a new submission by you in my inbox! I was
I put a lot of thought into the narrative of what I write, especially for short stories like this. Writing too little feels boring and rushed, writing too much is even worse. I aim to give the reader a good impression of what happens with all relevant information, while still giving them enough space for their own imagination. Sometimes its hard to find the right balance.
And I'm glad you construed Limon's emotional world quite accurately. Exploring his personal experience and dealings with his situation is actually a major point of these stories. And his mindset subtly develops and changes over time, influenced by what and how he thinks as well as by what happens to him. It's a process, basically. And you pointed out an important step in Limon's development.
Thanks for being such a committed reader and for your kind words. It's most appreciated! ^^
I put a lot of thought into the narrative of what I write, especially for short stories like this. W
