Hypnovember Day 9

“Pretty brave of you to be slacking on the job, Pup,” Wolf whispered into Fox’s ear from behind whilst placing a hand on his shoulder. Fox nearly jumped out of his seat, certainly awoken from his afternoon nap.

 

“Hands off!” Fox shoved Wolf away. “You’re not even paying me, so don’t call it a ‘job.’ Besides, I’m just taking a short break!”

 

“Oh! Well, that certainly explains a lot!” Wolf spoke cheerily. “So that must be why everyone at StarFox is such a dork — you have 2-hour-long afternoon naps in plain sight.” He deepened his voice back down and returned to his usual grumpy self. “Want me to cut your hours for today, Pup?”

 

A few months earlier, Falco had gotten himself in trouble with debt collectors after being ‘scammed’ (read: he gambled away all his money like an idiot.) He figured he could get off easy by pretending to be the leader of StarFox, thinking not even the hardiest debt collectors would take up that job. His plan seemed to work, and so he completely forgot about it. One thing led to another — Wolf came across the debt on Fox, bought it at a grand discount, and dragged him off to the StarWolf base to…ahem, ‘work off his debt.’

 

“Fine! Fine! I’ll get back to work!” Fox grumbled as he got up from the chair he’d just napped in. Comfy it was not, but after hours of gruesome hard labour, it had been a much-needed moment of respite.

 

“And let you find a better hiding spot to nap instead?” Wolf tisked. “Can’t let you do that, StarFox.” Wolf took something out from his pocket. “I got you a gift, Pup. That’s why I was looking for you in the first place.”

 

Fox’s eyes widened. “Is that…an e-electric collar or something?” He felt a clump in his throat.

 

Wolf smiled. “Aww shucks, Pup. You know me so well! But this is something even better.” The moment Wolf said that, Fox felt a shiver go down his spine. “I can tell you must be excited to try it on! C’mere, Pup, lemme help ya.” Wolf grinned.

 

Reluctantly, Fox turned around and allowed Wolf to clip the collar around his neck. As the lock clicked, the collar contracted to a tight fit around his neck — not quite suffocating, but a constant, uncomfortable reminder of its presence.

 

“Looking good, Pup! Wanna see for yourself?” Without waiting for a response, Wolf snapped a picture and showed it to Fox. The collar was purple with magenta detailings — matching Wolf’s own colour scheme. It had a dog-tag with ‘Pup’ engraved in it. And of course, attached to it was Fox, blushing profoundly in humiliation. “Well, Pup? You like it?”

 

Fox shook his head hesitantly. “You can force me to work for you, but you can’t force me to like it.”

 

“I said…” Wolf reached around Fox’s neck gently, fiddling with the collar until it made a clicking noise. He whispered into Fox’s ear, “do you like it, Pup?”

 

“…” Fox wanted to deny it, but an idea struck him. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to play along for now?’ He immediately wanted to shove that thought out of his head, yet his actions betrayed him. “…Yes, Wolf. I like it.”

 

Wolf smirked. “I knew you would. Better get back to work now, Pup.” He clapped Fox’s red-hot cheeks gently before sending him off. Just as Fox was about to go fetch some cleaning supplies, Wolf snapped his finger, and Fox immediately turned back around. “One last thing I forgot to mention: Dinner’s in my quarters tonight. I think the two of us have a lot to talk out, Pup,” he said with a wink, leaving Fox flustered and distracted for the rest of that day.

 

It had only been a week so far — the debt meant he’d be working for seven more, but it seemed like Fox would finally be settling into things. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all! Of course, after discount upon discount made to gullible buyers, the debt had reduced to a tenth of the original — $500 or so; certainly something Fox could afford to pay. Too bad no one reduced the ‘labour-hour repayment’ to match that, huh?