Paws & Claws Archive

This story contains these tropes:

Whumper's point of view

Multiple whumpers

multiple whumpees

nonhuman whumpees

lab whump (Mentioned)

medical whump

institutional/societal whump

carewhumpers

defiant whumpees

bound and gagged

pet whump

conditioned whumpees

minor whumpees (Mentioned, no harm done on screen)

I'd like to take a moment and thank @foresttheblep and @echo-goes-mmm for being two of my biggest inspirations in the whump community. They are both incredible in every way possible. I cannot thank them enough for not only inspiring me to write this story, but also trading their ideas with me and welcoming me into the Demihuman Collective!

Enjoy, and have a Paw-sitively great day!

Maya enjoyed her job. 

Or, at least she hoped she did. Maya took a sip from her thermos of lukewarm coffee, her eyes halfheartedly flitting to the horribly cheesy posters that decorated the staff room. Being a Head Handler at Paws & Claws wasn’t a bad gig all things considered. Sure, Feral male Demihumans weren’t the easiest to control, sometimes the customers were a bit odd—especially those who adopt Cuddlers, though she would never judge them aloud—and the hours are stiflingly long. 

Yet, despite these flaws, Maya had to admit the salary was fair enough to put food on the table, that most customers were patient, and that she was doing rather important work. 

At least, Maya hoped it was important.

So, after running through the pros and cons for a moment more, Maya figured her job wasn’t something worth abandoning. After a glance at the clock Maya finished her coffee, rinsing the thermos in the sink before returning it to her bag in the staff locker room. Taking a moment to rub her knees, Maya found herself a bit concerned by the fact that kneeling on the floor to play with a catboy gave her issues at thirty before a sharp tone from her radio snapped her out of her thoughts. 

“Code yellow!” A tinny voice yelped beneath the static and the faint sound of footsteps, “I repeat Code Yellow. Catboy um—“ the voice stumbled as Maya rushed out of the staff room, “FerM411J8 is running through the staff hallways unsupervised.”

“Harvey…” Maya hissed to herself before unlatching her radio from her belt, “I’m on it, where’d he come from?” She responded, keeping her ears peeled as she scanned the hallways.

“He ran down the staff entrance to the grooming salon.” The voice Maya now recognized as Jordan’s, responded. In truth Maya was thankful the code was only a warning so far, the last thing anyone needed was for this to escalate. 

“I see him, J.J!” Vera chimed in, “It seems like he’s headed to the training rooms.” 

Maya cursed inwardly, so much for three months without incident.“Code Orange; Catboy FerM411J8 is trying to escape.” Maya called over the radio, picking up the pace as she clutched the radio tighter; Of course he’s going for Triscuit. He'd never leave without him. “Would the Handler of Catboy FerQ128R7 please stay with him and lock the socialization room.” Maya rattled off before returning her radio to her belt, ignoring the responses to the code.

 Maya heard the putter of padded footsteps down an adjoining hallway and turning the corner she came face to face with the—honestly quite pathetic—sight of a dripping wet Harvey: stark naked with soap still lathered in his blonde fur. Upon locking eyes with Maya, Harvey turned on his heel and ran. So, Maya gave chase, hastily reporting that she had eyes on him before calling after him to no avail. Harvey suddenly turned left, knocking over a nearby recycling bin in hopes of slowing his assailants down. Maya simply stepped around it and continued the chase, barely keeping her balance as her workboots slipped on the wet tile; she continued to run after the soaked catboy. Maya shouted after him, well aware from their shouting that J.J and Vera were close behind her. 

Just when he was gaining some distance, Harvey fell. Scrambling on all fours and sliding with a screeching yowl, before slamming into the wall and losing momentum. Maya took the opportunity, closed the gap, and tackled the catboy just as he was getting back up on two feet. Maya radioed in to call off the code, steadily pressing down between Harvey’s shoulderblades to pin down the thrashing catboy. “Got him!” She yelled to J.J and Vera who were rapidly making their way down the hall. 

Uncapping a syringe of sedative with deft movements Maya settled herself on Harvey’s upper back, barely holding back a startled sound as she caught his arm as he swatted at her, pinning it to the tile floor. Harvey, predictably, attempted to bite at the arm that was pinning his hand, only receiving a mouthful of her arm guard as a result. “Just stay still, and you’ll be fine.” Maya soothed, preparing the syringe as Harvey bucked and yowled beneath her. Steadily, Maya lined the syringe up with the vein before pressing the needle beneath the skin just below the barcode on his wrist. 

Maya made swift work injecting the sedative before removing the needle and placing the syringe aside. Ignoring how the blood began to bead at the injection site, Maya used her now freed hand to give a soft pat to Harvey’s soaking wet hair. Maya sighed, taking a second to calmly comb the soap out of Harvey’s hair with her bare fingers all the while he continued to scream and writhe like he was dying. 

“Oh Harvey, you were doing good.” she tutted, “Why do you do this to yourself, kitty?” Harvey only let out a petulant whine, babbling something Maya didn’t truly care to listen to. Soon his thrashing began to still, his eyelids fluttering shut and body going limp as the drug took effect. Maya felt her shoulders relax, she grabbed the empty syringe before standing.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Maya addressed the crowd of two, “the latest escape attempt of Harvey The Houdini.” The joke was only met with the hum of artificial lights and the exhausted silence that always followed these predicaments. After a moment Vera clapped lightly, hastily moving to care for the unconscious Catboy. 

“I’m sorry, Maya,” J.J panted after a moment, straightening out his collar, “I had him chained in the bath, I just turned my back to get something and he slid out.”

“It’s not your fault J.J,” Maya placated him, rolling up her sleeves, “he tends to do this.” A flicker of relief crossed J.J’s face as Maya dimly recognized Vera was humming a soft tune. 

“I’ll put a note in his file to sedate him during grooming.” Maya stated, tightening her arm guards before pulling her sleeves over them again.

“Oh, how long in isolation?” Vera asked from behind her, Maya turned around to see her holding Harvey—who was thankfully no longer naked—in a bridal carry.

“An hour should be fine.” Maya decided, Vera blew a stray ginger hair out of her eyes before nodding and hurrying over to isolation. 

Maya stifled a sigh before turning back to J.J, who had seemed to have some energy returned to his wiry form. “Do you think he’ll be alright?” J.J prodded, eyeing the trail of wet pawprints that winded down the hallway behind him, “I mean, does pinning him down break the Three B Rule?” Maya frowned, taking a moment to adjust a bobby pin in her hijab before cringing at the unfortunate wetness on her pants and apron.

“It wasn’t my best move,” Maya admitted, “but I'd rather pin him down than have him break something as I'm trying to put him into a hold.” J.J hummed in agreement and put on an easy smile. 

“Thanks for catching him.” J.J smiled, the pleasantry tailing off into a weary laugh at the end as he ran a hand over his neatly clipped afro. 

“All in a day’s work.” Maya replied with a grin, “I hope your next appointment is easier for you J.J.” She offered, J.J replied in turn as they both went their separate ways. In the privacy of the empty staff locker room, Maya traded her wide legged teal pants for a pink ankle length skirt. After swiftly swapping out her apron for a dry one, she attached the necessary note to Harvey’s file; Maya made a mental note that she had laundry to do when she got home. 

It wasn’t long until Maya found herself in the lobby of the shelter. Despite the stiff mundanity of the simple room, Maya could admit that the natural light and walls adorned with cheerful posters were a more than welcome reprieve from the staff hallway’s artificially lit maze of white walls. Now, seated in a plastic chair with a lethargic catboy resting by her side, Maya hummed a tune as she gingerly threaded her fingers through the creature’s ginger hair. keeping a tight hold on the rope leash before startling as a mitted hand hit her on the knee hard enough to trigger her leg to kick out in a reflex. 

“Hey. No hitting, Junior.” Maya scolded, gripping the catboy’s hand and setting it back down next to him. Junior simply looked up at her, his yellow eyes nearly hidden by his blown pupils, raised his mitted hands to the cloth gag over his mouth and slurred out the start of a muffled sentence.  

“Nuh-uh, bud.” Maya interrupted with an exaggerated shake of her head, “No talking. Your voice has got to heal.” Junior’s brows furrowed, nose wrinkling in what Maya was sure was a pout hidden behind the gag. “Oh, it’s not forever.” She explained trying to hold in her laughter at the uncharacteristic display. 

Cooing, Maya positioned Junior to lay his head on her lap with careful movements, before playfully tickling under his chin. Unfortunately, Junior gave her nothing but a discontent sigh, only settling as Maya rested her hand on top of his head. Glancing around the practically barren lobby and scanning the room for any familiar faces, Maya decided to at least try and channel her boredom into an excuse for good conversation. A mother chatted with the receptionist, her teenager idly reading some pamphlets to her left. A tall man waited behind them with a bag of kibble in his arms and– 

Maya paused, boredom immediately fading as she recognized the sight of a broad shouldered woman in carefully embroidered jeans. Maya wondered for a second why Elise was standing in the leashes section of the small shop, but swiftly brushed the thought aside with a grin as a particularly impish idea came to mind. Maya failed to stifle a chuckle as she unhooked her radio from her belt, glancing over in Elise’s direction.

“Hey, Khim, this is Fathi checkin’ in. Over.” Maya pestered into her radio, the words echoing in a static filled reverberation. Maya choked on the laugh clinging to her ribs as Elise glanced at her own radio before turning in her direction and sighing with an unusually dour shake of her head. Maya simply smiled with a wave. Waiting with hopeful silence that Elise would at least play along. However, Elise simply returned the leash to its hook and hurried over to Maya, only plastering on a grin halfway. 

“I’m in the same room as you, Maya.” Elise huffed, her voice as smooth as ever despite the clearly forced smile

“I know, it's just so fun using these, right?” Maya grinned, smoothly clipping her radio back on her belt despite anxiety flickering deep in her stomach. Elise only nodded with a forcefully cheery sound as Maya began rubbing gentle circles behind Junior’s ears, “are there not enough leashes in stock for Domestics?” 

Elise’s mouth twitched into a confused frown before she choked back a startled noise. “No, um it’s fine, we have enough.” Elise stammered out, adjusting her Hello Kitty bandana as she explained “just poking around before my next appointment.” 

“Oh,” Maya paused, keenly aware that Elise would never just shop aimlessly, “fun.” Maya agreed, realizing that she was probably overthinking. The silence that followed was only broken by the sound of a deep, content purring that was coming from—an unusually calm—Junior. 

“Huh, that’s new.” Elise commented, tilting her head as a genuine grin pulled at her lips.

“Yeah,” Maya agreed, watching with a small laugh how the catboy’s ears flicked when she stopped the petting, “I guess I finally found something he likes.” Elise nodded as she shifted in her sneakers. A moment of unnatural silence followed before Maya spoke again. 

“Say, ” Maya started, trying to keep her voice low, “Is everyone okay, after what happened last week?” She asked, biting the inside of her lip as she remembered how suddenly Elise left work. 

“It’s alright.” Elise forced out, fidgeting with her hands idly, “Thanks.” She added after a second, her lips pressed into a tight line. 

“Any time,”  Maya frowned, “let me know if you need anything.”  Worry sparked in Maya’s chest as she recalled how Elise’s text explained through misspellings that her grandmother fell, and her parents were waiting with her at the hospital. Elise only nodded, eyes averted. 

“Junior?” Connor called from the doorway of the vet’s office, “Dr. Lewis will see you now.” The assistant grinned with a cautious smile that did not dissuade Junior from cowering under Maya’s chair.  

“Bye, Elise,” Maya smiled, keeping a firm grip on Junior’s now taut leash. “See you later?”  Elise only nodded, mumbling something Maya couldn’t catch before turning to leave with a wavering smile. Maya sighed, confusion and anxiety writhing in her chest as she focused her attention on coaxing Junior forward. 

The vet’s office reeked of rubber gloves and hand sanitizer. A scent so artificially cleanly that Maya stifled a sneeze as she entered, trying to keep a grasp on Junior who was intent on trying to climb over her shoulder from a hastily done—and admittedly poorly executed—bridal carry. 

Maya pushed down the anxiety thrumming in her veins, focusing on comforting Junior with gentle words when he was strapped to the table with methodical hands, on holding his head steady while Dr. Lewis slid a wire-like scope down his throat. As Maya watched Junior’s voice box weakly contract and expand on the screen as he yowled, she found herself disturbingly comforted by the guttural noises that signaled he could breathe despite the intrusion. When the examination was finally done, Maya walked Junior back to the Ferals den, staying calm despite having to drag him by the scruff of his neck when he refused to move with the leash—if only because the hissy-fit, while annoying, meant the drugs were wearing off— In spite of this, Maya was thoroughly relieved by the fact that the rest of the day would only entail . 

Maya had clocked out of work when she saw Elise from across the room again, sitting alone at their small table across from the front window of the quaint cafe that adjoined the shelter, still in her handler uniform. Worry sparked in Maya’s chest again, she busied her hands by stirring sugar into her decaf tea before sitting down across from Elise, thoroughly startling her in the process. After hastily apologizing, Maya made a halfhearted attempt to regale Elise with a retelling of Harvey’s latest escape. Barely getting started before the silence from Elise became far too concerning, and the worry became far too pressing to ignore. 

“Elise,” Maya called, setting down her tea as her friend met her gaze. Upon feeling a rush of anxiety at Elise’s despondent stare, Maya forced herself to relax her shoulders. “are you okay?” 

tropes:

Whumper's point of view

Multiple whumpers

multiple whumpees

nonhuman whumpees

lab whump (Mentioned)

medical whump

institutional/societal whump

carewhumpers

defiant whumpees

bound and gagged

pet whump

conditioned whumpees

minor whumpees (Mentioned, no harm done on screen)

parts:

1. Code Orange