rock-anon

"Such a fragile thing, aren't you?" Whumper mused, pouting.

"You've had your nap. Come on." Whumper's voice was stern. Whumpee shuffled forward, sitting on their knees. The cold air of Whumper's house made their skin tingle.

"Good pet," Whumper purred, scratching Whumpee's head. Whumpee pulled away from them, goosebumps prickling along their skin.

In response, Whumper grabbed their hair, making them yelp. Their voice was more disappointed than anything. "Oh, Whumpee. Absolutely not. You'll accept the affection I give you, got it?"

Whumpee cowered beneath them, their heart thumping.

"Got it?" The hand in their hair twisted and pulled up. Whumpee had to take the weight off their hands and stretch upwards for fear of their hair being ripped out.

"I understand," they squeaked, falling back to their hands and knees as Whumper released them.

"Good, hun. Now come along, will you?" Whumper started to leave the room, and Whumpee scrambled after them on their knees.

Whumper strode confidently through the hall, the monotonous tip tap of their shoes on the hardwood floors echoing against the walls. Whumpee followed close behind, staring at the heels of Whumper's shoes.

"You hungry yet? You must've burned quite a few calories before you passed out earlier." Whumper didn't check behind them to make sure Whumpee was following. Whumpee was breathing heavily through their nose as they kept up with Whumper's swift stride.

Once in the kitchen, Whumper finally turned. Their intense eyes scanned over Whumpee, seeming to rake through them and study every imperfection.

"You're out of shape, dear," Whumper leaned down, pinching the chub of their cheek. "The hell was Caretaker feeding you?"

"I eat whatever I want," Whumpee retorted, looking up at Whumper.

"You've put on weight, love. It's a shame, really. You were in exquisite shape under my care..." Whumper rose back to their feet, snagging a finger under Whumpee's collar and dragging them forward into the kitchen. "It's okay, sweetie, it's not your fault. It's that wretched Caretaker's fault. They let you get like this. But it's okay. We'll get you back to your regimen, and you'll be back in shape in no time." They patted Whumpee's cheek affectionately.

Whumpee didn't respond, struggling to keep up as they were dragged through the tiled kitchen. They saw new installments in the house as they were pulled through.

Whumpee got a better look as they arrived. Right between the fridge and a counter, there was a fancy padded dog beg with a chain hanging from the wall that was long enough to touch the bed.

"Go on, sit." Whumper tugged them forward. "Then I'll clip you in, and you'll be nice and secure."

Whumpee crawled forward slowly, feeling their hands and knees sink into the soft bed. They heard a little click as the chain clipped to their collar and turned to see Whumper standing over them.

"Stay there and be good, kay? Dinner will be ready soon." Whumper rubbed Whumpee's chin affectionately, then pulled away.

Whumpee stayed absolutely silent, leaning back against the wall as Whumper began to pull ingredients out of the fridge, an assortment of vegetables and fish.

God, they were cold. Whumpee sat against the wall, refusing to let their guard down for a second.

Whumpee tensed up as Whumper approached them.

"Open. Try this." A fork prodded at Whumpee's lips. "I tried a new rice recipe. And yes dear, you're getting rice. I figured it'd help warm you back up to your diet."

Whumpee chewed the rice, eyes on Whumper.

Why are they being so nice?

Maybe if they stayed quiet, Whumper would get bored of them.

Where are you, Caretaker?

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It took a lot to make Caretaker cry.

They hadn't cried when their first dog had been hit by a car. They hadn't cried like their siblings had when their grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Hell- they barely cried when their dad kicked the bucket.

But here they were, clutching Whumpee's dirty sweater to their chest. Wrecked. That was the best word for it.

Every muscle screamed for them to go find Whumpee, to bring them home, wrap them in a hundred layers of bubble wrap and never let them go again.

They couldn't.

It took most of their energy to crawl through the house to the bedroom and dig the sweater from their hamper. Everything hurt. Their cracked rib screeched in fury every time they took a shuddering breath, their bruised cheekbones stinging against the white sheets.

Well- they had been white once. Now they were blotted with a grim, deep red where Caretaker's blood had seeped in.

You have to do something.

Caretaker went to sit up after a moment, pain shooting up their sprained wrist. They fell back to the bed, hissing.

Don't be a wuss, they scolded themself. Whumpee's in much worse pain than this. Do this for their sake.

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Whumpee was being served a gourmet salmon filet with a plate of fresh veggies.

They stared down at the meal, picking at the stalks of celery disdainfully.

Whumper sat a few feet in front of them, enjoying the very same dish. Their eyes flicked up and met Whumpee's, and a grin split their face. "Enjoying your salmon?"

"I don't eat fish." They responded, averting their eyes and picking up a slice of cucumber with their fork.

"You eat fish all the time, silly." Whumper laughed, continuing to bore their eyes into Whumpee. "Go on, try it."

"I don't eat fish." Whumpee repeated, biting into the crisp cucumber.

Their wrist was seized, and their fork clattered across the tablecloth. Whumpee choked on their cucumber slice, quickly swallowing it down.

"You ate fish nearly every day I had you." Whumper said. Whumpee's wrist was pinned against the table. "What right do you have," Whumper hissed, "to refuse your nice, home-cooked meal?"

Now the steak knife was tracing across their palm. Whumpee's other hand gripped the table and they did their best not to whine.

Whumpee took in a deep breath. "No, please-"

Whumper ignored them, spinning the knife on Whumpee's palm. "Oh hush, now. That'll get you nowhere. I make you delicious, healthy food and I expect you to eat it. You're lucky I even let you eat at the table.

You know I don't like having to hurt you," they said. "Apologise, and we can move on, dear."

"I'll eat," Whumpee spoke quietly, unable to shake the waver in their voice.

"And?" Whumper traced the lines of their palm ever so gently, causing Whumpee's hand to twitch.

"And I'm sorry."

"Good." Whumper finally amended, releasing their wrist. "Get to eating, now. You'll need the energy."

Whumpee didn't reply, cutting into the salmon finally. They took a bite, forcing it down. It was good fish, but all Whumpee could think about was their previous time spent in captivity. The same perfectly prepared fish and veggies were given to them at lunch and dinnertime before their beatings.

"There you go," Whumper said smoothly. "You're doing so much better already. I can tell that you're remembering how things are supposed to be."

Whumpee looked up at them momentarily, then returned to their meal.

Stay quiet, stay predictable, and stay boring, they thought. Whumper will get bored of me soon enough.

After dinner, Whumpee was brought to Whumper's bedroom. They were praying that they'd be shoved back into their cage for the evening, but they weren't quite that lucky.

Whumper sat them in the middle of the room, standing before them.

"Do you remember all your commands, Whumpee?" they asked, and when given no response, they continued. "Tonight we're gonna go through them all again. And if you've forgotten, I've got a little friend here to help us jog your memory." Whumper held up a shock collar, waving it enticingly.

Whumpee looked up at them, frozen. "Y- you don't have to use that, I- I'm fine without it. I've already got my collar on." Whumpee touched their collar gently.

Whumper brushed their hand away and switched their collar out.

"Here we are. Now kneel," Whumper ordered.

Whumpee did as they were told, kneeling with their back straight and their hands on their knees. Whumper hummed, nodding.

"Bow," Whumper said next, fiddling with the settings on the remote. Whumpee slid down until their palms and elbows touched the floor. A shock ran through their body, and they cried out.

Whumper tsked. "Head in the carpet. Raise your backside higher."

Whumpee fixed themselves, shaking.

Sit. Beg. Lay. Roll over.

Like they were a dog.

They were shocked several times for being too slow, making too much noise, not showing enough emotion in their eyes, bad posture, and whatever bullshit reason Whumper could come up with to see their pet jerk and cry in pain.

Their pet.

Was that what Whumpee saw themselves as? A pet, doing tricks for Whumper's entertainment?

Maybe it would be easier that way. Submitting to their purred commands, shooting Whumper puppy eyes when they praised them, falling into positions when they were asked... it could be so, so much easier.

Whumpee looked up at Whumper, at the expression on their face. They were smiling down at Whumpee with an achingly gentle expression.

"You're doing good, Whumpee, better than I expected. Like I said, I don't like hurting you. I shouldn't really have to, honestly. Alas, you respond very well to this form of training. We'll be done with it eventually." Whumper's hand rustled and then smoothed their hair.

Whumpee bowed their head, letting Whumper card their fingers through their hair.

"Oh, Whumpee... my sweet thing. I really missed having you. It's been so lonely here without you." Whumper got down on one knee, sighing. "Those eyes... won't you look at me, hun?"

Whumpee looked up, anxiety pricking at their neck.

"There we are. That. Those beautiful, innocent eyes." Whumper smiled lovingly. "Just... exquisite. I don't think I can ever give you back. We're meant to be together, you and I."

Whumpee didn't respond.

"Dear? Can't you talk?" Something like concern etched its way into Whumper's face. "You haven't spoken much since dinner.

"... can I go to bed?" Whumpee said softly.

They were granted a pair of warm black sweatpants and were locked back in their cage. Tucking back under their blankets, Whumpee thought of Caretaker's words to them.

"Whumpee, don't let them get to you. You promised you'd stay strong for me, right?"

Whumpee bit their lip, squeezing their pillow.

I'm sorry, Caretaker. I'm sorry for failing you.

Maybe I'm just as much of a pathetic toy Whumper says I am.

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aren't you guys excited to wait another 9 months for pt 4? >:)