roneal | (no subject)

"What? No, not me. I thought maybe you could-- Irvin." All the wriggling in the world doesn't help. Irvin's heavy and whines like a hurt, abandoned puppy whenever he tries to get him off. The fur is both scratchy and tickles ... and not in areas where it's cute.

"Your master really needs to train you better, you know that, Irvin?" Groaning in exasperation, cheeks burning, he tries to take being used as a cushion with at least a bit of dignity. Maybe ignoring Irvin will be a better strategy.

"No no, I simply can't deprive you of the pleasure." Shinjirou really is getting quite red. Jade has to smile, entertained by the way Shinjirou is so thoroughly pushed around by the dog as well.

Within a minute, Irvin is shifting around restlessly again, nuzzling against Shinjirou with quiet whines in a demand for attention.

Jade spoke over the increasingly plaintive noises. "Besides, he seems quite well-trained to me. Intelligent, too."

"If you think this is so amusing, why don't you undress and let him snuggle up to you?" Back pressed flat against the sofa, skin flushed, he does his best to ignore the howls. Irvin sounds really sad over not getting petted anymore and that's awful, but this isn't behavior that's supposed to be encouraged.

Sadly there's nothing around that could be used as a toy and even things he considers briefly, he decides against. Those are Jade's and throwing them across the room seems like a terrible idea and might not even catch Irvin's interest. He sighs, giving up to scratch Irvin again. "Come on, be a good boy now."

"No thank you." Cheerfully, Jade relaxes against the couch, watching the way Shinjirou's eyes dart around, as if searching for an escape. Not that it would do him much good, with the way Irvin shifts restlessly and crowds closer to him as soon as he's touched. "Aren't dogs your favourite animal?"

He reaches out lazily with one hand, scratching at Shinjirou's scalp, mimicking the way he's petting Irvin.

"Yeah, they are. But -- you wouldn't wanna roll around naked in a cloud of bees, would you?" He snaps his head back against his nape, goosebumps pricking up everywhere at Jade's touch. It's not that hard to figure out what Jade's doing there and unfortunately, it works. The embarrassment makes his heart beat fast enough that he's starting to feel dizzy. "Hey!"

This isn't the sort of being attacked on both sides he finds all that fun and he can't simply flee out of the situation. Irvin's weight keeps him locked right on the spot and Jade could easily pull on either the chain or his hair and do the same. Shinjirou joins Irvin's whines. "I said I'm not a dog ..."

"Is there something wrong with being one?" Shinjirou's scalp is hot under the thick strands of his shaggy hair. Jade continues scratching him, encouraged by his reactions. Shinjirou's cheeks are flush with such a lovely colour; if Jade were a more tactile person, it would have been difficult to resist running his hands along them and then down his neck, feeling for his pulse. "Loyalty and cleverness don't seem like bad traits to me."

"No, nothing wrong and no, they aren't bad traits, but--" Squirming too much hurts his back. On the other hand, Irvin is all over him, nuzzling and licking, and Jade won't stop touching him either. "I'm not your pet!"

At the moment, however, he's beginning to feel more like a pet than a slave. If it weren't for Irvin's aggressive demand for attention, he might enjoy the scratching. It's definitely nicer than chain-yanking or being left alone for hours.

"What's wrong with you two. Ugh."

His fingers still for a moment, then he begins to stroke the top of Shinjirou's head rather than scratching him, smoothing down his hair. Irvin continues to fidget. He's far too large to fit himself on Shinjirou's lap, but that doesn't deter him from trying. If Jade is more inclined towards anthropomorphising animals, he would have thought that Irvin is behaving in a way that is almost possessive, resting his forepaws on Shinjirou's legs and pressing down as he tries to haul himself more fully onto Shinjirou's lap.

"I would guess that Irvin is trying to show affection," Jade observes dryly. But he doesn't mention what he himself is up to, waiting to see if Shinjirou will ask.

"Yeah, that's obvious."

Irvin is heavy and his claws open skin where he slips off. And the dog doesn't seem to care much when Shinjirou winces and tries to pull himself up on the sofa, away from Irvin's cuddle attack. Hissing in pain, he presses his head up into Jade's palm.

"And you think that's funny or what?"

"I'm just happy to see my pets getting along so well." He pulls himself closer, his other hand going to rest on Shinjirou's shoulder and pushing down firmly. The message is clear: stay.

That move clears up a few questions -- eyes widening as he looks up at Jade, he forgets to push Irvin off just long enough that the dog manages to climb up into his lap, furry body pressed up against him and a wet tongue lapping up the sweat on his neck.

"... are you serious?" He no longer attempts to get away, though he does shut his eyes and tenses up more and more, the longer Irvin spends time on licking him.

"About what?" With his hand still firmly placed over Shinjirou's shoulder, Jade can clearly feel the rising tension that coils through his body. He squeezes slowly, rubbing and kneading. Shinjirou is having a rather extreme reaction to comments that are relatively innocuous. Jade wonders if he's managed to piece all of it together already, or if he's toying with the idea of being a pet.

"This ... thing here." The truth is, he's not entirely sure where Jade's going with this, but that he's now considered a pet has been confirmed. Irvin seems to see him more as a fellow pet, too. Jade's massage works, sadly, and he relaxes against his will; it steadies his mind and his body follows suit.

Irvin seems to be aware of it and barks, rubbing up against him. It's not just his fur he can feel brush over his skin, but also the dog's genitals and that is ... awkward. Dogs have humped his leg before, alright. Right now, however, he's naked and this isn't his leg, it's his stomach. "You're not going to call him off, are you."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He continues his impromptu massage, coaxing the tension from Shinjirou's muscles. Truthfully speaking, he doesn't consider Shinjirou a pet (why would he need a pet?), but if he wants to think of himself that way, Jade isn't about to stop him. There's always demand for that sort of thing.

"You two look like you're having so much fun bonding," he continues. "It would be rude to interrupt. Besides, Irvin might be able to teach you a thing or two."

"Like bringing you the newspaper? I can already do that." Hell, he thinks he could easily do all the things Irvin can do, except for catching a stick mid-air and he doesn't see how Irvin could teach him that. "What the fuck do you think I'm going to learn from having a dog all over me?"

Stroking Irvin at least keeps the dog content enough to not howl directly into his face, but Irvin also takes it as encouragement to continue. "Come on, Irvin, Jade needs some love too."

He watches them play for a moment, Irvin still stubbornly clinging to Shinjirou, and wonders if he should explain. They had a limited amount of time here, and he doubts Shinjirou would figure it out on his own. Still, his instinct is to keep everything to himself.

"It's a matter of attitude," he says at last. It's not his main purpose here, but it's certainly a secondary goal. He wants Shinjirou to learn how to act friendly and needy and obedient to his future clients, and learn some of Irvin's mannerisms just in case.

Irvin is starting to sniff at his direction. Jade stares at him, unblinking. "No," he says firmly, and Irvin whines quietly, going back to nuzzling and licking Shinjirou's face and neck.

"My attitude's ..." Fine? No, if he's being honest with himself, it's far from appropriate. He doesn't see how wagging your tail and jumping on someone's lap to drag your tongue over them is any better than yawning openly. "Okay, I guess I could be a bit more polite, but this isn't polite."

It's the exact opposite, in his opinion. Still, there's nothing else he can do but indulge Irvin as long as Jade wants him to stay put. At least it's easy to hide his flushed face in Irvin's fur. "What do you expect me to do? Behave like a bitch in heat and just take it?" He doesn't mean it literally, despite what's going on; just to learn and quietly accept being touched and to reciprocate.

"More or less." Shinjirou doesn't know just how right he is, and Jade isn't about to enlighten him, aside from layering a hint of suggestiveness onto his tone.

Suddenly, he stops rubbing Shinjirou's shoulders, placing two long fingers against his neck instead. "You feel rather hot. Are you quite alright?"

"No. Irvin's heavy and it's ... weird." He's seventeen, the friction is there and so is just the right motion -- luckily Irvin's body hiding his body's reaction. On the other hand, Irvin seems to be following suit which only makes Shinjirou flush brighter.

His heart's beating fast, a harsh thump he can even feel in his head. "You're weird."

"Am I?" Shinjirou's pulse is racing rapidly under his fingertips - but is it Shinjirou's heartbeat or his own? Jade can't tell. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Y-yeah, you are." And Jade's playing dumb. He seems to like doing that. Shinjirou tries his best not to let it aggravate him. It's for his own sake, not just because it'll make dealing with Jade's guests easier. Taking a few deep breaths and counting to ten, he lifts his head.

"Irvin's, you know, pretty excited." What is he supposed to do about that? He can't get away because neither Jade nor Irvin are willing to let him. "I don't understand what you expect from me."

"Is he?"

Close as he is, Jade can feel the exaggerated rise and fall of Shinjirou's chest, the way his pulse almost seems to slow as he masters his frustration. Jade smiles inwardly, pleased with Shinjirou's quick progress.

"I don't expect anything from you." It's not as much of a lie as it could be. He doesn't want to force Shinjirou into anything; there's no point in that. "I only want you to enjoy yourself."

Pushing his arms between Irvin's and his own body at first seems like a good idea, but then Irvin's paws land on his shoulder, shoving him to the side. Bracing himself with one hand on the floor, it isn't hard to guess what kind of position Irvin has in mind. The dog keeps nudging -- if he were just a tiny little Chihuahua, that wouldn't be a problem.

"I'm not sure I'm enjoying myself." Shinjirou looks up, knowing that even a silent plea for guidance is a lost case. Apparently Jade's having a good time and isn't in the mood for details. There's one rather open-ended question Shinjirou thinks Jade may be willing to answer: "Is Irvin a guest?"

Both his hands are on Shinjirou's shoulders now, gripping with just barely enough strength to help steady him. Jade is quiet for a moment as he considers the question. His first instinct is to default to his usual non-answers and suggest that Shinjirou decide for himself, and he very nearly says it too, but stops himself at the last moment. Free will is the important thing here; he wants Shinjirou to accept the dog's advances of his own volition. So, no, Irvin isn't a guest would be the proper response there.

But why say that when he can frustrate Shinjirou instead?

"Maybe. Maybe not." He withdraws his hands, folding them resting them on his own knees instead. "Does it matter?"

This way, he's still giving Shinjirou a choice. It's just a less clear one.

He bites back a heartfelt fuck you and lowers his head. Deduction isn't his strongest suit, but it's all that's left. As a slave, what he's supposed to do is serve -- make sure that the needs of those around him are met. What Irvin needs right now is relief. Irvin's a dog, though.

Does it matter?

In the beginning, Jade's told him to take care of Irvin. That must still hold true. And at the moment, if he wants to take care of him, then ... well. Still somewhat uncertain, for more reasons than just not knowing what Jade's goal is, he allows Irvin to push him around. He ends up on all fours, not an unfamiliar position.

He shakes his head in disbelief anyway. Strangely, between all the shock, he's not too worried. If he's got it wrong, then Jade will be there to correct him.