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An Education in Dominance

Chapter 2: Class Selection

By Draconicon

The short time between the end of summer break and the start of his first semester saw a number of events go by. As he'd promised, Idesin - the university's NSPA representative - had come by and talked him through the procedure for collaring anyone during his time at school, as well as checking in on him regarding James. That had been a rather short conversation, awkward as his splitting up with the mouse had been, but the otter had been kind enough about it. Had sent cookies the next day, too.

He'd also learned what his mother had arranged for his former sub, and was surprised at how...private she'd been about it. Apparently, she'd found out who James was binding himself to as a master/sub contract, and had sent along the situation to said dom. Whatever had happened between them hadn't reached the ears of the public, but apparently, James had been forced to take a medical leave from university for the first week while he 'healed.'

The buck guessed that it was something more akin to a long-term punishment that had to be gotten through before he could enjoy the fruits of his deceit. In either case, it kept the whole humiliation private for both him and James, and taught the mouse a lesson...he hoped.

Aside from seeing his mother and father going through a refreshment of their own relationship - foreshadowed by his father buying about six first aid kits and two dozen ice-packs - and checking into a hotel to avoid the worst of it, Basajuan felt...better by the time that his first day rolled around. Not a hundred percent, but better.

It had really helped to spend those days working on himself, too. By the end of it, he felt confident again, his need to be in charge stronger than it had been, and his faith in himself restored. He had made a mistake with James, hadn't gone as in-depth as he had about the mouse's motivations. He wouldn't do that again.

The first day arrived without fanfare or ceremony. The university itself was as bustling as it always was, no more or less busy than any other day. Those that had graduated the year before made room for those that were just coming in, and Basajuan stood in line with a number of other leash-bearing doms that were waiting for their turn to pick classes.

Should have gotten out of bed a bit earlier, I guess, he thought as he looked at the slow-moving line. Here's hoping that most of them are going for the more exciting careers.

He had little doubt that some of them were. There were enough big-shouldered and well-muscled men in his line to fill out the Enforcer dom quota for the university, and then some. Probably too many to be accepted into the police academies of the country, when it came right down to it - there was more a need for Peacekeeper subs, these days, than the doms that ran them - but they would do well with the education, anyway.

Others, usually the better-off and more slickly dressed ones, looked like they'd probably sign up for the business classes, possibly working to become either harem doms, spymasters, or even diplomats. They probably wouldn't be in most of his classes, but he imagined that they'd be sharing some of the basic classes in dominance before they diverged into the specializations.

Still, he could read the body language of enough people in line, and knew that he wasn't the only one that was a bit nervous about whether he'd be able to sign up for classes in time.

The line moved forward, gradually creeping up the steps of the admin building. Basajuan was about halfway up, fingers tapping on his belt, when someone shoved him from behind. The buck almost lost his balance, catching himself on the person in front of him. Grunting in surprise and annoyance, he turned around -

Only to find himself face to face with a very apologetic orca, who already held his hands up in embarrassment and was trying to brush him off.

"I'm sorry. Really, really sorry about that. It was a complete accident, don't know what happened, just -"

"It's okay," Basajuan said after a few seconds. "Just an accident, right?"

"Yes, it was. I'm really sorry; I'm pretty clumsy, and I'm not used to this place yet. Everyone else is standing so close and -"

The orca continued to blither on, Basajuan listening with one ear while checking the big guy out with the rest of his attention. He was a reasonably large orca, both tall and a bit on the round side. Not fat, but looking like someone that hadn't left his apartment for a bit too long. He wore a big t-shirt that covered most of that, and a pair of jeans that didn't quite hide the dick that was stuffed down it. Pretty darn respectable.

But there was something a bit off about him, and it took Basajuan nearly a minute to notice what it was. When he did, his eyes went wide.

"You don't have a leash...or a collar."

"Oh, um...yeah..."

The orca stuttered a bit, then cleared his throat, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some folded piece of paper. He offered it to the buck, and the deer took it a second later, reading it to himself.

Yadda, yadda, yadda...Oh...

He looked up, then back down again.

"An exchange student?"

"Yeah. My family thought that it might be a good idea for me to get an education around a different sort of culture."

"You couldn't have picked a more different one. Where are you from?"

"Novus Ager. Ever heard of it?"

"Only in books. Is it really that...open-minded?"

"Not most of the time, but...well, you know the stories about the hypnosis and mind control and weird stuff that goes on all the time?"

"Yeah?"

"It's a bit like that. Really. That's not just stories."

Basajuan had serious doubts about that, but he didn't push the matter. He handed the letter back, folding his arms across his chest. The line moved, and he mechanically took a step back to keep his place.

"So, what are you? Dom? Sub?"

"Um, technically sub, but -"

"Then I'm sorry to tell you, but you're in the wrong line."

"Oh...oh no...you mean..."

The orca pointed to the other side of the steps at the line that went down to the bottom of the stairs, looped around the main square twice, and then went down the spiraling path towards the very center of the university campus. It was that long, compared to the line that the doms were in.

Basajuan nodded.

"Yep. You got the wrong line."

"...oh..."

The orca's little whimper was almost adorable, and certainly enough to get Basajuan smiling to himself. He patted the big guy on the shoulder.

"What's your name?"

"Keremy."

"Well, Keremy. Here's a little trick for you. Find someone that's a bit smaller than you in line, and do this. Exactly this."

The buck leaned forward, just enough to really emphasize his height, and placed a hand on the orca's shoulder. His grip was just tight enough, just firm enough, to emphasize the strength that came with size without pushing it so far as to be bullying. He enhanced that with a smile, charming but not enough to look like it was a slimy, sleazy sort of thing. Even more than that, he cocked his head to the side, looking exuberant, even a little clumsy, but with that force behind it to keep it from being annoying.

All in all, it was an expression and pose designed to put someone on the back foot, to make them feel like they were reacting to something rather than choosing to push back. Subs always leaned away from it, disarmed in the first few seconds, and Keremy was no exception, the orca leaning back and opening up in his body language.

"Heh, I'm sorry, but I really need to get in front of you right now. You're so great holding a spot for me; I'll pay you back later."

"Of course, I'll be happy to -"

"See what I mean?"

The orca paused, blinking a few times as he realized what had just happened. His eyes widened, jaw working back and forth a few times.

Basajuan just patted on him on the back, nudging him out of the dom line.

"Go on. Find a spot."

"Uh...thank you."

"See you later, maybe."

The orca walked off, still looking confused, and the deer shook his head. It was just a matter of time until the orca tried it on someone it would work on. Not all the subs in line would fall for it so easily, particularly from someone that wasn't a natural dom, but it would get him in somewhere. The guy was charming enough to not deserve to wait at the end of the line just because he'd been a bit clumsy in finding his place.

A small harrumph interrupted his thoughts, and he turned back to the person in front of him. An armadillo, and not one that he knew, but one that looked a bit on the judgmental side.

"Yes?"

"You're gonna teach a sub how to do our stuff?"

"Please. He's not going to use it more than once."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well, the fact that he barely understood what happened, for one. And for another, did you see the way he walked? He doesn't have that sort of aggressive mindset. He wants to find someplace to belong; he can't make it for himself, so he'll find someone else to help him."

"..."

"Plus, he's not one of us. Unless he changes massively before he graduates, there's no way in hell that he's going to turn into a trouble sub."

"Heh, good point. Name's Danny, by the way."

"Basajuan."

The two of them shook hands as they made their way further up the line. After a little bit of chat, it was clear that Danny was another exchange student, though one that had managed to secure himself a place as a dom in Dimash. That was rare enough, considering the standards that doms were held to, but he even had a badge of certification hanging from the end of the leash at his waist. Basajuan nodded in approval; usually, it took another year of study past the basics to get something like that.

Of course, his mother had gotten one at the age of seventeen, but he wasn't going to open up that can of worms.

"So, what are you here for?" he asked.

"Family thought I wasn't worth anything at home, so they gave me enough to move out. I thought I'd come here and try my luck."

"Heh, why here?"

"Where else can you get paid for fucking someone?"

"It's...a bit more complicated than that, but I guess you'll figure that out, eventually."

"Heh, what's to learn? You find people that wanna be fucked, they pay ya, and then you go your separate ways."

"Oh, you're going for pro-dom then, huh?"

"If that's a prostitute on the high end, then I guess so."

"...You are going to have a very fun time learning the reality of the situation."

Danny arched an eyebrow, but before the armadillo could ask anything else, one of the university advisors finally called to him. Basajuan waved goodbye as the bigger, wider male jogged up to the desk, shaking his head.

Pro-dom. Man, I remember when I used to think that'd be fun, he thought.

Pro-doms were the equivalent to Pro-subs. It was basically a prostitute that was a hyper-specialized version of doms and subs, and one that would be able to teach others how to be a general dom or sub. They often worked in the school system when they weren't on the streets gathering clients, or working from their penthouses and pulling in rich clientele from both the locals and the tourists. Those that were good at it could earn more than six figures a year without even trying.

Of course, that meant that there were hundreds, sometimes thousands of people a year trying to do the same thing. It didn't always work out with that much competition. Unless you were one of the best and had a network of contacts that were eager to see you rise to the top, often, it ended up being what you did on the weekends to supplement the income.

Good luck, man. Good luck.

"Basajuan."

The buck jogged forward, moving up to one of the free desks. The advisor behind it, a dark-scaled naga with shimmering eyes, looked up at him. They exchanged a glance, and then broke it at the same time, neither wanting to make the other feel that they'd gained something.

"Sssso, you're looking to go into the medical field, are you?"

"Yes, I am. Doctor dom, if I can."

"Then you have quite the path ahead of you."

"I'm sure I do. What do I start with?"

"The bassssicssss of domination, to start with. I believe that you will alssso benefit from taking Theology of Power, Pssssychology of Leaderssship, and an introduction to Erotic Criminology."

"...But I'm studying to be a doctor..."

"Anyone can memorize the chemicalsss and diagnossssesss and other traditionsss of the medical field. It takessss a great deal more to be a doctor dom. If you cannot channel your dominant perssssonality into it, you will not be able to sssucceed."

"...Fair enough."

Basajuan looked down at the papers, shaking his head a few times. It wasn't the start of the year that he was expecting, but he supposed there were some things that would be useful in there. Psychology would definitely help him avoid a situation like he'd gotten into with James, keeping him informed of the people around him. And the Theology of Power would be something worthwhile; he knew that it was a bit on the religious side, but the precepts of the religion itself were things that had been borrowed for the rules of dominance in general. Seeing the origins would probably help him understand what had been borrowed a bit better.

It was the Erotic Criminology that didn't make sense.

"So...why this?"

"Bessssidessss the fact that Professsssor SssskyWing hasss pussshed me to get him assss many ssssstudentssss as possssible?"

"Yes. Besides rigging the system like that."

"Erotic Criminology beginssss with a very powerful lessssson about interrogation and handling of sssussspectsss with domination. It will allow you a different inssssight towardsss your future patientsss."

I guess that makes sense...

He nodded, marking down the class names and the teachers. The payments had already gone through when he'd been accepted for the university - the payment for the semester was sent over while he was attempting the entry exams, and would have been refunded if he'd failed - so all he had to do was fill out the paperwork.

"Do I have any sex classes?" he asked.

"Yessss. Twice a week, taught after the other lessssons."

"Who's the teacher?"

"Professssor Rasssshii."

"Oooh, I've heard of her," the buck said. "She's very good."

"Indeed. A treassssure of the universssity."

And then some, from what he'd heard of her. The snake woman was one of those that had been in the military before, serving in the defense of the country. Very few people went into that, these days, as it was more of a defensive force rather than a proper armed forces. They got most of their protection from the United Nations, and from some of the neighboring countries that had a mutual defense contract with them.

He'd seen her put the authority and assertiveness she'd learned there to use on students and civilians alike. One notable time, he'd been on a shopping trip when some dom had been taking his pleasure with a sub. He couldn't remember the sub very clearly anymore, but the poor girl had been ill-trained, not ready for public-play, and they'd been getting into an argument that threatened to spill out into the rest of the crowd. Basajuan had been one of many that had considered calling the Peacekeeper subs to try and keep order until things could be resolved.

Instead, Rashii had stepped out of the blue and taken charge. The python had barked two simple orders, calming the sub girl, and had lectured her dom up and down in a way that had left the older man blushing. She'd even convinced him to rip up the contract for the girl, something the whole crowd had been in favor of after seeing the poor match-up.

Then there'd been the sex. Quite a bit of that, actually, as the snake woman had showed the other two how to have some real fun.

He chuckled.

If she's the teacher this year, this is going to be a hell of a time.

"Thanks. So, should I -"

"The dormitoriesss are halfway down the sssslope. Check in with Koche in there; he'll be your NDCA repressssentative thissss year."

"Good to know."

The NDCA, or the National Dom Counseling Agency, was one of the first things that a dom was put in contact with once they were identified. He remembered being rather surprised that there was such a thing, back when he thought that being a dom was just about ordering people around.

Once he learned how stressed out someone could be when they were caring for someone all the time, when they were seeing to the needs of another and working so hard to make sure that they were both satisfied, he realized how integral it was. Rewards that came from being a dom aside, sometimes everyone needed a bit of help.

He followed the slow flood down the spiraling pathway, listening to the chatter going on. The subs were more talkative than the doms as a general rule, most of them talking about how they looked forward to 'stretching classes' or 'scent play' teachings. The most talkative were the foreign ones like Keremy and Danny, chatting about how it would be awesome to learn how to be a slave, how to be a 24-7 plaything that got by with their looks and their body alone.

They could not be more obvious about their origins if they'd tried, and even the other subs looked at each other as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Everyone had the same reaction, too.

They'll learn, the silent consensus was. They won't believe any warnings. Just let them learn that there's more to it than the sex.

As they reached the halfway point, Basajuan and a few other doms pulled themselves away from the pack, making their way up the few short steps to the porch. Waiting to greet them was a kobold, red-scaled and squat compared to the rest of them, but wearing a rather fancy sort of suit of gold and white that showed off his body in a more classy way than Basajuan was used to. Most of the guys that he found in his social circles tended to emphasize the crotch or whatever fetishized part of the body that they enjoyed. The kobold was far more professional, though hardly shy.

"So, you're the last of the doms for this year, hmmm?" the kobold asked.

"I guess we are," Basajuan said. "You must be...Koche, yes?"

"Yes. I'll be your NDCA representative this year."

The kobold reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a collection of business cards. They were white with red lettering on them, with a phone number at the top, and a second one just under that.

"The first number is the office number at the university. The second one is my cell number."

"You're just handing that out?" one of the other doms asked.

"Crises don't operate on a timetable. I prefer not to make you wait if you don't need to."

Koche looked between them, and for a moment, the buck almost wondered if he saw a bit of worry in the kobold's eyes. The slight fracture of confidence was enough to leave him with a raised eyebrow; few doms ever displayed that sort of vulnerability, particularly the older ones.

Then it was gone, and the red kobold smiled.

"There are no room assignments here, so you can pick the one you want out of what's left. If you were hoping for any by the front doors, they're all gone, but there might still be one or two left by the back doors. Enjoy one of your few dom privileges."

Most of the crowd ran off at that, leaving just him and Koche. The buck hesitated. There was a certain sort of etiquette between two doms, a sort of unstated agreement not to mention a weakness between them, but his curiosity was stronger than usual.

"Excuse me, but..."

"Yes?"

"Are you...okay?"

"Heh..."

The kobold smiled.

"As much as any of us are okay after messing up."

"Isn't that everyone?"

"Not like this, son. Not like this. But failure is the mother to invention, and experience is the key to success. I'll just have to make sure that none of you young doms make the same mistakes that the last ones did."

"..."

"It's nothing. Go on. Get your room, and if you really want to hear a kobold's stories, I'll tell you about them at our first appointment."

Nodding, the buck walked through the front door of the dorm building. He paused, looking back at the kobold as Koche looked down at the next group of people passing by, then shook his head and continued on his way. If the kobold had stories to tell, then that was up to him. A slightly damaged NDCA was, however, a bit worrying.

After all, he's supposed to be handling all of us, and if he's working through his own issues...

He wondered if they were in the best hands. Maybe it'd be an idea to call up the agency and make sure that they knew what Koche was going through. The school should have a proper counselor, after all.

But that was for later.

There were no rooms left at the far side of the building, but there was one next to the vending machines. Knowing that the noise of people going to it late at night would be far outweighed by the ease of access to snacks, he threw himself into the room just ahead of Danny, and flopped out on the bed. The armadillo grumbled, going off somewhere else.

It was one of the few benefits of being a dom in college. Despite being in the lower percentage of the population (probably about 20% of the college population were doms, 30% on a good year) they were allowed to pick their own rooms, and they were guaranteed not to have a roommate unless they wanted one. He preferred not to have one; he preferred to collar his own.

Well...got my schedule...got my room...Guess all that's left is to get a sub.

That was a joke, of course. He wasn't the sort to claim someone for a while. But he would keep an eye out for some good one-night stands over the next few days.

After all, experience was the key to success, and he wanted as much success as possible.

The End