5 Miller's Kennel: First Mistakes

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#5 of Miller's Kennel

Todd is settling into his job and getting used to new tasks, as well as the complications in his position.


As the recently adjusted fox padded up to the house, Richard called through the screen door for him to come right in, a request Todd followed without a moment's hesitation. His new employer pulled a covered plate from the oven, eggs and bacon revealed underneath. The pop of a fresh piece of toast made him jump slightly, but they shared a laugh over the matter as he joined to eat.

"Now, fox, don't expect a cooked breakfast every morning- Just easier to cook for two. That said- your first day, and no groceries... You'll be better with a more complete meal with the supplement. And what can I say, sometimes I like being nice. Come, sit" he motioned toward the bottle on the table, unoccupied chair and table setting before it. Collecting the empty bottle from Todd, he continued, "I have a horribly small sample size for honest test subjects as far as taste testing goes," he glances down at the empty paw, rolling out a few fingers, giving an impression he meant less than a handful, "How is this batch?" He looked serious, "Be brutally honest."

"Oh I ah, just drank one of the ones you left me in the fridge," Todd pointed over his shoulder, glancing away, but looking back and seeing that expression, he dismissed his concern and just got the chilly bottle, condensation still on the glass. The stopper opened with a satisfying little snap, and he was soon downing a mouthful of the creamy fluid, pausing to let it linger on his palate.

"Sweet enough... has a sort of caramelly, cookie flavor? Not bad." There was an aroma that crept up on the back of the nose as it lingered, "Slightly odd aftertaste the other one didn't have. What's in it? The texture's... different than the other one. Not anywhere near as thick." Todd paused to stare at and fidget with the lid, blinking. "Sort of feel like I should have asked that before drinking."

"Hmm, yes. Nice to have a trusting assistant. I would like to earn that trust further and see it's rewarded. To that end. I'll not lie to you about anything, I'll swear to that here and now. You'll get the whole story about anything you want to know, just bear in mind I'm not going to reveal everything right away. Pay attention to the details. For now, don't you fret your fuzzy little head about it, fox." Again, the phrasing made his ears flush in ambivalent frustration, embarrassment, and a mix of other confusing emotions he had no time to process, focus pulled too many directions.

Mr. Miller interrupted his thought process with a stern, expectant look, glancing again at the bottle in Todd's paws. Unlike the first drink, this had a lingering after... something. Not so much a taste, but... ?

"Dehydrated and powered stroopwaffle cookies, green tea extract, and a few non-local botanicals you haven't heard of which will make you feel hot under the collar," his serious expression relaxed by a note, amusement creeping into the edges, "with a touch of magic thrown in. Drink up, busy day ahead." The faintly greying otter led on- moving as he spoke. He left Todd no time to ponder.

In a submissive reflex-of-sorts, he dipped the bottle back and drake up.

"Good boy," Todd's tail poofed up behind him, "Now. I need you to stage number seven, along with a little cleanup of four- Rudy's flat." While he spoke, Richard collected up a small serving of eggs and bacon for the fox, grabbed the english muffin he'd already buttered and toasted, then folded it all presented as a neat little sandwich.

He read the puzzled moment on the fox's face, looking fairly more flustered than the seconds prior, "Your left side neighbor," he motioned out the window while setting down the plate, "and the flat a couple more down from there," the older otter leaned in and motioned onward, making sure Todd was following his line of sight.

While close, he sniffed the air, face splitting into a knowing grin, "you've met him. Forward and friendly, likes to leave behind a memento of his claims." He gave a distant chuckle as he continued, leaving the fox again blushing. "I'll have a talk with him about the before-hours meet up," he pats Todd on the shoulder, giving it a reassuring little rub and squeeze, "Be sure he realizes it's an extra commission fee to wake you up like that."

Todd moved to speak up, but was cut off, "eat up before it cools. I like to see my efforts appreciated."

He didn't have to be told twice, scooping up the wonderful smelling little stack and crunching into a little mouthful.

"Two mixed guests will be arriving now that we've made it to a soft open. Arriving some time this afternoon, they plan to be here at least a week, though one of the pair is to be away during the day for business."

Todd quickly swallowed his mouthful, taking a moment to get a little clarity, "Mixed Guests?" Another bite. His phone buzzed, but he ignored the less-than-silent vibration.

Mr. Miller took a beat to think, "You'll find out more when they arrive, but a boxer mix along with his upright friend. Oh right," he closed his eyes, as if thinking about something in a rather focused way, then snapped his fingers at the end, gesticulating subtly with one paw for a few moments and continuing, "You'll find a checklist on the fridge in four. Pocket that and get it all done. Shouldn't be more than a couple hours of focused effort. Plenty of time before lunch." Todd washed down the last of the snack with the cookie-flavored drink.

The same curious sensation settled into him as it coated his throat and filled his belly with a fading cool spot. In equal measure, it gave him a curious case of frisson up the spine. Soon to his feet, Todd thanked his boss for the meal, and was eager to get started on whatever it was he'd need to do. Beyond the strong personality of Mr Miller, the uncertainty of the tasks and quantity thereof gave a sense of urgency.

"By the way, Todd- during work hours leave your phone at your house. I don't want your personal conversations disturbing the guests. That said, get your work done and relax as long as you like. I'll leave the specifics of your timetable to you. Don't make that a mistake," his tone darkened a fraction, "I don't like being made to make mistakes.

"And- before you run off," as the flavor of stroopwafel faded on his palate, an odd sense of energy and bounciness was building up in his core, his butt picking up a little bounce.

Must have been a lot of green tea extract. He was feeling warm. Maybe it was the other stuff he didn't know about. Todd hoped he didn't make a mistake in all this. Mr. Miller was stern, but seemed genuine enough. Everything seemed a little too-good-to-be-true, and he was having some second thoughts.

So lost in his uncertainty, he didn't notice the otter retrieving a small package, wrapped up in a reflective gold-looking foil pouch, tied off at the top with a silk ribbon. This was handed to the fox with a bit of care. "I couldn't give this to you sooner."

"Oh ah, thank you." He said, still unwrapping the unexpected gift, treating the foil with care. It just seemed expensive and he didn't want to cause any damage.

Within was a simple wooden box, folded open to reveal what looked like a small, coverless pocket watch. It was affixed to a well crafted, very light, short braided chain, a clasp on the other end. Silver in tone overall, and perfectly untarnished. The back was patterned with an intricate inlay, copper set into the indentations. No brand labeling looked to be on either the package, or the very expensive piece itself.

Todd scooped it up, holding it in his palm. As he looked, the clock's analog face revealed itself like a dim hologram, the silent moving second hand making its sweep some fraction above the surface. Changing the angle didn't seem to make it any easier to see, but the three dimensional effect stood out that little bit better looking straight on. If this was accurate, the time was approaching half-after the hour.

"That's more than just a watch, mind you. Take care not to lose it." Mr. Miller spoke, collecting up the second empty bottle. "I'll page you later with it in case I need you."

"Oh! It's a smart-watch? Neat!" Todd perked, looking back to him, and then to the watch face, giving it a tap, then a swipe- both to no effect. The glass surface was at least solid, and not the curious void that his eyes told him was just inside.

"Smart..." The otter processed Todd's reaction for a moment, "right! Something like that. Don't worry about it right now. Just keep it on your person. I'll tell you more about it another time." He gave a little dismissive gesture with a paw. To the idea, or to the fox- it was hard for the new employee to say.

As he moved to tuck it into one of the tight pockets he had available, his boss's phrasing, along with the green tea in that drink, again got the gears turning in his head. "You aren't tracking this or something are you?" He half joked while working out a good spot to attach the chain. With the way his shorts were hemmed, his contained sheath was settled alongside the watch.

"What? Heavens no. When I need it, I'll get you," Mr Miller encroached on the fox's space, ushering him out the doorway with a gentle, but strong paw just above the tailbase, aiming the fox in the direction of number four, Rudy's bungalow. "Now, be a good boy and send Rudy over. I'll have a talk with him. I know you don't technically start the day for another half an hour, but all this was business related, so I'd count you on the clock already- if you like," he made a little motion of rubbing fingers together.

Todd was already feeling so full of energy, he just snapped to a decision and nodded, "Oh sir, er si-sure," the word 'sure' stumbled, mixed partly with the word sir. Richard smiled. Rather than dwell upon a twisted tongue, he set off to talk to the dog who'd recently marked him with cum, a bounce in his step.

His phone's buzz-buzz again distracted him, pausing to check what was happening. Just a text message about a scam. Todd shook his head. First thing, drop off phone in his house.

His house.

That put the biggest smile on his face, even with the aroma on the stoop. Perhaps even a little thanks to it. In only a minute he dashed upstairs and left his phone plugged in and locked next to the bed.

Walking away from it felt a little weird, he was always tied at the hip to his phone on the sales floor and in his off time. What's done is done, and he headed next door, where some curious music was just filtering through the closed windows. On approach, he heard a faint click from below, but didn't think anything of it.

By reflex, he knocked twice, then felt a little silly that he was knocking for a dog. All the same, it had the desired effect. An excited series of barks rang out inside, the audio track stopped abruptly, followed by scrabbles, and a familiar face exiting out in a rush, the flap of the lower door swung up and out of the way.

"Woah!" Startled, the fox jumped back a step, just to be barked at, once, by an excited dog. "Heeey boy," Rudy's excited expression dulled slightly, but he still looked chipper, "uhm... come on, He reached forward toward the retriever's collar with a slow paw, "Mr. Miller wants you over there," but he was dodged simply. "Hey...? Oh." Todd trailed off, just watching the dog go, of all places, straight in the right direction. He was stunned long enough, Rudy had time to dip into the kitchen.

"Rudy, good morning! ... slept well. Thank you for ... away...," Todd's sensitive ears picked up bits of the conversation in the quiet air. Not to snoop, he turned his attention to tasks of the morning. "Oh did he?" The otter's voice was raised, but Todd wasn't about to take the bait.

Maybe it was just some weird way to test him? See if he can remain on task. Whatever.

First day on the job, focus.

The contents of his sheath throbbed a little less than subtly. Every step he took made the lump of metal in his pocket press and grind against the leather around his sheath. Even then, his knot was subtly throbbing at the base, precum soaking into and making a dark spot on his red underwear. Just thinking about it then made his balls draw up, a subtle ache settling in.

Focus!

Stepping up to the door, he heard that same click from below. The knob was locked.

"Now how does he expect me to," as Todd looked at the entryway, a thought occurred to him. With just the end of his sandal, he gave the doggy-door a nudge. It swung freely. Fortunately, the space was wide enough he could get on all fours to get through after he pulled it open. As his hips made it under the flap, the back of his shorts got caught on it. Forward progress was stopped dead. He had to raise his tail and shuffle back, reach back and push the offending thing off him, and then all but fall through in a heap.

He'd have to ask Mr. Miller about the keys. Maybe he missed them some place.

Tail drawn through, Todd moved to stand. It looked like the furnishings here were all low to the floor. A small drinking fountain was set up, constructed of stone, burbling away with a clean little pool of water falling into a lower pool.

Approaching the fridge, he found the handle had a rope attached, hung to ankle level. There was also a list fixed to the door with something slightly tacky.

It seemed like the older otter had a knack for leaving written notes around with pertinent information.

Just a handful of tasks, he shouldn't be long. "Mop up around the drinking fountain, sweep up, make the bed... in the thing, dey-dut... Seems like it's just housekeeping. Easy!"

The fox spent the next several minutes on a hunt for cleaning supplies getting his bearings. There were a bit of loose strands of fur here and there, but who's house didn't have a bit of shed around. In the bedroom, the low-set bed was stripped.

Broom but no mop in the laundry room. A towel was there at least. The dryer indicated a recent load was completed, its panel still blinking. Out of curiosity, he opened the still-warm space and pulled out a crackling and dry, matching fitted sheet set.

Making the bed gave him a minute to think. Mr. Miller must have already had a bust morning. Over here to run a load in the washer, back for breakfast, and whatever else he got up to before dawn.

The living room had a very apt name, the space a bigger mess than anywhere else, looking lived in. A thick pillow had been dragged from the bedroom into the living room, looking disheveled, thick with a now familiar scent, a patch very wet and cold to the touch. The smell matched that which clung to his arm and that he's sampled just this morning. The hornball of a dog didn't get enough from just him, but must have been humping this pillow as well.

The realization as he held it aloft made his ears redden on the way to the laundry with it.

A pair of discarded snack containers with a design he'd not seen before were set in a neat pile beside the couch, on a warmed floor. The insides looked spotless, with just a faint aroma of some beefy stew left still on the plastic. Brought to the kitchen, they joined a few others which looked to have been dropped in haphazardly on the lower rack. With his mother's distant nag in the back of his head, the fox arranged everything in there and closed up. Soon after he did a last sweep around the house, loose fur and dust collected into a pan.

"Oh that's cute, there's even a little bidet in the bathroom," he remarked aloud, passing by on his way back toward the kitchen. Even the facilities there looked constructed with a quadruped's anatomy in mind. Low to the floor, easy footing. Large buttons for the functions were beside, labeled with little pictures. It seemed a bit much for dogs, but Todd eventually just reasoned that if they were being sent to a place like this, their owners must give them some special training, or have similar equipment at their homes.

Checking the time on his new gift, he'd spent the better part of an hour keeping busy. After a brief instant showing a clock face, it changed to a silvery-sheened bell ringing in the curious little void under the glass, at the same moment, he was distracted again by a throb in his sheath. The only thing that came close to it were those times he swore his phone was buzzing in his pocket, but in fact was not. After a moment, the bell and the sensation stopped together.

This was a weird morning.

Returning to the kitchen, Todd unbolted, stepped through, and pulled closed the back door, only to realize after he didn't have a means to lock the top again.

With a resolute sigh, he grabbed the handle and stepped into the door chest-first.

Ears red and flustered, he tried to shrink upon himself, ears flat, tail low and tucked, his focus solely upon just exiting this ridiculous moment. Again he dropped to his knees and began crawling inside quickly. Something about this method of entry just set him on a weird edge. Not upset, it just made him feel weird.

With lessons not kept in mind, the fox's haste and emasculated posture got him into worse trouble. As he passed under and tried just diving forward, his tough bluejean caught on the same place, this time getting wedged against one side, legs behind him awkwardly. He yelped, underwear twisting up and compressing already snug anatomy. His balls were squeezed into a pant leg, forming a lump.

Thankful that nobody was watching, he was embarrassed just for himself. Tail tucked right between his legs, he drew a deep breath, grabbing his muzzle and just squeezing a moment while exhaling.

The contents of his sheath throbbed again.

His heart was racing, he felt sensitive all over, and his mind was just a tumbling rush.

What the heck was in that drink?

Trying to get some control over the situation, he recalled earlier and simply tried to wriggle backward.

In that same moment, his ears swiveled back to an approaching sound.

Todd did not realize what it was, even as it was until it was upon him. A weight crashed into his butt, impacted squarely on a pair of feral paws. He yelled out in alarm, unable to do a thing to catch himself. Thanks to the stiff door flap, the only direction for him to go was forward and down, pinned suddenly to the floor by his assailant, who was standing on him with both forepaws. Right away, he moved to wriggle, but a familiar bark rang out.

He froze and took an instant to process. It was Rudy? He was okay!

He was trapped, and the wood was digging into the small of his back, despite its padding.

The fox tried again to squirm, only to get another bark. That weight increased against his butt, joined by a nose. He stopped. Rudy lightened up, but still busied himself snuffling away between his paws. This placed the dog's energetic nose square against Todd's tailbase and butt. With his garments twisted up, he just felt Rudy investigate the smells that wafted from his exposed pant leg.

"Okay, off." The fox tried to wiggle back and forth, only to get braced right back in place, a paw slammed to the door. The surprise of it and the way his pants were caught had him effectively halted dead. "Off!" He squirmed more, but only managed to roll back and forth atop his already compressed sheath.

His knot was swelling. He was not getting off on this.

The dog took hold of the tailclasp for his pants, and gave a pull. The button popped open simply. There was a sudden drop in pressure around his balls and ass, and he groaned.

Maybe he was getting off on this.

The inquisitive, clever nose found a loose fold just at the clasp for his tail, sending a rapid in-and-out rush of air into the tight space just around his hole.

"Come on, lemmie up," he whined ineffectually.

The contents of his sheath throbbed again, harder than ever now. It was too much to ignore at the instant, despite other literal pressures standing on him at the moment. He contorted and reached between his legs, trying to tug at his pants to no effect.

"Rudy, off," he half ordered, half asked, his tone moving from demanding to desperate as the better part of a minute ticked by. Each time he tried another different movement, the dog countered him and kept him wedged perfectly in place.

The contents of his sheath throbbed, the pressure of his knot and shaft wedged between him and the floor growing uncomfortable, hard member and balls aching notably.

"Please get off," he almost yelled, still talking even as Rudy hopped off and stepped away, "I need to," his voice lowered "go."

Rudy barked at him, just the once.

Before the dog got a chance to change his mind, Todd wiggled backward and hefted his butt, flagged his tail, and reached back to free his pants in the same moment to extract himself from the door. In the scramble, his knee braced on his loosened shorts. So, as he shoved his rear end into the air to get free, his waistband was yanked down and red underwear flashed for the world to see. With freedom being the only idea in mind, he pulled his head clear, only to have it thumped harmlessly, but repeatedly right back into the still moving fox trap, made to swing a little bit each time his head thumped into it. The cause of his trouble, Rudy had chosen that moment he was vulnerable to grab him from behind.

The fox's ass was up in the air, it was the perfect target.

Paws wrapped around his torso and pulled. A dewclaw caught on his shirt, the lycra stretched and then pierced as both forepaws grappled tight to his hips. Warmth of the canine upon his back removed the chill introduced by the loss of his shorts. Now, a much firmer and insistent heat was crammed against his hip.

A yelp rose in Tod's throat, but was squeezed out as a choked 'gack!'

Rudy was mostly soft, hips worked in a slow, rolling circle. His shaft was wet, the spongy flesh angled forward by the bone within. After a couple jerks of his hips and strong tugs, his sheath was aligned right under the fox's leather bound member, a thin layer of cloth still separating them. It was damp already with his own pre, and Rudy was adding more darkened, wet streaks with each jab.

For a handful of seconds- so stunned was the fox, he just took it. Face down, ass up, tail cocked to the side and legs bound at the knees in his own clothing. Rudy's thrusts were jostling the fox's balls each time, cloth starting to stick from how wet it had grown.

The contents of his sheath throbbed, the sensation sending an ache into the whole of his package, a lightly blue-balled feeling settling into his loins. The shock of it jumped a moan right to his throat, joining the gentle panting and startling silent nearby birds.

The cool air on his back was nearly as much of a surprise. Just as fast as he'd climbed on, Rudy dropped back off of him, still panting, tail in a wag.

With that, it seemed over. The retriever gave a little 'ruff' at him, looking extremely pleased with himself. One eye blinked, and he dipped his head to walk through the doggy-door, tail bumping against his side along the way.

A few moments later, there was a little scramble against the door, the deadbolt clicked, and footsteps retreated back into the house.

The music from earlier soon returned.

The contents of his sheath throbbed, the ache made his balls draw up, his knot try and grow, hips quivering for several seconds, almost humping at the air like Rudy just humped against him. This was really getting bad.

Todd whined hard and tried to collect himself. He rolled over and got to his feet, shorts pulled up and dampened underwear adjusted to the best of his ability. The weight of the watch settled again upon his sheath, reminding him. He checked the time again, and several minutes had passed since last. The image of a single bell from earlier was replaced with several, one behind the other, all clattering away in silence.

He swore he could almost hear the cacophony.

Tucking the timepiece back in his pocket, the fox took off jogging toward Mr Miller's house to answer the page, wincing as his package strained against the leather.