Part 1

"Perhaps this is the day when I can get out of here", Shaasta thought to herself, as she arose from her cushion and struck a series of well rehearsed poses, showing off her tender naked assets for the passersby outside in an attempt to draw prospective buyers into the shop. This was the girl's fourth week at the Southern Rose Pet shop, and though many had checked her out rather thoroughly, no one had cared to shell out the rather high price the shop's owner had set for her. She was unique among the pets for sale here. All the others were various Furlings, Orniths, and Humans, but she was the only Elf in Master Varo's inventory, and traditionally, Elves tended to command a much higher value than any other species. She had already been marked down three times since her arrival, from ten platinum pieces, to eight, and now to seven; Master Varo had moved her from the middle of the show room to the display window facing the main street, her final place in the shop before being sent to auction. If only she had heeded her brother's warnings and not embarked on that foolish adventure up the Northwest Coast, an area notorious for slavers. Now here she was, sitting in a pet shop, enslaved for the second time in her life, and doing what she could to avoid the auction block.

She spied a small, black-robed figure striding down the walk, a wizard she guessed, and intensified her little show. According to Hansen, the Furling Squirrel who had been captured with her during their recent adventure together, wizards and other magick using types are the best owners a pet could have. She was already aware of this of course, having been owned by a sorceress the first time she had been captured back when she was only 11 years of age. Mistress Triniti was strict, but she had treated Shaasta quite well, and the girl had often hoped during her month here, that Triniti would show up and purchase her. As the wizard neared the shop, Shaasta did a half turn, and gave him a heart-melting gaze over her shoulder while running one hand through her fiery red shoulder-length mane, and the other hand along her thigh and soft, plush bottom.

The wizard stopped and faced the window, watching the Elf girl present herself. When Shaasta turned to face him, her eyes lit up and she gave a soft gasp as she met his violet gaze. Her rescue was imminent at last. He smiled knowingly at her and entered the shop. Master Varo greeted him as the wizard pulled back his cowl, revealing his Elvish features framed by a mane of silvery hair.

"Welcome to the Southern Rose, sir", the kindly Furling Wolf said, "I am Varo, the proprietor here, and this is my lovely assistant and personal pet, Lilieblume." He gestured to the lovely little smiling Halfling lass, who stood by his side, clad in only a collar and a work harness.

Lilieblume giggled mischievously and asked, "Are ye here as a customer or do ye wish to join our inventory?"

"Lilie, behave yourself", Varo growled, giving his pet a firm smack on her pretty little bottom with the paddle he always carried with him, "We don't want to scare the fellow away now, do we?"

The girl giggled again and rubbed her butt where the paddle had struck it, "Sorry, Master", she apologized, "but can ye blame me for trying to get another Elf in the showroom? Ye do know good and well just how valuable Elves are. Perhaps as a matching pair, they would sell together. And this one here is a real cutie, Mister..."

"Willowpaw", the wizard offered, taking her hand in his and planting a soft kiss upon her dainty fingers, while failing to suppress a blush at the impetuous girl's flattery, "Frelic Willowpaw of Pine Vale. And I am most certainly here as a potential customer, not as a product."

"Well, 'tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Willowpaw", Lilie beamed, giving him a polite curtsy, "Still, ye would make a very cute pet, and would look so sweet with our other Elf over there." She gestured towards the window, where Shaasta was listening intently and trying hard to hide both her excitement and her amusement.

"Ah, yes", Frelic said, "She is what drew me into this shop in the first place. I may be interested in purchasing that lovely little vixen from you."

Varo nodded and motioned for Shaasta to come stand before them, "Shaasta, dear", he said, "Please join us so that our guest can look you over properly."

Shaasta stepped down out of her window display space and padded on bare feet over to where Varo, Frelic, and Lilie stood, putting a little extra hip swish into her stride and smiling seductively the entire time. She then practically threw herself at Frelic, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. Master Willowpaw reflexively returned the embrace, his gentle hands patting and kneading her gorgeous round bottom, so soft and tender. He was also quite thankful that his robes concealed the arousal caused by the feel of the Elf girl's lithe body pressed against his and the feel of her south end in his hands.

"Well, Master Willowpaw", Varo chuckled, "It seems she is a bit smitten with you."

Frelic stepped back a bit, holding her at arm's length, his hands lightly gripping her hips, his gaze locked onto her own, "It does indeed," he agreed, "Shaasta, hmm? Such a lovely name for such a lovely pet. I believe it means Tender Hawk."

Shaasta giggled softly and fluttered her eyelashes at Frelic, then gave a surprised gasp as Master Varo's paddle struck her lovely bottom. "Shaasta, behave yourself and mind your place here," he warned her.

"I am sorry, Masters Varo and Willowpaw," Shaasta apologized, looking quite embarrassed over her little affectionate outburst, "Please forgive any embarrassment my behavior may have caused."

"It is quite alright, sweet tail," Frelic assured her, "No harm nor humiliation was done. And please, you may call me Frelic."

"Aye, Master Frelic", she acknowledged. She then assumed the first position for inspection, as she had done many times over the past weeks; feet apart, hands clasped behind her back, and head down.

"Now sir", Master Varo began, going into his saleswolf mode, "feel free to check her out every which way while I and my assistant describe her assets."

"Very well, little tender hawk," Frelic said, running his fingers gently along the edges of her gracefully pointed ears, which protruded through her fiery mane, "let us have a look at you and see if you will be suitable to become a wizard's pet." Shaasta shuddered at the feel of Frelic's touch on her sensitive Elven ears, while Varo told of her temperament and how they have taken care of her.

"First, as you can see," he began, "Shaasta looks quite healthy and in top physical condition. A fine specimen of Elven grace and beauty."

Frelic nodded agreement, his hands tenderly squeezing the girl's shoulders and upper arms, then moving to her soft breasts, feeling their heft; which caused her nipples to harden with arousal, "Aye, a fine specimen indeed; most sexy and alluring."

"She was already in fine shape when we purchased her from one of our suppliers," he explained, referring to the slavers who brought her to him four weeks ago, "Not surprising really, considering she and her Furling companion, who is on display in the main show room were adventurers. A life like that requires considerable dedication to physical training."

"That goes without saying," Frelic said, "Believe me, I know how physically punishing the conditioning for an adventurer's life is." His hands had now moved down to her midriff, then her thighs, her hips, and reaching around to her bottom; patting, prodding, and gently squeezing all over, "Very trim," he complimented her, "just the right amount of outer softness with firm muscle beneath. She has taken very good care of herself indeed, and at least feels like she would be wonderful to cuddle with on a chilly night."

Shaasta beamed happily at Frelic as he voiced his approval, then shuddered and gasped softly as he tickled the tips of her ears before running his hands through her silky red hair, while the Wolf continued, "And as with all pets we offer for sale here, we have kept her on a very rigorous physical training schedule to ensure that she remains healthy and properly toned. We make sure that all pets we sell have the strength, agility, and endurance to meet the needs of even the most demanding owners."

"I am in charge of the physical conditioning program here," Lilie boasted, sounding quite proud of her work, "I can guarantee that all pets sold at the Southern Rose will provide many years of service and pleasure."

"Lilieblume takes tremendous pride in her work," Varo said, smiling down at the Halfling and giving her bottom an affectionate pat with his paw.

Frelic caressed Shaasta's inner thighs and the outer edges of her smooth and naturally bare feminine sex, which elicited a soft moan and another pleasurable shudder from the girl, "I imagine that must be a most trying task," he said, "considering the diverse range of species that you must work with."

"Oh, I am quite proud of my pet's talents," Varo affirmed, "Despite her small size, this little one has proven herself with even the most powerful and difficult creatures."

"Yeppers," Lilie nodded, "I've even trained Dragons here a couple times. Those can be so hard to tame and keep in line. Such stubborn brats they can be."

"That goes without saying," Frelic agreed, as he moved around behind Shaasta to examine her wonderful bare bottom, prodding and squeezing the tender, well toned southern orbs, and giving her a couple light swats to see how well they jiggled. "I happen to have a Dragon as one of my apprentices. And she is a certified brat. I can't even tell you the number of times that I have had to apply the paddle under Thissle's tail."

"Oh yes," Lilie giggled, "Dragons are really fun to spank, once you get them properly conditioned to submissiveness. In fact, if you ever feel that Thissle could use some additional obedience training, you can always bring her here."

Frelic gave the Elf girl's rear one more swat, then smiled at the Wolf and Halfling, "Well, so far, Shaasta is looking to be more than suitable for my needs. You have done a remarkable job keeping her healthy and trim."

Varo nodded, then gestured towards the show room proper, largely concealed behind a low wall, "Now that you have completed the initial inspection, would you care to conduct a more in-depth examination of Shaasta?"

"Yes," Frelic replied, "I most certainly would. I want to make absolute certain she is one hundred and ten percent suitable for my purposes."

"Then follow me please," Master Varo instructed, leading them deeper into the shop.

Shaasta blushed deeply as they were taken past the partitions and into the show room, knowing all too well what was in store for her within the coming minutes, a task she had performed countless times over the past month. The trio padded down a wide aisle, which bisected a massive chamber. Large cushions, knee high to an average adult Human, were arranged at regular intervals across the show room floor. Beside each of these cushions arose a five foot high iron pole equipped with a long chain which was attached to a metal ring at the top. On the cool stone floor, heavy iron rings in sets of four formed a square around the display cushions, and overhead, above each position, a pair of long heavy chains, their ends tipped with a sturdy hook, dangled, suspended on pulleys from the high ceiling.

A diverse array of prime examples of many of Niath's sentient fauna; large and small; male and female, adorned these soft pads. And what an impressive menagerie it was: Humans, Halflings, Furlings and Orniths in a wide selection of species to choose from, and Saurids. Most seemed calm and content, properly confined to their individual personal spaces by the tethering chains fastened to a plain silver ankle bracer. Some were seated primly upright and alert on their cushioned perches, and trying their best to look seductive or demure for the customer who now walked among them, in hopes of being purchased, while others lay curled up in blissful slumber. A number of the pets in the show room, however; were on display in a considerably more vulnerable position. They lay bent over their pads; their wrists and ankles were secured in leather shackles which were clasped to the iron rings in the floor, while the chains above them hung taught, but not too uncomfortably, clasped to their collars and, where applicable, to an iron shackle which held their tails up high to provide full access to their plush fur, down, or bescaled hind quarters.

The sight of so many enticing creatures gathered in this single room, all awaiting the chance to serve and please just the right owner, caused the stiffness hidden beneath Frelic's robes to intensify. Oh how he wished he had the time to take a day and do nothing but sample this sweet buffet of submissive honeys. But time was short and he still had much wizardly business to attend. Still, that did not prevent him from pausing to check out a lovely and voluptuous Furling lass on one of the displays at the edge of the aisle. She was vulpine, and one of the most enchanting Vixens he had ever encountered. She was also one of those shackled and bent over the cushion, with her tail raised high to provide a delicious view of her aft end. He reached out and placed a hand on her pleasantly wide rump, then traced a finger gently through her soft fur, which was mostly an orangeish red, but with a wide patch of white in the center, which ran from the base of her thick bushy tail and down to her inner thighs, like a trail pointing to the precious treasure hidden in the valley formed by the luscious hills that thrust invitingly upwards before him.

"You certainly have the finest inventory I've ever seen in a pet shop, Master Varo," he complimented the Wolf. He succumbed to the temptation to give the Vixen's upthrust butt a firm open handed smack, which caused her to thrust it up even higher.

"I do take in only the best," Varo explained, "We hold great pride in being a first class establishment, with products that are only top of the line."

His hand again resting on the Vixen's rump, fingers poised over the crevasse of her southern hills, Frelic glanced over to Varo, "May I?"

"Be my guest, sir" the proprietor invited.

The Elf's fingers disappeared into the Vixen's depths, gently probing her hot nether realms. His fingers lightly glided over the slit of her sex, as he had done minutes before with Shaasta. She was damp and slick down there immediately from his touch. "Easily aroused," Frelic remarked, then using her juices as a natural lubricant, he slipped one finger, and then a second up into the tight star of her rear passage, and tight it was indeed. She clenched hard around his probing fingers, which the Elf wriggled around inside of her while he again addressed Master Varo.

"So then, what is this girl's story? Slavers again?"

Varo chuckled and shook his head, "Oh, not at all. This is Mistie. She is our newest arrival, just arrived last night, in fact. Only about half of our inventory was purchased from professional tail hunters. Some are sent to us by order of the high court as sentence for various crimes; while others come to us of their own volition and willingly sell themselves to our shop. Mistie is of that third group. She came to us just yesterday, and offered herself to us so that she could pay off a little debt she had racked up recently." He paused for a moment in his explanation of their acquisitions system, and removed a syringe and a mithril needle from one of his pouches. While Frelic continued to probe and play with Mistie's southern hole, the Wolf expertly stabbed the needle into the soft flesh of her rump, and injected her with a light blue viscous serum.

"Vitamin solution," Lilieblume explained. "All pets get these shots daily. Sure, it hurts plenty much; but since we can't always provide the perfect diet for each individual, they need these supplements to help provide any nutrients that they may be missing. And 'sides, pretty bottoms are meant to be sore; it helps keep the pets aware of their intimate zones, mindful of their purpose, and whatnot."

Shaasta sympathetically rubbed her own bottom and winced as the thick concoction slowly transferred from the syringe into Mistie's left bottom cheek She was starting to feel a little impatient with this delay, and wanted to get her upcoming ordeal over and done with fast, so she could finally leave this place. But she dared not express her annoyance, lest she feel the bite of Master Varo's paddle on her rear a few dozen times. So she kept silent and waited, feigning eternal patience.

Frelic withdrew his fingers from Mistie's depths and touched them to his sensitive Elven nose, taking in the light scent of musk mingled with the heady fragrance of lilacs, "She is amazingly clean," he noted, "Gehennite, I presume?"

"Yes," Varo confirmed, withdrawing the needle from the Vixen's butt and stowing it and the now empty syringe in another pouch, "We give all our pets a weekly cleansing using pure Gehennite. Granted, it is an indescribably painful experience for the pet, but it is also the perfect cleansing agent."

"I am familiar with it," Frelic nodded, agreeing with Varo's opinion of the netherworldly substance, "cleanses the subject by obliterating all non-living tissue it comes in contact with, but never inflicts any damage upon live flesh."

"A wondrously diabolical concoction," the Wolf chuckled, "It also makes for a great disciplining tool when a paddling is not enough." He punctuated his comment by landing a hard smack with his paddle squarely across Mistie's butt, causing her to yelp and struggle momentarily in her bonds.

"So, you say she sold herself to you?" Frelic asked, returning them to their previous discussion. He walked around to the other side of the cushion Mistie was bent over, and crouched down to have a face to face look at her. She gazed adoringly at Frelic, her emerald green eyes sparkling with hope and desire, and protruding through her veil of silky hair, strawberry blonde with highlights of green that matched her eyes, her white tipped vulpine ears twitched in nervous anticipation. "Why would a lovely creature such as this willingly sell herself into a life of submission when she could just as easily bewitch any fellow she may set her sights on?"

"Well, as I was saying," Varo said, "She had a debt that she wished to pay off. She had also recently become unemployed; the debt and her unemployment happened to be closely related events. Mistie, go ahead and explain to Master Willowpaw why you are here with us now."

"Aye, Master Varo," she replied, her voice soft and sweet, and bearing a hint of a Tameran accent, "Up until four days ago, I served as a maid, cook's assistant, and waitress at one of the inns here, The Hightail, to be exact."

"I'm familiar with that place," Frelic said, "That is where I am staying."

"Well," she continued, "I inadvertently caused a major brawl there that night. I was being rather flirty with one of the guests, a little too flirty, I suppose. He wanted me to pay a visit to his suite later that night, but I had to politely decline due to another commitment. That other commitment was sitting at the next table over, and when the first guy kept trying to get me to 'play' with him, he came over and pulled me off his lap, then warned him to leave me be. They then got into a rather heated argument which escalated rapidly, and culminated in one shoving the other hard onto a table where a party of drunken mercenary sailors were dining. Naturally, the situation grew out of control at that point."

"Isn't that the way these incidents always seem to go?" Frelic chuckled, "Mercs tend to be a rather rowdy lot, always waiting for any excuse to have a brawl."

"Yes," Mistie sighed, "I really should have turned them away when they first arrived. But with these lean times, my employer needed all the business he could get. When the excitement finally died down, and the worst of the brawlers were hauled off by the town guard, the entire dining area of the Hightail was a wreck, seventy gold pieces worth of damage when all was sorted out."

"Ouch," Frelic commented, "that must have really put a dent in your employer's profits for the week. I hope he was able to recover from that setback."

The Vixen nodded, "Oh, he was able to recover. But he had to make some cutbacks. Not wanting to cause those first two guys any more problems, since they were both really decent folk despite what had happened, and they had enough worries already, what with being in jail for the brawl, I claimed ultimate responsibility for that night's happenings. And in a way, it really was my fault. Had I not been flirting so hard, well, you know..."

"Yes, I know," Frelic said, giving her a comforting scritch behind her ears, "And that was very brave and noble of you to take the heat for the mishap."

"And take the heat I did. My employer took me over his lap on the minstrel stage right there in front of the customers who remained to help clean up. He paddled me long and hard, and then informed me that he could no longer afford to keep me on as one of his employees. He allowed me to sleep there one more night, and after breakfast the next morning, I had to leave and seek work elsewhere, in hopes of eventually paying off the seventy gold pieces worth of damage I had caused."

"And can I assume that your asking price when you offered yourself to Master Varo here was seventy gold pieces?" Frelic guessed.

"Yes," she nodded, "Over the next couple days, I had hit up every inn and tavern in town, but no one was able to take on another waitress or maid. Everyone was strapped and stretched to their limits, and barely making enough to stay afloat. Plus, at ten silver pieces a day, a domestic girl's wages, it would take forever to earn enough to pay back a debt that large."

"And that is when you decided to submit yourself."

"For the most part, yes. But first, I considered other options. Turning to an adventurer's life briefly crossed my mind; but I quickly dismissed that idea, since I possess none of the skills for such an endeavor. I would probably get eaten alive by the first monster I encountered." She paused in her story and gasped as Master Varo slipped an applicator rod coated with a warm salve up her butt, and swabbed the jelly-like substance all over the "wall" of her rear passage.

"Carry on with your story, Mistie," he instructed her, "We do have a busy schedule today, you know; and now is a good time for me to continue your processing while you tell Master Willowpaw your tale."

"Aye, Master Varo," she replied, feeling herself get a little aroused as the Wolf worked her ass with the rod, "So, next I considered trying my luck as a street tail. After all, a seventeen year old Vixen should be quite popular with all sorts of adventurous clients, and should be able to make a buttload of money with her butt and other assets. However, the more I thought about it, the colder my feet got, and I ultimately decided that I was not yet ready for that type of life and the dangers that accompany it. And it was at that moment, when I still had thoughts of trying to make money somehow with my tail, that I thought of this shop. And the more I thought about it, the more I imagined myself serving a kind and protective master or mistress, someone who might even spirit me away from this town; the more sensible this idea became. So I paid a visit to Master Varo and Lilieblume here last night, explained my plight to them; and here I am now."

"And is this what you expected when you sold yourself to these fine folk?" Frelic asked, "Shackled down on a cushion, tail tied high, and your bottom poked, prodded, spanked, and stuffed?"

"Yes," Mistie affirmed, unashamed pride in her tone, "I indeed expected to be treated this way. And you know what? I like this. I realized that I am born to serve and please, and I take pleasure in all aspects of my life here, including the spankings, shots, and even the cleansings, because I know that all of these things are important to my ultimate goal of having an owner who I can service and who will take care of me." She gave Frelic a smile that hinted of smugness and self assurance, then gasped and came close to orgasming right there on her cushion when Varo removed the applicator rod from her butt with one quick and smooth motion.

Varo smiled and gave the Vixen a loving smack on her rear with his paw, then put the rod away for cleaning later, "Amazing girl, she is, eh?"

"Very amazing," Frelic agreed, "I may very well have to take her home to Pinevale with me. How much are you asking for her?"

"Two platinum pieces. But she isn't quite ready to be put up for sale just yet," the Wolf advised him, "We still have a little more work to do with her."

Shaasta finally let her impatience show, and seemed irritated and a little worried that Frelic may have forgotten all about her, thanks to the Vixen who seemed to have practically stolen his soul with her charms. "Can we get back to what we were doing, Master Varo? In case everyone has forgotten, Master Willowpaw here was going to give me a more in-depth inspection before deciding whether or not to purchase me. Her little outburst was answered with two extra hard smacks on her bottom from Varo's paddle, which were not really unexpected, but still elicited a yelp from the Elf lass due to the intensity of the impacts.

"But of course, dear," Varo said, "I haven't forgotten you. Now, let's go."

As he led the trio on their way to the other end of the show room, Mistie called out, "Shaasta, I am truly sorry for hijacking your time like that. Forgive me, please?"

Shaasta, rubbing her slightly sore behind, looked back over her shoulder at the Vixen and smiled, "No worries, dear. There's nothing to forgive."

At the far end of the show room was a long, low, padded bench. At either end of the bench, was a table, upon which sat various paddles, switches, straps, and other disciplining tools, as well as an assortment of flasks and bowls with potions and salves. "This area," Lilieblume explained," is much better suited than the outer lobby for the more intimate inspections our clients like to perform before making a final purchasing decision." The Halfling was interrupted by a sharp gasp from behind them. All three turned and looked at the Furling Squirrel who was in turn, staring back in surprise at them, as if he had just seen a ghost.

Shackled in the same position as Mistie, the gray-furred, bushytailed rodent chittered excitedly, "Shaasta? is that by chance... ?"

"Yes," she said, not letting him finish his question, "This is by chance a very potential buyer." She gave him a look that told him to keep quiet lest he spoil their chance to get out of here.

Master Varo, visibly annoyed by this interruption asserted his authority with the obligatory paddle strike on the little Furling's dainty, furry bottom, "Hansen," he sighed, when are you going to learn to mind your place while business is being conducted?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Master Varo," the boy whimpered, his rear stinging from the well deserved swat, "I just got so excited when I saw Shaasta. I've missed her so much since she was moved out of here and put on display in the window."

Lilieblume giggled and shook her head, "Silly Squirrel," she chided him, "she was only moved out there just this morning; too soon for you to be pining away for her."

Frelic took an interest in this Furling boy, and moved to have a closer look at him. He gave him a quick once over, administering the expected pats and squeezes on this rear; which like Mistie's was also two toned, with a similar patch of white, running from half way up his rump down to the middle of his inner thighs. It was an attractive feature common to Furlings, Orniths, Dragons, and Saurids, a feature that many referred to as the "treasure trail". The Elf lightly prodded at the fur covered shaft and sheath which were clearly visible between the Squirrel's shackled and spread legs, "He looks like a feisty one," he mused out loud, "and he acts like he knows Shaasta here pretty well."

"He does," Varo replied, "This is Hansen. He was brought to us at the same time Shaasta was. Apparently, they adventured together, and were of course, captured and sold together."

"They really seem to be quite fond of each other," Lilieblume added.

"Bestest of friends we are," Hansen affirmed, "I would really really miss Shaasta if she were to be taken away from me."

Frelic did not miss the hint, of course, "Well, it would be a shame to separate two dear friends from each other now. Let's see what we can do about this."

Master Varo unlocked Hansen's bonds and lifted him up, holding him under his arm so his butt was facing forward, "Do you wish to inspect him as well, Master Willowpaw?"

"But of course, sir," Frelic replied.

"Shaasta, bend yourself over the bench and spread those lovely legs," Varo ordered. Shaasta knelt down, then positioned herself over the padded seat, her legs apart, and her rear properly thrust upwards to provide the best view and easiest access to her sweet assets. Varo placed the Furling boy next to her, laying him face down, his legs, not quite long enough to reach the floor, hanging over the edge of the bench, and his bushy tail held high.