Lead inside.

For a second Lucy just stayed how she was, missing her mistress' fingers. Then she felt a tug on her collar and hurried to follow the woman back to the patio. If she was a good girl maybe she'd feel those fingers between her legs again soon.

For now, she got to enjoy the softness of a fuzzy towel dropped onto her back. Used both hands the woman dragged it over Lucy's skin, drying her off with a light tough to avoid hurting her scrapes. Lucy obediently lifted each hand and stuck out one leg after the other so they could be dried off too.

Then the leash was clipped to her collar again and she was lead inside. The dining room's floor was hard wood, but Lucy was lead to a thick blanket that had been put down in front of the fireplace, which was lit up by the low blue flames of a gas fire. "You rest and warm up here, sweetie. I'll get the good stuff I promised you."

The woman spoke kindly, and patted her head before leaving the room. Not knowing what else to do, Lucy lay on her side facing the fireplace. Her mind was still foggy, but the soothing dance of the flames allowed her to relax and reflect on her situation while she listened to her mistress bustle about in the other room. She still couldn't remember most of what happened at the park, but she was sure it wasn't as bad as the things Kim had done to her after leaving it.

How many other people were involved in whatever this was? The police, that security guard and whoever ran the kennel, her fellow students... her mistress had even hinted at some authority that would punish Kim, not for trying to turn a human being into a pet but for failing in her task to do so. Maybe she should just be glad this woman was a **** owner than her former best friend had been? It's not like she had much hope of escape right now. She had no idea where she was, and at this point she wasn't sure anyone would take her side if she ran outside and started screaming for help. It was better to just play along for now, and maybe she'd get an opportunity to escape later.

Her decision made, Lucy waited patiently as she soaked up the heat of the fire. She felt more like herself already when her mistress reentered the room. Crouching down by the blanket, she placed a pair of connected bowls on the wood floor. One was plain water, the other contained a colorful mush of something with a surprisingly appetizing smell. Lucy sat up and automatically said "thank you" as she approached the bowl of food.

A moment later she realized what she'd done and clapped her hands over her mouth, horrified at her foolishness. And right after telling herself she'd play along, too.

But her mistress just smiled down at her. "It's ok. You recognized your mistake. You were raised to be a polite young lady weren't you?"

The woman looked at the naked girl, apparently waiting for a response. Was she allowed to nod? She'd been told again and again that animals don't talk, but she couldn't remember if anything had been said about nonverbal communication. Carefully lowering her hands back to the floor, Lucy returned her mistress' gaze and nodded.

"Good. I'm sure that will translate to being a well-behaved pet in time. I know you have a lot to unlearn, so as long as you keep trying I'm not going to punish you for every little mistake. Now eat up sweetie, this is better than the dry stuff you would have gotten at the kennel."

Lucy nodded again and dug in. The wet food felt kind of gross as it stuck to her chin, but it did taste okay. If she closed her eyes she could almost pretend she was eating normal food that someone had run through a blender. With her eyes closed she could only hear her mistress move to sit at her side, but then she felt a hand on her back.

While Lucy ate her mistress petted her back, stroking from her shoulder blades to her tailbone and back. Her other hand ran through her hair, or rather tried to. "Your fur's all tangled. It's not dirty like the rest of you was, but I'll brush it for you when you're done eating. We'll have it nice and shining in time for you to meet the family."

Family? Lucy tensed at the thought of more people seeing her like this and treating her like their pet, but allowed herself to relax under those gentle touches. They wouldn't be terrible people if they were mistress' family, right?