Chec-Up

Violet hadn't promised too much, Ellie thought as she looked around the "examination room". It felt like a real doctor's office. Well, the office of a doctor who might have more sinister purposes in mind than identifying and curing illnesses. Take for instance the straps attached to the stretcher. They might very well have some medical reasons to be there, but looked just a tad too conspicuous. And while normal doctors might also have some spiky metal thingies in their tool box, they usually didn't prominently display them as room decoration. The visible age of the equipment (owing to the fact that they were hand-me-downs from Violet's sister, an actual medical professional) only added to the eerie atmosphere. At least the room was well heated. Ellie was already in full pet mode and pets didn't wear clothes.

"I hope you'll be a good girl today. It was very nice of the doctor to make some time for your examination, so don't make her any troubles," said Rebecca, Ellie's girlfriend, although currently she was fully in the role of Ellie's owner. As a woman who brought her pet to the veterinarian, Rebecca did wear clothes, although ones you'd have to be pretty confident to wear outside.

Instead of an answer Ellie purred and licked Rebecca's cheek. Pet's didn't talk, but Ellie could still bring her point across: The amount of trouble was entirely up to herself and no amount of pleas or threats was going to change anything. Rebecca sighed theatrically and wiped her cheek "You truly are hopeless, aren't you?"

Their interaction was cut short by Violet's arrival. Her presence immediately demanded attention and not just because of her white doctor's coat (authentic looking and likely another hand-me-down) which was left open to reveal that it was her only clothing, save for her underwear. She strode in with quick, confident steps, her eyes scanning the clipboard in her hand before she addressed Rebecca. Her professionalism was perfect, if not for that tiny pink flush on her cheeks. "Good afternoon, Miss. I take it that this here is Ellie?"

"Yes, doctor. She... Ellie! For God's sake! Bad girl!"

But it was already too late. As soon as Ellie heard her name, she jumped at the momentarily stunned Violet, locked her into a tight embrace and showered her face and lips with sloppy licks. During their preparatory discussion, Violet had said that she was okay with partaking in all of their usual antics. That was something Ellie intended to make full use of, especially since she'd had a bit of the hots for Violet for quite some time now.

Before she could indulge herself any further, though, Rebecca grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her back, away from the now very visibly blushing Violet. "Bad girl!" she scolded Ellie again, as she forced her head back painfully. "I'm terribly sorry, doctor. She gets too exited when she meets new people."

"You get used to it in this line of work. At least she seems to be a lively girl," Violet said, quickly regaining her composure. "Now if you could please get her onto the stretcher so I can start the examination."

"Right away, doctor." Rebecca forced Ellie further back until she sat on the stretcher. Ellie whined, but didn't put up a fight. Having your hair pulled really hurts, especially if it's done by an already exasperated Rebecca. When she finally let go, Ellie pawed at her burning scalp and hissed at her owner.

"Don't give me that. It's your own fault if you can't behave. Now what position do you need her in, doctor?"

"Thank you very much, I'll take it from here." Violet put her clipboard down before addressing Ellie in that overly cheerful and more than slightly patronizing tone that so many people automatically fall into when talking to animals or little children. "So, Ellie, we will now lie down like a good girl and let the doctor look at us. Won't we, Ellie?" To make sure the meaning of her words got through, she placed a hand on Ellie's chest and gently pushed down.

Ellie decided to play nice for once and lay down on the surprisingly chilly surface of the stretcher. She shuffled around, both to get comfortable and to try and warm the thing up at least a little bit.

"Very good. If you keep this up, we might not even have to restrain you," Violet said with the brightest of smiles. "And now if you'll just let me have a look at y-" She bent over her patient, which was exactly the opportunity Ellie had waited for.

Ellie slipped her hands into Violet's coat. She pulled until her friend was all but lying on top of her. Knowing that they wouldn't grant her such an opportunity again in a hurry, Ellie clamped her lips onto Violet's neck and sucked.

You had to give Violet some credit. Judging by her hot gasp she really liked what Ellie was doing to her neck, but she managed to stay professional. After only a few seconds of indulging herself she pinned Ellie down with a lot more arm strength than one would've expected from her and broke free. She turned to Rebecca, one hand still holding Ellie down by her shoulder, the other gently tapping at the big, wet hickey already shining brightly on her neck.

"Your pet is severely lacking discipline, Miss. With all due respect, you must've been pretty lax with your training."

"I'm doing my best, doctor, but clearly my best isn't good enough," Rebecca said, letting her exasperation show. "But rest assured, she'll get a good thrashing once we're home."

Ellie -- on the basis that she was already in trouble for misbehaving and therefore had nothing to lose -- grabbed Violet's arm which was still pinning her down and tried to bite it. Violet wasn't even really looking at her, but with seemingly no effort at all she pushed Ellie down again and this time her hand was on Ellie's neck. She extended enough force to keep her down while not actually choking her. Yet. The strength in her grip made it clear that choking was very much still in the cards. Ellie decided that it was wisest to accept her defeat for the moment.

"By then it might be too late," Violet continued as if nothing had happened. "If there is too much time between the misbehavior and the punishment, the pet doesn't comprehend that they're linked. You need to reprimand her right away for her to form the mental connection. And right now she needs to understand that she's taken too many liberties with her freedom and so that freedom is taken away. Could you please assist me in strapping her in?"

"Right away, doctor." Rebecca grabbed Ellie's wrists and guided it into one of the handy leather straps. Ellie thought about resisting, but decided against it when Violet strengthened the grip around her neck the tiniest bit, just enough to signal that it could get so much tighter if she wanted it to. Violet must've been secretly working out, Ellie thought as she lay still and let Rebecca bind her wrists and ankles. She liked being a bad girl, but for the moment she still preferred being a good girl with oxygen to being a bad girl without.

"Like this, doctor?"

"That should do." Violet finally let go of Ellie's neck. She checked the straps, most of which she tightened until she was absolutely sure that Ellie couldn't wriggle out of them no matter how hard she tried. With her wrists bound at her sides, Ellie might've still been able to sit up with some effort of her abs, but there was no point in trying it right away. Better to wait for an opportunity where she could cause some mischief.

"I'll start the examination with checking her teeth," Violet told Rebecca once Ellie was immobilized to her satisfaction. "Does she know not to bite people or do I need to take precautions? Mind you, these precautions might be rather uncomfortable for her, so I'd prefer if I could rely on her good behavior."

Ellie opened her mouth. That show of goodwill didn't convince Rebecca. "I wouldn't trust her if I was you," she said. "She loves biting things and so far I haven't been able to teach her the difference between things that are okay to bite and things that are not. Also, given her behavior up to now, she deserves a bit of discomfort."

Ellie made a sound somewhere between a whine and a purr, or at least the closest approximation that was possible with an open mouth. And while Rebecca knew her girlfriend too well, Violet was still susceptible to the old puppy-eyes-trick. "I think she deserves another chance," she said. "Maybe she has learned that we only want the best for her. If she acts up again, though, I'm afraid my patience won't stretch any further. Now let's see..."

Without further ado Violet shoved her fingers into Ellie's mouth. Instinctively Ellie pulled against her restraints, only to find there was no give in them. These weren't the touches of a professional dentist who tried to be as unintrusive as possible. Two of Violet's fingers held her tongue down while a third pressed against the top of her mouth, prying her jaws open. Ellie was no stranger to having her bodily autonomy violated like this and she sure as hell didn't mind it, but that didn't mean she was just going to passively take it. Sometimes you had to sacrifice a bit of fun now to have even more fun later.

When Violet relaxed her fingers for a second, Ellie took the chance and closed her mouth. She could've used her teeth, but she didn't want to actually hurt Violet. So she just sucked on her fingers while giving her her dirtiest grin. Truth be told they didn't taste of much except for a hint of soap, but Violet's expression alone was totally worth it as she pulled her hand back and wiped it on Ellie's belly.

"It seems I misjudged. Miss, I'm sorry to say that I've seen mutts on the street who where better behaved than your pet. Have you not taught her any manners at all?"

"Believe me when I say it, it wasn't for a lack of trying, doctor." Rebecca shot a glare at Ellie that made her stomach all tingly. That look promised there'd be a reckoning later.

"Be that as it may. It doesn't matter how much you let her act up at home; as long as she's in my office, she needs to behave. And if she can't behave on her own, there are ways to make her. She had her chance to do this the nice way."

Violet picked up a small contraption which seemed to consist mostly of two thin bent metal bars. Ellie couldn't make out more, because Violet had already shoved it between her teeth. Before Ellie had time to do something about this intruder in her mouth, there was already pressure against her jaws as Violet pried the two bars open.

Ellie was no stranger to being gagged. In fact, Rebecca owned a small collection of ball gags of different sizes, materials and aesthetics for all opportunities. During their scenes at home Ellie spent much more time with one of them strapped between her teeth than without. However, Violet's tool felt nothing like a ball gag. For once she didn't stop adjusting the bars until Ellie's jaws were forced open as wide as they would go. Ellie could keep their biggest ball gag in for quite some time before her jaws hurt, but this was already uncomfortable and they had barely started yet. It was also an infuriatingly unsatisfying way of having her mouth incapacitated. With a ball gag she could bite into it, suck on it, or at least exert some pressure with her jaws. Trying that with Violet's thing would only hurt her teeth. And most of all, it made her feel vulnerable in a way she'd never experienced before.

A ball gag might take away your speech and make you drool all over yourself (both of which was only fitting for a pet anyway), but it also blocked your mouth. She'd never really appreciated the feeling of safety this fact brought with it. Right now her mouth was kept wide open, but the bars did nothing to hinder its accessibility. If Violet or Rebecca wanted to reach into her mouth, pour something nasty into it or do anything else, really, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. A shiver ran down her space as this new dimension of helplessness sunk in. Especially since there was no way Violet was not going to abuse this power.

"She shouldn't be making any more problems now," Violet said once she'd thoroughly convinced herself that Ellie's jaws couldn't be forced open any further. "But just to make sure the lesson sinks in, could you give me some of that medicine for bad behavior over there?"

Rebecca's eyes followed Violet's outstretched finger and an unsettling grin settled on her face. Ellie struggled to see what was going on, but she couldn't move around much and even if she'd managed to sit up, the other two had turned their backs to her, hiding whatever they were doing from Ellie's sight. She could only make out the sound of something like a bottle opening and some fiddling around. When Violet was about to turn back around, Rebecca stopped her with a "No need to be stingy, doctor," followed by more fiddling around.

When Violet turned around for good, her right hand was all but dripping with some shiny liquid-y stuff. A faint, vaguely familiar scent hung in the air. It wasn't clear enough for Ellie to identify, but judging from Violet's gleeful expression she doubted that it was something pleasant. She tried to wriggle away, but what little freedom she had only allowed her to go towards Violet, not away from her. There was nothing she could do as Violet pushed her mysteriously coated fingers into her wide open mouth and grabbed her tongue.

Ellie had already expected some vile stuff and so she was surprised when she found that it tasted of nothing much. There was again a familiar tinge of taste as a few drops of the stuff ran across her tongue, but either it really was that neutral or it was just hard to taste anything when your mouth was pried open like that. When she finally figured it out, it was already too late.

Ellie liked spicy food. She had her own stash of chili powder which she used for basically every food, to the point where Rebecca had joked several times that Ellie would even spice up her ice cream if she let her. But whatever Rebecca might think, Ellie wasn't one of those crazy people who went to an Indian restaurant and ordered a dish that was an eleven out of ten on the spice chart, just because they needed the kick. She hadn't killed all of her spice receptors just yet and wouldn't drink pure tabasco sauce if she could help it. Which was exactly what Violet had coated her fingers in.

With her jaws forcefully kept open she couldn't even growl as Violet kept poking around in her mouth, evenly spreading the burn. Ellie tried to swallow, both to get rid of the sauce and because she'd started salivating like crazy, but she found that amazingly this metal contraption made it even harder to swallow than the biggest ball gag.

"Everything seems to be in order with her teeth," Violet told Rebecca, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her patient was struggling and sweating. "I'll get cleaned up and then we can move on to the next examination."

The retrieval of Violet's fingers did little to improve Ellie's state. With absolutely no way to get it out of her mouth, the hot sauce seeped further and further into her tongue and the walls of her mouth. She barely even felt the strain in her jaws anymore. It became impossible to tell where her tongue ended and the rest started. Everything in her mouth was turning into a uniformly burning mass. The pain made her shiver, even though she was sweating to the point that the stretcher was starting to feel clammy.

Violet had disappeared from Ellie's field of vision. By the sound of it she was meticulously washing her hands. While it was a good thing that she got all the hot sauce off before touching any other parts of Ellie's body, she certainly didn't have to take this long.

"Poor girl," Rebecca tutted with fake empathy as she brushed over Ellie's damp forehead. "But that's what you get for being bad. You understand that, don't you?"

Ellie groaned. Not that she could do much else. She was considering thrashing her head around to get some of the stuff out that way, but realistically that would only get her drool everywhere without actually helping. The burning had seeped in too deep and while she didn't mind getting a bit dirty, she didn't want to make a complete mess of herself.

"Well then, let's see if the medicine has had an effect." Violet had returned. After taking far too long to dry her hands she critically looked into Ellie's mouth. Ellie wondered what it looked like. Her tongue had to be glowing red. "Seems fine. I will now remove the gag. She should have learned her lesson by now and I need her verbal feedback for the next examination."

Only when Violet touched the gag did Ellie realize how much her jaws hurt. It was uncomfortable to get them to close again, albeit not as uncomfortable as finally getting to swallow a few times and finding that it did nothing against the burning in her mouth and instead only spread it down her throat. After working her jaws a bit, Ellie set for keeping her mouth open like a dog, in the vain hope that the cool air would do something against the burning.

In the meantime Violet had picked up one of her tools. It looked as if someone had heard the "all edge, no point" joke about a pizza cutter and decided to flip it to the other extreme. Ellie recognized it as a pinwheel. She was aware of these things' existence and had already been curious about them, but so far they hadn't come around to getting one.

It looked a lot more threatening in real life, although that might've been amplified by being strapped down with no way to escape and by seeing it in the hands of Violet, who, as the agonizing burn in Ellie's mouth proved, had no qualms about causing her discomfort.

"I'll have to check the sensitivity of her skin to make sure all nerves work properly," Violet said in her best impression of a professional doctor. "With a human one would gently test the skin and ask about the sensation, but since she can't talk I'll have to handle the tool a bit more roughly to make sure we get a reaction."

"No reason to hold back, doctor," Rebecca said. "She's often a bit slow on the uptake. It takes a lot to get her attention when her head is somewhere else."

Normally Ellie would've risen to the taunt, but at the moment her head was very much not somewhere else. All her attention was focused on the pinwheel that Violet kept hovering right above her arm. Those spikes looked sharp. They had to hurt like hell. And Violet took her sweet time. She smirked as she kept the pins just above Ellie's skin. Ellie tried to tried to relax herself, but her fists refused to open. When Violet finally brought the thing down on her arm, she let out an ear-piercing shriek.

"Whoa!" Violet jumped back, startled by the violent reaction. "I wasn't going that hard, was I?"

As Ellie brought her erratic breathing back under control she realized that no, it really hadn't been that bad. In fact she barely felt more than a little tingle where the pins had traveled over her arm. As embarrassing as it was to admit, she'd completely overreacted because of how much she'd hyped the pain up beforehand.

"Maybe I overdid it a little bit," Violet muttered. Her eyes tarted between Ellie and Rebecca, clearly concerned.

"Meow, meow, meow," Ellie did her best cat expression. Three meows where their signal that everything was fine and she was eager to continue.

"I don't think you did," Rebecca took up the thread. "It's just that sometimes she's a dumb mutt who gets overexcited about the stupidest things. And sometimes she makes a bit ruckus just to get some attention. Isn't that right?"

"Meow, meow, meow," Ellie confirmed.

"If that is the case, I shall resume the examination," Violet said. She took a couple of deep breaths as she pulled herself back into her role. "But I have to say, your pet really seems especially unruly today."

Ellie stuck out her (still uncomfortably itching) tongue at her. This time she only gasped as Violet ran the pinwheel over her other arm. Now that she was somewhat mentally prepared, she found that it didn't even really hurt. The pins caused a curiously urgent sensation where they touched her, which was all but completely gone once they'd moved on. And even though it looked like Violet wasn't being gentle, the wheel left only a slightly reddened line that tingled a bit. Despite the looks of the spikes, they didn't seem to pierce the skin at all. The whole experience was at most as bad as being scratched, which made it all the more embarrassing that Ellie had overreacted this much. With her stupid fear gone the pinwheel seemed underwhelming more than anything else.