The Collaring of Chloe Ch. 37

The Collaring of Chloe

Chapter 37 - Public Displays

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As they exited the car, Chloe inhaled a deep breath of thrilling energy. Getting to just walk around the city she'd grown up, properly collared and on her Master's chain, filled her with joy and excitement. He'd dressed her in a beautiful midnight blue velvet corset-dress with floating sleeves and delicate black lace gloves with matching lace hosiery. A pair of old-fashioned lace up Victorian-styled boots and her posture collar finished the outfit off, making her feel like a princess and intensely beautiful.

Ellie was dressed up in authentic late-1800's fashion, covering her from chin to toe, but managed to look easily as sexy and beautiful as Chloe's more modern appearance. She could easily have just stepped out of a time warp, with even her make-up and hair done up in the same period's theme. Her naturally timeless features made the anachronistic garb look perfectly normal to be on her and her natural aura of comfort with the costume managed to make her not seem out of place a century and half later than when her look was originally in fashion.

Chloe had always envied Ellie's ethereal presence, amazed at how effortlessly the woman could transcend whole eras of time in just an instant. If she were told that Ellie was, in fact, some kind of immortal being that had actually lived through the 1800's, she didn't think she'd find herself to be all that surprised. Of course, Ellie had assured her, many times, that she had plenty of regular reminders that she was not immortal in the slightest.

While the two of them looked like they were bound for some formal ball, Mittens looked like she was ready for a day romping around the park. Sporting denim shorts, a tight lemon-yellow tee-shirt with a cute Japanese animation-style cat on the front, and a pair of hip-height tube socks, she looked especially playful and jubilant. She'd been in an especially 'kitty' mood since she'd woken up, making purring noises and nuzzling up to everyone.

Chloe felt pretty sure it was mostly because of how tickled Ellie got over Mittens' cat-like persona. She'd even spent almost a full hour laughing raucously as Mittens chased the red dot of a laser pointer all over the house. For Mittens' part, she'd eaten up all the attention with a spoon, obviously finding Ellie to be wonderfully fascinating and fun.

As Master came around the car, Chloe gave him her full attention, standing straight, gloved hands clasped behind her and her chin raised, inviting her Master's leash to her collar. The satisfying click of it snapping into place made her want to sink to her knees and worship him right there, taking him into her mouth and showing her Master how much she loved and revered him.

She'd woken up that morning beside him, Mittens on his other side, her head resting on his chest as she made a funny little purr-like snore. She'd been struck with such an intense wave of love and deep affection for the both of them that it had nearly brought her to tears. These two people had come to mean so much to her and she had fallen so deeply in love with them. In that moment, she had imagined the idea of them not being there when she woke up every day, of herself belonging to someone else.

That had brought her to tears. For several minutes, she had lain there beside them, silent drops rolling across her face as she watched them sleep. While she could not deny that Mistress Victoria made her feel like the slave she wanted to be, she wasn't really who Chloe wanted to be actually owned by. She wanted to belong to James Brooksend. Wanted to have Mittens always around to make her smile. She needed them.

Had he asked her for her choice in that moment, she would have chosen them without question. However, a little bit of the indecision had returned after they'd all risen and begun the day, her mind turning back to Victoria and feeling a sadness at the thought of disappointing her, feeling a strong desire to have her pushing her. She loved how Mistress made her feel, how she truly challenged Chloe as an obedient slave. Surely, that should mean something too.

Looking at Master and his pet now, she felt that surge of affection for them return, thinking about how happy she was that they'd made this trip with her. Master was turning the cat-girl around to connect her own leash to the hasp at the back of her collar, since she was wearing the one with the big cat-bell on the front, a broad smile on his face. She was bouncing so much that the bell made a constant little tinkling, which was most likely why she was bouncing so much. Apparently, Master thought so too.

Turning her back around to face him, he eyed her with an amused grin. "Are you going to behave today, my beautiful pet?"

Mittens gave him her best and most brilliant smile, her elongated teeth seeming to glint in the sunlight. "Absolutely not, Master." She replied cheerily. "I's gonna be a frisky an' naughty kitty aaallll day. An' I's gonna earn aaalllll muh whuppin's tonight." The response made Ellie laugh out loud.

Master couldn't help but laugh too, giving her a tender kiss on the head. "That's my kitty." He chuckled. "Just remember we're not in our home town. Try to remember that Ford and Ellie actually have to live here once we leave."

Mittens gave a bubbly bob of her head to indicate that she would. "Cross muh widdle fwuffy heart." She replied, making an 'X' over the left side of her chest with one fuzzy paw.

Master Heron came up beside Chloe, giving her a wise-seeming look before glancing towards the Dom and his cat. She felt certain any reservations he might have had in the past about her decision to sell herself were now mostly dispelled from meeting these two. Master's respectful manner and compassionate disposition set to ease any fears of Heron's that Chloe might be mistreated or taken advantage of. And Mittens' playful sweetness, which could only be born in an environment of safety and love, worked as evidence that Master's behavior wasn't any kind of show just for their benefit.

Having his approval of them only added more fuel to her growing notion that she did want to stay in Master's possession. Still, she hated the thought of having to see the disappointment that Mistress Victoria would have if Chloe didn't choose her. She felt certain it would break her heart to do so. Master and Mittens, she felt sure, would care enough about her to want her to be happy, were she to choose Victoria over them, but she wasn't as sure about how the Domme would react.

A worrisome thought came to her as she considered that point. What if Victoria was so hurt by her deciding to stay with Master that she turned her back on Chloe? She'd been comforting herself with the idea that, no matter who she ended up with, she would still have the other in some form, still able to get some piece of what they offered. Suddenly, the concept that it might not be the case ran a rush of cold water down her spine.

"You okay, slave?" Master's words snapped her from her grim thought and back into the moment. She flinched in surprise and then laughed at herself.

"Yes, Master." She replied brightly. "My mind was just wandering for a second."

He peered at her for a moment, searching her expression. "It looked like it wandered somewhere unpleasant. Are you feeling anxiety about doing this?"

Chloe looked back at him with a touch of confusion, taking a moment to fully digest what he was asking her. As her head managed to finish parsing his meaning, she gave a chuckle. "Oh! No, Master. I have no reservations at all about this. I'm actually quite excited to do it." Considering that this paled in comparison to what they'd done at Warston-Clark, she felt completely comfortable on just a leash in public. And of the three women, she was the least likely to draw attention with what she was wearing.

In fact, dressed in an old fashioned, vibrant green, vested suit, bowler hat, and spats, even Master Heron seemed more attention-drawing than she did. Only Master was dressed in anything that seemed remotely typical, tan slacks, black Henley and sport coat, and a pair of oxfords. While the rest of them all looked like they were coming out of some kind of fandom convention, he looked like he might be coming out of a business expo up the street from it.

Master seemed satisfied by her answer, but spared her one last silent look that seemed to say that he was there for her if she needed to talk about anything. After a moment, he turned his attention to Master Heron and smiled. "Well then, should we start the nickel tour?"

Heron chuckled and gave a tip of his old-fashioned hat, before offering an arm to Ellie, which she took gladly. "Right this way." He said grandly, pointing onwards with his cane.

They set off down the street together, talking animatedly about the various sights and landmarks of the city that they passed. Though there really wasn't a lot of places of real noteworthy attention, Heron had a lifetime of stories of the city, having never lived anywhere else. He'd always been an active participant in many social and civic scenes, though rarely someone at the forefront of most things, granting him more of the observer's perspective on things.

He'd watched the city grow up along with him and there always seemed no end to the amount of local history he could relate. So armed, he was able to make even the most mundane of landmark into an item of real interest quite often, regaling them with scandals and trivia of the past. Ellie too had plenty of her own little details, having once been quite the party girl, and spenting much of her younger years with a rather adventurous crowd.

Where Heron's tidbits were historical, most of Ellie's were purely anecdotal. However, the two made a wonderful team as 'tour-guides', beautifully merging the different perspectives together. Chloe considered them as they went along, recognizing their seamless ability to complement one another in oration as part of why they worked so well together as a couple. In many ways, they were very different people, but it was their differences that seemed to make them so perfect a pair.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons she'd always felt more like a visitor to their relationship than ever a part of it. She loved them both dearly, but she didn't fit with them the way they fit with each other. Not the way she did with Master and Mittens. From the first moment, they'd made her feel like she had always had a place among them, simply waiting on her to arrive.

The thought made her smile warmly, further pushing her pendulum of decision deeper into their direction. She didn't just belong to them, she belonged with them.

"Hey, over here! Over here!" The sound of Laurie's voice, squealing giddily from somewhere ahead of them, pulled Chloe from her momentary reverie. Looking towards that direction, she spotted the girl waving enthusiastically at them from the other side of the street. Mittens returned the wave with an energetic one of her own.

The plan had been for them to meet up with Laurie and a couple of her friends at the comic book store they hung out at, where Mittens was going to spend a little time with them while the rest of the group wandered a bit more. However, that was still some blocks ahead, so Laurie must have been on her way there and spotted them. Master gestured for her to come join them so they could all walk together to their mutual destination.

As she crossed the street to them, it was quickly apparent that Laurie had been somewhat inspired to step up her own 'cat-girl game' by Mittens. She was now sporting plush white cat-paws similar to Mittens', though only on her hands. A long fluffy tail had been attached to the back of a pair of bright pink skinny jeans and she had a belled collar on as well, though all of these things looked far more commercial than Mittens' custom-made pieces. A frilly pink top beneath a lacey white apron and a pair of chucky pink dolly shoes completed her ostentatious look.

She had also made up her face to have a more feline appearance, in a general Japanese Animation style. She'd even put in contact lens to make her eyes look like cat eyes, though they were obviously not prescription contacts, considering that she was still wearing her glasses. All in all, she actually looked pretty cute.

As she noticed Mittens' leash, Laurie goggled excitedly at it. She seemed completely awed. "You actually walk around on a leash? That's so cool!"

Mittens flashed her toothy grin at the girl. "Sometimes. Most times I jus' runs around."

Laurie noted the other leash, leading to Chloe's posture collar. "Are you a pet too?" She asked.

Chloe smiled. "No, I'm just property." She laughed.

"Prime real estate, in fact." Master chuckled playfully. Chloe made a show of straightening up a little, though there wasn't much more straight she could stand, given that, in her posture collar, she couldn't have slumped comfortably if she'd wanted to.

"Oh yeah!" Laurie said with a giggle. "I forgotted! You're, like, his slave, right? That's pretty cool too! I've never met someone's slave before. I mean, I've met a lot of people who seem like slaves, like to their job or because they're all dependent on someone else, but I'm pretty sure that's not the same thing. Does that mean you have to do anything he tells you to do?"

"I am at his complete command." Chloe confirmed. "My life and my industry are his and at his desires."

Laurie paused to ruminate on the idea a little, possibly to imagine herself in such a role. From the look on her face, she apparently didn't think it sounded too bad. "But, you, like, still have your own stuff, right?" She asked curiously. "Like personal stuff and money and other stuff?"

"I own absolutely nothing." Chloe replied proudly. "Except for my obedience to my Master." She added as an afterthought, smiling towards him.

"Well, if that's the case, then you own two things." He said to her slyly. At her puzzled expression, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "You also have my love."

"OOOHHHHH!!!" Laurie gushed, all dewy-eyed at them. "That is SOOOO sweet! Wow! You are so lucky!"

Chloe blushed, still looking at Master, but now with dewy eyes of her own. "Yeah, I really am."

Mittens stepped over to nuzzle against Master to show her agreement, purring perfectly. "Yep! He da bestest." She said after a moment, to which he rewarded her with a loving scratch behind her ears.

Laurie cupped her face and seemed to melt at the cuteness of the whole scene. "KAWAII!!" She squealed out.

"K-what?" Chloe asked, caught off guard by the exclamation.

"It's that Japanese word for extremely cute." Master reminded her with a chuckle.

However, Laurie had already moved on to Ellie and Heron, gushing over their antique dress, though she apparently mistook it for 'steampunk fashion' and not authentic Victorian Era garb. However, both of them took it in stride and didn't correct her, just seemed amused by her enthusiasm.

"We are taking our time getting to the store, showing them the sites as we go." Ellie said when Laurie had to take a moment to breathe. "Do you want to walk with us?"

"Oh!" Laurie replied with a bounce, turning to Mittens, starting to speak in rapid fire. "The store is having this, like, huge tournament today and is gonna be completely packed with league people. I used to play the game they're sponsoring, but it got waaay too competitive and so I stopped. Most of the people who still do it are kinda dicky to people who aren't there for the tournament too. Also, Beth and Lily ended up having these other plans, like, not together, but different plans. So it's gonna just be me today and the store is probably not going to be any fun. I was gonna suggest we go to the mall or something..." She turned and looked at the rest of the group. "But, I would be cool with just walking around with all of you for the day, if that's cool? I don't want to intrude or anything. You all just seem really cool and interesting. Would that be okay?"

"Not intruding at all, my dear." Heron said with a chuckle, looking to Master. "Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely." Master agreed. "Happy to have you along."

The six of them continued on up the street, Laurie walking alongside Mittens chattering almost non-stop. Though Mittens seemed up to the task of holding her own, somehow managing to keep up with the girl's almost 'stream-of-consciousness' level of talking, Chloe bemusedly thought that the cat-girl might well have met her match in the rambunctiousness department. Luckily, Laurie seemed self-aware enough to occasionally stop to allow someone to respond or to yield the floor to Heron and Ellie whenever they had something of note to point out.

So far, her talkativeness came across as more charming than cloying, possibly more a factor of nervous energy than anything. While she had a feeling that spending a lot of time around Laurie might change that perception, there was no doubting that she was a sweet person, just a little socially awkward. Considering how quickly she'd latched onto Mittens, Chloe figured that the girl might not have a lot of other friends who seemed to really get her.

She seemed almost in awe of Mittens, utterly fascinated by the idea of truly living as a cat, not just playing one. Laurie asked constant questions about what it was like and what all Mittens had to do as an 'official cat'. That Mittens had gone as far as permanent body modification seemed to amaze her the most. Chloe had to agree that Mittens' implants had been pretty mind-blowing to her too.

Admittedly, Laurie's own make-up and contacts were pretty amazing in their own right, making her look almost like a living cartoon character. It seemed to oddly fit her animated personality as well. It wouldn't surprise Chloe if Laurie ended up being inspired enough by Mittens to seek out someone that would let her live as a cat as well. Though, she also had a sneaking suspicion that Laurie was less interested in actually being a cat than just a fan of Japanese animation.

A...'weefu' or whatever it was that Holly had called them.

As she looked up the street, her eyes registered a familiar face ahead of them and she was jolted out of her inner thoughts. She'd been practically willing them to run across someone she'd used to know, anyone who had known the shy and mousey version of her old self. The sight of just such a person sent waves of giddiness through her.

"Master?" She said, getting his attention quickly. "May I call out to someone I know?" She asked, seeking permission without even thinking about it.

Master quickly followed her gaze to the man coming out of a shop ahead of them and nodded. "You may, slave." He replied formally, straightening his shoulders up in preparation of meeting them.

"Sir!" Chloe called out. "Over here, Sir! It's Chlover!"

He'd gone by the somewhat pretentious scene name of 'Lord Tigerwolf' in the local fetish community and online, which was actually the only name she really knew him by. A community elder and leader, he was one of the more influential figures among the local scene. Though he often portrayed a somewhat arrogant manner, projected as a way of quickly showing himself as a Dominant in the lifestyle, he was a generally affable person at munches and someone who she'd mostly liked.

Unlike a lot of the younger Dominants, who had sometimes seemed like vultures circling around pretty, uncollared, submissives, Tigerwolf had always shown a more mature level of restraint and decorum. Not to say that he hadn't still done his share of flirting with Chloe, back in the day, but always with much greater subtly and charm. He'd personally introduced her to a few dungeon experiences, always being very respectful in their play and keeping it only about her exploration of the lifestyle and her budding tastes.