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[bartenderbitch]

"Yeah, yeah, leave a message and I'll get back to you at some point."

[Text | Voice | Video | Action]

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[bartenderbitch]

[If you have a tail then clearly the answer is to use it.

There's the soft purring that he's probably come to expect from him by now.]

Bottom large drawer... thing... of the side table. [Simple, easy to reach, seemed like a perfect place to him.]

[reargunner]

[Cain gives the tail around him a light pat to tell Husk to let him go and then goes for the drawer, only rummaging for a couple of seconds before the collar in question is in his hand.

Then he sits back on the bed again, leaving it in his lap for the moment.]

Can stop any time you want, yeah?

[bartenderbitch]

[While he doesn't like having to let him go for a moment, he'll unwrap his tail for the moment to let him do what needs to be done. But once he's back on the bed, he's finding him again, slowly nodding.]

Any time I want. [He won't be stuck in it and unable to get out, that much he knows in the rational part of his brain. Whether the irrational part agrees, well, they'll see in due time. Even while he wiggles around to sit up properly to watch him instead of looking like a puddle of cat.]

[reargunner]

[A soft hum, then he scoots himself around to face the demon and brings the collar up in one hand while the other rests lightly on Husk's knee.

It's a simple thing, sturdy but not heavy, but he imagines the weight is far heavier to his companion as the leather slides around the back of Husk's neck.

He doesn't fasten it but he does keep hold of it so it doesn't slide off, keeping his eyes on the other man's face all the while.]

[bartenderbitch]

[His attention is almost entirely focused on the movement of the collar, ears pressed forward for the time being. The bit of weight helps ground him, to let him know that he's there and this isn't someone else entirely. Because he knows that if it were, he absolutely wouldn't have that bit of reassurance to go with it.

The slow movements, the lack of it being fastened, absolutely helps as he seems... tense but not reacting quite yet. His ears still forward instead of pinned back, attention having shifted to Cain instead. It seems... fine so far.]

[reargunner]

[He doesn't miss the tension, but that's what this is for. You don't build the kind of thing they're trying to go for without some trust and this is part of that, as far as he's concerned.

Still with his eyes on Husk's he lifts his other hand and carefully fastens the collar, not too tight but certainly not something Husk would miss. He idly slides his finger around the inside of it to check he left enough room.]

Still with me?

[bartenderbitch]

[Absolutely, he needs to know what he's in for and that he can trust him with this sort of thing. That collars don't have to be a bad thing and he's taking a deep breath once he feels it being fastened, trying to ground himself, keep his attention focused on him and not the panic that's trying to bubble inside him.

His ears shift to pull back, the tenseness not leaving his body by any stretch of the imagination once he feels that finger on the inside of it, having expected for it to be pulled tighter or to be pulled in general.

But it doesn't come and there's a slight release of some of the tension along with the question, seeming to have been pulled back to reality.]

Huh? Yeah...

[reargunner]

Good.

[It's important, too, for Cain to be able to read the signs of growing panic and realise when Husk is too far gone to advocate for himself.

Those are definitely some interesting books he's been reading.

He hooks his forefinger underneath the front of the collar and gives it a small pull. Not a tug, but a gradual increase of pressure.]

[bartenderbitch]

[Some interesting books, indeed. Especially given Husk's not normally the type of person to show too much emotion and instead curl up on himself or find some sort of "comfort" in something else entirely.

At first he doesn't seem bothered by the finger under the front of the collar and the increase in the pressure, but once his brain connects the dots on what that means, there's a low growling noise and him pulling back. Not yet a panic response, but a warning.]

[reargunner]

[Though the pulling back is allowed he doesn't let go of the collar, letting Husk pull away while keeping some pressure against the back of his neck.]

Hey, it's okay.

[The way he sounds like a cat when he growls like that would be incredibly cute if not for the situation overall.]

Remember you can stop any time you want.

[bartenderbitch]

[The fact he can pull back is oddly comforting to him, the growling slowly ceasing when he understands he can move away from the action and isn't going to be forced into following the pull. His voice, the words, also seems to help as the noise stops entirely and he seems...

Somewhat confused by the moment, unpinning his ears and letting out a soft huff of breath.]

Sorry. I know. [He manages to get out in a bit of a grumble, not quite pleased with letting himself get to that point, even if that's the entire point of all of this.]

[reargunner]

[There's a chuckle, and the fingernails of his free hand scritch along Husk's jawline and then under his chin. He's pretty sure the guy won't object too much to being treated like a big cat no matter how much he protests at times.

Then he pulls again, still slowly and gently, his dark eyes steady on Husk's to track his reaction while he keeps idly scratching close to the top of his jaw.]

'S fine. Don't need to be sorry.

[It's what it's all about, right?]

[bartenderbitch]

[Oh, he certainly won't complain about the scritches as he tries to follow the feeling to nuzzle into his hand with light purring to go along with it. The collar seems to have been almost entirely forgotten with just the simple touches.

But once he's pulling again, his attention snaps back to him, the purring stopping but the growling not starting back up. He doesn't follow the pull, sitting up quite straight and fighting to keep right where he is, but not pulling away this time.

It's... progress?]

[reargunner]

[It's something, that's for sure.

Something that Cain challenges by slipping his second finger underneath the collar as well and slowly increasing the strength of the steady pull against it.

He doesn't jerk or tug, but the fact he's trying to force Husk forwards is still there.]

[bartenderbitch]

[The second finger and increased strength of the pull is where the growling would start up again if it weren't for the scritches continuing. He seems to having a bit of an internal fight with himself, if he moves forward then he might get more of the scritching but also if he does move forward then he's giving away that power and does he really want to do that?

His tail unwraps from his waist for the time being, swatting at the air to show his clear agitation at the situation. But, it seems one part of his brain has won out and he's moving forward with the pull.]

[reargunner]

[Given he spends a good amount of time around Abel's cat, he knows what the tail flicking means. Cain isn't here to get scratched or bitten, though he's already acknowledged to himself that both are possibilities, and he just keeps an eye on that for the moment.

And when Husk does give in and move forwards...

He gets a kiss right against the tip of his nose.]

Good boy.

[bartenderbitch]

[Good thing he's been a human before so he doesn't act entirely on the instincts given to him in Hell, even if they've done him a world of good from time to time.

What he doesn't expect is that nose kiss and the praise. For the longest moment he just looks entirely confused with a little "mrrp" noise, eyes wide. Until the praise sinks in properly and he just seems to melt into the touch with a light purr.

Evidently it doesn't take much.]

[reargunner]

[Evidently, and probably far more than Alastor ever gave him. He can't help but smirk a little at the response he gets.]

Feeling better already, huh?

[The initial jumpiness was to be expected. How he reacts when Cain starts to really push his limits will be the real test.]

[bartenderbitch]

[The smirk and the commentary gets a soft little huff out of him, tail slapping at the bed which is far better than the swatting it was doing earlier.]

Don't get cocky. [He absolutely should get cocky that it was that simple to get him to feel better about the collar, but he does enjoy that he used this method to get him through it than anything else.]

But I am, yes.

[reargunner]

[That he's talking like that is good, he thinks. It means he's still here and makes Cain less concerned. This is really the lowest rung, but that's going to be the most important.]

Ready to take it up a notch?

[Just a notch. He's not going full dominant in the situation yet, but that doesn't mean he can't push.]

[bartenderbitch]

[Considering he's talking and actually a puddle of cat is a great sign, yes. It's the most important and he's quite interested to see if everything else goes this well or... what.]

I think so.

[Hopefully he really is, but he'll see.]

[reargunner]

Okay.

[Still with his fingers hooked under the collar he moves himself up onto his knees, using the angle to pull Husk's head up and force him to look at him. It's only a small thing, sure, but a visible shift in dynamic that might easily set him off.]