by Tom Jones
Jason was now unsure if he wanted to free the fox himself, or wait and see if Arcades would free himself. The wolf remembered that he had taken Arcades’ keyring from him, so he retrieved it from the dresser. Jason placed the ring around Arcades’ free middle finger in order to give him a chance to grab and use the keyring. The wolf now stepped away from Arcades. He did not know what else he could do. Jason briefly tried to recollect in his mind of what he tried to do. Then, it hit him.
Jason realized that he just tried to rape his boss, and that Arcades had trusted him to restrain him. Arcades was also the one that was providing Jason with a place to live and a place to work. Jason’s eyes widened as he realized what he had attempted. The wolf could simply not believe himself; However, he knew that he had no one to blame but himself. He knew that he would never be able to regain Arcades’ trust. He did not know if he should just leave while he still could. Jason figured that maybe he would be able to get away like Johnny did previously. However, Jason did not want to leave, and the wolf also knew that what Johnny did was not as severe compared to what he wanted to do. He felt that it would just make things even worse. He did not know what Arcades would say to him when he got himself free. Jason knew that there was nothing that he could possibly do.
The wolf looked again at the sobbing mess of a fox on the floor. He remembered when he first met Arcades. He mentally reviewed the months that he worked with Arcades, and Jason knew that there was nothing he could say or do that would fix his relationship with the fox. Jason let his lust get the better of him, and it cost him practically everything he had. He had nothing waiting for him back in Australia, either. If anything, he would be back facing the same problems that he was facing before he went with his brother Jack.
In a way, Jason was kind of glad that he did muzzle Arcades after what had happened. He really did not want to hear what the fox was going to stay, especially right during the moment. Jason looked at Arcades again, and nothing really had changed over the short period of time. Arcades was still sobbing his eyes out on the floor. Jason was not sure if the fox was crying because of what almost happened, or what did happen. Either way, it took an emotional toll on the fox. Jason saw that Arcades was not even attempting to free himself. In fact, he had not even attempted to get the keyring off of his middle finger. Jason didn’t know if Arcades was actually unable to free himself, or if he still was not ready to do so. Jason decided that he would sit and wait and see if Arcades could free himself.
After some time elapsed, Arcades used the movement that he still had with his fingers, and he was able to get the keyring in a position that would allow him to use the keys to unlock the rigid thumbcuffs. Arcades began unlocking the restraints that were binding him. As he was working on unlocking himself, Jason was looking at the fox’s face. He was surprised that he was not seeing any expression of anger on Arcades’ face. Jason figured that the fox’s face would be full of anger, but he could not see that expression. Jason continued to watch the fox as he worked on freeing himself. Jason was impressed in a way with how good Arcades was at freeing himself from all of the handcuffs that he put the fox in. The wolf wondered how much time Arcades had spent restrained in total.
With his hands now freed from the restraints, Arcades could now work on freeing the shackles that had been applied around his upper arms. Since the chain of the shackles were meant to allow for walking, they were long enough that they did not restrict Arcades’ movement in the front direction. Arcades noticed that the shackles had not been tightened all of the way, so he figured that he would be able to let the shackles slide down his arms since his arms were very thin. Arcades placed his hands on the ground, and he straightened out his arms. The shackles began sliding down the fox’s arms, and they ended up around his wrists. Since his wrists were thinner than his elbows, all Arcades had to do was lift his hands upwards, and the shackles were now off of the fox’s arms.
The fox could still feel that his legs were restrained as well, and he was still muzzled as well. However, Arcades decided that he would remove the muzzle last. He was still unsure of what he would say to Jason, but he was still visibly very shaken by the situation. Arcades moved his feet in front of him, and he instantly felt more comfortable. Since he was not putting any pressure on the serrated thumbcuffs that were locked around his toes, he was not in any more pain. However, Arcades decided that he should take a break from being restrained especially after what happened. The fox reached out, and he first used the Yuil key that would open the thumbcuffs. The Yuil thumbcuffs used a different key than the rest of the Yuil restraints. Luckily, Arcades knew which key was able to open which restraints since he had used them on himself countless times in the past. After removing the thumbcuffs, Arcades finally removed the last pair of restraints that kept him bound. He removed the Yuil handcuffs that were locked around his ankles.
Arcades looked up at Jason as the fox still sat on the ground. Jason was sitting on Arcades’ bed, and his face clearly was showing regret. Arcades unstrapped the muzzle from behind, and he removed it from his mouth. The fox was now completely free from restraints again. He looked at the wolf, but the fox was waiting for Jason to say something. The fox sniffled a few times, but he wiped away the rest of his tears. While his tears slightly darkened some of his white fur, some of them traveled right down Arcades’ teardrop fur pattern. Arcades had a black stripe of fur that naturally traveled down his tear duct and down the side of his mouth; this feature was particularly common for red foxes, and Arcades was indeed a red fox. The fox sat waiting for the wolf to say something. Jason was surprised that Arcades had not kicked him out yet.
“I’m… I’m fired aren’t I?” Jason decided to slowly say after a long moment of silence. To his surprise, Arcades was shaking his head indicating a negative response. The fox finally spoke again, “No, you’re not.” Jason was genuinely surprised, “What? Kurt, I--” Jason stopped in the middle of the sentence. Arcades waited for Jason to continue, but the wolf was unable to continue speaking. The fox said, “Jason. Lemme tell you something, alright?” The wolf wanted to hide his face, “What is it?”
“What happens when a man can’t forgive another man?” Arcades asked the wolf. Jason did not want to even look at the fox now. Jason finally spoke after a brief period of silence, but very slowly, “What happens?” Arcades tried to remember the verse the best he could, “Do you remember the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant? Jesus said Himself, ‘Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?’ If I don’t forgive you, then why would God forgive me? Look, I’m willing to forget about what happened if you’re willing to forget about it too. However… I know that you’re struggling with something internal. It looks like it came out, and --” Arcades did not want to finish the sentence. However, he swallowed his own saliva before continuing, “Jason, don’t worry. I will forgive you. I’ll help you work on this problem. With the power of the Holy Spirit, anything can be overcome. And I mean anything when I say that. This doesn’t have to be a problem, we can fix this You don’t have to deal with this burden.”
Jason was still avoiding looking at the fox. Arcades raised his eyebrows, and he slightly smiled. The fox sat up on his knees and moved to the wolf. Arcades placed his hand on the wolf’s shoulder, “Hey, come on. What’s past is past. I’ve forgiven you. Ask God to forgive you, and it’ll be all over.” Jason quietly spoke, “I’m sorry… I betrayed your trust and everything.” Arcades rubbed the wolf’s shoulder, “Aww, I know you feel bad. Conviction leads to repentance, you know. I won’t tell anybody about this.” Jason finally looked at the fox. Arcades could still see the regret on the wolf’s face. Arcades still was sitting on his knees in front of Jason, “Let’s not worry about it. I’ve forgiven you, and that’s what I need to do. Now, you must ask forgiveness from God if you have not already. God can remove those desires from you, and you have to ask Him to do that. You know what I’m saying?” The wolf silently nodded.
“You’
re not mad at me, Kurt?” Jason asked the fox after another period of silence. The fox shook his head, “No, I’m not. It would not be right for me to hold myself higher than anyone else because of another’s sin.” Arcades paused in order to think of the best way to word what he was wanting to say. He continued, “Think about it like this, we’re all fallen beings. We all have sin. It’s part of a reason why we need a Savior in the first place. Here, take a common one for instance. Lying is a sin. Humans and anthros do it all the time. It’s easier to call another person a liar than yourself a liar. It’s important to recognize your own sin in order for you to repent of it.” Arcades was still not sure if he was properly communicating his desired message.
“Oftentimes, people tend to condemn others for a sin. However, the people who are doing the condemnation are not without sin. They still have their own sins, yet they see that it isn’t a big deal to God. All sin is wicked in the eyes of the Lord. I’m not going to cast you out if you are willing to repent,” Arcades continued to speak again. He took a pause before adding another point, “Though I have been born again, it still would not be right if I did not show you mercy. God showed us mercy by allowing us to trust in His Son for redemption. I would be in the wrong if I denied you mercy. Even though what you were prepared to do was exceedingly wicked, I still forgive you. I also thank you for not taking it farther.” Jason did not know what or how to respond to Arcades. The wolf looked straight at the fox in the eyes. Arcades was looking right back at the wolf. Jason sank his head into Arcades’ shoulder, and the fox gently patted the back of Jason’s head to comfort him.
“Thank you for showing mercy…” Jason said. Arcades spoke to the wolf, “It is said that the merciful shall be shown mercy. That’s another thing that Jesus Himself said during the Sermon on the Mount. God is rich in mercy, and that means we should be too. How can people even grasp the mercy of the Lord if we do not show mercy to each other?” Jason finally sat up again. Arcades asked a question that Jason probably should have asked him instead, “Are you going to be alright, now?” The wolf nodded, and Arcades stood up from where he was kneeling. The fox smiled, “That’s good to hear.” The fox looked at the restraints that were still scattered around the room. He said, “I’d better put these away for now.”
As Arcades began to pick up the Smith & Wesson restraints that were on the floor, he could hear Jason ask, “So, you probably won’t let me cuff you up again?” Arcades closed the bow of the shackles and wrapped the chain around them before replying, “Actually, I would. However, I think you need to take some time in order to cleanse those desires away. Come to me again when you’ve been cleansed by God. However, there wouldn’t be a way for me to tell if you truly had a change of mind, so I would have to take your word for it. Which is why I’m giving you another chance. As long as you’re truly repentant, then I have to forgive you.” Jason was not expecting Arcades to answer in the way he did. Arcades picked up the restraint bag that was sitting on the bed next to Jason, and he sat it on the floor. The fox placed the shackles in the bag.
“So, those two anthros that we found on the train. You said that I should ask you later about the Omega Foundation, right?” Jason decided to change the subject to get his mind off what he had tried to do. Arcades picked up the pair of Yuil handcuffs and brought them to the bag, “Yeah. I guess now would be a better time to try and explain it all. We’re not getting shot at by Omega. Anyways, I went on a mission last night to this place that was reported to have possible ties with the Omega Foundation. We found it thanks to the help of the unindexed internet.” The fox stood back up to grab another pair of restraints. While the fox was walking to the nearest pair of restraints on the ground, the wolf spoke, “Is that where you went? I didn’t even get to see you leave.” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, it was just me and Bobby. He didn’t want to believe that Omega was involved in any of that stuff, but he told me that he wanted to see it for himself on the way back here from the train. You remember him asking me that?”
Jason remembered the helicopter ride back, “Yeah. Did he take those two with him or something?” The fox carried a couple pairs of restraints to the bag, “Yup. I told him that if he wanted to see it for himself, he should start with the anthros that were in Omega’s train.” Jason watched as the fox stacked the shiny restraints in his black bag, “So, what did you find at that place last night?” Arcades shuddered as he remembered the things which he saw, “Agh... Gosh. It was not pretty. I’m not even sure how I could explain it all to you. It’s hard for me to find the words to describe that kind of stuff.” Jason perked up his ears, “What do you mean when you say ‘that kind of stuff’, Kurt?”
Arcades knew what he wanted to say, but he was not sure if he should say it. He decided to say it anyway, “Let’s just say they completed what you tried to start.” It took Jason a quick moment, but he put two and two together and realized what Arcades was talking about. Jason’s ears drooped down slightly. The wolf spoke again, “So, you mean that they…” He was unable to finish his sentence. The fox assumed what Jason was trying to say, “Yes. They did. One of them almost got me.” Jason looked up at the fox as he leaned up against the wall. He had briefly stopped collecting the restraints. Arcades decided he should just get the words out, “The place was completely filled with anthros. All of the ones I saw were males, but I’m not sure if there were females there as well. Anyways, there was this leopard. He caught me trying to sneak by while he was having sex with this other anthro. I think it was a coyote or something. Anyways, he freaking tracked me down, caught me… And then… He tried to rape me as well.”
Jason was now feeling more guilty than he did earlier. The wolf’s ears dropped even lower, but he was still looking at Arcades. However, Arcades was looking at the restraints scattered on the ground rather than looking back at the wolf. Arcades continued to speak after some silence, “So, I managed to escape with the help of my keyring that I keep. Then, that guy freaking came back… He then tried to just use intimidation to subdue me…” The fox shook his head as he paused again. Arcades continued again, “Just because I’m a small fox doesn’t mean that I’ll just stand down and take it.” The fox looked directly at the wolf, and Jason could see that Arcades’ face did not carry the light-hearted expression that it typically did. Arcades stood silent with an expression that looked almost like anger and disappointment were mixed. Jason was not sure who the expression was directed to.
“I beat the snot out of that guy. I punched him with my hard knuckle gloves, and then I pistol whipped him while he was unconscious. When I finished, that guy had blood flowing all from his face. He’s lucky that he’s still alive. I stopped myself from killing him then and there.” Jason had never heard the fox say such things ever before. Jason knew whatever happened during the mission must have been very unpleasant. The wolf noticed that Arcades was clenching his right fist as he looked at the Safariland handcuffs that were on the ground, “It freaking pisses me off that so many anthros do that kind of stuff for sexual pleasure. It exceedingly disgusts me. No wonder why the humans despise us! Some anthros are even going out in public wearing freaking BDSM equipment. Gosh! I can’t stand ---” Arcades stopped himself. He knew that continuing would only cause Jason to feel more guilty, and he didn’t want to promote condemnation.
Arcades closed his eyes, and he clenched his fists harder in order to get the stress out. He finally opened back up his fists, and he opened his eyes as well. The fox looked back at Jason before saying, “Look. I’m sorry. I saw quite a bit last night, and --” Jason remained silent as he waited for Arcades to say what he wanted to say. Arcades reconsidered his word choice, “If anything, it’s more proof that anthros require a Savior just as much as humans do. Man, I sound like a Pharisee. Gosh, it’s really hard sometimes because that type of sin really bugs me. I only sound condemning when I try and talk about it, and that’s not what I’m about. I’m all for conviction, but not condemnation. The devil likes to use condemnation in order to discourage peop
le from seeking God.”
Jason’s ears were still pointed downwards, and Arcades noticed this. The fox sat down on the bed next to the wolf. Arcades took a sigh, “I admit that beating up that leopard was probably not the best thing I could have done, but -- I don’t think I had too many other options. It also doesn’t really help being a skinny fox. Everybody assumes that I’m either a liar or that I’m just plain weak. Though I may be physically weak, I don’t standby and take crap. That’s not how I operate.” The fox shook his head again, “Even Bobby thinks I’m full of crap. He still probably doesn’t believe me about Omega even though he saw those two anthros on the train for himself. To a lot of anthros, being a fox just means that you’re willing to just bend over and take a dick up the butt.”
Arcades’ words were not helping Jason, but the wolf continued to listen. Arcades picked up the nearest restraints that were on the ground before he continued speaking, “And then with these. You know, there is a reason why I hardly tell people about this stuff. Most people just think that I get off to it like they do. Except that’s not what happens, and of course, nobody freaking understands. And then…” Arcades stopped himself as he remembered that Jason was sitting right next to him. The fox knew that he had to watch what he said or else Jason would feel condemned. However, it was hard for Arcades to choose the correct words. He decided to stop compromising, “The truth is… Doing this for sexual pleasure is a sin. All fetishes are inherently sinful. Since so many anthros are all caught up in it, it only hurts them more. Why else do you think that so many anthros have STDs according to statistics? Way higher than humans. It’s no wonder why humans cast them out of their towns, and they refuse them work. Even though they’re not supposed to be refusing them jobs, they do it anyways.”
