No CGI: Office of Permissions 3
Story by Tagenar on SoFurry
Time for Charles to enter the Building.
Male bonding without sex? Surely you jest!
No CGI: Office of Permissions 3
by tagenar (https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tagenar | https://tagenar.sofurry.com/)
{Time for Charles to enter the Building.}
Charles pulled into the parking lot of the motel Comma said he’d be in.
“Which roo[m]?” J said from the back seat. “Sniff it out.”
“I did while pulling in. It’s that one. Number 18.”
“Very good. Which scent stands out [m]ost?”
“I can s[m]ell the[m] all. They’ve been here a few times. I can almost see their footprints, made of scent. R. E. T...”
Unbuckling, Charles got out of the car. J followed, walking up to the hotel room door. He tried the handle. It turned.
“Idiots. They forgot to lock the door.”
Laughing, he pushed inside. Charles followed him, taking in the scents of all the dinosaurs, and then collapsing on the bed. It reeked of R’s scent and Comma’s.
“Oh my God this feels good.”
J closed the door. “Give yourself an hour. Then we have to register you.”
“I know.”
J roosted on the floor, resting his head at the foot of the bed.
“T’s scent is so nice. Not [m]uch longer [b]efore she lays.”
The human laughed. “What the hell was I thinking? Fuck me I almost killed myself following you.”
“How [m]uch do you re[m]e[mb]er after you got out of your car?”
“Almost nothing. Listen, thanks for bailing me out of that.”
“Thank yourself for actually finding us. You could’ve died out in the woods.”
“Everything in me told me I could handle it. I survived the sparring. I should be able to handle some time in the wilderness. After a while I stopped thinking. Just kept going. Following scents.”
“Fro[m] that far away? Charles, what else were you following?”
“Just this feeling that if I had to get to Hollywood from Ohio, I’d go this way. Felt like... things lined up.”
J waited a moment before responding. “Interesting way to [p]ut it.”
“Then I woke up in the hospital with you standing over me.”
“Yeah, you were dehydrated and ex[p]osed. Also had an infection where a tree [b]ranch cut you.”
“I had it in my head that I’d be fine. What happens to dinosaurs when you’re out there? Why don’t you ever need a doctor?”
“We fight off infection [m]uch [b]etter than hu[m]ans, and our [b]odies are designed for [m]igration.”
“I’ll never get past that, will I? No matter what, I’ll always need a handicap.”
“You [p]roved yourself at the s[p]arring.”
“Doesn’t feel like enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“I should be able to do these things, but I can’t. When you were racing the car, all I could think was why can’t I do that? I feel like I can, so...”
This was the most Charles had spoken since he got out of the ER. They had spent most of the car ride in silence. Over the Rockies and through the desert, J periodically got out and ran beside the car for dozens of miles at a time, just to get his exercise. He thought Charles was looking at him with resentment, but he didn’t want to push him until he was ready.
“Fuck I need to call my work. I just left.”
He did not move, and his breathing hinted that he had fallen asleep.
J had rested enough. He got up and went to the bathroom. Everyone’s scents converged here, as usual. R had fucked E and X and Comma at least once. T’s scent lingered. Her pregnancy had progressed. J felt bad for not being there, but he knew how to handle these urges.
Charles clearly did not.
J looked himself over. The cross-country run had done him some good, despite being in a car for half of it.
His internal clock told him it had been an hour, so he woke Charles with a gentle shake on the shoulder.
“Let’s get you registered. We’ll [m]eet u[p] with T and the others soon.”
Charles rolled out of bed. “God, I’m hungry.”
“So a[m] I. We’ll go so[m]ewhere after. Lots of good [p]laces in the dinosaur district.”
“Were you born in California?”
“Hatched. And no, I’[m] fro[m] Oregon. I [m]et T on a set here though. She’s the reason I [m]oved to Ohio. Also [m]y little fetish kinda got [m]e in trou[b]le.”
“Oh yeah. You didn’t say how.”
“Let’s just say I went too far.”
They left the hotel room, not locking the door behind them, and walked to the Office of Permissions. Charles stared at his feet. J felt like he should say something, but nothing came to mind.
J led the way inside.
The receptionist behind the glass did not appear as bored as he expected, so it must have been a busy day.
“We’re here to register.”
She nodded. “Someone will take you to the back in just a moment. Here are the forms to get you started.”
She slid something under the glass. J pulled them off the counter and handed them to Charles. The human grabbed a pen, and they walked to the waiting area. Several dinosaurs and humans were in here, some struggling to manipulate pens and put in their information. A few hatchlings were also here, probably about to get their chips, a rite of passage in dinosaur society.
Charles was making strange faces at the forms in front of him. He looked up at J and was just about to speak when a white woman carrying a clipboard strolled up to them.
“Hello there, I’m Janet. I’m a caseworker. I’ll guide you through the process.”
_Caseworker_? J thought, but she had already scanned the PIT tag on the back of J’s neck.
“Jonas-32521, registered in Ohio. Is this your son?”
Charles turned to her. J looked at Charles, and then back at the woman.
“No, Janet. He needs to [b]e registered so the co[p]s don’t ju[mp] hi[m].”
She nodded. “Follow me, please. We’ll get the forms inside.” She turned to the human. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Charles.”
She led them through an open door next to the receptionist’s window.
“You’re a bit old to need registration. Are you from out of state?”
“Yeah, I’m from Ohio.”
She led them down a short hallway into an office large enough to accommodate multiple dinosaurs.
“Still late, but there’s no time limit to register in the state of California.”
She sat down, picking up a pen. J noted the tagging gun on the desk, and the computer running Windows 3.1.
The only chairs on this side of the desk were meant for theropod bodies. Charles looked confused, but he sat down on one. J slid onto the other easily, grateful to see furniture made for him.
She looked at the form. “Ah, didn’t even have time to start. We’re working through cases pretty fast these days. So, Charles, do you know what day you hatched?”
J curled his neck backwards.
Charles looked at her with unblinking eyes. “My date of birth?”
“Either one works.”
Charles gave his DOB. She wrote it on the form. “Your parents didn’t register you when you came of age. Do you know your parents?”
“No, actually. I had foster parents.”
“Ah, that’s why. Unapproved clutch. Must have hatched somewhere they clip claws. Former Soviet Union, brought to the US at a young age. So many hatchlings fall through the cracks that way. Well, we can skip these forms then and get you in the system now.”
She set the papers down and plugged the tagging gun into the computer. She began typing.
“All right, Charles, utahraptor. I’ll put you down as hatched in Hungary for the records, registered in Ohio...”
Charles looked at J. The raptor looked at Charles. Both were looking back and forth at the woman typing away on the computer.
“...unregistered clutch. Any known siblings?”
Charles swallowed. “None known.”
She nodded. “Parents unknown. Jonas-32521, I’m entering you as a sponsor. Is that all right?”
J had the same look in his eyes as Charles. He kept eye contact with Charles as he said: “Yes.”
_click-click-click_ “You are mated to Tamika-32598. I’ll put her down as secondary sponsor for the records. All it means is that Charles is permitted to live with you for the next ninety days until he finds employment. You may apply for an extension if necessary. Do you plan to return to Ohio?”
Charles still held the raptor’s gaze. “Yes. We are here for a casting call.”
Janet nodded. “That’s why we have so much staff. Lots of dinosaurs coming into town, hoping to get a part. Always happens when Hollywood makes a monster movie. Temporary residency is approved. Bank account info is set up. The studio can pay you officially within twenty-four hours. Your designation is.” _click-click-click_ “Charles-38652.”
She typed for another minute. Charles hadn’t closed his mouth in at least two minutes. Neither had J.
Janet unplugged the tagging gun and rose from her seat.
“Lie still, Charles, and this will make it official. A little bee sting, and you’re registered.”
Charles gripped the arm rests and faced forward. Janet stood at his left side and held the needle over the back of his neck.
J almost spoke up.
Almost stopped her.
Almost shouted what the hell was she doing.
She slipped the needle under his skin and tapped the trigger. Charles winced, and then she withdrew.
“Welcome to the dinosaur district, Charles. Glad to have another raptor from an oppressed region registered. You are clear to enter. Your employer will update your tag if they need you to leave the district for any length of time. I hear things are more easygoing in the Midwest. That must be true, or you’d never have been allowed to walk around untagged for this long.”
Charles nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, it’s not nearly as strict over there.”
Janet walked to the door. “Lucky you didn’t hatch in Alabama or Utah. They don’t register anyone from unlicensed clutches, and they don’t allows migration passes.”
J rose. Charles got up and followed him to the door.
“Let me just update your residency while you’re here, Jonas.” She waved a wand over the back of J’s neck. “Be sure to check in with us when you leave the state. Have a good day, you two.”
Dreamily, J strolled to the outer door and stepped out into the California sunlight, Charles at his tail.
J led Charles a block up the street, just over the border to the dinosaur district, and then slowed to a stop. Charles halted next to him, feeling his neck.
The red raptor seized Charles and looked at his neck, puckering the skin. Sure enough, he could see the PIT tag.
“J... Did that just happen?”
The raptor grabbed Charles by the shoulder and brought them face to face.
“Fucking Christ, Charles!”
The human was still rubbing his neck. “What did she say? Registered raptor? Unlicensed clutch? Did she...? Did she really?”
J smacked him on the arm. “Why didn’t you sto[p] her?!”
Charles smacked him in reply. “Why didn’t _you_?!”
“You could have said wait a [m]inute, lady, so[m]ething’s not right!”
“I...” Charles exhaled and nothing came out.
“You!” J stammered. It took him three tries before he could speak again. “Charles, you’re tagged! T and I are your s[p]onsors! Do you know what that [m]eans?!”
“Um, not really. What?”
“We are your guardians!”
“Well, this is a good thing, isn’t it? It means I can live in the dinosaur district and don’t need a hotel room after all. But.” His gaze drifted to the Office of Permissions. “J, what happened? They don’t normally tag humans who want to visit the dinosaur district, do they?”
“She called you a ra[p]tor, Charles! Several ti[m]es!”
“She did. So what happens now?”
J let go of Charles. “I don’t know. I don’t think we’ll find out until a co[p] sto[p]s us.”
“Is that likely?”
“Oh, yeah, ha[pp]ens all the ti[m]e. That’s why we re[p]ort in. It’s you I’[m] worried a[b]out. Janet saw you as a ra[p]tor, Charles. I don’t know if anyone else will.”
“I’m tagged. What else is there to do?”
J took a few deep breaths. “Well, I check in with [m]y agent. The others have already [b]een there.”
“Sounds good.”
Charles clearly didn’t understand the danger he was in, or the risk he was taking, a human walking through the dinosaur district without a card or a list of associations.
J kept astride the human as they walked north. By now Charles had stopped feeling his neck. J glanced all around at the raptors and T-rexes, checking for odd looks, but the real test would come—
As soon as he thought it, a police car pulled up to them. J held Charles back and he crouched low. Charles copied his stance as best as he could.
The cop got out of the car, PIT tag reader in her hand. “Greetings, raptors. New in town?”
J forgot to speak.
Luckily Charles was unaware of the danger. “Just left the office.”
She approached, scanned the back of J’s neck first, read the tiny LCD readout. She nodded, and then reached behind Charles. She read the screen and nodded.
“Migration pass from Ohio with temporary residency in LA. Routine check, you understand, lots of newcomers to the area. We want no trouble.”
J found his voice again. “No trou[b]le at all, officer.”
“Stay out of trouble, keep your papers updated, and there won’t be any issues. Good day, Charles, Jonas.”
She walked around the front of her cruiser, buckled up, and then drove north, turning left four blocks down.
Charles turned to J, eyes wide, mouth agape, as if it had finally dawned on him. “Oh my God.”
J placed one hand on his shoulder. Then the other hand. All they could do was look at one another.
{If you like what I do, consider buying one of my published books. Links below. Thanks!}
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4539730.James\_L\_Steele