The Pet/Slave Trade

Disclaimer: Before you get your panties in too much of a wad read the full post. This isn't going to be a discussion about pet love or whether slavery is right/wrong, so stop thinking about it.


With the fleshing out of tinies and giving them their own forum, I thought it best to bring this topic up now. We know that some giant predators keep humans/nekos about them for companionship. There are even a few cases of the inverse - humans that keep tinies - but I have yet to see a case of a human keeping a tiny predator. Before heading into the sapient companion discussion though, let us first discuss 'actual' pets.



What sort of pet would you see in Negav? Sure, some offworlders would probably bring in their own, the typical cat/dog et cetera. What would Felaryan natives keep though? Would they keep them? I'm assuming that they would - no doubt the influx of traffic introduces a lot of pests into Negav, and there is always the need for personal security. Dogs have proven quite capable at keeping humans safe from other humans in the past, and Felarya offers us a lot more to choose from than that.

Additionally though, pets can be used for communication. Where magic and technology fail, one still has the advent of things such as 'carrier pigeon'. My Zagaru Tribe nekos send messages back and forth this way by means of starkala hawks (one was used by the scouts to warn the tribe of the approaching elves). I would think a lot of other tribes/local communities in Felarya that don't have convenient access to magic or technology would use such things.

For instance, could one train/raise a bramblewolf as a pet? The wiki talks about glade unicorns and summoners making pacts, but they are fairly rare; we do see some discussion about vapyres though - is it possible that a trade could be developed from the more common wild elementals? Note - I am not including vapyres or glade unicorns in this particular discussion point, as they have a relatively high intelligence. I am more speaking of the common elementals - could they be used as protector pets?

How about other, actual corporeal/non-magical animals? Any examples people can think of that would make good pets for one reason or another?



Now, to the actual sentient/sapient discussion and tinies. There are already some examples of humans taking tinies as their companions, but I see it moreso than that. We already know about fairy hunters - though for the most part their efforts are typically laughable, there are some examples of successful ones. But a fairy isn't a pet by any means. I'm thinking more about small dridders, nagas, harpies, and the like - creatures like Rivwin. Small - the size of a typical human pet here on Earth - but infinitely more useful than a tiny human.

For one thing, they can definitely get to places a human can't, but they would also be useful for pest control. Dridders could even offer another service; repairing one's fabrics (given their small size I doubt they could furnish full garments before exhausting unless they worked at it over a long period of time but they could do repairs well enough I should think) for example. Harpies could carry messages back and forth across large distances where magic or technology is impractical or inconvenient.

If such practices do exist, how would they be employed? I personally see it being like a pet trade - you go to a store/shop and pick out a 'pet' that you like the most. More 'exotic' pets - such as those exorbitantly colored, or capable of magic - would fetch a steeper price. This introduces a new reason for adventurers - rather than seeking gold, they would be seeking the exotic 'pets' they could in turn sell to a retailer for profit. I can definitely see a practice like this in use in Negav or the other cities, for even while it would initially be relatively traumatic for said 'pet' they would generally be given a much 'safer' environment (really depends on the owner though, doesn't it?). Grounds for human-use justification are easily established, however right/wrong they may be.

My question though, were such a practice in use, where do you draw the line between 'pet' and 'slave' (Felarya point, not Earth point; again, think of this in terms of how they would handle it, not how we view it)? There has to be a size limit, for one; and personally I see that as being the 'major' delimiter. It would have to be; since all of these are sapient creatures keeping them in such a form is slavery, they are providing justification merely based on size discrimination. Also though, there is realm for danger here - some nagas or dridders would no doubt carry medically significant venoms that would make them potentially hazardous to humans (and you can't defang them if you want 'em for pest control, now can you?) despite their smaller sizes. What sort of practices would a city like Negav have in place against an 'animal' attack of this nature?



I'm intending on introducing some vapyres in my story eventually with regards to the Zagaru tribe, as I definitely see the 'safehouse' requiring their services for heating and cleaning. That is sort of what led me to this direction though - I'm certain Negav and other cities (particularly ones like Chioita or Izatem) engage in some sort of relationship with the tinier predator species, and I'm sure it also varies based on the laws/customs of said cities. For example, I see Negav treating it more in an opportunistic fashion whereas Chioita or Izatem creating a more mutually beneficial environment.

Are there tiny dridders? (I've only seen one once in a picture.) If there are, I'm not sure many people would want them as pets - even without considering the issue, which you mention, of poisonous bites.

We know the trade in tomthumbs (and presumably neeras) is prohibited, but the notion of tiny tauric species being enslaved as pets is interesting. Presumably they'd be raised in captivity from birth, to prevent any natural rebellious tendencies or attempts to escape.

A tiny naga could indeed be viewed as both "cute" and useful, hunting and feeding on mice and insects and other house pests. Trochilis or other tiny harpies could be valued for their exotic nature and colouring ; if raised in captivity, I imagine they wouldn't be foul-mouthed.

But I would suggest that the most likely "pets" would be tiny mermaids. They're easy to keep, and if they actually sing they would be quite an enchanting possession to display. (As far as I know, there has been one semi-humorous reference, by zalzas, to tiny mermaids being sold in pet shops, and one by Aisu to a tiny mermaid in a fishtank in a hotel; the idea has potential, it may as well be officialised.)

French snack wrote:

Are there tiny dridders? (I've only seen one once in a picture.) If there are, I'm not sure many people would want them as pets - even without considering the issue, which you mention, of poisonous bites.

Terra suggested at least one type, but yes, I think there ought to be some smaller ones. I don't know of anything official. Not too small in size though - I'd say they should vary in size around the larger orb-weavers and/or a tarantula. The wiki lists some as being '3 feet tall', which is actually fairly large for our purposes here. Given the legs, a 3' tall dridder would probably take up a good deal of space, and space is a premium in Negav.

Now; other towns or other uses - think for example about Chioita or Izatem who are more friendly to predators, or out in the Docks/Commons, I think you could definitely see dridder 'maids'. Streetsweepers and other various cleaning jobs - they use their silk to collect and store trash and debris, and they have plenty of appendages with which to efficiently progress through an area.

French snack wrote:

We know the trade in tomthumbs (and presumably neeras) is prohibited, but the notion of tiny tauric species being enslaved as pets is interesting. Presumably they'd be raised in captivity from birth, to prevent any natural rebellious tendencies or attempts to escape.

A tiny naga could indeed be viewed as both "cute" and useful, hunting and feeding on mice and insects and other house pests. Trochilis or other tiny harpies could be valued for their exotic nature and colouring ; if raised in captivity, I imagine they wouldn't be foul-mouthed.

But I would suggest that the most likely "pets" would be tiny mermaids. They're easy to keep, and if they actually sing they would be quite an enchanting possession to display. (As far as I know, there has been one semi-humorous reference, by zalzas, to tiny mermaids being sold in pet shops, and one by Aisu to a tiny mermaid in a fishtank in a hotel; the idea has potential, it may as well be officialised.)

I agree, they would probably be one of the more common 'pets'.

French snack wrote:

Are there tiny dridders? (I've only seen one once in a picture.) If there are, I'm not sure many people would want them as pets - even without considering the issue, which you mention, of poisonous bites

Well, I also don't know if there are any, but I have a couple of pet tarantulas, one of which is quite venomous, and they're pretty awesome. You'd just want to keep the tiny little dridders in an enclosure, and drop food in from the top; build em a little terrarium to live in. But letting em' roam around the house? No thanks.

French snack wrote:

But I would suggest that the most likely "pets" would be tiny mermaids. They're easy to keep, and if they actually sing they would be quite an enchanting possession to display. (As far as I know, there has been one semi-humorous reference, by zalzas, to tiny mermaids being sold in pet shops, and one by Aisu to a tiny mermaid in a fishtank in a hotel; the idea has potential, it may as well be officialised.)

I so freaking want one.

...Actually, I'd like two. Naughty ones, preferably, with strong voyeuristic and lesbian tendencies. Now that's enchanting.

(I'm a terrible person. X3)

PrinnyDood wrote:

I so freaking want one.

...Actually, I'd like two. Naughty ones, preferably, with strong voyeuristic and lesbian tendencies. Now that's enchanting.

(I'm a terrible person. X3)

Yes you are, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

Well, surely there are feline and canine animals in Felarya that could be domesticated.
Since the humans live in constant fear of the giant predators, and keeping smaller versions may anger said giant predators, I think it's unlikely they'd risk it...

I doubt the forceful keeping of any intelligent tiny would be legal in Negav.

It probably still happens though. A pet mermaid sounds like quite the exotic type of thing some upper-class may desire.

I'd say you would have to pretty much keep the "pet" from knowing any existence outside of you and your home, aka it needs to be happy and reliant on you. Again tiny mermaids would have basically zero chance of escape, making them prime candidates.

At least unless the some neera boy who snuck inside looking for food accidentally falls into the fish bowl and almost drowns, but is saved by your pet mermaid, who then fall in love with each other, which then leads the neera into an absolutely insane quest to free her, which somehow works and then you come home and find yourself out of a mermaid pet.

Grave wrote:

I doubt the forceful keeping of any intelligent tiny would be legal in Negav.

Please see this link. If they keep dryads I don't see any reason not to keep a tiny.