Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2023 10:22:38 +0200 From: Lacey Kinks Subject: A Tale of Three Bitches, Part 2 - Bella A TALE OF THREE BITCHES: PART 2 - BELLA A story by Lacey Kinks (laceyk@petlover.com) [Author's note: Please DON'T read this story if you're offended by sex involving animals or minors. This tale is a work of pure fiction and is not intended to endorse or promote any of the practices it depicts. But please DO find a way to support this wonderful website. You can do that at https://donate.nifty.org .] ************************ A lot of men from Peter's village were making a mistake when they got on the boat. But it was Peter who made the biggest mistake of all. The vessel was supposed to take them to a much wealthier country, where the men would have the opportunity to work and earn money they could send back to their families. And that was true ... as far as the destination and the work was concerned. But what they didn't know was that they would be stuck in a meat processing plant, far from any population centre, living in what was effectively a slave labour camp. As illegal immigrants, and with no means of communication, they would have neither rights nor any practical way of freeing themselves. As for money, they would certainly be paid - but a figure far below the minimum wage. And most of it would be consumed by the charge levied for their food and accommodation, with the remainder to be frittered away on alcohol, tobacco or other vices. All that would keep them working would be a promise that after three years they would be given papers and allowed to seek work elsewhere. A promise which might or might not be kept. What made Peter's mistake far worse, however, was that he should never have been aboard in the first place. At the age of twelve, slight of build, he had no capacity for manual labour. It was unclear what he thought might happen if (or more realistically when) he was caught stowing away. He certainly didn't foresee the personal hell into which his discovery would consign him. What he couldn't have known was that for a variety of reasons - some linked to the ship's illicit work, others just bad luck or bad timing - the ship's all-male crew were onto their sixth straight voyage without any proper shore leave. Denied any opportunity for months to see wives, girlfriends or regular whores, the arrival of an undeniably pretty boy seemed like manna from heaven. It took less than forty-eight hours for the first rape to occur. And soon enough he was being used by groups of two, three or four crew members at a time. When the captain found out about what was going on, he put an immediate stop to the assaults. The boy was transferred to his own bed, then loaned out only to anyone - crew or passenger - who was prepared to pay for his services. And so Bella, as the stowaway was rechristened to popular acclaim, became the ship's whore. And when the voyage was over and the villagers were transferred to the camp that would become their prison for the indefinite future, he went with them and continued his work. Only now it was the camp's supervisor who was pimping him out. The boy's initial reaction to this fate was understandably one of fear and panic. But a lack of physical courage, combined with a sense of self-preservation, led him to the belief that resistance was futile. If he fought back, he would still be raped, but probably hurt as well, maybe even mutilated. So he resolved to tolerate his treatment as best he could. He was no actor, so he did not even pretend to enjoy what was being done to him. But he did become adept at using his mouth or his hands or the muscles in his abused and stretched ass to bring his violators to a quicker release than they might otherwise have done. Sometimes, that just meant another man taking their place more quickly. But a happier customer (or owner) was less likely to beat him. And he learnt to retreat into himself and ignore the filthy and demeaning things they said about him, even when he could understand them. Of course, being so cooperative and efficient also made him more valuable to his captors, and reduced any chance they might have mercy upon him and release him from his sexual servitude. But even if he realised that, what real choice did he have? His status was cemented, after he reached the camp, by being forced to dress as a girl. One of the camp's cooks, herself an illegal immigrant, was deputed to teach him how to put on makeup. He was even given cheap jewellery and perfume to wear. And the camp's doctor was instructed to dose him with oestrogen, to prevent him from going through puberty. Within a year, he had started to develop small but noticeable breasts and his already small cock and balls had shrunken appreciably. Life at the camp was not as taxing for Bella, as he was universally now known, as it had been on board. Unlike the captain, the supervisor had no personal interest in the child whore. He liked his women "big and bouncy," he said. The words meant nothing to Bella, but he understood and appreciated the man's indifference. Nor were there anywhere near the same number of customers for his services. Most of the imported workers couldn't afford him, aside from a few who had profited from gambling. Many of the local residents who flew or drove into the region to spend four-week blocks administering, feeding, maintaining or guarding the camp had partners back home to whom they preferred to remain faithful. And of those who wanted sex, not all were willing to settle for a boy, even one as attractive and enticing as Bella. Some also baulked at his age, although he looked older than he was, especially with makeup on. He was still raped every now and again, but in a close-knit community the offenders were generally caught and punished - not according to law, but in painful ways that had a far greater deterrent effect than any threat of imprisonment. Most were effectively in prison already. Bella's main work now was performed in the camp's kitchen. It was only a few times each week that he was required to perform sexual services. His travails had left him not broken, so much as lost within himself. He was dutiful and obedient, whether in the canteen or the bedroom. But he spoke (and then haltingly) only when spoken to and had no friends or hobbies. When not at work or asleep, he sat and dreamed of life back in his village - the life he had been so keen to escape, but which now seemed like paradise compared to the one he was being forced to endure. But then everything changed. And changed because what should have been his greatest humiliation became something else entirely. It came about when the supervisor, happy with the processing plant's productivity and the bonus he had just received, decided to organise a show to "reward" the workforce. Most of the audience still had to pay for the privilege of attending, but a number of the imported workers won the right through a lottery to see it for free. A group of strippers were flown in to perform - and Bella was told to join them on the makeshift stage that was rigged up in the canteen. He was given one of their spare outfits to wear: a see-through top that did nothing to conceal his budding breasts, a short pink skirt, fishnet tights, and ankle boots with preposterously high platform heels. He did his best to emulate what the women were doing, gyrating as best he could to the loud and unfamiliar music and trying desperately not to topple over. But then the nature of the show changed. While the others paired off and started having sex with one other, to the raucous cheers of the crowd, Bella found himself with the remaining stripper, a youngish-looking woman with long red hair. Bella had only ever licked one other pussy. That belonged to the cook who had helped him with makeup, as a thank you that was really more for the benefit of the watching supervisor than any personal desire. But he did his best now to pleasure the redhead with his tongue, eventually eliciting an orgasm that might have been real or faked - Bella had no way of telling. The girl endeavoured to return the favour. But her efforts could coax no response out of Bella's cocklet. Bella could remember a time when Peter had liked girls. But all thought of sexual attraction had disappeared, stripped away by the many times he had been violated and, latterly, the hormone treatment. He occasionally woke up to find a sticky discharge. But if he was having wet dreams, they were not ones he could recall. And he never played with himself, other than at the insistence of a client; and that very compulsion was enough to ensure a complete lack of arousal, as it did now. One of the other strippers had brought a python, whose tail she fed into her pussy and used to help her masturbate. At the suggestion of someone in the audience, she did the same to Bella's asshole, and also encouraged the snake's tongue to flicker over his shrivelled cock. But if they were hoping to get a reaction out of the thirteen-year-old, they were disappointed. Bella knew enough about snakes to realise that this one was not venomous, and nor would it be put to use in a show of this kind if it were at all dangerous. "I reckon my Vig could make Bella squeal," called out Mullins, one of the guards. "Saw him fucking a stray earlier, reckon he could take good care of our little girl!" This proved to be a popular suggestion and Mullins was urged to go and get his dog, a Doberman who travelled with him whenever he made the long drive to work at the camp. Vig wasn't a guard dog as such, though the ferocity of his breed and the volume of his bark certainly helped keep order. He was in fact a sweet-natured animal. Many of the audience thought that the idea of having Bella perform with Vig had just been a joke. But Vig was not without experience. Mullins, a domineering man, had previously persuaded a couple of girlfriends to try having sex with his pet. Vig had appreciated it, but they had not, and the relationships had ended on the spot. But Mullins, who had very much enjoyed those shows, saw now an opportunity for some more canine fun. When Vig was led up onto the stage and Bella was told to get down on his hands and knees and flip up his skirt, he didn't feel surprised, just resigned. He didn't even feel alarmed or disgusted when, as Mullins rubbed his pet to get him ready, he saw the dog's dick emerge from its sheath. Maybe he hadn't seen an uglier phallus, but he'd certainly encountered bigger ones. And whatever else the dog might do to him, it didn't seem as scary as some of the men who'd raped him over the past year. As for disgust, that reflex had been suppressed to the point where it no longer existed. Bella knew and accepted that he was a fucktoy for men. How much worse could a dog be? It turned out not to be worse, but different. The frantic stabbing was something new, as Vig tried to locate Bella's asshole and then drove himself at high speed into the boy once he had found his target. So too was the heat Bella felt both inside and from the furry body clamped on top of him. But the knot was something else. Bella was used by now to being penetrated, and not just by cocks. The men who had used him often seemed to think it was funny to test out just what else he could take up his ass. Bottles and pool cues in particular had proved popular items for insertion. But the knot in Vig's dick that swelled up inside Bella, as the Doberman pumped what felt like gallons of canine cum into him, was like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was painful, to the point where he almost started to panic about his back passage rupturing from the strain. And yet there was something else too, a kind of pleasurable pressure. He felt his cocklet twitch in a way it hadn't done since he'd boarded the boat. Any further thought about how it felt to have Vig inside him was driven away when Mullins, not content to wait for the doggie dick to deflate, insisted on pulling it out. That elicited a rare gasp of pain from Bella - and a whoop of delight from the audience as a fountain of thin white fluid exploded from the young whore's puckered asshole. Bella was caught by surprise again when Vig returned to clean up his mess, his large tongue flashing as he sought to lick up the escaping cream. Once again, the sensation was surprisingly pleasant. The strippers were asked if any of them wanted to take Bella's place and be serviced by Vig, but refused. Sensing that the mood of the crowd was turning against them, they donned strapons, lined up and called Bella to stand at the front with his legs splayed. The girl behind slid her dildo into an asshole from which Vig's creamy gift was still dripping. When those next in line had followed suit, the chain was complete, with every shaft buried inside an asshole. The audience started chanting as the strippers, thrusting in unison, gradually began fucking one another. As the music reached a climax, so too did the women, their dildos spraying out large quantities of fake spunk, which fountained out of their asses -and Bella's - when the shafts were withdrawn. The cheers that greeted this were deafening. Bella's performance at the show had some predictable consequences. For the next few days he was followed by woofs and growls wherever he went, bowls of food and water were set on the floor for him, and he was constantly being asked when the puppies would be born. But there was also someone else who remembered what he had done. Whenever Vig was off the leash, he would seek out Bella and nuzzle him affectionately. If anyone nearby showed the slightest sign of aggression towards the young boy, even just verbally, he would bare his teeth and growl. Bella was astonished at these displays - and grateful. None of the many men who had fucked him over the past year had ever shown the slightest consideration for him, beyond empty words about how pretty he was. Yet here was a dog who wanted to protect and defend him. He took to saving up little treats for Vig and found every opportunity he could to spend time with the Doberman - at least when he could be sure Mullins was safely occupied elsewhere. One day, just a few weeks after the show, Bella found Vig chained up outside the hut in which Mullins slept. When he went to pat the dog, Vig's behaviour was different. He insisted on sniffing at Bella's bottom, making little noises in the back of his throat. As Bella rubbed and patted Vig's flanks, he couldn't help but notice that the beast's dick was hard. The noises became more urgent. Bella looked around to ensure nobody was in sight, then unclipped Vig's leash and led him away to a nearby storeroom, which he knew was currently empty. Inside the dark and windowless room, lit only by the sunlight that leaked past the edges of the door, he hesitated for a moment, then stripped off his clothes, laid them out so he would have something to kneel on, then got down on the floor. With a joyful yelp, Vig mounted the boy. As he found his mark and began to piston his cock in and out, it occurred to Bella that this was the first time in his short life that he had truly chosen to have sex, rather than being compelled or having reluctantly agreed. The Doberman had plainly instigated the encounter, it was true. But Bella could have walked away; this time at least, there would have been no punishment if he had declined. He realised with a thrill that he actually wanted the dog to fuck him, that his only reluctance lay in a fear of being caught, not a lack of desire. And with that realisation came the most unfamiliar sensation of all: enjoyment. As Vig's knot grew and his discharge filled Bella's cavity, his little cock grew hard and he started to rub it, the way that Peter used to do when thinking about some of the girls of the village, or even his older sister. Well, especially his sister. But Bella wasn't thinking about Ada now. He was relishing the heat and thickness and liquid inside him, the heaviness of the body on his back, even the sharp bite of the claws that periodically extended from the paws that clutched his chest. He was stroking his erection and simultaneously thinking about the one inside him. He was feeling the pressure rise inside him. He was - "What. The. Fuck?" The voice behind him drove all thought of release from Bella's head. His little phallus shrank to its normal state in an instant, almost like a burst balloon, as he frantically tried to turn around to see the intruder. But hampered by his tie to the dog still knotted inside him, the best he could do was to look over his shoulder. Mullins' face showed a mixture of anger and incredulity. He took a step forward, but then halted, his hands rising in a placatory gesture, as Vig let out a threatening growl. "Whoa boy," he called, "take it easy, okay?" His face split into a feral grin. "You his bitch now, is that it?" The question was directed to Bella, but the boy clearly didn't understand. The guard tried again. "You belong to him?" He pointed at the Doberman. Bella hesitated, then nodded. The guard gave a harsh laugh. "Okay then. Just clean up when you're finished." He pointed to the splashes of doggie spunk that had escaped from Bella's butt before the knot had sealed it off. "With your tongue, got it?" He made a pantomime of licking. Bella showed his acquiescence, his face frozen into a fearful expression. Only after Mullins had exited the storeroom did it finally relax, to be replaced by a look of utter consternation. It took quite some time to untie. Bella didn't want to risk damaging his anus by pulling himself free and he figured, correctly, that the knot would eventually shrink of its own accord. But even after his experience at the show, he still wasn't ready for the cascade of cum that Vig's withdrawal prompted. By the time Bella had licked up and swallowed any spunk that had not soaked into his discarded clothes, Vig was ready to go again. With the fear that the dog's owner might return, Bella could not get the same enjoyment that the previous fucking had provided. But he allowed himself to be mounted all the same; and this time he was ready for the flow, staunching it with a pair of now thoroughly soaked panties. Returning to his hut in clothes either stained or sodden with canine cum was a nerve-wracking experience, even for someone used to shame and humiliation. He was also worried about what Mullins might say or do. To his surprise, however, he didn't see the guard until late the following day. Mullins approached Bella at the end of his kitchen shift, accompanied by Vig, who greeted him enthusiastically and gave him the now familiar nuzzles. "So, Bella ..." Mullins drew out the pause, then with just a hint of a smile went on. "I'm looking for a new pet. You up for it?" When the question drew no response, he rolled his eyes and tried again. "You want to come home with me? Live with him?" He jerked his thumb at the Doberman. Bella's perplexed look turned into a disbelieving stare. Mullins, somewhat uncharacteristically, had been doing some thinking. He was tired of the long drive to and from the camp, and the work wasn't that interesting, even if the pay was good. It might have been different if the migrant workers had shown some fight or displayed more interest in the kind of vices the guard favoured. But as it was, and the recent stripper show aside, there was precious little to get excited about. Now, with Bella's willingness to be Vig's bitch, and his cherished companion's unexpected bond with the boy, he saw a glimpse of a different future. So he went to see the supervisor, said that he wanted to resign and offered to forego the money he would be owed if he could take Bella with him. If anyone else had offered to buy his prize whore, the supervisor would have told him where to go. But he was wary of Mullins, who if not personally that threatening, had some very dangerous friends. And after that ridiculous and disgusting performance with the dog, Bellla might have lost some potential customers. So eventually he agreed to the sale, on condition that Mullins keep up Bella's hormone treatment and, if he tired of the boy, bring him back to the camp. The question now was what Bella would say. Not that his answer mattered that much. He was going whether he liked it or not. But to avoid any argument with Vig, Mullins hoped Bella would come of his own accord. Which, after a moment's thought, and a glance down at the eager Doberman, the boy agreed to do. And so began Bella's new life as a pet. He took only the clothes on his back when he left the camp, hidden under a blanket in the back of Mullins' truck. And the guard burned those as soon as they arrived at their destination, a shack on the edge of a small rural town that had seen better days. He gave Bella nothing to wear instead, aside from a dog collar that he fastened and locked around the boy's neck. Bella had blankets to keep him warm at night; otherwise he was left naked. His food was served in bowls on the floor, which he was expected to eat out of without his hands. There was no toilet for him to use. As with Vig, he had to go outside in the untended and overgrown patch of ground which passed for a garden, and which happily could not be seen from the road or neighbouring houses. That was also where he could exercise, though only during the day; he was chained up at nights. Once a week he was hosed down and scrubbed clean, just as the Doberman was. Bella was also forbidden to speak or communicate in any way other than through barks or whines. Any breach of that or any of his owner's other rules would earn him a painful spanking with a paddle - though only ever when Vig was safely chained up somewhere else. It should have been a horrible way to live. But Bella was more than happy to put up with it. Part of that was simply the amount of peace he now enjoyed, especially when Mullins was busy with his new job at a nearby drug laboratory. Not having to put up with the more or less constant harassment and abuse Bella had experienced at the camp, or the need to service men who at best he didn't like, and at worst loathed, was a boon. So too - although he didn't know about it - was the heavy dose of antidepressants Mullins was feeding him, along with the hormones. The guard had picked up that tip from an online chat group on how to keep your human pet docile and happy. But best of all, Bella got to hang with Vig - and get fucked by him whenever the Doberman wanted. Sometimes the dog would go lengthy periods without desiring sex. But there would also be days in which he'd claim his prize four or five times, leaving Bella's asshole gaping and cum oozing out far into the night. There were days on which Bella would not respond to being penetrated and knotted, but others on which he would come and come, until his meagre store of sperm was exhausted, and his orgasms were entirely dry. But either way, he enjoyed it. Vig's pleasure could be enough for Bella. In that respect, he had become a true bitch. He experimented a little with positions and even took to pleasuring the Doberman with his mouth, especially if he had already been taken a few times and was feeling particularly sore. But nothing could beat the feeling of being crouched down and having the dog on top of and inside him - unless it was the delicious sensation of Vig's tongue as he cleaned up the tribute he had left for the boy. When he wasn't being fucked, Bella would just nuzzle Vig, or gambol around with him, or lie down next to him, enjoying the dog's warmth and - if Mullins was out - softly singing songs in his native tongue. As for Mullins, he too was enjoying the arrangement. He especially liked watching, editing and then selling the recordings he was making of Vig and Bella mating, captured by cameras he'd positioned around the house and garden. He'd even thought of taking Bella to a human pet show to put the boy on display, or of inviting other owners to bring their pets round to breed with either him or the Doberman. But the former would be worthwhile only if he put time into training Bella, which he was too lazy to do. And as for the latter, he was concerned about how Vig might react if he picked up that someone else was fucking his bitch, or indeed if offered new bitches of his own. The bond between the two pets was a powerful one, anyone could see that. Eventually, however, something unexpected happened to break up a living arrangement that was suiting all three of them. Mullins fell in love. He met Sara at the drug lab, which she visited from time to time when delivering supplies and taking away the finished product. She was big, powerful and mean - except with him. What started as idle chats every few days became coffee breaks together and then, somehow, a romance. She was the first woman he'd met who was not just a physical match for him, but willing and able to boss him - including in bed. But she hated dogs. For a long time, that was a line in the sand that Mullins wasn't able to cross. But eventually Sara wore him down, until he promised to get rid of his pets so that they could live together. He neglected to mention that one of the pets was human - and a fourteen-year-old boy at that. He figured she might not understand that particular relationship. He should by rights have taken Bella back to the camp, only he wanted if possible to do the right thing by Vig. So he posted a question on an online forum as to whether anyone wanted to buy a Doberman and his human bitch. He figured it might be taken as some kind of joke. But the offer he got a day or so later from an organisation he'd never heard of seemed completely serious. As was the amount of money that simultaneously appeared in his bank account, by way of a deposit. More than a little spooked by the buyer's ability to know the details of his account without even asking, he agreed to the sale. Within a day, two men had arrived at the shack to sedate Vig and Bella, then transport them to their new home. Mullins had time to do little more than pat the Doberman, tell him what a good dog he was, then get him excited so he could give his bitch one last fucking while his owner watched. They were still knotted when their new owners arrived. Afterwards, Mullins cried for a while. Then he settled in for a beer or three and a nice wank while he watched the recording of his pets' final coupling. For Bella, the transition from the rough surrounds of the shack to the gleaming facility that would be his new home was not quite as wrenching as it might have been. He spent several days drifting in and out of consciousness, dimly aware that things were being done to him. And when he did finally awake, full consciousness seeped back only in fits and starts. He knew at first only that he was in a cage with another dog - though not Vig, nor another male, he was sure of that. This one had a different smell, a female smell. It didn't immediately occur to him to wonder how exactly he knew that. By the time he started thinking about his enhanced capacity to identify scents, he had already become used to it. The other dog turned out to look remarkably like a human woman, a lot older than Bella, with large breasts that periodically leaked milk. Not a dog, thought Bella, a bitch. A collar around the bitch's neck bore the name Jenni. She had braces on her knees and elbows that protected them but also prevented her from straightening her limbs. Coupled with the low height of the cage, they encouraged movement on all fours, rather than standing up. Her hands were balled into fists and covered with paw-shaped gloves, giving her no use of her digits. Out of her mouth, which was held open by some sort of gag, spilled a tongue that was far larger than it should have been. Again, it took a while for Bella to register that he was in the same state as Jenni. His tongue was the thing that felt strangest. He could move it easily enough and, if necessary, coil it back into his mouth. It was also quite adept at lapping up water from the bowl in the corner of the cage. But he could no longer use it to shape any sounds and it seemed easiest to just let it loll out of his mouth, like Jenni's. His new tongue did though have one other use. When Jenni whined, turned around and pointed her bare bottom at Bella, he caught wind of a smell that drew him in like a magnet. Uncertainly at first, and then with greater confidence, he pushed his head between the other bitch's splayed buttocks and began using his swollen tongue to lap at Jenni's slit. Ignoring the short, bristly hair that suggested a recently abandoned shaving routine, he concentrated on the sweet tasting juice that was oozing from Jenni's pussy. The more Bella licked, the more juice he elicited, until Jenni shuddered and came, thrusting her butt back into Bella's face. The newly awakened bitch felt a wetness between his own legs. But when he looked down, thinking that he must have pissed himself, he found that his little cock and balls were missing. Instead, in the middle of a patch where his pubic hair had been shaved off and was only just starting to regrow, there was only a tiny slit, almost as if his glans had been pushed back inside him so that only the top was showing. A white fluid was oozing from it, and before he could reflect any further on that, he found himself turned around, with Jenni's face now between his thighs and her tongue working as busily as Bella's had done. But when she reached the slit, Bella nearly leapt in the air, so sensitive was it. He backed away and turned to face the other bitch, grunting and whining in an effort to convey the message that he didn't want to be touched there. Or not yet, at any event. After a while, Jenni seemed to get the message and instead licked Bella's face, a gesture that the young bitch reciprocated. He looked down at the little beads of milk that were seeping out of Jenni's nipples and just for a moment wanted to lick them up. But he had the feeling they were not for him. And so Bella settled into his new life. The cage occupied the entirety of a large, airy room, lit by high windows and with a temperature that was warm enough during the day not to require clothes. There were boxes to clamber over, tubes to crawl through, and little blanket-lined hollows in which to curl up and sleep either alone or, as became more common over time, together with Jenni. Twice a day, a door opened, and by crawling along a passageway they could reach an enclosed, tree-lined garden where it was possible to run around and play. When it was too cold or wet, there were kennels in which to shelter. While they were outside, their cage was cleaned out, and food and fresh water was put out in bowls. They never saw any humans, nor for the first few weeks any dogs. But eventually there came a day when a different door opened in their cage. About once a week, Jenni had been developing the scent that had so enticed Bella on his first day awake. Whenever he smelled it, he would enthusiastically lick Jenni to orgasm. Jenni had that scent again now, far more strongly than before. But instead of looking for Bella she headed excitedly for the new door, urging Bella to follow her. She led the younger bitch into a room with what seemed like a maze of caged passageways. There were green lights above two of the passages. Jenni went into one of them and motioned Bella to take the other. As they went through, gates closed behind them. Ahead, they each found an open area with a low, curiously shaped bench, surrounded by four sockets. Copying Jenni, Bella draped himself over the bench and put one paw in each socket. As he did, bands snapped tight around his wrists and ankles, so that he was held tight, legs slightly splayed and tail in the air. Bella couldn't help smiling to himself. He didn't need the pungent aroma he was now himself emitting to tell him what was going to happen next. Behind them, the open space in front of the entrance to the passageways was suddenly full of yapping and barking as a pack of male dogs entered the room. Bella could neither see Vig nor pick up his scent. That was disappointing. But as a bitch, he knew it wasn't his place to be picky. He waited with interest to see who would claim him next ... [To be continued. Hope you enjoyed the story! Please send any feedback to me at laceyk@petlover.com.]