Though Bev would never use such a term (it's taken her years just to be able to admit that she was so branded and to accept that others have it done willingly, for other reasons) she would understand that such a term existed. And she would be VERY appreciative of anyone understanding how she felt about the subject. Such a person would get some mighty nice cuisine when they were able to return.

The avoidance rule is part of the branding subculture--Bev isn't the only one that they show this consideration to; most of the branded (such as Daniel, Jan, and Karen) have it in their code of honour that you stay away from those with barcodes until the smell wears off--some go so far as to wear clothes that conceal their brands.

Others avoid furs with barcodes because they don't want the likes of Daniel, Jan, and Karen rearranging their face. Daniel knows Bev's a peace-loving bear. She doesn't have to know what happened in an alley on the other side of town.

Jan has been a very infrequent customer (branding is his *job*, so he constantly smells). The first time was before he knew she had a barcode--when he found out, he apologized profusely and left a massive tip. He only goes if he's been away from work for a while and the smell has worn off. Jan's teacher had a customer who wanted a brand simply to unsettle those who had barcodes--that customer got crossed out instead with a freezie--which doesn't smell as much but effectively barred him from ever getting another brand.

You didn't have to overcome the temptation to call this article "Brand Names" did you?

Gee, maybe I should have called it that.