Brutal_Ink Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Chapter V: Day 9; Afternoon “Hi, Emmy!” Kori almost-shouts. That’s all the warning Emory gets before she’s blindsided by the other Little. She’s caught off-guard by the intensity of the other girl’s greeting, and ends up flat on her butt, arms still wrapped around Kori. With her diaper cushioning the fall, it’s not painful, but she still giggles in surprise at Kori’s antics. “Hi, Kori! I missed you!” Emory says, smiling so hard that her face hurts. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.” Kori laughs. “It’s only been a week, silly.” she points out. “I missed you too though. It’s nice to have someone my age around. The bigger kids scare me sometimes, they like to play really rough--especially Kale and Mitchell.” Emory frowns thoughtfully. “How? I thought we were supposed to sit criss-cross-applesauce and be quiet for storytime…” “We are,” Kori agrees. “But there’s a playground outside that we play on afterwards, sometimes. Last week everyone had stuff to do after storytime, so no one went outside. Maybe we can go today though.” “Oh, that might be fun.” Emory says, fiddling with the strap on her overalls. “I have to ask Mellie if we’re doing anything after storytime though.” “Okay.” Kori smiles at her. “You gotta loosen up a little, Emmy.” “Loosen up? Why, what am I doing wrong?” Emory wonders. She feels a lot more relaxed than last time she was here, but she’s still not quite used to being around other people yet. Kori is nice, but also kind of intimidating--she’s so comfortable with herself and with being a Little in general. “You’re not doing anything wrong.” Kori explains. “You’re just really tense. You look kinda constipated.” “Hey!” Emory says indignantly, pouting. “I’m not…” she sighs. “I’m not constipated.” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. At least, she hopes not, since she’s usually gone by now, and she hasn’t yet today. She’s not going to tell Kori that though. “You just look uncomfortable, and kinda scared.” Kori shrugs. “Seemed like a pretty safe bet to me.” “I am uncomfortable and kinda scared.” Emory confesses. “What for? No one here is gonna do anything bad to you, there are grown-ups everywhere. And besides, how are you gonna do fun stuff like playdates and sleepovers and stuff if you’re always so nervous?” “I dunno.” Emory admits. “I just don’t like being away from Mellie. She makes me feel safe. And what if I say or do something dumb, and then everyone thinks I’m weird or something?” “Unless you’re the type to eat glue, crayons, or bugs, I think you’ll be just fine.” Kori says, ticking things off on her fingers. Emory makes a face. “Ew. People do that? Why?” “I don’t know. People are weird sometimes. I wouldn’t recommend the crayon thing though, they’re not very good.” Emory just stares at Kori in disbelief. “You ate a crayon?” “Not all of it.” Kori defends herself with a shrug. “I was hungry, it said Wild Watermelon, and I was curious. It did not taste like watermelon. Daddy says it made for an interesting diaper change though.” Emory giggles. “That’s pretty silly...and kinda gross.” “Yeah, but that’s my point. You need to relax. Be sillier! It’ll be a lot easier to get comfortable with being a Little once you stop worrying so much about acting like a grown-up.” “I guess that makes sense.” Emory replies thoughtfully. “What if I…” Emory pauses and looks down at herself, hoping that Kori understands her meaning without her having to explain. “You know,” Kori laughs. “No one cares about that, you goof. Sure, they might say something to a grown-up if you leak, or if you’re stinky, but no one’s gonna make fun of you for that.” “Really?” Emory wants to believe Kori, but it all sounds a little too good to be true. “Well, they might a little, but not to be mean or anything. I bet your Guardian does that to you already, so it’s not that big of a deal.” “I guess I didn’t think of it like that.” Emory concedes. “Hey fluffbutts, what’s happening?” Izzy crows, sweeping in to hug both Emory and Kori at once. “Hi Izzy!” Kori grins at the taller girl. “I’m not a fluffbutt!” Emory says with a pout. It’s embarrassing to have repeated that, so she puts her pacifier in her mouth to stop herself from doing it again. “Oh really?” Izzy raises an eyebrow, and Emory is immediately jealous of her ability to do that--she’d even practiced in front of the mirror and still hadn’t managed to figure out how. Izzy gives Emory’s bottom a playful pat. “Yep, definitely a fluffbutt.” Emory’s cheeks heat up, and she squirms, unsure of how to respond. Izzy peers more closely at her, her eyes full of playful energy. “Is this a frown?” She looks over at Kori for confirmation. “Mhmm.” Kori responds. “Oh no! We can’t have a frowny face at storytime!” Izzy looks dismayed, and also mischievous. Kori smiles. “Nope. No sad faces allowed. I guess we’ll have to fix that.” “Yep.” Izzy says solemnly. “I bet she’s really ticklish.” “Yeah!” Kori replies with a wicked grin. “No…” Emory giggles a bit once she realizes what’s about to happen. Even though it’s kind of giving herself away to laugh before they even start tickling her. She backs away slowly, only to be followed by Izzy. Before Emory can react, Izzy pounces. “Tickle attack!” Izzy’s fingers are everywhere at once, hitting all of Emory’s most ticklish areas, and Emory’s legs turn to jelly almost immediately as she bursts into peals of laughter. She collapses against Izzy squirming in vain to get away from the onslaught. There’s a warm rush in her diaper as the tickling slows, but she barely notices. She lies across Izzy’s lap, breathing heavily. “There,” Izzy says, smiling down at Emory. “That’s better. No more sad face,” She pauses, wiggling her fingers in Emory’s direction. “Or the tummy gets it.” Emory bursts into giggles all over again, despite the fact that Izzy isn’t actually doing anything to her. She feels lighter, somehow, and wonders if this feeling is what Kori was talking about. “Okay, okay, you win!” Emory concedes through her laughter. She smiles at Izzy and reaches toward her for a hug. Izzy doesn’t disappoint. “Did you miss me?” Emory nods. “Mhmm.” She blinks, taking a closer look at Izzy’s face, and wonders how she missed the bright blue bandaid on her cheek...and the ones on her arms. “What happened to you?” Izzy grins. “Cody from playgroup bet me fifty coin that I couldn’t hit a wasps nest with a football from ten yards away. He was wrong.” Emory can feel her brow scrunching up in confusion. “What’s playgroup? I’ve never gone to that before.” “It’s for older Littles. It’s just a place to go after work to get out some energy. I don’t go all the time, but it’s nice to have something to do. Since I’m an L-4, I don’t need to have constant supervision, but I have to go to playgroup at least once a week to de-stress and get out some energy. Mommy usually takes me to the park to play on Mondays and storytime on Wednesdays since she doesn’t work on those days.” “Oh.” Emory says, thinking. “I live by myself, so I get to spend time with Mommy on Mondays and Wednesdays. I go to playgroup after work on Tuesday and sometimes Thursday. Then, on Fridays I just hang out at home if I’m not working. On the weekends, I visit this rascal,” Izzy explains, giving Kori a playful poke. Kori giggles. “So what happened to Cody?” Izzy smirks. “Everything was fine until the wasps came after us. I got stung a bunch, that’s why I have all these bandaids.” Emory cringes. Just one bee sting is enough to make her cry, and she thinks she’d probably cry forever if she got stung that many times. Izzy, she thinks, is probably the coolest big kid ever. “Didn’t it hurt?” she wonders. Izzy rolls her shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. “Well, yeah, but I only cried for like, twelve minutes. And I got fifty coin out of it, so it’s worth it. I’m gonna buy so much ice cream!” “Wow…” Kori says. “Did Cody get stung too?” “Yep. And he cried for like an hour. And he’s a shithead anyway, so he deserves it, always taking candy from the littler ones.” Kori doesn’t look surprised in the least at Izzy’s foul language, but Emory’s mouth drops open. “That’s a bad word…” she says quietly, not wanting to get Izzy in trouble. “Mellie would break my butt if I said that. Or I’d get my mouth washed out with soap.” She shudders at the thought of either one of those things. Izzy rubs her own bottom, as though the thought of punishment is just now occurring to her. “Eh, sometimes the punishment is worth it though. Can’t spend your whole life being a goody-goody. It’s no fun if you never get in trouble…” Emory isn’t sure she believes that, but she nods along anyway. “Alright, Little ones, gather ‘round for story time!” Emory looks toward the front of the story corner, and sees a tall blonde woman with blue eyes carrying a positively enormous book. “Come on fluffbutts, let’s go!” Izzy says with a big smile. “Gotta get there before all the good seats get taken.” It’s only then that Emory realizes that the three of them are the only attendees for storytime today. “Do you want a piggyback ride?” Izzy asks. Emory nods and climbs on when Izzy kneels down. It’s not quite as nice as being held, but it’s fun. “Hello, everyone, my name is Miss Watts. Mr. Taffy wishes he could be here with you all today but he’s not feeling well, and he asked me to fill in for him. Does anyone want to be my page turner for today?” Kori gives Emory a nudge. “If you do it, you’ll get candy at the end.” Emory grins and raises her hand. “How lovely, a volunteer! Why don’t you come on up here, little one.” Miss Watts gestures toward Emory with a friendly smile. “What’s your name, sweetie?” “I’m Emmy.” Emory says quietly, looking back at Melody to see if she’s watching. Melody waves to her and smiles, boosting her confidence a little. “That’s a very pretty name! Thank you for being such a big helper today. This book is called The Great Big Ocean. Is everyone ready?” Izzy pulls Kori into her lap and nods at Emory, giving her a thumbs-up. “Wonderful!” Says Miss Watts. “Let’s get started.” ---CNL--- “Good thing it’s bathtime.” Melody says, chuckling. “You’re a mess.” Emory feels her face heating up. Even though Melody had insisted she wear one of her old painting smocks to dinner--she’d argued, and lost--she’d still managed to mostly cover herself in spaghetti sauce. It hadn’t been on purpose, but sometimes, she swears Melody makes certain things for dinner just to see if she can eat them without making a mess. “Hey!” Emory says indignantly. “I’m not the one who put so much sauce on the noodles.” she pouts, and realizes she’s been doing that an awful lot lately. She hadn’t meant for it to become such a habit, but it’s kind of too late now. “That’s true.” Melody concedes. “But I don’t have spaghetti sauce in my hair. And, it’s probably past time to get you out of this soggy diaper anyway.” “I’m not that wet…” Emory grumbles, even though she can’t really be sure. Melody just laughs. “Okay,” she replies, sounding totally unconvinced. “Did you have fun today, my little page-turner? You did a super job up there.” Emory knows that it’s a small thing, but she can’t help smiling at the praise. “Yeah!” she says. “Kori says I need to relax and not worry so much. And she said I looked constipated.” she huffs, still not quite able to believe that Kori would bring up something so personal. “I think Kori might be onto something there, Emmy. You might not be constipated, but relaxing a little more would definitely be good for you.” Melody says as she puts Emory down on the floor and begins to fill the tub. “It was nice to see you having so much fun today. The redhead seems like quite the character.” Emory nods. “That’s Izzy. She’s so brave and cool, I don’t think I’ll ever be as cool as she is.” her tummy rumbles, and she begins filling her diaper. “Well, I think you’re pretty awesome.” Melody says, giving Emory a kiss on the nose. “Be careful around her though, she’ll get you into trouble.” “Izzy’s nice to me though…” Emory points out, frowning thoughtfully. “I know. But none of you Little ones are very good at whispering, and Izzy gets up to a lot of things that she probably shouldn’t. Not to mention that she’s got a potty mouth. You’ve been very well behaved these past few days, and I don’t want you to get up to things you shouldn’t because of her.” “I’ll be good! I haven’t even said any bad words for three--two--whole days since I stepped on that Lego.” Emory agrees. “I know, you’ve been doing a good job with that. And what did we learn from that experience?” Melody asks. “That soap tastes yucky?” Emory replies. “Yes, and what else?” Melody presses, raising an eyebrow. “To clean up my toys when I’m done playing with them.” Emory sighs. “That’s right.” Melody says, pulling her into a hug. “Good job, Emmy.” Emory grins and gives Melody a big hug. She feels a tug on the back of her diaper and then a gentle pat on her bottom. “Nope, not constipated either.” Melody says. Emory covers her face. “Mel-lie! Stop it…” “I’m only teasing, Emmy. Besides, you’re adorable when you blush.” Emory harrumphs, but she’s smiling. “Can you get the wipes out from under the sink please, baby?” Emory smiles at the warm feeling blossoming in her chest and nods before going to retrieve them. Melody makes quick work of cleaning her up and disposing of her diaper while the tub fills. She washes her hands in the sink before sitting back down on the edge of the tub in front of Emory. “I’m very glad to see that you’re making friends, Emmy.” Melody says. “Maybe you can have Kori over for a playdate sometime. Or go over to her house if you want.” Emory squirms. “I do wanna do that. But, not right now. I don’t think I’m ready to be away from you yet…” It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that, but it’s also true, and she’s trying to be better about sharing her feelings. Melody pulls her in for a hug. “It’s okay if you don’t feel ready yet. I just wanted you to know that I’m fine with it if it’s something you want to do.” “Okay.” Emory says. “I hope Mr. Taffy is okay...I had fun today, but I missed seeing him.” “I’m sure he is, sweetheart. If you want, we can get him a ‘Get Well Soon’ card and drop it off at the library tomorrow when we run our errands.” Melody suggests. “Yeah!” Emory agrees, smiling at the suggestion. “Can we go to the zoo this weekend?” “I don’t see why not, as long as you do well on your final on Friday.” Melody says. “It’ll be good for you to get out and be around people some more.” “I know, but it makes me nervous.” Emory squirms. “I always feel like everyone’s watching me.” “They’re usually not. Unless you’re throwing a fit and making a scene, most people are just minding their own business. It’s not like Littles are uncommon to see anyway.” “I guess you’re right...I still don’t like it though.” “You’ll get used to it in time. Alright, into the tub with you.” Melody deposits Emory into the tub. “Can we get some bath toys, Mellie?” Emory wonders. Baths are nice, but they’d be more fun if she had something to play with besides just a rubber duck. “Sure, munchkin.” Melody says as she begins to wash Emory. “Have you thought about where you want to go for Spring Break? I think we could both use a change of scenery for a little while.” “I’d like to go to the beach, because I’ve never seen the ocean in real life before, but I can’t swim.” Emory says sadly. “We can definitely do that. I’ll get some swim diapers, and I’ll teach you to swim while we’re there. It’s easier to float in the ocean anyway.” Emory smiles. “I’d really like that.” Melody smiles back. “Me too.” “Do you think we’ll see any fish? Or maybe some dolphins?” Emory wonders, closing her eyes as Melody begins to wash the soap out of her hair. “Maybe, but the water isn’t very clear around here. If you really want to see some fish, we could just go to the aquarium--you’ll have a much better view there.” Melody says. “Alright baby, it’s time to get out, you’re turning into a raisin.” Emory giggles, but allows Melody to lift her out of the tub and wrap her in a big, fluffy towel. The routine of getting ready for bed is familiar enough by now, but as she thinks back on what Kori had said to her at story time, Emory decides to try something new. She waits until Melody has finished tucking her--and Rufus--in before speaking up. “Can I...Can I have a bottle before bed?” “Alright. Who are you and what have you done with Emmy?” Melody asks playfully. “I’m me! I just...Kori said that I should try to relax and ‘go with it’ more, so that’s what I’m doing. Besides, it’s kinda...nice.” “Okay. I’m very proud of you for speaking up like that. You can have a bottle, but it won’t be chocolate milk every night if this becomes a regular thing--it’s not good to have so much sugar before bed.” “Okay,” Emory yawns enormously and rubs her eyes. She always feels so sleepy after getting out of the bath. Melody smiles at her. “Think you can stay awake long enough for me to make you a bottle?” “No...problem…” Emory yawns again as Melody kisses her forehead. “I think we might have to wait until tomorrow night for that bottle, little one.” “But, I’m...not...even….” Emory is asleep before she can say ‘tired’. 16 Link to comment
BobbyDrago Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Emmy is so cute i hope that she still becomes a graphic designer and goes to school. She is still so cute, the way that just like a child denys that she is tired right till she is asleep! Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 My time off work is coming to an end, so it might be a bit until the next chapter. Thanks for your support so far, please let me know what you think of this chapter! ###### Chapter VI: Day 12; Morning Emory’s mood becomes progressively more sour as they get closer to their final destination. Today is the day she and Melody are going to the zoo, as a reward for her good grades on her final exam. She should be excited, but mostly she just feels annoyed. She’ll have to be seen in public as a Little by more people than she’s ever dealt with at once, and she won’t have the freedom to roam the zoo alone and see what she wants to see. She really should be used to the constant monitoring by now, but this is the first time that it will actively impede her from doing as she pleases, since Melody is usually pretty lenient. Even so, Emory knows there’s no way she’ll be allowed to strike out on her own to explore, and it doesn’t seem fair, especially given what Izzy had said at storytime about not needing constant supervision. Emory sighs and stares out the window, letting her pacifier drop from her mouth as she stares at the passing countryside. “I hear the zoo put in a new penguin exhibit, that sounds like a fun thing to go and see.” Melody says. Emory just hums in response. She doesn’t really feel like talking. “Are you okay Emmy? You haven’t said much since we left…” “I’m fine. Just tired.” Emory replies, which is only really half-true. They’d gotten up early to make the drive to the zoo and arrive at a reasonable time, but she’s mostly awake now. “Maybe you’ll wake up a bit after we get to walk around a bit.” Melody says. “Sure.” Emory replies, fidgeting with the straps of her car seat. “Don’t play with the straps please,” Melody tells her gently. “I’m-” Emory begins to protest, but stops herself, realizing it won’t do any good. “Okay.” They travel the rest of the way to the zoo in silence; Emory just stews in her own frustration. “Alright, spill.” Melody says once they’ve parked and are inside the front gate. “What’s up with you today? You’ve been grouchy ever since we left the house. What’s going on?” Emory’s foot stomps without her permission, her eyes welling with tears as she rounds on Melody. “I am not--” She forces herself to take a breath before she starts shouting, and scrubs at her eyes with the back of her hands. “I wanna go and see the zoo by myself.” Emory says, more calmly. “I’m not a baby. I can handle myself.” Melody sighs. “Sure, but first, did you bring your phone? Can you tell me what number was on the light post that we parked under? Or what you plan to do when you need a diaper change?” Emory folds her arms and scowls. “That’s not fair.” she grumbles. “It’s completely fair. All I want to know is if you can call me if something happens, if you remember how to get back to the car, and how you plan to manage getting changed when you need it.” Melody points out. “No. I forgot my phone, and I don’t remember what the stupid number on the stupid light post is.” Emory admits tersely. “And I can change myself.” “The answer is no, Emmy. I’m sorry. We can still go to all the exhibits you want to see, but you’re not going by yourself. That’s not up for discussion.” Melody says firmly. “Says you,” Emory snaps, her anger and frustration at having to stay near Melody, and not be in control of the trip she’d wanted to take beginning to boil over. Melody’s eyes narrow, and she takes Emory firmly by the arm, marching her over to a nearby bench. “Do you really want to do this here?” She asks, her voice low and dangerous. “I understand that you want to walk around by yourself, but if you can’t get in touch with me when you need something, and you can’t remember how to get back to where we came from, then it isn’t safe for me to let you do that.” “I’m not a baby.” Emory protests. “I didn’t say you were.” Melody counters. “I already explained why you’re not allowed to walk around by yourself. Now, it sounds to me like you have a choice to make, young lady. You can either behave yourself, we’ll forget this little fit happened, and we’ll have a nice time today. Or, you can keep throwing a fit, we will go home, and you will be taking a nap with a sore bottom. I am not going to take risks with your safety. Especially not when you could end up in an Assignment Center if security catches you by yourself.” “What? Why would they do that?” Emory wonders. “They have a zoo to run, Emmy. They don’t have enough people to take care of all the animals, make food for the people, and look after all the Littles that wander off.” Melody explains. “I’ll behave.” Emory concedes, tears spilling over at her inability to even convince Melody that she can be left on her own. “Come here,” Melody says, opening her arms for a hug. “I know you’re disappointed, Emmy, and I don’t blame you. I know it must be frustrating for things to be so different. But you can’t go off by yourself when we’re in such a big place. It’s too dangerous.” She explains, wiping Emory’s tears away with the pads of her thumbs. “Now, which animal do you want to see first?” Emory returns the hug, grateful for the comfort, but at the same time unable to quash the bitter feelings inside of her. It’s not fair… “Zebras.” She decides finally. Melody smiles. “Good choice.” Even though she’s still kind of mad about not being allowed to go off by herself, Emory has to admit that it’s pretty neat getting to see all the animals. The zebras are fun to look at, even if they don’t do very much. The snakes had been cool, even though they’d creeped Melody out, and the crocodiles were pretty scary looking. Now though, they’ve gotten to the gorilla enclosure. Most of the huge primates aren’t really doing anything, most of them are just lounging and munching on leaves. There’s a little one in the back however, that’s playing with what Emory imagines must be its mother. The smaller gorilla scampers back and forth over the wooden climbing structure, leaping and swinging for a few seconds before being caught again. Nice try, little guy. Emory thinks. Watching the scene unfold gives her an idea though--Melody can’t tell her what to do if she’s not around to be told...and besides, what was it that Izzy had said at storytime? ‘Can’t spend your whole life being a goody-goody. It’s no fun if you never get in trouble…’ Emory nods to herself, realizing what she has to do. Part of her thinks that running away from Melody is an absolutely terrible idea and will only end badly for her, but she ignores those feelings. She’s perfectly capable of being by herself, and she’s gonna prove it. She continues following Melody around, dutifully staying close by and commenting on all the animals they’ve seen. It’s only after they’ve stopped for a diaper change and lunch break that Emory makes her move. Melody’s packing up the diaper bag, putting away the wipes she’d used to clean Emory’s face and stowing Emory’s favorite sippy cup. Emory’s stomach feels like it’s full of rocks. She’s definitely overeaten a bit, but she also knows that Melody probably won’t be this distracted again for the rest of the trip. Plus, it will take her at least a couple of seconds to put everything back, giving Emory a head start. Emory stands up from the table they’re sitting at feigning a stretch, and then takes off running before Melody has time to stop her. Distantly, she can hear Melody calling out for her, but she ignores Melody’s cries, weaving between tables and chairs, and disappears into the crowd of zoo patrons. ~~~CNL~~~ Emory pauses to catch her breath once she can no longer hear Melody’s cries. Her stomach is not happy with being made to exercise so soon after lunch, but the pain is a small price to pay for her freedom. Emory smiles as she wanders through the exhibits, stopping to marvel at lemurs, tigers, and to stare at the majestic elephants. No one seems to notice that she’s without a Caregiver, but she imagines that’s because they probably think Melody is somewhere nearby. She continues to hop from exhibit to exhibit, doing her best to enjoy her newfound independence. She decides to take advantage of Melody’s absence to buy herself a big bag of candy from one of the zoo’s many gift shops. “You look nice today, sweetie.” Says the cashier at the gift shop, smiling at her. She’s a little taller than Emory, her black hair pulled back into a braid, her dark eyes warm and inviting. “Did you pick out that outfit all by yourself?” Emory smiles at the compliment. She’s definitely a Caregiver... “No, my Guardian did. Thank you though!” The cashier gives her a skeptical look and glances down at Emory’s ID. “Your Guardian, huh?” Are they here?” Emory swallows hard, her heart pounding. She’d completely forgotten about the fact that her Classification is displayed prominently on the same card she’d need to pay. Uh-oh...This whole situation has suddenly become a lot less fun. “She’s in the potty right now, but she said I could buy some candy.” Emory lies, poorly. “Uh-huh,” The cashier looks even more skeptical. “Well, you should probably wait for her here then, right? Wouldn’t want her to worry about you wandering off all by yourself.” Sweat trickles down the back of Emory’s neck, and she feels a warm trickle in her diaper. “Uh, she said I’m supposed t’ meet her by the potties. Over there.” She points over her shoulder. It’s a gamble, since she doesn’t need to use the bathrooms and so she doesn’t actually know where they are... The cashier gives her a long, intense stare. “The bathrooms are the other way, kid. But you probably don’t need to worry about that, do you?” How does she know that? Emory wonders. “Um, I’m totally potty-trained, thank you! I just got a little turned around.” She smiles, and prays that it’s convincing. The cashier rolls her eyes and folds her arms. “I’d bet my next three paychecks that you’re not.” Emory frowns. “Well,” she pauses to look at the cashier’s name tag. “Amber, that’s really none of your business, so…If you’ll just give me my ID back, I’ll be on my way.” Amber rolls her eyes. “I don’t think so, kid. I’ll be holding onto it for now.” She reaches for the walkie-talkie clipped to her shirt. “Hey, Jim, I think we found our little escape artist.” Emory’s heart drops into her stomach and she bolts for the exit, her candy forgotten on the counter. She sprints away from the gift shop, going deeper into the zoo. She makes it all the way to the meerkat exhibit, before her legs refuse to carry her any further. According to a nearby sign, she’s on the opposite side of the zoo from the front gate. Her feet ache from the walking she’s done, and her anxiety is beginning to spike because of her close call at the gift shop. It’s only now that she’s stopped that she realizes how dark it’s gotten. She doesn’t have a watch, but, judging by the lack of people around, she thinks that the zoo must be closing soon. Great. She thinks to herself as she sits down on a nearby bench with an uncomfortably wet squish. The zoo’s about to close, security’s looking for me, and I have no clue how to get back to the front gate. And, if I get caught, then I’ll be sent to an Assignment Center. Way to go, Emmy. Emory’s eyes fill with tears as she realizes what a mistake she’s made. She’s exhausted, scared, hungry, and wet, and to top it all off, Melody is gonna kill her. She lets herself cry for a few moments, and then wipes her eyes with her sleeve. I guess I’d better get going...I can’t stay here forever. Emory summons her courage and stands up, resolving to at least go to an area that’s not as dark... Emory gets halfway to standing before her stomach cramps mightily, and she grabs the armrest of the bench as she begins to fill her diaper with the largest mess she’s ever made. She’s glad that no one’s around to hear the noises of effort she’s making, if nothing else, at least she has relative privacy. After what feels like several minutes, she’s finally finished. She stands there next to the bench, wrinkling her nose at both the smell and the uncomfortably full sensation in her pants. Her face crumples and she dissolves into tears once more, crying hard enough that she’s worried she’ll be sick. She’s lost in a soon-to-be-closed zoo, exhausted, hungry, her feet are killing her, and as if all that wasn’t bad enough, her diaper is more full than any she’s ever had before. She collapses back onto the bench, and bursts into tears. The feeling in her diaper is gross, but she’s mostly upset because she’s failed. In her quest to prove that she can handle herself and be independent, she’s only succeeded in proving the exact opposite, and all she wants is to tell Melody that she’s sorry and beg for forgiveness. Maybe Melody has even decided that she isn’t worth the trouble, and she’ll end up in an Assignment Center, alone and unwanted at the end of this terrible day. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of her failure, Emory puts her head in her hands and sobs. ~~~CNL~~~ Emory’s bottom has begun to itch by the time she manages to waddle her way back to the gift shop where she’d almost gotten caught. Almost immediately after stepping in front of it she’s blinded by an extremely bright flashlight. “This is Carmichael, I’ve got her.” a woman’s voice comes from somewhere behind the blinding light. The light blinks off, and as her vision clears, she realizes that it came from a spotlight attached to one of those golf carts security drives around. Next to the cart is one of the zoo’s security officers. The officer approaches her slowly, nose twitching, but she doesn’t say anything about the smell. “Hi, sweetie. My name is officer Carmichael, I’m here to help you.” The woman says, reaching out to rest a hand on Emory’s shoulder. “I know you’re probably really scared right now, but everything’s gonna be okay.” she says softly. “I want Mellie,” Emory sniffles. “Is that your Caregiver, sweetie?” The officer asks. Emory only nods, she doesn’t have the energy to correct the officer and say that Melody is actually her Guardian. “Okay. I’m going to take you to her.” Emory is overcome by relief and dread in equal measure, grateful that she’s about to be reunited with Melody, but also well aware that Melody might be the last thing she sees...She follows the officer to the cart and sits down in the passenger seat, nose wrinkling at the sensation of sitting on her mess once more. “It’s alright, honey.” officer Carmichael says, buckling Emory’s seatbelt for her. “You’ll be clean again soon.” It’s a short ride back to the main security office. Officer Carmichael takes Emory inside where Melody is waiting for her. Melody looks like she’s been crying, which only makes Emory feel even more terrible than she already does. She covers the short distance between them in a flash, pressing her face into Melody’s chest, arms winding around Melody’s middle. Melody returns the embrace with equal intensity, kissing Emory’s face all over. “I thought I’d lost you.” She says quietly in a trembling voice. “I’m so glad you’re safe.” Emory just holds onto Melody and cries, both from relief and tremendous guilt. Melody reaches down to pat Emory’s bottom. “My goodness!” she says. “Do you have a place I can change her before we leave?” “Yes ma’am, we’re connected to the first-aid station. There’s a Little’s changing station through the door at the end of the hall. It’ll be the second door on the right after that; there’s a sign on the door, so it should be easy to find.” Officer Carmichael replies. “Thank you so much.” Melody says sincerely, and reaches down to lift Emory into her arms. She carries Emory to the changing room and lays her down on the changing table. It isn’t as comfortable as the one at home, but Emory’s just grateful to be getting clean again. The diaper change is a very long process, and it proceeds in a very uncomfortable silence. Melody rubs cream into Emory’s bottom when she’s clean again, soothing the terrible, burning itch she’s developed. Melody tosses Emory’s old pants into the garbage and helps her dress in the clean pair she’d brought along for just this kind of situation. “Thank you, Mellie.” Emory says in a quiet, tremulous voice. She’s not sure that Melody can even hear her over the noise of the sink as she washes her hands. Melody dries her hands, and turns to face Emory, lifting the exhausted Little into her arms and holding her close for a few moments. She doesn’t say anything in response, she just slings the diaper bag over her shoulder and heads out to the parking lot. “I’m really, really sorry.” Emory says, as Melody buckles her into her car seat. Melody kisses Emory’s forehead once she’s finished, cinching the straps down tighter than they probably need to be. “I know you are.” she says solemnly. “But you’re not as sorry as you’re going to be.” Emory gulps audibly as Melody closes her car door. Uh-oh... 10 2 Link to comment
YourFNF Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 I really hope she doesn't get spanked I disagree with it on principal... It's got to be extremely hard being an L2. I already have a hard enough time with executive dysfunction.... I think I would probably break down and refuse to leave my room/stop eating if I started forgetting stuff and loosing control like this..... Especially if I still retained enough self awareness to recognize what was happening Excellent job making the character so easy to connect with ?? 1 Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 27 minutes ago, YourFNF said: I really hope she doesn't get spanked I disagree with it on principal... It's got to be extremely hard being an L2. I already have a hard enough time with executive dysfunction.... I think I would probably break down and refuse to leave my room/stop eating if I started forgetting stuff and loosing control like this..... Especially if I still retained enough self awareness to recognize what was happening Excellent job making the character so easy to connect with ?? Thanks! Emmy hasn't forgotten how to read a map, she just wasn't paying attention, that's why she couldn't answer Melody's questions at first. I'm really glad you're able to connect with her though, that really means a lot. Thanks so much for reading! 1 Link to comment
Ludo Ergo Sum Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 1 hour ago, YourFNF said: I really hope she doesn't get spanked I disagree with it on principal... It's got to be extremely hard being an L2. I already have a hard enough time with executive dysfunction.... I think I would probably break down and refuse to leave my room/stop eating if I started forgetting stuff and loosing control like this..... Especially if I still retained enough self awareness to recognize what was happening Excellent job making the character so easy to connect with ?? If I was in Melody's position Ellie's already meager freedoms would be curtailed further. Since she snuck out of bed, the bed would become a crib. Since she ran away Ellie would be in a harness and toddler reins when she was outside. Not sure if it can work that way in this world but it would be interesting to find out what Ellie would think about spending some time as an L-1... Link to comment
Jayme Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Now that would be a way to remind Emory to appreciate what she can do. Did she ever get her ID back? Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 8 hours ago, Ludo Ergo Sum said: If I was in Melody's position Ellie's already meager freedoms would be curtailed further. Since she snuck out of bed, the bed would become a crib. Since she ran away Ellie would be in a harness and toddler reins when she was outside. Not sure if it can work that way in this world but it would be interesting to find out what Ellie would think about spending some time as an L-1... The crib thing should have happened already, but Melody's a big softie, so Emmy's gotten to keep her big-girl bed up to this point. Classifications are a one-and-done thing, but there's no reason something like that can't be simulated...?. However, I will that if I'd ever done anything like that as a kid, I'd have been clocking some OTK time and losing a bunch of privileges so...We'll have to see what happens ? Thanks so much for reading and for the feedback! 8 hours ago, Jayme said: Now that would be a way to remind Emory to appreciate what she can do. Did she ever get her ID back? Well, she didn't get it back, but Melody has it. Amber was keeping it to try and prevent Emmy from leaving, since she can't buy anything without it. Obviously, that didn't work out, but it was returned to Melody at the security office before Emory arrived. I just didn't mention that, because there's no way Emory would know that. Thanks for reading! Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 A parting gift before I head off to work! ##### Chapter VII: Day 13; Midnight “Sit.” Melody commands, pointing to the kitchen table. “Mellie, I--” Emory begins, preparing to launch into a very long apology, but Melody interrupts. “I said sit.” Melody snaps. “Sit down, right now. And I don’t want to hear a peep out of you until I’m done, you got that? Emory immediately does as she’s told. Melody is pissed--really really mad--she corrects herself internally, the last thing she needs is to make the situation worse by slipping up and swearing. Melody blows out a long sigh, raking a hand through her hair. She kneels down in front of Emory’s chair. “Emory Amelia Mason, I am very disappointed in your behavior today.” Emory stares at her lap, tears welling in her eyes, even though Melody is no doubt just getting started with her. She’d hoped to at least make it through part of her scolding without crying, but her body has other ideas. Melody places a surprisingly gentle finger under her chin, forcing Emory to meet her gaze. “Look at me, little one. I know you’re upset, but I need to know that you’re listening. It’s okay if you need to cry.” Emory gives a small nod. “What you did today was incredibly dangerous. You could have been hurt. You could have run into some bad people. You could’ve ended up in an Assignment Center. Or, if they’d really wanted to, the zoo could have pressed charges for trespassing, and you could have been put in a Behavioral Correction Facility.” Emory swallows hard. She hadn’t thought of all that at the time, she’d just wanted to be independent for a change. Even though she doesn’t want to be in trouble, it makes sense that Melody is mad at her. “And, on top of all that, you deliberately disobeyed me. I told you you were not allowed to walk around by yourself, and you ran off anyway.” Melody fixes her with a serious gaze. “You are a Little, Emmy. Whether you like it or not, you are not allowed to go off on your own without someone to watch you. It is not safe, and it is not smart to go and put yourself into situations where you could get hurt, just because you don’t want to be told what to do. And I think today has proven that you’re not able to handle being responsible for yourself, don’t you think?” Emory nods. “You are precious to me, Emmy. You are the most important thing in my life, and I would be crushed if anything happened to you, especially something that could have been avoided by you listening to me. Since you clearly can’t manage what little freedom you do have responsibly, you’ll be losing it until you’ve earned my trust back.” Melody sighs and kisses Emory’s forehead. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” “Are you gonna spank me?” Emory wonders. “Oh, absolutely. You’ll be getting ten in the morning. I explicitly told you why you needed to stay with me, and what could happen if you didn’t, and you decided to ignore me and do as you pleased. That is not acceptable behavior, and if talking about consequences with you beforehand doesn’t work, then maybe a spanking will help you remember. I don’t want to spank you, but when it comes to your safety, if this is the only way to get you to listen to me, then so be it.” “But, this whole thing was Izzy’s idea!” Emory protests, folding her arms. “At storytime, she said: ‘Can’t spend your whole life being a goody-goody. It’s no fun if you never get in trouble…’ And so, I thought-” Melody snorts incredulously. “Does this seem like fun to you, young lady?” Emory winces. She’s been full-named and called young lady in the same conversation. Yep, Melody is definitely furious. “No…” “I didn’t think so.” Melody says. “Izzy probably shouldn’t have said that to you, I’ll give you that. But, Izzy isn’t the one who will be punished for the choices that you make, Emmy. Remember that next time she says something silly like that.” “Okay…” “Because of the choices you made today, you will be wearing a harness whenever we go out until I say otherwise. Is that understood?” Emory frowns. “But, that’s crazy!” “No, it’s not.” Melody responds immediately. “It would be cruel to keep you cooped up in the house all the time, and since I can’t trust you not to run off, that’s how it’s going to be. You know as well as I do that I’m not doing it to humiliate you. And if I were you, I’d mind my attitude little one, you’re already in trouble.” Emory sighs. “Yes, ma’am.” “And, for the next week, for all intents and purposes, consider yourself an L-1. Since you can’t behave responsibly with what little freedom you have as an L-2, maybe losing it will make you think twice about being so reckless in the future. ” “Um…” Emory squirms. “What exactly does that mean? I haven’t got that far in the book yet…” “There will be no videogames. There will be no TV that’s not educational. You may use your computer for school, and that is all. You will be sleeping in your crib, which you are not to leave until I come to get you up. I’ll be ordering some baby gates before I go to sleep tonight, and you are not to go past them without my say-so. And, I’ll be feeding you all your meals.” Emory groans quietly, but she knows better than to argue. She’s gotten herself into enough trouble already. “Now, it’s very late, and you should have been in bed a while ago. I’m going to set up your crib, and I want you to sit here while I do that and think about how you can make better choices in the future. I know you don’t like to be left alone, but after the stunt you pulled today, I think you’ll be okay for five minutes.” “Yes, Mellie.” Emory replies contritely. Melody disappears from the room, leaving Emory to think. She returns before Emory has time to get too worked up, taking the smaller, exhausted girl into her arms and depositing her in her crib. The crib really isn’t that bad, Emory decides. It’s different, but she still has room to stretch out, so it won’t be too uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.” Emory says, lower lip trembling, as Melody tucks the blankets around her. “I know.” Melody says, kissing her forehead. “We’ll deal with the rest of your punishment in the morning, and it’ll be a clean slate from there, okay? Hopefully you’ll make better decisions in the future, and we won’t ever have to go through this again.” With that, Melody puts the side of the crib up. It stows underneath the bed in a special slot, so it’s easy to put up or take down. “I love you, Mellie.” Emory says, hugging Rufus to her chest and putting her pacifier in her mouth. She’s glad for those small comforts at least. “I love you too, sweetheart.” Melody replies. Then, she turns off the light and gently closes the door. Basked in the glow of her nightlight, Emory rolls over, and cries herself to sleep. ~CNL~ Morning comes too early. The sound of the crib being unlatched is what wakes Emory up. Her heart immediately begins to pound. She turns over to see that Melody has brought one of the chairs from the kitchen table into the room, and an old towel from the bathroom. “Alright little one, let’s get this over with.” Melody says, bringing Emory over to the chair. She sits down and takes Emory gently by the shoulders. “Do you remember why you’re getting a spanking this morning?” Emory nods, a blush coloring her cheeks. She’s dressed in just her pajama top and a wet diaper, about to get a spanking for misbehavior. She doesn’t think she’s ever felt more babyish than she does in this moment, the very thing she’d disobeyed Melody over in the first place. “‘Cause I disobeyed you and ran away from you at the zoo. And that was really unsafe and dangerous for me to do.” Melody nods. “That’s right. I’m not doing this to be cruel to you, or to hurt you. But it is very important that you learn to listen to me, especially where your safety is concerned. And, since talking about it hasn’t worked, this is where we are.” Melody sighs and spreads the towel over her lap. “Come here.” Emory shuffles closer, allowing Melody to untape her diaper and guide her to lay over her lap. “You can cry and kick if you need to.” Melody says. “But you’re not allowed to cover your bottom, understand?” Emory nods tearfully. “Yes, Mellie.” “You don’t have to count, either.” Melody adds. “Ten swats, that’s all, okay? Then it’s all over and we can focus on doing better in the future.” “Okay.” Emory says in a shuddering voice. “I’m ready.” “Alright. Here we go.” Melody says. The first swat doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as Emory imagines it will, though she can’t help but gasp at the impact. However, by the fifth swat, she’s really feeling the burn, and by the eight, she’s a sobbing mess. The ninth and tenth ones are the worst, probably to discourage her from doing anything like this again, and she’s shaking by the end of it. “All done,” Melody says gently, taking Emory into her arms and holding her close. “It’s all over now, okay? No more. You were very good during your spanking, and I am very proud of you, sweetheart.” Emory is crying too hard to speak, more from remorse than pain, though her bottom doesn’t exactly feel good either. She understands now, just how much Melody cares for her, how worried she must have been to resort to this to make her point. She just clings to Melody and sobs. “I’ve got you.” Melody says gently, rocking her. “You’re forgiven, little one. Fresh start from here on out.” She continues, brushing away Emory’s tears. “I don’t ever want to have to do this again, understand?” Emory nods. “Yes, Mellie. I’m sorry. I’ll never run away from you again.” “Good girl.” Melody praises, kissing Emory’s forehead. “Now, we’re going to get you in a nice, clean diaper, we’ll have breakfast, and we’re going to relax and focus on having a good rest of the day, alright?” “Okay,” Emory says quietly. Now that her spanking is over, her head has cleared enough to realize how stupid it had been to run away like that, and how much she really does need Melody, even if she had tried to ignore that. She wishes that she could be mad at Melody for spanking her, since it certainly hadn’t been pleasant, but if she’d been in Melody’s shoes, she’d probably do the same thing. Emory feels a chill as an awful thought occurs to her. “I know I was bad, but you’re not gonna...give me up, are you?” she wonders. “What? No, of course not! I’m not going to abandon you because you made a bad decision, little one. You don’t need to worry about that. I just want you to listen to me, so you can be safe, okay?” Emory nods, a wave of relief washing over her. Melody lays her gently down on the changing table and puts her into a dry diaper, kissing her tummy just above the waistband when she’s done. “Do you want to have oatmeal or eggs for breakfast, Emmy?” Emory thinks for a moment. “Oatmeal, please.” “Alright, we can do that.” Melody says. She picks out a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a loose t-shirt for Emory to wear. Emory lets Melody dress her without complaint, reaching for her to be held when Melody finishes putting her socks on. She doesn’t really want to cry anymore, but she can’t help it. The stinging of her bottom certainly doesn’t help, but she’s mostly just upset with herself for getting into trouble in the first place. Melody lifts Emory onto her hip, and Emory cuddles up to her, resting her head on Melody’s shoulder. “Someone’s a clingy baby today.” Melody points out. “But that’s okay. It makes it easier for me to keep an eye on you. You just worry about behaving today, and I’ll take care of everything else. It might be a little boring for a while, but it won’t be so bad, you’ll see. You might even enjoy some of it.” Not likely. Emory thinks, but she doesn’t dare say that out loud. Her stomach grumbles noisily, keeping her from getting too lost in thought. Melody tickles her tummy. “My goodness! Are you hiding a lion in there little one?” Emory giggles despite herself. “No...I’m just hungry.” “I’ll say. We’d better go and put something in that tummy, huh?” Melody smiles at her. On their way through the house, Emory notices that the living room has baby gates at either entrance, and a big, soft-looking playmat that hadn’t been there yesterday. It’s been turned into what is essentially a big playpen, and Emory gets the feeling she’ll be spending a lot of time in there over the next week. When they arrive in the kitchen, Melody sits Emory down on the counter. “Do you want to help make breakfast? Or do you want to sit at the table until it’s ready?” “I’ll help.” Emory decides, both so she has something to do, and to stay close to Melody. Her fear of being separated from Melody hasn’t exactly gone away, despite Melody’s reassurances, and her separation anxiety doesn’t help with that at all. She doesn’t really mind being away from Melody if she has something to focus on, like schoolwork, but when she’s not busy, she becomes anxious very quickly. “Okay, let’s wash our hands first okay?” Melody says, guiding Emory’s hands to the faucet, even though she doesn’t really need the help. The oatmeal they make is the instant kind, but Melody lets Emory push the buttons for the time on the microwave. While they wait for it to cook, Melody retrieves a bottle of chocolate milk from the fridge and sits down with Emory on the couch. “The oatmeal will need time to cool when it’s done anyway.” She says. “I was going to give this to you before bed last night, but we didn’t get to it. I thought you might like to have it now instead. You’ll be getting a lot of these over the next week, so you might as well get used to them.” Melody shifts Emory in her lap, cradling her to more easily give her her bottle. Emory doesn’t bother to protest, as she’s thirsty from all the crying she’s done today. Even though it’s supposed to be a punishment, as Melody holds her close and gives her her bottle, she thinks that maybe it might not turn out to be so bad after all... 14 Link to comment
kerry Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 14 hours ago, Brutal_Ink said: ~~~CNL~~~ What does this mean? Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 @kerry it's just there as a transition into the next scene. Link to comment
kerry Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Just now, Brutal_Ink said: @kerry it's just there as a transition into the next scene. I understand that, but why the CNL? Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 @kerryit's the first letter of each word in the title besides 'a' Link to comment
spark Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 This is an interesting reality that allows so many possibilities for future ABDL stories. It so interesting to have a reality where Little's are classified, and seeing an adult in a childlike condition is perfectly acceptable. I'm enjoying the story so far. Maybe because child harnesses were not nearly as common as strollers, I would have had Emory in stroller. It serves the same purpose, but in my mind I harness is more demeaning and could be seen as abusive. Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 2, 2021 Author Share Posted June 2, 2021 Thanks so much for all the comments and feedback everyone! I really appreciate it! ##### Chapter VIII: Day 16; Morning “Yes mom, I promise I will...But I need to talk to her about it first, she gets really nervous around new people...I’m sure she’ll love you. What? You didn’t really need to go to all that trouble just for us...Oh that?...It’s a Type-A. I don’t know, I thought it would be easier to do it that way, things have been a little hectic, and I didn’t want to forget...No, it’s a surprise. Well, maybe we can do that when we visit.” Emory stirs at the sound of Melody’s voice. Melody shushes her gently and rocks a little bit, patting her bottom gently. “I’ve gotta go, she’s waking up. Yeah, we slept in a bit this morning...I love you too.” “Mellie’s phone?” Emory mumbles, cuddling up to Melody a bit more. That’s not exactly what she’d meant to say, but she knows that Melody will understand. “Yeah, sweetheart, Mellie was on the phone. But I’m all done now. Good morning, cutie, did you sleep well?” Emory vaguely remembers a nightmare, and Melody coming to get her out of her crib, but she feels rested enough now, so she nods. “Mhmm.” “Good. Do you want a bottle first, or food first little one?” Emory blinks slowly and rubs her eyes. “Bottle please,” she says around her pacifier. She’s gotten four bottles a day since her L-1 punishment started, one at each meal, and one at bedtime. If she’s being honest with herself though, she doesn’t really mind it. It’s a nice way to start the day, all cuddled up to Melody like that, and she thinks she’ll probably miss it when her punishment is over. “Okay, we can do that. But first, you need a fresh diaper.” Melody says, giving Emory a kiss on the forehead before carrying her back to her bedroom--though really, it’s more of a nursery now. “So, I’d like to talk to you about something, Emmy,” Melody says once she’s gotten Emory onto the changing table. “What’d I do?” Emory wonders nervously, chewing on her lip. “Don’t chew on your lip, sweetheart, you’re going to make it bleed again.” Melody says, gently easing Emory’s pacifier back into her mouth. “You didn’t do anything bad that I’m aware of...is there something you’d like to confess?” She takes a clean diaper from under the table. Emory shakes her head vigorously. “No! I’ve been good!” “I know you have. And I want you to know that I’m proud of you for being so well-behaved.” Melody says with a smile, kissing Emory’s nose. “My parents want to meet you. But, I told them that I’d have to talk to you about it first. That’s what the phone call was about.” “Oh. Really?” Emory is pleasantly surprised at this news. It’s nice to feel like she’s wanted again. She always feels like that with Melody, but knowing that Melody’s parents want to meet her makes her feel extra special. “That’d be nice.” “We could go this weekend if you want, the weather at the beach is gonna be rough for the next week or so anyway. They live out in the country, so you’ll get to see more stars at night. And, my mom loves to go for walks, so she might take you to pick wild blueberries, there are some that grow by their house.” Emory tries to sit up in excitement, but Melody puts a hand on her chest to keep her still. “Really? That’s so cool! That sounds like so much fun! Do you think we’ll see any deers?” “I’m almost done baby, but I need you to hold still, okay? And did you mean deer? Probably, there are lots that live in that area.” Melody corrects her gently as she finishes taping on her new diaper. Emory blushes a bit when she realizes her mistake, but it doesn’t bother her that much. She smiles. “Well, I’d like to go...will there be any baby deers?” Melody chuckles and kisses Emory’s tummy like she always does when she’s finished a diaper change. “There’s a good chance that we’ll see a few, it’s about that time of year.” She says she lifts Emory down onto the floor. “Do you want overalls or pants?” Emory thinks for a moment before replying. “Overalls. And can I have my blue hair bow today please?” “Sure. Such good manners today! Are you trying to butter me up?” “No...I only do that with my toast.” Emory replies, giggling at her own joke. “Ugh. You and my dad are gonna get along just fine. He loves puns and wordplay.” Melody tells her as she begins to help her get dressed. “I was wondering though, do I have to wear my harness to storytime today?” Emory wonders. Melody pauses for a long moment. “No.” She decides. “You’ve been very good so far this week, so you don’t have to wear it to storytime.” “Thank you!” Emory says, launching herself into Melody for a hug. It would definitely be embarrassing if she’d needed to wear it in front of her friends. “You’re welcome, Emmy.” Melody says as she finishes dressing Emory. “Now, let’s hurry and get you fed, okay? We don’t want to be late for storytime do we?” “No,” Emory answers, reaching for Melody. “I am super hungry though.” “Well then we definitely need to get some food. That lion living in your belly scares me!” Melody teases. Emory giggles all the way to the kitchen. ~CNL~ Kale and Mitchell are absent from storytime once more. This time, Izzy is the one to greet Emory with a hug. In a surprising display of strength, she lifts Emory up and spins her in a circle. “Hey Emmy! It’s good to see you again!” she says with a big grin on her face. Emory smiles back with a little less enthusiasm. “What’s wrong?” Izzy wonders. “I got in trouble.” Emory admits quietly, her cheeks coloring. “I thought about what you said about not having fun if you don’t get in trouble. And I did something really stupid.” “What happened?” Izzy asks. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to though.” She looks genuinely upset. “I ran away from Mellie at the zoo…” “You what? That’s super dangerous! I was talking about like, jumping in a mud puddle or playing so hard that you tear your clothes kind of trouble!” Izzy whispers back. “Not, insanely risky, I-couldn’t-sit-for-a-week, kind of trouble.” “Oh…” Emory’s face heats up even more. “I guess I got carried away.” “I’ll say! I should go apologize to your Mommy. I shouldn’t have said that to you.” Izzy says. “She’s not-” Emory begins, but Izzy is already heading toward Melody. “Where’s Kori?” she wonders, once she catches up to Izzy. “She’s over there under the blanket with my Mommy. She’s my little sister now though, her Daddy and my Mommy got married over the weekend.” “Aww that’s great!” Emory says, smiling. “Miss Emory’s Mommy, ma’am?” Izzy begins politely. Melody chuckles. “You must be Izzy, I’ve heard a lot about you. You can just call me Melody though. What’s up?” Izzy fidgets uncomfortably for a moment before speaking. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. For what I said to Emmy, I mean. I know it’s not really any of my business, but she misunderstood me and said that she did something she shouldn’t have because of it. That was irresponsible of me, and it won’t happen again.” “Thank you, Izzy. You’re being a very big girl by apologizing, and I appreciate it. But, everyone has to make their own decisions, and you are not responsible for Emory’s choices. I am happy to hear that you plan on being a better role model though, a lot of the little ones look up to you.” Izzy blushes. “Thanks.” She turns to Emory. “I’ll be right back, I’m just gonna go pee really fast.” “Okay.” Emory replies, but she’s kind of distracted, staring over at the lump under the blanket that is presumably Kori. Melody puts a gentle hand on Emory’s shoulder. “Don’t stare, little one, it’s not polite.” Emory blushes. “Sorry. I was just curious. Do you think Kori isn’t feeling well or something?” “She’s fine, little one. She’s just having a snack.” Oh. Oh. Emory blinks as she catches onto Melody’s meaning. She glances back over and feels a small pang of jealousy. “I didn’t think Caregivers could do that…” “Some can, if they have younger Littles.” Melody explains. “It depends on the person though.” “Can you do that?” Emory wonders. This time, it’s Melody’s turn to blush. “I’m not sure, I’ve never had a Little before. I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet though. Why, are you curious, sweetheart?” Emory squirms. “Maybe a little…” she admits. Melody smiles and kisses her forehead. “I’ll see what I can do.” “Okay,” Emory responds quietly, a little embarrassed about having brought up something so intimate in a public place, even though she knows that in all likelihood no one heard them. “I’m gonna go and wait for Izzy to come back.” Emory says and shuffles back to her spot on the floor. Kori hugs her from behind a few moments later. “Hi Emmy!” Emory returns the hug as best she can and smiles. “Hey Kori! I heard the news, congratulations!” Kori sits down next to Emory. “Thanks! Daddy is amazing, but I’ve always wanted either a big sister or a Mommy, and now I’ve got both.” “That’s really great, I’m happy for you.” Emory says, pausing to gather her courage. “Kori, can I ask you something?” “Sure!” Kori says. “What...What’s it like?” Emory says, nodding toward Kori’s Mommy. Kori blushes a little and smiles. “It’s...really, really nice.” “Oh. Thanks, I was just wondering…” Kori gives her a playful nudge. “Sure...And the moon is made of cheese.” Emory is too embarrassed at being called out to respond. “What’s’matter? Cat got your tongue?” Kori teases with a grin. “Uhh…” Emory flounders. Her face is hot enough that she’s pretty sure the local fire department has been alerted. “Kori, be nice.” Izzy intones from behind them. She squeezes into her usual spot, pulling Kori into her lap and putting an arm around Emory as Mr. Taffy wheels his way in. He looks different though. His face is thinner, his eyes more tired, and he’s trimmed his beard. He must have been really sick... “Hello, little ones!” He says, but his voice isn’t as powerful as it had been last time he’d read to them. “Who’s ready for story time?” Three hands go up, and Mr. Taffy smiles. “Our story for today is called: The Fantastical Food Frenzy.” Emory settles against Izzy, biting her lip nervously. “Hey,” Izzy says gently, rubbing Emory’s chin with her thumb to get her to stop biting her lip. She gently eases Emory’s pacifier into her mouth. “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.” Emory frowns, resting her head on Izzy’s shoulder. I hope Mr. Taffy is okay...She thinks, and makes herself comfortable to listen to the story. 15 Link to comment
bowlergal31 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I am in love with this story!! Thank you so much for writing it!! Link to comment
YourFNF Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 20 hours ago, Brutal_Ink said: A parting gift before I head off to work! ##### Chapter VII: Day 13; Midnight “ I'm glad she wasn't like angry with the spanking but I feel like she and Emory really need to sit down and have a conversation about what discipline is and isn't acceptable. 1 Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 2, 2021 Author Share Posted June 2, 2021 @YourFNF I understand that spanking is a polarizing topic among a lot of people and not everyone likes that kind of thing. However, for the purpose of this story, these roles are assigned to people based on a rigorous test to help them fit into their place in the world for the betterment of society as a whole. It's not quite the same situation as two people in an adult relationship discussing boundaries. You don't find a parent asking a child if they're okay with being spanked--and it functions the same way here. Melody explicitly explains why she's resorted to that as a punishment, and even says that she never wants to do it again. It's a last-resort punishment, used only because of the grave risk to Emory's personal safety that came about from her running away. Melody's not the type to spank over every little transgression, only when there is a threat to safety involved or when repeated other punishments don't work. 2 1 Link to comment
Nerdy_Little Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Loving this story so much, I'm so addicted ? I wanna see what happens next. Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 Chapter IX: Day 18; Morning Emory wakes up in her car seat. It’s a little jarring, since she’d gone to sleep in her crib, and she’s dressed in comfortable gray sweats and a loose sweatshirt. Her cheeks heat up a little bit at the realization that she must’ve slept through her morning diaper change and getting dressed; she hadn’t thought playing on the playground after story time would tire her out so much. Opening her eyes, she discovers that it’s a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, and the fields on either side of the road are full of grazing cows, sheep, and other livestock. Even as a child, Emory had never really spent much time out of the city, apart from a disastrous camping trip with her father one summer. So it’s nice to be able to see a different side of like and breathe the fresh--or maybe not-so-fresh--country air. “It smells like poop.” Emory realizes, pinching her nose. “Are you sure that’s not you, little one?” Melody teases from the driver’s seat, taking a sip of her coffee. Emory pouts. “No!” she says indignantly. “You’re not sure?” Melody continues, smiling at her in the rearview mirror. Maybe we’d better find a rest stop and make sure…” Emory huffs. “Mellie, don’t be a butt...I just waked up…” “You just woke up? Yeah, I know, sweetheart, I’m only teasing you. I know it isn’t you, I changed you about an hour or so ago and you slept through the whole thing.” “I did?” Emory wonders. “Yep. You were out like a light. Anyway, it’s the time of year for farmers to be spreading fertilizer on their fields so their crops can grow. That’s why it smells bad.” Melody explains. “Oh.” Emory replies, looking back out the window at the grazing animals. She wonders idly if the sheep are as fluffy and soft as they look. “Good morning, by the way, I was just about to wake you up to ask what you wanted for breakfast. We’ve still got a while left to go before we get to my parents house. We can either stop at a nice, sit-down place so you can stretch your legs for a bit, or we can go to a drive-thru so we can make better time. What do you think?” Melody says. Emory yawns and stretches, thinking. “I wanna get out and stretch.” She says. She isn't sure how long they've been driving for, but her legs are stiff from sitting, so at least a few hours must have gone by. “Okay. I’m kinda hungry for pancakes, and there’s a restaurant in the shopping center up here. We can get you some swim diapers and some water wings while we’re there too. My parents have a big pond that I used to swim in as a kid, so I can still teach you if you want.” “Yeah!” Emory says, wiggling excitedly. “I’d really like that Mellie!” “I thought so. Do you want your bottle for now? It’ll be about an hour until we stop.” Melody asks. “I’m not going to make you wear your harness while we’re at my parents’ house, and I won’t feed you unless you want me to, even though you still have two more days until your punishment is over. You’ve been very good for the whole week, so I’m going to ease up a bit, but expect you to be on your absolute best behavior while we’re here.” “Yes, Mellie. I’ll be good. And I would like my bottle please.” Emory says, glad that Melody’d thought to bring them. Even though it’s sort of embarrassing to admit, she’d probably be upset about not having it. Melody passes her bottle back to her, though it’s filled with water and not milk like it usually is. Emory’s thirsty enough that she doesn’t care, and quickly sucks it down. She leans back in her car seat, looking at the animals as they pass by for a few minutes before speaking up. “Do you think the sheeps are as soft as they look?” She wonders. “We can find out if you want. My parents live near a nature preserve that has all kinds of animals, and it’s got a petting zoo!” Melody explains. “I’ve never been to a petting zoo before.” Emory says honestly. “Well now we have to go! You’ll love it!” Melody replies. Emory smiles. “I’d like that.” They drive in silence for a bit before Emory speaks up again: “Do you have my phone? I’m kinda bored…” she says. Since her Classification, she’s limited in what her phone will allow her to do without setting off its Parental Controls, but there are still plenty of games and things she can do to pass the time while they drive. “Here.” Melody says, passing it back to her. “I don’t want you playing on it for too long though, you’ll make yourself carsick. And I’d like you to try to nap for a while after breakfast, we should be getting there a little after lunchtime, and I want you to have energy to do stuff when we get there." "Aww," Emory huffs. “I don’t want a nap...It’s so different here and I wanna be awake to see it.” “There will be plenty of time for that after your nap, little one. You’ll have two whole days to walk around and see the sights. And, it’ll be a lot more fun if you’re not cranky. We wouldn’t want to interrupt all that fun for a time-out would we?” Emory shakes her head, conceding defeat. And then a thought occurs to her: “What are your parents’ names? What should I call them?” “Well, their names are Jack and Jill, but you should probably ask them what they’d like to be called. I don’t think my mom will go for ‘Mrs. Melody’s Mom’.” Melody explains. “Oh, like the nursery rhyme?” Emory wonders. Melody smiles. “Exactly. I’ve always thought it was kinda funny how that worked out.” Emory grins. “That is pretty neat...Can I have some more water please?” Melody passes her another bottle. “Yes, but no more for a bit after this. We still have a little ways to go before we stop, and I don’t want you springing a leak before we stop.” She says. Emory wiggles a bit as she sucks on her bottle. Now that she’s paying attention to it, she can tell that she’s definitely wet, but she wonders how Melody can tell that from the front seat. “How did you know I was wet without checking me?” Melody chuckles. “I hate to break it to you munchkin, but your sweatpants aren’t exactly great at hiding your diaper. Plus, I’ve changed enough of your diapers by now that I can tell by looking if you’re wet or not.” Emory’s cheeks heat up a bit, though she figures she shouldn’t really be that surprised. “Oh.” She says, and goes back to sucking on her bottle and looking out the window, her phone forgotten in her lap. ~CNL~ They make better time than Melody’d thought they would, though they do arrive after lunch. Her parents’ house is a large one-level with a wraparound porch, a beautiful flower garden, and several trees around the property. The paint is sun-weathered, but it adds a nice, lived-in vibe to the home. The garden is decorated with various old-fashioned props, like a small plow and a wooden wagon wheel. Melody’s parents are on the porch, clearly waiting for them. Her father is tall and muscular with jet black hair that’s starting to go a bit gray at the temples. Her mother is a bit taller than Melody, with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a kind, open face. “They’re going to love you,” Melody says as she parks the car. “I know you’re nervous and that’s okay, but I promise, they’re really nice. They’re very excited to meet you.” “I’m excited too,” Emory says, latching onto Melody once she’s been unbuckled. “I just get nervous…” Melody kisses Emory’s temple and bounces her gently. “I know you do. But it’ll be just fine, you’ll see. They’re both Caregivers too, so you’ll have lots of people watching out for you while we’re here.” Emory nods, but is too nervous to say anything else. The two of them make their way over to where Melody’s parents are standing, and Melody puts Emory down so she can hug her folks. “It’s good to see you both.” She says. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit as much this year, work has been crazy and with everything going on recently, I didn’t have time until now.” “That’s alright, I know how that can be. We’re just glad you made it safely.” Jack says. Both of her parents look toward Emory, who, up until this point had been trying to hide behind Melody to the best of her ability. “And who’s this little cutie?” Asks Jill in a gentle voice. Emory gathers her courage and manages to squeak out a greeting. “Hi. I’m Emory. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Melody’s Mom.” Jill laughs. “You have wonderful manners, sweetie. It’s very nice to meet you too! But you can just call me Nana, if you want, or Jill.” “Okay, Nana!” Emory grins. Inwardly, she’s a little hesitant, because Melody still hasn’t committed to being her Caregiver officially, and it makes her nervous to get attached to people that she might not see again. However, Jill is too informal and uncomfortable, so she decides to stick with Nana. Nana gives Emory a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Emory smiles and blushes a little before moving to greet Melody’s dad. “Hi,” She says. “I’m Emory. It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Melody’s Dad.” Jack chuckles. “You don’t have to be so formal, squirt. Just call me Pop.” Emory smiles. “Okay, Pop.” Pop reaches down to lift Emory up, and then tosses her into the air. Emory lets out a squeal of surprise, and then giggles as he catches her on the way back down. “Again, again!” She cries, jumping up and down, and Pop obliges her. “Wow! Mellie! Mellie, did you see how high I went? I could almost touch the sky!” Emory babbles excitedly. Melody smiles at her. “I did, sweetheart, you were definitely super high up!” Nana looks over at Emory. “Would you like to go on a walk with me while Melody and Jack get unpacked?” Emory looks at Melody. “Can I? Please?” Melody nods. “But stay close to Nana, okay? Don’t wander off, I mean it.” Emory’s hands drift to her bottom at the memory of what had happened the last time she’d ‘wandered off’. “Yes, Mellie, I’ll be good. I promise.” “Good girl. Have fun, and I’ll see you when you get back, okay?” Melody says, pausing to kiss Emory’s forehead. Nana reaches for Emory’s hand, and she takes it before setting off down the path that leads away from the house. As they head toward the back of the house, Emory can see the pond that Melody had spoken of down the hill from them. The path they’re on winds around the pond and heads into the forest beyond. “Do you think we’ll see any deers, Nana?” Emory wonders. She’s surprisingly comfortable with Nana, despite having only met her moments ago. Emory had never met her grandparents on either side of the family. Her parents hadn’t meant to conceive a child so late in their lives, and both sets of grandparents had already died before she was born. Maybe that’s why she feels so comfortable, if Melody decides to become her Caregiver, then that’s basically what Nana and Pop will be to her. She allows herself to be optimistic as she heads down the path. “Maybe later on today.” Nana says, her voice warm. “There are lots that live around here, but they usually don’t come out until it starts getting dark.” she explains. “Oh. I’ve never really been away from the city, so this is all new to me.” Emory confesses as they begin to walk around the pond. “Mellie said she’ll teach me how to swim while we’re here! She even got me swim diapers and water wings, so we’re ready!” Emory tells Nana excitedly. “That sounds like lots of fun, honey. We even have some inflatable pool toys you can use when you get more comfortable in the water. The middle of the pond is the deepest part, and the water will be over your head. So, until you learn how to swim really well, I don’t want you to go into that part of the pond, okay? And even after you can swim, you are never, ever to come down here and swim without a grown-up.” Emory nods solemnly. “Yes Nana.” she says. As they near the woods, Nana pulls her off the path and over toward a copse of tress, pointing at something. “Do you know what that is, sweetheart?” She asks, pointing to a shiny, three-leaved plant. Emory shakes her head. “No, I’ve never seen it before.” “That’s poison ivy.” Nana explains. “It will make you very itchy if it touches you, so make sure to stay away from it.” “How will I know where it is? It’s kinda hard to see…” “There’s a little rhyme to help you remember. It goes: ‘Leaves of three, stay away from me!’” Nana tells her. “Not all plants with three leaves are poison, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” “Okay, Nana. I’ll be careful. Mellie says that blueberries grow here?” Nana nods. “That’s where we’re going. I thought you might like to pick some. They’re safe to eat, and you can have some now, but we should probably wash the rest when we get home before we eat them.” “Yay! I think there’s an empty snack container in there that we can put them in.” Emory points out helpfully, with a big smile. Nana fishes out the container, and together they head into the woods. It’s a short walk to the blueberry patch. She squats down next to one of the plants, pointing it out to Emory. “Do you see these pink ones?” she asks, pointing to the small not-quite-ripe fruits. Emory nods. “Uh-huh!” “These ones aren’t quite ripe yet, so we’ll have to come back another time to get them. These purple ones are almost ripe, and you can eat them if you want, but they’ll be really tart. And these dark blue ones, are just right.” Nana explains, pointing out each example in turn. “Okay.” Emory says “Can we start?” She’s been looking forward to this moment pretty much since Melody told her about the blueberries, and she can barely contain her excitement. Nana smiles at her. “Of course we can!” The two of them pick blueberries together until the container is full, though Emory does more eating than picking, her face and fingers smeared with the purple juice from the fruit. Emory squats down to examine a caterpillar wiggling its way across the leaves and sticks out a finger. The small creature crawls onto it, exploring. She smiles. “Nana, look!” “Did you find a caterpillar, sweetheart? Be careful with him, he’s just a baby.” Nana replies, smiling back at her. Emory allows the small furry animal to crawl around on her for a few minutes, and it crawls up onto her shoulder, perching there contentedly. Her stomach rumbles ominously, and she immediately regrets eating so much for breakfast, though she had been really hungry at the time. Tears spring to her eyes in response. Even though Nana has been super nice to her, it’s still embarrassing to think about pooping in front of her. “It’s alright,” Nana says, rubbing her back like she knows exactly what’s going on. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. That’s what Little ones do, sweetheart, it’s not a big deal. Emory sniffles as her stomach cramps painfully--the reassurance doesn’t exactly make her feel any less embarrassed, but it’s nice to know that Nana isn’t judging her. The mess is firm and difficult to expel, and Emory loses her fight to keep from crying. “Oh, sweetheart,” Nana says gently, reaching out to take Emory’s hand. “Does it hurt?” Emory just nods, her face red from effort and from embarrassment. It is nice to hold Nana’s hand though, even though she’d thought it’d be horribly embarrassing. It mostly just feels comforting though. “It’s okay, I’m right here, little one. We’ll get you some medicine back at the house so it doesn’t hurt so much the next time you have to go, alright?” “Okay,” Emory replies miserably. It takes her several minutes to finish doing her business, but Nana holds her hand and says comforting things to her the whole time. By now she’s gotten used to messy diapers, and doesn’t mind waiting for a change, especially if she’s doing something fun. But now, she’s mortified to discover that this mess is just as bad--if not worse--than the one she’d made at the zoo almost a week ago. She knows that Nana isn’t upset with her, but it’s still embarrassing to have made such a big mess in front of a new person. “Are you all done, Emmy?” Nana asks. Emory nods. “I think so…” She says as she stands up, making a face when she realizes how full her diaper is. “Good job!” Nana says, smiling at her, and it feels strange to be praised for making a mess in her pants. “Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you back?” It’d be nice to be carried, but Emory worries that she’s too heavy for Nana and hesitates. She takes an experimental step and frowns a little; it’s going to take her a really long time to get back if she has to walk like that... “Umm…” “Come here, sweetie.” Nana says, and checks her diaper, even though she knows the mess must be obvious. Nana pats her bottom gently before scooping her up. “I’m not so old that you’re too heavy for me, and I don’t want you to leak from trying to walk with such a big mess in your diaper.” Nana says in a kind, but matter-of-fact tone. “Okay,” Emory concedes, surprised at how easily Nana had lifted her up. “ It’s about time to head back anyway, it will be time for dinner soon, and you need a bath. How on earth did you get so covered in blueberry juice?” Nana wonders. Emory shrugs. “I dunno, Nana.” she says. “We’ll have to leave your little friend outside, Emmy. He can’t come inside with us.” Nana says gently, removing the caterpillar from her shoulder and releasing it into the flowerbed. “Bye, Curtis! Be safe!” Emory says, waving as the caterpillar crawls slowly away, disappearing beneath the plants. Nana puts her down, and she waddles inside after her. “We’re back!” Nana calls out. Melody comes out to meet them, giving them each a hug. “Did you have a good time?” Melody asks. “We had a blast.” Nana answers for her. “Emmy even made a nice present for me.” Emory can feel her ears turning red at that statement. Melody reaches out and gently turns Emory around to check her diaper for herself. “Wow,” is all she says. “Do you feel better now, baby?” Emory nods. “I can change her, if you want.” Nana says, and Emory squirms. Nana has been super nice to her ever since she arrived, but she isn’t sure she’s ready for that yet… “I’ve got it this time,” Melody says. “But thank you.” She scoops Emory up and gives her a kiss on the nose. Emory giggles. “Hi, Mellie! I misseded you!” she says, wrapping her arms around Melody's neck. Melody pats her bottom gently as she heads toward what Emory assumes is the bathroom. “I missed you too, baby. Let’s go and get you cleaned up.” 12 Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 Thank you all for all the support and kind words! Only one more chapter to go after this one, but I'd like to do more in this universe if there is interest. Thanks for reading! ##### Chapter X: Day 20: Morning Remember to keep your fingers together, it’ll be easier to pull yourself along that way.” Melody explains. She takes a few steps back from Emory in the waist-deep water. “And remember, if you start to get tired, all you have to do is put your feet down and stand up.” Emory dog-paddles experimentally for a moment before standing up again. The dog-paddling part is easy, but: “Aren’t I supposed to kick too, Mellie?” she wonders. Melody nods. “Yes, but don’t worry too much if you’re still having trouble with that part. We’ll work on the kicking later. It’ll be a lot harder to learn if you’re trying to remember everything at once while trying to swim. Do you think you can paddle from one side of the pond to the other?” Emory shrugs, the distance doesn’t look that far, and the water isn’t so deep that she’s afraid of going under. “I’ll try!” She says, though when she reaches the other side of the pond, the distance is much greater than she’d originally thought. Still, she’s resolved to try it anyway, swimming has been lots of fun so far, even though it’s much harder than Melody had made it look at first. She manages to make it about halfway before her arms are too tired to continue and she has to stand. Melody still cheers for her though, even though she hadn’t been able to complete the whole distance. “You did great, sweetheart!” Melody says, wading over to Emory to give her a big hug. “I think it’s time to take a break though, your lips are starting to turn blue.” “But I wanna keep going!” Emory protests, but Melody scoops her up and heads back to the dock where their towels are. “I know you do, little one. But we’ll have some time to practice later, and blue lips mean it’s time to get out and get warm. Besides, I’m sure Nana and Pop are done making breakfast by now.” Melody says, wrapping Emory in a warm, fluffy towel. Emory had had a bottle after waking up earlier than she normally would, and Nana and Pop had still been sleeping, so Melody had brought her out for a swimming lesson. “I’m hungry, and I know you must be too, after all that swimming.” Melody continues, carrying Emory toward the house. “We need to get you into normal clothes so we can eat breakfast.” “It would be silly to eat in our bathing suits…” Emory acknowledges. Her stomach growls noisily. “And, your tummy agrees that it’s breakfast time anyway.” Emory realizes how cold she’d actually been once they’re inside, shivering as Melody brings her to her room. Nana and Pop had set up a whole nursery for her, and it makes her happy to have a familiar place to sleep at night. And, it’s especially nice, since it must also mean that they expect her to visit again… Melody, makes quick work of getting her dressed in a pink shirt that matches her socks and a pair of black overalls. Before long, they’re sitting around the breakfast table with Nana and Pop. The eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes they have for breakfast are more than enough to satisfy Emory’s hunger. Emory sort of misses having Melody feed her, but she isn’t about to ask for that here. And, Melody had given her her morning bottle, so she’d gotten at least some of that particular brand of quality time with her. There are few things that make her feel closer to Melody than being given a bottle or being fed, except for maybe diaper changes. Even she is surprised at how attached to Melody she’s become; they’ve always been close, but this is different somehow. It’s more intimate, a more intense kind of bond, and it scares her to think about being without it, especially now that she’s met Nana and Pop. “I thought we could go to the petting zoo today.” Melody says, as everyone begins to slow down in their eating. It breaks Emory out of her thoughts before she can get too worked up, and she’s grateful for that. And, excited about the petting zoo. “Yay! I wanna go!” Emory adds. “The weather is supposed to be nice today.” Pop says thoughtfully. “Although I did promise to help Nana with some things,” he says, and winks at Melody. “The wildlife park has plenty to do besides the petting zoo. There’s even a little tour you can go on and feed the animals if you want.” Emory looks between them, confused, but doesn’t say anything. “Alright, that sounds like a plan.” Melody says with a smile. “Do you think you’ll be finished with your stuff in time for us to meet back here for lunch?” Nana looks at Pop, and then nods. “That should work. The wildlife park opens soon though, you might want to get a move on if you want to get there before it gets busy.” Melody looks at Emory. “Are you all done with your breakfast, sweetheart?” Emory nods. “Yep. I’m full. It was very good, Nana and Pop, thank you!” “You’re very welcome cutie.” Nana says with a big smile, and Emory feels warm inside. Melody takes a moment to clean Emory’s face, and then they both give Nana and Pop goodbye hugs. “Are you ready to go, little one?” Melody asks, lifting Emory onto her hip. “Yeah!” Emory smiles and waves to Nana and Pop on their way out the door. “See you soon!” she calls out. “Do you think they’ll have sheeps there, Mellie?” she wonders as Melody buckles her into her car seat. “I don’t know, Emmy. We’ll have to find out when we get there.” Melody answers. Emory grins to herself as Melody starts the car, imagining all the different kinds of animals she might see there. ~CNL~ The petting zoo is quite the lively place. There aren’t many people in the petting zoo, but there are plenty of animals. There are goats, sheep, and piglets that all have free roam of a large, fenced-in area. They’ve gotten a sleeve of gross-tasting crackers to feed to the animals—Emory samples a bite Melody isn’t looking, and immediately regrets it; they taste like an old sock. One of the baby goats—Melody says they’re called ‘kids’ which is kind of neat—wanders over and butts against her leg; it’s not hard, just a nudge. It repeats the process and bleats at her, which is a little startling, and then it starts chewing on her shoelaces. “Hey!” Emory says. She likes these shoes, especially since Melody bought them for her, and she doesn’t want them to be eaten by a goat… “That’s not food, silly,” Emory chides the animal, reaching down to scratch its head gently. She feeds it one of the crackers, and it really seems to like the morsel, even though Emory still thinks they’re gross. However, a new problem arises when the kid starts licking her hand. Emory makes a face. “Eww,” “What’s the matter sweetheart?” Melody wonders, kneeling down beside her to pet the small animal. “It’s licking me,” Emory explains. “It tickles, but I don’t wanna be covered in goat spit for the rest of the day…” Melody chuckles. “Well, it’s getting hot, and you probably taste pretty salty from sweating; I bet that’s why he’s licking you.” “Yuck…” “It’s alright, little one, we’ll make sure to wash our hands really well when we’re done here, okay?” Emory nods. She feels a little comforted by that, and moves on to feed other animals, but the goat—Milton, she’s decided to name him—won’t quit following her around, butting against her leg and bleating whenever she feeds other animals. “Milton, you have’ta share. You already eated four crackers, and the rest of your friends didn’t get any. It’s not nice to be a hog.” Milton bleats again and butts her leg, with a little more force than before. Emory puts her hands on her hips. “No, Milton, you’ve had enough.” “Emmy,” Melody’s voice comes from behind her.“He’s just a baby, he doesn’t know any better. You can’t reason with him.” Emory sighs, turning away from Milton to pet one of the sheep wandering by. The sheep’s fleece is rougher than she’d expected, but the texture is interesting. She feeds it one of the crackers, and it continues on its way, meandering through the fenced-in area. While she’s distracted, Milton pulls the sleeve of crackers out of her grasp, spilling them all over the ground. “Oh, no!” Emory exclaims, she’s really been looking forward to feeding the other animals. Some of the nearby animals come running to eat what has fallen on the ground, and Emory takes the opportunity to pet some of them. They are all soft and cute, but some of them really need a bath… Emory yawns enormously. “Okay, little one, I think it’s time for a little rest break.” Melody says gently, scooping Emory up and taking her out of the petting zoo, to the big hand-washing station outside. “What? No…” Emory whines, as she stares back toward the petting zoo. “Yes, munchkin. You’re exhausted, and we got up very early this morning. We’re going to go home, where it’s nice and cool, and you’re going to have a little nap before we eat lunch with Nana and Pop.” Melody says, guiding Emory’s hands to the soap. Emory scrubs her hands under the spray of cold water, washing away the crumbs and slimy animal saliva before drying them on a paper towel. She really is kind of tired, but there’s so much to see still, and it isn’t fair that she has to sleep when she hasn’t even gotten to see the wolves yet, or go on the safari… It doesn’t help that she’s kind of hot and sticky from being outside, even though Melody had dressed her appropriately for the weather, she hadn’t expected it to be so hot outside. Melody picks her up again, heading back toward the parking lot. Truth be told, the wildlife park is more expansive than Emory had expected, nearly as big as the zoo they’d visited, though it doesn’t have any exotic animals like tigers. She’s still enjoying herself though, and is disappointed at having to take a nap before getting to see everything. “Shh…” Melody whispers, patting her bottom. “It’s alright, little one, I’ve got you. Don’t cry.” Emory is about to protest, when she feels the telltale wetness on her cheeks. Melody buckles her into her car seat and gives her a bottle full of water. Emory drinks it down greedily; she hadn’t realized how thirsty she is in all the excitement. Her quenched thirst and the cool air blowing over her from the A/C put her right to sleep. ~CNL~ Emory wakes up in the crib at Nana and Pop’s house. It had already been set up that way when they had arrived, and she’s gotten so used to sleeping in one at home that she hadn’t bothered to ask Melody to put the side down. She’s had such a nice time here with Nana and Pop, between the swimming lessons, the hikes through the forest and picking all the wild berries that grow in it. It makes her sad to think about having to leave later today, and she’s crying a bit before she has time to think about it. The door to the nursery creaks open, and Melody poke her head in, presumably to check on her. “Emmy,” she says softly. “Sweetheart, are you awake?” Emory sniffles. “Yes, Mellie, I’m up.” Melody comes over and lifts her out of the crib. “Why are you crying, honey? Did you have a bad dream or something? Do you not feel good?” Melody feels Emory’s forehead with the back of her free hand. “You don’t feel warm…” “I feel okay. And I didn’t have any scary dreams. I just...I don’t wanna leave Nana and Pop’s house yet. I’m having lots of fun here.” Emory confesses. “Yeah,” Melody agrees. “It’s been nice to get away for a little while, hasn’t it? But, we’ll visit again soon. And, I have a surprise for you.” she continues in a sing-song voice. Emory perks up at hearing this, “You do?” she wonders. “Yep. And we’ll go see what it is as soon as we get you changed out of this soggy diaper.” Melody confirms as she lays Emory down on the changing table. Emory’s sadness evaporates, replaced by excitement and curiosity. She’s eager to find out what the surprise might be, and it’s hard not to squirm with all this extra energy. Thankfully, Melody doesn’t take a long time to change her diaper, and she lifts Emory back onto her hip before she can get too antsy. “What is is, Mellie?” Emory wonders. “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it.” Melody teases, kissing her on the nose. “I need you to close your eyes though, okay? I’ll tell you when you can open them again.” “Okay…” Emory smiles in anticipation. Her eyes are only closed for a short time before Melody tells her she can open them. When she does, they’ve arrived in the kitchen, and the table is full of all kinds of snack foods. There’s a big bowl full of fruit salad, made from all the berries they’d picked over the past two days, and there’s even a cake. “Surprise!” Nana and Pop shout in unison, blowing on those little party favors that make noise. Emory blinks. “Mellie? What’s all this for? It’s not my birthday…” “It’s not?” Melody says, feigning surprise. “Well I guess we’d better go and see what the cake says then, hmm?” She brings Emory over to the table, and it’s only then that she can make out the lettering on the cake. It says: Welcome to the Family, Emmy! It’s decorated with candy confetti and balloons are drawn in the icing. Emory’s eyes well up with tears, and she looks at Melody. “Does this mean…” she trails off, choking up with emotion. Melody wipes her tears away gently and smiles at her. “Yes, baby. If it’s still something you want, I want to officially become your Caregiver.” Emory nods furiously, too overwhelmed to speak. “Yes!” She says once she finds her voice again. “Oh, my gosh yes, of course!” She wraps her arms around Melody, squeezing for all she’s worth. “I love you very much, Emmy. Thank you for giving me the time I needed to make sure I’m the best fit for you. You mean the world to me.” Melody says softly, in a watery voice. She holds Emory close, patting her bottom. “I love you too!” Emory replies, snuggling up to Melody. It feels so wonderful to be chosen. To know that despite how much her life has changed recently, that she still has people who care about her and want to be part of her life. For the first time since her Classification, she’s excited about the future; with Melody by her side, she can take on the world. “Mama?” Emory says quietly, trying out the word for the first time. It feels right, like putting the last piece of a super-hard puzzle into place and seeing the beautiful picture it makes. “Yes, baby girl?” Melody replies, nuzzling Emory’s nose. “Can we have cake now?” 15 Link to comment
Nerdy_Little Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Man that sucks it almost over! Would love more stories about these two but also I definitely wanna see more from this universe Link to comment
Brutal_Ink Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 Well, this is the end of the road, everyone! Thank you all for your support and comments, and please do let me know what you though of the story. Also, if you're interested in seeing more from this universe, please let me know! Thanks so much for reading! ###### Epilogue: Day 183; Afternoon “Emmy!” Even now, after all this time, Kori’s exuberant greetings still manage to take Emory by surprise. Thankfully, this time, the floor is carpeted, so being knocked onto her butt isn’t quite as jarring. Still, the oof that escapes her on impact isn’t exactly voluntary. “Be careful, Kori.” Melody says gently. “No roughhousing inside, remember. We don’t want any boo-boos like last time.” “Okay, Melody, ‘m sorry. I just got a little excited.” Kori responds contritely, smiling up at Melody before helping Emory up from the floor. Her cheeks are a rosy red, probably because it’s so cold outside, but maybe also because she’s a bit embarrassed. “Are you okay?” Emory nods. “Mhmm. Hi Kori!” “How’s my other favorite fluffbutt?” Izzy steps through the door, dressed in a puffy blue winter coat. She’s carrying Kori’s diaper bag and a small, wrapped box. She puts both items off to one side to give Emory a hug. Emory giggles and returns the embrace. “Hi Izzy! What’s the present for?” She wonders. “It’s for Melody.” Izzy explains, presenting Melody with the gift. “Oh?” Melody says, and she sounds surprised. “What’s this?” “Uh...Kori and I are really sorry about your coffee table. It really was an accident.” Izzy says, frowning and looking at the floor. Melody laughs. “It’s okay, Izzy.” She lowers her voice and whispers: “It was ugly, anyway.” Emory tugs on Melody’s shirt, squirming with barely-contained energy. She’s been waiting for Kori and Izzy to arrive all day, and now she can finally go outside and play in the snow. They’ve gotten a lot of snow over the past few days, and it’s almost up to her knees. “Mama, can we go outside now?” Melody laughs. “Yes, sweetheart, but only into the backyard. I don’t want you playing near the road. Let’s go and change your diaper, and then we can get you dressed to go outside.” She says, lifting Emory onto her hip and kissing her nose. Izzy’s phone vibrates loudly, and she fishes it out of her pocket. “Mommy says she’s sorry she couldn’t come in and say hello, but she’ll be by to pick us up at three-thirty.” Melody shrugs. “It’s no big deal. I hear you’re expecting a baby brother or sister pretty soon, that’s pretty exciting!” “Mhmm!” Kori chimes in. “I want a baby sister!” Izzy smiles. “It doesn’t really matter to me...I just want to be a good big sister.” “I know you will be.” Melody says. “You already do so good with the littler ones at storytime, you’re a natural. I’ve gotta go and change Emmy’s butt, but you two make yourself at home. There are some snacks on the table and the TV is set up to play cartoons. Remember, the soap is lemon-scented, not lemon-flavored.” Kori just blushes. “I know…” she looked over at Izzy. “Can I have a cookie?” Izzy shrugs. “Sure. But, just one for now, alright?” “Aww…” Emory doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, because Melody has already carried her away. She snuggles up to Melody, smiling to herself. “Guess what, Mama?” She says as Melody lays her down on the changing table. “What, baby?” Melody says as she goes to work getting Emory changed. “I love you!” Emory says with a big smile. Melody smiles back down at her. “I love you too, sweetheart.” ~CNL~ Emory is huddled around the TV with Kori, trying to coax feeling back into her fingers and toes. The hot-chocolate she’s been sipping on is helping though. Izzy is napping on the couch behind them, tired out from all the playing. “Can I talk to you about something?” Kori pipes up, leaning against her. “Sure,” Emory says quietly. “What’s up?” “So, you remember how I told you I wrote WonderQuest?” “Yeah! I still can’t believe I met you in real life…” Emory says. “Well, I’m in talks with a few different production houses to try a cartoon version. The thing is, I need a creative director to help me make it happen. You’ve got your graphic design degree now, and you’re a huge fan, so I thought you might be interested…” Kori says. “What? Really? You’re offering me a job?” Emory wonders, surprised. She’s almost tempted to pinch herself to be sure she isn’t dreaming. “If you want it, sure. I remember you said something a while ago about wanting to be able to do some things for yourself, even though you’re a little. You can do all your work from home, that way you’ve still got time for naps and diaper changes and stuff. And, they’ll be willing to give us a longer production schedule so that we don’t get overwhelmed by the workload. What do you think?” Kori explains. “Yes! I’d love to help you out! I’d need to talk to Melody about it first, just so she knows what’s going on, but I know she’ll be fine with it.” Emory gushes, giving Kori a huge hug. “Are you guys getting sleepy?” Melody asks quietly, kneeling down next to them as she comes back into the room. “It’s almost time for a nap, little ones.” Emory rubs her eyes. “A little. We’re talking business!” “Oh? Business doing what?” Melody wonders. “I offered her a job. I need a creative director, someone with Emory’s skills for a cartoon I’m working on. I don’t have anything concrete yet, there are a lot of different people who are interested. But, as soon as there’s a definite ‘yes’ and we can get started, then we can talk about it more.” “As long as they’re going to accommodate your needs as a Little, I have no problem with it.” Melody says, looking at Emory. “Kori says it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, isn’t it illegal to dis-crim-in-ate because someone’s a Little?” Emory wonders, struggling with the word. “Yes, it is, but that doesn’t mean people won’t try to make you do more work than you can handle. I definitely support you doing this if it’s something that you want to do, but I want to sit in on negotiations to make sure everything is done the way it should be. Is that possible?” Melody explains, looking over at Kori. Kori nods. “My mommy said the same thing. If a company-” She pauses to yawn mid-sentence. “Gives us grief about that, then we’ll just find someone else to work with. Like I said, we have options.” “Okay, just keep me posted. I think it’s wonderful that so many people are enjoying your work, and I’m sure the show will be just as popular as the books.” Melody says, smiling at Kori. “Speaking of ‘business’, both of you need fresh diapers before naptime. Let’s go and get you changed, and then we’ll have some quiet time.” Neither Kori nor Emory complains about needing to get changed; Emory knows it won’t do any good, and besides it’s no fun being in a wet diaper that’s also cold. Kori falls asleep on the changing table, but thankfully, Emory’s crib is big enough for both of them to share. “See?” Melody says softly, kissing Emory’s tummy when she’s finished changing her. “Being a Little doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do anything for yourself. Getting a job offer like that is a pretty big deal, and you got it all by yourself. I’m so proud of you, Emmy!” Emory smiles. “Thank you Mama. Thank you for believing in me and thank you for taking such good care of me. It makes me so happy to be your Little.” Melody wipes away a happy tear. “You make me very happy too, little one. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world.” “Mama?” Emory begins, hesitantly. “Can I have milk before naptime?” Melody smiles. “Yes baby. I thought you might want some.” This too, has become routine. It’d taken a little while for Melody to be able to produce milk, but it’s one of Emory’s favorite things to do with Melody. Nothing makes her feel closer to her or more loved than getting to nurse, and she can’t get enough of it. Melody sits down in the rocking chair that sits in the corner of the nursery opposite the door. She reaches down and picks up a blanket to cover up for modesty, before adjusting her clothing so Emory can latch on. Emory latches on carefully, sucking tentatively. The milk is warm, which she still isn’t quite used to, but it’s still good, she thinks. “Easy, baby,” Melody says, and pats her bottom. “Not too fast.” Emory keeps suckling anyway, at least until her tummy ties in a knot. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Melody asks as she slows down. “Tummy hurts.” Emory admits. Melody kisses her forehead. “Is that all? Come here,” she lifts Emory so she’s leaning over her shoulder and gives her back a few firm pats. Emory startles herself by burping rather loudly; she immediately hides her face in Melody’s neck. Her face is hot with embarrassment, but she can’t help giggling a bit anyway. Melody laughs gently. “My goodness! Is that better, little one?” Emory nods, too busy giggling to speak. And then she says: “I’m still hungry, Mama.” Melody settles Emory in her arms again, and gently guides her mouth to her nipple once more. Emory latched on again and relaxed against Melody, safe and content. Despite her misgivings about her Classification at first, her life has become brighter and richer than she could have ever imagined. As her tummy fills with milk, and her eyes become heavier, she thinks that this is probably the happiest she’s ever been in her whole life. “I love you Mama,” Emory says, barely alert enough to speak. “I love you too, baby girl.” Melody says, gently easing Emory’s pacifier into her mouth in place of her nipple. “All the way to the moon and back.” The End ##### That's a wrap everyone! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I have another story in this universe in the works, and it's called Classified: Stellar Remnants! Feel free to check it out if you're interested, but be forewarned that it isn't a wholesome tale like this one, so if that's what you're looking for, you'd be better off giving it a pass. 14 Link to comment
![[DD] Boards & Chat](https://www.dailydiapers.com/board/uploads/monthly_2021_11/DDweb-02.png.0c06f38ea7c6e581d61ce22dffdea106.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now