Panther Cub Posted July 30, 2024 Posted July 30, 2024 Hey there, readers! This is... kinda awkward, but it happened again. A new idea for a cute story popped into my head and, well... here's the beginning of a new story! I hope that you enjoy it! Back to Basics (Part 1) by Panther Cub "Alright, Ma'am, I'm gunna need you to pull over into the inspection lane." The tuxedo cat looked down at the jackrabbit lady, the sunlight reflecting off his aviator sunglasses, his mouth a hard frown as he pointed at the lane he had just instructed her to drive towards. She looked up at him from inside her small brown car, a look of confusion on her face. "Please don't start with me this early in the morning," the tuxedo cat mumbled under his breath as she opened her mouth to speak. "Is this some kind of a joke?" The jackrabbit lady didn't even try to keep the giggle from her voice. Tristan hated the fact that he could feel his black and white cheeks starting to blush. From where he sat perched on his special work stool, Tristan bit back a growl and simply frowned deeper, making sure to speak authoritatively. He could feel the snow white feathers on his wings starting to fluff up a bit. "Ma'am, you need to pull over into the inspection lane right now. I won't ask a third time." His paw was already settled onto his radio. "Are you playing inspection officer, cutiepie?" She cooed up at him. The cat felt his blush deepen and his tail began to swish faster in his aggravation. The fact that he could hear a faint crinkling as it did so didn't help. "Charlie 54 Delta, code 11." The jackrabbit looked away from the kitten sitting in what was very clearly a highchair painted black to match his cute little uniform, to see several officers dressed similarly approaching. A large brown and white spotted female owl took up position in the booth right next to Tristan and looked the driver dead in the eyes with a hardness to her own steely gray ones. "Driver! Pull into the designated inspection lane now. This is your final warning!" Lieutenant Haelga was not one to mess around, and the jackrabbit lady immediately knew it. "Wait... am I in trouble?" "He, like every other inspection officer here, radios in a Code 11 when a driver is not complying and driving into the inspection lane after being instructed to do so. Failure to comply can lead to detainment in addition to the inspection of your vehicle as well as count as resisting arrest if you continue to fail to comply." "Now wait just one second... you mean that that... baby is actually working here?! That can't be legal!" Tristan rolled his eyes at that, feeling some satisfaction as the lady was then asked to step out of the vehicle by Officer Skyson. While a bit on the portly side, the vulture was still very intimidating when he wanted to be, like when the jackrabbit lady started to object to her being detained, until he gave her his patented glare. Another officer climbed into the car and drove it away from the booth and into the inspection lane. "Y'know, Tristan," Haelga said with a smirk as she looked down at the kitten, "it really impresses me how much you're able to not lose your cool when these drivers pull this crap." Tristan smiled, feeling his blush fade a bit as he sat up a little straighter in his work stool that was totally not a high chair at some point. "Thanks, boss!" "And remember to call in if you need a quick change." His ears splayed flat at that while his blush returned in full force. "Understood, Lieutenant..." "Oh! And one more thing!" Haelga turned just as she was about to shimmy out of the booth, smiling down at her protege. "Yeah?" "I'm putting you in charge of helping to train the new gal when she starts next week." Tristan had sat in on the interview and gotten to ask a few questions. The new hire's name was Mia, and she was also a tuxedo cat, though she didn't have wings like he did. Also, she wasn't trapped in the body of a two-year-old. Well, to be fair it was more like the body of a one and three-quarter-year-old, but Tristan preferred to round up. He liked how she had been professional and not immediately fawned over him the moment she saw him, like so many applicants had already. That or just ignored him and his questions. He suspected that that was partly why he was selected to help with the interview process, to help weed out some of the less-professional ones. Overall, Mia's qualifications were just fine and she answered all of their questions professionally and succinctly. If he recalled correctly, she was twenty-eight, nine years younger than himself. "I won't let you down, Boss!" He said, resuming his duties as another car pulled in next to his booth. "Good morning sir." "... Is this some kind of a joke?" Tristan sighed and looked at the alpaca in the business suit just staring right at him with a slack-jawed expression. "Sir... I'm gunna need you to pull into the inspection lane up on the right here." * * * Tristan sighed as he watched the forested landscape pass by. Seeing the ever burbling creek going under the little bridge the car quickly passed over always made the kitten smile. But today he just wasn't feeling it. It wasn't a long drive home from work, but when you have to carpool because legally you can't drive anymore... and you have to sit in the back in a car seat, it can make the trip feel like it takes a bit longer than it should. "You line up a ride for next week?" Frank asked from the driver's seat. The gruff old bull looked at the winged kitten in the rearview mirror. "Yeah. I'll be carpooling with the new hire. She already agreed to it, and said that since she lives close by to where I live, it won't be an inconvenience to her." "Good..." Despite sharing a ride to and from work with one another for the last six months, Tristan still found talking with his older coworker to be very awkward. "Yeah... so this is really it then?" Tristan asked as they passed by into the town outskirts, a few houses dotting the now grassy and hilly landscape the forest gave way to. "Yup. Been looking forward to retirement for awhile now." Frank cracked a smile as he came to an intersection and took a left, driving past the bar and grill. The local grocery store flew past next, followed by the elementary school shortly after. Seeing the old school brought back some fond memories to the kitten. A few more turns later, and Frank was pulled up right in front of Tristan's house. It was a simple ranch-style layout. He winced as he took note, yet again, of how badly the old white house was in desperate need of a new paint job. The black and white kitten had to wait for the bull to get out and come around to the backseat door Tristan was looking out of. Opening said door and using his hoof fingers, Frank pressed the big red button in the center of the five point safety harness that was keeping Tristan safe and sound in his carseat. The diminutive feline hopped down and grabbed the bright blue and red child's backpack he used to carry around his lunch and other stuff for work inside, watching as the bull grunted and snorted in frustration, trying to get the carseat all disconnected from how it had been installed. Finally, it came free, and Frank carried it over to the front door, setting it down. He walked back to the car and shut the backseat door, ruffling Tristan's headfur as he did so. "It's been fun, kiddo. Good night." Tristan frowned and batted away at the hoof, giving Frank a sour look. "I'm not a kid... but thank you Frank for the help. Good night, and... goodbye, I guess." Frank smiled and got back inside his bright white car, driving off. The late afternoon light reflecting in the rearview mirror. Tristan walked towards the house, looking left and right, hoping none of his nosy neighbors would bug him today. He knew that they meant well, like old Mrs. Dorrington. "Last thing I need is for someone to call CPS over here again," he muttered under his breath as he fished out his keys from his pocket. He had to reach up a little to get the deadbolt, but after that and the doorknob, and a bit of a shove, he was inside. "Home sweet home." Tristan sighed as he grabbed his carseat and dragged it through the door, which he then shut and locked. Glad that it was the weekend, he undid his tie and unbuttoned his uniform shirt. They were casually tossed aside, along with his pants. Walking by the full-length hallway mirror, he saw a little black and white kitten with stark white wings, wearing a swollen white diaper with green trim. It was after he saw his reflection that Tristan realized he was waddling more. He let out another sigh as his waddling continued on into the bathroom. He looked at the pack of Snuggies and saw he was already halfway through it. He made a mental note to walk on down to the grocery store in the next couple of days to restock. Looking at the other changing supplies and the changing mat laid out on the tile, he briefly reflected on how, thanks to his new height, he had to move everything to a reachable surface, or even just put things on the ground. The exception to this would be his stool in the kitchen. Stripping off his used diaper and balling it up to toss into the awaiting trash pail, Tristan opened his shower door and stepped inside. Dinner that night was a can of Pasta-O's, heated up in the microwave, with a box of juice on the side. As Tristan parked his padded bottom, that may or may not have required some additional adjusting of the tapes in the mirror in the hallway after he had powdered and diapered himself once he had dried himself off; in the old armchair, having to climb up onto it, he carefully pulled the nearby tv tray closer. He tucked a paper towel into his shirt, and scooped out a spoonful. Grimacing at the bland tomato soupy flavor and the chewy and mushy pasta, he reflected on how good a steak, done at medium rare, or some burger patties cooked on his grill tasted. He then frowned and huffed, that having been the first reason a neighbor called CPS after his transformation. Sighing, he started flipping through channels, stopping on some kind of documentary about the new wave popularity of that old boy band Small to Big, rebranded after they got a similar change to Tristan. He let out a growl and quickly changed the channel. "Stupid Regressus Inc. and they're stupid rejuvenation formula... and stupid me for taking that crap." His ears splayed flat on his head as he remembered how excited he'd been when he'd found out that there was an actual legit drug out there that could reverse the aging process. Doing some research, he learned that people could pick their ideal ages and then age regularly again. Tristan had spent almost all of his twenties, his physical prime, taking care of his sick parents. He spotted a picture from back when he was around this age the first time, coincidentally wearing the exact same shirt he was now, being held by his Mom and Dad. She had been a tuxedo cat like himself. His father, being a bald eagle, was where he'd gotten his wings from. Though he suspected it was Mom's fur coloration that caused them to be white. He smiled at the happy family in the photo, trying not to think about how first his father had been the one to get the Big C... and then his mother. They had both insisted that he finish school and get his degree, which he thankfully did. But after graduation, the roles had reversed, and he had started taking care of them. The few friends he had made in college all lived out of town, and he slowly lost touch with them... including Caroline. The sweet tigress had gotten her degree in marine biology and couldn't wait to get out on the ocean. They'd... no, he wasn't going to think about that, and he certainly wasn't going to cry about it. They had made their choices, and even though it had taken a decade when all was said and done, and left him practically penniless, at least before he managed to get a job at the checkpoint. But still, could he really be blamed for wanting to just reclaim that section of his life back? To get to actually be in his twenties? Looking down at the Snuggies with the happy diapered chibi baby lion smiling up at him, he felt that apparently some aspect of fate felt so. As it turned out, there was a small percentage of the population, about 7% overall, who were allergic to the Rejuvenation formula. Rather than get tested, Tristan figured the odds were in his favor. And for a month, it had seemed like they were. Minutes after taking the formula, which turned out to be a spray you inhaled, he had felt a tingling sensation spread out from his face to all over his body. After a few minutes, his clothes felt a little looser, and looking in the mirror, he saw a face he hadn't seen in too long. He'd tried going out to some clubs in the city, which had been... ok, at least in his book. He'd gone down to the coast to try wind-surfing, which had been pretty fun, but wasn't really his thing. He'd tried taking up a bunch of different hobbies, ranging from woodworking to beekeeping, but, aside from a slight pain in his back now being gone, he more or less felt the same. Still, though, he was younger and now had more time to think about what he wanted to do with his life. Then came the morning he'd woken up after having a terrible dream. It was something about being in a neverending daycare, but it was all dusty and covered in cobwebs and empty. The more he'd walked through it, the more he felt a tingling in his whole body, just like when he took the formula. When he awoke, he learned two things. The first, was that he'd shrunk to the size of a toddler, which was right around when he tried getting out of bed and fell on the floor. He bumped his head in doing so, and couldn't stop crying for a good few minutes. The second thing he had learned shortly after was that he seemed to have lost his potty training. That made him bawl outright. It had taken some time, some doctor visits, some proving he knew who he was, knew what year it was, and that he was still mentally an adult, and some thinking on his superiors' superiors part before he'd been allowed to continue working. It was after the first couple of months after his change, when he noticed something odd when he would measure himself with an old yardstick he had found. Not only was he not gaining any new height, he seemed to be shrinking still. Terrified that this meant he'd be transformed into a newborn or something, he had gone to his doctor. After another round of tests, it was determined that while Tristan was shrinking, that was simply because the formula was only finally almost finished. Physically, he'd been hoping to be around the age of three. Instead, his doctor placed him as being just under two. Tristan finished off his Pasta-O's and drank his juice, grape, his favorite, and continued watching TV until he started getting sleepy. He huffed when he saw that it was only 7:37, but knew that his much smaller body would just be getting more tired. He switched off the tv, grabbed his bowl and juice box, and hopped down to the floor. Walking into his kitchen, he used the stool to put the dishes in the sink and run a little water in them. He put his juice box and paper towel into the trash, huffing in frustration when he saw that there were some red splotches on it. Feeling around his mouth and chin confirmed that he'd dribble... again, and so wet another paper towl to clean around his mouth and chin. He then brushed his teeth, checked to make sure all the doors and windows were locked, checked his diaper to find it only a little damp, and then made his way into his bedroom. There, his mattress lay right on the floor, sheets and blankets strewn about on it. Falling out and bumping his head had become a bit of a problem, and this had been his solution. Climbing in, he curled up under the blankets, remembering how his Dad had loved to read him stories when he was this little for bedtime, and how Mom always tucked him in. He let out a little whimper as he listened to his silent and empty house, and started to drift off to sleep. The next day... "Let's see... I'm feeling like... OH! Your Mom's orange chicken recipe!" Mia purred while pushing the cart through the aisles while talking on her phone. The panthress would stop and grab something off the bright yellow list her wife had written. She rounded the corner, and stopped. She spotted a cute little kitten with dark black fur like her own, with a splash of white on his muzzle and chin that matched the color of his wings. He was wearing a pair of denim shortalls over a red shirt. She wondered where his parents were, looking around to spot who might be accompanying the little boy. Then she saw him start climbing the shelves, clearly going for the Cocoa Bombs at the top. "Woah there!" She said, walking up and plucking him off the shelves, turning him around to face her. "That was too dangerous, little guy! You could have fallen and gotten hurt." She said this in a gentle yet firm voice, seeing his ears droop and a blush form on his cheeks. "Mia?" He squeaked out in embarrassment. It was right then that the panthress realized where she recognized this specific kitten from and set him right down. "M-Mr. Granna?" Now it was Mia's turn to blush, practically matching his own, despite her dark fur. "I am so sorry! I didn't know that it was you!" Tristan held up a paw. "It's alright, it was an honest mistake. And please, call me Tristan." Internally he cringed at how her light scolding had made him feel ashamed for what he'd been caught doing. "And... maybe it was a bit... ill advised of me to try and scale the shelves there. I guess I could have gotten an employee to help me get down the Cocoa Bombs." Mia had to choke back a coo at how adorable Tristan was when she first met him in the interview. She had heard of some people having an allergic reaction to the Rejuvenation formula, and thankfully his condition had been explained right before she had entered the room the interview was conducted in, but still. He was a little kitten with wings. She just wanted to pick him up and cuddle him nonstop right then and there! And now, here he was, looking guilty and chastened and just served to enhance his natural adorableness. "Well, since I'm already right here," Mia said, easily grabbing the box of cereal with the chocolate bat advertising the chocolate balls filled with marshmallow goodness. She handed it to him and her heart practically melted at the look of excitement on his face as he took it from her, practically hugging the box before he set it in a nearby shopping basket. Looking inside, she could see several cans of Pasta-O's, some packages of juice boxes,a jar of extra chunky peanut butter, and a loaf of bread. Thanking her for her help, Tristan started to push the basket down the aisle, leading Mia to suspect that he couldn't carry it. "Wait, Tristan!" She walked over to him, smiling as he looked up at her with those big blue eyes of his. She reigned herself back in, remembering that he had the mind of an adult, just in a toddler's body. "Yeah?" "That... looks like a lot for you to try and carry, and pushing it around seems like it'll take forever." "Okay? It's not like I've got much choice. I can't push a cart around." Tristan began to suspect what Mia was getting at. "How about I help? We can put your things on the left side of the cart, and I can grab anything else off the high shelves for you?" Mia was worried that maybe she'd overstepped. Tristan mulled it over for a bit. "Well... okay, I guess that could work... but I am NOT riding around in the baby seat!" He crossed his arms at that, trying to look stern. Mia again almost cooed at the kitten before her. "Deal!" She then bent down and grabbed his basket, gently putting his items on the left inside her own cart, and scooting a few things over to the right. Walking side by side, they continued shopping, with Mia getting looks at the items on Tristan's list. She couldn't help but notice that a lot of his food seemed to be meals already made or in cans. "Oh my goodness," an elderly female coyote said with a happy smile. "Your little one is just so sweet and well-behaved! You must be so proud!" Tristan had to fight the urge to correct this lady and inform her that he is indeed an adult, just one that was regressed, and most certainly not Mia's child. "Uh... thank you so much!" Mia was polite and blushed a little, looking down at Tristan and shooting him a pleading look. He just sighed and waved his paw dismissively. When the old lady was out of earshot did they resume speaking. "Sorry about that, Tristan." "It's okay... better than someone picking me up and carrying me to the manager to report a lost child... again..." "Do things like that happen often?" Tristan blushed. "Yeah... I mean, I know that they mean well, but it really stinks regardless." They rounded a corner, and Tristan's blush deepened. It was the baby care aisle. At first, Mia didn't get why he looked so embarrassed, until; it clicked for her just where in the store they were. "O-oh! We can just go around another aisle..." "Can't... I... kinda need to get some things here." Tristan kept his voice even as he walked past a row of bibs and a row of pacifiers. Mia followed behind, watching the kitten slow down in the diaper section. He looked through all the different packages before grabbing a big red Snuggies pack. His cheeks now almost crimson, he avoided looking at the larger feline, and set it on the little shelf under the cart. This was followed by a tub of wipes and a canister of baby powder. "Okay, I'm done here," he said, starting to walk off. Mia followed behind. just wanting to pick him up and hug him and let the downtrodden kitten know that everything was going to be okay. As they walked to the register area, Mia felt a need to cut through the sudden tension. "Y'know, I love cooking. Maybe Sally and I can have you over some time for a nice home cooked meal." "Uh... that sounds nice," Tristan said, trying to sound polite. They reach the checkout in silence, apart from another nice older lady, this one a mouse, again complimenting Mia for how well-behaved Tristan was. Mia started setting Tristan's items onto the belt first, followed by her own. Despite knowing better, Mia felt guilty about letting Tristan pay for his groceries. She smiled as the teenaged border collie smiled and handed him the bags, until he started to struggle, and then took the heavier things and set them back in Mia's cart. Tristan wanted to object, but elected not to, blushing in silence instead. With Mia's items paid for and bagged, the two exited the store. "Did you get a ride over here?" Mia asked, looking at Tristan expectantly. "Oh... uh... no. Fuber doesn't have many drivers out here, and only one of them has a carseat." Tristan began to rub the back of his head, something Mia was beginning to guess was a tell for when he was feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Wait... you walked all the way here?" Mia asked, suddenly terrified at the thought of the little kitten all by himself, where anything could happen. "How are you gunna carry all your groceries home?" "I brought something to help." Tristan pointed over to one of the decorative trees in front of the store. There, secured with a bike chain, was a little red wagon with a handle. "Tristan, please can I just drive you and your groceries home? It'll be much faster." Mia offered, hoping he would say yes. "That's real nice, Mia... but the law says that I have to ride in a car seat, and we haven't installed mine yet..." The panthress perked up at that. "Oh! But I have one installed already! Me and Sally watch our niece all the time!" The panthress' smile was so bright that Tristan couldn't bring himself to say something that might make it fade. "Uh... w-well, I guess if it isn't an inconvenience..." "Great!" Mia waited for Tristan to unlock and grab his wagon before the two walked in the direction of a powder blue minivan. Unlocking it, Mia slid the door open to reveal a bright pink car seat that Tristan rolled his eyes at. "She loves that unicorn princess cartoon!" Mia chuckled. She smiled as she picked Tristan up under his arms and gently set him in the soft cushiony seat. She hummed while securing the five point harness and gave a test tug, making sure that Tristan was nice and secure. This was followed by Mia going to the trunk and loading up the groceries and Tristan's little wagon before putting the cart in the cart corral, and then getting into the driver's seat. "Okay, Tristan, ready to give me directions?" Mia's voice took on a slightly cutesy tone that Tristan chose to ignore. "Yup." With the engine fired up and Mia pulling out, Tristan started directing her to his home. Mia looked at the ranch-style house and frowned a little. She saw that the paint was peeling and cracked, and the front yard's lawn looked very shaggy. Helping Tristan out and grabbing his groceries and wagon, she followed the kitten up to the front door, which he had to shove after unlocking it. The first thing she noticed after being invited inside was how the light socket in the ceiling just inside the door was missing a bulb. She spotted his uniform clothes strewn on the floor, and could see some dust had started to build up on some surfaces. "Uhm... I know that the place is a little bit of a mess..." "Your house is lovely," Mia said with a cheerful smile. She grabbed some bags and walked down the hall, looking into the first open door on her right. She looked inside the bathroom and instantly spotted the changing mat and supplies on the floor. Her heart started to hurt at the realization that Tristan was truly living alone. "Do you... have any family?" "No..." Tristan didn't mean for it to sound curt, but he walked past Mia with some grocery bags in his paws. He headed towards the kitchen, and Mia spotted the open door to his bedroom, seeing the mattress on the floor. Mia helped Tristan to put away the groceries, letting him take his diapers into the bathroom himself. Sighing, Mia smiled at him when he came right back out. "You know, I'm planning on making some homemade orange chicken for me and Sally tonight..." She noticed how Tristan's ears perked up at that, but he frowned and shook his head. "Thanks, but I've got dinner planned for tonight..." "Maybe I could bring some over later?" Mia offered, looking down at him hopefully. Tristan felt conflicted, but the idea of orange chicken sounded so good. It had been so long. "Well... okay... if you really don't mind." "It'll be my pleasure!" Mia felt her heart warm knowing that the kitten she was looking at wasn't going to be eating only Pasta-O's tonight. With a goodbye, and double-checking that he was okay by himself, Mia left, closing the door behind her. On her way to the car she immediately dialed up her wife. "Sally, hun? I just ran into my new coworker, the one who's gunna train me." "That nice older badger?" Sally's voice asked. "No, the little cutie!" "OH! The little kitten with the mind of an adult?" "Yes! The poor little guy lives all alone!" "Wait... no one's helping him take care of himself?!" Mia heard Sally let out an involuntary squawk. "Yeah! And he seems to mostly eat canned food! I promised him that I'd bring over some of our orange chicken tonight!" "Oh the poor little guy!" "I think he might need a little help..." And there it is folks, the first part of a new story! Let's see where it goes! 6
BabySofia Posted July 31, 2024 Posted July 31, 2024 This has been a cute start, looking forward to more! 1
Panther Cub Posted August 1, 2024 Author Posted August 1, 2024 13 hours ago, BabySofia said: This has been a cute start, looking forward to more! Thanks! I've been writing this story in seemingly disorderly chunks! I'm partially stringing them together to make a cohesive storyline!
Sephy Posted August 2, 2024 Posted August 2, 2024 Another great story. Tristen is a stubborn guy who needs any help he can get 1
Panther Cub Posted August 2, 2024 Author Posted August 2, 2024 40 minutes ago, Sephy said: Another great story. Tristen is a stubborn guy who needs any help he can get You hit the nail on the head!
Panther Cub Posted August 10, 2024 Author Posted August 10, 2024 And here is chapter 2! I just had to continue Tristan's cute little story, I couldn't get it out of my head! I hope that you all enjoy it! Be sure to let me know what you think! Back to Basics (Chapter 2) by Panther Cub The camel in the blue van looked up at the kitten in the high chair, seeing themselves reflected in his sunglasses. The little winged feline was tapping away at a tablet, while an older black feline, whom the camel assumed must be his mother, watched on dutifully. She was probably going to take the tablet away from the little guy and tell him that it's not a toy or something. "Okay, sir. Were you aware that you are driving without insurance?" The kitten asked him. "Huh?" "I just did a quick run on your plate and tags, and the insurance expired three months ago." "I..." The camel swore under his breath. "Please pull ahead so that one of our fine officers can issue you a ticket, and have a nice day." The camel man was irked, but thought better of telling off the baby of one of the workers at this check point. "Yeah... thanks, little guy," the camel said with a huff, shifting gears so as to move forward in the checkpoint to an awaiting crocodile officer. "Now you saw how quickly I was able to check his license, registration, and insurance here on the tablet?" Tristan asked, turning to look up at Mia. The panthress nodded, and so the kitten continued. "It can seem a little daunting at first, but once you get in the habit of it, it proves to be really easy. Just enter the pic of the license in here, next to where we run the license plate number." "Drag and drop?" "Exactly!" Tristan gave Mia a smile, unaware of just how weapons-grade adorable his smiles could be these days. "Then the reg. number goes down here, and the insurance account number here. And hit enter. Usually you can get a bit of info on the driver and vehicle on what the computer sees on the plates when they pull up, but it's always best to double-check, even if we get a line. Something gets flagged, like canceled insurance, out of date tags, etc. then we print out a ticket for one of the officers to use to give them a citation." "And if everything checks out, we let them go?" Mia asked. "Yeah, most of the time we do. However, even if their info is all good, it's still best to randomly select drivers for inspections. You never can know what they've got going on that they might not want you to know, in a legal sense. Other reasons to have them go over to the inspection lane is if they're acting particularly weird or possibly impaired, like if they're swerving a bit before pulling in, or if you smell something suspicious coming from their vehicle or even their breath. That, unfortunately, is a pretty common occurrence. But hey, better they get caught here than continue being a danger on the freeway." Mia nodded and chuckled, taking a moment to remember that the happy little kitten sitting in his high chair was training her for their job. "Oh! How did you like the stew that Sally and I made last night?" Mia had made it a daily habit of swinging back by Tristan's house with a home cooked meal she or her wife made to share with him. While he'd happily accepted the orange chicken from the first time, he'd tried talking her out of doing it every day. And then he tasted Mia's lasagna. "It was really good! Thanks again for that, and also for bringing the crackers to go with it." Tristan decided to leave out the part that he'd had to eat it shirtless, because of how much he dribbled it. Not that that was an uncommon event for him. Looking up due to a notification that a car was pulling in to his lane, Tristan looked at the camera picture of the driver's face. He was a wolf with a fur-stain on his neck. Narrowing his eyes a little, it looked like the kind that is usually done in prison. It was of a shark with its jaws wide open. Looking at the face, Tristan felt an unsettled feeling of familiarity form in the back of his mind. Surprising Mia, he tapped on another tab on his tablet, pulling up a listing of pictures of wanted felons. Sure enough, he saw the same gray and white wolf glaring back at him from his mugshot, same neck fur-stain and all. "Mia, check the door!" "Huh? O-okay..." The panthress did just that, making sure that it was shut and locked. Tristan knew that it was locked, but in these situations, you always made sure. He closed the booth window and latched it, instantly hitting the red button under the booth's counter. He had to reach over a bit to hit it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the deer buck officer ahead of the booth freeze and start talking into his radio. The white van pulled right up next to Tristan's booth, with the driver looking impatiently at the window. Tristan watched as the wolf tapped away rhythmically at his steering wheel, looking right back at the kitten, clearly waiting for him to open up. It was when a police SUV pulled up right behind the van, with another parking itself right in front of it, that the wolf must've realized that he was in trouble. Tristan and Mia both watched in horror as the wolf quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and scrambled ove to the passenger side to get out that door. The officers saw him and came running, but he was already at the booth door, snarling and pounding on it, holding a knife in one paw. Tristan looked over to see that the wolf's pupils were dilated, and he was breathing erratically. He was on something. The wolf started ramming his shoulder into the door, again and again. Officers outside were shouting and pointing stun guns at him, but he paid them no mind. His full attention was on Tristan, freezing the little kitten right on the spot. They fired and down he went... after the second charge hit him. The officers went right to work in further subduing the wolf, making sure to cuff and zip-tie him. He was dragged away, squirming and still yelling, not that Tristan could see. Those hateful yellow eyes that had bored into him... all he could do was think about them, and try to get his breathing under control. As he started to settle down, Tristan realized he wasn't in his booth chair that was totally not a highchair. He was being held close to Mia's chest, with the latter gently rubbing his back and whispering about how it was all over and the scary wolf was gone. Trying to regain his professionalism, Tristan cleared his throat. "Ahem. Y-yes, and that was a pretty good demonstration of the procedure for what to do when we have to deal with a wanted criminal. Usually it's not so... frantic of a situation, b-but you can never really guess how it's gunna go." "Good to know," Mia said, giving Tristan a squeeze. "Uhm... c-can you please put me back down?" "Well... sure... but I thought that maybe you'd like a hand... dealing with a certain little issue..." Tristan was about to ask what she meant, when he squirmed a bit and winced, feeling the mess he had made. He supposed that he'd been a bit more surprised than he'd thought. "I can take care of it myself... thank you though..." He hopped down and started to walk with a more pronounced waddle towards the door. He stood on his tiptoes to try and reach the lock, it still irritatingly just out of his grasp. Mia walked over and turned the knob for the kitten, allowing him to open the door. "Are you sure?" Mia asked, concerned. Tristan turned to look up at her with a stern frown. "I can handle it, but thank you for the concern." Stepping out of the booth and walking towards the main building, he passed by the camel from before. They snorted and waved a hoof in front of their nose. "What is that smell?!" Tristan felt his cheeks burn as officer Scalen chuckled and continued explaining the ticket the camel was receiving. He pushed open the door to the lobby of the main building of the checkpoint. He had to jump to swipe his security badge and jump up and down multiple times to punch in his code to the keypad. The discomfort of his mess caused his embarrassment to just grow, to the point that he had to blink back some hot tears that had started to form at the corners of his eyes. Slipping his aviators back on from where he'd tucked them away in his pocket, he felt confident enough that he could still look tough and serious to his coworkers. He nodded to a few before entering the employee men's room. Tristan jumped up to quickly lock it, having learned his lesson from a particularly humiliating experience a week before Mia was interviewed. He frowned at the toilet, never once in his life, pre-regression, that such a simple daily activity would become an impossibility. With a heavy sigh, he spotted the bright blue gym bag from his days in college resting under the wall mounted fold up changing station. He grimaced as he grabbed the bag, for which the zipper had been broken years ago, and grabbed one of his neatly folded Snuggies. Standing up on his tiptoes again, he was able to press the special button on the bottom that caused the latch at the top to spring open. The table of the changing station quickly fell open, a tiny connected step ladder unfolding under it right at the foot. Tristan climbed up and set the diaper down, soon to be followed by the wipes and powder. He wished that he'd been allowed to use his changing mat on the tiled floor, even as gross as that sounded. But he'd been reminded by Sergeant Hunter that it wasn't allowed in the employee handbook due to sanitary reasons. Though Tristan had pointed out that that rule was in place to protect real babies, it still now applied to him. With his supplies ready and laid out, Tristan unbuttoned and wiggled out of his pants. He kicked them off letting them rest bunched up next to the powder. Then he got to work. The changing station sat across the bathroom from the sink and mirror, so Tristan used that to help see. It was always such a gross process, yet he still needed to go through it every day. It took a little while, but soon his well-used diaper was all balled up and taped shut, with the used wipes inside it as well. With a bit of centering, Tristan was able to thread his tail through the hole in the back. He possibly used a little too much baby powder, but that was hardly a problem. At least it hadn't gotten everywhere this time. Pulling up the front and taping it into place, Tristan stood up, having to undo and retape it a couple of times to adjust the diaper's fit. Carrying the supplies back down to be stowed back in his tattered old gym bag, the old diaper came last. Tristan held it by his thumb and index finger, walking over to the trash can to drop it into. He then ran back over to the changing station and reached up to push against the bottom section. It took a bit of a shove, but soon it clicked into place and stayed folded up. He made sure his gym bag was once more out of the way, before he hitched up his britches, and hopped up to undo the lock on the bathroom door. * * * "Looks like there's a storm coming," Mia said from where she sat in the front seat of her car. She looked back at Tristan in his carseat in the rearview mirror. "Yeah. The forecast said it was gunna turn nasty tonight." Tristan was watching the scenery pass by, glad that it was Friday. "Y'know..." Mia started and faltered a bit, biting her lower lip nervously as she pondered on whether she should ask the question or not. "Yeah?" Tristan looked forward, his ears perked up in curiosity. Mia took a breath and decided to push forward. "Well, it's just that this storm could cause a power outage... maybe you would like to consider coming over to our house to stay the night?" Mia hoped that Traistan wouldn't feel insulted by the offer. Despite knowing his real age and that his mind still held all of his adult memories, she couldn't help but worry about the little kitten all alone in the house that always seemed a little more run-down each time she saw it. Tristan started to scowl, but tamped down on his emotions. This was just a coworker and... kinda friend who was just offering him a place to stay. "Thanks, Mia. I appreciate it. But I'll be fine. I've been without power a few times, and it's no biggie, except of course in the summer." "Right," Mia smiled, or at least tried to. Her mouth kept trying to frown in disapproval. "Well, here we are." Mia looked at the house as she got out of the car. She wondered if the large crack running down the side of one of the windows had always been there or was a new development. As she unbuckled Tristan from the back seat and set him on the ground, she decided it was best not to ask. She worried about pushing the kitten too much. She walked beside him up to the front steps and waited for him to unlock and open the front door. "So I'll swing back by in about an hour with dinner, okay?" "Y-you don't need to keep doing this." Tristan blushed as he said it, but felt compelled to continue. "I mean, I really appreciate the free food, but I feel so guilty making you waste the gas, as well as giving me so much food!" "Hey now," Mia knelt down to Tristan's height so that she could look him in the eye. "It's our pleasure getting to share meals with you. And it's not a waste of gas. I told you that Sally and I live close by, right?" Tristan nodded and Mia continued. "Well, just go down the block and turn right, and the third house on the right is ours. So you see? Easy as pie." Tristan continued to blush but smiled regardless. "Plus, your tummy is so little that it's not a big deal to share our meals with you!" "Well... okay. If it's really not putting you guys out..." "It's really not," Mia said, standing back up and looking down at her coworker. "And the offer still stands. If you need to, just give us a call, and we'll come and pick you up and let you stay in our guest bedroom." "Thanks." Tristan smiled as he watched her go, said smile slowly fading after she got back into her car and pulled away. He knew she was coming right back, but even so, he couldn't help but feel so... small, and vulnerable... and alone. He walked through the doorway and closed it right behind himself. Tristan pulled his phone out to check his messages while he stropped off the shirt and pants of his uniform. He froze when he saw a notification for a missed call from a number that looked all too familiar. Tapping the screen a bit with one paw while the other was used to carry his bunched up clothes into his room, he checked his voicemail. "Hello there, Mr. Granna!" Came a cheerful-sounding feminine voice that sent a chill down Tristan's spine. He tossed his uniform into his hamper and poked at his soggy diaper, figuring it was ok. "It's Kelly again from Child Protective Services. I just wanted to let you know that our new Re-Home program, which was designed with regressee's like yourself in mind, has been a huge success! And what's more, we have found a lovely family that has expressed an interest in fostering someone in your... position. Now I remember how... upset you were the last time we met, but please know that that's okay. Most people who've been regressed have some trouble dealing with their adult emotions in their now much younger bodies. How about when you get this message, you go ahead and give me a call back and we can set up a time for you and the Jayala's to meet and get to know one another." Finally taking a breath after the torrent of words had come flooding out, but Tristan knew from past experience that she wasn't done yet. He could practically feel the woman patting herself on the back from how she sounded in this message. "And Tristan, I know that it can be hard admitting that you can't take care of yourself. But if you're willing to listen to reason, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be calling Mr. and Mrs. Jayala Daddy and Mommy in no time!" With the message ending, Tristan found Kelly's number in his phone and blocked it. "Pass." Tritan headed out to his kitchen to grab a soda from the fridge and then plop down in front of the TV with it. He started flipping through the channels, stopping on the show Orangey. He knew it was for little kids... but ever since his regression, he'd found himself more and more drawn to it and shows like it. This was of course due to the fact that thanks to his new size, he had much more limited options for things to do, and it was all he had available to watch... in the late afternoon... and most certainly wasn't pre-recorded while he was at work. Tristan became so engrossed in the show that he didn't pay attention to the time. Or... something else. He felt a dampness around his ankles where he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He shifted about uncomfortably for a bit before he finally got up to see what it was. He spotted a wet spot on the gray carpet right where he was sitting. He looked at the can of Mr. Pebbler, thinking he might've accidentally spilled some. Feeling around his chin and neck, he did confirm he had dribbled again. Sighing, he went to the kitchen and hopped onto his step stool to grab a couple paper towels and get them damp in the sink. It was right when he returned to the living room and knelt down to clean up the spilled soda that he became aware of two things. The first was after inhaling through his nose, he knew for a fact that the damp spot was not soda. The second was of a warmth running down his right leg. "Stupid lousy diaper," Tristan said while blushing, and trying to use the damp paper towel wad to keep from leaking anymore onto the carpet. He walked with an awkward waddle back down the hall, stopping to see his reflection in the mirror. His ears laid flat as he immediately saw the problem in his reflection. When he'd changed himself earlier, he must've been in a bit of a rush, as the right leg hole had a gap that became visible when he shifted his stance. The bright green leg gathers could only do so much for the kitten. He sniffed and felt tears start to form, but shook his head. "Get a grip," he chastised himself. "That's not gunna help anything. I just need to take a shower and put on a fresh... pair of underwear." It was at that moment that there was a knock on his front door, prompting the kitten to jump. "Mia!" He said, suddenly feeling much calmer. He wondered why that was as he approached the door, jumping up to grab and turn the knob. It was only as the door started to swing open that he remembered he was wearing nothing but a soaked and leaking diaper. "Hi again, Tristan!" Mia said, entering while holding some tupperwares. "Sorry it took me so long to get back here. My sister came by and dropped off my..." Mia looked down at the bashful kitten, his wings tucking themselves around his shoulders as he tried to cover up a clearly wet diaper. The panthress thought it unfair just how often she found herself having to hold back the urge to coo and scoop him up into her arms. Seeing how clearly embarrassed he was helped to remind her that she didn't want to push him away. However, upon noticing a scent in the air, and seeing the fur on his legs clearly damp and the wet paper towel in his paws; Mia quickly guessed what happened. One good look at the Snuggies confirmed it. "Uh... so... I need to go take care of something... could you please set the food down on the kitchen counter?" When Mia nodded, she watched Tristan scamper off and run into the bathroom. She went into the kitchen, spying that two of the cabinets were missing knobs, and set the tupperwares down next to the sink. Mia then walked to the bathroom door and knocked, surprised to see it gently swing open, only now noticing that the knob on it was clearly broken. She saw Tristan, tears streaming down his cheeks, trying desperately to tug on one of the tapes which had gotten bunched up somehow. Her heart hurting at the sight, Mia walked over, knelt down on the white tiled floor, and softly took the tapes in her own paw. A quick tear and they were open, and the sodden diaper fell to the floor. "I almost had it," Tristan whined and pouted, quickly recovering and trying to use his wings to cover himself. "Tristan, it's okay. I promise that I don't think any less of you just because you might need a little help with something." Mia's voice was soft and soothing, and it helped to quell the rising frustration and anger in the kitten. "Th-thank you, Mia," he said, sniffling a little as he wiped his eyes. Mia sat there on her knees for a moment, contemplating her next course of action. Resolving herself, she decided to push forward. "Tristan?" "Yeah?" "I would really feel more comfortable if you came home with me and stayed the night with me and Sally, at least until the storm comes and goes." Mia said it and looked the kitten in his big blue eyes, hoping he wasn't going to get angry with her for it. "I'll be fine by myself..." "Tristan... please, I'll just worry myself sick all night!" Mia tried to keep her voice even, and not sound like she was practically begging the kitten. But he simply shook his head. "Mia... no. I..." For the briefest of moments, she saw his resolve waver, before he steeled himself. "I can take care of myself..." He said it while looking down at his feet. Mia sighed and nodded. "Alright... I'll heat dinner up in the microwave for you. For when you're done... cleaning up." Tristan nodded and opened the shower door. "But." The word made him freeze in his tracks. He turned to look back and saw Mia smiling softly at him. "If you get scared, you can call me at any time, and I'll be more than happy to come and get you." "Thanks." He waited until she left the bathroom and he heard her footsteps walk back down the hall to the kitchen, before he got into the shower and turned it on. A feeling of guilt washed over him just as the water did, which he didn't understand. He wasn't being selfish, quite the opposite, actually, by not imposing on Mia and Sally. But then... why did he still feel bad? Later that night... Thunder rumbled throughout the house, causing the windows to rattle in their panes, the floorboards to creak and groan, and a whimper to escape the little kitten's lips. Tristan was just wearing a red shirt and a fresh diaper, one that he triple checked was on right in the mirror. After eating dinner, and then having to change shirts after getting gravy all over his last one, he settles in to watch more Orangey. Then there was a crack of thunder that sounded way too close, and the lights went out. In came the torrential rain, and Tristan had buckets set up to catch the water dripping in from the multiple leaks in the roof. Tristan sat in his armchair, wings wrapped around him like a blanket. His thumb was in his mouth. He thought about removing it, but just the thought alone drove up his anxiety. "I-It's j-just a blackout... n-nothing to be scared of..." There was another flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder. Tristan let out a whine and picked up his phone. He looked at Mia's number and started to text her. Hey, Mia, can you come-- Tristan stopped himself and shook his head, setting the phone back down with a huff. He could last a few hours without electricity. Heck, he could even sleep through most of it... once the storm was gone... CRACK! Tristan jumped, that crack of thunder sounded like a gunshot had gone off just right outside! He heard a strange new creaking sound as the wind picked up. This was followed by a sudden crash, and the sound of broken glass. Tristan tried to stay calm and think rationally... but he was just imagining some kind of animal or... monster breaking in to get him. His adult mind and childish fear were warring with one another until something slammed against the garage door. Tristan nervously looked in the gloom to make sure that it was locked, before there was another flash of lightning that casted shadows everywhere and made them move. Whimpering and sucking his thumb harder, Tristan picked up his phone and started typing. MOMMY! COME GET ME PLEASE! He was just wincing from the dumb autocorrect when suddenly his screen went dark. It started to flash the empty battery symbol, much to his frustration. There was another loud thud against his door to the garage, and he thought he heard the sound of splintering wood. Panicking, Tristan's mind raced. Then he remembered what Mia told him. She just lived around the corner, the third house on the right. Could he risk it in this weather? Another thud had him up and running to the door. He grabbed his little yellow raincoat and slipped on his matching rain boots. He threw the door open, and had to struggle against the wind to get it closed again. He made sure it was locked, all the while the wind whipped around him, and large cold drops of rain slammed into him so hard, they actually stung. But he didn't care. He was off running to the sidewalk and up the street in the pitch black night. The lightning would occasionally light everything up for a second. Then he was at the corner and took a right. For some reason, the houses on this street all had their lights on. But that didn't matter now. He saw the third house on the right, a two-story one that looked bright white when lit up by the lightning. The wind was gusting and knocked him onto his padded read twice before he found himself walking up the steps to the front door. He jumped up to ring the doorbell and waited. He stood there, in the cold and the rain, crying and unable to stop, thumb in his mouth, waiting for what felt like an eternity. Trisan suddenly found himself bathed in a soft yellow light, and had to blink a few times to see a shocked-looking Mia standing there in the doorway. "Tristan?!" Mia said, breathless. She then reached down and picked him up from under the arms. He was wearing a cute little yellow raincoat and boots, but he was still soaked from head to toe, just sopping wet as though he had swam over here. He was sucking his thumb, silently crying, his exposed diaper had also been completely soaked through from the rain, and he was looking up at her with a miserable look on his face. "Oh, honey," Mia said, quickly closing the door. She started rubbing his back while taking off the coat and boots and the wet red shirt that had been clinging to him. "C-can I stay untiw the stowm is ovah?" He lisped around his thumb. Mia chuckled and hugged him tight, unable to resist sneaking a kiss on his forehead, which made him blush. "Of course, honey," Mia said. Just then, there was a gasp. Tristan and Mia turned to look at the top of the stairs. There stood an eagle woman, with beautiful red and brown feathers, wearing a simple white tank top and black pajama bottoms. Her red eyes were staring right at the drenched kitten in Mia's arms, the corners of her beak turning up in a smile. He's even cuter than Mia described! Sally thought, cooing as she saw his dripping wings fluff out a bit as he tried to get comfortable. Then Tristan saw the little panther girl wearing white and pink striped footie pajamas next to the eagle woman, staring at him as well with her big brown eyes sparkling in excited delight. "Auntie Sally! The Stork brought you and Auntie Mia a baby! Just like Mommy and Daddy said!" Tristan pouted and pulled his thumb out of his muzzle. "I'm not a baby!" Hehehe, and Tristan's night was already going so well! But hey, at least he's no longer scared and alone in the dark. But what shenanigans shall arise from this? Find out in the next chapter! 5
Pierry Louys Posted August 10, 2024 Posted August 10, 2024 Whatttttt this is a mean cliffhanger! Hahaha loved this chapter and think The wolf gonna appear in the future 1
Panther Cub Posted August 10, 2024 Author Posted August 10, 2024 11 hours ago, Pierry Louys said: Whatttttt this is a mean cliffhanger! Hahaha loved this chapter and think The wolf gonna appear in the future MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Thank you! And who knows! 1
Sephy Posted August 10, 2024 Posted August 10, 2024 I'm wondering if something finally gave out in the house and fell apart. Like the chimney or the roof partially caved in. 1
Panther Cub Posted August 11, 2024 Author Posted August 11, 2024 2 hours ago, Sephy said: I'm wondering if something finally gave out in the house and fell apart. Like the chimney or the roof partially caved in. That's a really good guess! No spoilers though! 1
Panther Cub Posted August 25, 2024 Author Posted August 25, 2024 Hi there, readers! The inspiration train is still chugging strong, so here we are with a new chapter! And now that the site is all back up, I can post it! Back to Basics (Chapter 3) by Panther Cub "Alright, Mia, it looks like you've got the hang of searching for any infractions as they're pulling up," Tristan praised from his special not-a-highchair. "And you've gotten really good at remembering to run their licenses and registrations. Gary's been working here three years, and he still needs someone to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't just wave cars through willy-nilly." "Thanks, cutie!" Mia said, turning to rub his headfur in between his ears. Tristan blushed and his wings fluttered in embarrassment, but he also felt himself start purring. Nervously chuckling, he batted her paw away with his tinier ones. "N-no problem, Mia, just try to remember I'm a coworker, and one with seniority over you, I might add." Mia giggled as she slipped on an oven mitt. It was pink with a floral pattern, matching the frilly apron she was wearing over her uniform. "Sorry, Tristan, I'll try to do better next time. Now, I need to check on the cookies and make sure I don't over bake them!" It was at that moment that Tristan began to wonder why Mia had on an apron in the booth... and since when did they have an oven installed in it. As the winged kitten sat in his highchair and pondered this, he noticed the sky darkening, and heard the rumble of thunder. Feeling his fur beginning to stand up on end, he jumped due to a loud thunk at the glass door of the booth. He turned and froze when his gaze met the yellow glowing eyes of the wolf who had been recently arrested. He was back, foam dribbling down from his muzzle as he glared hatefully right at Tristan. His long black claws slowly scraped across the bulletproof glass, scoring deep lines in it. Tristan felt his breathing quickening as it registered for him that the wolf could probably cut through the glass eventually and get inside. Just as he opened his mouth to shout for Mia to alert the officers, Tristan's voice died in his throat. The snarl of the wolf had turned into a sickening foamy smile, his teeth long sharp fangs, and in his paw he held up what he recognized as Gary's ID badge, as well as the opossum's folded napkin where his ID number was written down to remind him of how to get into the booths. Agonizingly slowly, the wolf brought the card up to the swiper. Tristan forced himself to move and he whipped around to look at Mia, who was still kneeling down to inspect the cookies. "M-MIA! GET ON THE RADIO QUICK AND CALL THIS IN, NOW!" "Now, now, honey, Mommy's a little busy right now. Just drink your baba and you'll feel right as rain." Mia said in that condescending way adults spoke to children. Tristan hyperventilated and ignored the big baby bottle of chocolate milk sitting right in front of him on the tray of his highchair. He desperately tried to unlatch the straps so he could hop down and grab the radio and hit the emergency button underneath the desk under the window. But the button in the center of the five point harness was not budging, no matter how hard he pressed it. He heard a beep and turned to look at the door again and saw that the top red light over the handle had turned green, indicating that the card swipe had been successful. That just left the keypad and the second red light right underneath the first. He watched with terror flooding his mind just as much as his bladder was now flooding his diaper, as the wolf took a single claw and slowly started to type in the seven digit number. "MO--M-MIA, PLEASE! THIS IS SERIOUS!" Tristan felt so helpless as he sat there in just a blue t-shirt and his soaked Snuggies, crying his eyes out to try and get the larger feline's attention. "Oh sweetie, I know how fussy you get when you need a diaper change, but can it please wait? Mommy is almost done with the cookies!" Mia started to put the tray into the oven... and then started to climb inside it herself. There was a second beep, and the terrified Tristan looked to see the second light was green, and the handle on the door began to turn. As the door cracked open and one wolf's yellow eyes was peering at him through the opening... Tristan sat up and looked around. The wolf was gone, as was the booth, and Mia, and everything. He sniffled and wiped away at his nose before drying his teary eyes. In the low light of the room, he was momentarily confused by the sight of the bars surrounding him in a cage, before he remembered... he was staying the night with Mia and Sally... and he'd agreed to sleep in the spare crib they had. Pushing the warm fleece blanket off, he looked down at what he was wearing. It was a light blue legless onesie with clouds printed on it. He shifted about and stopped, letting out a sigh. Looking up at the nearby walkie-talkie-style... communication device, Tristan reached up and pressed the glowing red button. "Uhm... M-Mia, Sally? I... uh... I could use some h-help..." He winced as he shifted. "On my way," Sally's voice came from the speaker, sounding like she was still half asleep. Earlier that night... "Mia, I can take care of it myself." Tristan said, poking the front of his waterlogged diaper. His old raincoat had clearly not been up to snuff, at least where keeping the rain from soaking his diaper was concerned. The panthress seemed hesitant to answer, but she pushed on through. "I know that you can bathe yourself, Tristan... but you're used to a stand up shower, not a bathtub. I'm worried that maybe you'll slip and hit your head." "Oh c'mon, how hard can it be?" Tristan once more heard a bit of a whine tinging his voice when he was trying to make a point. "I'm not saying that taking a bath would be hard... just that maybe, slipping and hurting yourself might be a bit too easy... especially considering how... fragile your body is, compared to how you used to be." Tristan huffed and turned away. His droopy diaper was doing very little to help improve his mood. "How about a compromise?" Sally's voice chimed in as she walked over to the two, the TV in the living room blaring out something that sounded an awful lot like Orangey to Tristan. Tristan turned back around to look at the smiling eagle lady, a single eyebrow raised skeptically. "Mia helps set up the bath for you and makes sure that you get in safe and sound, and then you can wash yourself, with Mia then helping you back out to dry?" "B-but... I'll be... seen..." Tristan blushed crimson beneath his fur. "Oh, Tristan," Mia said with a sad smile. "I promise not to look." The kitten thought it over before he let out a defeated sigh. "... Okay, fine..." Mia leaned over to kiss Sally on the cheek, quietly mouthing the words 'Thank You' as Tristan started to waddle towards the bathroom. Sally took Mia's paws into her gentle yet strong taloned hands, and gave them a squeeze. After Mia went to go and accompany Tristan is when someone else appeared at her side. "Is he my new little cousin?" The young panthress in her pajamas looked up at Sally with bright-eyed excitement. "Tristan is more of... a special houseguest, Amy. He normally lives by himself, but tonight the storm was so bad that he agreed to stay the night with us." The eagle ruffled Amy's headfur while also herding her back towards the living room. "B-but, he's so little! How can a baby live by himself?" Sally opened her beak to answer when another voice further down the hall piped up. "I'm not a baby!" They both turned to see the pouting Tristan sticking his head out of the door to the bathroom, before he popped back in. In said bathroom, Tristan found himself once more feeling very self-conscious about standing there in just his diaper. Mia was humming as she had the water running and gathered up a few things. Walking over to the tub, he realized that he could only barely see over the side when he looked to see inside it. He sniffed and could smell a fragrance coming from the bubbly water that reminded him of blueberries. With the water and bubbles as the halfway mark, Mia turned off the faucet and felt inside. "Okay, the temperature is perfect." Mia smiled down to the kitten, who blushed as the time had come. With a sigh and after Mia turned to look away, he tore open the tapes of the diaper which fell to the floor with an audible plop. He gathered it up and taped it into a ball before depositing it in the nearby trash can. Then he was once again by Mia. He looked away and held his arms up. "O-okay, I'm ready." He felt Mia pick him up under his arms, and silently, but very gently, lower him into the warm water, which came up to his belly when standing. He quickly sat down, grateful for the bubbles on the surface. "There we go, all safe and sound," Mia said with a smile. Tristan still felt humiliated... but also knew that there was no reason to keep dwelling on it, and so grabbed the wash cloth Mia had laid on the rim of the tub for him and got to work scrubbing himself. "Would you like one or two of Amy's toys?" Mia absentmindedly asked, internally kicking herself when she saw the kitten freeze while in the middle of carefully scrubbing around the feathers of his wings. "Uh... I'm fine, Mia, but thank you." Mia left him to his own devices, though she did explain she would be just outside the door and to call her if he needed any help with anything before he needed to get out of the tub. Aside from struggling a little to scrub the space in between the base of his wings, Tristan was soon finished and calling for Mia, letting her know he was done. Mia let him drain the tub while she got the detachable shower head down so that Tristan could rinse himself off. When he was all done and the last of the soapy bubbles were rinsed away, she picked him up wrapped up in a big fluffy peach towel. He clumsily used it to dry himself off, his fur floofing out when he was dry. He shot Mia an unamused look when he heard her trying not to snicker, figuring that he must look very cute to her like that. "Okay, Mr. Puffball," Mia spoke, reaching down to swaddle him in the towel as she picked the pouting Tristan up. "It's gunna be a chilly night, so what do you say about us heading to the spare bedroom to find you something to wear." "... Fine... but I can walk on my own." "Yes, but right now you're not wearing anything, and this towel is a little too big to simply wrap around your waist." Tristan thought about this and sighed heavily, realizing that Mia was correct. "Alright..." Tristan mulled over how soft the towel wrapped around him was as he was carried in Mia's arms. She was his coworker, and this was an awkward situation to be in... but right then and there, he internally admitted that this felt... kinda nice. "Here we are!" Mia happily announced with a flick of the light switch. The illuminated room had plenty of boxes stacked all over the place. But Tristan was still able to spot some kind of playground-themed mural painted on the far wall, which had a changing table set up right next to it. Off to the right was an open and empty wardrobe, with some more boxes stacked inside it, presumably filled with clothes. There was a rocking chair next to an empty bookshelf, and the overall color scheme for the room seemed to be soft pastels. But Tristan's eyes were drawn towards the center of the room, or rather, the piece of furniture sitting right there. "Why do you guys have a crib?" Tristan asked, turning to look up at Mia with a single eyebrow raised. Mia set him down on the changing table and ruffled his headfur. "Sally and I were planning on adopting..." Mia trailed off, and Tristan could see a sadness in her eyes as she spoke. Wincing for bringing up potentially sad memories, the kitten looked around. "Your guys' home is really nice," he said, feeling awkward but unable to think of anything else that might change the subject. At least it was a true sentiment. In the short time he'd been here, not one light flickered, there were hardly any creaks in the wind, and he hadn't spotted a single ceiling leak. He thought back to his house and his ears drooped a bit. He'd tried making repairs himself, but all he was able to manage was making some new holes for rain to leak into and break a window. And that was before he regressed back to babyhood. "Thank you, sweetheart!" Mia beamed, her tail swishing a little as she bent down to open up one of the boxes. "Now, we've got a lot of outfits in here, maybe we can find one or two that can fit you. And hopefully not be too... young-looking." Tristan rolled his eyes and decided it would be best not to hold his breath. He'd had to learn the hard truth early on with his condition that most clothing for someone his size was made to look adorable. Mia fished out a few small bundles and unfurled them. One was a sky blue legless onesie with puffy white clouds printed over it. Tristan winced, but mentally put that in the maybe category. He'd seen, and due to some unfortunate circumstances, worn worse. Next came a bright green footed sleeper with Mommy's Big Boy written on it in silver calligraphy. Mia was quick to fold that one back up and set it back down in the box. The other footed sleepers were really not much better, same for some of the shirts. After a while, they finally had a pile of clothes Tristan didn't mind or at least didn't find too objectionable. This did include a pair of overalls and a pair of short-alls, some khaki shorts, a few different colored shorts, and the legless onesie. "Okay. Now that we've got some options to work with, let's just go ahead and take care of one little issue." Tristan was about to ask what she meant, but stopped when she leaned down to reach under the table. She popped back up with a diaper, a blue and green Pawper, and a canister of powder. Tristan waited for Mia to turn around, but the panthress simply looked at him a bit conflicted. "Tristan--" "I can take care of it myself." The kitten scowled as he looked at the infantile garment. "Well... earlier, when I got a good look at your last one... Tristan, it's okay if you're having trouble with your diapers." Tristan's ears splayed flat while he blushed, remembering how bunched up on one side his diaper had been. What made it more frustrating for him was the fact that that wasn't the first time something like that had happened. "N-no it's not!" He looked down at his paws that he was wringing, his wings and ears drooping. "If I can't take care of that by myself... then that means I can't take care of myself period. It means I'm... completely helpless and need someone to look after me! This isn't fair!" Tristan sniffled and looked up at Mia with teary eyes. Mia let out a sigh and scooped Tristan up into her arms again, rubbing his belly as she did so. "Tristan, sweetie, it's going to be okay. I won't fib and say that I know what it's like to have to wear diapers, but you're right... none of this is fair. It's not fair that you have to live alone, it's not fair that you have to carry so much responsibility all on your shoulders, and it's especially not fair that you have to feel like you can't trust anyone. But I promise you, Tristan, that no matter what, I will always see you as my coworker and my friend. Please, as friends, will you let me help you with this?" Tristan was silent, trying not to purr from the rubbing of his tummy. Slowly, he turned to look up at her in the eyes. "Promise?" His voice was so quiet, it was barely a whisper. Mia smiled and held up her paw, pinky extended. "I pinky promise." Mia smiled so brightly at him, he almost felt blinded. Feeling some of the ball of fear and anxiety in his gut come undone, he smiled back and held out his own, much smaller paw and pinky. The two digits hooked together. "Now, how about we get back to business?" Tristan nodded and found himself laid down on the soft padding of the changing table. Mia unfolded and fluffed out the diaper, this one with blue teddy bears on it. Tristan started to shift to make it easier for Mia to get his new padding underneath him, but she just placed a gentle paw on his chest. "Don't you worry about a thing, Tristan. Just lay there and try to relax, okay?" "... 'Kay." Tristan complied and laid flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, noticing all the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars and planets for the first time. He heard the rustling of the diaper and blushed. When Tristan felt his legs being lifted up, he continued to stare straight up at the plastic stars, wondering what they looked like when they glowed. He took no notice of his thumb working its way into his muzzle. thought Mia certainly took note of it. With the diaper slid underneath him, Tristan soon smelt the sweet scent of baby powder as he felt himself being dusted with it. Just as his legs were lowered, he sneezed, choosing to ignore the coo from the panthress. He continued to lay there, sucking his thumb as he felt the front of the diaper being pulled up and taped snugly into place. Mia turned him over a bit to take care of the tape over the tail hole, and then checked her handiwork. "There we go, all snug and dry," Mia said, picking up the kitten from under the arms to set him on his feet. Tristan looked down at his diaper and gave it a poke. When he looked back up, he saw Mia holding out the bundles of clothes, smiling apologetically. The kitten gave her an appreciative smile and looked through the clothing options. Remembering going through the t-shirts and seeing one with a picture of a computer loading screen that was 3/4s full, with the words Full Diaper: Downloading, and how the other shirts were not much better, he sighed and grabbed the onesie and a pair of khaki shorts. Clouds set against a blue backdrop wasn't too babyish... but as he struggled to pull it on, requiring Mia's assistance, he certainly didn't feel that way. Mia snapped the buttons of the flaps closed over his diaper, and then helped slide his shorts over it. Looking himself over in the mirror at the far end of the room, Tristan reasoned that he looked like he was wearing a shirt that was tucked into his shorts, and nodded. "This'll do," he said, letting Mia pick him up off the changing table and carry him out into the hall. They entered the living room where they saw the young panthress bouncing where she sat, watching Orangey. "Mind keeping an eye on Amy for us while I help Sally in the kitchen?" Mia whispered into his ear. "Uh... sure?" Tristan found himself on the couch next to the other feline, with Mia smiling at the two of them before she disappeared into the kitchen. "HI, baby!" Amy said once the show had gone to commercial. "I'm not a baby," he scowled, "my name is Tristan." "Tristan! Tristan the kitten!" Amy giggled and pulled him into a hug. "Wanna watch Orangey with me?" "Okay?" "YAY!" Tristan winced from her sudden rise in excited volume, but said nothing, quickly getting just as sucked into the show as Amy was, his thumb once more working its way into his mouth. Amy saw this out of the corner of her eye and giggled. Mia and Sally would both come in to check on the two, smiling a little brighter each time when they saw Tristan laying on his side, watching the show with Amy, sucking his thumb. He did start to object a little when Sally came out with apple juice for the two in sippi cups, but she quietly whispered to him how Amy would be upset if he had a regular cup and she didn't. He calmed down and took his. "Who wants some sesame chicken?" Mia asked, walking back out in a pink floral apron. "MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME!!!" Amy practically leapt off the couch as she scrambled to get into the kitchen as quickly as possible. "Feel hungry, Tristan?" Mia asked, spying his empty sippi cup and grabbing it. "Yeah... but... am I gunna haveta sit in a high chair?" Tristan was blushing again. "Of course not, sweetie! But we have an extra booster seat set up." "... Thanks," Tristan mumbled, letting himself be picked up and carried into the kitchen. He saw that Amy was already sitting in a bright red booster seat, a napkin tucked into the collar of her jammies as a bib. When he was set down on the empty green booster, Tristan quickly put on his own napkin. Sniffing the air had his little tummy rumbling, distracting him from the refilled sippi cup being set down next to where he sat. This was swiftly followed by a plate with some of the golden brown sauce-drenched chicken over fried rice being set down in front of him. He picked up the soft plastic fork and dug in, not noticing that his and Amy's food had been cut up into bite-sized pieces. While the storm continued to rage outside, Tristan was enjoying a nice warm meal in the company of others. Even if one of them kept asking if he was in pre-school yet, or which episode of Orangey was his favorite. He didn't even notice what time it was when Mia was carrying him in her arms back to the room with the crib in it. "I'm sorry again, Tristan," Mia said as softly as possible, pulling back the fleece blanket inside the crib. "I hadn't expected my sister to just drop Amy off for the weekend out of the blue like this." "... It's okay, I get it." Tristan sleepily nodded, letting out a big yawn, thumb in his mouth. Mia laid him down and tucked the blanket in. She watched him for a while as he slept, snoring softly, sucking his thumb. Mia wiped away a tear from her eye and leaned down to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Good night, sweetheart." The panthress turned out the light, letting the swirling galaxy of stars and planets above come to a hauntingly beautiful blue-green life above the kitten in the crib. The Next Day... "It doesn't make any sense!" Tristan stomped his foot as he used the yardstick that was for flipping hard to reach light switches, to rapidly flip the one in the living room back and forth, on and off. It was to no avail, as the light above remained off, as did every other electrical appliances they had tried so far. Checking in with the neighbors had confirmed that everyone else's power in the neighborhood was just fine, and hadn't even gone out during the storm. Mia and Tristan were back at his house, the storm having blown itself out sometime in the night. Outside, the sky was blue and bright, without a cloud in sight. Inside, Mia and Tristan could smell mildew, and see, after they had forced open his warped front door together, that just about all of his rain catching buckets and pots and pans had overflowed in the night. "How come my power is out? I paid the bill and everything, on time too!" He huffed, briefly catching a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror. He saw a little kitten wearing denim shortalls with a purple t-shirt underneath. "Tristan, sweetie," Mia said, picking up the agitated and squirming kitten and carrying him back outside, "I think it might be good for us to have a look around outside." "Why?" Tristan asked, still trying to squirm out of her cradling arms. Walking around to the side of the house, Mia sighed, and set Tristan down. Looking up at her in curiosity, he turned to see the old dead tree growing by the side of the house had been uprooted. Upon closer inspection, it hadn't just collapsed against the side of the house, but several large branches had punched holes right in his garage, while the fuse box on the side of the house had taken the full force of the trunk. There were even some torn wires visible, prompting Tristan to wince as he realized he was without power. Looking closer, he realized that the roots had ripped up the main water line as well, which explained the faint gurgling noise he'd been hearing while close to the tree. Mia was already on the phone with the water company, walking over to his water meter after instructing him to stay where he was, so she could shut it off manually. Turning to the garage window, he hopped up and grabbed the bottom of the sill to take a peek inside. Not only was there one giant puddle in the center of the garage, but there were some broken tree branches hanging down from the massive hole in the ceiling, most hanging on by an inch or two of wood fiber, lazily swinging. "Is THAT what caused the knocking noise last night?" Tristan wasn't asking anyone in particular, yet Mia was then ready to answer, having walked back over to him after getting off the phone with the water company. "It looks like it, hun. I'm so sorry. But you are more than welcome to stay with me and Sally until we can get your house all sorted." She pulled out her phone again and began tapping away at the screen. Tristan was curious about whom it was she was calling, quickly learning it was the electric company. "I'm sorry, honey, but if those wires are live, that's a major fire hazard," Mia said while looking at Tristan with a sad look that was becoming a little too common from her. Tristan opened his mouth to try and argue and claim he could be just fine without power or water, like on a camping trip, when he was suddenly interrupted. "Hello there!" Tristan froze upon hearing that voice. Feminine and chipper with what he could swear was a slight undercurrent of self-congratulation. Slowly, the winged kitten turned to see a very familiar platypus walking up, clipboard in flippery hand. She smiled at Tristan before holding said hand out to Mia to shake, now that Mia had finished her call and put her phone away. "Hello there, I'm Kelly Glosterman, with Child Protective Services." The panthress raised an eyebrow before taking the hand in her paw to shake. "Mia Luvia-Soari." "Are you the neighbor who called in to report the damage to Mr. Granna's house? From what was reported, it was quite severe?" Tristan felt his insides turn to ice. If his house was no longer habitable, could that mean she could just take him? No... habitable home or not, he was still an adult. "Well no, I didn't call CPS. We're coworkers, and I've been helping Tristan survey the damage." Mia kept her voice cool and polite, keeping track of Tristan out of the corner of her eye as he slowly stepped to hide behind her legs. "I see," Kelly said, clicking her pen and scribbling away at her clipboard. She then wordlessly walked around to the side of the house and gasped. "Oh my goodness!" She looked on at the dead tree and the holes in the roof and wall. "Is that... the fuse box? Has this been called in to the electric company?! That is a major hazard--" "I've already called it in, and the power's been shut off to the house," Mia interjected, keeping her tone cheery while interacting with the woman who clearly had the kitten clinging to her leg on edge. "There was also damage to the main water line, due to the roots tearing it out, so we've shut off the water to the house and called that in as well." Kelly let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the two of them. "Oh good. Of course, I'll have to follow up with the electric and water companies, just to make sure that they are aware of the problems." "Understood. Is there anything else we can help you with, Ms. Glosterman?" "Well... it is unfortunate that Tristan's house has sustained such damage. However, there is a silver lining..." Kelly knelt down and said the last part in an excited voice, but all it served to do was make Tristan even more nervous. "Which is?" Mia asked, gently coiling her tail around Tristan protectively. "The Jalay's are still interested in taking you in!" Kelly clapped her hands as though she thought she could trick Tristan into being excited about the news. "B-but, I don't need a foster home! I'm an adult!" Tristan whined and looked up at Mia for help, desperation causing tears to form in his eyes. "Tristan, I know that you still feel like a big boy inside," Kelly said with a sad smile, "but it's time to face facts. You're too little now to take care of yourself. What's more, your house just isn't liveable anymore. It's time to take a step back and let the grown-ups handle things." Tristan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't some baby, he was an adult, dammit! He could feel a swirling rage build up within him, and just as he opened his mouth to tell Kelly where she could stick that clipboard if she thought he was ever going with her anywhere; he found himself scooped up into Mia's arms. The panthress started rocking him back and forth, and almost instantly, his anger and fear started to evaporate as out of instinct, he curled in closer to her. His ear was resting against her chest, allowing him to hear the ba-bump of her heartbeat, which helped to further soothe him. "He already is, Ms. Glosterman." Mia kept her voice polite and friendly, but also spoke with a sense of authority. "Tristan has been staying with me and my wife in our home just up the street. We've been taking care of him and his needs, and we came by to survey the damage to his house as well as recover anything he might be wanting that he forgot to bring over." Kelly seemed to be at a loss for words, possibly for the first time in her life or so Tristan thought to himself. "Oh... so he's been moved in with you and your... wife?" Kelly seemed perplexed as she frowned and scribbled some more onto her clipboard. "Can I get your name again? As well as the address of your home? Also, I would feel a lot better if I could maybe take a little look around to make sure that it's safe for someone Tristan's age." Tristan bit back yet another retort about being an adult, Mia's paw rubbing his back helping to calm him back down again. Mia was more than happy to give the woman all the information she needed, quickly using her free paw to send a series of texts to Sally explaining what was going on, just to be safe. They spoke a bit more, with Kelly seeming a bit off her usual bubbly game, before she agreed to follow them in her car. As Mia buckled Tristan back into his carseat, he looked up at her. "Thank you, Mia," he said, letting out a giggle when she tickled his tummy. "You're very welcome, sweetie. And don't you worry, you won't have to go anywhere with that lady. As I said before, you can stay with us for as long as you want." Tristan grew silent as he thought this over, looking out the window as he wondered about his future. And there we have it! Chapter three has come and gone, and now Tristan is finding himself in an ever increasingly precarious position! 6
BabySofia Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 They already have a great start on his nursery! Enjoying this! 🙂 1
Panther Cub Posted August 25, 2024 Author Posted August 25, 2024 50 minutes ago, BabySofia said: They already have a great start on his nursery! Enjoying this! 🙂 Hehehehe No! That's just a room for some extra storage with baby stuff in it because... reasons!
Pierry Louys Posted August 25, 2024 Posted August 25, 2024 This chapter was interesting since show two scenes and why he is more comfortable with Mia ,now I think he is slowly seeing he need some help to prevent him going to foster care and keep him safe and happy ! And I think Mia have to make some changes since thumbsucking is not good so he gonna have a nice pacifier is more higiênic , and hope this nightmare wolf don’t came for him ansious to read more 1
Panther Cub Posted August 25, 2024 Author Posted August 25, 2024 3 hours ago, Pierry Louys said: This chapter was interesting since show two scenes and why he is more comfortable with Mia ,now I think he is slowly seeing he need some help to prevent him going to foster care and keep him safe and happy ! And I think Mia have to make some changes since thumbsucking is not good so he gonna have a nice pacifier is more higiênic , and hope this nightmare wolf don’t came for him ansious to read more Thank you! Yup, Mia has a comforting and calming effect on him for sure. And yeah, despite his protesting, a part of him does know that he's gunna need more help. Especially if he doesn't wanna just be shipped to some family that wants a baby.
Pierry Louys Posted September 6, 2024 Posted September 6, 2024 Hopping to see a new chapter soon !! 1
Panther Cub Posted September 7, 2024 Author Posted September 7, 2024 12 hours ago, Pierry Louys said: Hopping to see a new chapter soon !! It's slowly coming together. 1
Pierry Louys Posted September 7, 2024 Posted September 7, 2024 Okay ! Waiting ansiouly for the new chapter 22 minutes ago, Panther Cub said: It's slowly coming together. 1
Panther Cub Posted September 22, 2024 Author Posted September 22, 2024 I'd like to thank Young-at-Heart-Bear for making this super-duper adorable picture of Tristan! Look at him in his little uniform! Of course, his facial expression says that he's just done with everyone's nonsense! 1
Pierry Louys Posted September 22, 2024 Posted September 22, 2024 So cute !! ps I was hoping for a new chapter !!
Panther Cub Posted September 22, 2024 Author Posted September 22, 2024 1 minute ago, Pierry Louys said: So cute !! ps I was hoping for a new chapter !! It's being worked on. And yes! Muy cutes! 1
Pierry Louys Posted September 22, 2024 Posted September 22, 2024 Sim ! Muito bonito !! Ansious to see next chapter !!! 1
Panther Cub Posted September 24, 2024 Author Posted September 24, 2024 And here we are with chapter four! I never expected this little spark of an idea would grow so much, but hey, that's just the way it goes sometimes! I hope you all enjoy it! Back to Basics (Chapter 4) by Panther Cub "Okay, well, this nursery is very nice and definitely up to code," Kelly said, scribbling onto her clipboard. Tristan had been a bit surprised to find that all the boxes were gone by the time he and Mia and Kelly had arrived at the house for the platypus to perform her little impromptu inspection. He also noticed that there was a toy chest at the foot of the crib, with a bunch of stuffies practically pouring out, as well as a little green and blue plastic table with matching chairs and a set of blocks spread out on the center all set up opposite the crib. He begrudgingly admitted that it was a nice touch. Though he did feel that the star-themed mobile dangling above the crib was a bit excessive. "And I noticed a few outlets on my way in, with all the empty sockets capped off." "We take providing a safe and healthy environment very seriously," Mia said as she cradled Tristan, gently rubbing his back. Kelly snooped around the changing table, opening the doors beneath to inspect the inside. "That's wonderful." Kelly scribbled some more as she stood back up. "There's room for more diapers under the changing table, so you might want to stock up. Little ones tend to go through them quickly." Tristan scowled, but a pleading look from Mia had him settling back down. "Actually, we were planning on a shopping trip for extra supplies after lunch." "I see... you and your... wife are both going?" "Absolutely! Sally and I will also be taking our niece Amy along with us." Tristan had to hand it to Mia, she was still her usually cheerful and bubbly self, despite Kelly bringing up the fact that Mia was married to a woman a few times now. "Ah..." Kelly scribbled down on her clipboard some more before looking back up at the panthress. "And... Sally is perfectly happy to have a new addition to the household all of a sudden? I know a lot of couples would have quite the disagreement about something like this just popping out of the blue." Tristan hated how Kelly just kept digging, and felt a pang of guilt that Mia was having to deal with that on account of him. "She and I are both thrilled to have Tristan here with us. We've already talked this over and discussed the arrangement with Tristan as well, just to make sure everyone was on board!" Mia practically beamed. "Sally and I were best friends growing up, actually, and we are both of the mind that it's always best to talk things out, even if at first they may seem uncomfortable." Tristan looked surprised, only just now learning of that fact. "That's so... nice. So then, do you have any additional family that might be around Tristan regularly?" Tristan noticed how Mia's ears drooped just a little as she was asked the question, but the older feline kept right on smiling. "Absolutely! There's Nick, my brother-in-law, who just loves cubs. He pretty much is one himself! Then there's Sally's Mom and Dad, who live close by and visit all the time." "And what about your family?" Kelly pressed the issue, looking expectantly at Mia. "Mia's parents live over in Colingrad, and don't travel much," Sally chimed in, entering with Amy on her hip. The eagle woman was wearing a set of overalls with a white t-shirt underneath, while Amy was wearing a pink t-shirt with a bright purple skirt. The little panther girl spotted Tristan and smiled, giving him a wave. "Oh?" Kelly looked Sally over and frowned. "And Scia, Mia's sister, travels a lot for work, so we regularly look after Amy here." Her taloned-hand not supporting the little panthress began to tickle her side, causing her to squeal with laughter. "Now, since I know how busy you must be, Ms. Glosterman, I'd be more than happy to show you the rest of the house, so that you can find we are all up to code and fully prepared for someone with Tristan's needs." Sensing some building tension as Kelly just stared at Sally, Tristan found himself squirming in Mia's arms a little. "Yes... that would probably be for the best." It was quite the effort on Tristan's part to keep from constantly rolling his eyes and sighing every time something like the drawer locks in the kitchen or the baby gate set up in front of the garage door. The platypus seemed determined to thoroughly examine every room she entered, before she finally hung her head in disappointment. "You two should be happy to know that there isn't anything I could find to suggest that Tristan would be better off with different housing." Tristan couldn't stop the smug grin from forming on his face. "Of course, with his new... condition, it would be beneficial for all to see about filing to become his legal guardians." "That's a discussion all three of us can have together and, if Tristan agrees, we could move forward with." Mia's tail was swishing behind her, something that Tristan recognized as annoyance in his fellow feline. "Now, if that's all, Ms. Glosterman, I imagine that you'll need to be checking in on some other households?" A quiet huff snuck past Kelly's bill-lips, a sign she knew she had overstayed her welcome. "Right... well, I'll be calling back to set up an appointment for regular check-ins, just to see how everyone is settling in and such." She then looked down at Tristan and gave him a sad-looking smile. "And Tristan, sweetie, if you need anything, please let me know." "Uh-huh. Bye, Kelly," Tristan said while giving a dismissive wave. The platypus scurried out the front door with Sally gently closing it behind her. She watched through the peephole for a bit, until Tristan's ears twitched at the sound of an engine starting, signaling that the nosy platypus had finally left. "Well that was... quite the surprise." Sally turned to give Mia and Tristan a smile and a thumbs up. "I'm really sorry about this," Tristan said, hanging his head a bit. "For what, Tristan?" Mia asked, beginning to rub his back again. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had to let that... Kelly in to snoop around and ask a bunch of uncomfortable questions." "Oh, sweetheart, that's not your fault!" Mia gave Tristan a squeeze, resting her chin on his head, right in between his ears. "She's right, Tristan," Sally said with a soft smile. "Someone like Kelly is nothing new for us to deal with." Tristan grumbled, a sign that he wasn't entirely convinced, but let it drop for now. "How about we all relax with a nice lunch and then head out for a little grocery shopping?" Sally walked over to the nearby couch where Amy was sitting, using a set of crayons for a coloring book she seemed engrossed with. "Lunch time, sweet girl!" "Awww, but I'm not done making Orangey purple! Then they can be called Purpley!" Sally and Mia both chuckled at that as the eagle woman gently bounced the grumpy-looking toddler in her arms. "How about you finish your pretty picture in the car on our way to the store? And this way, we can make sure you are getting something tasty in that tum-tum of yours?" The little panthress seemed to mull this over, her face suddenly brightening. "Okay! OH! Can I help feed my new little cousin?" Tristan blushed as he and Amy were carried into the kitchen. Sally set about getting the little panthress settled into a booster seat, calmly explaining that Tristan was a houseguest and older than he looked. "Thank you, Tristan," Mia said with a smile as she set him down on a counter. She bent down to a lower cabinet to get out a spare green booster seat. "We like to keep a spare for when Amy has one of her little friends from pre-school." "For what?" Tristan looked confused, wondering what he could have done to warrant a thank you. "Well, for starters, for not losing your temper while Ms. Kelly was here. I know that that can't have been easy." "I know when to keep my mouth shut." Mia pulled one of the finely carved oak chairs closer and began to secure the special seat onto it. "And it's also a thank you for not getting mad at Amy." "She's just a little cub..." Was all that Tristan could say as he shifted a bit, wincing upon realizing that he was wet. Spotting his reaction, Mia gave him a sympathetic smile. "She is, and a sweet one at that." Mia leaned in closer to speak softer, not that Amy was paying attention, too busy digging in to a grilled cheese sandwich. "Do you think that diaper can last until after lunch, or would you like a change now?" Tristan blushed and looked away. "I think it can wait... I am pretty hungry right now..." "Okay! Can I pick you up again? And do you mind sitting in a booster seat?" "... Okay... to both, I mean." Tristan held up his arms, allowing Mia to pick him right up. Now at eye level with the physically older feline, he looked into her bright green eyes. They sparkled with pure joy that brought a small smile to Tristan's lips. "What would you like for lunch, Tristan?" Sally asked while leaning down a bit. "Uh..." He looked over to Amy, who had some gooey cheese on her left cheek somehow. "C-could I have a grilled cheese sandwich too?" "Sure thing, honey-pie!" Sally hummed and got to work at the skillet, with Mia washing and slicing up some apples. She set them down on a plate between Tristan and Mia, as well as a sipp-cup of juice for the little panthress. Tristan was given his juice in a regular glass. "Hey, how come Tristy gets to drink from a big-kid cup?" Amy looked confused, tilting her head a bit. "Amy, sweetie, Tristan here is actually older than he looks," Sally explained, leaning over to ruffle the little girl's headfur. "But what if he spills?" Just as Amy asked this, Tristan took the napkin set by the sliced apples and tucked it in the collar of his shirt. Internally, he reasoned that this wasn't as embarrassing as wearing an actual bib. "It's okay, I know how to be careful," Tristan replied to the girl, giving her a happy smile. He then defiantly reached for the cup, careful to hold it with both paws, and slowly brought it to his lips. Taking a sip, he could taste the sweet strawberry flavor dance across his tongue. Setting it back down as carefully as possible, he didn't notice a couple drops dribble down his muzzle and onto the napkin. One Lunch Later... "I'm sorry," Tristan mumbled, his ears splayed flat on his head. He was currently sitting on the changing table, his denim shortalls and purple shirt with big wet splotches going down the front. "Tristan, it's okay. It was just an accident," Mia said as she rummaged through the closet for a new outfit. Tristan winced at that and suddenly became aware of the clamminess coming from his diaper. While eating lunch, he had grabbed his cup and accidentally spilled all down his front. Mia turned back to him, holding up a green t-shirt and some blue shorts. After giving her a nod, Tristan accepted Mia's help in undressing himself, the shortall buttons had proved to be a bit frustrating for him to try and operate, his fingers feeling oddly clumsy today. As he lays down and hears the tapes of his diaper being torn open, he reflects how that wasn't actually true. His fingers had been feeling rather clumsy quite a bit the last few weeks. He'd simply powered through and shrugged it off. Mia hummed a tune, one which sounded oddly familiar and comforting, and helped him to relax some as he was cleaned and powdered. He looked up into the older feline's smiling face, feeling a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time. He was clueless to the fact that as he looked up at Mia, he was once more sucking on his thumb. He let out a small sneeze due to the scent of the baby powder tickling his nose, and could have sworn he heard a coo coming from Mia. She disguised it with a little cough as she fluffed out the new diaper a bit before sliding it underneath him. When the front was pulled up and snugly taped into place did Mia finally break the silence. "So, Sally and I were thinking that while out shopping, we could also help you get some new clothes. What you and I found at your home was a little... sparse. Aside from your work uniform and a few shirts and a pair of shorts. And while there's a bit more options here to choose from... they're all a bit..." "Infantile?" Tristan asked around his thumb, blissfully deaf to the lisp to his voice due to his thumb. "Well, we were thinking we could help find clothes in your size that are more to your liking?" Tristan thought about it as he was sat up, Mia helping him to put on the blue shorts. It was only when Mia helped him with the shirt that he realized his thumbsucking habit had reared its ugly head once again, and promptly ripped it out while blushing and saying nothing about it. "That sounds nice... but I wanna pay my way here... you guys have done enough already." Tristan looked down at his feet, until his vision was filled with Mia's gently smiling face. "Hey now," she said, picking him up under the arms and pulling the little winged kitten into a hug. "You're already gunna be paying for the repairs to your house. And we just want to help you to feel more comfortable while you're here." Unable to help herself, Mia then nuzzled the top of his head. "So can you please just let us worry about paying for your new wardrobe?" Tristan's face heated up some more, with his wings fluttering a bit. "'Kay... but I don't want you two going crazy and spending a fortune on me." "I think we can manage to contain ourselves," Mia said with a chuckle, bouncing Tristan in her arms while walking them out of the room he was to be staying in and in no way was a nursery. Tristan soon found himself safely buckled into his carseat, next to Amy who was secured in her own, with Mia sitting in the front passenger seat while Sally drove. "What's your favorite color?" Tristan was yoinked straight from his thoughts by the question. He looked over to see Amy smiling at him. "Mine's purple! And not just because it reminds me of grape candy, but also because I think it looks really pretty!" "Oh... uh..." Tristan felt awkward. He'd never really been a fan of children, especially the really little ones, and yet now here he was with one that seemed to want to be friends. "Green." "OOOOH! That's a great color, Tristy!" Amy bounced in her carseat and kicked her little legs. "It's Tristan, actually." "I know," Amy said, leaning over to look out the car window at the streets and sidewalk going by. "But since you're my baby cousin now, you need a cute nickname. So I picked Tristy!" Tristan was unamused, and gave Mia a half-lidded stare when he caught her looking back, a paw to her lips, presumably to try and refrain from cooing at the perceived cute interaction. She pretended to cough and seemingly got herself sorted out. "Amy, honey," Mia said, reaching over to give the cub's exposed feet a little tickle. Amy giggled and tittered, smiling at the older feline. "It's so sweet of you to be welcoming to Tristan. But you need to remember, he's actually a grown-up and a house guest. So please, ask him first before giving him a nickname, okay?" "Aww, okay Auntie Mia!" Wanting to get Amy's mind off of him being her baby cousin, Tristan elected to continue the Q and A, struggling for a moment to think of a question one could ask a toddler. "Uh... so what's your favorite... dinosaur, Amy?" Tristan winced, feeling awkward. But he was shocked at the wide grin that quickly spread on the little cub's face. "The stegosaurus!" Amy excitedly started listing off facts about stegosauruses she had learned. She talked for a good minute before the car pulled to a stop. Having to lean forward a bit in his carseat, Tristan looked around to see that they were at the grocery store's parking lot already, with Mia and Sally already getting out and coming to the doors to the passenger seats on both sides of the car. Opening the door on his right, Mia smiled brightly at him as she leaned in to unbuckle his safety straps. "Thanks for keeping Amy engaged," she whispered into Tristan's ear as she picked him up into her arms. Over on the other side of the car, Sally had a giggling Amy resting on one hip as she used her free hand to check that the car was locked and set the alarm. "It's okay. It's kinda like cubsitting, really," Tristan said, finding Mia's grin contagious. As they walked to the store, Tristan still in Mia's arms, he looked around and started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, Mia?" "Yeah, sweetie?" "I can walk by myself..." "Oh, I know. But you take such little steps, I figured that this would be faster. Sorry." "N-no, it's okay..." Tristan settled down a bit as they entered. Sally quickly got a cart and brought it over to their little group. "Would you like to ride in the little seat, Tristan?" The eagle woman gave him a soft smile, causing the kitten to blush. "I'm fine walking now that we're in the store." He looked to Mia who carefully set him down on his own two feet, giving a gentle pat to his headfur. Almost immediately, someone took his paw into their own. "C'mon, Tristy!" Amy exclaimed, essentially dragging the winged kitten behind her, not at all heeding Mia calling out to them to not wander off. Looking back, Tristan saw Mia and Sally chatting while making sure to stay close to him and Amy. He wasn't certain just where their destination lay, until they finally came to a stop at the store's bakery. "Well now, if it isn't little miss Amy," said a kind-looking older she-wolf. Her fur was mostly auburn but with a few streaks of gray on her face and neck. She was wearing the black and red store employee t-shirt with a plain white apron over it. She was leaning against the large display case, showing off the colorful and mesmerizing cakes and pastries for sale inside. Tristan had to actively keep himself from drooling at the site alone. "Who's your little friend?" Before Tristan could speak, the little panther girl excitedly pulled him into a hug. "Hiya Missus Shiloh! This is my new baby cousin, Tristan! I always wanted to be a big sister, and now I am one, kinda!" Tristan opened his mouth to protest, until Mrs. Shiloh spoke. "Oh my goodness! That is just such wonderful news! In fact, I think that warrants a little free sample." The she-wolf gave them a wink and went over to another display case, this one filled with cookies and doughnuts. In her clear plastic-gloved paw, she grabbed two cookies, returning to lean over the counter to offer them to Amy and Tristan. He saw that they were chocolate chunk cookies with those W&W's chocolates baked right in. The two cubs both gingerly took the offered treats, both with matching shining eyes. Tristan looked down at his cookie, all thoughts about asserting his actual age pushed to the back of his mind. "Thank you, Missus Shiloh!" Amy said, looking over at the winged kitten and giving him a gentle nudge. "What do you say, Tristy?" Tristan blushed as he looked over at Amy who was wagging a finger at him, a big bite already taken out of her cookie, and a small splotch of chocolate staining the corner of her mouth. He felt embarrassed that he'd been reminded to say thanks like a toddler, and it was doubly embarrassing for the reminder to have come from an actual toddler. "Th-thank you, Missus Shiloh," he said, looking down at his feet. "Awww, you're both welcome, sweeties!" He looked down at his cookie and thought about insisting he pay for it and explain the situation to the bakery worker... before he brought it up to his lips and took a bite. Smiling, he paid little attention as Amy, still holding his other paw, started tugging him along behind her, excited to continue the big-sister act. And finally done! WOOOO! Let me know what you think in the comments/reviews! 3
Pierry Louys Posted September 24, 2024 Posted September 24, 2024 So cute chapter !!! Now I Ansious for what Mia gonna buy for clothes for him maybe something cute with a lot snaps for easy change ! And a pacifier because his thumb is dirty and unhealthy!! Ansious for the next chapter ! Please don’t take to long !! 1
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