Chapter VI: That's the question
Aran sighed, realizing that he could not win the argument. On the other paw, there were different shades of losing.
"I won't fuss, but please answer one question," he said resolutely.
"Alright, but I'll dress you first," she negotiated.
'Darn, she got me again,' the wolf thought, laying down on his back.
"Now show me a happy little wolfie again, okay?" she said as she started tickling Aran.
It did not take long for the wolf to burst out in laughter, no matter how hard he tried to resist. Suddenly, Jennifer stopped tickling, allowing Aran to catch his breath.
"I probably shouldn't do this while you're not wearing a diaper. You might wet yourself!" she thought aloud.
Before Aran could protest, the collie surprised him by grabbing his ankles. He tried to squirm, but her grip was too tight. Jennifer pulled his ankles, raising his bottom, and put a fresh diaper under his bottom.
After threading his tail through the hole, it took only a few swift moves to tape the diaper up. It was not until his caregiver was finished that Aran noticed the childish prints on his infantile garment. Aran opened his mouth to ask why she put him in this kind of diaper, but shut it again a split second later.
He realized that asking such a question would waste his opportunity, so instead, he waited as patiently as he could for Jennifer to finish dressing him. Making himself believe that it would reduce the embarrassment, he closed his eyes and let the collie dress him up.
When she declared they were done, Aran blinked and looked at his new attire. Jennifer had dressed him in a navy blue pair of shorts and a red t-shirt. The latter had an image of a black Labrador puppy on it, with the letters "KODY" printed below in capitals. Furthermore, the t-shirt was too short to hide the waistband of Aran's diaper.
"Now, I believe you wanted to ask me something?" Jennifer invited as she helped him sit up.
"Yush. What are you and Kaiser doing to me?"
"I'll try to answer your question as much as I'm allowed to tell. Kaiser and I are here to help you, even though the Doberman might seem intimidating to you at first. There are more people in on this, but they're irrelevant to you for now. You'll mainly get to spend time with me, since I'm your caregiver."
"Well, that is what I meant to ask. How is being my caregiver going to help me?"
"For starters, you'll be suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the steroids for the next few days. Kaiser told me that you've only used them for a couple of weeks, so it won't take very long, but it won't be pretty. That is, if you were on your own."
"So this is some kind of rehab?"
"Detoxification is only a part of your treatment. Think of it as the cherry on the cake, rather than the icing."
"But why treat me like I'm your puppy?" Aran blurted out in ever growing confusion.
"Like I said, your drug addiction is only a minor problem, one that will be solved relatively easily. You need help with greater problems and I'm here to guide you through that struggle."
"Why me? I can't remember signing up for this, not considering the trick Kaiser pulled on me."
Jennifer smiled again.
"It wasn't your choice, Aran."
"I know that, but whose was it?" he asked, slightly agitated.
"Calm down, little one. That's an altogether different question."
"But-" he started, only to get interrupted.
"No, we agreed on one question to be answered, and you have already overdrawn that request. Furthermore, you're not ready to know the answer to your latter question."
Aran crossed his arms and looked away from the collie.
"Don't pout, wolfie. Let things sort themselves out and you might discover that some of your questions are answered along the way. Some you didn't even know how to ask, maybe. Remember, go with the flow. We're not even considering letting you go before you accept these basic things."
The wolf looked down and sighed, with his eyes closed.
"Do I need to tickle you to see a happy pup again?" Jennifer said, playfully threatening.
Aran opened his eyes and saw that the collie had picked up his stuffed husky from the floor. She handed it to him and he, partly instinctively, accepted it with both hands.
"Don't be afraid, little one," she reassured, petting Aran's head, "we're here to heal you, not to hurt you. We've had plenty of chances to hurt or even molest you, but we didn't. Kaiser could have beaten you all he wanted, but he gave you a painkiller. You see? We're not bad people."
"But you touched... when you changed me, and..." the wolf started, but he could not get his head straight. He wanted to hate the collie, pounce her and maul her body, but something ultimately held him back.
"So did your mother when you were an actual puppy. You're not blaming a mother for cleaning up her child, are you?"
"You're not my mother," Aran stated matter-of-factly.
"I know, but according to you, nobody else is either."
'I got to stop letting her score so easily,' the wolf thought.
"Like I said earlier, I'm not asking to address me as your mother. You can, if you prefer to, but you don't have to. I understand if you don't want to relate me to someone you feel has let you down."
Although it was probably not Jennifer's intention, her words hurt the wolf as they hit his mind. He shivered, cramping up a little, unintentionally ending up clutching the husky tighter to his body. Jennifer smiled.
"I'm sorry, perhaps I should have chosen different words to say that."
"It's okay, I'll get over it," Aran replied plainly.
"Come, I bet you want to know what this place looks like."
The sudden change of topic surprised the wolf in a positive manner. On Jennifer's invitation, he hopped off the changing table onto the tiled bathroom floor, with bare paws. The tiles felt a little cold, but not uncomfortably so.
"I see you like your husky," Jennifer commented with a smile.
Aran realized it was hard to deny her observation, since he was holding it like a child would carry their prized plushy.
"Maybe a little," he replied, mentally scolding himself for giving in.
"It's yours to keep."
The wolf looked at Jennifer in disbelief.
"Really, it's yours now. I handpicked it specially for you. Now you don't need to thank me, but if you still feel like doing so, be a dear and think of a name for your plushie."
"A name? It's a toy..." the wolf replied with a puzzled expression.
"Plushies like it when you name them. It's okay, take your time. For now, let's go downstairs," Jennifer said, offering her hand to lead the wolf.