Kayla: Second Beginnings
#36 of Kayla
Kayla: Second Beginnings In the 28th century, the technology of rejuvenation allows for immortality. This device is also used for sentencing as well. A penitatas; a criminal that is sent back to childhood to live a highly strict and disciplined life to start anew. (Story Thirty-Six)
Concept by Lurking Dragon Kayla and story by Professor Bob [email protected] More Kayla Stuff!: www.Professor-Bob.net This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Maxwell and Tyson were supposed to be caught and punished horribly for their crimes against her and all the other people they had most likely harmed or killed. She was supposed to be forgiven without question and given support from open arms that understood her plight. Her best friend was supposed to greet her with hugs and declarations of her joy. The fox saw none of these things happen, walking away with only her life and not a single thing more. In the end, she was still one of the luckiest people on Earth, even if she was so unhappy and scared. After being brought home, Kayla was tucked right into bed - not punitively, but because she needed it after such delicate surgery and poor sleep on a cold, dirty ground. It wasn't even Kayla's own bed she was sleeping in, since her parents wanted her to sleep in their own bed, right between them. The fox slept clear through the night with complete ease, Melissa tightly held in her arms, as her bare, battered body was soothed by the comfort of her company and the soft bed. Neither parent minded Kayla's bushy tail whacking them in the middle of the night. Their daughter was alive, and that tail was more comforting then disturbing. As pleased as they both were she was alive, they both had been damned with a heavy responsibility. They had to punish Kayla in the name of reminding her of right and wrong so that she does not make any possible mistakes in the future, or come to grow used to her galactic-net misadventures once more. Just like how Kayla was spanked and sent to the corner several times each month for doing nothing wrong, an 'unearned' spanking, it was all part of her penitatas sentence. Good or bad, penitatas had to be punished. As their Aspatrian girl slept quietly and still, the two were forced to carefully slip from their bed to begin the first day of Kayla's special punishment; all to make up for her Christmas and instill a hard reminder of proper behavior, even if she did the right thing by complying with her captors. Sun gently gleaming through the windows of the house's master bedroom, warming the fox's fur.. she looked so innocent, not being awake to deal with her guilt, fears, and regret. Sadly, Emily had to make that change, and not in a very kind way. It was her first order from the Corrections Council that she was to administer bright and early that winter morning. As squeemish to some spankings as Alex was, Emily sent him downstairs before she did what she had to do.. he would not have liked witnessing this one, and she did not blame him. So soon after her deep mourning, even she did not wish to begin this terrible trial. What she wanted was to keep Kayla in her life; meaning she did not have a choice, in order to obey the Corrections Council and their law-leveraged disciplinary verdict. Standing at the side of her bed with Kayla's old, small nursery cane in hand, Emily bit her lip and raised up her arm and it's tool of pain to give her penitatas a rude awakening she wouldn't soon forget. "I hope you end up forgiving me for this Kayla. This is more extreme then you're used to.. ", Emily mumbled very quietly to herself, at a whisper's volume, to comfort herself and let the cane fly as it must. And it did. With a heavy swing from her arm the cane cut the air with a loud, sharp, 'woosh!', impacting the small fox across her partially unguarded backside as she slept on her belly, with her tail off to one side. The lash blew deep into the girl's tender skin, not affected by her fur in the least as the force drove it's destructive and painful power into muscle and flesh. The sound of the cane's hard strike was quiet compared to the delayed scream from it's unaware victim. Kayla had lurched her pelvis foreward in response to the hurt even before she awoke, legs kicking widly at the bed to get away from whatever was causing her this sudden, horrid pain. Emily swung the cane twice more as her daughter tried to flee the rod in her suddenly awake stupor, screaming as much as her injured chest and lungs could allow as her footpaws tried to scramble her up the bed and turn over. Her tail latched itself firm to her lashed backside, with her arms taking hold of one of her parents pillows as she rolled onto her hip and put her weight towards the wall all in a panicful shock. The fox's eyes looked up at Emily in surprise and fear, full of tears, as her lower lip and jaw quivered uncontrolably and she released whimperful sobs that further signified her shock, and the amount of pain caused. Not the sort of sight Emily wanted to create, but sometimes life does not provide choices. Shaking her head and sighing, Emily immediately set the cane on her nightstand beside the bed and set her focus on caring for her girl. "Sorry sweetie, it's only me", she let Kayla know as a reassurance, raising her hands to show she was no longer "armed" and did not mean any threat. Body trembling, Kayla sunk the side of her head into the pillow she was holding, seething through her teeth from the heavy pain that first lash had caused. The lash was strong enough to cause an instant welt, and the pain was not subsiding, even with her paws desperately trying to nurse under her tail, rubbing the welt with her furred fingers. Not that she was trying to be disobedient, she just didn't know what was going on. "W-what did you do that for?", Kayla spoke in a teary, worn voice, still in pain and shock. Even as she tried to calm herself, her legs and her tail kept quivering, with one paw defensively upon her rear. The pain didn't want to go away, with the pair of tears trailing down her orange cheekfur being of no help to relieve her sorrow. "That's how I was ordered to wake you up. The Corrections Council is run by some very cruel and methodical disciplinarians", Emily replied almost casually, slipping onto the bed with her hip to sit with her daughter. She wasn't about to alter her tone from anything other then normal.. it wouldn't help Kayla calm down much at all. Releasing her pillow, she crawled carefully to Emily's side and leaned again on her hip, tail pressed to her rear as she held onto her penitatas mother's side. "I did all I could to try and make this easier on you. Plenty of negotiating and bargaining with the council while they made these orders", she went on to discuss, wrapping an arm around her warm, fur covered Kayla. Even with the forelorn expression on her face from being harshly spanked awake, it was good to see her girl alive enough to cry. Kayla remained quiet for several moments, just to let her muscles loosten up and for the knot in her chest to be relieved. The pain in her rear wanted to keep the fox tearing, but she fought the urge to sob like the child she was. It was one hard lash, with two quick ones to follow.. just enough to make her feel like she had a line of fur ripped from her backside. "Home sweet home. I was.. starting to miss this.. ", Kayla looked up with a smile, dispite her eyes being wet and glazed, and her cheek muscles trying to make her frown. Somehow, Emily wasn't all too surprised to hear that. It was deffinately a 'Kayla' thing to say. "And I missed that cute look of your's", Emily said playfully, taking Kayla's black foxy nose between her thumb and index finger, to wiggle it slightly and play with it. Even got a giggle out of the fox.. she had missed that old loving attitude too. "Things really could have been worse. I tricked the council here and there by convincing them of things, even though half of them were mostly true. Top of the list is that you get to keep your three square meals a day, since you need it for your recovery. They wanted to deny you breakfast both these days. You also get to keep the fur on your butt.. I somehow convinced them that fur re-growth would take resources away from your injuries. I really don't want to use a dicipilator on you, ever. I know how much you value your fur, and I can't blame you. You're intended to have it. Some of the spankings they wanted done on you too, also sounded too stressful on your body.. so the punishments have been tailored to your injuries, so I don't hurt you more then is needed. They're still sadistic; at least a lot more then you're used to, but I don't have to punish you all day straight. You'll be able to handle it. Sort of", she went on into explaining while she idly played with Kayla's muzzle, trying to keep the subject light. Though, even she was forced to droop slightly at the end. There was only so much faux enthusiasm a motherly figure could create. Either way, the news, deep down inside, took a weight off Kayla's already tightened chest. Her mom stood up for her and her well being.. not to mention knowing she got out of some extra discipline was good news. "It's for the best mom. You tried, I'll just take what's left and leave it at that. I'll stay as still as I can for you", the young penitatas said to comfort her mother, as well as herself, as her head lowered and tucked into Emily's side, no longer looking up as she said it. It was a tough thing to know you'd be subjected to the worst punishment of your life, and a new level of pain not yet experienced. Her lungs felt worn, like she had been power walking for a week straight. In a way, it was true. That tissue was brand new, and regenerating itself took a massive amount of energy. Her body was still in much need of healing, and it would need even more once parts of her body were well red and welted. She was only fortunate it was her nursery cane used to wake her and not something more severe.. almost eight years of age, that cane's severity was less then what it used to be. It was used for basic infractions, with different impliments used for the heavier wrong-doings, like the junior cane her mother had recently added to her arsenal. During her mother's time of anger and relentless discipline, she got a taste of some harsh welts from that true child's cane. No one can say she doesn't pay for her mistakes. Being allowed to visit the bathroom after a quick snug from her mom, Kayla took the opportunity to wash up and buy herself some time, knowing the first real punishment of the day was being prepared while she was away. She had never seen her mother so regretful about doing her duty. Emily never minded spanking her or punishing her normally, or even seemed proud of it. All the fearful thoughts clouded the poor fox's mind as she stared into the bathroom mirror and washed her paws as slowly as she could, not know anymore if she did the right thing.. maybe she really could have saved her life and still did more to stop her captors. In the end she could only feel like she did the right thing, and this whole punishment was not fair. There, she said it - it wasn't fair! Kayla growled to herself and clenched her eyes, turning away from the mirror since her thoughts were upsetting her too much. This feeling of being cornered reminded her of why she became a malicious hacker in the first place, with the only difference being that her right from wrong was better then when she was a kindern. Being so frightened and trying to be mature as could be, holding back the tears of a seven year old, the older and wiser part of Kayla's mind wanted this over with. She could take it, bring it on! Though, as she entered her own room for the first time since arriving back home, she was forced to stare down all the objects and impliments that were going to take her to the next level of discomfort.. some more scary then usual. Wanting to get it over with or not, a doubt rose in the adolecent fox's mind if she really could take it like she thought. Laid on the end of her bed neatly, were most all of the things used to spank her with from a day to day basis, including the less common. Her full-sized paddle, a yardstick, a ruler, one of her mother's own belts, a small strap, her swatter paddle, that new junior cane, the three switches that were intended for yesterday; a heavy arsenal, for anyone of any age. Even her tail restraint was in the group. "Let me get right to the point for you, so you'll know why all of these are here", Emily said as she pulled out Kayla's desk chair and moved it to the end of Kayla's bed, where she took a seat, leaning foreward with her hands together to speak at eye level with her daughter, whom stood in front of her expecting the inevitable. Eye to eye, penitatas parent and penitatas. "Do you remember your very first spanking Kayla, when your dad and I brought you home after meeting you?", she asked, trying to keep her volume light, as to keep her girl from getting scared. She had every right to be scared - Emily knew what was in store the next two days. "The penitatas welcome spanking. I haven't forgotten.. let's you know where you are, for the first time", Kayla spoke with a mild sigh, lowering her eyes away with her detailed answer. For some reason, she was beginning to have a tough time focusing her eyes on her mother, even if Emily had good intentions. For the moment, the good times were over, and she had to play the role of the spankee. Kayla had to act tough on a constant basis for Maxwell and Tyson, leaving her calm and brave attitude supply in short demand. She just wanted a break, and that made Emily an adversary for the time being. "Well, my first order from the Corrections Council is to do your welcome spanking over again. They felt it would be suitably symbolic for you to experience that ritual again.. to remind you of why you are a penitatas, and to thrust a burst of discipline on you for what they concider a repeat crime, even if you were not charged with any crime. It's very hard for me to explain their reasonings Kayla, but they want to punish you again for the sake of making sure your days of hacking and evil have ended", Emily explained with difficulty, not sure how to get across why the Corrections Council would do this to her. No charges for comitting crimes against her will, but she was a penitatas when this all happened.. and that was excuse enough to instill a hard reminder into the adolecent criminal what was expected of her. "You might be the only penitatas to have ever been sentenced by the council to have two welcome spankings", she added after a moment of intense silence, watching her furry girl as her head and ears slowly sunk and grew limp. It looked like Kayla was trying to keep her jaw from quivering, and that tense feeling in her chest from turning into a sob. "I did the best I could.. but if they're scared I may not be learning my lesson about hacking, just prove them wrong ma'.. ", Kayla spoke stiffly, clenching her paws and looking down to hide the fact she was essentially crying in fear and sorrow, dispite her brave words to have the punishment go on. For one of the few times in her life as a penitatas, her bare fur made her feel vulnerable. Something terrible was coming and there was nothing she could do to protect her tender, child's hind from the sentence she found to be unfair and incorrect. For someone who was normally acceptant of discipline, she could not bring forth that feeling this time. Her guilt and good nature made her repentant when she did something wrong, but when she felt she was right, the tables had been turned. Emily could do nothing more then pat her lap as a gesture for Kayla to climb up and raise her tail, to grant her girl's wish and get this over with. "Just like the first time Kayla, but from most of the impliments in the house.. five strokes from each. Including my hand, it comes to one hundred and five swats. Stay still as well as you can, these swats are a lot more intense. I can't get leverage when you're over my lap though, so it's not going to be full-force. I just need to be careful to not injure you, and this will still be the worst punishment you have ever gotten lil' fox.. ", Kayla heard from above, as she climbed up carefully onto Emily's waiting lap, positioning herself as needed. This was going to be an extreme spanking, and even if it was indeed the worst she's ever gotten.. she still had plenty of other spankings and punishments to deal with over the course of two days. It instilled Kayla with horror and phantom-pains down her legs, knowing she was going to be mauled by all the tools beside her. She just tried not to imagine the cuts and blisters she was certain to experience for the very first time. The smooth and cool feeling of her tail restraint's collar appeared around her neck as it was fastened, and the short line was attached to her tail, keeping her tail up out of the way entirely. Kayla's cloudy eyes stared into the wall across from her bed, looking at the color and texture she was familiar with while playing. The thoughts of being comfortable and happy in her bed made the fox finally release her tears, sputtering out a short series of whimpering sobs, gripping Emily's pantleg as she clenched her eyes shut and started to cry. Concidering Emily was just about to drop the first swat on Kayla's backside from her open hand, it made her choke and lower her hand for a moment, stroking her daughter's restrained tail instead. "You've gotten so much bigger then when you were the first time I did this. I don't want to cause you this much harm, but it's my duty. Remember, you're my furry blessing", she reminded Kayla, to somehow help her sorrowful charge know that she herself held no malice. Kayla couldn't find it in her to reply, crying away even before the first blow was struck. Times like this, her young mind's urge to cry was too strong for her to supress, sounding ever so forelorn and frightened. Emily did not know what to do besides raise her right hand and take aim, holding her open hand in the air still, before flinging it downward in a sudden motion. The solid smack of Emily's hand bit into the tender nerves that litter her adolescent Aspatrian backside, making Kayla's back arch in a wince. It was nothing more then a warm up for the girl, able to handle a simple five swats. Even so, each pop that sounded through the room was quickly followed by yet another, with all five from her mother's hand blazing pain through her nursery cane welt and adding a warming sensation to the rest of the sting jumping across her skin and the base of each strand of soft orange fur. After the five quickly came and went, Kayla's body seemed to untense only slightly against Emily's lap, with the sound of her crying changing a bit to add a couple of higher pitched whines between sobs. Her mother looking down at Kayla's closed, clenched eyes and the tears forming along those tight lids made her hesitate, but the sound in Kayla's forlorn crying meant she expected more to come quickly. As to not throw Kayla off guard by slowing down at this point, that same hand reached over towards the bed and slipped the handle of Kayla's paddle into her grip. The paint on the side of the paddle used for swatting was growing dull, having been used so many times. Memories filled the older woman's mind as she raised the paddle and swung nearly in the same instant, not being at all methodical with this tool. The sudden jolt from the fox was stronger, with the girl's maw opening in a small cry, back arching from the pain that blazed through her skin and below. Each loud smack of the wooden device against Kayla seemed to make her sway forward and intensify her reactions. Swat five of the paddle had the fox's legs shifting, and her sobbing sharp and pronounced. Already sounded like she was hurting, rolling out a quiet, almost canine whimper a moment after the paddle was finished with it's work. "You'll make it", Emily spoke as somber encouragement, even though there was a bit of a stern tone to her voice. It came naturally with the situation. Taking the yardstick into hand next, she eyed the messy fur of Kayla's rear caused by her quick swats with her hand, then the paddle. As extensive as this punishment was going to be, she could not focus only on the little fox's rear for discipline. She may not appreciate that her backside was to recieve a reprieve, head drooping over Emily's leg with tears slowly trailing down her muzzle, but it would help in the long run. Once the yardstick cut the air only a foot or so above it's target, it barely had time to make a mid-pitched sound before the much sharper and louder crack resonated through the air and down poor Kayla's leg. The wooden tool slapped harshly at the base of Kayla's leg, and as the fox cried a little more desperately from the sharper pain, lower jaw shaking, the yardstick was already biting another red stripe across both of her thighs. The babyfat on her legs was very minimal, but that did not stop the area around the swat from quivering from the sheer force of the quick slaps as they trailed down her thighs. Kayla's footpaws latched onto the end of her bed, almost pressing against it as the third and forth swats went lower, towards her knees, till her mother intervened. "Put your legs back down", Emily was forced to order, needing more cooperation then Kayla's little legs trying to stiffen up and limit her swing radius. The fox's sharp cries and sniffles didn't change, sputtering and trying to keep her head down. Her legs shook slightly as they lowered back to a normal, over the lap position. With no further wait, as soon as Kayla was in the position she wanted, the yardstick found it's last mark, painting a red stripe across the backs of both Kayla's knees. The wooden instrument's sting blazed across the sensitive skin and it's thin fur - a place where it was uncommon to recieve a swat. It was enough to get Kayla's head to lift, allowing Emily to see the girl's bare canine teeth, and how tightly they were grinding from the pain. She knew that must have stung badly, using such a hard swat across her knee hollows. The girl's muzzle twitched, and the mother thought she could just barely hear something. "Did you say something?", she had asked curiously and somberly, as she replaced the yardstick with the ruler, it's smaller counterpart. In actuality she wished to rub the fox's rear and legs to help dull some of the hurt, but she could not, as the ruler's smooth, cool surface rested on Kayla's hip to wait for a reply. Kayla's eyes opened to watery slits, as she looked over her shoulder with a look Emily was not familiar with. Her muzzle was curled in a sneer of sorts, teeth showing. While in pain, Kayla did look like this, but this was not just pain, with this much emphisis. She stayed with that look, trying to meet her mother's eyes in a moment of discipline-induced courage. "This isn't fair!", Kayla cried out defiantly, looking and sounding upset, and angry. In her state, her paws were clasped to Emily's pantleg just to keep from grasping her legs to rub out the yardstick's furious burn. The teary words sank Emily's heart into her belly, seeing her girl quiver and sputter from both mental and physical anguish. Kayla felt she had to say it, there wasn't any hiding it or quietly taking it. It hurt too much! She didn't deserve this! The older woman had to look away slightly, pressing the ruler a touch harder into the younger girl's hip. "I'm sorry Kayla, but I can't let you delay your discipline. This is very serious, and during your discipline, I also cannot allow you to take that tone with me. I will continue, for your own good", Emily was forced to speak more coldly, to remind the fox of what was at stake, and her duties had to be primary. She loved Kayla, and she and Alex had discussed her own behavior only a day ago. Trying to balance the discipline with the love. Both duties as a penitatas parent were of the utmost importance. During a perscribed and by-law ordered punishment, there is only one duty to perform. Emily had to accept that even if she wished to be kind, her old attitude that she had taken with Kayla, the stern and harsh one, was still neccessary at times. Kayla had to learn her lessons and control herself. Fighting, hacking, rash behavior, right down to that look she had given her during a highly ritualized punishment. The fox knew better, but despite that, and her urge to pull through, she still let other things invade her judgement. No, this punishment wasn't fair - but it would go on! Kayla did not have enough time to fully open her maw and eyes in shock, before the next tool of discipline fired a small salvo of heavy discomfort across her rear. It was all so fast and hard, Kayla's arms pushed up to arch her back further then each of the spankings before this, raising her head and letting out a yell of sorts before falling with a deeper, more choked cry. Emily had taken the ruler and smacked it as quickly and as hard as she could across her girl's tender cane welt, not even taking a full two seconds. Legs lightly kicking as the girl tried to catch her breath, the grip on Emily's pants seemed to feel tighter. This was an attitude the penitatas mother side of Emily could not allow. "We can discuss the fairness once we're done. It's things like that.. They help to cause you to get in trouble so much. You're not as happy as you used to be, which is understandable concidering the intensity of what has been going on", Emily went on to speak, halfway between a scold and a tone of advice. The growl of response of the smaller girl was quiet, and solumn. This punishment was getting Kayla to listen, and if there had been a communication failure between the two, Emily was going to use the Council's long discipline session to make the fox listen. All the while, her hand was dropping the ruler and taking up her belt, with the metal part jingling as she got the belt into a classic loop. Taking the belt back, she waited till the leathery, hard object tapped her back before swinging it all the way around, without any further delay. The belt made a very loud crack, smacking across the lower portion of the fox's battered rear. The pain was the most intense yet, getting an instant kick from the fox's legs, and a screech. 'Whap!', rang out again, and again, along with the fleshy whipping sound Kayla's own body made upon impact. All across her rear, with each blow raising Kayla's head a little higher. The final swat had her crying and squirming desperately, sobbing very hard from what Emily could feel from the movement against her lap. The fox was by no means limp yet, with a bit of fight in her. Emily simply imagined this 'fight' she felt, was that part of Kayla that was not sorry for the things she had done. "I am sorry for my own actions. You were right when you had told Ninne the way I was acting wasn't quite me. At times, it felt like I was looking for reasons to discipline you. I was being spiteful because of your own actions", concluded Emily's opening statement, with heavy emphisis on 'your', referring to the things Kayla herself was doing as she readied the small strap in her hand, gripping it's black handle and testing the short strap's whippy qualities. "You were very brash, if not increasingly rude and defiant. You began doing things that were the noble you, with underlying qualities that could not be ignored. Breaking the law, beating people up, and showing disrespect", she went on to say sternly, surprised at where her hard words were coming from. She looked at the fox in her lap, feeling the sad girl's pain and ache. This was part of her family even, someone she had grown to love and care for. She didn't wish to do what she was instructed, but in this very moment, she felt no remorse in spanking Kayla further despite all that pain. It wasn't even about doing her duty for the Corrections Council. It suddenly felt like.. maybe Kayla did need to hear this, and feel this. Her disciplinary sense and parental sense were one. The small strap's firm, sting laiden blows were only insult to injury after the belting Kayla's rear had recieved, but they again came with speed, and this time, determination and precision. Each lash from the black strap was neatly below the last, placing four spanks right down her rear, as Emily added the harsh words she wanted to let out. "I felt sorry for my actions, and you need to feel sorry for your own!", all came out before the last, harsh swing of the little strap went clear across the fox's tailhole at the base of her shaking tail. Her body was stiff from tension, squeeling in her adolescence as the tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to look back over her shoulder. At this point, from her mother's hard swats, she could no longer bare her teeth even if she wanted to, even if it looked like her muzzle was trying. Her lower jaw didn't move much, muscles so stuck in her strong sobbing and lower lip's quivering. "But!-.. I-I.. do!", Kayla had trouble speaking, crying as much as she was. It made her chest hurt to try and defend herself mentally while taking the physical hurt. The lump of guilt was there, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. What did her mother mean? Of course she was sorry! Her thoughts were interrupted by her own wince and closing of her eyes, dropping another set of tears from the sudden bracing herself as she saw her small swatter paddle reach for the air out of the corner of her tear clouded eye. Her body seemed to curl in Emily's lap from the mere two smacks Emily drilled in to both cheeks of the fox's rear. "Think harder Kayla. You really aren't acting like you're sorry. You're being selective about what you feel bad for", Emily accused, before giving Kayla three more heavy cracks from the small swatter paddle - as hard as she could, as soon as it looked like Kayla was going to open her mouth and respond so quickly without giving her words thought. Emily wished it didn't have to be this way, but as strong as Kayla's new 'barrier' of sorts was, this was the only way she would listen. The three swats around her rear, as sudden as they were, got the fox to let out an embarassing howl, with the fox-like cry trailing off at the end as it broke up and she choked on her own saliva and crying, trying to breathe. Her head hung more, and it took some moments to respond, ears pressed firm to her head, and not only because of the pain. "A-am not!.. I'm not Packet.. Storm anymore.. momma! You.. k-know that better.. then anyone..", Kayla cried out defensively, still trying to look over her shoulder. It was hard to speak over her tears, taking a high-pitched gasping breath every few words in her crying. Emily shook her head at Kayla, making sure the fox saw it. "You're the one who just mentioned hacking. I didn't even say what you were being selective about", came Emily's calm and nearly matter-of-fact reply, as she set the swatter paddle down and placed her open hand upon Kayla's backside, beneath her well restrained tail. Kayla's hips continued to squirm even while she wasn't being spanked, due to the pain she was in. The heat eminating through the fox's fur was intense, and the mother felt every welt she inflicted. Her skin felt firm and swollen, and she could see blood colored marks where the swatting had been intense. Even found the girl's very first blister, caused by the swatter paddle, sitting near the center of her rear where the slap of the thin wood must have been strong enough to damage the skin. This was the most disciplinary pain the little Aspatrian had ever been in, but she was still sobbing and trying to speak. That 'fight' in her was strong. "I did all I could!", Kayla almost screamed, just to get it in before she choked on her words, and because of the burning sting that was only getting worse the more she didn't rub her 'wounds'. Her paws were shaking violently they were so firmly clasped to her mother's pants, to quell the urge to touch her rear. "You said!.. You said I did.. the right thing too!", she cried forlornly, unable to keep her head up as much. Listening to the words made Emily's hand slide onto the bed's soft covers, and wrap her fingers around the wood that was Kayla's new junior cane. It was a better match for Kayla's age, and her new most hated implement. This would shut her little one down. Before uttering another word, Emily placed the cane in position.. right against the base of Kayla's rear; the tiny crease where her leg began. With a sharp reel backwards, she swung the cane with force, blazing a powerful lash right where she had intended. The young fox howled - 'arrroooo!', her cry piercing louder the even the cane's, as she jumped forward in Emily's lap and bent her knees, bringing her footpaws into the air from the massive pain. She couldn't keep her paws where they were, but they never made it to her rear. She needed them for balance, so they ended up grasping Emily's leg once again. It brought on bawling so hard she was coughing. Emily waited a moment before speaking again, hoping she was drilling deep into her daughter's barrier. This was hard, but it would soon be over. "You did, sweetie", was the unexpected, almost light response. Emily was feeling her groove, and her comfort in what she was doing was even making her smile. Right or wrong, this was her duty, and her belief, and she stood behind it. "But honestly, you don't feel bad about it. Human or not, maybe I've learned to see through you a little", came the more riddle-like and harsh response, referring to Kayla's own ability to read into humans, even if Emily's tone didn't change. Rubbing the thicker cane by the base of the fox's tail, it made the little one squirm before the lash came, causing another violent jump and cry. The sting, burn, ache; all so intense on an already beaten rear. Even the fox's nose was running, and a bit of spittle ran down her foxy chin as she bawled. Left paw trying to reach her rear to grasp the welt, Emily only held that paw's wrist calmly, and directed back towards Kayla's front, resuming the spanking, as well as her words. "You think so little of your own abilities. While you regret your past, you continue to let it follow and haunt you. Hacking is still nothing to you, to the extent you would willingly use it again, and break the law, when you broke into a room in your school and violated their computer network. That when you want something bad enough, or feel enough anger towards something, you would take it with force, like you did with Ashley", Emily went deeper into, her scolding drilling holes in the young charge's spirit while the cane again aimed, and lashed itself between her nursery cane's welt, and the thick fresh one at the base of her rear. Instead of locking up, Kayla's legs thrashed and her crying intensified. "But those things, you can live with. You feel bad for what you've done, but not the acts themselves. For someone who wasn't Packet-Storm, she did a fine job breaking into her school's computer system. No one forced you to do that, and you could have gotten away with it too. You never would have told me about it either. It would have been your dirty secret. Look at how comfortable you were with it!", immediately came the harsher words, and the cane's press to the spot between the cane welt in the center of her rear from earlier, and the new one at the top, that crossed a portion of her tailhole. Emily provided her daughter yet another merciless lash. The lump in her own chest was getting worse. Inflicting this much pain, and being this harsh verbally.. her combined parental sense ordered her on. Swat number four was next... "Kayla Ackart. You are someone that others look up to. Everyone. But what makes you also lash out at me? You're a repentant girl, honored to be alive and get a second chance to be good. You disobey things so frequently now, from what has happened, right down to your behavior here at home. Do you see why I had eventually became so strict? It's not just because I was being cold, and not doing my job as a caretaker, but because you're not as infallible as you seem to feel you are. You make mistakes Kayla. They can often be severe", burned into the fox's folded back ears, before the cane burned it's own message into her upper thighs, leaving it's mark and horrible sting. Kayla was barely holding still, crying as hard as she was, but as much as her little form shook, Emily knew she was listening. Each time she spoke, the girl lowered her head back down. "I hope you're listening, because this part is the most important. It will also hurt the most, my furry angel, and I'm sorry. But you have forgotten you're a penitatas, and just what that means. It doesn't just mean you get disciplined, and it doesn't just mean you have me to take care of you. It's both! There are rules you must follow, even if you have grown tired of them. You're not six anymore, you're nearly eight! You even believe in discipline, because you use it as well when it comes to babysitting! Once upon a time you accepted an adult's orders and rules, and were a very sorry little girl when you broke them. Now you've grown, and there are things you don't seem sorry for, and you don't realise it hurts others", Emily spoke a lot more softly, before pausing and readying her cane. It looked as if Kayla would cry out and howl for this punishment to end the way she snapped her head around with a look of fearful panic, but the final lash of the cane upon her badly hurting rear shot her muzzle open.. remaining silent till she could cry out. Her throat hurt and she was hoarse, laying limply now over Emily's lap. The mother was swatting and pulling at her last bits of negative spirit. Come now Kayla, open up! "Which brings me to just what those are. You say you feel bad for your acts, but you don't seem sorry for something you were comfortable with doing. You picked it right up after all this time, and now, because of the actions of two dangerous men upon you, you're where you are now. The Corrections Council wants to make sure I give you your Christmas punishment, plus what else is neccessary. It was a horrible thing for them to do. But I will do it. For you. Why? Because I know I'll do it right, and I have my good intentions. I love you, and your well being, and future, are important. I will use this time for your own good", Emily decided to speak slowly, as it looked like Kayla needed some time to breathe, crying and trying to get air the way she was. Through her fur, her face looked red. Her eyes could not look up at Emily, after all the things she had said. It took some moments to get words out, but Kayla.. she.. she had to defend herself! "Please Emily! I didn't.. didn't mean to hurt anyone!", Kayla cried aloud, holding her shaking paws loosely over her eyes and muzzle. This looked like it was hurting her so much, it was hard for Emily to go on. "Then say something less generic and broad. Say you're sorry for your actions; each and every one of them. You're punished for anything and everything you do Kayla, not just the ones you're comfortable with agreeing with", Emily was prompt in responding with, placing her right paw upon Kayla's heaving back. She would stop her spanking long enough for Kayla to respond. It was hard for the girl. This wasn't something easy. "I'm.. sorry I hurt you", Kayla began after a pause, loostening up the lump in Emily's chest. It seemed the fox was getting somewhere. She understood what she was talking about. "I did a lot of things.. that wasn't right and.. I got in trouble with a lot of people, and you. But I never said I.. I was.. sorry for disappointing you, and doing that to you. But! I am!.. What Ninne told you was my fr-.. frustrated thoughts. Honest", Kayla continued blubbering as she tried to get the words out. She hated saying it, because it was true. Kayla always had the notion there was a reason her mother was being strict, she had her senses to attest to that. But she acted the ways she was, and when all was said and done, she was only sorry for what she did. Her mother never did get anything more then that, even as horrible as it must have seemed she was acting. The fox went on tearily, till Emily lightly hushed her, taking the first of the three switches into her hand. Even her hand felt a bit sore at this point, and she was not going to lash the switches like she would a cane. For the sake of speed and making this shorter for her daughter, Emily thwapped the switch quickly down the fox's rear-end. One, two, three, four, five! The switch made small, 'thick!' sounds against fur and flesh, crossing every cane welt she had already recieved. A horrible, explosive pain that had the fox howling again, before Emily allowed her to rest again. "You're getting there honey. Do you understand now? You're a good girl, but you still have a long ways to go. All the little things you do wrong, do add up. Even things with good intentions can land you in hot water. Now you've gone and done something as horrible as hacking Deltastar and Starfleet a second time. While the circumstances are different, and the discipline is not entirely fair, it is not like you to sneer at me, and behave the way you are. It's also not right, and there are other things you need to feel sorry for too. I will give you another chance to answer", Emily went into speaking, making sure to speak over the young fox's cries and tearfully sharp whimpers. The limp fox spoke towards the ground over her mother's lap, tears meeting upon her ebony nose before falling to the carpet below. She just thought this would be a spanking she had to endure. This was more interactive then she bargained for. "I'll..! Try to behave b-better. I didn't mean to act like I was! While I was gone, I thought about everyone, and I cried! I missed you! I hated what I did! A-and.. I hate what it was that I did too! I don't want to be an evil person, but it's so ha-hard! You.. you read my folder. You know the things I think about myself, and the trouble I have with what I used to do. It was my life! Momma, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!", Kayla painfully went through sharply, enduring how much it hurt as she bawled. "I'm sorry I use my knowledge the way I do. I'm sorry for Starfleet and Deltastar. I'm sure I could have done less for Maxwell and Tyson, but it was all so easy for me to do what I was doing. This is all my fault, a-and.. I haven't been able to give it up so easily! There, I said it! I, I.. failed!", finally came the hard truth. The barrier broke and came crumbling down, symbolized by the impact of tears against the soft carpet. Hacking was her life, and it never really did go away. For Emily, it was like time had stopped for a moment. This was all horrible, and severe, but she felt good on the inside. She took a punishment she didn't wish to perform and helped her little penitatas. But while the fox sobbed and spoke, she had already fetched the next switch. After a moment, the switch appeared against the base of her rear, making her whine aloud and tense up tight, as she knew Emily was about to swing. And she did. The five lashes of the second switch were hard and painful, going right down her legs like the first one had gone down her backside. So that was it. Kayla's inner guilt and behavioral issues were surfacing. Her dormant 'bad side' had quietly gotten control of portions of her judgement, and molded the way she had thought over time. Emily still felt as if she had some of the blame, and she did to an extent. Kayla had felt so lonely in some of her plights, she was eventually left to her own devices. When it came down to it, her old ways came right back. When it wasn't convenient for her to behave, she simply did not. It is not a penitatas' place to decide what is right and wrong, and be repentant only for the things they choose. Kayla needed to obey, behave, and feel sorry for each wrong doing. She needed to feel sorry for every Deltastar employee, every one she hurt, and for the fact she simply did what she did. She needed to feel sorry for her behavior, and look past this punishment weekend as being a part of her doing something to survive. This two day ordeal was because she was a penitatas, and had comitted wrong doings she needed to be reminded of are still wrong. Kayla understood, finally. "Admitting you're not perfect sweetie doesn't make you bad. You're allowed to have issues with letting go of your past life. That is what your father and I are here for. I am still going to teach you right from wrong, and steer you the right direction. Your feelings don't have to be a dirty secret, and you don't have to act out because you're frustrated. You're growing up, and things are going to be different as you do. You're going to have your phases, and your mistakes. Accept them, and their consequences. I miss my old Kayla, the one with a bright face, and confidence. You didn't question yourself when you were younger, not like this", Emily said with a sigh, and a sort of airy happiness. She was proud to have gotten somewhere with her daughter. She found her Kayla. That open little girl. She must have been so scared of going back to her criminal days, and clearly scared of the hurt that would ensue. Kayla continued her tears, though more lightly. The pain flooding down her legs and up her spine was so intense, she could do little more. "Then I promise to not use the folder anymore. I will.. talk about what I used to do. I won't try to hide away my hacking anymore. I didn't mean to snap before, it's just.. the Corrections Council is wrong. I wanted life back the way it was. Without your guidance, I was lost. I'll do anything you tell me to!", Kayla sobbed as the kit she was, taking a better hold of her mother's leg. There was another switch, and the very last spanking she would recieve. She owed it to her mother for all the trouble she's caused, unintentionally and simply because she became irritated with following her mother's rules. All the police they have had to speak with, about her hacking, Dianne, her own kidnapping. Emily has endured hardships, and look at all she is trying to do! It didn't take much thought for Kayla to feel guilty; for everything. No penitatas wishes harm upon themself. Even Kayla doesn't like her swattings. But that is her life, and she was ready to accept it again. She felt foolish. "Finish. Swing like I deserve it", the poor fox sobbed out of guilt. No longer did she hide those feelings away. Emily felt that old feeling of pride, from back when Kayla was new to her home. The penitatas that misbehaved a decent amount, but took her punishments and actually felt bad for the things she did. "That's my Kayla alright. Let's get this Council nonsense out of the way. It's the price we pay", was the response as her mother reached again for the bed, and took the last switch into her hand. Finally paying attention to her swatting again, Emily took note what kind of switch it was; apple. She didn't even notice what the previous two were, she was so engrossed in the fox's discipline and internal issues. One, two, three, four, five! Hard, and slightly slower then the last two switches, she again allowed the stick to whip her daughter across her other marks, crossing the lines and making discolored, partial blisters where the two welts met. With one final shrill canid howl, it was over. *** Three hours passed before the fox had known it. After her first swatting, she was permitted a bowl of cereal, her medicine, and a seat in the corner. Sitting was very difficult, and it did make her cry at first, even if it was just a wooden dinning room chair and not her punishment stool. Getting to sit quietly by herself, leaning back with her arms crossed, being tucked tightly in the corner by the kitchen was not so bad. She needed time to think, even if her backside was distracting from that. She never had to sit on a blister before, much less cane welts like that. Over a hundred swats.. Kayla couldn't believe it. All of her mother's words were also so sudden. She really was never mad at her mom.. directly anyway. Still felt bad for nearly growling at her though, and doing what she did. The fox felt like a jerk, and still thought Ninne was as well for revealing so many secrets of her's at once. She made this very difficult. Now Kayla felt small and inferior. What was once her personal feelings were someone else's knowledge, and her battle against her old ways were revealed. She never wanted to admit she was a hacker at heart, and leaving the only thing she never knew wasn't that simple. Made her feel weak, and like a bad person. All those people she hurt! Damn Maxwell, and fucking Tyson! Kayla bared her teeth to the empty corner, holding back a snarl. Her eyes were bloodshot from her crying, and her voice broken from howling. Even her fur looked like a mess from all the things swatted against it. Rear, thighs, the backs of her knees pressing against the edge of the chair - all hurt. That was all so hard. How poorly her mother must have thought of her. She never realised what she was doing. Footpaws rubbing against themselves, Kayla let out a sniffle after some time. She didn't know how long she had been there till that three hour mark, when the clock in the kitchen gave a beep - the sign she was allowed to get up. At last! She didn't miss the corner that badly; she was already well aquainted with it. Getting off the chair was a brief chore, just getting one footpaw on the floor first, then slipping around the wooden chair. Once up, she saw neither of her parents around.. thus using the moment to rub the ache out of her rear from sitting, running her fingers through her fur. It felt so grotesque, each and every hot, wrinkled welt and wound. The fox frowned and looked behind herself, to look at her backside if she could, shifting her tail to her other side. Couldn't see much of anything, so Kayla sighed out of defeat and looked back out across the dinning room, into the living room and kitchen. The light coming in from the windows, the silence, the clean air. Kayla realised this was the first time she was free since being kidnapped. No longer trapped in a hospital bed, or in her mother's disciplinary care, she was free to move around as she pleased. Was enough to make her smile, even after what she had been through, and what was on her mind. The trust she would have to earn back from her mother, Ninne's nonsense, living life past what she had done, and the damage she had caused. In no hurry, the child took the chair she had in the corner and slid it back where it belonged at the dinner table, curious as to where her parents were. The news chip wasn't on the table as it normally was; likely not wishing her to see it. In fact, the table was bare. They did say she was allowed out of the corner at noon, right? Passing slowly into the living room, it brought on a strong sense of 'home'. The sofa where so many disciplinary sessions were carried out, the corner she was made to stand in, the holo, the computer she loved and adored. The smells seemed nearly new, after coming so close to death so far away from it. That someone wanted to take this away from her, and rob her of her senses and joys forever. Kayla didn't notice she was clutching her fists, even as her muzzle smiled lightly. In her bare fur, sporting severe marks across her pelt on a day this horrible, it was indeed like her old self that she would find the bright side and enjoy living. Trying not to feel the fear, and taking it as it came, because that was how it went. Emily was not just Emily; she was mom. Her parents were the authority figures she needed to not only obey, but show her respect and try not to disappoint. At almost eight, she had to reach up and rub behind her once broken ear and stroke it, thinking to herself she was still a kid. Adult in ability and memory, but not everything had caught up yet. She really was not infallible. Though in her quiet wandering, stepping around and taking in her thoughts, a strange sight caught her attention. A neatly wrapped box with a red bow, sat upon the first step of the stairs, once she walked across the living room to look up them and try to listen for her parents. Lifting the gift into her small, delicate paws, Kayla held it and read it's tag. It was for her! One of her Christmas presents she was never here to open. Stroking the smooth wrapping with her furred fingers, she began to look around again for her parents, finding this an odd place to find something like this. But a grin shortly followed, figuring it was on the stairs for a reason. Keeping it held, she made a more energetic clammer up the stairs, relying on her medicine to keep her breath. With a tiny giggle of amusement and delight, once she peered her head around the corner at the top of the stairs, she saw another present. It sat in the open doorway of her room, which also answered where her parents had disappeared too. Couldn't keep a secret from Kayla's trained ears, as they pivoted around listening to the small sounds of movement. Just to mess with Emily and Alex, she knelt down quietly on her paws and knees beside her door, careful not to disturb her own backside. It hurt all the time, so her moving wasn't changing that much. Sending a paw out, she took the present by the bow, dragging it across the carpet till it was with her, and likely no longer in her parent's sight; likely not what they expected, thinking she would appear in the doorway. Kayla stayed where she was, snickering and trying to listen for any sounds of confusion. "You can sneak away with that, we'll just keep the one in here to ourselves", came the clearly amused voice of her father. He found Kayla to be a light hearted person, and this was something he certainly missed. Even her childish antics were a spice to his day. Kayla got up using the wall as support, walking into her room with an almost bashful smile, with the two presents in her arms. She wasn't expecting her parents to play with her on a day of such harsh punishment, and after what she had done. Emily and Alex stood across the room from the enterance to her room, with her dad sitting on the end of her bed where the implements of her last punishment once resided. They had placed the chair back where it was, and the room back to a comfortable air. "Thank you guys!", Kayla thanked with a playful motion in her hips, not quite standing still on her own two feet. It was exciting to think she hadn't missed out on the good side of Christmas. Her parents could have thrown these things away when they heard of the Deltastar robbery, but here they were. "Just happy to have you home Kayla. Your mother was worried sick, and for the moment, we have enough time to ourselves to spend it on 'nicer' matters", Alex was the first to respond, sounding calm and relieved. He wasn't at all comfortable with what the Corrections Council ordered, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to participate in it, at least the way his wife was. "We haven't gotten to see you without some sort of restriction since you've gotten back. If you don't count what I just did to you, you're looking better then you did yesterday", Emily finally got to speak lightly, wanting to talk about what Kayla missed out on as she knelt down and handed the fox her third and final gift. "I kept Melissa with me the entire time you were gone. We didn't take your kidnapping very well, and if it means anything, we do forgive you for the things you were made to do. Today is going to be hard on us both", she went on to say, placing a her right hand on Kayla's left cheek to meet her young charge eye to eye. After her harsh words, Emily felt it neccessary to say the other words that wanted to come out. The fox nodded her head, looking cheerful with her child-like resiliancy. "I'm sorry for everything. I mean it too - everything. Didn't mean to take you for granted momma, and you too dad", Kayla replied with her young voice, looking first at Emily, before turning her gaze towards her left, to give Alex his own part of her appology. She wanted to clear the air, and let them know they were appreciated. Also wanted to let her mother know she would try and be more cooperative and obedient, as her gaze turned back to Emily. The two's eyes met and locked, even if Kayla's head was lower, and her look slightly more somber. If anything, it looked to the mother like her daughter was feeling sheepish about things. Understandable, she did rip into her girl verbally, and trash a portion of her defenses that kept her from dealing with a few truths. "I will be good, I promise. Not just when I want to be, but when you need me to be, and tell me to be. And.. I'll stop trying to hide my problems. The knowledge that lets me do what I do will never go away, so I need to learn self-control", she then ended with a more solumn tone, lowering her head further and breaking her eye contact. Emily could tell her little penitatas felt terrible. She had comitted so many atrocities during her life, the guilt she must have felt had to be great. Picking up the adolescent Aspatrian's head by placing her left hand under her muzzle, Emily stroked through the fox's thick fur atop her head, between her two erect ears. Kayla's somewhat bloodshot eyes glistened, and she could tell her daughter really was sorry. They both were able to overcome what was causing tensions in their lives, together. The fox's regretful expression made the mother smile. Kayla could learn, and she would. Her skills could be used for good, or bad, and her behavior can easily be swayed at times. It was her job to continue Kayla's learning, through her soft parenting, and from her firm hand. "You will be just fine honey. The next two days can be devoted to starting those lessons. This doesn't have to be the Corrections Council's time; it's still ours", the mother said as she scratched the top of Kayla's head. No sense in making the girl feel bad even while she's holding Christmas presents. "Go on, open your presents. You still deserve them. We've been waiting for you to open them since the other day!", Emily encouraged with pep in her voice, as cozy with the fox's behavior as she could be. That smile crept right back across the orange fox's muzzle, as she got down onto her knees to open her gifts, tail laid beneath her legs as a natural reaction from her rear's discomfort. On the floor she played upon, the family was again whole. Piece by piece, some portions of Kayla's life became warm again. Opening her gifts with her family, Kayla didn't much take her time with her claws as she normally had in cutting the gift wrap. With eagarness, Kayla and dug her claws into the wrapping and ripped it right apart with a gleeful pull. Her paws held each Christmas present proudly, with matters feeling normal, even if just for a while. The laughter was soft, and the words positive, with a note of their underlying tensions getting through only from time to time. They had a lot to do today, and matters on their minds. The grand gift of this year was one Kayla had trouble putting down. She had gotten her own datapad! Well, sort of. A datapad was a bit much for a child, leaving Kayla with a small, pink datapad with more limited function. Was too much of a luxury item for a Penitatas to have a real one, with this one being intended for pocket use. The pink color, meant for a young girl of her age, was indeed embarassing but the love was certainly there. Naturally, the two parents had to watch Kayla fool with it briefly, thumbing through what it came with pre-loaded. Emily soon sent the family down stairs for lunch, with the next punishment slowly impending. She never mentioned it with her own words, allowing Kayla's young mind to get lost in what she was doing, to have some happy time to herself. Her age provided her a shorter attention span, which was proving to be comforting at the moment. Leaving her other gifts upstairs since she couldn't wear them; a new pair of jeans that fit better, and other articles of clothing, the girl settled herself in at the table and played with her new toy, as well as Alex, till lunch was finished. Was enough to make her feel like she was sitting on many inflamed mosquito-bites, even if the time itself was very pleasant, smiling and talking to Alex and Emily like a family would while she eagarly filled her malnurished belly. She tried to push past the harsh amounts of pain and limit her movements, playing a game with her father by sliding the child's version of a datapad back and forth across the flat surface of the table. However, their fun could not last forever. As much pain as Kayla was already in, a pain they could see visibly from the occasional curl of her muzzle and cringe, this was not over. Emily swore to herself, and Kayla, as she watched her husband and young charge make the best of things, that this ordeal with the Corrections Council wouldn't destroy her loving spirit. While her daughter had her head down, poking at the screen of the datapad and digging deeper into it as she knew how, Emily raised her right hand slightly. Enough to catch Alex's attention away from Kayla, with a flick of her fingers away from the room to tell him he should disappear for the moment. This was another one she figured it would be best if he didn't participate in, and she wanted it to be just her and Kayla. Alex's expression was quick to change, as if it was a jolt to him. Made him wonder if this was the feeling Kayla got each time something was sprung on her. It took aquired work like that to not tip off the fox's senses, but as she was distracted, it was possible, allowing Alex to leave the table quietly. That, Kayla did notice after a moment, looking up to seeing him step away from the table, despite the fact they were playing only moments ago. Turning her head towards her mother, the look upon her face was lighter, still filled with her happiness, even if something else had intruded. Emily didn't need to speak to tell her girl it was that time once more. Gulping, the the fox's orange paws slid the datapad away from herself with the tips of her fingers, looking down at it and waiting for the neccessary orders. She looked tired, and it was only the middle of her day. Now didn't seem the time to drill into her girl too hard, but maybe make this easier. "You made a lot headway this morning, Kayla. Made me proud, some of the things you finally came out and said. So, you really have had trouble putting your crime behind yourself? How did doing what you did Christmas Eve make you feel?", Emily opened as her starting question, speaking much more softly, with a clear tone of care. This would not be a harsh ordeal from her, just an act she had to perform. As her daughter began to answer, the started slowly sliding the wooden ruler from earlier out of her left pants pocket with her fingers, discreetly. "Bad!", the fox was prompt to reply, if not even snap, looking down towards the table in her hunched position. Her ears trembled, halfway between standing and folding back at the thought of it. "But I did it to the best of my ability. Calmly, and with cold precision. Mom, I could see Deltastar's security monitors. I saw what I was doing to people, and I didn't care. It wasn't until I was done, and I thought about you, dad, Ki'rene.. that I crashed", Kayla admitted with difficulty, though the words came out smoothly and honestly. Now her muzzle was bleak, and a frown of sorts. She looked so gloomy, having touched those thoughts again. The guilt she radiated was making the air heavy. "And Starfleet? That must have been important to you. It's where you failed, sweetie", came the collected and well thought response after a few moments, with the ruler coming to rest quietly on Emily's left thigh as she listened. Wasn't the smoothest of all questions, but she didn't want it to be. Kayla did fail when it came to Starfleet, and she wasn't going to skirt around it for Kayla's pride. She didn't need 'hacker' pride, and she wanted the word to hurt. She wasn't sure if it was the right choice, when her daughter winced at the word. "I begged them.. as much as I could. 'I can't!', I insisted, but they were too thirsty to use me. I was really scared when I started, it was hard to keep my paws from shaking, and hit the right keys. Everything moved so quickly, and attacked so hard, that even for me, I crumbled. This time my failure resulted in what was supposed to be my death. But.. even as my gateway locked up and my programs failed, one by one, I fought. As hard as I could, till I was shot. I never stopped. It was personal, and I wanted to win, at all costs", Kayla spoke slowly, and quietly as her voice changed to something airy and deeper, chest tightening till her voice gained excitement and a teary sort of disgust. At the end, her eyes glistened with tears, and Emily hadn't yet even presented her with her next punishment. Those solumn young eyes were on her datapad, with her adolescent mind seeming to need to focus on something. The mother didn't know if she should push on, with Kayla letting out so much that hurt herself at once. Words were becoming painful, as those thoughts came to fruition - Kayla had indeed let her down. Kayla wanted so hard to pretend Packet-Storm was gone she never acknowledged her problem. "This is your chance. What do you have to say for yourself?", Emily asked more quietly, trying to remove any harshness from her tone. What she asked wasn't to be taken as an accusation; she wished to get Kayla's take on matters. This healing had to begin somewhere. Even if she was as solumn as her daughter, her hand clutched the ruler in her lap, trying not to take the fox's mistakes to heart. That wasn't her duty. "Ashley.. she told me that day that what I did wasn't for Ninne, and it was for me. It wasn't true! But she accused me of enjoying what I did. I couldn't hear it, and it fired me up into fighting her like I had planned. I was angry because.. it was true. I enjoyed what I did, momma, and I'm.. ashamed. I did what I did for Ninne because it was easy, and I had no trouble doing what I did. 'It was to hurt no one', was my excuse. There is a rush, and a feeling of power, and freedom. My life is the total opposite of what I once lived, and.. ", the little Asptrian began to sputter, trying very hard not to cry, even if she couldn't stop the whelling of tears in her eyes. She had to stop a moment, on the verge of sobbing, looking very embarassed, and ashamed. It's no wonder she tried to hide it as long as she did. "That's enough honey. I understand fully, you don't need to go on. You lived a difficult life full of hate and hardship. Being a good person puts you on the road to recovery and getting past it, but you need help. I am your help, and so are your friends. That was a lot to admit at once, and honestly, it is disappointing. But that is where everything I said earlier comes into play. You're not perfect, so stop holding yourself to those standards. People will be disappointed in you at times, but those who love you will get past it right away. I loved you when you came into my house as a social-grace lacking hacker, and that won't change just because you didn't get perfect at your new life overnight. Overall, you've been an excellent penitatas, and one to be proud of. What hurts is you doing all these things so blatantly, or behind our backs. Alex and I taught you better, that hacking was wrong when it was used for evil, not just when it was convenient. I thought I was an okay enough mom, that you would respect my directions and follow them. I'm afraid you will have to live with yourself as part of your healing", Emily began speaking once her girl stopped and looked so pained. Her voice was serious, but not stern. It was hard to speak like that to a young penitatas that nearly died, and she wanted to love and cherish. This was tough love, and Kayla needed a dose. It was Kayla herself that said she was taking things for granted. She didn't feel nearly as bad though, until her words made poor Kayla let loose her first sob, and close her eyes, ears folded back. She looked utterly miserable, and Emily knew she hurt the fox badly. It was upsetting, and there was no way around it. She couldn't say she was sorry either, and it tore at her stomach. "Now, your next punishment has meaning, unlike what it would have been originally. Ignore the original orders, and treat those feelings of guilt and malice as the reason for this session of your discipline", the penitatas mother announced in a firmer tone, getting herself prepared to provide her orders and give Kayla another new world of hurt. Being that other people created the list of punishments to fill out, they weren't going to be ones that Emily herself typically employed. Kayla was quick to nod her head lightly, despite her quivering lower jaw and lip. A hint of dampness appeared under her eyes, showing the first pair of moist tears had already fallen. This wasn't going to be fun, but Emily figured she might be able to take this one slowly, and give the fox some leeway. "I'll do it. Anything", Kayla whimpered afterwards, bringing her eyes back to Emily. She hated every thought in her mind, and every idea of what this punishment may be. She was in a world of pain as it was, and was not eagar to feel more, for any reason. But as she was growing to learn, there were cases where she would need to comply whether she wanted to or not, or if she agreed with it or not. Agreeing with her mother's reasons for doing this, and by wanting to obey and set things right, did she say what she did. Acknowledging her daughter's acceptance, the older human took the smooth wooden ruler from her lap into her hand, placing it on top of the table where the fox could see. "This punishment was designed to simply hurt you, and make performing your daily tasks, especially the hacking related 'evils', very difficult. Think of it as punishing the part of you that commits those things, and try to find some degree of peace in it", the fox was explained, giving her a sinking feeling in her belly. Her mother didn't mean.. oh no. Please momma, don't! "Kayla, scoot your chair closer to me, and place your paws on the table - palms up", came the dreadful initial order. Without a protest or whine, Kayla allowed her muzzle to quiver harder as she moved her chair towards the end of the table, climbing back onto it with a cringe thanks to the first punishment of the day. Looking up at her mother's face, and seeing the expectation, Kayla lifted her paws up and slowly placed them on the table's surface, presenting them to the person sitting at the head of the table. This is something she recieved at school for not paying attention, and then only a couple swats to her right or left paw, depending on the severity of her actions. Emily rarely did this, and this was only when Kayla touched something without permission. But both of her paws? She couldn't stand this punishment to begin with. Her paw would sting for a good while, full of it's sensitive nerves, and then it would ache for even longer. This was bound to be much worse. Kayla's fears continued to flow through her mind like that even as Emily's hand took her left paw and positioned it on the table the way she wished, pressing her thumb into the middle of her smaller paw. Her furred fingers were mostly together, though loosely, just as her mother wanted them, thumbs tucked to the sides of her paws. Aware that Kayla was familiar with this, Emily didn't give her any other words to try and process, and lifted the ruler back into her hand, hovering it over her girl's defenseless paws. Her young charge flinched and clenched her eyes and teeth before the ruler even impacted, noticing the tell-tale flick in her wrist. The swat was not the loudest, but it was sharp, and so was the sensation it created. The ruler's slap across the mostly flat palm of her left paw infused a burn beneath the thin fur and into her paw. It didn't even feel like the shape of the ruler, spreading out like hot, tingling needle pricks. The heat and sting then appeared harshly in her right paw while her eyes were tightly closed, raising her shoulders in a flinch. Back and forth the ruler came, just like that, each time the wooden ruler crossing her palm a bit differently, making the area of intense sting, heat, and prickling sensations even larger. The slaps to her paws quickly made the fox begin to whine rather pathetically, curling the tips of her fingers even if she did not want to. In an act that made her flinch hard enough she tightened her thighs together and squirmed her footpaws beneath the table, Emily smacked the ruler across her fingers of both paws, and the sensitive, more fleshy bits of skin where her paw met her fingers. Whacking her fingers like that hurt differently, especially with the slaps coming rapidly, one per paw, going back and forth between the two. Kayla didn't know how long she could hold in there as the session did not seem to end. Her mother was weilding the ruler harshly, striking into her poor paws where ever she could, fingers now included, each time she moved them from the table. Wrist down to her fingertips of each paw was turning red, but nothing much past that. The bruises that form in the hand normally cannot be seen by the eye, making this a punishment that causes little visual damage, even if it's young victim would feel it's lasting and painful effects. Soon her whines and whimpers were growling squeels, muzzle curled from the pain and her teeth showing as they clamped together harder. The painful sensations kept her from sobbing the way she normally would, making other teary, painful sounds instead as her arms pressed towards the table to try and keep her paws open. Each time she made a mistake and flinched her paws, moving her fingers, the ruler would slap across them with it's fury, blazing a pain into her fingertips and little joints. Reaching two dozen swats per paw with the method Emily was using, the ruler suddenly stopped coming. And with a cry Kayla pulled her paws from the table and clutched them to her chest. Holding still that long was a battle, even if each time she didn't keep her paws still earned her a swat that was less precise and achier smack of the flat ruler against her fingers. Her palms felt hot and swollen, the ache deep and flowing throughout her paws, with the stinging pricking sensation dancing across her skin and stabbing the extra sensitive tips of her fingers, when they were unfortunate enough to get knicked. Her skin was slapped harshly against bone, pinching some areas around her palm and making dark red marks where they had broken blood vessels beneath the skin. Poor Kayla howled quietly, squirming in her seat, even if that deeply inflamed her blister from earlier, clutching her paws defensively. Emily had a hard time breaking it to her girl that this still was not yet over. "Paws back on the table young lady. We're not finished", she had to say in her firmer, parental tone, with that note of warning embedded in it that those sore orange paws needed to be back where they were right away. Kayla squeeled, holding her paws tighter, before rolling her sounds into a sobbing whine and setting them back down on the table, again with her palms and claws facing upwards. After what Kayla had done, she didn't give the fox any warning or instruction, and took her left paw by the wrist, Holding it down, she smacked the ruler into her aching palm five times in hard, semi-quick succession. Her fingers curled the whole time, with her other paw pressing into the table and her body leaning towards her left from the stabs going up her arm. That was something she had to do, as per orders, if Kayla did not keep her paws on the table until instructed otherwise. She hoped Kayla would not make that error a second time, the pain from this punishment would be lasting as it was. "Sorry, sorry!", Kayla cried sharply, arms and paws shaking from the pain. Her left paw twitched, showing her fingers wanted to curl up and rub her palm, and the new, powerful hurt that was blasted deep into her paw. It felt so bruised. Taking both of her daughter's wrists, she turned both paws over, till her palms were flat on the table. Moving them was clearly uncomfortable, as the fox fidgeted more strongly for a moment, looking through her teary eyes to see what was going on. Feeling her fingers again being positioned, she knew this wasn't over. But what was going to happen, her palms down and fingers together. "This will be slightly more rough, but the amount of damage these paws of your's have done since your birth has also been this numerous. This must be done, and once it's over, I want to her you make a vow. You will never again use your abilities for evil. You cannot leave your past and urges to commit these crimes unless you abandon that 'rush' you mentioned, and promise that it's gone forever. Your abilities have good, and purpose, not just something you wield because it's convenient", Emily provided Kayla as food for thought, as she again raised the ruler, pinning her left paw down by her wrist. Once the first slap of the ruler, and second, had fallen, Emily saw Kayla's bushy fox tail thrash from this new feeling. The ruler's burning smacks were across her knuckles, smacking skin against bone, and into fleshy, tender skin on the back of her paw. The pain was more intense here, as this skin was soft, and even less defended then her palm, with more meat surrounding the joints. Smack, smack, smack, smack - came the repeated sound of the ruler and strong succession, the sound never changing against her little paw, with each swat feeling more like a hammer. The ache and force being driven down into her little paw felt like it was being beatten, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. Kayla again howled, tears entering her fur and making the damp spots on her cheeks larger, leaning backwards and kicking her legs. As her paw was pinned and restrained, it didn't affect her punishment, paw unwillingly accepting what it was recieving until fifteen of those hard spanks. Fur thicker across her knuckles, it was harder to see the red outline of the ruler, as each swat crossed directly over the last. Her paw was still so small, Emily never changed how she swatted, and the ruler landed the same way each time. "Let's hear it Kayla, before your last swats on your other knuckles", Emily requested with a tired sigh, as this punishment was hard on her to perform. She didn't want to imagine how this felt, and how tough doing things later would be on the little Aspatrian. Once asked, Kayla began choking on her tears, sputtering each moment or so, trying to calm down enough to speak, even as her primary paw, her right paw, was pinned down at the wrist, pressing her sore paw into the table. Her mother wasn't making this easy, but even in her current state the fox realised it likely shouldn't be. Giving up almost fourty years of hate-filled crime and destruction shouldn't be something you just forget. She wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. Her ebony nose sniffed deeply, and her words began, though shaky. "I vow to give it all up. N-not.. only do I not want to be that.. person, I don't want to do those things a-anymore. I promise momma!", Kayla sobbed and sputtered out, voice sharp and nearly paniced from the amount of hurt she was in. It sounded like she really was taking this rulering as a punishment for things besides what the Council wanted, with her last sentence sounding like a plea. If this was a real punishment, by Emily herself, she may have accepted her charge's plea to stop this, and had forgiven her. But this was not her call, and with nothing more then a nod of approval, the ruler again fell. She had to hold Kayla accountable for those words. With stabbing fury, the ruler's disciplinary force drilled into her right paw's knuckles. The slaps across it burned and stung, with each one making the pain go deeper into muscle and joint, infuriating her skin. Eyes closed and muscles tight and clenched, including her other paw, balled into a fist, the girl was forced to accept her final fifteen swats, till it was all over. As soon as it was, Emily's hand left Kayla's wrist, and she annouced that she was done, just to allow her daughter to again fling her paws defensively to her warm feminine chest, cradling them against her tuft of white fur. She looked so young, muzzle open and crying as liberally as she was, paws shaking and crying to rub away the pain, even if most of it felt too deep for her to even touch. The senations were strong, but also hard like rocks in the way they ached. All Emily could do was let Kayla cry it out. She couldn't give her special treatment, it simply was not allowed. That was it for the day though, aside from the common bits of corner time. Without fail, once Kayla had calmed down somewhat, she was beckoned from her chair, and walked over to the corner, this time to stand. Paws at her sides, she was instructed. Even if she could not rub her paws together, she could at least use her sore fingers to soothe them a bit, and she wouldn't be in any strenuous positions. The hand on her back directing her to the corner had left once Emily was satisfied with her position, nose nearly touching the wall. Then, the fox's ears, though folded back, heard her mother step away, and leave the room without a word. She didn't need to be told she would be standing here a while. Having to use her own muscles this time instead of sitting, even if it helped her rear, it was a lot of strain on her little legs. It hurt enough to where she wanted to fidget the sore, stiff muscles, and she did step back and forth on them a bit as time passed. She just hoped each time that no one was quietly watching her doing that, and counting each time she moved. It took time for her tears to die down, but they did once again. Her paws throbbed and radiated heat, now hurting to move them they were so tender and sore. Her rear was the same way, even if it was no longer fresh. Eventually her cheeks were dry and so were her eyes, legs begging for sympathy. Kayla even whined from time to time from the ache throughout her body, and the simple boredom of being in the corner. Her new toy sat on the table behind herself, and she couldn't even look at it. As a child, that was fairly difficult, and she had too many distractions to think clearly in the corner and use the time as she normally did. This time it was torture, and again, another three hours. Her body made such a shadow she couldn't even tell the light in the room had changed from the sun's movement. With no timer set this time, she didn't know her time was up till Emily's return, hearing her footsteps approaching. Kayla made a light gulp, praying for permission to get out of the corner. Her footpaws and legs were driving her mad after being in the corner so long, and honestly, she needed to go to the bathroom what she estimated was about one hour ago. "Come with me Kayla. Time for your bath", came a much more relaxed and welcome voice, indeed her mother as her accurate ears predicted. With a sound of relief and a sigh, Kayla took a step back and turned around with a gentle flick of her tail to her side. To Emily, Kayla looked like hell. Eyes looked tired, and her muzzle fur looked messy from getting wet and then drying. Her paws looked lightly swollen, and her body weak overall. The injuries she sustained were large, and so was the ordeal she was placed through today. She would have nano-lotion ready for as soon as she would be allowed to use it again. "With pleasure", Kayla spoke softly, voice containing a couple of crackles. She would be in bed soon enough. By the time everything was done, it would be around five; a good time for a well disciplined penitatas to be placed to bed. Kayla likely would not complain. Directing the adolescent fox up the stairs, she took her to the bathroom where her bath had already been run and prepared. Even her medicine sat on the counter, which her mother took care of first. Long ago, before penitatas had rights, this medicine would have tasted foul, but now it was only there soothe and heal her wounds as it ran down her throat from her mother's spoon. "There we are. Let's get you in the tub then, okay?", her motherly voice shined, no longer needing to keep any other reserved tones in her demeanor, as today's discipline was over. Kayla's child-like nodding from atop the toilet-unit, where she did her business and recieved her medicine at the same time, wasn't complete before the pair were interrupted by another kind voice. It was embarassing to be caught on top of the toilet by a male, but oh well, she only had to pee before, and she was just getting her medicine now. "Why don't you let me take care of Kayla's bath? You can't do everything today", Alex spoke from the doorway, leaning on it with his arms crossed and watching his two girls. It wasn't fair his wife had to take care of everything. There were some things he could handle just fine. Emily responded with a smile, giving her approval as she started for the door. "I'll make a quick bite to eat for Kayla then", she responded approvingly, until she reached Alex's side. Before walking out, she spoke much more quietly, even if she knew Kayla could still hear her, thanks to those ears. "Be gentle with her", was what she said, which made Kayla dip her head bashfully. She guessed she really did look a bit battered. Slipping herself off the toilet unit, placing the seat down with her wrist instead of her sore paw, she found a hand on her back rather promptly. Alex had knelt down right at her side, chest to her right arm, and gave the fox a hug. Not too tight of course. After giving Kayla a welcoming embrace, he leaned back slightly, slipping his right hand onto her right shoulder; Kayla looking over with a light smile across her muzzle. "Good to have you back Kayla. This was a dream come true for your mom", Alex felt it neccessary to say, knowing how Emily was while Kayla was missing, versus now, was a large difference. He also had to compare Kayla's state before all of this, versus now.. she looked beat. His caring and more gentle nature made him feel very sorry for the little fox. She wasn't at all a bad person, but he knew she needed Emily's help badly. "I knew what she was going to do to you. Told me while cleaning up your room, and slipping that ruler into her pocket. Are you alright?", he wanted to ask, caring about her well being. It was easy to see she was trying not to use her paws at all, or perhaps couldn't. Kayla made a dejected hum, averting her eyes a moment down to her paws before looking back to her left, at Alex. "They hurt pretty bad", Kayla admitted, still trying to seem chipper, even if her normally energetic tail was still. Alex ran his left hand down Kayla's left arm, holding her carefully by the wrist to get a better look at her paw. This certainly would stop her from doing most things. Made him shake his head in disgust at the Corrections Council, but he wasn't the type to say anything to rile up either his wife, or Kayla. He was in full agreement with the fox that this was unfair, but Emily was at least making the best of the disciplinary side of all this. He would leave it at that. "I'll get you in the bath then, so you can soak and feel better", Alex assured, lifting the young girl up by her under arms, feet dangling till he set her into the water. His movement became slower once she reached the bottom of the tub, settling her down slowly, even if her muzzle still seemed to curl, and he heard a huff of discomfort from her canine nose. It was the best he could do, and she was getting heavier afterall. She wasn't as easy to pick up as she used to be. The two talked throughout Kayla's bath, mostly about light things, and what was going on at the house while Kayla was not with them. How worried everyone was, what happened when they learned of Deltastar. They talked of life and events, never going too deep or onto painful parts of the subject, as Alex carefully and gently washed his little fox with a soft soapy cloth. He rubbed her cheeks with it to clean the tear stains from her fur, and under her arms, and back, from any sweat the stress she was under had caused. Her rear was nothing more then a quick pass-by with the cloth, but still enough to make the fox wince, and her paws he just allowed her to soak in the water to help any swelling. All through the banter and the relaxing bath, her back, chest, and arms feeling massaged just by the scrub of the soapy cloth, she wanted to bring up Ninne. What that damned Drakonian had said to her, and done. She said she wasn't even her friend anymore. Kayla was guilty of plenty, and she knew that, but doing something she was forced to do was nothing to damn her for. What happened, happened. She can't get the money or latinum back, and it was so unfair her own best friend would hurt her in such a way. For some reason, she had a had time mentioning it. She didn't want to say what Ninne did, and get her into trouble that would cause her to hate her more. It was also an embarassing and touchy subject, even more so when the more feminine parts of her body were being washed, or the tickle of the cloth between her footpaw's toes and pads. It was a long bath, and she had every opportunity to try and straighten out what was going on, but she didn't. Kayla just told herself she would try and handle it on her own, and honestly wanted to give the drake a taste of her own claws. Then she cringed and thought of the damage fighting with someone caused, and removed that thought from her mind. She wasn't going to do that to her mother again, nor her own hide. If she was going to be angry at Ninne, she would do it quietly. After some time she was eventually pulled from the tub while it drained and set on a towel, so her dripping wet and soaked fur could be toweled dry. Takes about two towels, but it was usually fun for the fox and whichever parent was drying her off, the way Kayla giggled and stepped about playfully on her footpaws. Alex was happy to find today was no different, despite all that happened. Made his care feel appreciated that it was able to keep her feeling relaxed to some extent. Once dry enough to leave the bathroom, Alex shut off the light and with a light press from his fingers into the middle of Kayla's back, he directed her back to her room. On her desk sat a sandwitch, filled with meats and greens to tie her over until tomorrow morning, and her mother standing beside it, holding the fox's new datapad. The pad clacked once set down on the desk, back in Kayla's room for her use. Not tonight though, or tomorrow, but at least where the fox could see it. "All your's sweetie. We have something to talk about while you eat that and I get you ready for bed", Emily greeted warmly, though Kayla's ears heard something else in her tone. Something she did not like. It was the tone she had while talking of disciplinary matters, and Kayla didn't like the idea of perhaps being spanked again before bed. That was something standard, but after such a long day, she begged in her mind to let that not be it, as she picked the sandwitch up into her sore paws. It was very uncomfortable, and she held it very loosely over the plate, not sitting to eat for obvious reasons. "It's about another provision I need to enforce, that is going to be hard for me to tell you. In this case, I do agree with the provision, especially after what you have told me so far", she again spoke, lightly, and seriously. Behind Kayla, Alex had to lower his head slightly. "What is it mom?", the young penitatas asked nervously, ears folding slightly after she swallowed her first bit of the sandwitch. It was a very good one too, which also worried her. Emily had to sigh before she spoke again. "You are grounded from using our computer console, indeffinately", came the words, and the parental order within it. Kayla's heart took a belly-flop, and she looked like she had been physically struck. No! "Momma!", Kayla cried out, almost tearily. That was her life, and her favorite past-time! You couldn't take away anything more important. There wasn't even a date she would get that privledge back. She might not ever! Her programs, her projects! "Don't make this harder then it needs to be. I still have to spank you for back-talk, and I don't want to do that, so stop right there. I'm sorry, but you must accept that. You are forbidden to touch the computer. You will have to live with the functionality of your datapad, and having no possible access to the Galactic Net. You know it's not because I don't trust you, but it's because you need to overcome your issue. The Council doesn't want you to have it, and I agree", Emily accounced harder, to sink the idea quickly into Kayla's head that she could not get around this one. She knew how much her daugther loved doing her thing, but for now, she could not. The news actually made Kayla cry, being a child and all. It was like seeing her favorite toy broken in front of her very eyes. Each program she ever made was no longer usable. None of them would ever work on her new little datapad, but.. at least she had something, right? All of her work though! Gone! To see in her blue chips, disused. She sobbed a few times, muffling them around the bread of her sandwitch, which she ate much slower now. Her jaw quivered too much to eat at a quicker rate. Alex had to give Emily a sad sort of look, asking her to give a bit more sympathy. What he got back was a slight shake of her head. She couldn't - this wasn't only her order, but a Council order. The two parents stayed where they were and allowed the fox to finish her food in silence, giving her peace in order to accept her punishment. It wasn't physical, but it clearly hurt to have something so important to her taken away for what must have seemed like forever to her adolescent mind. The only thing they could have done worse would have been to destroy her data chips, something Emily thought the Council was getting close to ordering. It didn't happen, so for now, they would collect dust. With nothing more then a few solitary crumbs on the kit's plate, and her head low, she swallowed the last of her sandwitch. She had a full belly, but another part of her felt empty for the moment, while she delt with the bereavement of losing what seemed like a part of her lifestyle. Everyone around her, with the exception of Ninne, seemed like they were doing their best. She figured she had to look pathetic, standing there and sniffling with a loose crumb or two on her muzzle. Alex was the first to try and console her, kneeling down behind her to wipe her muzzle and direct her towards the bed. Her footpaws carried her across the familiar carpet of her room, and up into her bed that she had not felt in days. Melissa, her plush, had been tucked right up against her pillow once again. Laying there, partially on her side due to her rear, both parents had to see her sorrowful, exhausted eyes. Tomorrow would be hard on her too, as Emily had to restrict her play and keep her in the corner all day, unless having one of her meals. At least she would not have to ensure any swattings, beside for a warm up of her rear in the morning. Even though sun was coming in the window, Emily drew the girl's blinds and made it darker, while Alex kissed the fox atop the head, and Emily after. They were happy to have her home, able to teach her right from wrong again. "Goodnight. Love you", Kayla let out with a tired sniff, wiping her eyes with the tender backs of her paws. She was the first to speak again, as heavy as the air was. It was like Kayla to thin it back out. Seeing the faces of her family above her, feeling her sore welts and terrible bruises as her parents tucked her in, smelling her room and it's calm air.. she was home.