FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

---

Kaeden's Commitment

by Draugr

Chapter V: Turn the Tide

---

This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

---

The next morning Kaeden was again asked if he was going to be a good puppy and use his diaper. He shook his head, still refusing, although he refrained from swearing at the mere suggestion. Some part of him was beginning to actually like Ashleigh, and she'd seemed actually concerned about him when talking with Rashid the night before. When Rashid entered the room, however, and moved to restrain him over Ashleigh's lap for his suppository, he told the Rottweiler to get his 'filthy' paws off him, as well as a few other choice adjectives. He didn't curse at his caregiver this time when he felt her finger slip up under his tail - instead he just redirected that at Rashid. His behavior wasn't exactly an improvement, but to Ashleigh, it seemed as though he was in the beginning stages of bonding with her. Puppies shouldn't want to hurt their mother, or at least their mother-figure, in the Pyrenees' case.

Once Kaeden had gotten his medicine, he was again 'leashed' to the small hook in the corner, soaped and muzzled like before due to his language. The acrid, soapy taste wasn't getting any easier to handle, and the Shepherd was seriously considering cleaning up his language, despite how much he hated to admit the childish punishment was actually working on him.

Whlie the 'puppy' fumed in the corner, Ashleigh waited in the chair for his inevitable messy accident, and to ensure her charge did not hurt himself in the meantime.

"It hurts me to see you like this, Kaeden, you know," she said, about twenty minutes into his soapy corner-time. "I wish you'd settle and just... go with things. I understand its hard but you'd be so much happier if you just let me take care of you without fighting."

Even if Kaeden could have responded, he would have said nothing. His emotions were confused. He wanted to be angry, but the Pyrenees seemed strangely nice, despite the fact that she was holding him captive against his will. He didn't have too much longer to think about this, because only a few minutes later, the pressure grew unbearable, and nature took its course.

As promised, the soap was removed, and after being cleaned up, and changed, he was again given a bottle to wash out the taste. Instead of being returned to his crib, though, Kaeden was laid back down on the changing table and placed into a dinosaur t-shirt with a cartoon Triceratops embroidered on the front. He quickly realized that it wasn't exactly a t-shirt when the Pyrenees brought up a flap of cloth, and snapped the garment shut between his legs. Kaeden wrinkled his nose in disgust, but didn't fight it, knowing that picking a battle here would accomplish nothing toward escaping this madness. His caregiver then picked him up, and he was carried to what could only be described as a playroom.

There were a few toy chests, a television mounted high in one corner that was currently playing some sort of kid's show. Some plastic tables and chairs, sized for puppies of Kaeden's size, were set up along the wall, adorned with several elaborate toys designed to keep said pups occupied. There was a brightly colored mat on the floor, and the walls were painted equally obnoxious colors, at least to Kaeden's eyes. There were a couple bookshelves on one side, too, filled to the brim with well-worn and well-loved children's books.

"Wow," Kaeden said, taking in the sight. "I thought the nursery was ridiculous, but this... this is just... over the top. You're obsessed."

Ashleigh smirked, deciding to ignore his attempted barb this time. "This is as much for my benefit as it is yours, puppy. I need somewhere to keep you occupied when I can't be watching you. You'll be spending a fair bit of time in the playroom, and I'm sure you'll learn to love it."

"What the heck could I possibly do in here?" he asked.

"What's the first word in playroom, dear?" Ashleigh asked with a sly smile.

"Play... " Kaeden said suspiciously, pretty sure he knew where this conversation was going.

"Bingo."

"But everything in here is for two-year olds!"

"Then you ought to have a blast, pup. I'll be back in awhile to check on you. Be good," she said, closing the door and leaving him.

Kaeden grumbled, picked himself up off the colorful mat, and gave it a kick - accomplishing nothing but scuffing his paw pads, of course, but the defiant act made him feel better. He paced around the room, first, hoping he could find a way out, but all the windows were very small and at the top of the room, and almost certainly unable to be opened, even if he would have been able to fit through them. Every now and then he glared at the television, annoyed at the childish sounds coming from it. He couldn't quite reach it to turn it off, either.

After twenty minutes of pacing, Kaeden decided he was getting bored. Kaeden was having an increasingly difficult time ignoring the sounds from the television, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to see if one of the toy chests had_something_he could enjoy himself with. He didn't spot anything until the last chest, which had very large plastic connecting blocks in it, a larger version of a toy he used to love to build with as a kid. Not at the age he was being treated as, of course, but it was similar enough to occupy his mind.

He tried setting out building a military base, first, determined to build something that was decidedly un-puppylike, but the bright colors and lack of specialized pieces made it difficult. Frustrated, he grabbed a block and chucked it across the room, hitting the TV, which gave him an idea. If he could throw a block just right, maybe he could strike the power button. After fourteen increasingly irritating attempts, he finally hit the power button - but the blocks were simply too light to depress it.

Angered, he picked up one of the plastic chairs and hurled it up at the television - breaking the screen, and dislodging the power cord. He swore, realizing he'd probably be punished for that, but at least the irritating noises were gone. But then, why stop there? He'd already earned himself a punishment. Why not make them pay a little? With a devious grin, he began pulling all the books off the shelves, stopping when he got to one with actual paper pages instead of thick cardboard, and began to rip them out. About the same time, he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He already knew he was in trouble, though, so why stop? If he was supposed to be a puppy, then they could just deal with the kinds of messes puppies made.

The door to the playroom flew open. Ashleigh being the first inside.

"Oh Kaeden, no. No, no, no, no, no!" she exclaimed, distraught. The Shepherd just grinned, though the smug look was quickly wiped off his face as Rashid followed her into the room right behind.

"Rashid, please deal with Kaeden. I'll clean up the mess."

"_Deal_with him? Are you sure?" the Rottweiler asked.

Ashleigh sighed, seemingly thinking twice, and then nodded her head.

The Shepherd tried backing away, then tried making a run for it, but the Rottweiler caught him by his tail, yanking him off his feet and onto his diapered rump. He yelped in surprise and mild pain before he was restrained and brought out into the hall. Rashid marched him to the living room, where he again laid the Shepherd over his lap, undid the snaps on his onesie, and pulled down the back of his diaper, beginning to deliver several blows to his bottom. This time, however, Kaeden's spanking was lasting a lot longer, and was showing no signs of ending soon. He tried to bite his lower lip, not wanting to cry over a_spanking_, but he couldn't avoid letting out a few yelps. A pained whimper escalated into a few sobs. He didn't want to beg, but his bottom was hurting so bad and Rashid showed no signs of stopping. Even worse, he suddenly felt damp, his bladder releasing involuntarily and soaking his padding.

"P-please, stop!" he begged, wiggling and trying to get loose. The Rottweiler didn't listen, but fortunately for Kaeden, his cries, which had quickly escalated into outright bawling, brought his caregiver out to the living room to see what was the matter.

"Rashid, enough,now. Let him up," she said, with barely contained motherly fury.

"I was just finishing his punishment, actually. You know I won't get carried away, it's just enough to make him learn his lesson," he said calmly, as he pulled the sniffling Shepherd's diaper back up over his bottom, taping it shut over his tail.

What happened next surprised Kaeden as much as it did the other two - as soon as Rashid released him, he shot up off his lap and ran to Ashleigh, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face to cry in the soft fur of her shoulder.

"Oh! Kaeden, puppy, it's okay. It's okay. Everything is okay now, sweetheart," she said, reassuring him. Kaeden didn't know why he was doing this, and he wanted nothing more than to push her away and run off - but it felt so good, and he didn't want to stop. He didn't like Rashid at_all_, and Ashleigh was the only constant source of kindness in this strange environment. Even the suppositories he'd been administered the past couple mornings, while incredibly degrading and unpleasant, hadn't been given with animosity.

When she felt Kaeden had been sufficiently consoled, she reached down to give his diaper a quick check, and confirmed what her nose had already told her: her charge was wet.

"Let's get your diaper changed, pup, then we can get you fed and put to bed. It's about your naptime anyway." Ashleigh led him off to the nursery, where she made quick work of changing him, and as promised, fed him a bottle of warm formula. She dressed him in his sleeper, and got him tucked into bed. He winced as pressure was put on his freshly-paddled rump, and couldn't help but let out a small whimper. Ashleigh comforted him, pulling his blanket up over him. Before leaving, however, she had to have a talk with her charge.

"What you did today was very,_very_bad, Kaeden. I promise I'm not going to let you be spanked anymore, but you aren't going to like what happens to you any better if you try to pull something like that again. I'd prefer to encourage you to behave, but some pups like you seem to require a harder paw. I don't like it, but I really do want to see you get better."

"I don't need help, and I don't need to get better from anything," the dog protested. "And even if I did, why would you care?"

"Oh, puppy, that's one of those questions I can't answer yet. I do have a question for you, though. Do you trust me?" she asked. Kaeden perked his ears, seemingly confused by what sounded like an unrelated question.

"Y-you're nice to me, in spite of the... this strange puppy stuff, and keeping me here against my will. I... I don't trust you, but... I think I can believe you?"

Ashleigh nodded, a sad smile crossing her muzzle. "Baby steps, sweetheart. I'll take what I can get." She stopped talking a moment, stroking the Shepherd's headfur. "Well, if you believe me, then believe me when I say that I care very, very much about you, and I'll do everything I can to make you better, even if you don't think you need the help. As sure as night as dark and day is light, I keep you on my mind both day and night." The Pyrenees smiled as she recited what sounded like an old rhyme.

The words sounded sincere, and despite himself... Kaeden found himself believing her. He was sure at some point she'd go back on them, but she at least had convinced_herself_of their veracity.

Tucked into his crib, the side once more locked shut, Ashleigh out the lights, and conversed with Rashid outside the nursery door, just like the day before, where Kaeden was once again able to pick up the conversation.

"Rashid, I do_not_want you spanking him any more, no matter what."

"You_asked_me to do exactly that, Ashleigh."

"I know, I'm... not blaming you, not really. It just upsets me more than I thought it would."

"I'm here to do what I need to do to make sure he is under control, and that you stay safe. When we first talked about him, you were fine with me administering that sort of discipline."

"Well... I'm not, anymore. He's not as hard a case as we thought he would be, and I think he can make some real breakthroughs as long as we aren't scaring him. I think he's through the worst of it. We need to lay off a little."

"It hasn't been that long. Are you sure? It's a little premature to step back now."

"Possibly, but I'm his caregiver, and I'd prefer to handle discipline myself from now on. You can disagree with my methods, but I'm still in charge of his well-being. No more spankings. You terrified the poor thing today. His bottom is still sore."

"Good. That means he learned his lesson," Rashid said with bemusement.

"Rashid, I'm serious! No more spankings. Promise me. If I ask you to deal with him... just, no more. Okay?"

"Fine. That's fine. No more, then. I promise. When I agreed to stay I said I'd do things your way, and I'll stick to that. No big deal."

"Thank you," Ashleigh said, sounding relieved.