(A bit of a short chapter. My inspiration comes and goes. I thought where I stopped it was a good break. If anyone has any ideas, I’ll gladly take them into consideration.)
Chapter 2 Soon-Mummah
“Babbehs wuv mummah! Mummah wuv babbehs!” The song kept going on and on. It should be sweet, but it drove Erik crazy. Somehow the off key singing made him annoyed. He’d have worn headphones, but he couldn’t. Sleet had become…slightly difficult. She’d asked for sketti yesterday. When Erik had told her it wasn’t sketti day, she’d actually puffed up her cheeks. She’d never done that before. Erik had scolded her. That seemed to get her back into shape. He worried he might have to break out the sorry stick. It had been quite a long time since he had to use it. Erik didn’t like using the sorry stick on Sleet. She’d cried for a long time after when he had. He’d felt guilty every since.
He worried the cheek puffing might be the first sign, but he was giving it the chance that it was pregnancy hormones. She had more needs now as a pregnant dam. Of course she wanted sketti. That was the best food in the world to fluffies. He’d been feeding her extra nutritious soon-mummah kibble. It was fulfilling the nutritional needs, but it still tasted like kibble. He looked up what fruits he should feed her that would taste good to her. Sketti wasn’t good for fluffies. Like chocolate for humans. It tasted like heaven, but was unhealthy.
The second incident was a bit more serious and several days later. Bathing time. Erik had been warned that bathing pregnant dams were a bit more trouble. Sleet always hated being bathed. Each and every time was the promise of extra playtime, more FluffTV, anything to make her sit there and not scream like a fluffy being murdered. He dreaded this first bathing. Sleet could not properly clean herself now after making poopies and peepees. She was gaining the weight, and her waddle was even more slow. Erik had the sink filled with warm water. Only enough to brush her tummy fluff if she’d been her normal size and standing up. Even laying down and pregnant, it wouldn’t reach her mouth. Sleet and tried to hide under her covers, shaking and making scaredy farts. She’d been emptied out before Erik started getting the bath ready. “Sleet. Come on. You need a bath. Being dirty is bad for tummeh babbehs and soon mummahs.” He’d found out it was easier to manipulate Sleet by saying it was for the safety of her babies. Erik had done this manipulation before. By saying something was bad when she was younger. When he left, she would undoubtably do it, and the thing would fall on her, or administer a light punishment. He had read it was a way to get the fluffy to listen to their daddy, since they were so much smarter to the fluffy.
This was not the case this time. Sleet was wiggling her little legs in fear as Erik picked her up, making little fluffy ‘huuhuu’s as he took her two rooms over to the kitchen. As soon as he placed her in, the fluffy screamed bloody murder.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” It screeched. “WAWA BAD FO FWUFFIES! WAWA BAD FO TUMMEH BABBEHS! FWUFFY NO WIKE! NU WIKE! NU WIKE! SCREEEEEEEE!”
Erik had to cover his ears but it did little to block out the noise. Hell, he was sure his neighbors could hear it. At least they knew he had a fluffy and wasn’t an abuser.
“Sleet! Calm down! It’s not going to hurt you! Your babbehs will be fine!” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the screeching. He went to close her snout, but to Erik’s shock Sleet closed her peg teeth over his hand. It caught the thin skin between his thumb and first finger, causing it to hurt a bit. No more than a hard pinch. The shock affected him more. “Sleet!” He snapped. “Bad fluffy!” He didn’t want to punish her when she hated baths so much, but attacking him was out of line! He turned the water cold, letting the warm water drain.
“SCREEEEE COWD WAWA!” Sleet screamed.
“That’s what happens when you’re a bad fluffy! And you’re getting the sorry stick!” He said, though he felt terrible.
“NUUHUUHUU! Nu sowwy stick! Fwuffy sowwy!”
Erik shook his head in disappointment. “And that’s how I know you’re lying. That hurts daddy’s feelings. I’m already letting you have babbehs. And now you’re hurting me and lying to me when I’m just trying to help.” He said, letting his voice sound more sad.
The rest of the bath was uneventful with Sleet crying and talking about how water was so bad for her tummeh babbehs. Erik grit his teeth as he finished washing her. Before drying her, he gave her five whacks with the sorry stick on the rear. The whole time Sleet ‘screee’d like she was being whipped. He was gentle after, drying her off, and putting her in her nestie. He needed to find a different way to clean her, other than a bath. Maybe wet wipes? If Sleet was going to scream the house down each time he cleaned her, he couldn’t. If not for his own sake, then the neighbor’s. He felt bad for the sorry sticking. He knew Sleet needed to be punished, but she was reacting out of protecting. She thought she was doing what was right for her babbehs. It was like punishing a dog for growling when bothered. He sighed, and put his head in his hands. What was he going to do?