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A Father's Lesson

. A Jade Palace Story by KennyW AKA KAON

Story and characters (C) Kaon 2011!

WARNING: This is a rewrite of a story I originaly created in 2008. It contains cub Discipline of the cruel and unusual kind. Read at own risk!! No Yiff.

Little Shana paced the floor of her room and muttered muffled profanities, what a complete disaster the day had been! The nine year old vixen cub flopped into one of the comfy pink beanbags scattered around her fairylike room , ran her fingers through her deep black hair and smoothed her orange fur trying to analyze just how the day turned out so rotten. She had been so exited to learn her Papa was coming home for an extended period of time from his duties in the Council of gods and there was to be a huge banquet in his honour.

The frisky little vixen cub had been so distracted she had been very late for her first schooling period and whilst Shana had always thought mathematics to be boring , her mother Fern hadn't quite see it like that and the girl cub's tardiness had earned her a light paddling. The daydreaming cub had proceeded to perform terribly on all her subjects of the day, her slovenly efforts prompting scathing criticism and further discipline before erupting into an ugly , disrespectful war of words with her Mama. Shana's vile temper reared its ugly head and the hyperactive cub had flown into a childish tantrum that accomplished nothing besides earning her a brisk caning and exile to her room with the ominous promise of ,..

"I'll let your father deal with you little miss...!"

Shana had retreated to her room in a huff, rage seething inside her nine year old frame, hoping for nothing more than a stern telling off or maybe a short stint over her Father's lap. However, her papa, Kaon, was far more sombre. He hadn't laid a paw on her, his idea of punishment being far more cruel, Shana had begged for another caning and forgiveness but no, he was adament. A double school period tomorrow and worst of all, being banned from the banquet scheduled tomorrow evening! How could he be so mean! She was his daughter, Daughter of the Master of the Jade palace and a princess in her own right! Shana knew she deserved better than this.

The little cub ground her fists into her eyes and stifled a frustrated sob. It was just so unfair! Those feasts were marvelous,all manner of exquisite, exotic food and drink, entertainments from all over the galaxy, nothing to do but gorge on neverending platters of food and laugh til you fell asleep from exhaustion. Shana swore venemously, anger replacing despair and she resumed her agitated pacing, kicking her plushies out of her way,finally throwing a wild haymaker at the wall and watching in satisfaction as a large section of the diamond hard surface was pulverized, then repair itself due to the innate magics of the Crystal palace.. Shana knew she was a close to a demigod as was possible for a young cub to be and had embraced the genetic heritage given to her by her Papa. Immense speed, immesurable strength, a perfect camouflage technique,and she planned to put these skills to good use.

Shana had anticipated everyone would be getting as much sleep as they could in preparation for the feast with all the hard work having been completed in prior days, so she should be able to slip into the kitchens and procure some banquet delicasies unnoticed. It was so easy for the pyjama clad cub to pass through the festively adorned halls and rooms of the palace down to the large kitchen area without attracting undue attention. Fridges and freezers, burners and grills, traditional woodfired ovens next to gas and electric varients as well as more futuristic replicators, This was Cindy's domain. The skunk was a master chef.. and as it happened, Shana's cookery teacher. As Shana surveyed the empty kitchens with satisfaction, the fact that the inquisitive cub was strictly forbidden from poking around in here unless appropriately supervised never entered her head for a single second.

The sneaky vixen cub headed straight for her objective, the magical kitchen pantry that kept hot foods piping hot and cold foods icy cold and always as fresh as the day they were made. She tore open the pantry door and inhaled deeply , filling her little nose with the wonderous aromas, saliva filling her mouth as she saw all the delicasies awaiting her attention. Shana's tummy rumbled and she chose her first victim, a bar of the smoothest, creamiest vanilla icecream coated in a wafer thin lining of rich chocolate. It went down so well she helped herself to another before turning her attentions to the warm, jam filled cream buns. As she nibbled the sticky confectionary her concience, a strange and unwelcome visitor, began to nip at her heart. It mixed unplesantly with guilt at the thought of being discovered at her illicit midnight feast but she crushed the sensation ruthelessly and decided to move on to the savories.

Provided she was careful, no-one would ever know of her late night theft, there were far to many delicious foodstuffs crammed into the pantry for a missing half dozen to be noticed. The hungry cub took a hot meat and vegetable pastie to settle her belly and the crisp, flaky pastry and rich steaming gravy seemed to be doing the job just fine when she was rudely interrupted.

"Shana? What are you doing down here?"

Shana jumped, swore and nearly dropped her pastie as she turned around to see the demure mouse Yasmin standing in the kitchen doorway, probably having come to the kitchens for a drink. Only a few inches taller than the little cub, grey of fur and slender of frame, the mouse was very soft of heart and so fragile looking...probably why the palace Master Kaon loved her so much.

The little mouse, like several other members of the palace were part of Kaon's own true family. Yasmin who was the palace counsellor , Debbie the palace Musician , Anya, head of security, Cindy , head chef, Fern , Shana's Mother and Shana herself. These six held a perfect, special place in Master Kaon's heart and each was gifted with a guilded emerald collar as a symbol of devotion and love.

The cub hastily decided to appeal to Yasmin's warm heart and adopted a subdued tone of voice but trying to mask her feelings from the empathic mouse proved to be nigh on impossible

" I'm sorry, Miss Yasmin, I just wanted to taste some of the food. I'll go back to bed now.. please don't tell on me."

The nightie clad mouse folded her arms and shook her head, not believing the cub's false humility and subdued tone for one moment, her own soft voice laced with an unfamiliar dissaproving tone.

" You aren't supposed to be down here, let alone fooling around with the food for your Fathers welcome banquet! You know better than this, Shana!"

The little cub saw her first attempt had struck out, like all Shana's carers and tutors , Yasmin was well aware of any discipline or restrictions the girl was subject to, so it was time for a change of tactics and Shana adopted a pathetic whiny tone, with a few added tears for good measure.

"But..but i was so hungry! I just wanted a quick taste of some banquet food! I won't do it again.. I'll go straight back to bed and stay there! I promise! PLEASE dont tell my Papa! Please Miss Yasmin!."

Shana had no intention of keeping her word and Yasmin knew it. The majority of the palace staff saw Shana as an energetic, playful little child, only those closer to her knew about the girl's headstrong willfulness, her scheming tricks to get her own way and the nasty temper that revealed itself when she was thwarted. Supercillious, selfish and arrogant in the extreme, even her attitudes towards her strict Father had become scornful of late.

"Please don't lie to me Shana. Your being here is nothing more than an act of willful disobedience. You know it, and so do I. Now, I Think we need to go talk to your father, dont you?"

Shana turned away so that Yasmin wouldn't see the hopeless rage on her face.That was strike two... If Yasmin escorted the disobedient little cub to see Kaon it was all over. Shana knew her papa would thrash her behind black and blue for this open defiance. The enraged vixen tried to keep a clamp on her vitriolic temper and think of some quick way out of her predicament.. but she finally snapped when the unsuspecting mouse laid a gentle but firm paw on her shoulder. How Dare Yasmin lay hands on her! No one save her Father or Mother had any right to manhandle her! Shana spun on her heel and blindly lashed out , Yasmin's interference had given the little cub a target to focus on, no matter how undeserving the mouse might have been.

"Get off me..!"

Shana would later tell herself she had only meant to push the little mouse away from her, maybe plead her case some more, or just run back to her room and desperately deny all charges later... she hadn't meant for her paw to be clenched into a fist, or swing it in a vicious semicircle but her explosive temper, fueled by the days frustration and anger had boiled over into a single moment of sheer bloody rage!

The defenceless Yasmin was lifted off the floor with the force of the impact as a blow from the supernaturaly empowered little cub that would have pulverised solid granite hammered into her sternum. The poor mouse was made of significantly softer material and there was a horrible snapping, grinding noise as blood flew from the mouses open mouth to spatter Shana's cheek. Yasmin was hurled across the room to smash violently into the crystal wall , sliding down it to crumple to the ground in a boneless heap, a trail of crimson marking her passage as the sound of the impact echoed through the palace corridors.

Strike three... you are out.

The remnants of the devastated pastie slipped from the cub's nerveless fingers and Shana sank to her knees, unable to believe what she had just done. She crawled over to the motionless mouse, tears running freely down her muzzle as she watched rapidly cooling blood dribble out the side of Yasmin's mouth to form a small pool on the cold crystal floor.

"Get up..please get up, Yasmin. I'm sorry... PLEASE!.. ahhh... no.. what have I... done?!.. ahh..AHH.. AWWWRROOOOOOOO!!!!"

Shana's terrified howling brought her Mother and members of the castle staff running to the location , some having been woken by the loud crash just moments earlier. Fern flew into the room , pushing past stunned palace staff only to stare openmouthed with sheer disbelief at the scene..

"Shana... what have you done..?!"

The cub was in no fit state to answer, having long since gone into a state of shock and was only capable of a despairing whimper. Fern took charge, kneeling next to the lifeless Yasmin to pour concentrated healing magicks into her shattered body in a futile attempt to repair some of the devastating injuries. Finally out of options, Fern placed a paw around her neck to the nearly invisible guilded collar there and spoke a phrase filled with ancient power, a direct plea to the Master of the Jade Palace for his help. The plea was answered immediately, a portal in reality opening and Shana's father, Kaon stepping forth, his puzzled and slightly irritated expression replaced by one of sheer horror at the scene that confronted him. Effortlessly he scooped up the dying mouse, one of his true loves, but before he retreated back into the portal, back to his personal chambers in the Crystal Heart, his eyes briefly met his daughters and within she saw something completely foreign, something she had never seen there before, Hatred.

Shana found herself roughly hauled to her feet by the scruff of her neck as her mother frogmarched her back to her room. The miserable cub only heard half of the hurtful tirade her mama spouted during the journey.

"Worthless little bitch...!"

"....cruel...vile tempered..."

" ...disrespectful, disobedient wretch..."

"...cold-blooded attack..!"

She was thrown bodily onto the floor of her bedroom and the door slammed shut as Shana was left totally alone and in utter disgrace. When her tears had finally abated somewhat, the girl cub picked herself up off the hard floor and dragged her feet over to her bed to curl up on top of it in a small fuzzy ball of guilt.

Minutes stretched into hours and still no-one came to see her, that was scary. Shana was certain she faced swift and terrible retribution but the despondant girl cub had to wait for several sleepless, guilt wracked hours untill her Father deigned to confront her. He stepped into her room at a measured, controlled pace and Shana was shocked to see how he looked. He was lean, gaunt and haggard as if he had been on stavation. The results of expending too much power far too quickly, his dark shoulder length hair a tangled mess, his deep crimson fur matted and streaked with blood and..... had he been crying? Shana could read nothing in his neutral expression, no snarls or grimaces contorted his muzzle, his emerald eyes cold and lifeless as stone. He stepped up infront of her and Shana stiffened, expecting an extreme and excruciating thrashing.

Kaon didn't lift a paw to his errant daughter, did not cuff or spank her, he simply did the cruelest thing that came to mind. He reached round her neck with one paw, and unsnapped her collar - a feat only he was capable of, removed it, then with the offhand comment of,

"Such a disuppointment..."

he turned and stalked from the room in one fluid motion.

Shana's heart turned to icewater. That collar had been given to her as a symbol of his undying love..it was her most cherished posession and to have him just...take it away like that, did it mean her beloved Papa simply no longer loved her? The thought was almost too much for her to bear. Frantically, Shana tried to pursue her Father out the doorway, begging for her collar back but found her way blocked by her mother.

"No, Shana. Dont irritate him. At the moment he doesn't want to see you, doesn't want to know you. Just leave him be. He's exhausted, you know.."

"Bu..But He took my collar!"

Ferns eyes became as hard as stone, her tone of voice capable of splitting obsidian.

"Dont you even care what you did to little Yasmin with the obcene strength you posess? You shattered practically every bone in her upper body, liquified her internal organs with the force of that punch.. its only thanks to your Fathers own great healing powers that she's even still breathing. She's in so much agony its unbearable to watch."

Shana tried to look apropriately shamefaced, scuffing her feet on the floor, lower lip trembling uncontrollably as Fern shook with barely suppressed emotion

"Well, your Father has taken your powers, as well as your precious collar! Now get your hide into bed and sleep, if you can. You'll need every ounce of strength you posess for what's going to happen tomorrow!"

With that, the big vixen slammed the door shut in Shana's face with enough force to send the cub tumbling backwards into her room and the distinct sound of the door being locked from the other side reached her ears.

Her tears didn't truely begin till Shana had crawled into her bed and covered herself completely with the pink, fluffy quilt, but once they began to leak from her eyes into the pillow there was no stopping them. Shana didn't utter a single sound as she lay in the darkness of her room , despair and unbearable grief at the loss of her collar wracking her small frame until exhaustion and stress took their inevitable toll on her young body and she lapsed into fitful sleep.

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Shana woke slowly to the feel of someone pulling away her quilt. With her head still fuzzy from sleep the girl cub barely reacted when her legs were suddenly hauled upwards and over her head. Shana managed a muffled "wha...?" before the last remnants of slumber were blasted from her by the familiar whistle of a swung cane and the sudden burning shock of a stroke across her exposed backside! A pained yelp erupted from her muzzle as a second stroke raised a searing welt across her rump and she began to flail wildly as a third cutting blow sliced into her rear just below her vulnerable crotch. Shana'a assailant released their hold and the frantic cub bounced off her bed to crash onto the floor where she lay on her belly, rubbing her bottom and whimpering for a few moments as hot tears leaked out of her eyes at the pain of the sudden, rude awakening.

As Shana rolled over and struggled to compose herself she caught sight of Fern, the big vixen casually leaned on the cane she had used to whip her daughter awake, a satisfied smirk playing about her muzzle.

"Since you were so late for your first schooling period, sweetie , I decided to give you a little extra motivation to get up and about."

The angry retort that had been dancing on the cub's lips died away as Shana realized her mother was already dressed in jeans and tanktop, rather than her usual morning dressing gown and Shana's eyes snapped to the wall clock. Oh hell no! The clock read eleven thirty AM, Fern had let her sleep in for three hours longer than usual , that meant she was now overdue in her class by two hours!

Fern pointed the cane towards her daughters wardrobe. "Get dressed quickly, Shana. You still need breakfast and you are in so much trouble already you wouldn't want to make things even worse by making me more pissed off than I already am! You know I get cranky when I haven't slept."

Shana scrabbled over to her wardrobe as quickly as she was able , but the magical source of clothing had only one single outfit to offer her, the ugliest, plain grey frock the cub had ever seen. Shana was a tomboy , she loved jeans and jackets and detested frocks and dresses of all sorts, let alone one that might have been in fashion last century. Even her comfy sneakers were gone , replaced by grotesque grey slippers and thick woolen socks that looked like they'd reach her knees.

Shana wrinkled her muzzle in disgust and started to protest at having to wear the appaling outfit, her voice filled with outrage

"I can't wear this thing! It's horrible! I won't!"

The cub turned away from the fashion abomination only to find her mother standing directly behind, slowly slapping the cane into her palm.

"What was that, honey? I didn't quite catch what you said.."

Fern's tone suggested to Shana she could either wear the frock as is or wear it with a few extra welts on her backside applied for no extra charge. Slowly seething with rage, Shana reluctantly pulled on the stiff, uncomfortable outfit.

No sooner was she dressed than her mother grabbed the angry cub by the ear and twisted it cruely, marching Shana over to her dressing table , ignoring her yips of protest, seated her daughter in front of the mirror and grabbed a hairbrush , then set to forcefully straightening her child's tangled shoulder length hair. Shana tried unsuccesfully to muffle her yips and yelps as Fern ripped and tore at the snarls and tangles in the girls dark hair. Fresh tears began to bead in her eyes as her head was wrenched back when Fern straightened a particularly nasty knot with uncaring strength.

"M..Mama please.. I can d..do it.. " The cub tried to plead for relief , but the only answer was a sudden harsh slap that set her left ear to ringing. Fern ruthlessly finished brushing out Shana's hair , despite the cub's desperate whimpering , hauled her off the chair and almost dragged her out of the room towards the main dining hall.

Shana soon found herself seated on an uncomfortably hard chair , not at her customary place near the head of the main dining table but rather at a smaller side table reserved usualy for servants. She suffered the further outrage in silent anger as Fern called to the kitchen staff.

"Anything left over from breakfast fit for a hungry, growing girl?" The answer did nothing to promote confidence or appetite in the cub.

"Only cold porridge Ma'am!"

Fern clapped her paws together in mock delight "Oh how positively scrumptious! Bring an extra large portion for Little Miss Shana would you?"

Shana meanwhile sat with clenched paws and gritted teeth , the hard chair was already making her welts ache and her loathing of the muck most people called porridge was well known.

A serving maid soon appeared and placed a decent sized bowl of lumpy grey goop in front of the furious child. Shana stared at the bowl for a moment before turning up her nose at the sight of the gunk and muttered under her breath

"Not hungry.."

Fern's reaction with swift and immediate , seizing her daughter by the scruff and hauling her face down over the corner of the table, yanking her tail up and forcefully applying her paw to the welted areas of Shana's bottom just visible under her panties.

Disbelief and pain were etched on Shana's face as she was spanked right there , in the middle of the dining hall and in front of the palace staff!! Swat, swat! Fern worked her paw against her daughters bottom with as much strength as she could muster.

"No more protest , no more defiance! I've had it with your bullshit for today , my girl! You are doing exactly what you are told when you are told from now on or next time, by hell I'm taking my cane to you!"

Shana sobbed with acute embarrasment as Fern laid a good amount of ache over the whole surface of the cub's already sore behind whilst the kitchen maid looked on, working her spanks from left to right and back again. As seconds turned into minutes, Shana's crying was soon punctuated by rhythmic yelping as each cumilative swat increased the ache beneath her tail, making the cane welts on her backside burn with renewed ferocity and just as Shana was about to start kicking, Fern stopped the solid spanking and dumped her daughter unceremoniously back on the hard chair sending a final shock of pain blasting through the cub's backside.

Far worse than the pain though, was the overwhelming humiliation at being disciplined so soundly in full view of the palace staff! The miserable cub knew full well that it had been little more than a token spanking and she suspected her backside was in for real pain later no matter how well she behaved from now on.

Fern grabbed the bowl of porridge and slammed it down in front of the sobbing vixen cub. "The kitchen staff work long and hard to make food for everyone and you are going to show them the proper respect by eating it! You hear me, Shana? I want to see this bowl clean and empty in ten minutes or I'm putting you over the table again!"

She leaned close to her daughter, tone of voice laden with acidic venom

"Eat up, sweetie. "

Between hiccuping sobs , Shana started to spoon the unapetizing meal into her muzzle. It was cold and lumpy , revolting grey sludge that churned in her belly and made her want to retch. Fern's eyes were glued to the huge dining hall clock as the minutes ticked by and Shana struggled to eat as much porridge as possible in the short amount of time she had remaining. As the last seconds ticked over on the clock, Shana forced the last spoonfull into her mouth. Fern looked satisfied, grabbed her miserable cub by the shoulder and steered her away from the dining hall towards the Schoolroom.

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Shana needed no prompting to take her seat at her victorian style oaken school desk. She watched her mother pace back and forth, the big vixen was struggling to contain her anger and more than once she wrenched open the cabinet containing Shana's school cane only to slam it shut, making the cub's heart race with fear. If Fern decided a caning was in order, the pain she'd inflict on the sore and sorry little cub would be extreme. However , Fern finally decided on the course of discipline to next administer to her errant daughter and retrieved a thin, twelve inch ferule switch from the punishment wall cabinet.

Fern's voice was thick with choked rage as she leant on Shana's desk, face to face with her cub

. "What the hell were you thinking?! You nearly tore Miss Yasmin in half yesterday!"

Shana remained silent, unable to meet her mothers gaze she simply stared at her desk , fresh misery creeping up inside her, she was in for a switching, that much was certain. The angry vixen slammed her fist down on the desk , making the nervous nine year old jump.

"You aren't stupid , so what the hell did you think would happen when you lashed out like that?!"

When no answer was forthcoming , Fern's voice dropped to a harsh whisper,

" Alright then, girl. Let's se if we can't teach you to hold that temper of yours in check , shall we?? Lay your paws flat on your desk, palms up."

The distraught cub slowly did as she was bid whilst her mother slowly tapped the wooden ferule on the desk.

"This will probably sting a damn sight more than usual since you are like any normal child now, so be ready. If you move your paws away before I tell you I'm getting out your school cane and trust me, you dont want any extra punishment other than whats already coming to you!"

Shana made a desperate plea for clemecy

"Please Mama.. not my paws! I won't be able to study properly with my paws hurting from a switching... I know I must be punished but.. please.."

Fern was unmoved and uncaring of her daughters plight

"Stop sniveling. You deserve every stroke and more and don't you dare suggest otherwise!!"

Shana whimpered miserably, ears laid back submissively as her mother raised the long switch and took carefull aim. It decended with a nasty *CRACK!* to leave a red welt across her right palm. The cub jumped with shock, almost yanking her paw back with a muffled yelp of pain as she gritted her teeth , no kidding it hurt! It was like having a hornet jab it's stinger into her paw! Fern lashed her daughter across her left palm drawing another stifled cry of pain, the began to quickly alternate between palms, right, then left, then right again bringing the switch down with vengeance on her daughters throbbing paws .

Tears trickled down Shana's cheeks as she stubbornly set her jaw and refused to cry properly as her paws were switched, she knew her mother was right , that she probably deserved it but it didn't mean she had to like, or even accept her punishment gracefully. More cutting strokes decended onto each paw, as the ferule bit into the soft flesh of her palms time and again from wrist to finger joint leaving welts and bruises in its wake whilst Shana stifled her hiccuping sobs and tried desperately not to move her paws from the table as each blow started to decend. The big vixen noted her daughters defiance and supressed a snarl

" You have your fathers stubborn streak, thats for sure and its something you could do without, girl."

Fern brought a particularly vicious cutting strike down across Shana's right paw forcing a bark of pain from the girl's muzzle.

"Just accept the fact you are going to be very sore by the end of the day and things might go a little easier for you. "

Fern put the ferule on the sideboard and by her bodylanguage the smaller vixen knew it would see more use before the lesson was over.

Her mother had a nasty little smirk about her face as she turned back towards her squirming cub, leaning down on the desk to go nose to nose with her fuzzy child.

"Shall we move onto your morning lesson? Calligraphy, I think."

Shana was aghast. How the hell was she supposed to carefully write the complex figures of the ancient language with paws that felt like they'd been through a blender? Just holding the historic ink pen properly would be a challenge. Her heart sank into her belly mixing with the apprehension there and spiced with more than a little anger. She knew now her mother had deliberately set this up to cause her as much suffering as possible.

The raven-haired little cub found her lesson was even worse than she'd imagined. Just holding the pen with her aching paws was nigh on impossible and the beautiful letters of the ancient way were transforned into a hideous mess, her paper looked like an ink-dipped spider had crawled all over it. Fresh tears started to flow as Shana tried to work under her mothers withering gaze, knowing she was going to earn demerit points for such a shoddy performance, and she would recieve no mercy. Six demerit points would earn her a 'six of the best' birching with an extra stroke added for each demerit point after that, to be delivered to her at the end of the school day. She eventually handed her paper over to her mother for scoring, knowing exactly what was to come and Fern studied it whilst casually smoking a cigarette, just to draw out the tension. Slowly and deliberately her mother then tore the written work into small pieces. Shana hung her head in despair as she recieved judgement.

"Unnaceptable sloppy penmanship! Your laziness defies belief and I refuse to accept such appaling work! You are such a disapointment, my girl! You have earned yourself..lets see...six demerit points I think, and you can write out one thousand lines in the ancient dialects 'I must be more dilligent in my work.' To be completed by the end of the school period and perfectly legible, or recieve another six demerit points. Now, place your paws on your desk again. Palms down."

Shana couldnt keep the look of absolute disbelief off her face as her mother picked up the switch once more, It just wasn't fair!. The cubs eyes never left her mother's face, trying to spot a hint of regret or hesitance there, anything to tell her her mother wasn't enjoying making her little daughter squirm, but all she saw was that nasty, crooked half smile etched in stone and the icy, unwavering glare in her mother's eyes.

Fern tapped the table with the ferule and with deepest reluctance, Shana complied, placing her paws flat on the schooldesk once again. This time Fern focused on her daughters knuckles, flicking the wooden switch back and forth across the raised joints with an audible cracking as Shana unsucessfully fought back her tears. Yelps of pain escaped her locked jaws as eack knuckle recieved a stinging ,cracking swat. As the knuckle rapping continued, turning her joints blue underneath the fur it sent shocks of pain through the welts on her palms and Shana squirmed in her seat , hot tears making tracks down her cheeks. As more rapps across the first and second knuckles of both paws left the cub whimpering in desperate misery, Shana tried desperately to appease her mother's wrath.

"Please stop, Mama! I swear i'll be good, I didn't mean to hurt Miss Yasmin! Honest!"

Her mother stopped with the switching and Shana saw the familiar warning signs far too late to prevent what happened next as Fern viciously backhanded her daughter acoss the muzzle, blasting her head to one side, knocking her backwards off the schoolchair and onto the floor before physically hauling her child up off of her feet to look her straight in the eyes. Shana saw her tears reflected in her mothers eyes.

"You lying little BITCH! You don't care spit for Yasmin! You're only concerned with saving your own hide from pain! By the Creator I hope i'm there when your Father flays the fur off your backside later tonight. Six demerit points for your lying, direspectful mouth and six more for being late to your school period in the first place! Now get out of my sight and down to your cookery class before I take my cane to your behind right now instead of later ,Go!"

************************************

Shana slunk miserably from her room, tail between her legs ,down to the kitchen area nursing the sickening ache in her paws, but no amount of symapthy could cure the ache in her heart. It seemed like her mother hated her now... All those demerit points at once was unheard of and totally unfair, and there was no way in hell she could finish all those lines before her already shortened school period finished, let alone in perfect form by the way her paws felt. The entire morning had been nothing more than an excuse to start her off with twenty four demerit points, twenty four strokes of the birch to look forward to later. Fern had also indicated a further spanking was to happen at some undisclosed time later in the day and after her antics messing up the kitchen last night, Cindy, her cookery tutor would be in a less than charitable mood. Just perfect!

Her worst fears were confirmed when she entered the kitchen area. Cindy was up to her ears in flour as usual and had all the ingredients set up for Shana to help replace the food she had eaten. The plump, apron wearing Skunk beckoned her over to the oven area, handed her an apron of her own then with false sweetness gave her the task she was to perform.

"Hello my dear! You'll be in charge of cooking times today. whilst I work on the mixing you'll be doing the baking! Now isn't that fun? Make sure you dont let anything burn! Your on a penalty rate of six demerit points per tray spoiled, ok luv? Lets get to it!"

Wasting no time, the skunkette all but threw a single oven mitt at Shana , and turned back to her mixing bowl. Without a second mitt , there was a real danger the cub would burn her ungloved paw on a hot tray, or drop the heavier ones outright, but the memphit cook didn't seem to care.

Shana was soon panting from the immense heat from the many ovens and stoves as she tried desperately to keep up with Cindy and not fry her already blistered paws. The Skunk had a marvelous talent to keep several of the ovens going at once with different foods, requiring different cooking times and temperatures and set a deliberate rapid pace the cub simply could not hope to match. With the realization the skunkette was hell bent on seeing her fail, Shana began to cry silently as her already sore fingers ached abominably with the effort of handling the heavy, food laden trays and her fumbling paws and shaking arms sustained several small , painful scorch marks in her valiant but futile attempts to keep anything from overcooking or burning. Try as she might, Cindy was always two steps ahead of her , It was inevitable that she would eventually fall behind far enough that something would go catastrophically wrong.

"Those pasties are burning, dear!" There was a hint of amusement in the Skunks musical voice "Take them out, quickly now, Before I chalk up six demerits onto your daily tally."

The poor girl made a frantic effort to wrestle the heavy tray free from the oven with her one gloved paw, overbalanced and put her ungloved left paw straight down onto a crimson, glowing hotplate! A canine howl of anguish echod through the kitchen as Shana dashed over to the sink to douse the ugly red welt under the coldwater tap, the cooling liquid mixing with the unhappy tears leaking down her cheeks. There was also an angry little fire burning in her heart that was mirrored in the warm glow of the surrounding ovens. Cindy absentmindedly hummed a nameless little tune as she cleaned up the scattered, ruined pasties then leaned over Shana's shoulder to examine the damage.

"Burn yourself a little did you honey? Never mind, it'll heal. But you lost me that entire tray so i'm afraid i'll have to penalize you six demerit points."

The cub simply could no longer help herself after the deliberate tormenting she'd recieved.

"Fuck off!" She spat, then mentally kicked herself for being an imbecile. That comment would surely find its way back to her mother for even more punishment. Retribution was immediate however as Cindy seized her by the scruff and dunked her head under the detergent ridden water in the sink. Shana came up coughing and spitting, then gagged as a whole bar of industrial kitchen soap was jammed into her open muzzle! The skunk held her down and sawed the bar beween her teeth, scraping off vile yellow shavings and working up quite a lather, occasionally dunking the cub's head into the dirty sinkwater then jamming the soap even deeper into her maw when she came up choking on soggy food scraps and grit.

"Little vixens shouldn't use such nasty language, especially to their elders!"

Shana struggled vainly as she began to swallow copious amounts of the foul liquid as it coated her whole mouth and tongue , the hideous yellow goop sliding down her throat despite her gagging and spitting and she was forced to consume almost half the bar in this slow, horrible fashion.

Cindy eventually let her fall to the kitchen floor and the cub spent several minutes dry retching. It wasn't just the grotesque taste that would be stuck in her mouth for the rest of the day, or even the accompanying bellyache. Only her Father or mother had ever disciplined her before! To have someone else manhandle her in such a fashion was downright shameful.

"Someone just have their mouth washed out?"

Shana went cold inside, she didn't need to look up to know her mother was standing in the kitchen doorway. Fern's tone of voice was chillingly pleasant, and Cindy replied in the same cheery tone.

"Yes, Fern. She thought she could just start badmouthing and get away with it, on today of all days."

Fern looked uncharacteristicaly embarrassed, walking over to pat the skunkette on the shoulder

"My apologies, Cindy. I wouldn't have sent her down if i'd have known she would insult you in your own kitchen. Especially after you so kindly agreed to still teach her cookery....after her midnight indiscretion and all. I think someone needs a suitably painful lesson in respect."

The way they were talking about her like she wasn't even there and her mothers words stirred up a fresh wave of nausea and fear in the girls belly. Fern deliberated for a moment more then spoke with soft determination

"Cindy, please do me a favour and fetch me one of your sturdiest butterpats."

The skunkette smirked a little and nodded agreement

"Why certainly, Fern my dear, But do me a return favour and put it to good use, would you?"

The skunkette vanished into the depths of her kitchen then returned momentarily bearing a heavy wooden paddle easilly twice as wide as her forearm and almost as long, two centimeters thick at least and with wide , high ridges covering its oaken surface. It was usually reserved for rolling butterballs but it would serve equally well for tenderising fuzzy behinds.

Shana stared at the selected impliment with panic rising in her chest, the damn thing dwarfed the paddles used in her schoolroom, it was closer to the size of her Father's dreaded, heavy blister paddle and she was still extremely tender from her earlier spankings. Fern gripped her firmly by the shoulders as Cindy pulled a bench away from one of the tables. Tears began to form in the cub's eyes as she realized this was to be a serious paddling and not just a few slaps around her rear.

"Please.. Mama.... don't.. "

Neither of the older females were listening to her desperate pleas as Shana found herself swiftly bent over the rough wood, and Ferns final comment as she yanked the cub's white panties down to her ankles sent a bolt of sheer terror down the frantic girl's spine.

"Hold her down please, Cindy.."

Cindy bent the cub's arms behind her back and secured her tail, leaning her weight down to ensure the shaking girl had no chance of escape as Fern raised her arm up, lined up the broad paddle, reached right back, then brought it down on her daughters upraised rump with as much force as she could muster! A loud , resounding *WHACK* echoed through the kitchen as the heavy ridged wood impacted home right across the highest point of the cubs vulnerable behind and Shana jerked forwards with an agonised screech , it had the same strong blast of pain as a belt would but the ridges and the butterpat's solid weight magnified this threefold for a far heavier blow than any standard paddle.. With her bottom already sore and tender from the earlier spankings, it was like having a shotgun blast into her flesh.

The second blow decended, perfectly in line with the first, the loud *WHAP* and accompanying starburst of anguish had Shana yelping and kicking out in desperation, tears running freely down her muzzle, dripping onto the hard crystal floor as her entire backside began to burn fiercely. The impromptu paddle was impacting with hideous, pulverizing force, shockwaves of agony blasting through the soft tissue and muscle right down to her pelvic bone. Shana tried to plead , to beg, anything to get them to stop, but her desperate babbled pleas dissolved into a wordless shriek as Fern spanked her for a third time lower down across her thighs.

Long minutes ticked by as Fern brought the heavy butterpat down on her daughters bottom over and over and Shana wailed and struggled futily against Cindy's weight on her back, feet pounding against the crystal floor, her well secured tail fighting the skunks grip as the crushing power of each heavy paddle blow began to bruise her flesh. With the butterpat's sharp raised ridges raising almost hair thin welts on top of scraping and tearing at her soft skin as easily as serrated metal , the delicate flesh of her behind quickly began to glow a rosy pink and an agonised screech was ripped from her maw as each successive, crushing swat of the heavy wood soon built up her pain levels far beyond what Shana could reasonably handle.

Anguished fox howls soon punctuated her constant infant like bawling, rivulets of tears streaming down the broken little cub's cheeks as the reddened flesh beneath the fur of her behind began to darken to crimson as capilliaries ruptured beneath the skin, darker spots beginning to appear as the abused flesh of her backside dissolved into one huge, swelling welt only to be hammered flat again and again under the butterpat's relentless assault.

Fern's arm worked tirelessly to deliver as hard as spanking as she could muster and the final spanks of the unyielding hard surface of the butterpat exploded across her daughters rear in an excruciating inferno of searing torment, four hard and fast swats in the exact same place on the underside of her rump, just above where thigh met buttock with enough driving force to lift Shana's groin off the bench for a brief moment and bringing up small purple spots on the scarlet surface of the frantic, wailing cub's bottom. It took the thrashing , screaming child almost thirty seconds more to realize her mother had stopped the spanking.

Both adults left the bawling Shana draped limply over the bench as they casually made themselves a coffee. Slowly, minute by minute her hysterical sobbing died away into breathy , pathetic whimpers. To be spanked so harshly was terrible enough , but to have someone else other than her parents actively participate in such a way as the Skunkette had was just as painful to her heart as the butterpat had been to her bottom. What little pride the vixen cub had had left inside her had just been mercilessly ripped to shreds.

Fern soon pulled her miserable cub to her feet and smoothed out her ruffled clothes, with one paw and pulling up the girls panties with the other , ignoring Shana's whimpers as the rough cotton scraped across her still blazing rear end.

" You had best make your way to the music room , sweetie. Debbie will have been expecting you for some time now." The monochrome skunkette stopped the cub as she turned to leave

"I'm going to have to chalk up eighteen demerit points to your daily total so far, honey. Six for being late to class , six for the ruined pasties and six extra for your filthy language. Off you run now.. " The cub wasn't foolish enough to protest and she made her exit as fast as the inferno in her rear and thighs would allow.

Shana felt her heart sink in her chest as she shuffled in the direction of the music hall. That hadn't been the longest spanking of her young life , but it rated as one of the more painful. Only her Father had ever hurt her more, he could wield his birch rod like a bullwhip and when she saw him next she'd be recieving at least fourty two stokes. The distraught child paused for a moment and had another small cry, the agony he was going to inflict on her after such a hard paddling didn't bear thinking about. With heavy steps and throbbing backside she made her way slowly to the ornate music room at the far end of the Palace.. On the walk there she thought about her Papa. No-one had seen or heard from him since last night, no word on Miss Yasmin either. The waiting for the summons she knew would have to come was killing her. Even so...one of her abused paws strayed up to her neck where the collar used to sit so snugly. She'd trade anything, suffer any severity of punishment or subject herself to the lowest humiliation just to have it back. Just to know for sure that her Papa still loved her.

***********************************************

The music hall was huge. Its ornately carved surfaces resembled a twentieth century earth oprahouse, but its accoustics were far more sublime. It was holographic, capable of creating any instrument in the known universe, perfectly tuned and ready to play. Shana liked this room, sometimes she sang for the entire palace in here, or studied the greatest of galactic composers under the tutilage of Palace musician Debbie. The blue-eyed albino rabbit was an exeptionally good friend of hers, they got along more like sisters than anyone else she could think of. Today, however, things were wildly different. One glance at the normally perky bunny surprised Shana, she hadn't thought her actions the previous night were affecting the People she cared about so deeply. Debbie had been crying, and crying hard that was certain. Her puffy red eyes gave that away, the 'smile' she gave was less a display of emotion and more like a grimace of disgust. Maybe palace gossip was true, that Debbie and Miss Yasmin were more than just friends...

The rabbit's forced smile devolved into a sneer as she stood and smoothed out the red satin evening dress she wore, Shana didn't see the smoldering rage in the bunnies eyes as she snapped her long fingers, motioning the cub over to the dance floor . The little vixen cub brightened up a little, dance practice didn't seem so bad compared to the calligraphy and cooking fiasco's she'd endured so far. Debbie said nothing as she took the cub by the paw to begin the lesson, snapped her fingers twice and the music began. Immediately Shana knew something was awry , the classical melody was almost painfully loud , Debbie was only now giving instructions on the dance the two of them were to practice , but the thunderous tune drowned out her soft voice almost completely.

Without warning the bunny began to whirl the little cub around the floor and Shana stumbled and faltered , trying to figure out what footwork she was supposed to perform. A small, cruel smirk graced the rabbits features and seconds later her heavy, oversize hindpaw came crashing down on the cub's toes! It was like having a jackhammer decend on her delicate footpaws and Shana's pained yelp was lost amidst the cheerful blare of the music as she jumped in shock.

Debbie almost hurled the girl cub bodily around , throwing her off balance and causing her to stumble again. Seconds later her heel all but crushed the toes on the little vixens other foot. Shana barked in pain and tried to pull away from her music teacher's grasp, but the rabbit was merciless. The cub's thin slippers offered no protection as the albino bunny began to systematicaly stamp on the flailing girl's footpaws at every opportunity.

Shana hopped desperately from one foot to another , her bawling and pleading drowned out by the deafening blare of the music. Anger flared in her breast at the bullying treatment and she tried to return the favor, aiming kicks at the bunnie's long feet. Despite her seeming disadvantage, Debbie's footwork was flawless, nimbly skipping away from the cub's clumsy efforts and delivering crushing stomps of her own that never seemed to miss.

Soon, the little vixen was being held up by the bunny, her throbbing, aching feet simply too sore to support her weight on their own and still Debbie persisted. Even if the music drowned out the cub's shrieks and pleas , surely she could see the tears and pain etched on her face! Why was she doing this? Shana was reduced to weakly hopping from one foot to the other, jerking her legs back and forth as the bunny repeatedly crushed the girls footpaws between heel and floor.

The musical accompaniment to the agonising game of footsie ended abruptly and Debbie immediately dumped the howling cub on the floor. Seemingly having lost interest in tormenting the girl, the blue eyed bunny wandered back into the main part of the music room , sat down in an ornate basket chair and began to file her delicate nails leaving Shana curled up and sobbing in the middle of the dancefloor.

The girl wanted to simply run from the room but every attempt to stand sent blades of pain lancing through her feet. Half limping and half crawling , whimpering and whining all the way, Shana made the slow , long trek past the seemingly oblivious bunny but just as her hand came to rest on the music room door the rabbit spoke.

"Where do you think you're going , Shana? I don't recall giving you permission to leave yet."

The cub cringed at the harshness in the rabbit's tone and turned slowly as the bunny continued to speak

" Your footwork during that lesson was awful! It was lazy and sloppy , you didn't put any effort into that practice whatsoever!"

The rabbit paused for a second to examine her nails, ran the file carefuly round the nail on her little finger.

" I think you can add six demerit points to your daily tally, whatever that might be. Now, on to lesson two!"

Shana felt a kind of helplessness well up inside her as the rabbit snapped those well manicured fingers again and summoned a huge, jet black grand piano. How in Creator's name was she supposed to play with paws as ruined as hers? Despite the pain she was in, the cub felt her temper writhe and grow in her chest. It was just another excuse for demerit points. No other possible reason! How could Debbie be so cruel to her?! it just wasn't fair!! She tried to protest her case though the orange furred cub knew exactly what the answer would be.

"Debbie please, look at my paws! I cant play Piano today, not properly anyway! Can't I please sing for you? Or can't we study Beethoven some more?"

The bunny preened one long ear "Thats MISS Debbie to you, Shana. And no, its Piano today and you will play it, or you can just take yourself two dozen more demerit points and get out of my sight. Either way, you lose."

Shana saw no other choice but to sit at the piano stool, lift the keycover and try to play what Miss Debbie had set out for her. The Moonlight sonata? This was rediculous! However, Seeing the rabbit so agitated, Shana gave it her best, and her best was as hideous as she'd expected. The frustrated cub found it was almost impossible to stretch her battered fingers over the wide keys of the piano, constantly playing the wrong note or even skipping them altogether! The piano stool was also set far to high for her and she was unable to reach the pedals without sliding back and forth making the rough seat saw into her abused bottom like a cheese grater.Fresh rage and helplessness flared in the cub's belly , this was a simple exercise in making her squirm and Shana realized Debbie was probably going to throw the two dozen demerit points at her regardless of how she performed,

The bunny listened to Shana's hopeless effort for a minute or so then leaned down to whisper, her lips almost touching the cubs laid back ears.

"This was one of Yasmin's favorite pieces, you know? No? I guess you didn't know."

Her whole demeanour and bodylanguage becoming more agitated and predatory with each passing second, Debbie slowly walked around the seated nine year old to whisper in her left ear

"And you have the gall to sit there and mangle such a beautiful piece, in the same callous way you mangled her beautiful, sweet body."

Shana stopped playing, just rested her trembling fingers lightly on the ivory keys as the Bunny paced back to her right side. The little cub couldn't stand to hear what the rabbit was saying.

"Debbie...Miss Debbie.. please.. it was an accident, I didnt mean it..!"

Debbie was in no mood for excuses, folding her arms and angrilly shaking her head

" How can you 'accidentally' punch someone hard enough to shatter her ribs and puncture her lungs in a dozen places with the shards?"

The cub gritted her teeth , feeling that familiar rage building and building within her chest

" It was an accident I said!!"

Despite just how hollow her words sounded.. Shana couldn't stand being called a liar , especially not about this but the rabbit persisted with her verbal assault.

" Maybe you found it humerous when she hit that wall. Did you feel pleasure breaking her spine in four places? In rupturing her internal organs? Maybe you smiled as she lay on the floor choking on her own blood."

Shana jammed her fingers down on the keys releasing a horrible discordant note from the instrument , the rabbits words had unlocked a very black corner of her heart she'd done her best to keep bottled up since yesterdays incident. The shaking girl was compelled to protest even more fiercely.

"It was a damned accident.. JUST AN ACCIDENT! Nothing more....."

Her voice rose to a shout, then died away softly.

The first real smile played about the corners of Debbies muzzle as she uncrossed her arms and placed a paw on top of the piano

"Then you won't mind if i have 'just an accident' will you?"

And so saying the rabbit slammed the keycover down onto Shanas pawtips!The girl emmited a high pitched scream that resounded beautifully through the music room and she fell off the piano stool to crash on the floor. Shana writhed in sheer torment for a moment, tears squirting from her eyes before regaining her voice.

"You BITCH! I hate you! I HATE YOU! I'm telling Papa and Mama! I AM!"

Debbie squatted next to the prone cub, shaking her head with false concern

"Why are you telling on me? I said it was just an accident."

The girl cub shook her head wildly , still whimpering and hugging her devastated paws to her chest

"Fucking LIAR! You've done nothing but hurt me since we started! Now look at my pawtips! Theyre already going blue! ANYONE could tell you meant to do it!"

The bunny stood up and nodded breifly, the first real smile Shana had seen from her lighting up her features.

"Yes, they could, couldn't they?. Anyone could tell. Now, does that remind you of recent events in any way, perhaps?"

Shana opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. For the first time in her life the stunned little cub had nothing to say. The albino bunny continued to nod and resumed preening those long ears, supremely satisfied with herself.

"Yes, I think your lesson is over for today. Get your fuzzy butt to Gym class. Oh, and add six demerits for your absolutely shocking piano recital, another twelve for backtalk and abusive language plus a final six for being so damn late to class!"

****************************************

Shana dragged her aching feet on the way to the gym, weighed down by her concience. Her encounter with Debbie had opened her eyes to a whole horrible new world. Had she actually meant to injure Yasmin and been lying to herself, and everyone else? Had her punishments up till now actually been just and fair? Fern's words came back to haunt her

"....You don't care spit for Yasmin! You're only concerned with saving your own hide from pain...!"

Was she so blatantly transparent in her motives that the only person incapable of seeing the truth... was herself? It was a nightmarish new perspective on recent events and her entire attitude to life that the child refused to contemplate further.

On top of the fresh , raw ache in Shana's heart the accompanying ache in her backside reminded the girl she would have to endure seventy strokes after Gym class, that is, if she didn't earn herself any more. With her mind so clouded with misery , guilt and warring emotions it was no surprise Shana failed one of her basic duties as she approached the Gym, Anya's dojo, the canine's rough voice admonishing her the moment she entered.

"Six demerit points for failing to show proper respect to the Dojo and your Sensei!"

Creator damn it all she had forgotten to bow when entering! A major breach of basic martial arts courtesy. Shana swore internally and quickly knelt before her Sensei Anya, though it was fear of further demerit points rather than actual respect that caused her to do so.. The one eyed alaskan malamute was a retired assasin, one of the greatest ever trained. She was dressed in her usual training garb of ebony black velvet , her long white hair secured in a tight bun between her triangular ears save for a single lock of hair that hung down over the left side of he malamute's face , hiding the scar tissue that covered the eye. Proficient in many styles of martial arts including many lethal techniques, Anya was a loner, preferring to spend her time meditating in her Dojo. She trained Shana only as a personal favour to Master Kaon.

The black clad canine was a harsh, no nonsense teacher. The dojo itself was ancient japanese style, a courtyard for training in front lined with many weapon racks and a quiet area with water features and bamboo out back when meditation was desired.

Anya opened her one eye and glared at her student "Begin your warmups."

Shana tried to do as she was bid , however her usual routine of boring basics was transformed into a painful ordeal as her battered body protested at the excersizes. Running ten laps of the dojo was excruciating to her bruised feet and the girl stumbled and limped her way around the floor. Her stretch exercises were no less painful as the cub tried to get her aching little body to loosen up in preparation for her training and all the while Anya's riveting,single eyed gaze never wavered from her.

The malamutes soft voice reached the girls ears soon enough

" Today we shall focus on your kata form. I am interested to see how you perform under stress and without your powers to act as your crutch."

Shana had forgotten that, and the memory brought on an uneasy feeling. Usually their lessons were great fun, it was easy to keep in step with the malamute during kata practice and Anya was just too slow to catch her during sparring, too weak to overpower her in grapples and if Shana really wanted a laugh she'd use her chamelionic camoflage to become invisible, even if those antics did earn her demerit points. But now...

Their kata dance was simple in method, Shana stood just off to the left and just behind her malamute instructor. If they were in sync , everything would be fine , but if the cub messed up her stance or form, she'd soon know about it.

Anya's voice barked out her command " Kata 3, begin!" As the malamute and vixen cub began their routine, Shana relaxed a little. It was all a matter of memorization and positioning... Forward step, head punch, chest punch, forward step, throat punch, uppercutt. Martial arts wasn't as hard as people always made it out to be! Shana allowed herself a satisfied little smirk. Forward step, lionstrike, backfist, too late did Shana realize she'd forgotten her sidestep and with a sickening crunch the back of the malamute assassin's fist slammed into her student's nose!

Stars exploded before the cubs eyes as she was hurled onto her back by the force of the blow, paws flying to her aching, bleeding nose and she lay on the hard wooden floor bawling with shock and disbelief. The cub opened her teary eyes and despite her blurry vision she could see the black clad malamute glaring at her with disdain.

"So, if someone hits you in a real fight, your response is to grovel on the floor? "

Shana stopped her sniveling ,swallowed her angry retort and stood up, albeit unsteadily and resumed her position beside her instructor. There was no need for the malamute to have punched her that hard! It was just mean! Stupidly caught up and distracted by her own thoughts , Shana missed her queue for the next kata opening and seconds later found herself back on the floor, as her Sensei swept the legs out from under her! The malamute wasted no time in berating her.

"Concentrate, girl! If you don't focus on your opponent during a fight you will be beaten! Bah, this is pointless. We will move on to sparring. "

Shana gratefully scrambled to her feel and took her position as the two squared off across the Dojo floor, bowed to each other and began their war. Shana opened with a simple one two strike combination,usually with her enhanced speed it would play tatoo across Anya's ribs but today her Sensei simply weaved first right, then left like a sinuous serpent avoiding the blows entirely before grabbing one outstetched arm and slinging the cub across the Dojo floor..

"Where is your form? You must be prepared to both attack and defend at a moments notice"

The vixen cub jumped to her feet as her Sensei approached, circled right then snapped a kick at the wolf's head, held it straight for a moment then stepped back into a combat crouch, confident she had scored a point. Anya neither moved, nor looked impressed.

"What were you trying to accomplish with that? It is excellent for breaking boards in an exebition, but a real opponent will see a dozen ways to capitalize on your error! Your movements must be fluid!"

With a growl of frustration, Shana turned her head away, unwilling to be made a fool of any more, and she was immediatly rewarded with Anya driving a roundhoused kick into her sternum, completely knocking the breath out of her, throwing her back against the wall and leaving the cub winded and gasping, slumped on the floor.

"Now you take your eyes off your opponent! Pah! Just as I expected, you have learned nothing. You have treated this Dojo, treated me like your own personal plaything! Without your powers you are nothing. Your Father shall hear of this."

Her Sensei then turned her back to her onetime student and began to walk away.

Enraged beyond all reasoning at her treatment the anger building within the little cub all day erupted fourth.In a burst of temper not unlike the one that had caused all the trouble, Shana snapped, grabbed the nearest weapon to her, a three pointed sai and charged the wolfess from behind. The foolish cub never even saw Anya move. One second she was raising the sai to strike, the next second her shriek of agony cut through the tranquility of the Dojo like a shard of broken glass.. Like a striking cobra the ex-assasin had grabbed the weapon arm and twisted it out of its socket bending the elbows and wrist against each other whilst forcing the girl to her knees. Shana couldnt even see, blinded by tears and by the crippling pain in her arm, she was now at the complete mercy of this horrible canine.

Anya's words were damning, her voice harsh and laden with sorrow

."Indeed I have truely failed. You could not even learn the basics of honour I tried to instill in you. You are of no worth to me or any other."

She let the sceams and sobs of pain echo around the dojo for a few seconds more then let up the pressure just a fraction so that Shana could form a cohesive sentence rather than just primal howls of anguish.

"STOOOP!" was all the agonised girl could scream, a frantic plea for clemency

The malamute curled her lip in distain, revealing ivory canines "Why should I? I feel no pain at the moment. Tell me, do you enjoy being my toy? That is all you are to me now. I can twist your body anyway I see fit and you will dance to the tune I play."

Somehow, between anguished,agonised wails of torment, Shana managed to gasp out "NOOooooOo.. PLeaSe Stooppp."

Her sensi spoke so softly that Shana could bearly make out her words over the cubs own anguished screeching "Will you train hard under my instruction from this day forth to truely learn what I offer to teach?"

"YES!" The pain in her arm spread into her chest as the muscles there started to rip and tear, tears of anguish streaming down Shana's cheeks to dampen the hard, laquered wood of the dojo floor

Anya let the girl bawl for a moment before making her second demand "Will you learn to master that vile temper of yours?"

"YES!" Shana's neck and jaw began to lock up muscles tightening and cramping with excruciating force making even speaking an effort

It seemed an age before the malamute spoke again, though in reality only a few seconds passed. "And will you show me, and all the other residents of this Beautiful Palace the respect we deserve?"

"YES! S...Sensei ,PLEASE....I.." Shana's vision began to fade to black, darkness creeping over her as the searing anguish in her arm raged unabated.

Anya nodded to herself, satisfied that the cub's words were genuine. "Good, now get to your Fathers study. He wished to see you as soon as your schooling was finished. Do not keep him waiting and Please also add a further twelve demerit points to your daily tally. I should not need to explain why..And remember, there is always someone stronger. "

With that being said, Anya callously snapped Shana's arm back into place and retreated to her place of meditation leaving the cub curled up on the dojo floor.

***************************************

Shana had never felt so helpless, so alone. Silent tears coursed down her muzzle as she waited for the agony in her arm to abate.When she felt able she gingerly picked herself up off the floor. Her whole body was sore, she ached from muzzle to tailtip. Beaten and broken, the misery wracked girl slunk throught the castle halls, desperate to avoid any undue attention, Until she stood before the vast oaken doors leading to her Fathers study.

They opened inwards, as she had been expected, and she took one, two, three steps forwards into the regal expanse of her Father's Olde English style study before the emotion of the day caught up with her. Strong, loving arms broke her fall and encircled her as Kaon carried his exhausted cub over to his recliner. There they stayed for a time, Shana cudded into her fathers chest as he radiated warmth and soothing, healing waves of power, repairing the damage inflicted over the course of the day, her paws, her arm and her muzzle, although the ache in her well paddled backside remained.

Slowly, the shivvering cub began to recount her day, from their morning meeting till the present time, recalling the pain, the fear and her own mounting insecurites..

"Papa.. everyone hates me now... what can I do?"

"That is not entirely true my child. The trials you suffered today, the pain you were afflicted with, they did so under my orders."

The cub looked up at her Father, a tremble on her lower lip, all her fears flooding back, the same ones she had felt when he removed her collar.. it semed so long ago now...

"Why?" was all she could ask.

Kaon sighed deeply , the dark haired, emerald eyed vulpine choosing his words with care "After the... incident last night I spent some time trying to devise a suitable method of discipline. I soon realised a lesson needed to be taught and no mere beating would suffice. A lesson to show what happens when those with power abuse their gifts. Those of us who wield such power must be always on our guard, one misplaced word or... thoughtless act can leave shattered lives in its wake. A harsh, hard lesson to learn. One I have also suffered through. I will not ask for your forgiveness, but I will ask for your understanding."

Shana contemplated what he had said for some time, sorting throught the days events, fitting them in with what her father had explained. There were some questions that remained unanswered however and she could contain her emotions no longer. " Papa... do you still love me, even after what I did?".

"My little angel.. i never stopped loving you. I watched you every step of the way and as you grew more frightened and despondant I longed to pluck you up into my arms. Here, I have something for you, if you still desire it."

Her heart skipped a beat when he produced her guilded collar and dangled it infront of her nose. She couldn't help but tremble as her Papa gently clipped it round her neck, back in its rightful place once more.

Shana lay back against her father's chest and stroked her collar for a few moments, a wicked little smile played around her muzzle, although her powers had not yet resurfaced ,she foolishly allowed a little of her old confident arrogance to seep back into her attitude , after all she was a Princess once more. Almost as an afterthought she asked her next question.

"How is Miss Yasmin?"

"She is perfectly fine, my sweet. I revived her in time. Yasmin will be joining us at the feast tomorrow night. " The dog fox's voice took on a more stern note. "Now then, I presume your behaviour, or lack therof, earned some demerit points today. "

The smile that had been playing about Shana's muzzle quickly evaporated, she had hoped beyond hope her Papa was going to give her a break, however the stern expression on his face told her otherwise.

Beneath his piercing, withering gaze, the trembling cub slowly moved to the punishment cabinet on the wall and removed the birch rod. It was a huge, thick cane an inch round and five feet long, crafted from laquered birch wood that required the use of both arms to be swung properly. Shana carried the nightmarish discipline tool in her arm to her waiting Father.

Kaon took the birch rod from his daughter and laid it across his lap , feeling it's weight. He hated having to use this thing on his precious child just as much as Shana hated to recieve strokes from it. The male vulpine regarded his shivering daughter for a moment and his next words , although expected, still made the girl feel sick to her stomach.

"Fetch your restraints, sweetie."

Shana dragged her footpaws back to the cabinet, her restraints meant her Father truely intended to see this through to the end , all eighty six strokes worth. The girl cub felt tears leak unbidden from her emerald eyes, the throbbing ache in her rear from the earlier paddling was a stern reminder this birching would be even more sickeningly painful than ever before.

Despondantly, Shana brought her restraints to her Papa, unable to keep the tremors running through her small frame from creeping into her voice

"My.. misbehavior earned me e..eighty six strokes today Papa. Can we do this quickly, please?"

Shana was surprised to see her beloved Papa visibly flinch at the magnitude of the punisment he would have to inflict on the child he loved so dearly.

Kaon squeezed his eyes shut as his child began to disrobe in preparation for her discipline, the big fox ran a dozen scenarios through his mind. He had no real desire to lay so much agonising hurt on his child, yet a hard, harsh spanking she had been promised and an extended period of discipline she would need to recieve. Eighty six strokes! That was more than double her harshest birching to date and that had left his girl a quivering, bawling mess by the end. A full eighty six strokes would take more than an hour and a half to deliver and he suspected Shana would only be semi-concious by final strokes fall. His eyes opened as he stared at the ugly wooden rod in his lap, fighting a sudden urge to snap the thing in half. His little girl was only nine years old.. despite what was expected of him, did he honestly have to do this? The answer was simple but distasteful, of course he did. Shana had faced the wrath of every member of their extended family so far and now , as her Father and her Master , Kaon had to make his own personal statement as extreme as possible. All things considered, she did deserve it.

Shana's quiet, sorrowful voice interrupted her Papa's silent reverie..

"I'm ready, Papa.. c..could you f..fit my restraints please?"

Bent submissively over the large, oak desk that dominated the center of the study the terrified cub couldn't look at her Father as he stood and walked over to her trembling form, he gently stroked her with one paw as he lifted the girl cub's bushy tail over her back to fit it's restraint. Kaon noted just how black and blue his girl already was beneath that fluffy appendage and it gave him pause. Shana was already sobbing into the hard oaken surface of his desk and did not see the brief , caring smile flit across his features.

"Stand up, Shana. "

Came the soft command. Shana did as she was bid , but could only stare at the plush carpet beneath her footpaws.

"Look at me, Angel."

His voice was so soft , so gentle, that special tone that every child knows means 'I love you' . Shana looked up , with trembling lower lip and tear streaked cheeks and to her infinite surprise, Kaon handed her the birch rod.

"Put this back in the cabinet, sweetie. I can't use it on you right now... "

An explanation soon followed , the big fox unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

" I didn't heal the ache in your bottom as it was an agreed on discipline from your mother, but I didn't anticipate Fern would spank you so thoroughly. There is a danger that if I birched you now, the strokes might actually cut you open. I've never made you bleed before , and I'm not taking the chance on doing it now. "

Astonished and delighted by her reprieve, Shana almost skipped over to the discipline cabinet and placed the birch rod back on it's hooks, sticking her tongue out at the length of wood and now brimming with confidence and just a little of that old attitude, turned back to her contemplative Father. Kaon could see that his child still needed to learn that one final, special lesson. Holding the discipline cabinet open as his daughter tried her best to close it, the big vulpine considered which impliment to best utilize over the next few minutes.

Shana then made her second biggest mistake of the day. As Kaon moved his gaze from canes to paddles and back again , the foolish girl decided to protest against his decision

" Aww... Papa... do I really have to have another spanking?"

It wasn't just that false, pathetic whiny tone that set the dog fox's temper alight, it was the way she said it. After everything that had happened his girl still didn't believe she deserved the discipline he was going to meet out! Any lenient tendencies the big fox had been entertaining up untill then evaporated in a sudden burst of anger. Did she truly understand how close she had come to actualy killing little Yasmin? The better question might be, did she even care? Creator help her but Shana was going to learn the lesson he was trying to teach!

Like any child used to the peculiarities of her parent, Shana could see the sudden signs in her Fathers bodylanguage that sent waves of dread rolling through the pit of her belly. Black tipped ears swiveling back to nestle flat against his skull, every muscle in is body twitching and pulling taught, her Father was becoming angry and his rage was something she knew and feared. Suddely aware of the magnitude of her idiocy, damage controll seemed to be the only option left, a desperate attempt to quell her Father's mounting rage.

"I....I'm sorry Papa. Of course I deserve another spanking! I'll be good, I promise!"

However, like any parent used to the ways of their children ,Kaon knew instinctively there wasn't an ounce of sincerity in his childs voice and it only served to strengthen his resolve even further. Kaon now knew what he had to do. It was something he'd been hesitant to do up untill now , something he'd been saving for an occasion just as serious as this. The vulpine knew his child would beg for the birch if she had but the smallest inkling of what was in store.

Shana could only look on, in quiet misery as her Papa snatched up a willow switch. There was no doubt at all in her mind that he now intended to make good use of it. The second item he removed filled her with even greater unease, the dog fox removed something different, something... special. It was wide and black from the very back of the cabinet, a type of blister paddle that the little vixen had never seen before, nor did she get a good look at the mystery impliment as her Father swiftly hid it from her inquisitive gaze..

Kaon made his way back to stand next to his recliner , placing both switch and black paddle on the side stand before retrieving his girl's ankle restraints. After a moment silence, the fox closed his emerald eyes and addressed his trembling child.

"Shana, you have gone some ways towards learning what it is I am trying to teach you, now I intend to make sure it is never forgotten. I may not be inclined to birch you, but do not think I am incapable of making you very sore and sorry by other means."

Shana knew his tone of voice, had only heard it once or twice before , that tone of voice she had come to associate with the most pain she'd ever felt in her young life. It was cold as ice, powerful and deep like a glacier slowly tearing through granite. It terrified the living daylights out of her more that all the night terrors her subconcious had ever dreamt up. Shaking like a leaf before an oncoming hurricane, lower lip quivvering uncontrollably and the wetness of tears already caressing her cheeks, Shana continued to listen in silence born of terrified despair.

" Your attitude is largely unchanged and your actions are inexcusable! I will not tolerate your defiance and disrespect towards all the members of my household!"

The realization struck Shana that her Father was going to deal with her as if she had faced no repercussions to her actions up untill now. Her earlier spankings and humiliation counted as nothing, this was His time, His personal statement and the realization that Kaon was going to drive this final lesson home with all the force he could muster stirred up unwelcome butterflies in the cub's belly.

" I have always prided myself on the fact that , no matter how I spanked you in the past, no matter the number of strokes or impliment used, by paw, cane or paddle, it was always done as discipline. No matter what you may think, I have never punished you out of anger."

The big male opened his eyes at last and met his child's panicked gaze, there was no emotion there, his emerald eyes were as dead as the cold void of space, the emptiness that came with only the most focused rage.

"Untill now."

To the male foxes utter astonishment, his girl cub stopped her shaking, stopped her crying. Instead she almost grinned and when she spoke it was with both disbelief and just a hint of that old arrogance, the confidence in her tone nothing short of insulting.

"You couldn't hurt me like that, Papa, no matter what I did! You won't do it! You love me too much."

How dare she treat his determination like it was some sort of bad joke, twist his love for her into a weapon to avoid her fate and get her own way! She seemed so sure, so utterly convinced that ultimately, she was in control and Kaon said nothing to disabuse her of the notion. The time for words was over.

Shana just stood there, grinning idioticly at her Father, fresh relief etched on her features as he stared back and slowly, just a little, did his lip curl , revealing sharp, ivory canine teeth. A long , long moment passed between parent and child, a few seconds in reality but just long enough to let Shana finaly realize the monumental stupidity of her hubris.

The lengths and depths her father was prepared to go to make her understand, the amount of pain Kaon was capable of and willing to inflict on his child, all this was in question, teetering on a razors edge of uncertainty and Shana had just gone and called him out on it.

"Come HERE!"

Patience finally snapping at such blatant disrespect, the muscular dog fox strode to his child and clamped a heavy paw on her shoulder, fingers like steel sinew locked round her upper arm almost hard enough to bruise making the girl cub yelp in shock. Dazed and perterbed by the uncharacteristic rough treatment, Shana allowed herself to be steered over towards the recliner. Only when her Father begin to secure her ankle restraints and fit them to the solid leg of the reclining chair without comment or hesitation did the nine year old suddenly realise how badly she'd miscalculated her Fathers resolve. The ankle restraints would serve to stop her from kicking out and interrupting his spanking rhythm as well as curtailing her movement just enough to allow the big fox to place his blows exactly where he wanted.

Kaon seated himself and Shana found herself hauled bodily over her father's lap, legs taught and straight over one side of the recliner, her muzzle just hanging over the other. The little vixen cub swallowed hard , opened her mouth to try and protest, but this was both expected and anticipated.

"Not a word, Shana! Not one word!"

The heavy paw on her bottom convinced the cub to hold her tongue, and as her fluffy, orange tail started to curl down between her legs, her Father gripped it firmly and raised it over her back, fitting the restraint that would hold it in place and out of harms way whilst keeping her backside fully exposed and vulnerable.

Taking a moment to summon up memories of the hurt his child had caused to members of their family by her recent actions, Kaon reminded himself that this was to insure against further catastrophy. Humility and respect, his daughter possessed neither in great quantity and she had to be taught. Shana had begun to understand, but only He could make absolutely sure the lesson stuck with her. Defeated and submissive, Shana lay still over her father's lap, as his quiet whisper reached her laid back ears

" You are right, my little Angel.. I do love you, so very much. Always remember that. Are you ready?"

Shana nodded, an almost imperceptable movement and a gentle slap to her raised bottom was the reply , her Father would be starting with an old fashioned paw spanking. A few short seconds later there was a resounding, meaty *whack!* as Kaon delivered the first spank to his errant child.

Shana gasped in shocked surprise at the level of pain the impact produced. Her rump was still in recovery from the earlier paddling, multicoloured bruises and residual welts did not appreciate the sudden re-opening of hostilities, thank you very much. In short , it hurt. Gripping tight to the armrest she was leaning on, the trembling girl swallowed hard and grit her teeth for the second swat.

It fell in short order , a hard, open palmed spank that utilised the full strength of Her father's arm, even by this second blow Shana's rear had started to burn with renewed ferocity reminiscant of the aftermath of her earlier paddling and as she was rocked by the third hard, fast spank the lingering, deep seated ache sprang back to life with a vengeance.

More heavy slaps fell in a quick, steady rhythm and within seconds, fresh drops of moisture were beading at the corners of her emerald eyes to trickle slowly down fuzzy cheeks. A sharp, rapid fire half dozen more spanks to her sore, bruised bottom broke the cub into soft, misery laden sobs.

As her Father worked his paw down from tailbase to thighs and back again Shana found it increasingly difficult to remain calm and still. The gnawing ache created by the constant pounding and the lingering physical effects from her earlier spankings were growing more than just a little uncomfortable , the rough pads of her fathers paw coupled with the force he was exerting on her previously tenderised rear finally tore a high pitched yelp of pain from her maw.

Ten minutes passed , then twenty and still more swats fell. Now crying hard into the armrest of the chair at the ever present, ever increasing burn in her tail end , pained yelping punctuated her sobbing in rhythmic time to each hard spank as her upraised rump started to glow with the friction induced heat, turning a bright shade of pink under the constant rain of heavy , open palmed slaps.

Abruptly, the paw swatting stopped.Taking the brief moment of respite to compose herself as best she could, swallowing her sobs and taking a deep, long breath, Shana wasn't foolish enough to believe that was the entirety of her punishment and soon enough, a light, stinging flick to her thigh informed the little cub that her Father had taken up the willow switch.

Her self imposed calm was abruptly shattered by the whipping crack of the first real switch stroke. Impacting just below her upraised tail , across both her tightly clenched cheeks the willow bit deep , deep enough to sting the tight pucker of muscle hidden there. It wasn't the light, rapid whippy strike the girl cub had been expecting but rather a strong, cutting lash designed purely to raise a searing, savage welt. It was as if someone had scorched a line across her already firey red bottom with a lit blowtorch and Shana let out a desperate, shrieked yowl that increased in volume and pitch for a second, before dying away into choked sobs.

Slow seconds ticked away and the next stroke did not fall. Only when his childs trembling and hard sobs began to subside a little did Kaon let fly. Another blazing , cutting switch stroke slashed deep into the pink, bruised tissue of his little cub. It seared it's crimson path less than a centimeter below the first stroke as Shana's body jerked forwards, head snapping up as she gave voice to a long bawling wail of anguish. The sensation the switch invoked in her bruised, aching bottom was more akin to being slowly and methodicaly caned with a much heavier, thicker impliment than just the light willow.

Desperate, panicked whimpers escaping her maw, Shana waited with mounting dread for the third stroke, waiting, waiting for that quiet whistle of descending wood and accompanying tearing slash across her rear. She felt the subtle movement of muscle in her Fathers body and her whimpers increased to high pitched, anticipatory sobs.. Seconds later, a blazing series of whipstrokes thrashed a searing third, fourth and fifth weal into her bottom accompanied by her trembling, howling shriek of personal agony, her little body lurching forwards as far as her father's arm and ankle restraints would allow, then falling limply back over the armrest as Shana was wracked by breathless, hiccuping sobs.

Slowly, over long seconds the caning continued. There was no rhythm to the harsh switching, no expected blow she could prepare for, Just a sudden tensing of her Fathers muscles that gave her no time to react to the next rending tear across her rear. Sometimes single strokes fell, other times a double or three part harmony of anguish scored it's way into her flesh. A sudden movement on her fathers part caused the cub to arch her back and cry out, then lower her head in shame when no cutting stroke was forthcoming. What few mental defences the nine year old vixen had left were rapidly crumbling under the uncompromising onslaught of her Father's mind games , she felt so exposed, so vulnerable in the worst kind of way, never knowing when the next stroke would fall. Soon , her only measure of time was the constant, dripping stream of tears running down her muzzle to the hardwood floor.

Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter over a slow, anguish ridden fourty-five minutes. Shana's Father switched deep, crimson welts over the whole surface of his child's defenceless rear. When an ugly red line marked each centimeter of her bottom from tail base to thigh top, the dog-fox swtiched tactics.

Sudden, multiple whipstinging strokes danced over the deep crimson surface of Shana's bottom, light and fast,each one reminiscent of a wasp sting, again and again for a full five minutes more. Constant high pitched yelps and whimpers filled the room as the switch bounced off the cub's rear , reigniting and amplifying the ferocious, scorching heat in her tail end with ruthless efficiency.

Kaon eventualy placed the well-used switch back on the side table and his paw finaly made contact with the wide, black paddle. Shana rotated her head a little, swallowing her whimpers , to try and catch a glimpse of the mystery impliment. What she saw twisted her stomach into knots of terrified anticipation.

Although it was the size and shape of a standard heavy blister paddle , there the resemblance ended.. The handle and so, presumably the core of the paddle wasn't wood , but metal. A strong , unyielding carbon alloy crafted to fit Her Father's grip and the perfect weight for his arm. The business end was covered in a thin but stiff coat of stitched leather that would offer no cushioning from the force of each blow but rather would prevent metal edges from cutting into her. A single, golfball sized blister hole allowed it to be swung with minimal air resistance whilst just visible beneath the leather were a series of raised studs, laid in an expanding circular pattern. The whole impliment promised the devastating power of a belt buckle with all the controlled force of a regular paddle. Slowly, Kaon began to raise his arm...

"N...no Papa! Papa please.. don't."

The first words Shana had spoken during her punishment fell on deaf ears, her Fathers face carefully kept neutral as his arm lifted further , he wasn't even going to give her a half power spank to let her ajust to the new paddle! Desperate tearful pleas continued as her Father reached back as far as the chair and his arm would allow.

"Daddy.. please... NO..! N...!"

The paddle descended with the full power of Kaon's shoulder behind it to drive home into Shana's tender, welted bottom with a loud crack like the snap of a stockman's cattle whip! A rippling, kinetic shockwave of blistering anguish radiated outwards from the impact site like the explosion of a fragmentation grenade. Wracking spasms of electric agony shot through soft tissue and muscle down to her pelvic bone and beyond, up into her lower back and down her tightly clenched thighs.

All the breath exploded from her in a strangulated whoosh, Shana's body shooting forwards and up as far as the the strong paw on her back would allow, ankle restraints pulling taught and strained as her nose pointed towards the ceiling, eyes wide and unfocused, staring at nothingness. Her muzzle flopped open , throat and tongue working soundlessly without the air to power her vocal cords as a cascading river of hot tears streamed down her cheeks to mix with the frothy drool beading at the stretched corners of her maw and drip off the underside of her chin.

Never had Shana dreamed her Father was capable of inflicting pain of this magnitute. Every single nerve in her lower body was screaming in absolute, unbearable agony and that was the result of just a single stroke! Kaon lifted his arm once more to properly spank his child with the black blister paddle and the real pain began.

Over and over the black paddle desended to pound flat the swollen , welted tissue of Shana's behind, rapidly turning the flesh a dark purple under the relentless assault. The vixen cub slumped forwards over the arm of the recliner , convulsive shudders running through her frame in time to each thunderous impact, she couldn't scream , couldn't cry out or even draw enough breath to do so as the whitish blisters the paddle was named after slowly began to take form beneath her skin.

A small pool of tears had formed on the floor beneath her head, a testament to the unrelenting torment Shana was in, only feral growls and whimpers escaped her muzzle as the spanking went on and on. Welts upon bruises and blisters upon welts, each successive layer of agony was crushed and compacted under the sickening concussive force of each paddle blow in a white hot molten inferno of unrelenting excruciation, and still the harsh ,hard paddling continued!

It might have been five seconds, five minutes or five hours later, but somewhere in that unrelenting haze of raging pain, Shana realized her Father had stopped spanking her. At first, nothing. No sounds except the soft ticking of the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the office. Then soft, barely audible whining and finaly a massive , sucking inrush of breath and Shana gave voice to her agony with a long , undulating canine scream that rattled away into choking, retching sobs.

For a good half hour Kaon held his daughter as she sobbed brokenly over his lap. Her backside was an angry blood red with massive purple patches covering it's surface and no less than nine thick, whitish blisters, five on her right cheek, four on her left. She wouldn't be able to walk for several hours and the lingering ache would stay with her for days upon days. Carefully, he undid her restraints and picked his limp child up , carrying her into the study's back room where a small bed had been set up expressely for this purpose. He laid her belly down onto the soft matress and watched as Shana buried her face into the velvety pillow and continued to bawl quietly.

Kaon leant against the office wall , before sliding down it to sit on the floor only a foot or so from his daughter's head. His eyes were closed as he tried to recover his shredded emotions, although his keen ears were linked to the sound of his baby girl's crying. The audible sobs died away after a few more minutes, but she continued to cry hard , albeit silently without ceasing. His little girl had gone through a hell of his own devising and the fact that it had been expected of him didn't make the fox feel any better, not that he could ever show his child how wretched he felt right at that moment.

With a gentle, featherlight touch, Shana's paw came to rest on her Fathers cheek. Slowly, the the big fox opened his eyes and turned his head to his child. She was watching him with those beautiful emerald eyes and Kaon met her gaze , reacing out with one big paw to wipe at the teartracks staining her cheeks. He was both relieved and delighted when his girl leant into his touch rather than flinching from it and he was simply unable to keep the emotion out of his voice any longer.

"Shana.. please.. never give me cause to punish you like that again..."

Shana could hear the sorrow in her Father's voice, see the grief in his eyes.. and it nearly tore her apart. He hadn't wanted any of this, but her own selfish stupidity, and stubborn , willful arrogance had forced his hand.

"I won't, Papa.. I promise. I... "

For the first time since that fateful punch last night , Shana was flooded with remorse for her actions, not only that it had such dire repercussions for herself, but that it had inflicted just as much terrible hurt on everyone else around her.

Now she understood what everyone had been trying to teach her, not just over the last twenty four hours, but for months and years on end.. Her mother, Debbie, Cindy. Anya and Yasmin.. and her precious papa Kaon, but it had taken her Father's final solution for her to realize it.

Life wasn't just about her.

"... I'm sorry..."

Kaon could sense the change in his child immediately, he knew she finally understood. He hoped with every fiber of his being that she would never, ever forget.

"I am sorry too, my little Angel.. It grieves me that it had to take this much to make you understand."

Shana winced in agreement , gritting her teeth and tried to copy her Papa's voice

"Yeah.. it grieves me too.... ugh.. "

The dog fox smiled a little at his childs attempt at humour, her fortitude was quite impressive. She had calmed down considerably and was accepting the aftereffects of her discipline without complaint.

"I have a some soda in the study bar fridge , would you like a can?"

Shana nodded a little and Kaon went to retrieve the soda. By the time he returned scant minutes later, his cub was asleep, exhausted by the days physical and emotional trauma. Kaon stayed next to his little girl whilst she slept , making sure she didn't accidentaly role over onto her back. He knew she wouldn't want to be alone when she woke and suspected she'd need a long cuddle when she did. How this day would affect her future remained to be seen....

".....Sleep, my little Angel and awaken to the new dawn. Now and forever, you will always have my love....."

Fin