Astaroth Death in the family

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#2 of Astaroth Ankh

Continuation of Astaroth Ankh adventures.


Astaroth Ankh: A death in the family Disclaimer: This fan-fiction is meant for an adult audience, NOT minors. The material in this furry-fiction includes cruelty, swearing and four-letter words, marital infidelity, violence, children abuse and other adult situations. The author does NOT condone these or any other illegal activity. This is all fiction. Parents are at fault if they do not supervise what the minor is seeing. Adults are welcome. ****** It was a quiet morning in Glover Ville suburbs as its inhabitants prepared for their everyday routine, when... Katherine groaned in protest when an old boom-box turned on and woke her up with the morning news. A female news host said: 'In news related to yesterday's headline transmition, a 'Patriarch' class heavy cruiser, the 'U.S.S. Capitol' was sent to investigate the recent hacking and robbery of Delta Star's orbital bank. No explanations have been given at the moment by Delta-Star financial group chairman, Sampson Peretti, claiming that this incident is still under investigation by Starfleet's Joint Administrative and Intelligence Task group. Unconfirmed information claims that...' Kate threw a pillow at the antique radio, which made a clattering noise as the electric device fell down and turned off. The room was silent again. The vixen picked her toothbrush from a glass while she glimpsed at the clock on top of her nightstand. Katherine saw the clock's time and realized with panic: 'Oh I'm getting late! No time to hear more unsavory news. I must call a taxi!' When Katerine arrived at the town mall, it was a beautiful day with clear skies, a perfect day for relaxing and socializing, especially for a certain centaur vixen that had a busy week feeding and getting the cubs ready for the daycare center. Katherine Dickinson hummed patiently while she ordered a foamy cappuccino and a pastry from the coffee shop's interactive menu screen. Seconds later, a cylindrical droid brought to her a tray with her coffee and dessert while Kate searched for the credit chip. The automated voice announced with a feminine intonation: 'Here is your order of a strawberry biscotti and a mocha cappuccino with whipped cream. I need your credit chip and biometrical data to complete the transaction.' Kate inserted her credit chip into the android's arm while she gazed at the droid's retinal-scan reader. The droid answered: 'The transaction is completed, Ma'am. Thanks for shopping at the Tri-state mall.' After cleaning her sugar covered paws with a paper handkerchief, Kate padded towards an interactive holo-screen and gave an oral command to the computer: 'Show me the location of Cyber-Klean, the automaton concessionary store'. Kate stepped onto a transportation pad and hoped that she would buy some house-keeping droids to help her with the cub-sitting and house chores. The Mozart sonata soothed her nerves, but she wished that the holographic advertisements wouldn't be so loud. When Kate entered inside the automaton concessionary, she was marveled at the sheer quantity and variety of human-like cyborgs that she saw at that place. Some of them were doing chores in a section of the store that was decorated to look like an old four corner house. When Kate searched for several minutes on the store's interactive hologram-catalog, she became disappointed that couldn't find any androids that resembled chiroptera, or even Aspatrian foxes. A human employee looked at the vixen's body language and sensed Kate's frustration. The brunette woman greeted the centaur fox: 'Good morning! Do you need any help?' Katherine replied: 'Yeah, I need some maintenance droids for general cleaning tasks, cub care and homeschooling. But the merchandise's appearance would hinder the cubs' socio-cultural learning.'The woman nodded and said: 'We have some specially designed models that could mimic any non-human species in our Atlanta factory, plus we can customize the droid's appearance, social protocol and pedagogical training to satisfy your cubs' cultural adaptation needs. Our merchandise is multi-lingual and has a speech analysis chip that helps it learn any language.' Kate smiled: 'Now you just hit the nail.' The human employee smiled when she heard the vixen approval: 'If these droids are going to be around your cubs, you will need one of the models with advanced behavior protocols, plus some paramedic and child rearing training.' Kate smiled at the woman: 'Just make them in a way that would make their socialization easier with the cubs. Maybe the fur coat should be rusty brown or gray?' The human continued: 'You will have to answer an on-line questioner about your family's needs, some information about the things that your cubs and husband like, and your children's biomedical data.' Kate nodded while she gave to the human a chip with the cub's medical and school records while she filled an online questionnaire. The brunette woman picked her cell-phone and dialed at the droid warehouse in Atlanta while she entered the family's statistical data into a virtual screen. She gave to the production supervisor the specifications for the automaton's cosmetic appearance and the requested behavioral programming. The sales woman asked Kate: 'I need your credit chip, please.' Katherine gave to the brunette woman her isolinear credit chip: 'The only thing missing is your genetic data, please place your finger on the epidermic scanner.' Kate placed her finger on the bio metrical reading device to complete the transaction. The brunette woman smiled: 'Your order shall be delivered on the next two weeks. As a special service for buying three special droids at this store, a cleaning droid shall be lent for cleaning services until your order is delivered at no extra charge. Thanks for shopping in our store.' Kate smiled as she bid farewell to the saleswoman. Kate briefly whistled a happily while she padded towards the mall exit. Once Kate stepped out of the mall, she hailed an automated taxi cab. She commanded to the hover-car's computer: 'My destination is the Glover ville's block number 7, house number 3465 in Oakwood Avenue and 27th street.' The monotonous voice in the robotic dashboard replied: 'Affirmative. The time of arrival will be in 45 minutes. Please, do not smoke and lock on your seat belt.' Kate went inside the hover-taxi and traveled home. Suddenly, Kate's cell-phone rang and she picked it up, expecting her husband's call, but she frowned when she couldn't identify the number on the phone's screen. Katherine answered her cell-phone: "Good morning! This is the Katherine Dickinson. May I ask who is it?" Katherine frowned when a pediatric nurse identified herself and told her that Stephanie Renard requested her authorization for forensic and medical procedures on her body. The vixen asked to the nurse: "Can I speak to the patient?" Katherine was surprised to hear such request from that ill-mannered kit, but she wanted to know what was on the girl's mind. Kate replied: "Now listen child, why aren't your parents with you and why do you require my authorization to perform a medical intervention?" Katherine crumbled emotionally when she heard Stephanie's tearful pleading. "Oh lord! Did your mom and brother really attacked you?! And both of them are in custody now? Wait, who's taking care of you now? Where is your dad?" Kate's jaw dropped when she heard the first details of the incident: "I'm not surprised that that stupid kid tried to molest you but why did your own mother hurt you? Wait, calm down and tell me one thing at a time. What all this stuff about a divorce? (Sigh) Stop crying and calm down, you're not making any sense. You will tell me everything about what happened once I'll get to that hospital. Now, fetch me the doctor. I'll give him the authorization to do any analysis or medical treatment that you may need." Katherine sobbed briefly. She regained a bit of her composure and asked William to pick up the cubs from the daycare center and school, omitting the reasons why she had to be late. William told her not to worry about dinner; he would buy something at a fast food restaurant before picking up the cubs. The centaur vixen gave to the robotized transport a new command: 'I need to travel to the medical facilities where this phone call has originated. It's an emergency!' Once the computer heard and entered the words 'hospital' and 'emergency' to its program parameters, it sent a distress call to the transit control center while it replied: 'This transport will deviate and take one of the paramedic air traffic routes. The time of arrival will be in 12 minutes!' Once Kate stepped out of the cab, she spoke with the copper who intervened with the assaulted rejuve. The adult fox spoke to the brunette policewoman: 'Agent Webster, the TRIAGE technician told me that you where the person who first intervened with that child. What did that girl told you?' The human female replied: "I received a communication from the (police) station reporting that an endangered minor was wandering on the street without supervision. When I drove to the street where the incident was reported, I saw her sitting on the lawn near a residential parking. I felt sad when I saw that the staggering, small vixen was covered with bruises, so I thought at first that she had a serious fight with some rejuvenated kids or had been excessively punished. The red lights flashed in front of me when she said that she didn't want her custodians to be notified under any circumstance. She said that she wanted to be brought to the hospital immediately. Even if it's under police custody.''Now that I think about it, I believe that she misinterpreted my surprise as a sign that I didn't believe her. So she picked up a stone and tried to break a hover-car's window, but she ended hurting her own paw.' The police woman continued: 'She said in her own words: "I don't care if you bring charges against me, just send me away from that crazy family". That outburst took a heavy toll on her. Because when she tried to walk towards me, she briefly grabbed me by the leg of my pants for a few seconds before collapsing on the lawn'. (The policewoman sighed) The female cop continued: 'If the forensic team finds blood or any bodily fluids with the with the adolescent's genetic material, we will have enough evidence against both of them. Although the attorneys didn't find traces of the victim's blood on the perpetrator's hands, the forensic team found a blood-stained sweater discarded in a neighbor's garbage can. She tried to deny everything until we confronted her with her own epithelial (skin) traces in the sweaters fibers, so she finally admitted what she had done. ' Katherine walked thru the hospital corridors until she found Stephanie sitting on the examination table and clad in a green 'Johnny'. Usually the small vixen didn't mind being 'in the fur' but she was glad that the green fabric hid her bruises. Kate hugged her like she did with all her cubs, but the girl yelled in pain: "Don't hug me so tight, it hurts!" Kate kissed her all over her face: "I'm sorry, child!" Stephanie frowned for a brief moment when she realized that Kate looked at her with a calm, serene face instead of the angry scowl that she usually used to place her in line. She caressed the child's face and said: "What happened? I promise I won't get angry, even if you use your 'colorful language' to explain me everything." Stephanie sighed in relief: "Although I was furious when that fourteen-year old asshole touched my genital area, that bitch didn't attack me because she wanted to protect her son against my testimony. No, I got into this mess because she wanted to make sure that nobody knew that that bitch was having an affair with another couple, both man and dyke. That information would have cost her an awfully fat sum of cash from a divorce process that she requested six months ago." Katherine's jaw hung as Stephanie's information took her by surprise: 'They could have fooled me. I thought that those humans loved each other.' Stephanie felt like scoffing at Kate's comment, but the kit continued: "I wanted to get even with that stupid kid and hurt him in the worst way possible, so I told him that her mother was having a blasted affair. I should have known better and keep my fragging mouth shut.' (Kate arched an eyebrow and Stephanie gulped when she realized that she said a four letter word twice). The kit stammered: "W-when I insulted that boy I didn't realized that he's stronger than I am and he could h-hurt me really bad. When that wench heard us fighting, she asked him for his version of what happened. He told her what I've said, but he didn't had the balls to admit what he touched me or that he hit me first. I barely started my version of the story when her cold demeanor (towards me) changed into an infernal rage.' 'When I told her that that dirty brat touched me, she accused me of seducing him. Yuck, totally gross! She wanted to protect her 'dirty little secret' by terrorizing me and making sure that I would never open my muzzle. At first I was glad for the yelling that that brat got after she saw my blood stained crotch. But when that woman yanked his clothes and hung him upside down like a chandelier, I felt like I would soil my knickers. When she beat him until he was too exhausted to cry, I felt like I was paralyzed with fear. She was already crossing a dangerous line with her own son, and I felt like bolting out of the house, but she dragged me by tail before I could flee. The way that woman assaulted me; I thought that someone poured gasoline all over me and lit the match. Even 'my initiation' into my own gang years ago (a brutal beating by members of my own gang) didn't prepare me for what I got. For a few seconds my vision turned black and I barely kept myself conscious. I had to crawl on all fours to the bathroom.' 'Her ambition turned her from a caregiver into a torturer; she was only interested in making sure that I would never testify and ruin her chances of getting a hefty sum of her husband's bank account. She threatened to break my tail off if I didn't wash off the blood and cum over my fur." Stephanie smirked: "I saw the chance of escaping when I turned on the taps so the noise would mask any sounds. Then I climbed thru the small bathroom window. I climbed down a grapevine until I made it to the first floor. I knew that that ungrateful bitch would have hurt me, even if I had done what she wished. Julius would be very proud of me." Katherine couldn't believe that this four year-old girl would do something that risky. Wait! In what kind of world was she living, his little 'Fennec' (Aster) got into more dangerous situations to save her and her family. She shouldn't blame this kit for saving her own hide. Kate kissed Stephanie's forehead again: "I'll wait for the complete forensic results and your dad's version of this incident. However, there's a proverb that says 'sooner or later, the truth's face shall emerge'. Stephanie's ears got a shade paler while she felt a wave of fear. 'If you didn't lie to me I'll find a really good family for you, but if you aren't telling me the whole truth, well... You'll regret your words for the rest of your cycles. That's a promise that I'll keep, no matter what." Kate said with a poker face. Stephanie looked at her with desperation and disbelief. She yelled: "But I told you the whole truth. Why you don't believe what I've said?!" Kate stared at her and said: "Did you provoke them on purpose when you insulted that boy? I'm starting to believe that you had an ulterior motive when you picked up that fight and I know that sometimes you can be very manipulative, and you showed a complete lack of restrain. So, did you pick up that fight so you could get rid of your former parents?' Stephanie had an angry scowl, but she sighed before answering: 'I wanted to hurt that little jerk for what he has done to me, not to gamble with my own life. I already know that my present fate would never change, even if a meteor crushed that cruel bitch.' Kate replied: 'You better watch your muzzle. I'm considering seriously that I should break my promise.' Stephanie winced: 'Sorry for saying crap about those two, Mrs. Dickinson. I should be grateful for the help you gave me.' Kate sighed: 'When you finish your recuperation, I'll decide if I'll give you a few hours or two or three days of nonstop punishment, depending on what I will find about your behavior before the attack. Your story sounds very suspicious, but I will not punish you until I know what really happened in that house.' Stephanie winced. Kate had mixed feelings regarding Stephanie's actions. While it was true that the kit's actions precipitated in some way a divorce, it was Stephanie's stepmother who gave a lot of grief and suffering not only to Stephanie, but to her husband and son. She had to know all the facts before acting in a fair way. She was now the child's caregiver and NOT Stephanie's owner. That human had set a very bad example for both minors under her care and Kate hoped that that human's parental license would be revoked for the rest of her life. But if Kate wanted Stephanie to adapt to her family she must learn the rules of this house and to know about what type of behavior would be expected from her. Kate would have to use some tough love and correct Stephanie's impulsiveness before she hurt herself or the cubs. The alternative for that little fox would be to repeat a lot or cycles. Kate decided to fast-dial her phone and call William: ''Hello love, how is everything?" William responded: 'The same crap as always, dear. Have you ordered the droids?' Kate responded: 'Uh... Yeah! I've ordered four models. Three of the smaller droids are for cleaning and cub care purposes. The adolescent-like droid is for 'entertainment', security and paramedical purposes.' William responded: 'I'm glad to hear that. Now you will get some well deserved rest and an extra help with the cubs. Especially now that Aster's puberty is kicking in and the uncontrolled growth of his symbiotic 'worms' are taking a toll with his stamina and mood. (Sigh) Too bad I didn't realize that the growth of those parasites would damage any electronic appliances or the computer network inside the house '. Kate sighed: 'He didn't like it when we told him that we had to move his room to the attic or else he would have fried the rest of the appliances. He gave such a cute pout when I told him that we had to move his bed and roosting pole. Did you warn the nurse about wearing working gloves while she's changing Aster's diaper?' William chuckled: 'Her expression was very funny when I told her that Aster's fur is ridden with poisonous tarantulas and a plethora of alien insects. Too bad his uncle didn't warn us about the anti-bacterial properties of those critters. I would have skipped giving him baths more often.' Kate frowned: 'How is my winged 'Fennec' adapting well to that new place? I'm a bit nervous about how those humans will react.' William replied: 'Don't worry love, the caregiver told me that he took his medicine and right now he's sleeping like a log. I'm a bit worried about his physical condition, so I have scheduled a medical check-up with an exo-biologist. But I'm still puzzled with the strange dreams that he had yesterday. He told me last night that he dreamed that a boy and a woman assaulted him and left him unconscious. I had to help him wake up this morning with a cold shower. Kate, are you listening? Kate!? Are you hearing me?' Kate felt a chill running thru her back when she heard William's comment. Did she hear well? Was his little cub having premonitions about Steph's attack days before it happened? It wasn't that big a surprise if her winged cub could teleport and materialize out of thin air. This fact explains some things but left other questions unanswered. Kate snapped out of her haze and replied to William: 'Would you please buy another hamburger meal when you pick up the kids? I believe we will have a guest.' William frowned when he heard Kate's request. Two months ago, in a medium sized, cargo ship that was traveling from the Magellan Cloud Galaxy to the Milky Way... An unclothed lioness was kneeling down and meditating while she waited for the cabin boy to bring her some of the crew's barely decent grub. She got up when she heard someone knocking on the metal hatch. She replied with a tone of indifference: 'Please, come in!' A young Jalaxian tom brought her a tray with food and a glass of wine that he stole from the captain's food compartment. The cabin boy had an embarrassing erection when he saw the one-eyed lioness in just her tan fur. She ordered curtly: 'Leave the food tray on the table and leave. Thanks!' The young lad replied: 'Mistress Lydia, you have an encrypted communication with a Ferengi surgeon regarding your eye transplant and limb regeneration treatment.' The one eyed lioness nodded at him before resuming her commanding, cold demeanor: 'And what did he said?' The young tom stammered: 'H-he will communicate with you personally through this holographic communicator.' The lioness saw that beside the food tray was a small cylindrical device with several buttons. She nodded briefly while treating the cabin boy like he's her own servant: 'You have done well, now you are dismissed. Thanks again.' The young cat nodded as he bowed out of fear. The poor tom felt that he was in the presence of a borderline psychopath. The holographic image of the Ferengi Surgeon appeared and the young lioness interrogated the humanoid. She demanded more information regarding her condition and risks about her incoming surgery. The alien surgeon replied: 'With the recent advances in cloning and accelerated tissue replication technology his operation shall be easy enough. However, if you want to remain in hiding I would suggest you would send of your Latinum payment by physical means, using a pre-programmed drop-ship in order to avoid any cybernetic traces in the galactic net. The medical droid will arrive in three days so I can proceed with the remote controlled surgery and evaluate your progress. Even if the microwave signal is interrupted, the android will know what to do, so there will be no complications. Thank you.' The feline princess noticed that the Ferengi avoided making eye contact with her. The Lioness suspected that that big-eared humanoid was just shit scared of her. She felt satisfied that she could still intimidate anyone by just looking at that person, but her hearth leaped with horror when she found an unidentified, interstellar mail attached to the message files on her holographic device. Did the Dragon's assassins finally found her? The lioness had the surprise of her life when she saw that the cub that she thought was responsible for her father's death is now under a slaying contract, but... by whom? 'I can't believe I've found that little blasphemer after all these years! But why would anyone would want that little shit dead? Oh fuck, why would I bother thinking about who wants him dead? He's not a realm's citizen. That apostate vermin is just a pariah and a racial enemy of the regime. Perhaps if I kill him the dragon's agents will forgive me or at least turn a blind eye.' After a bath, her dosage of medicine and a tooth-brushing with soap, Katherine told Stephanie that she would spend the evening with the rest of the cubs. She bought a yellow summer dress, a fresh diaper and a yellow onesie for the fox, plus a pair of brown flip flops and a wide straw hat with a matching pink bow. Kate laboriously brushed the kit's fur until it shone and cut the kit's tangled head-fur into a page hair-style so she would look more feminine. Kate sighed and said: 'Now listen, kit. You already know the rules but you got to count to ten before yelling at someone or doing something that you may regret later. I spoke this morning with your former dad, and he told me that he already had a detective trying to find out that woman's dirty laundry. Your human dad was quite surprised when he found out what that woman did yesterday. It seems that you hit that bitch's buttons, but if a Good Samaritan hasn't called the police and warned them about you, you luck would have ended eight hours ago.' Stephanie's eyes widened with fear: 'Did that wench hurt me that bad? D-did I have a foot in the grave?!' Kate nodded: 'You owe me your life to and you are in debt to a lot of other people you may never know. Now I have a responsibility with you and you have a responsibility...' Kate waited for an answer. Steph replied: 'To you, Mrs. Dickinson?' Kate shook her head: 'You have a responsibility to yourself, and to your new step-brothers and sisters.' Stephanie's eyes widened at the implications: 'Are you willing to adopt me?' Kate smiled briefly before assuming an all-business attitude: 'Don't get your hopes high; I will have to speak about this with my husband and your dad. But the correctional system will have the last and final word regarding your custody status. But I would recommend that you would give your most sincere thanks to your former dad. He's preparing the petition.' Stephanie lowered her head: 'I guess that I owe him not only thanks, but an apology for all the hard time that I had given to him, but I'll never apologize to that cruel bitch. I can't believe that that cruel woman hurt her own son like that! She deserves...' Kate noticed that the girl had shown some compassion: 'I know what she deserves. It's too bad that for your own safety you won't be there witness her judicial paddling. If a relative of your mom finds you, that person will try to convince or threaten you so you won't testify.' Stephanie muzzle hung with surprise: 'Her charges are that severe? (Stephanie rubbed the seat of her diapers). Ouch! But what is going to happen to that boy?' Kate said: 'Your former dad just told me that he won't have a happy weekend. I will have temporary custody of you until the court decides who will be your new parents. During that time you will be on probation and I will add any punishments based on any misconduct or aggressive behavior that you do. Your behavior will be written on your record and it will also affect the type of parents you will get.' Steph's ear membrane got a paler shade of pink: 'Yes ma'am!' Kate said: 'Just follow instructions and everything will be all right.' Steph thought: 'Oh crap, I better not ruin this. Or my sorry rump will need a pillow.' Kate asked: 'Listen kit. Do you remember any of your mom's relatives?' Kate shook her head. Kate replied: 'You must stay always inside the daycare center until William picks you up.' Steph's eyes widened when she realized what her stepmother would be capable: 'Do you think they will kidnap and hurt me?' Kate replied: 'It's too soon to know, but it could happen. If you are in doubt, ask one of the caregivers. Oh, I almost forgot something!' Kate leaned and gave a motherly kiss to Stephanie. Stephanie was speechless for a brief moment: 'Mom?' Kate responded: 'Yes, dear.' Steph replied before getting out of the hover-car: 'Thanks for protecting me!' Stephanie mixed up feelings made her sob briefly while she saw Kate drive back to her residence. She coughed and wiped off her tears to dissimulate her sobbing. She tried to regain some composure when she saw that an adolescent caregiver was approaching. The human girl smiled as she shook hands with the young fox: 'Hi! You must be Stephanie. Your mom called from the hospital and told me you would be staying here. I'm Violet, your caregiver in the 'medicalos' and 'penitatas' second group. You are the third fox that we have here!' Steph's opened in amazement and started to hop with excitement: 'Are there more foxes in this school? Where are they?!' The adolescent girl giggled briefly, not believing that such a cute vixen was once a violent, juvenile delinquent. Violet said: 'Their names are Aster and 'Lutin.' Steph's tail stopped wagging in disappointment. The kit sighed and said with a flat, emotionless tone: 'I sure know them!' Violet asked: 'Really? Well, I won't waste any time making preparations for you to greet them.' Stephanie rolled her eyes, not believing that this young human couldn't tell the difference between an Aspatrian fox and a Shabahim bat. Stephanie saw nearly two hundred and fifty children inside a huge basketball court. Some of them were sleeping or sitting on cots while others were reading comic books. Those who weren't resting chased each other, or were playing hopscotch, game cards or video games. Stephanie sighed and started to ask some the children about the twin bats, but without much success. Several minutes went by and she started to feel dismayed by the size of her search. Suddenly, Stephanie heard: 'Oh look, another one!' Stephanie grumbled like a mantra: 'I won't lose my temper, I won't! I came here to find those winged idiots, not argue with stupid kids who doesn't know crap about alien species.' Stephanie did her best to emulate Kate's dignified mannerisms and asked: 'Excuse me? Uh... What do you mean by the phrase 'another one'?' To her surprise a blue skinned child (an automaton) and girl with yellow pajamas removed the blanket that covered them and stood in front of the fox. The girl had a 'V' tattooed on her hands while the boy had an 'A' printed on his synthetic skin. Stephanie's frowned. The girl replied: 'I've seen a pair of male 'foxes', one of them brown and the other one gray. One of them is showering right now. I saw you looking at the cots, so I'm assuming that you're looking for them.' The children giggled briefly when they noticed that Stephanie's ears got a deeper shade of pink. Stephanie answered: 'Well yes, that's true!' The girl giggled: 'Wait here, I shall find him for you. Don't move!' The blonde, skinny girl ran towards the shower stalls to find a gray furred bat. Meanwhile, a dark haired, tall boy grabbed the small, blue-skinned boy by the shoulders and French kissed him in front of the blushing vixen. She blushed in spite on the fact that the dark-haired boy was kissing an android. she asked: 'Is it going to take long before she finds them?' The blue boy stopped kissing the black haired lad and answered: 'Not at all. Your brothers are always together, even if you don't see one of them.' The blonde girl giggled when she found Lutin using the urinals beside a small draconian lizard: 'Hey, silly fox! You better finish drying your fur. Your sister is waiting for you!' 'Lutin's eyes blinked with surprise when he was told that one of the girls was waiting for him. He adjusted his loincloth and ceremonial sash. He thought: 'That's weird. Even if Amanda cancelled her examination that Pediatrician, she shouldn't be here so soon.' When Lutin hurried out of the showers, he muttered under his breath when he saw a certain ill-tempered kit: 'Oh shit! Miss Sympathy just arrived here. I hope Aster will tolerate her. He's not in a good shape!' To Lutin's surprise, Stephanie smiled briefly to him instead of the angry scowl that she gave to both Aster and him the first time they met. Lutin froze for a brief moment, not expecting a behavior like this one. Stephanie's demeanor showed a calm and relaxed girl, instead of the storm of seething anger that Lutin used to know. What has happened to the kit he knew months ago? Lutin walked toward the little vixen showing a poker face. A nearby girl fidgeted nervously, expecting some nasty arguing, or even a fist fight between both furs when she saw the gray bat's facial expression. To the human girl's surprise, Lutin coughed twice and said: 'Your arrival is most unexpected, madam.' Stephanie raised an eyebrow for a second when she heard the gray bat's response. She decided to continue with the charade: 'You are not dressed for this occasion.' Noticing that the vixen was the only one fully dressed, Lutin tried to imitate an adult tone to mock them: 'I would say that you, young lady, are not the only one who has mismatched attire.' Stephanie giggled briefly while she shook her head: 'You haven't noticed, but we are wearing the same 'uniform'.' (She pulled some of her forearm fur as meaning 'we have fur'). 'But those two humans aren't wearing the same attire.' It was the turn for the two pajama clad children to blush. The blonde girl kissed 'Lutin' and bid him farewell. Then the older boy grinned as he said: 'Would you like a goodbye kiss, foxie?' Stephanie blushed: 'Nuh-huh! I don't kiss boys I barely know!' The dark haired lad pouted like a boy half his age: 'Just one on the forehead, cutie!' Stephanie replied: 'Deal, but if you try to touch me were you shouldn't, I will hit you where the sun never browns the skin. I mean it!' The boy saw the black letter 'P' on Stephanie's paws and realized that she didn't say an empty treat.Lutin whispered to Stephanie: 'You should know that this boy has seduced a lot of girls, and even some young boys to get some cheap thrills. Most guys, even those under correctional supervision are well behaved, but that one wouldn't hesitate to play with your feelings, rip your heart and toss it away like a dirty handkerchief. Be careful. Oh, we must help Aster get dressed and wait for dad!' Lutin asked: 'Stephanie, would you please fetch the nurse while I help Aster change his clothes?' Stephanie ran towards the infirmary and told the nurse to help her with her sick brother. Moments later, she saw that Lutin was chatting with Aster while the nurse was sponge bathing and making Aster drink his medicine thru a syringe. The bats kissed some girls and bid goodbye to the rest of their friends as William went to pick up the cubs. Once in the mini-van Stephanie chatted with Amanda and Mouse while the boys were occupied in a video game car race. Once the cubs walked towards the dining table, the foxes blessed their meal in Panglish and the bats repeated the prayer in their own high-pitched dialect. After the family finished their dinner the cubs showered and got ready to sleep. Meanwhile Stephanie was running across the hallway with her fur wet. William said: 'Stephanie, come right here and let me dry your fur. I have no time for playing! We're getting late for bed.' Steph tried to get out of her problem with a lame excuse: 'I just wanted to ask Amanda if she could do my hair.' William shook his head: 'Come right here!' Stephanie winced as she stood in front of her dad. Stephanie decided that the best thing she could do is just tell the truth: 'Sorry dad, I guess I got distracted.' William gave her a stern expression that paralyzed her with fear: 'I'm glad that you told me the truth, so don't be alarmed. I won't spank you unless you hurt anyone or directly disobey us.' William hugged and then kissed Stephanie on the forehead. Stephanie's response was a fierce hug while she leaned her head against his shoulder, which surprised her dad. William hugged her, rocked her a bit and spoke to her with soothing words: 'Tell your mom to dry your fur and get you ready for bed.' William patted Stephanie's cute derriere and told her to hurry up. Seeing the effects of the emotional neglect that that small kit suffered, William muttered: 'I will have to speak to Kate about this.' William decided to select the clothing that Stephanie would use for the daycare center. When the male centaur stepped into the kit's room, he noticed that the kit wasn't sleeping on her bed, but he noticed some cookie crumbs on the floor. William was puzzled by this fact, and he got a bigger surprise when he opened one of the child's drawers. Instead of panties, socks or clothing, he saw dozens of cookies, cans of meat, vegetables and other food. His eyes widened: 'All the starvation that that kit has suffered on that planet is turning her into a food hoarder! I will have a long talk with school psychologist later!' When William drove with the cubs to the daycare center, he gave an unusual lecture to the minors: 'Now listen Steph, I know that this is a new place for you and it will be difficult for you to adapt to this planet's culture. The same happened to your brothers and sisters but I want all of you to be in your best behavior. I don't believe in giving punishments 'just in case', but I believe in giving just rewards and just punishments for everyone!' To Stephanie's surprise, all the cubs gulped and nodded nearly in unison, like hypnotized. Stephanie sighed like she was accepting her fate: 'Yes daddy, I understand!' William nodded in satisfaction, knowing that his message was understood and that Aster would take care of Stephanie and the rest of his siblings. Will said: 'Good, now for the goodbye hug!' So the cubs gave a group hug to Will before going inside the daycare center. The cubs presented their identification tags to a male supervisor while they marched towards the dressing rooms. Stephanie asked: 'So... What do we do now?' Lutin answered: 'Well, we will some exercise routines, then some basketball or handcrafts for the newcomers. ' Stephanie whispered nervously: 'What's basketball?' 'Lutin' rolled his eyes: 'It's going to be a long day.' In that moment Stephanie's former dad appeared carrying some documents. Stephanie smiled when she saw him: 'Are those the adoption documents?' The adult replied: 'No Stephanie, I have delivered those documents this morning. The Corrections Council is analyzing your case and Mrs. Dickinson's request for adoption. Steph, I came here to offer my apologies to you. I have neglected my duties to you and risked your well being.' Suddenly, a red-headed girl asks Stephanie's step-dad: 'Daddy! When you will get the divorce so you can marry my mom!' In that moment Stephanie became so angry that her tail puffed like a bottle cleaning brush. Stephanie's dad responded: 'I've told you a hundred times that your mother and I are just friends. I'm sorry if your Dad is always working and doesn't have time for you, but that is something that you will have to discuss with both of them!' The red-haired girl turned away and started sobbing. Stephanie frowned: 'Dad, you never mentioned that you had a friendship with that human.' Stephanie's dad shook his head: 'That 'human' that you mention was just my college classmate and I knew her before I meet your former mom.' Stephanie made a cute, silent 'Oooh' and then she said: 'If I didn't see how much you loved your wife, I would have taken that girl's comment out of context and figured out that you had an affair. It's something that doesn't matter.' Stephanie giggled. Stephanie's dad responded: 'Maybe in your world marital cheating doesn't have consequences, but here on Earth that behavior is penalized and women have rights. Wait a second, did you say an affair?' The fox girl nodded: 'When that girl said that she wanted you to be his dad, I thought that something weird has happened, but when I recalled how you and mom treated each other when I first meet both of you, something didn't add up. It's weird, but I remember that a few weeks ago

my former mom'sbehavior changed. All of the sudden she became so cold, and angry. It was like she didn't respond to you in the same way she used to. You looked like a pathetic, nerdy idiot who tried to score a date with the captain of the cheer-leaders team...' Stephanie saw his dad's scowl and muttered: 'Oh crap, I did it again.'The adult human and the young vixen realized the context of Stephanie's comment and both whispered: 'Oh shit!' Both of them realized that if someone gave face value and started a rumor mill about that comment, someone would believe that the girl's mother was having an affair with the now divorced parent. It was a farfetched assumption, but if true it would explain the woman's behavior. When parent and child realized that they both said a four letter word in mid of a child care center, they looked around in trepidation for any caregivers nearby, just like two little children doing mischief.

The divorced parent picked up the 4 year old vixen and hurried towards the diaper table. Stephanie said: 'Dad, I'm really sorry for all the trouble that I've caused to you all this time!' Stephanie's dad kissed her belly while he pulled a fresh diaper from a cabinet and changed her. He said: 'Apology accepted!'

To be continued...