Part 7
"Please don't make this difficult for me, Nala," Donna's pleading voice came from the entrance of the cage, "You haven't had anything in a whole day, I'm really worried about you."
It wasn't like I could hide away from my owner, I was stuck in a tiny cage and she was standing over it with the two canisters nearby, one was for food and the other was water. I laid down on the cold floor of my cell, my arms crossed with my head resting on them. I had my eyes closed, there was no point having them open as all I would have been able to see was the inside wall of the shed, I didn't want to move my head to give Donna any indication that I cared about her presence.
I was angry. A whole day behind the bars did nothing to extinguish the fire that was raging inside me. I hated the two people who visited yesterday and whilst I did not have the heart to hate my owner, I did not want her anywhere near me. Eventually, I would have forgiven her, but that feeling had yet to come.
Deep down, I was aware she had nothing to do with my current situation. She was just doing her job, it was the decision of that man and woman from yesterday that extended my punishment for breaking the television. However, I knew I was just passing the blame towards anyone else, it was all my fault that I was in this situation, if I did not lose control of myself and broke the TV; I would not have to endure this punishment. It was easy to do as being trapped in the suit was constantly mentally draining, just a month in the suit had changed my brain to the point I started to forget parts of my life as a human. I was dreading to think what a whole year in this suit would do to me.
"Please, Nala! I'm begging, please have a drink… at least."
I remembered a lot about what the man spoke about yesterday. That was the issue with not being able to talk and being forced to watch, you remember more about the conversation than actually participating. He told Donna that Pet Correction was a complete success and everyone who was a pet did not recommit any crimes. Whilst that sounded good, I was beginning to question if they were able to commit any crimes? Maybe a year of being in the suit would mentally and physically change me for the worse? Would I always see myself as a pet rather than a human? Would I remember anything about my life before I was sentenced?
"Nala… Please." Donna's voice became more worried.
I finally moved my head slightly, only enough to move my eye towards the woman standing over my cage. Since coming in, she had knelt down to meet my line of sight and placed the water canister through the bars of the cage. I did not know how long she was in this position for.
"Just a drink of water… and then I will leave you be."
I didn't want to be alone, that was the last thing on my mind at that moment. In fact, I wanted company more than ever. I longed to relax between Poppy and Cleo, to feel their warm, soft bodies against mine, it was almost an addiction. Everything I wanted at that moment was to be with the others, more than being free and even more than seeing Mama. I just wanted physical contact with Cleo and Poppy, being by Donna's feet as she watched one of her stupid, pornographic cartoons.
However, my mouth was rather dry.
I finally pulled myself up and pressed the front of my mask onto the water canister. A short sensation of air shot through the gag before it was sealed tight, allowing me to suck through the mask. Sprays of water filled my mouth, feeling like pure heaven against the dryness that I was getting used to, I continued sucking and sucking, the sensation of the liquid travelling down my throat.
"Thank you, Nala," I could hear the sadness in her voice, "Thank you so so much."
I was just grateful to have something in my mouth. It was difficult to swallow my pride and take what the woman was giving me, I still was unhappy with the situation but I could not say no to water. Despite being face-to-face with the woman, I tried doing everything to avoid her gaze, looking around her at the rest of the shed, the walls, the floor and even the storage that stood above the cage, but I was struggling, more and more I had the desire to look in her direction.
One second, that was all it took. I quickly glanced at her as my eyes moved across the room and was surprised to see that she wasn't actually looking at me, she was staring at the floor of the shed as rivers of tears poured down her face, collecting at the bottom of her chin before falling onto the floor.
"You shouldn't be here, Nala," she looked like she could start screaming any second now, "You haven't done much wrong, I think they've got the wrong end of the stick. Maybe I made everything sound much worse than it was in my report."
I just stared at her as she continued talking, "Why did they have to come here! Why did they have to ruin everything, it wasn't like you were happy that you broke the TV, you were sorry and very apologetic when it happened. Maybe… maybe if we write a letter to them explaining what happened, explaining how you feel about everything… maybe they can lighten up your punishment and set you free earlier? I feel awful, I really do. I hate the fact you are here and not home with me, Cleo and Poppy. It doesn't feel right without you being there. I feel so guilty, it is like I've played a massive part in all of this."
I continued staring at her as I sucked the water through my gag, I gently placed my paw out between the bars and placed it on her foot, it was the only way I could communicate that I was okay. Yes, I was mad too, but there wasn't much we could do that wouldn't get us both into trouble. I hated seeing her this way, Donna was such a calm and collected woman, she hardly ever showed any negative emotion and I could tell the experience from yesterday had caused her to have grief with herself.
"I know… I know, Nala," she continued, "I know it's only five days of being in here and then you can be with your friends. It still feels way too long though. When the days are over, I'll give you the biggest lunch you have ever had!"
I smiled from behind my mask. It was a difficult time and I knew the five days within the cage would be emotionally and physically painful, but it was nice to see that she was feeling the same; I also assumed both Cleo and Poppy were also feeling the same way. Even though I was locked out of the house, I was not alone.
Donna finally pulled the now empty canister away from my face, "C'mon, I'll let you out to use the toilet."
The… what?
I was angry, I was embarrassed. There was nothing more humiliating than what I was doing at that moment. Donna made sure to turn her back to me, but even then I was struggling to go. As per my punishment, I was unable to go to the toilet in the house, using the same bathroom that Donna, Cleo and Poppy all used. Instead, I had to go outside like a real animal.
I huffed, turning away from my owner as far as I could. I desperately needed to go, but I had never done anything like this before. I had to close my eyes, tune out all of the sounds the outside world made and just pretend I was sitting on an actual toilet, going like a normal person. Donna chose a part of her garden that we hadn't really touched, a small section in the corner of the property where nothing really grew, it was just soil and dead weeds.
It took much longer than expected, but I managed to calm myself down enough to let it go. I sighed through my gag before the sound of the stream hitting the ground filled my ears, I was struggling for that not to affect me, but if I didn't go now; I didn't know when I would next be let out.
"Good job, Nala!" Donna almost screamed, she sounded like she was very proud of me for doing this one, simple task.
I clenched up, the noise pierced my ears and immediately made me uncomfortable. I held my body close together as the stream stopped, but my bladder was still half full. It didn't take much to stop me in this situation.
"Oh, sorry," she apologised quietly before turning back round again.
Slowly, I loosened up and got back to the task at hand, I breathed deeply and slowly and I continued going to the toilet like nothing happened. It was heaven, it wasn't just my bladder that relaxed but my entire body and soon it was finally over.
Donna clapped and cheered, this time much quieter than earlier, "Yay! You did it!"
She pulled out a wet wipe from her handbag and proceeded to crouch down and clean my private area up. It was something she did everytime we went to the toilet for health and cleanliness reasons, whilst I did find it humiliating at first I had become used to it, however being doing the deed outside brought back the feeling of humiliation.
"Okay, let's just get this done and we can then go back to the cage," she said, it was like she was trying to go for a happy tone but failed to hide the sadness in her words.
I knew she wasn't enjoying this, nobody in this house wanted this situation to turn out like this, it was just all rules we had to play by.
I briefly looked towards the house, trying to imagine what I would be doing if I were in there and not stuck in the shed like an unwanted animal. I would most likely be sitting on the sofa, watching the TV like always, with either Cleo or Poppy at my side.
That's when I noticed something at the backdoor, it looked like the door handle was being pushed down as if someone was struggling to open it from the inside. The first thought I had was either Cleo or Poppy trying to get their mittens around the handle, trying to open the door without the use of fingers or thumbs. It was a cute thought, if it wasn't for the realisation that they were going to get themselves in trouble for trying to see me, it was touching but I did not want any punishments for the other girls, I deserved this.
Donna noticed my gaze towards the backdoor but it was already too late. The door swung open and two pets came barrelling out of the doorway. The large frame of Cleo and the smaller frame of Poppy ran towards us in sync, using their bound hands and legs to move in a fast motion away from the building.
"No! Girls, stop!" Donna screamed, running towards them and leaving me behind her.
They did not stop, they both looked like they were on a mission and the commands of their owner was not going to make them cease. They managed to cover a lot of ground and got to us quickly, Donna held out her arms as if to create a block between me and the other pets.
"Girls! Stop this right now!" She continued screaming, "Don't get me in further trouble please! Just go back inside!"
They still weren't listening. When they were only a few feet away from us, the two girls split up. Poppy ran around our owner and headed straight for me, whilst Cleo used her body size to tackle the young woman to the ground. I immediately felt bad, I knew it wasn't Donna's fault that I was in this situation, but she was the one facing the price for my misbehaviour. Cleo was careful not to hurt her, wrapping her arms around the thin frame of the young woman as she held her down against the grass.
Poppy finally got to my side and placed her paws on my shoulders, gently pushing me back towards the house. For the first few steps, we walked on our knees, Poppy's paws were being used to encourage my movements and I was too stunned at what I was seeing to think like a normal pet. It took a few seconds for me to realise where Poppy was pushing me, she wanted me to hide but there weren't exactly many places to go in this tiny property and it wasn't exactly as if we could go beyond the fence. Only the house had enough spaces to hide and would take Donna a short while to find me.
It was a selfless act on their behalf, but it was ultimately impractical as I would eventually be found anyway. We relied heavily on Donna, she was our owner, our carer and our nurturer. However, it was clear that the girls weren't thinking long term, they just wanted me back in the house, where I should be.
I started running on my hands and knees with Poppy close behind me, it was the first time I really pushed my body in terms of speed in this suit and whilst I wasn't nearly as fast as the girls earlier, it was still a nice feeling in all. Donna's screams slowly faded behind us, Cleo was not going to hang onto her for too long, she cared and respected our owner, she was just going to hang onto her for as long as it was for me to get away.
We finally ended up back in the house, it was so good to feel the comfort of the home again. Poppy slammed the door behind her and struggled with the handle to close it properly, the soft sound of air escaping her paws filled my ears as she kept pushing and pulling the handle until it finally closed. Once the sound of the outside world escaped us, I only then noticed how loudly I was breathing behind the mask, the breathing hole whistled as I tried my hardest to get air into my lungs, this must have been the first time I truly exhausted myself since being here and wasn't used to breathing so heavily under a layer of latex.
Poppy quickly came up to me and placed her arms around my shoulders, the sound of the two latex suits connecting quickly became apparent. I returned the hug, understanding what the two girls did for me. Despite everything, it was nice to have another pet's company. They didn't give me a lot of time for freedom, but we had time… time to feel something other than the coldness of that shed, the heavy bars against my body or the insufferable silence.
For that moment, I had Poppy.
The white pet did not linger on the connection, we held each other for only a moment before she pushed herself off me and began frantically looking around the house, anywhere that would be difficult for Donna to find us. It wasn't a question of disappearing from her sight, it was how long we had left until she eventually found us.
She grabbed my right hand with both of her paws and began manoeuvring me towards the bedroom. Immediately, I was hit with the comfort of the room, the large bed that seemed so comfortable to me, as well as the many blankets and soft plushies that were scattered around the area, each one of them could be used as a pillow. I could never keep my eyes open when I was relaxing in here with Donna and the girls.
Poppy dived underneath the bed, trying to pull herself between the bottom of the bedframe and the carpet. It wasn't a huge space as the bed hung lower than a normal bed, but it was probably the only hiding space we had. It was almost comical seeing her white body struggle to get under the wooden frame, her head and torso managed fairly easily but it was her bottom half that was having trouble, despite her butt being the smallest out of all of ours; she had issues fitting the rest of her underneath. Her legs moved and shook in every direction, every movement she made pushed her further and further inside until she managed to squeeze the entirety of her body within.
The last part of her I saw disappear into the dark void was her petite feet shaking left to right with the cute paw print on the bottom of her soles distracting me from the thought that I had to do the same very shortly and my butt was much bigger than hers.
After a lot of shuffling, she finally pushed her hand back out into the light, trying to encourage me to join her. I sighed behind my mask, I had a feeling this wasn't going to work, but we had nowhere else to go.
"Cleo! Where did they go?!" Donna's voice echoed throughout the house.
I gasped, she had already managed to get free of Cleo's grasp and had re-entered the building, as she said the black cat's name, I assumed she was with her and probably was ready to punish the large pet too, along with the young, white cat that was trying to help me hide. I imagined Cleo crawling behind the young woman, head down as she knew she did wrong.
Grabbing Poppy's hand with both of my paws, I dived in underneath the bed to join her. The moment my head was between the wooden frame of the bed and carpet, I knew this was potentially a bad idea as it was extremely tight in this limited space. I had to stop caring and pull myself further in, ignoring the fact my body was hitting the bed with every inch I moved.
However, the pulling stopped and I found the space getting tighter and tighter and that was when I knew I still had my lower body on show, my butt was preventing me from moving further into the bed, I was stuck in the same way Poppy was moments before but I knew that I had no way of pulling myself in even further. I tried breathing in, I tried pulling on every surface I could hold onto, but it was all no use… I was completely stuck and I would have no choice but to reverse back out into the room… and I had no time to find somewhere else to hide.
"Cleo! Find them! I have to get Nala back into the cage!" Donna voice continued to echo, however I noticed she was further away than before, making me realise that she was searching the other side of the house, the kitchen and storage room first.
Poppy's useless paws tried their best to pull my body, but it was all for nothing, the space underneath the bed was just too small. I could even hear the young woman panicking underneath the mask, huffs, sighs and cries exited the holes of her latex suit. It meant alot to me that she was trying her hardest to hide me, but everything the two girls did was for nothing.
"Cleo?! Where have you gone? Have you found them yet?!" Our owner's voice was getting closer.
I internally screamed, I didn't think Donna was someone who would punish me too harshly, but I still hated the idea of her catching me in this vulnerable situation.
My body jumped as I felt something touch my leg, my first thought went to the woman searching the house for me, but I imagined in her state; Donna would be much rougher with my body, this felt warm, comfortable. It must have been Cleo. I tried to imagine what she was doing. I felt her large, soft frame cover the bottom of my body, both my heels were being squashed by her enormous breasts, soon my entire bottom half could feel her frame pressed up against mine.
"Cleo! This is no time to rest!" Donna's voice undeniably came from the bedroom, "I need your help, get up! Don't you dare close your eyes! I know you are awake!"
I realised it wasn't a huge plan, but it was probably what the black pet could have thought of within the few seconds she had. She used her large body to cover my legs, pretending to be tired and resting on the floor. The bed was so close to the ground that Donna probably doubted we were underneath, Cleo's attitude of pretending to be asleep could have easily been an extension of wanting to protect me. Donna probably knew that commanding the black pet to look for me was a waste of time, but it was clear she was panicking.
"Fine! Be that way!" The young woman stormed out of the room, "Nala! Where are you?" Come out, please?"
Once again, her voice began to slowly fade away. Cleo waited a few seconds before I felt her weight lift off my body, immediately I felt her paws press against my butt, she was pushing with all her strength to get me under the bed, Poppy did everything she could to try and pull me and I tried to get some form of leverage too. It felt as if Cleo was trying to push my body and pat down my butt at the same time, trying to make it as small as possible to squeeze through the small gap.
"Ah HA!" A scream came from the room.
Cleo's paws immediately were lifted off my body as a new sensation touched me, human fingers were wrapped around my ankles and I was pulled away from the safety of the bed. I turned my body around before she was finished moving me, our owner looked absolutely exhausted from the events that had just passed. Her hair was a mess and patches of mud and grass covered her body and her flower dress, Cleo must have been rough on her outside to give us a head start. I also noticed the black cat's knees and the top of her paws were also caked in mud.
Donna stared at me with a look of disapproval, with her arms crossed she looked down on me like a child who was about to be told off by a parent. I felt bad, I really did. It wasn't as if we had a huge plan to dupe the poor girl, we didn't have a plan at all, Cleo and Poppy wanted to have my company back and I wasn't in the right state of mind to want otherwise. Despite the clear punishment we were all going to face, it was nice to be at home, in the warm bedroom we had spent so many nights in, with the two girls who I have grown very fond of.
"I understand," she said in a quiet tone.
It took me by surprise, I imagine she would have screamed at the top of her lungs at what we just did to her, but she was calm and collected.
She continued, "I get it, I really do. I hate the fact that Nala is outside, it isn't right and she belongs in here with us, but none of us have a say and she needs to complete her punishment. If I fail to punish her the way she needs to be… then I would not be able to look after you guys anymore, you would be put in the care of someone else and they might not be as nice to you as I am. I care about you all, I do… you all mean so much to me… Nala?"
I couldn't help myself. I found myself crawling up to her and wrapping my arms around her, as I was kneeling down my head rested against her stomach whilst my arms rested around her thighs. I understood where she was coming from, I hated everything that happened this morning but it was just nice to be here once more. I squeezed her as tight as I could, it truly felt as if we were all suffering in a way due to my actions, I hope she wasn't too annoyed by what Cleo and Poppy did, they did not deserve to be punished in a similar way to I was, they are good people… they are good pets.
Donna stayed silent as she returned the hug, giving her need to be close to all of her pets, even though I should have been in the cage, away from human and pet contact; she needed to hold me one last time. I finally let go of her, it was much harder to do that I admitted to myself. Poppy was still underneath the bed, she was poking her head out from underneath, I had the urge to hug them both as well, but I knew I should not overstay my welcome, the last thing I wanted was for Donna to get into further trouble with her employers.
I immediately left the room, the sound of the girls moving behind me became very apparent, their steps weren't in tune with mine, they were all unsure on what I was doing, but I knew what I had to do at that moment.
"Nala?" Donna's voice came from behind me, "Where are you going?"
After a month, I knew I loved them all. I loved Poppy and her light hearted self, she was younger, more innocent and altogether had a bigger heart. Cleo was stricter, but she had a natural ability to be very protective of me and Poppy. She went out of her way this morning to protect me from the only person who could control us, even though I knew the black cat cared deeply for our owner.
Donna… I care about her alot. It would have been so easy for her to be controlling over us, telling us what to do and when we can do it. We relied so much on her, for feeding and for comfort, that she could make us do whatever she wanted and we would have to do it for daily necessities, but she wasn't that way. To her, we were not prisoners, we were a part of her family.
The world outside was now brighter, luckily Donna did not close the door to the back garden behind her when she came through, it allowed me to easily slip out and walk across the grass. The entire time I could hear footsteps behind me, I imagined it was my owner, as I was sure the two other pets would have much more cushioned sounds to their steps. I looked up towards the old shed, despite it being my destination, it was the last place I wanted to go, but I had to continue on for Donna's sake.
"Nala…" Donna's voice once again came behind it, this time it wasn't a question or a command, it was acknowledgment of what I was doing, I was returning to the cage without a fight.
I could not tell where my brain was once I re-entered the shed, the dusty boxes and clothes weren't a good sight to see and I almost felt sick seeing the small, metal cage sitting in the corner. I guess it was a sense of understanding of my actions, that it was no-one's fault I was here but my own, however I still greatly felt the urge to be back home. Every nerve, every muscle was jumping at the chance of running outside, but I knew in my head and my heart that I could not run away any longer.
If I could have taken my mask off for a second, I would have thanked Cleo and Poppy for their efforts, I would have told them that I loved them and I would have apologised deeply to Donna. I didn't stop moving until my entire body was in the cage. I turned myself around to face my owner and got myself comfortable, preparing myself for a long few days.
My head rested on my paws as I looked up at the young woman, she looked like she had been through alot for the day and needed time to clean herself up, as well as the dirt on the black cat. She smiled softly as she looked down at me, spending a few seconds just to stare at the poor pet down by her feet. In silence, she closed the gate to the cage, a short, quiet yawn of the metal on metal echoed through the room before it clicked shut, locking me back in.
She stood back up and walked towards the door frame, she whispered, "Thank you," before she closed the shed door, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.
I watched as the beams from the sun shone through the cracks and the holes within the wood, it was the only form of entertainment as I willed my brain to stop thinking. I did not want to think about life whilst I was in the cage, I did not want to think of the pets and the woman in the house, I did not want to think about Mama and Pa, I did not want to think about the nameless friends I once hung out with and I did not want to think about the person I was before I was locked in this suit.
I just wanted to focus on now.
Every now and then, the sun would illuminate parts of the cage, showing me the rust and dust that coated the metal that contained me. I watched as an entire day went by, focusing on the thin beams rotating through the small holes as the sun travelled across the sky outside.
I had become comfortable, finding a position that did not make any parts of my body ache within the confines of my second prison. It was lying down with my knees up, my head was on one side of the cage whilst my feet were on the other, resting against the bars. My hand, well, paw was up in the air, catching a section of the sun on the latex. I wanted to feel the warmth that the day would have brought, but the latex was just too thick to feel anything.
It was something I missed, something as simple as feeling the normal natural weather against your bare skin, rain, sun, snow… this suit did a great job at leaving all of that out, only allowing me to feel the inside of the cushioned latex.
Soon, that beam vanished and I was left with my paw in the air, willing for it to return. However, it wouldn't… not today anyway. The lights between the wood started to darken, the sun must have been setting and did not have the strength to penetrate the shed anymore. I knew I was in the same spot for most of the day, I must have had my hand up for an hour until I finally took it down.
“This is right… this is what I deserve,” I said to myself over and over again, it was the only correct thing I knew at that time, as I did not want to think about anything else, it seemed like I was only focused on what happened today, the last thing I wanted to do was think about my life and realise that I forgot something else important… like my parents, what I did to be at 'Pet Correction', I might even forget my human name at this rate.
*Knock* *Knock*
Luckily, a sound distracted me from going any further, the door to the shed opened up and Donna poked her head around it, looking directly at me. Behind her, I could see that the world was going dark, the sun had nearly disappeared as it was almost night out. As she came in, she placed three items on a box, one was the food canister, one was a water canister with a clip attachment near the top and the other was a candle, it looked like one of the old-fashioned candles with the round metal base to carry around.
"C'mon, let's get you outside to use the toilet." The fact that she was able to say it with a straight face made me realise how seriously she took this job, at the end of the day, she was going to take a grown woman out to use her garden as her toilet, it might have been my messed up head; but I thought there was something funny about that.
Donna looked better than earlier, she must have had a good bath once she returned back to the house. She opened the gate back up and walked out of the shed. I followed her very closely as I was desperate to go… not that I wanted her to know that, but that took second priority the moment I crawled outside.
If the mask wasn't on, my jaw would have hit the floor. The sky was beautiful, the sun was just leaving for the day, illuminated the bottom of the horizon, causing the sky to become a contrast of two colours, a lovely orange that was progressively fading away and a stunning pink that covered the rest of the sky, holding the stars behind it. Donna stopped and stared too, smiling to herself as she took in the vista.
We stayed there for a few minutes, watching the last moments of the day without anything interrupting. It was a moment for just me and her, nothing else mattered. I didn't even feel like a pet; despite being on my knees and the same level as her crotch, it just felt like two people sharing a moment of natural beauty together.
"Right." She slapped her hands together, "You need to go to the toilet now, Miss!"
Miss? That was the first time she acknowledged me as anything but a pet whilst in the suit.
"C'mon, I don't have all night. The sun will be down any minute."
I… I wasn't ready though, I pointed towards my crotch, mentally telling her that she needed to undo the zip, I didn't want to pee all over the inside of the suit.
"What do you mean? It's already undone!" It was like she read my mind, "Now, go!"
I was confused, I heard a questionable groan actually leave the suit as I looked down, but she was correct… the zip was undone, I could see my vagina hovering over the grass, I was surprised I didn't feel the blades of grass tickle that area. Damn, she's good… she got that down without me even noticing.
"It's been down all day, Silly!" she tried to contain her laughter, "Ever since I let you out this morning!"
W-What?!
So… the entire day?! Since she took me out this morning to go to the toilet… My vagina was on show when the two girls came down the garden to rescue me, when me and Poppy crawled up to the house… when my butt was on show for Donna and Cleo, when I was stuck under the bed and when I finally crawled back towards the shed.
She's telling me… that entire time… my vagina was completely on show for everyone to see?
Donna continued laughing as she held her belly.
I was stunned, I was shocked… I was laughing too. I couldn't make any sound due to the mask, but I was giggling silently from the absurd day we both just had. I wasn't embarrassed as everyone had seen those parts of me, but it was the idea that my sex was poking through the latex, it was hilarious.
Donna knelt down and hugged me as we both continued laughing. Despite everything, it was still a moment. A moment two women shared under a dying sky.
The night had finally taken control, locking the world under a layer of darkness. Once we stopped laughing, I finally settled down enough to do my business and Donna finally closed the suit up. She lit the candle up the moment we returned to the shed, giving it a more comfortable feeling that it never had before. She also attached the water canister to the cage so I could drink out of it anytime I wanted, making me feel more like a hamster in a cage.
Then, she made herself comfortable, sitting on the floor with the box from earlier propping her back up. With the food canister in hand, she allowed me to rest my head on her lap and began feeding me straight away. This wasn't the first time I had been fed by her, but it was the first time we were completely alone, the first time she wasn't distracted by the other pets or the television. It was just me and her.
I stared up at her the entire time, I couldn't help but admire her in every way. Today, it truly hit me that from her side, she was just doing her job, but she cared about us more than that. The punishments, the outfits, the collars and gate keeping us contained was just the company keeping us in place, Donna barely saw that side of it. To her, we were people who needed looking after, people who needed help to see the world the same way she saw it, I'm sure she would be the same way even if we were not wearing the suits.
We were lost kittens, who just needed love and nurturing and a help in the right direction.
She's beautiful, I thought to myself.
It didn't even come off as strange, I never thought of women as beautiful. However, seeing the naturally nurturing side of the woman made me realise how pretty she was inside and out. My paw came up like before, but instead of trying to feel the warmth of the sun rays, I placed my bound hand against her cheek, the air in the paw escaped as I made contact with her skin. However, this time I could feel the warmth in her skin.
A smile crept up on her face, she did not take her eyes off me the entire time, I could see a collection of tears forming at the bottom of her eyes as my paw rubbed her cheek up and down.
"Thank you, Nala," she whispered.
I wanted to tell her that it was nothing, just a natural reflex from staring into her beautiful eyes. I would have loved to have the mask removed for only a few minutes so I can tell and the others how I feel, how grateful I am for their company and love, but it was going to be just less than a month before I could be taken out of the suit again and I just had to suffice with my paw on her cheek.
She continued to look down at me for another few seconds before she reached into her pocket with her free hand. Once the line of sight was closed, I relaxed and returned to enjoying the feeling of warm food entering my stomach, even if it was blended together into gunk.
She pressed her phone a few times before placing it up to her ear, the room was silent enough that I could hear the sound of the phone ringing from her lap.
"Hello. You are through to Pet Correction, how may I help you?" A female voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Hi, good evening. It's Donna, sorry for calling so late," My owner began saying, for a moment I stopped sucking the food down and focused on the conversation she was having.
"Oh, Hi Donna. How is everything going?"
"Good, good thank you. The girls are doing well, I just wanted to phone regarding the visit I recently had with Mr West and Ms Armstrong?"
"Oh yeah, looking at the file here, I can see they visited you yesterday. What's the problem?"
"Oh, no problem at all. Unfortunately, I've got too many pets for the house, they told me I had to either move one of the pets or change properties."
"Really? Yeah, I can see that on their report and it does seem that they were telling the truth, that property you are in can only house you and two pets total"
"Yeah, Yeah… I know," Donna's voice quietened down.
I did not take my eyes off her, it was clear that the idea of losing something valuable to her did hurt her alot. The pets were family to her, yet that house also meant the world to her, it might have been small but it was hers. Even after being here for a month, I started to call it home as it was warm and comforting.
The last thing I wanted to do was for her to lose it, if anything should go… it should be me. I was the one causing her all the problems, I was the one who caused the two people to show up yesterday and I was the reason Cleo and Poppy acted up this morning. I could easily imagine Donna having a cosy life in her house, only having the black and white cats to look after.
Once again, I placed my paw up to her cheek, but this time it was for a different reason. I wanted to tell her that I was willing to go, she should not have to sacrifice anymore because of me. Damn it! If I could only take off my mask and tell her what she should do! I started pointing towards myself with the other hand, with the tip of my finger poking my stomach and the two layers of latex rubbing against each other.
She finally looked back at me, allowing me to plead with my eyes to move me into a different home, someone who was potentially more stricter and make me a good person, a good pet. I deserved to go!
"Donna? Donna, are you still there?" The voice called from the other end.
"Yeah, I'm still here" Her eyes continued to lock onto mine, finally the tears that started to build up began to fall down her cheek.
The voice continued, "Okay, did you come up with an answer? I understand it must be tough"
"Yeah, I've decided."
Her bottom lip began quivering, I could hear my heart beat through my ears as the world went completely silent. I stopped all movement, relaxing my hand back to my side but keeping the other hand on her cheek. A tear left my eye and soon travelled down past the latex hood… I felt like I was already saying goodbye to her, to Cleo, to Poppy and to the house. It just made the most sense to get rid of me, I was nothing but trouble for everyone in my life.
"I've decided," She said again, "I've decided… to move to a larger location. Could you please let Mr West know."
She closed her eyes, causing more tears to fall down her cheek. My hand fell back down as I stared at her with wide eyes… She was keeping me?
"Okay, that's great. Leave it with me and I'll let him know and we'll begin the arrangements of moving you to a larger location"
"Thank you," Donna said.
"No problem at all Donna. Hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Bye"
Donna placed her phone back in her pocket and returned to focusing on feeding me.
"Don't want your dinner to get cold," she said, trying her hardest to keep a straight face.
I could not believe it, I was trying so desperately to tell her to let me go, but she decided otherwise, even after all the crap I had given her since coming here. She smiled the whole time she was feeding me, I even felt her rub my belly with her free hand every now and then.
This woman had so much love to give, even with someone like me who did not deserve it. She managed to dry her eyes very quickly, as if she was coming to terms with her decision. It wasn't long until all the food was gone and I was just sucking on the air within the canister.
"Oooh, you must have been a hungry girl, looks like it is all gone," she chuckled.
The canister popped as she removed it from my mask. Immediately, I got myself up and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her as tightly as I could. I had been at peace with the idea of being taken to a different location, I knew Donna was the person who wouldn't give me up lightly, but I thought it was a better situation than losing her home. I couldn't hold her tight enough, her choice meant the absolute world to me. If I could have spoken, I would have told her that I would do anything for her, I would take care of her and the other, I would keep out of trouble and be the best pet I could be.
There was so much I wanted to tell her, but the stupid mask kept all those words inside me.
"Thank you, Nala," Donna whispered into my ear as she hugged me in return.
We held each other for a little longer, I think it was what we both needed at that time, we were both overwhelmed by the day and the decisions we had made in our hearts. It truly felt as if we were hugging each other as equals, not prisoner and guard, not master and pet, but as two women who were filled with emotions.
It had to end eventually. I was loving the hug, but Donna had to see to the other girls. Whilst I did not cherish the idea of being alone again, especially at night, I was more than happy for Cleo and Poppy to have the company of that amazing woman. I hoped that they were all still friends after this morning and that they were still sleeping in Donna's room. I also hoped that the two pets would understand the owner's decision of leaving the property.
Despite Donna leaving me alone for the night, the candle she brought in earlier was still burning, illuminating the dark room and reminding me of the care she had for me. It truly felt as if she was still in the room with me, watching over me as my eyes began to feel heavy. Soon, I began drifting off, under the night sky that was once so beautiful and under the soft, warm glow of Donna's care.