The Vacant Years: Day 1 (Part 2)
Taking him by the paw, Sky led Talikin across the room again, over to the big fire door. When she opened it, the fox realized that all his assumptions about it were correct. The door was easily an inch and a half thick, and reinforced with a crossbeam from the back. He swallowed hard, that would be an obstacle to overcome. Even if he swiped the magnetic key, as long as the door was barred he would be unable to open it. A primitive solution to a primitive problem. Classic. 
Behind the door was another large room, this one seemingly the definition of suburban perfection. There was a huge glass window facing out onto a street, below which was a couch. He could see a glass windowed door on the far side of the room, and considered making a dash for it, then abandoned the notion. He was still so weak… his muscles, they felt like he hadn’t moved in a month. The rabbit, or whoever had kidnapped him, had obviously administered drugs to the fox, thus rendering him unconscious and allowing for the sort of extensive manipulations that had been done to him. His fur had been trimmed, he had been washed and dried, then dressed up and hadn’t even noticed. Talikin didn’t know enough about drugs to make a guess as to what, but he put terms to his symptoms and decided to ponder it later, once the rabbit, presuming that she did, gave him some time to himself.
Talikin gently pulled away from the rabbit, seeing just how much distance he could get between the two of them before she would notice, and, when she did, how she would react. Sky’s reaction was almost immediate, the rabbit jerking him back into place directly behind and to the right of her. He didn’t try to pull away again. The fox didn’t have a chance to inspect the room in detail, as he was hurried at the rabbit’s fast pace through a doorless archway and into a large, well-furnished kitchen. It had a white and brown tiled floor, granite countertops, and a small square table with chairs, and, terrifyingly for the fox, a high-chair, in the corner. The high chair, clearly intended for him, was made of thick plastic, probably reinforced by metal inside, and stood vertically a bit over four feet. Furthermore, the legs seemed to have been bolted firmly into the floor, though the mountings had been covered with plastic half-spheres in a colorful, playful array.
“Come on, sweetie, hop up in your chair,” Sky said with a smile, but kept her grip on his wrist very firmly. Talikin blushed twenty shades of red, and looked imploringly at the rabbit, who paid him no mind. “Tali,” she said, much more commanding than before, “don’t make me tell you twice.” 
Talikin was somewhat taken aback by the level of dominance that the rabbit had suddenly taken on. It was new to him. Up until this point she had been overbearing, and occasionally strict, but never in an active or forward way. This was her parental stance, arms crossed and stern looking, he realized, and suddenly felt the same way he had when his mother had given him that look as a child: a mix of shame, helplessness, and a desire to obey, simply to get her back to her normal, warm self. As with his mother, the look had a similar effect on the fox, and Talikin simultaneously whimpered his apologies and crawled into the high-chair, doing his best to ignore the magnetic lock on the side.
“There, isn’t that much better, sweetie?” Sky said, immediately resuming her playful demeanor once her demands were met, and, heedless of Talikin’s personal space, reached up and scratched under the todd’s chin, “let me get you your nom-noms, okay?” Spread as his legs were by the bulging diaper, barely concealed by the fabric of his one garment, Sky had no trouble in snapping down the table of the high-chair and locking the piece into place. It had a sunny yellow laminated top and a plastic bar, surely with something stronger at the core, which ran down between his legs. He found that, between the padded back and the front of the table, he had scarcely any movement at all, as if the rabbit had known his dimensions beforehand and built the thing specifically for him… “Cozy?” she asked, giggling, and patted his squirming legs. As though the high chair wasn’t enough, Sky took deliberate caution as she pulled out a big, plastic backed, fruit themed bib from behind his chair, and fastened it around the fox’s neck, “there, now you won’t get your cute little onesie all messy, Tali.” The words stung, but the fox managed to hold down the urge to retort, and throw the bib to the floor.
Sure that her charge wasn’t going anywhere, Sky went over to the counter and emptied a jar of purple goop into a plastic bowl. It looked something like mashed grapes with the consistency of apple sauce. She picked up the bowl, along with a rubber spoon, and deposited it down onto Talikin’s table.
“Mmmmm, yum yum,” she cooed, mixing around the goop with a spoon. “Here comes the airplane!” In typical babysitter fashion, she began to make whirring noises and spin the spoon around in circles before bringing it to bare right in front of Talikin’s mouth.
The fox grimaced, and felt the blood run hot in his face. He would not submit to this treatment, and he told her so, “I am not letting you feed me and that’s… MMHHgghh!” Taliking garbled his words as Sky thrust the spoon into his mouth as he talked.
“Very good, now is my baby going to keep fussing?” Sky said, her grin growing as Talikin tried to get the splattered baby food off his face, but only managed to spread it around and get his paw all sticky.
“Eeeww…” the fox said, gagging. The food didn’t taste precisely bad, sort of like berry puree, but the texture was all wrong. It had the consistency of lukewarm mash mixed with butter, and it was disgusting, the fox having to fight down the urge to spit it out. He knew that wouldn’t have gone over well…
“Open up for the airplane,” Sky said again, much less playful this time, and offered another spoonful to Tali, “Listen cutie, you’re not leaving this high-chair until you’ve finished every last bite, understand? And if you choose to keep fighting me, I’ve got a very nice jar of mashed asparagus and yams in the cupboard with your name on it.” 
Talikin knew he was cornered. He had let himself be locked into the chair, and the only way out so far as he could tell was around Sky’s neck on a chair. Worse yet, the release, so far as he could tell, was out of his reach even if he had the key. These people know what they’re doing… Talikin thought to himself. He was cornered, yes, but there was still a bit of room to barter… “I want to feed myself,” he said, keeping one hand over his face so she couldn’t get him again like she had last time.
“Hmmm, let me think,” Sky said, and patted her nose in thought, “no. You’ve given me nothing but fuss all morning. Either you eat from my hand, or you can go hungry.” Talikin sagged in his seat, clearly disappointed, and opened his mouth in submission. 
Remember the plan, Tali, he thought to himself as he gulped down mouthful after mouthful of the grossly textured stuff. It didn’t exactly get better as he ate it, but he did learn how best to swallow the stuff while giving it minimal contact with the inside of his mouth. Sky seemed to catch on to this about half way through, and began getting a bit messy with it, smearing the gunk all over his face and the inside of his mouth so he couldn’t escape either taste or texture. By the time the bowl was finished, Talikin was leaning over the table, drowse eyed and groaning. His belly was grumbling, but he wasn’t in any pain.
Why am I so weak...? Talikin thought, looking around and trying to decipher Sky’s words as she cooed at him. He felt like he hadn’t slept in days, but wasn’t precisely tired. His body seemed to take twice its usual energy to move, and he had to turn his entire focus on one task at a time.
Sky baby-talked him some more, something about how good he was being, then leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, probably because it was the only part of his face that wasn’t coated with purple gunk. His bib was similarly goop-covered. He had just felt so odd half way through the meal, like he couldn’t control his muscles as well as before, and he had stopped being able to properly eat. Sky removed the bib, and wiped down Talikin’s face with a damp rag, then unlocked the high-chair and led him frugally out onto his own two feet. 
The floor seemed to bow and move under the fox’s paws as he sat down, and he tottered back and forth, looking as though he might fall over. Sky took the opportunity to squat a bit, arrange her arms underneath his shoulder and knees, then pick him up with as little apparent effort as though she had been lifting a two year old. It didn’t occur to him that being picked up was odd, he was long gone into wonderland by that point, only wiggling a bit in his caretaker’s arms as she carried him back into the nursery, settling down in the big armchair in the corner, a one liter bottle of warm formula at the ready.
“There, that’s a good baby,” Sky cooed, poking the nipple of the bottle between Talikin’s drooping lips. There was no resistance left in him, his brain overcome by the smorgasbord of drugs, hormones, and various chemicals that had been present in his breakfast. The fox murmured something around the nipple in his mouth, then curled around the bottle like an infant and began to suckle. Sky reached under him and scratched his belly, feeling the vulpine begin to purr.  
 So distant and lost in the drug induced haze was Talikin that he continued sucking instinctively despite having emptied the bottle some minutes before. Sky, too content in watching the peaceful kit suckling, waited until he was fully asleep to pull the bottle from his mouth, and set it aside. Without a sound, she pulled an extra pacifier out of a side pocket and popped it into his mouth.
“Nap well, my little butterfly,” Sky said, nosing the fox, and patted his diapered behind, “oh, I really can’t wait to see your reaction when you wake up.” She giggled a bit, then picked up the fox, again, years of experience making the action seem easy and natural to both caretaker and child. She sat him down again in his crib, and then pulled the sheets overtop. Without another word, the rabbit, bushy tailed and giddy from her first experiences as a caretaker, pulled up the bars of his crib, locking them in place, and then left the nursery, lingering at the door for a second to watch as Tali curled around one of the big canine plushies she had picked out for him, then left him to sleep until nature’s call woke him a few hours from now. 
***
“Oh, aww… mahhww heaawwd…” Talikin murmured around his pacifier, hugging the sheets closer to him and hiding his head under an arm to block out the light. He had most of the symptoms of a very bad hang over: dizziness, disorientation, clamminess, weakness, and an extremely prevalent urge to go to the washroom. As this last part occurred to him, Talikin’s eyes shot open again, sensitivity to light forgotten, and he threw the blankets off of him, ready to bolt for the bathroom. The fox was shivering, both his bladder and bowels nearly at the bursting point, and, with a yelp of discomfort as he tried to hold everything in, tried to throw himself off the bed in an attempt to get to the bathroom sooner, but only managed to fly face-first into the bars of his crib. 
Talikin yelped as he hit the bars, falling backwards, gasping, and flailed his legs up in the air as he fought desperately to keep his rear closed. Shaking with fear and panic, the fox struggled to his feet, keeping his legs crossed as he shook the bars to his crib. They didn’t move an inch, locked firmly in place by some mechanism inside the latch. With no other choice, he tried to climb the bars. The crossbeam at the top of the vertical bars was absurdly thick, and laminated with smooth plastic. He pawed at it with his hands, which had been bullied into the little fabric mittens in his sleep, but could get no purchase.
“Leeemmeee ouutttt!” The fox screamed, his pacifier falling from his lips as he did, then curled around himself in a list ditch effort to stave off soiling himself. When no reply came, and Talikin realized he was helpless to escape, his defeat came soon after. Aching from the long struggle, his quivering bladder and bowels released at the same time, and the fox gasped as he experienced his diaper simultaneously go warm in the front, sagging wet and squishy, and the seat of the garment fill with a foul smelling muck. It seemed to last for a full minute, his body deliberately prolonging his torment for allowing it to be put in this pitiful position. Talikin’s face burned the color of a summer sunset, and hot as molten metal. He shook his head in denial, “No… no… no…” Rapt with shame and humiliation the likes of which he had never known, he crawled into a ball around one of the big plushies that inhabited his crib, squeezing it for all the comfort it could give.
Talikin dug his nose into a blanket and pulled it over his head, trying to shut out the smell of his messy behind. It didn’t feel… normal, not that he had any idea what a normal messy diaper felt like. With every movement the contents of his diaper squished this way and that, a constant nagging reminder of what he had done, what he, a perfectly continent adult had failed to do. And he was buried under emotions, extremely intense emotions, often conflicting. He felt more violated and ashamed than he could ever remember being, but there was a strange sort of comfort in his release that he couldn’t suppress, usual as it was. He felt… safe, safe in the kind of way he only felt around someone very close to him, like his boyfriend. 
The fox didn’t know how long had elapsed between his accident and Sky’s return. Ten minutes, an hour, five hours, he couldn’t tell. His mind had temporarily shut itself in, the only tool it had to defend itself against the rampant emotions that would otherwise have torn it apart. He woke back up in a sense, ears perking, as he heard the lock to his nursery snap into place, then creak slightly as it was opened. 
The rabbit walked over to Talikin’s crib on silent paws, then leaned against the bars, looking in on him. Tali was aware of the other’s presence, but still too caught up in his own indignity to acknowledge her. She stayed there for a while, not moving, and watched on as her quarry gradually regained his wits, wiggling free of the miasma that had descended upon body and mind.
When he could, Talikin rolled over to face his caretaker, and they met eyes. She was just… watching him, staring on with a warm, pretty grin, incisors exposed. Without a word, she unlocked the bars and slid them down before scooping up the fox in her paws, sure to keep well clear of his stinky behind. Still not fully back to his senses, the fox quivered in the rabbit’s arms, sniffling twice before the tears started to roll down the sleek sides of his face, obscuring his vision.
“Shhhhh, hush, Talikin,” Sky said, leaning right in to nose the crying vulpine’s muzzle, “you’re okay… You’re okay… I’m here, now.” Talikin squirmed and whimpered at the rabbit’s words, which had struck closer to home than he’d have liked. She felt so… pure, in a way that he couldn’t explain. Her cooing was intoxicating, and, the more he tried to shut it out, the deeper it bore into him. He couldn’t stay unhappy when she talked like that, and, as she lowered him down onto the changing table and began working him free of his onesie, he was putty in her paws and she knew it. 
Sky pulled up the hem of Talikin’s one garment, revealing the heavily used and badly sagging diaper beneath.
“Well, you did a number on this one, didn’t you?” Sky said with a smile, scratching Talikin’s exposed belly as she did, “Well, sheesh, looks like my little one needs a bath.” The fox perked up at the mention of a bath, “aww, I think you like that, don’t you baby?” she continued, keeping up her scratching of the fox’s belly and chin to the point that he was practically purring. “Come on, don’t fuss on me, now.”
Sky reached her arms underneath Talikin’s knees and shoulders, then hoisted him up against her chest once again. The fox was grateful for her consideration, the pose, while embarrassing, kept his squishy bottom from touching any hard surface, and therefore didn’t make him feel it any more than he had to. 
The rabbit carried her stead out through the open nursery door and down the long hall which adjoined to the main room. This part of the house was unfamiliar to Talikin, who had only been in the nursery and living room play-pen thus far, but it quickly became apparent just how large the house really was. The bathroom was quite spectacular, being almost as big as his bedroom had been back in his apartment. Like his nursery, the bathroom was adorned with a wall-length changing station, almost identical to the other which he had been changed on, but for the surface. Where the one in the nursery had been a laminated textured plastic, the kind of stuff that was constant in many baby products, this one was a colorful blue and white tile. Those colors were the bulwark of the room, which had rubberized non-slip floors, sky blue and opaque tile walls, and a mirrored ceiling.
Probably so I have to watch as she changes me… Talikin thought, the dazzling effect of Sky’s maternal nature slowly wearing off. At the other side of the changing table was a shower booth, but the majority of the room was dominated by an in ground hot tub looking thing. It stood about three feet up out of the foundations of the house, and sank about as far into it. The tub had porcelain sidings, and spanned the entire room, seemingly more like a small indoor pool than a bath! 
Talikin was naturally curious to see if by bath she meant he would be allowed to swim around in the big tub. It was currently empty, but couldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to fill, and the fox eyed it with a growing sense of realization as Sky undid the tapes on his soiled diaper. This house was no poor man’s home, and, so far as he could tell by looking out the various windows, the neighborhood was a suburbia of high standards and higher property values. This rabbit, Sky, he reminded himself, was probably rich. Maybe not filthy rich, but her wealth, or the wealth of whomever was doing this to him, must have been very great. He stored away this fact for later consideration, knowing a piece of the puzzle when he found one.
The diaper change was much the same as the first one, with the main difference being that Sky took extra care in wiping down as much of the disgusting mess from his fur as possible before she disposed of the badly used diaper and let his rear, now used to the warm, damp surroundings, down onto the cool, dry laminated tile. He made an eeping sound and squirmed at the sudden cold, and was proffered off of the bench by Sky’s paw.
“Come on, cutie. Time to clean up that messy butt of yours,” Sky said with a giggle, then started wrestling Talikin’s onesie off of him. It was no easy feat, what with the fox doing everything he could to cover his privates, totally exposed now that his diaper had been removed. “Oh, silly,” Sky said with a giggle, swatting his hands away, “you don’t have to hide your little doodle, baby. You’ll be back in diapers soon enough, right where you belong.” The words struck home, and Talikin had to cover his face with an arm, using his fluffy tail for the purpose of covering his crotch, too embarrassed to meet her eye. 
“What do you want with me?” Talikin asked the rabbit, face burning red with shame as he was led like a kit over to the modern looking steel shower head, built right into the wall, and left there while Sky tinkered with an LCD panel on the other side of the room.
“I want you to stay still, foxy,” she said, playfully. She had stood Talikin on a rubber square right below the shower head, and poked and prodded him back into place whenever he strayed to either side, which was often.
“No,” the fox said, emboldened by frustration and embarrassment, “I mean why am I here? Why did you kidnap me?” 
“I didn’t kidnap you, silly,” Sky said with a hearty laugh, and patted his exposed butt, “I’m just your caretaker. The ones who kidnapped you were specialists. But don’t worry, you’ll never meet them, again,” she laughed again, and hit a button which started the shower. Soapy water rained down in a torrent onto Talikin’s head and back, the showerhead seeming to follow him wherever he went so that the greater part of the water was always pouring onto him and him alone. From there, it ran down his short, furry sides and back to drain away into a semi-circle shaped depression with drains every few inches. 
“Alright,” Talikin said, drenched with the soapy water and very close to losing his temper, “Why did THEY kidnap me?” 
“Because you were targeted,” she said, turning down the water until it was less of a torrent and more of a normal shower, acting exactly as though she weren’t begging any question at all. 
The fox sighed, much of his anger gone with the warm water, and watched as Sky, good humor restored, rolled up her sleeves and poured some blue colored soap out of a pretty standard looking shampoo bottle and onto a brush.
“Stay still, Talikin. No fussing,” Sky reminded, giggling a bit at the horribly drenched fox, his fur all matted to his skin. He sighed in submission, realizing he couldn’t exactly fight his way past her… They had obviously drugged him with something to keep him so weak. It hadn’t been so pronounced when he was being carried everywhere and spending most of his time crawling or lying down, but even standing for a long period of time was becoming hard, and fighting, little more than a pipe dream. It wasn’t so much that he was tired in the, every step feels like I’m about to fall down, kind of way, it was more like being too big for himself, like the engine running his body was no longer enough to keep him moving. It bothered him, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it now as Sky bore down on him with the soapy brush and began vigorously and thoroughly scrubbing him down. He pulled away instinctively, but was yanked back into place in Sky’s typical no-nonsense fashion, and was washed all the more comprehensively for it. 
Talikin could only wobble slightly, too unsure of his footing after his drugging and long confinements in the crib to put up much of a fight, and give the rabbit free reign over his body, Sky sure to miss no curve or crevice, regardless of how humiliating it might be for him. The fox’s head sunk in shame, his face turning a bright pink, but quickly found unnervingly positive thoughts starting to well up inside him, and a silly grin ebbing its way across his face. It’s not like she’s hurting me… He thought, perking up a bit at the sweet smell of the shampoo, and the light, tingly feelings that the brush left him with after he was scrubbed. She just wants to clean me, why would I be embarrassed about that? A rogue part of his mind said, the fox visibly jerking out of his trance at the realization that he had been enjoying the scrubbing, for what it was worth. No. No, Talikin, the fox thought, going stern faced again, I forbid you from enjoying this. This rabbit kidnapped you, and she’s been violating you all day. You hate her Talikin. You hate the rabbit. But the reaffirmations did little to stave off the nagging instinct to just submit to the rabbit, to let her have free reign over his mind and body. His conscious mind was hating it, every last second of it, but the rest of him, the vast majority of him, was preening in satisfaction at being waited on hand and foot. It was a delightfully relaxing scenario, he had to admit, and if he weren’t being held captive against his will, he might have actually tried something like this, again…
“There we go, all squeaky clean,” Sky said, turning off the water before draping a colorful towel over his shoulders and drying him off with it. Despite his shame at being worked over like a toddler, Talikin admired the professional manner in which the rabbit went about her work. She had only ever teased him once or twice, and it wasn’t as though she seemed out to hurt him… Talikin pushed the thoughts from his head. He would mull everything over later, and, for now, he would simply sit back and hope the ride didn’t go on much longer. He could see through one of the big, bathroom windows that the sun was setting, bright red, against the rooftops in the east. If his expectations were correct, he’d be promptly put back into a diaper and onesie, then put down to sleep in his crib for the night. The crib, Tali, THE crib. Not mine, he reminded himself as he was led over to the changing table, again. He was getting unnervingly comfortable with thinking of the diapers, crib, clothes, and other baby necessities that he had been forced to endure as his, which they certainly were not. He was an adult. He wore boxers, slept in a bed, and certainly didn’t need someone to feed him! 
I hope she at least feeds me before bed… The fox thought to himself, feeling his belly grumble. He hadn’t been fed since that gross baby food for breakfast, and, despite the horrible texture and embarrassment of being fed like a child, he would have put up with it if it meant food… 
Talikin didn’t squirm as Sky got set him up on the changing table and got out the diapering supplies: powder, lotion, cream, and a diaper so thick that the fox’s mouth hung open. Its bulk was approximately equivalent to the width of his bicep at the widest point, and at least double what he had been put down to nap with this afternoon.
“You’re a heavy wetter,” Sky said with a sly grin, seeing Talikin eye the diaper, “you need it. Almost made the one from earlier leak, you silly little soaker.” The words had been intended to tease, but they did much more damage to his ego than she must have intended. The fox positively squirmed in disbelief of what he was hearing, but the rabbit gave him no time for thought, quickly lifting up his rear via the ankles and slipping the billowing diaper underneath him. It’s as thick as a pillow! Talikin thought, clenching his eyes shut and shaking his head as it was pulled up between his legs. He couldn’t help whimpering a bit as his loins were powdered, creamed, and then, ominously, the huge diaper was pulled up around his waist and taped in place. Unlike the previous diapers, which had had only one tape, this one had three, obviously to facilitate its tremendous bulk. He had spread his legs wide at Sky’s request, but had expected it only to be until the diaper was on him, then, with an air of foreboding, realized he couldn’t nearly bring his knees together. “Come on, hop down,” Sky said, her face an extremely broad smile, and Talikin obeyed. 
Splaying his arms out for balance, the fox nervously slid down off the laminated tile and onto his feet, which were spread further than a shoulder’s width apart by the huge bulk between his legs, “T-this is crazy!” Talikin said, frustrated by how much of a pain even standing was, and, with the fatigue which was growing more and more acute by the minute, he scarce dared try to walk. 
“Go on, baby, let’s see if you can walk,” Sky said, teasingly, and patted his padded rump. Shivering with rage and frustration, Talikin took one wide step, away from her, then another, then a third, then lost his balance, wind milled his arms for a moment, and fell backwards onto his diaper.
“N-no fair!” Talikin said, crossing his arms and looking away in abject humiliation, “I can’t walk in this thing!” 
“Oh, I’m sorry buddy,” Sky said, in a calm, soothing way that he had never heard before. He was taken aback, and looked up at her, towering above him, with a face not of anger, but of confusion. The rabbit knelt down to eye level with him, and put a hand on his shoulder, then smiled in a loving, conciliatory way, “you’ll get it one day, sweetie. I promise.” Talikin found it impossible to be angry, after that, so sincere and understanding were her words. He felt his lip quiver, and he shuddered all over. She… actually cares about me, Talikin thought, looking over at her with tears in his eyes, beginning to snivel. He wanted to hate her, to lash out at every turn, but found that he couldn’t… there was something about her, some trick or strange power, that made obedience seem so easy, and rebellion seem so hard… “Hush… hush… don’t cry, Tali, don’t cry...” she cooed, wrapping him in her arms as the tears started to freely flow. The gesture of empathy was so powerful and sincere that it had unhinged him, cast away any semblance of understanding regarding her emotions that he might have had.
Talikin didn’t remember much of the rest of the evening. Sky had carried the crying fox into the nursery, gently coerced him into a green and white puzzle-piece sleeper, and then set him down in his crib for the night. The last thing that Talikin remembered before fading into slumber was a moment of such intense regression that it would later rock him to his core: it was him, sitting within the bars of his crib, wrapped in a blanket, cuddled next to a plushie, staring up into Sky’s smiling face through tear filled eyes, and saying one word, “M-mommy?”