Chapter 15
“So how’s things going with Matt?” Sky asked gingerly, expecting that she already knew the answer, but not willing to take from her girlfriend the therapeutic power of telling her. 
“How do you think?” Telia replied, gently massaging the sides of her head and rolling her eys back into her skull, simultaneously frustrated and relieved to be away from the stresses of dealing with an incredibly fussy initiate, even if just for a while. The tigress’s head ached tremendously from the kick to the face she’d taken the previous night, and the three hours of sleep she had gotten since. Sky knew about Matt’s ill-fated escape attempt, word traveled fast among the ranks of the junior caretakers, so Telia spared the details. “I knew he would try to run sooner or later…” Telia said, sighing, and grazed on the cafe doughnuts and coffee that were complimentary to caretakers, considering the owner was an ex-initiate, hot and fresh as the sun had just started to crest the horizon at this early hour, then shook her head and looked across at her concerned partner, “I guess I underestimated his resolve.”
“Well, you certainly aren’t making that mistake, twice,” Sky said, nibbling on a doughnut of her own, “when you let him out later, you’ll be lucky if he has any resolve left at all. Telia, I think you’re looking at this the wrong way…”
“Yeah?” The tigress asked, raising an eyebrow, “and how would you handle it?”
“Right now, you’re doing half a job,” Sky said, having put some thought into her replies already, “we’re here to protect, care for, and teach our cubs, not beat them into submission. Putting all your cards on discipline is only going to make him terrified of you… I’m afraid he already is.”
“So what do I do?” Telia asked, laying her head in her hands, hopeless, “Discipline is what I’m good at.”
“Too much stick,” Sky said, trying to sound factual, and lent over to pat her mate’s hand, “show him you’re not just there to dominate him. Show him that you actually love, that you really, really care. You’re not going to show him that by punishment, kids don’t work that way.” 
“You’re starting to sound like a senior,” Telia said, looking downcast, “How come this comes so naturally to you?”
“It doesn’t,” Sky replied, giving the tigress a smile, “We both knew you went through a very similar phase when you were taken as an initiate. What was it Ashley did that finally got through to you?” 
Telia seemed thoughtful for a moment, then looked away, abashed, “It was when she started hugging me after spankings… You know, back when we were allowed to do that. I still hated it, but I guess I just realized that she had my wellbeing at heart…”
“You started to trust her,” Sky said, finishing her coffee and smiling, “That’s the turning point. You need to make Matt trust you, or else you’ll never be anything more than than a rod wielding witch to him.” The rabbit reached over and took Telia’s paw, giving it a reassuring squeeze when she saw that the tigress was starting to tear up.
“I’m terrible at this,” Telia murmured, sniffling, “I never thought it could be this complicated…”
“It isn’t complicated, you just needed a change of course, sweetie,” Sky said, slowly standing from the table to comfort her, “You’ve got your barrings now, I’m sure things will improve in time. It’s never too late to try, is it?”
“I-I guess you’re right…” Telia sniffled, standing as well and trying to hide her tears behind a sleeve, then the two embraced, kissing lovingly.
“I love you, kitten,” Sky said, “And I’m always here if you need someone to talk to. You can count on it.”
“I know I can,” Telia replied, blushing as her fit subsided, “I love you too, Sky, more than you could ever know.”
“I highly doubt that,” Sky said, giving her famously playful chuckle and kissed the tigress again, her short tail gently wagging behind her, “Come on, now. No point in leaving Matt swaddled any longer than you have to,” she nodded behind herself, where the sun had already risen above the houses behind them, “Show him that you care, and everything will be alright.”