”Don’t go chasin’ waterfalls,” they heard, as they entered the large, white building; “Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to…”
	The flareon led the way, followed by his two little eevees, and his wife behind them. They got in line in the small vestibule, where kids were already running and playing. Two boys were sword-fighting with balloon-swords. They hopped all about and tumbled along the padded wall-length bench set before the big windows.
	After a few moments of waiting in line, they approached the opening at the counter. The little eevees rested their chins upon the counter-top, looking at the teenager that greeted their dad.
	”Hello,” she said, as fluffy and bubbly as the red DZ letters that were on her yellow shirt. “Welcome to Discovery Zone; name of the party?” She asked, looking at the mother and the present that she held, which sported a pair of pink and mint-green balloons on them.
	”Dook,” said the flareon.
	”Okay, and you are?” She asked, getting wristbands ready.
	”Telain, and Tahla,” the father announced, tapping each cub on the head to distinguish them.
	”Alrighty, Mr. Lynwood,” she said, handing the twins their wristbands. “Go through these doors, take a left, and the party rooms are right around the corner; you’re in number three.”
	”Thank you,” the flareon nodded, guiding his kids to step away from the counter while they worked to put on their wristbands, so that the next family could approach.
	”Do you need help, honey?” Their mother asked, noticing their son was having a bit of trouble with his.
	”No, I got it,” he mumbled, sticking his tongue out and trying his best to get the dang button to snap.
	After a quick moment, his sister huffed. “Here,” she batted his hand away and deftly snapped the wristband on.
	”Thanks,” he said, a little embarrassed.
	”Le’zz goooooo,” she insisted, turning him and patting him to usher him toward the doors.
	The jingle-bell on Tahla’s tail tingled as she trotted ahead toward the party rooms, seeking the one with a bubbly, red 3.
	The husky, a few years younger than their parents, was speaking with a cheetah girl that Tahla didn’t recognize. Shortly after she entered, he looked to her, and smiled.
	”Tahla, Tel; glad you guys could make it!” He greeted them.
	”Hello Mr. Dook’s-Dad,” Tahla greeted.
	”Thank you for inviting us,” her brother added.
	”Oh, here, I’ll take that for you,” the husky remarked to the glaceon, retrieving the neatly-wrapped box. He put it on a corner-table, bringing the modest count up to four.
	”Where’s the Party Princess?” Asked the flareon, shaking hands with the husky.
	Dook’s father chuckled, motioning out the party-room window at the monolithic network of tubes and pockets of play-rooms: “The twins are gonna have to tell you when they find her.” He joked.
	When they looked up at their parents, their mother nodded. “Take off your shoes, and you can go,” she told them.
	Tahla lifted her legs and tugged each shoe off, while Tel stepped on the heels of his to pull his foot free; which was why that spot on his was so worn-down. They darted out toward the play set.
	They had been there a couple of times. Tahla usually led the way, since she had the twisted tunnels better-memorized.
	There were several ways to get in, but the easiest was the main entrance: a long ramp composed of small bands of purple, blue, and red padded panels. All up the ramp was a forest of padded pillars that swung from chains affixed to bars overhead.
	Tel took lead to his sister, holding her hand.
	There were a bunch of kids scurrying this-way and that, the padded pendulums swaying hither-thither like wind-chimes. They stuck to the wall, and he buffeted against any that swung too close to them.
	There was one about two-thirds the way up that was nearly in the center. A group of boys stood behind it like a guard: a chihuahua on the left, a cheetah on the right, and a lion in the center.
	As kids tried to come up or leave, they would swing the pendulum at them. One kid was knocked over and began rolling down the ramp, but he was giggling and could really stop himself at any point.
	The twins tried to squeeze past the bottleneck undisturbed, but Telain felt his sister tug within his hold, and a jingling in his ear.
	”Hey, paws off!” She barked, batting at the chihuahua’s hand as he tried to jimmy her bell.
	Her brother stayed in place, ushering her ahead, getting her out of reach of the older kid. He followed her as they managed to scurry up the rest of the way without much incident.
	They passed through the padded gateway at the top, symbolizing the entrance to the structure proper. From here they could pretty much get to anywhere they needed to go; they were right in the center.
	”Which way should we go?” Telain wondered.
	”Dunno,” his sister remarked as she picked the yellow tube on her left, with a fuzzy ladder to help with its slight upward incline; “Let’s just make some rounds ‘till we find her.”
	He followed her into the tunnel, where voices carried and echoed from the distance.
	They started crawling through the network, guided by Tahla’s navigation of what she could remember. She mentally drew the map out in her head, as she liked to do for the videogames she played.
	The tunnels smelled like farts. Kids of all ages passed through them, and in some cases they had to stick to one side as kids passed from behind or in the opposite direction.
	In one case, they reached an intersection and Telain had to pause for a group of kids that he thought were going to continue on their way; but they turned in the direction they were going.
	Tahla had to continue, after the kids grumbled and groaned at her, and so the twins were like the engine and caboose of a train.
	They emerged in the trampoline area, and he spotted his sister right away from her Green Ranger shirt. She was taking the opportunity to tie the hem into a knot to keep it from dragging under her knees while she crawled, since it was just a little too big and baggy for her.
	They were out of her size when she saw it, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to get it.
	His shirt was actually a little small for him. It was one of his favorites, it made him look like The Flash with a lightning bolt on his chest, except he had worn it so much the symbol’s paint was cracked and bits had flaked off leaving small gaps.
	”Where are yooooooou,” Tahla groaned.
	”Wish we knew what her school-friends looked like, we may have passed them and they might know where she is.” Her brother thought aloud.
	”We covered maybe half already, let’s keep going. We’ll run into her eventually.”
	”What if she’s looking for us,” Telain chuckled, “and we just keep circling and never find each other?”
	”Then we’d have no funs!” Tahla grumbled, not liking her brother’s scenario. She led them down a series of tunnels, until she came upon a path that ended in a tight curve that went downward: a slide. Telain bumped into her.
	”Pffhfhf,” he blew, “Why’d you stop? I got a face-full of your tail—and not the good kind!”
	She huffed at his comment. “Cuz, this is an exit. Dead end. Turn around. Beep beep beep beep,” she said, beeping as she made to turn.
	Her brother turned as well, making sure to brush her face with his tail. But she was ready for it, reading his mind, so she didn’t get too bothered by it; her eyes and mouth were closed, and his attempt thwarted.
	”Giddy-up,” she said, patting his butt, half-believing he was waiting purposefully for her to do just that.
	He led the way, and when he reached the fork they had just came from, he started to go right.
	”Left,” she told him.
	”But… Didn’t we just...” He started to question.
	”Lefffft,” she repeated.
	He acquiesced, turning about, and then paused.
	”What’re you wai—”
	”Ssssshhh...” He quietly shushed her, and noiselessly crawled forward, very slowly.
	She peeked round the corner, and her tail twitched with excitement: there she was!
	Well… There was her tush.
	She recognized the Beauty And The Beast print panties clearly on display. The ferret had her tail hiked up, showing them off, along with her pink thigh-high stockings.
	To further disprove the chance it was someone with the same pair of panties, there were the green pig-tails just below the pale-cream ears.
	They were at an I-Junction, and she was evidently deciding where she wanted to go next; although, with how long she remained there while Telain slowly crept up behind her, she was more likely daydreaming about something and forgot where she was.
	Whichever the reason, she was snapped from it rather abruptly when Telain’s lips met hers down below, save for the thin layer of cotton between them.
	She squeaked, her fur puffing and her head jerking up, hitting the ceiling of the tube with a solid thomp.
	”Tel! That was mean!” His sister scolded.
	An excited gasp came from the ferret: “Tahla! Tel! You guys came!”
	They looked to her; she had folded over on herself a little, looking at them upside-down. She was evidently unfazed by the head-bonk.
	”Sure we did,” the boy said, scooting to one side of the tunnel so that his sister could squeeze in beside him.
	She giggled, “why wouldn’t we come?”
	”Just cuz,” Dook said, as her legs carried over herself to the other side, so that she was now facing the twins. “I… Kinda figured you guys would maybe think it was too kiddy, or somethin’...” She reasoned.
	The twins were almost two full years older than the ferret. They didn’t go to the same school, and had only really hung out at the park.
	While Tel was practicing his skateboarding, Tahla had watched the ferret try to hula-hoop. She skated around on her new roller-blades, watching the younger girl try again and again to get the rhythm of the hoop.
	When the eevee took the time to show her how to do it properly, even being in skates, they became quick friends. To the ferret’s surprise and glee, her brother was also very nice and became a friend, too.
	Most boys older than the woosal looked at her as an annoying, prissy little girl. But, in Tel, she almost got to see what it was like to have an older brother.
	The twins exchanged glances and chuckled.
	”You yankin’ our tails?” Tahla questioned, rhetorically.
	”We wouldn’t ditch your party over something silly like that,” her brother chuckled. “We like this place.”
	Dook smiled, feeling a little more confident. “Okay… I was just...” She trailed.
	”What were ya doin’ before Tel moofed ya?” Tahla asked, giving her brother a stinky-eye.
	The boy grinned innocently.
	Dook giggled. “Um… I’m a little lost,” she said. “I was lookin’ for the ball-pit. I saw it from the outside, but… I dunno how to get to it. This place is a maze!” She rolled onto her back, spreading her arms and legs out a bit.
	”I know where it is,” Tahla told her.
	Her body did a wave as she twisted over to flop onto her belly. “You do!?” She asked. “Where-where-where-where-where-where-where-can you show me!?” She asked, with little hippity-hops of excitement on all four paws.
	”A’course!” The eevee replied. “Follow behind me; mind being last?” She looked to her brother.
	He shrugged, stifling a smirk that he could tell she sensed.
	She butted her nose against his, looking him in the eyes. “No funny-business,” she warned, before turning about.
	He scooted more to the side to allow the ferret to skitter past him.
	She smiled, also butting her nose to his. “You can do funny-business, if’n ya wanna,” she told him in a whisper, fluttering her lashes at him.
	He chuckled, turning about as she passed.
	With Tahla once again the engine and her brother the caboose, the three chugga-chugged through the tunnels. They passed through bright yellows that caste shadows of them on their left from the bright lights overhead and outside, and through dark blues that were almost like fumbling around in the dark.
	All the while, the eevee boy got generous peeks up the ferret’s pink skirt, underwear wrinkling and nudging over her rump and mound as each knee went forward.
	They emerged into a large ball pit. There were already several children playing in it. The tube was a few feet up, such that they practically dove into the balls as they emerged from it.
	The girls both hooted and squealed as they tumbled forward to land in the balls with a soft-plastic clatter, while Telain’s dive was noiseless, save for the jostling balls.
	Right away Dook began excitedly flopping about like a noodle in boiling water; she rolled and pitched as a kitten might in nip, tossing up a rainbow of balls that landed here and there, some directly back onto her.
	Tahla made a bucket out of her shirt, gathering as many balls as she could, and waded over to the wriggling woosal, and let go of her burden.
	Dook giggled as she was buried in a small layer of balls.
	Telain was already throwing balls around. The nets that surrounded the room had balls where kids had managed to trap them up in the corners and the ceiling. There were also a few small pendulums dangling from the ceiling that dangled more when pegged.
	Dook burrowed into the sea, while Tahla lifted her shirt to gather another load of balls.
	Telain saw the cream color of his sister’s tummy-fur peeking out above her black gym-shorts, and saw it as a target. With a smirk, he snatched an orange, and swiftly chucked it sideways so that it skidded just above the surface of its kin, gently tapping against its target.
	Tahla squeaked, and her burden clattered in a heap, melding with the rest. She glared at her brother, who giggled. She dove over to him, turned about, and began kicking balls up at him like a dog digging a hole.
	Despite having to cover his face with an arm, he continued to laugh, nabbing the occasional cherry, grape, and lemon, and chucking it at his sister against her barrage aimed at him.
	Suddenly, between them, a green head of hair popped up from the depths.
	The assault was immediately truced once the neutral party was discovered between them.
	Dook giggled, “Hey guys,” she whispered.
	Tahla turned back round. “Huh?” She whispered back.
	The ferret giggled, and stood up; the hem of her skirt was clutched in both hands. Belle smiled at them from her groin, but she was a bit distorted. “Now I’m a boy!” She squeak-whispered, stifling her giggles.
	The twins hid their giggling as well, seeing that she had stuffed a blueberry and a lime into her underwear, peeking out on either side of the crotch and held tenuously in place by her thighs.
	Dook’s squirming resulted in the lime popping out, which made Tahla snort. She dropped her skirt and her hips back down into the balls.
	Telain noticed a blush tint her cheeks.
	As her giggling softened, her lips moved to one side of her muzzle and her eyes blinked.
	”Something wrong?” The eevee asked.
	Dook bashfully smiled. “It… It tickles nice,” she mumbled.
	Tahla smirked, “Oh really?” She asked, sidling up to the ferret.
	Dook squirmed as Tahla shushed in her ear, and followed the guiding pull of the eevee down below the surface of the balls. “B-But, T-Tahla, we’re...”
	”Shh...”
	Dook closed her legs as her undies were shimmied down a little, and the eevee’s cream-gloved hands snuck between the ferret’s chubby little thighs.
	The ball that had fallen away was coaxed back into place, pressed against Dook’s princess-parts. The ball was nudged along, toward and back, pressing against her.
	Her breathing tittered, and she blinked rapidly, sapphire pupils flitting from matching the eevee’s to down at the blue ball rubbing against her no-no-zone.
	Or, right now, her yes-yes-zone!
	She squirmed and giggled, pausing when the ball fell away. She looked to her older friend with dismay, but then twitched with a start as a fresh, chilly ball was snuggled against her wuggle.
	They paused and held breaths when a ruckus startled the balls just a little bit away, but it settled shortly after.
	”This is my spot,” they heard the eevee’s twin brother say.
	”Do you own this place!?” Barked a voice that was very much compensating for its young age.
	”No, but I’m tryin’ to build a pyramid, so don’t jostle too close to me,” he replied.
	The unspoken understanding between the eevees meant that Tahla’s attention went back to the puddle of a woosal she was making in her arms.
	She traded out for another fresh ball when she felt the one in her fingers get warm and slippery. Each time she traded out, Dook twitched and her fur stood on-end from the slight chill.
	Tahla pressed more firmly, even using her other hand to help part the ferret’s flippity-flaps. She was all but grinding the ball over her friend’s clitoris, rubbing it up from underneath and holding it atop while wiggling it back and forth.
	”Mmmmmhphffffff!” Dook’s moans were muffled when her friend kissed her on the muzzle. Her cheeks and thighs went warm, and wiggly good-feelies shivered all up her tummy.
	It wasn’t quite the same as when they licked her, or when Tel used his thingle-dingle, but something about being in a place where other kids were playing about without them noticing gave her a kind of jeebies that made it extra thrilling.
	She panted when Tahla broke the kiss, and continued to squirm and twitch with leftover shocks while her undies were set back into place.
	When she caught her breath, she wiggled away from the eevee. She watched as Tahla clutched one of the balls, and they rose together.
	Breaching the surface, the ferret continued to watch as she snuck up to her brother, barely making a sound above the other kids clattering about; like a serpent in the water.
	She rose up, and gave her brother a “Rawr!” A ball was pressed to his cheek, and she rubbed it there.
	”Ack!” He grunted, falling over and taking her with him into the balls. When they both rose, she was in a fit of giggles, and he touched his cheek, and sniffed his fingers; a blush crossed his cheeks and he glanced at the ferret.
	Blushing back, she slowly lowered back down into the balls, to hide with her embarrassment.
	They chased and played again. They tried to see how many balls they could hold at once. They threw a bunch in the air and tried to knock them in free-fall with other balls.
	”Hey, look!” Dook said to the twins, and her hands dipped just below the surface. She tossed balls up into the air one at a time, but kept her hands below the surface to hide them. “I’m juggling!”
	”Hey, that’s cool!” Tahla said, humoring the younger friend. Then, she felt a tug at the base of her tail. “Huh?” She glanced to her brother, but he was a short distance away. She twisted about, and saw a chihuahua boy behind her, half dipped into the balls. “Hey, what’re you doing,” the eevee questioned, when she felt the tug at the base of her tail again. She turned about.
	”I… Uh...” The canid slinked back. “I s-saw a shiny ball…”
	Telain wrinkled his nose in thought. The boy looked familiar somehow.
	”Ya mean this?” His sister shimmied up as tall as she could, exposing the green bow and jingle-bell at the base of her tail. “This is not a ball. This is my bell.”
	”Oh...” The boy replied, a bit dumbly.
	”No touchie my bell,” she admonished.
	”Okay,” he nodded.
	”Now, poof!” The ferret said, flicking her hand in a shooing gesture.
	The chihuahua waded away from them.
	”Better not’ve gotten it sticky,” Tahla grumbled, feeling behind her to check her ornament. She looked at her brother. “What’s eatin’ you?” She asked, noting his expression as he watched the little turd swim away.
	”Hm?” His focus broke. “Nuttin’,” he replied.
	”Uhm...”
	The twins’ ears perked, and they turned to the ferret, whom quietly mumbled the noise.
	”You guys… Don’t have to play in here, if you dun wanna,” she said, lowering further and further down into the balls as she did, hiding her muzzle. “You can go play with bigger kids… If ya want...”
	The twins exchanged glances.
	”No way,” Tahla said, moving toward her friend to hug her.
	”This’s your party,” Telain reminded her. “We’ll do whatever you wanna do.”
	The ferret tittered nervously. “W-Well… Let’s um… Let’s go to the cargo-net room. Not as many little kids play in there.”
	Tahla tilted her head, sympathetically. “You sure?” She asked. “We don’t mind playing here.”
	Dook nodded. “Yeah. Plus, now I know where this place is, cuz you showed me, so… I can come back anytime I want,” she said.
	”Okie-day,” Telain said. “Party girl wants to go to the cargo-nets.” He waded over to the tubes, where a small rug ladder spilled out like a tongue to help kids climb into it. “Ladies first,” he said to them.
	Since Tahla knew the way, she crawled into the tube first, with her brother supporting her rump on the way up. She gave him a stinky-eye when he squeezed it, but it wasn’t very effective.
	He thought he was going to get a chance to grope the ferret, but she needed no support at all. She almost appeared to defy gravity by diving up from the balls and into the tube. She extended her leg out, pink stocking dangling out. “C’mon up,” she beckoned.
	He pretended to grab hold and use her foot for support, but mainly used the ladder and hand to lift himself in. But, since he had the opportunity with her leg straightened out a bit, he dipped his nose down to where her skirt was, and pressed it to the cotton.
	She giggled.
	”Sheesh bro, rude,” Tahla jokingly scolded.
	”Hey, you got to have fun,” he replied, getting a few more sniffs of the ferret’s sweet scent that still damply clung to her panties.
	”Not really,” Tahla countered. “She got mosta the fun.”
	”Shh, guys, someone might—eep!—Hehh… Hear...” The ferret tried to hold in her soft moan as the older boy behind her nudged her undies aside and quickly kissed her bare princess parts.
	”Okay, c’mon, she wants to go to cargo-nets,” his sister huffed.
	”Yeah-yeah, let’s go,” he chuckled, letting Dook go. “Lead the way.”
	”We’re going the short way, so oogle while you can,” she told him, starting to crawl.
	”This place is so cool,” the ferret remarked, as they turned at a junction. “I wish I could stay here forever.”
	”You could get lost here forever, that’s for sure,” Telain responded.
	”Not with me ya couldn’t,” Tahla countered.
	”Yup!” Dook agreed. “Tahla the Nalligator!”
	The eevee chuckled. “The what’n’th’who now?”
	Dook paused, getting self-conscious. “Th—The person that leads the way… The… The nalligator?” She repeated the word, meekly.
	”Navigator,” Telain gently corrected. “Wasn’t gonna say anything,” he looked past the birthday-girl to his sister.
	”Huh. Well,” Tahla’s bell let out a terse jingle when she lifted up her tail with poise; “I kinda like Nalligator thank you very much.” She made a “Ruh,” noise as she opened her muzzle, and her teeth came together with an audible klch.
	”Are we close, Nalligator Tahla?” Dook asked.
	Remembering her task at hand, the eevee nodded. “Yup, just a little ways more.”
	It was just up a sloped tunnel with a carpeted bottom, and another junction, before the mouth of the tube opened to another pit of balls. This pit was ankle-deep shallow, just enough to soften a tumble. Even then, the walls and floor were padded.
	Telain paused at the mouth of the opening as he watched the ferret scurry across the ball-pit floor to begin climbing on the network of various woven nets. He exchanged a smile with his sister, and hopped into the chamber.
	Like a spider’s web above their heads, the cargo-nets interwove, anchored to a few thickly-padded beams that went between support-columns, also heavily padded. The core of the network was like a broad, spiral staircase, with a few alcoves and platforms and voids sprinkled throughout and off to the sides.
	Several kids were dangling, swinging, climbing and tangling about. Some were staying on the bottom, with the nets just a bit over their heads, like critters scuttling through the duff of a forest. They picked up balls and tossed them up, trying to thread the needle and peg the climbers, but the nets were unforgiving so most went undisturbed.
	Tahla pointed out that, just like last time they had been here, the room seemed to have more sloths than they had ever seen in one place, and that they were rather active despite their stereotype. Except for one, which had picked the spot at the very top-corner of the area to use as a hammock and take nap.
	”Careful with what you say,” her brother cautioned, as they hoisted themselves onto the nets. “Dad’d probably spank you if he heard that,” he leaned in, “and not the way you like, either.”
	”Psh, I’m not saying anything mean,” she defended. “Just… Something I noticed.”
	”They might not feel that way about it,” he replied, thumbing up at the sloths swinging above their heads.
	”Well I—ack!” She grunted, as her hand slipped and fell through the ropes. “I just—gah!” Her leg slipped through. She started to wriggle and squirm. “Tel! I’m stuck!” She pleaded to him.
	”Uh… Hang on, just… Stop wri-guh-lling...” Telain tried to calm her and help, but then he lost his holds and slipped through the netting as well.
	Just then, a swift blur drifted down the other side of the netting, and the twins’ eyes met the woosal’s. “Uh oh, are you guys okay?” She asked, shimmying past them after she asked, giving them both a good peek at her panties.
	”Bit of a bind,” Telain sighed.
	Dook whimpered, “I’m sorry, do you guys wanna go somewhere else?” She asked.
	Tahla felt a tugging around her foot, the ferret using both hands to disentagle her ankle. “No no, we’re just...” She focused while Dook helped guide her foot back through the ropes. “Eevees aren’t really made for climbing.”
	”Oh...” The ferret said, looking guilty once she clock-turned back around to face them. She loosed a hand and used it to help work Tahla’s wrist loose. “Well, uhm… I guess, if you guys get a’stuck again… Y’know, lemme know, and I can come help.”
	”Sounds like a plan,” Tahla agreed, watching as the woosal helped her brother back through. “You’re very good at clamberin’ around these ropes.”
	She blushed. “I guess… Ferrets were made for it,” she timidly replied.
	”That and shootin’ through tunnels,” she said. “I think I’ll stay down here in the lower parts.”
	”Yeah, me too,” Telain said, dropping back down to the balls below. “We’ll try not to get a’stuck again so you don’t have to come a’rescue us every five seconds.”
	Dook tittered. “Okay, but I don’t mind. Um… I guess, if you do climb, just ‘member to let go with one hold at a time,” she advised.
	”Will do,” Telain nodded.
	She gave them one last pause, before drifting back up the network of ropes like it was a walk down the sidewalk.
	Tahla was much more careful, this time, taking the advice of her younger friend. She crawled to the padded beam that started the spiral, and used it to turn about so that her arms dangled off. She curled about it, grabbing onto the ropes from the other side.
	Telain looked up to see Dook leap from one net to another, clinging to the ropes like a magnet to the fridge.
	There was a cheetah boy near the top, at least two-thirds the way. “Geronimo!” He called, and started rolling down the spiral. As he tumbled, kids tried to get out of the way, one sloth barely making it before the spotted feline tumbled past.
	Tahla held on as the ropes started to strain. She was out of the way on the other side, but the boy did roll over her fingers and nearly knocked her toes, before he dropped straight into the balls.
	She heard the boy swimming through the balls, and looked to her brother.
	”How’s it hangin’?” He asked.
	She stuck out her tongue.
	He hopped up, and swatted her rump.
	”Hey!” She loosed a foot to try and kick at him, but then her other foot slipped. She flailed and struggled, before finally dropping down into the balls. “Jerk,” she growled at her brother, tossing a ball at him.
	”Hey,” he grinned, and hopped up to grab onto the ropes like monkey-bars. “Let’s play Chicken.”
	She narrowed her brow, and made a gesture of pointing at him, and then pointing at the balls, before hopping up herself.
	Her fingers missed the ropes, and she splashed back into the balls.
	Telain snorted, and then laughed with a loose muzzle. He couldn’t hold on when his sister held his hips and pulled him down with her into the pit.
	The wrestled, a flurry of balls flying every which way. They pinned one another, giggling and squealing, until finally Tahla dashed away. The commotion settled, and she shook to straighten her neck-fluff.
	”Lea’me alone,” she huffed. “I just wanna dangle.”
	”Fine.” He agreed to a truce.
	She hopped up again, this time grabbing onto the rope. She regained her earlier posture, though this time she was a bit higher up on the ropes, to prevent her brother from being able to spank her again. Her tail drifted down.
	She watched the boys and girls above her through the lattice of ropes, and spotted Dook playing catch with two of the other sloths as they tossed an orange ball between their feet, the girl caring not that her undies were on full display to anyone that looked up from below her.
	She felt a tremble in the ropes, and met eyes with her brother, who was climbing up to be beside her. She unsheathed a dagger in her glance, and his eye-squint was enough to convince her to put it back at ease.
	Then, she was bumped.
	”Sorry, sorry,” he apologized, moving over a bit. “Didn’t mean to.”
	”Hmph,” she closed her eyes.
	After a moment, her brother settled, and only the distant tugging and nudging of the other kids climbing twitched in her grip.
	Hanging upside-down was kinda fun. It was like being in a mirror-world, where the right-side-upppers were on another plane, not really able to bother them. Unless they tried to pry their fingers off. But, none that hopped onto or departed the nets bothered them.
	Down below was another story. A girl had pegged them with a ball, and Telain growled at her stop it, which she did. But, Tahla was also a bit wary of her brother. Sometimes he played a long-con, and she was en guarde for a tickling or a quick bump to jostle her back down.
	So, when she felt an arm touch her back, her eyes flashed open. “Tel,” she said with warning.
	”What?” He asked. “Just ‘uggin’ ya,” he replied, his hand hooking to her other side and gently pulling them together. “Love you,” he said.
	”Yeah yeah, love you, too,” she grumbled. “Dork.” When the ‘ug was over, she relaxed a little. The unspoken language between them a reassurance he wasn’t going to do anything more to pester her.
	Just as her fingers started to get a bit numb and tingly, she felt a slight tugging at her tail. “Telaaaaaaain...” She said, her warning tone growing more agitated.
	”I’m not trying to look,” he reassured.
	She opened her eyes and glanced at him. He was looking up at Dook, and despite his statement no doubt following the sways of her skirt, like a bell, showing off Belle...
	Bell!
	Tahla reached behind, and felt the base of her tail. “Hey!” She barked, glancing down, watching as a cheetah’s tail slipped into the mouth of the tunnel.
	There was a clatter of balls below, and her brother dashed in after.
	Thunder rumbled through the tunnels as the eevee chased the cheetah, the slight jingling like lightning strikes. Behind him, Telain could hear the girls calling out after them. His palms and knees were going numb with how hard and fast he was striking the stiff, plastic casing, static bristling his fur.
	The cheetah was fast, but he was bigger. With each turn, the eevee was able to close more distance. Until, just as they approached a tube that had a downward slope, he lunged forward.
	”Uff!” The cheetah grunted, as his chest hit the bottom of the tube. The snap of an electric shock made him twitch, and the bell slipped from his grasp.
	It tinkled as it dribbled down the slope, jostled by the ridges in the carpeted panels, like the rungs of a ladder. It settled at the bottom.
	The cheetah tried to wriggle free from beneath the eevee.
	But, Telain held on, having had much practice wrestling with his sister, who was surprisingly strong and slippery from that position. Eventually, they wore out, panting and sweating.
	”Comin’ through!” Came a shout.
	Telain felt the brush of wind and the caller made true on her promise. He watched as Dook defied gravity for a moment, scaling the ceiling of the tube in a cork-screw fashion to pass them, before rolling into a ball to rapidly descend the slope. When she hit the bottom, she splashed out, and snatched the bell. “Tahla! I got it!”
	”What the heck were you doing with my bell!?”
	The cheetah, hearing the growling voice, suddenly burst to life. He did a push-up, lifting the eevee that had pinned him down.
	Telain grunted as his head hit the top of the tube, and rolled to the side. He groped for the cheetah, and grabbed his tail.
	”Rah-hrrrgh!” The cheetah fiercely growled, followed by a woosally shriek from down below.
	Telain’s grip on the tail was lost, and he saw the cheetah dashing down the slope. Despite the ache in his head, he dashed after, following. Dook had curled up against the wall, and the cheetah had passed her, evidently abandoning the bell.
	But now the damage was done, and Tel wasn’t about to let him get away.
	The eevee followed the cheetah through the tunnels. The cheetah tried to lose him, trying to use other kids to block the way along the path or at intersections. But, even then, Telain had an idea of where the cheetah was headed, so he eventually let the cheetah get away.
	His sister and Dook caught up with him.
	”Where’d he go!?” Tahla growled.
	”Chill out,” Telain said softly.
	”Shut up! You lost him!?”
	”How do we get to the big ramp with the punching-bags?” Telain asked, still calm.
	”Follow me,” she insisted, but her brother barred her from passing.
	”No, just tell me. I’ll lead the way.”
	She snarled, but then her bared teeth were hidden behind her lips. “Fine, go straight.”
	He followed her instruction, and they were quickly approaching an intersection.
	”Keep going straight.” Tahla instructed.
	He did so.
	”Tahla?” Asked an innocent voice. “I thought you said...”
	”Sis!” Telain barked, already knowing what was happening when he heard the first part of Dook’s sentence.
	He chased his sister down the tunnels. They burst from them at the main gate, where the cheetah, chihuahua, and lion cubs were.
	The cheetah was still catching his breath.
	”What the heck-heck do you think you’re doing takin’ my bell ya jerk?” Tahla barked at the cheetah.
	”Wh’a wh’a wh’a,” said the lion cub, raising his hands. “’ang onna se’g. L’start o’er.” He patted his chest with an open palm. “We wasn’ tryin’ t’take yer bell. We’s just wann’e’ta talk. Wush’yer name?”
	”Why the heck-heck do you care?” The eevee growled.
	”Cuz,” the lion grinned. “Y’kinna cute.”
	”Rr—” Tahla’s muzzle hitched with confusion, stopping her thought right in its tracks.
	Telain stepped in front of her, walking up to the three. “We ain’t gonna talk,” he told them. “We’re gonna mind our own beeswax, and you mind yours.” He stated. Then, he took one more step closer to the lion, and looked slightly up to meet his eyes, pointing at him. “And don’t touch my sister again.”
	”Did’n say nuttin’ bout you, d’ough.”
	One of the pendulums came swinging toward the eevee.
	But, the lion’s brows lifted when the pillar just smacked into the padded incline of the ramp. “Eh?”
	”Rich, ‘hind ya!”
	The lion turned, and took a step back. “Ffthff!” He grunted, when the eevee’s fluffy tail whipped across him; it didn’t hurt at all, but the shock of the move made him teeter off-balance, lowering his defenses.
	Then came two strikes: one to his shoulder, the other to his stomach. They weren’t hard, but they were fast, the second enough to just knock the wind out of him.
	He doubled over with a groan, slowly curling up on the ramp. Then, he started to roll, all the way down to the bottom.
	”Attention everyone! Can we get Dook and her friends to come back to party room number three! Dook, party room number three!”
	Telain matched eyes with the cheetah, and then the chihuahua, who started to tremble and averted his gaze. “C’mon, Dook, let’s go to your party,” he beckoned.
	”Whoa, Tel...” She said, following after him. “That was so cool!” She exclaimed while bouncing and clapping. “You were all: don’t touch my sister; and then he,” she pointed to the lion as they passed him, settled halfway down the ramp; “was all: What about you?; and then you were all: Wussh, fsh-fsh, ya!; and then he was all: Aaaauuuurgh!”
	”Dude, bro,” Tahla interjected, “if dad finds out, he’s gonna make you hold the Iron Ball for like, two weeks.”
	”So… You gonna tell him?” Her brother asked.
	”No freakin’ way!” She replied. “I was almost gonna join in,” she admitted. “Give that jerk a piece of my mind,” she grumbled, looking down at the bell she cradled in her hands. “But, it’s not damaged, so I let him off.”
	”Or maybe it’s cuz he said you were cute?” Her brother teased.
	”I could still tell dad, ya know,” she coldly threatened.
	”Dooook!”
	”Sunyyyyy!”
	The ferret and the sun-spotted cheetah collided with one another in a hug.
	”Where’s everyone else?” Asked the woosal.
	”Somewhere out there,” the cheetah remarked.
	”So whatchya doin’ in here all by lonesome?” Dook asked, rubbing her nose against her friend’s.
	Sunny blushed, and took a step back. “Y’know… Just… Reading,” she admitted.
	”Still on that new wizard book that just came out?” She asked.
	”Uh-huh, it’s really fun. I wish it were real,” she said, mindfully holding onto her fluffy tail with both hands.
	”Are we late?”
	”Cake time!”
	Two other girls entered the party room: A gray she-wolf wearing a tie-dye shirt and blue shorts, and a bronze-toned rabbit doe with red hair, wearing her basketball jersey.
	”Jennifer, Robyn!”
	”Hey, Dooksie, it’s your birthday,” they chanted, coming to hug her; “This time for real-real, not just for play-play!”
	The three giggled at the silly chant, with the cheetah quietly approaching them.
	”I was looking all over for you guys,” the woosal said to her friends.
	”We were looking for you, too,” said the rabbit.
	”Well ‘cept for Madison,” the she-wolf said, glancing at the cheetah.
	”I… I was waiting in the room in case she came by,” the cheetah tried to excuse.
	”Well, this time,” Dook said, “maybe you’ll come with us? There’s a huuuuge ball-pit, Tahla can—oh! That’s right, uhm, guys,” Dook motioned between one group of friends to the other. “These are my friends, Telain and Tahla, from the park. Tel and Tahla, these are my friends from school: Jennifer, Robyn, and Sunny,” she said, pointing to the she-wolf, rabbit, and cheetah respectively.
	”Howdy,” Tahla said with a wave. She nudged her brother.
	”Hey,” he mumbled, weakly lifting his hand and dropping it.
	The younger girls all exchanged glances, except the cheetah, who held her tail and blushed, averting her gaze.
	”You don’t have to be intimidated,” Jennifer spoke up to the boy.
	”Yeah, we don’t got no cooties,” Robyn said.
	”He’s not,” Tahla said, reaching up and tugging on one of his ears. “He’s just still in Protective-Brother-Mode.”
	He batted her away. “Stop it,” he grumbled.
	”Um… What’s with the bell, Tahla?” Asked the cheetah.
	”Oh, yeah, one sec.” Tahla left the group. “Mom,” she called.
	Erin looked toward her daughter, breaking conversation with the other mother she was talking to. “Yes?” She asked.
	Tahla held up her bell. “Can you hold onto this for me? I don’t want it to get lost, or nothing,” she asked.
	”Sure, sweet-pea,” she agreed, retrieving her bag to put the bell into.
	Brrrrrhrrrrr!
	The girls giggled as they took turns blowing party-horns, trying to hit each other’s head-on or from the side as they rapidly unfurled.
	”Oooooh-kay!” Said the father husky, as he cheerily entered the room carrying the white box. “Who’s cake is this?”
	”Mine!” The ferret said hopping up and down.
	”Yours!?” Her father asked. “Are you sure?”
	”Yes,” she replied, back of her hands on her hips and leaning forward, looking up at her father. “I sawed you sneaked it in the car just before we left.”
	”Guess I can’t fool you,” he chuckled, setting the box down on the long table.
	The other three girls quickly snagged seats around the birthday-girl, Robyn and Jennifer sitting at the chairs beside hers, leaving Sunny to sit next to Jennifer. Tahla took the seat across from her, while Telain took the seat next to the cheetah.
	All the while, Dook’s daddy was breaking the box down to reveal the cake.
	The kids gasped in amazement.
	The scene was vertical on the cake, faced so that Dook could see it best. Belle and The Beast held hands in a dancing pose in the ballroom, crudely drawn in the colored icing; but, to the kids, it was with the same detail as the movie. Above their heads was the chandelier, with seven visible sconces.
	The husky delicately placed seven candles within the sconces, which would give the scene a bit of realism to their imaginations. After the seventh candle was placed, the husky patted his pockets, and looked about. “Lighter… Lighter...” He mumbled.
	Jamie’s ears perked. “Need a light?” He asked.
	”I… Thought I had it,” the father said, panic-chuckling. “Sheesh, I probly left it in the car, be right—”
	”Don’t worry, I got one,” the flareon said with a smile. “You kids want to see a magic trick?” He asked, stepping up behind his daughter.
	”Yeah!” Said the she-wolf and bunny.
	Telain and Tahla did their best to keep straight faces as their father flicked his thumb against the inside of his fingers, making flint-scratch noises. After a few, from his thumb emerged a small flame.
	”Whoa...” The girls said, as the lights dimmed.
	Jamie’s thumb alighted on each of the candles, leaving behind a copy of the flame on each wick.
	The lights dimmed nearly all the way, and Jamie’s thumb went back into a fist, snuffing the flame.
	The husky counted down: “Three, two, one...”
	”Happy birthday to you; happy birthday to you; happy birthdaaaay dear Doooook(sieeeeeee)…” The song paused as Jennifer finished her alternate form of the ferret’s name; “Happy birthday toooo youuuuu…”
	Dook paused in thought, before resting her palms on the table and lifting up, blowing over the cake to whisk the flames the eevee’s father had so delicately placed away.
	”And many more, on channel four—”
	They continued, the lights brightening.
	”You will be, on channel three—”
	”With Scooby-Doo, on channel two—”
	”On channel eighty’s, a naked lady—”
	”Robyn!” Admonished the doe’s mother, the other kids giggling in a fit.
	”I call corner piece!” Sunny piped up, when she saw Dook’s daddy come with the broad knife to cut the cake.
	”Me, too!” Robyn and Jennifer followed up.
	”Hang on,” he said, softly, as he plucked the candles from the cake. “Which piece do you want, princess?” He asked his daughter. “This side is vanilla,” he pointed with the knife on Belle’s side of the cake; “This one chocolate,” he pointed to The Beast’s half.
	”This one,” she decided, pointing to the nearest corner-piece on The Beast’s half. Just like that, it was laid before her on a plate, that was made to look like sparkling silver.
	”Okay and then, Sunny, you get this corner,” he said, taking the opposite one at the top of the cake. “Jennifer… Robyn,” He handed the other girls their pieces. “Which pieces do you two want?”
	”I’ll just have a vanilla,” Tahla said.
	Telain shrugged. “Guess I’ll have a chocolate.”
	”Telaincanhavemypiece,” said the sun-spotted cheetah, rather quickly, as she slid the plate over to him.
	The other girls giggled.
	”What?” The cheetah asked, a little defensively.
	”Oooooooooo,” Jennifer cooed.
	”What, it’s not really fair,” Sunny said, folding her arms. “Otherwise all us school-friends get corner pieces.”
	”So why not give it to Tahla?” Robyn teased.
	”Cuz… Cuz Tel’s the only boy, too.”
	The other girls continued to giggle.
	”You’re being very thoughtful, Sunny,” Dook’s daddy complimented. “Tahla, you wanted vanilla?” He set the plate down in front of her.
	Telain used his fork to cut his piece in half, and quietly pushed one of the halves onto his sister’s plate.
	”Here’s another piece, Sunny,” the father said, setting the plate in front of the cheetah. “It’s a little bigger than the others,” he whispered, though it was loud enough for the other girls to hear.
	The cake was slid out of the way, giving the kids room enough to eat and chit-chat. Erin came round and gave them juice-boxes.
	The pieces of cake were eaten quickly, and very shortly after the hyperactivity of the room elevated. The girls quickly jumped from one topic to the next, leaving the eevee twins quiet.
	Which was okay, as Tahla was still a little flustered about having her bell taken away.
	Tel was just normally quiet, especially in these kinds of situations.
	After plates were mostly littered with crumbs for a few moments, the husky came by and squatted next to his daughter. “Ready to open presents, princess?”
	”Yessssssssssssssssssssss!” She said, with her tongue sticking out and one pupil bigger than the other.
	”Too much cake,” he chuckled, reaching up to dab the corner of her muzzle with a napkin. “Okay, let’s see, this first one is from...” He went to the present-table and picked up a very small package. “Jennifer,” he announced placing it on the table.
	Dook picked it up and pretended to gnaw on it with her teeth.
	More giggles made the rounds.
	”Princess, be sweet,” her father admonished.
	The ferret dropped the act and started opening the present. Even as she was tearing off the paper, she could see what it was, and took in a gasp, then let out a squeal. “A makeup kit!?” She asked.
	”Yup!” The she-wolf said with pride at how she reacted to the gift. “Got everything you need. Powders, blush, brushes...”
	”I wanna put some on right now!” She declared, making for the latch to open the plastic lid.
	”Hold on, hold on, hold on,” her father said soothingly, coaxing the kit free of his daughter’s paws. “You’ll get powder all over your other presents if you open it here. We’ll practice putting some on when you get home, okay?”
	”Okay...” She half-sulked. “Next prezzy,” she said.
	He gave her a look.
	”What…?” She asked.
	”Thuh-thuh...” He said.
	”Oh!” She hung her head a bit shamefully. “Thank you, Jenny.”
	”Welcome! Now I just gotta get one for Sunny’s birthday and we can have a makeup-sesh at a slumber party.”
	”You don’t have to get me that,” Sunny muttered.
	”Speaking of, next one is from Madison,” the husky announced, bringing over another small, but thick, present.
	”It’s a book,” the bunny declared.
	”Robyn, hush,” her mother scolded.
	”What? You can tell just by looking at it.”
	”Let her have her moment.”
	Dook took a bit of care to unwrap the present slowly, and did indeed reveal a book. “The Last Unicorn,” she read the title.
	”I have a copy, too,” the cheetah said. “Think we can read it together? Like a book club?”
	The ferret giggled, “sure, we can try that. Sounds like fun.” She set it down. “Oh, and thanks,” she said, remembering on her own this time.
	”Next up is Robyn’s,” the father announced, handing over the bigger box. His daughter tore it open, revealing a set of light-up elbow- and knee-pads.
	”I also have a light-up jump-rope and hula-hoop for you,” the rabbit said; “Just weird to wrap those, so I’ll bring ‘em next time we meet.”
	”Cool! Thanks, maybe daddy got me roller-skates this year?” She asked, looking up at him and batting her eyelashes.
	”Maybe,” he replied. “Last, but certainly not least: Tahla and Telain,” he handed the long, flattish looking present to her.
	Tahla hopped out of her seat to be nearer to the ferret as she opened the gift, taking the balloons when they were untied.
	Once Dook caught a glimpse of what was under the wrapping, she gasped. “Oh wow!” She tore more away, uncovering a toy stethoscope, sphygmometer, thermometer, and watch-band bandages, along with a first-aid bag to put them in.
	”You can practice taking care of your stuffed animals,” Tahla suggested.
	”Oh yes, they don’t get sick often but when they do, this’ll really come in handy. Thanks guys!”
	”Are you… Looking for a party room?”
	The kids went quiet when they heard the flareon’s voice. They looked to him, and then to where he looked.
	At the door, there stood a young lion, older than the other kids. Behind him stood his much taller father.
	”Th’ss them,” the lion cub stated, pointing at the twins.
	”Something the matter?” Jamie asked, standing up.
	”You th’r father?” The apparent father lion asked the flareon.
	”Yes. Is there a problem?”
	”M’boy needs t’talk t’y’all.” He grumbled.
	Jamie motioned for his children. “Let’s step out of the room,” he suggested.
	Telain and Tahla exchanged glances, the brother taking his sister’s hand when she passed as they followed their dad. Out in the small vestibule, the lion stood and folded his arms.
	”Wh’chyoo gotta say, boy?” The lion growled.
	The kitten’s teeth gritted, and his nostrils flared.
	”Don’ chyoo gimme that,” the father scolded, reaching down and pinching the nape of his son’s neck, making the cub wince and break his expression. “N’g’on.”
	”M’srr’f’t’k’n’yr’b—”
	”S’they c’n un’erstan’ ya boy,” the father said, lightly hitting the back of his son’s head with his knuckles.
	The lion cub swallowed. “Sorry… For… Takin’… Your… Bell,” he said, emphatically clearly, like it took him a lot of effort.
	”An’?” The dad asked.
	The lion cub squinted angrily again, but reached behind into his back pocket. He took out a piece of paper, and unfolded it. “’ere,” he mumbled, handing it to the girl.
	Tahla turned it the right way around so she could read it. It was a ticket voucher from the arcade area.
	”M’I good now?” The boy asked, looking up at his father.
	”Up t’them.” The lion motioned.
	Tahla shrugged. “Just don’t bug us again,” she said.
	”Hm… I’ll have to let them tell me what happened,” the flareon spoke up. “But, I appreciate you coming to apologize for it,” he said, to the lion, but also from father-to-father.
	”Sorry f’r th’trouble,” the older lion asked. “C’mon. W’goin’ home,” he batted his son again, walking toward the exit.
	”I did’n’ even tak’e’dang bell.” The boy grumbled as they walked away. “Was Virg’t did it.”
	”Yer ‘sponsible f’yer dumbass friends...”
	”So… Care to fill me in?” Jamie asked, looking between his son and daughter.
	Tahla shrugged.
	”Just a punk that was pestering us,” Telain said. “He took Tahla’s bell, but we got it back.”
	”And I gave it to mom,” she added, as they went back into the room.
	”You guys okay?” Dook asked shuffling up to them.
	”Yeah,” Telain reassured. “He just came to apologize.”
	”And he gave us over three-hundred tickeroos!” His sister announced, showing off the voucher.
	”Oh cool!” The ferret hopped. “That’s like… A million pop-rocks!”
	”Or one of the big prizes,” Robyn said.
	”Whatever birthday girl wants,” Telain suggested.
	”Um...” Dook thought for a moment. “Nah, it was you guys he was bothering. Not me. Plus, I got a ton of cool presents,” she reasoned.
	”That’s very lady-like of you, princess,” her father praised. “There’s still plenty of time left. Go work off some of that cake, huh?”
	”Yeah! Show us that big ball-pit!” Jennifer said.
	”I’m gonna see what’s at the ticket stand real quick, if that’s okay,” the eevee girl said.
	”Okay,” Dook nodded. “We’ll just be in one of the first rooms.”
	”You can hang out at the entrance, if you want,” Telain suggested. “Those kids went home, it looks like.”
	”Oh thank goodness,” the ferret wiped her brow. “Okay, we’ll be around there. See ya in a bit.”
	They dashed off, except for the cheetah, who hesitated.
	”Sunny,” the ferret huffed, and rushed back, grabbing her hand, “C’mon.”
	”Gonna come with?” Tahla asked her brother.
	”Yeah. You’re sharing, right?” He asked.
	”Heeeeeck no,” she replied, marching. Then, when she saw the look her brother gave, broke into a chuckle. “I’m just yankin’. O’course, down the middle. That’s like… Uh...”
	”Hundred fifty tickets, each.”
	”That.”
	”But, I’m just joshin’ too.” He shrugged. “You can have ‘em. Just don’t tell dad about the scuffle, otherwise he’ll probably make us give it back.”
	”Deal,” she agreed, stepping up to the counter. There were some other kids ahead of them, browsing the walls and in the glass display.
	Normally they would get fifty or so tickets at an arcade, enough to get some pop-rocks like Dook had mentioned. But she had quite a haul this time, all to herself. Though, she did try to look for something they could at least share, when she felt in the sharing mood.
	It caught her eye after a moment. She passed it at first, looking for something else that might interest her. But, then she came back to it.
	It was like a pen, but fatter, especially toward the butt. The image on the packaging was of kids smiling, and it showed the pen with little half-images on either side, indicating motion. The top of the package took a second to read, in the dim light and due to the wriggly font: The Squiggle-Wiggle Writer.
	It was three-hundred tickets on the dot. They’d have enough left over to get a package of pop-rocks for Dook, even. She wondered exactly what it was, and started to think of what kind of drawings she might be able to make with it.
	”Can I help you?” The teen at the counter said.
	Tahla stepped up. “Can I see that pen-thingy up there?” She asked.
	The teen reached up, taking one down. “This?”
	”Yeah,” she said, and retrieved the item. It had interchangeable pen-tips with different colors. She looked at the wall one last time; nothing else for her price range was that interesting. “Do you have a green one?” She asked, handing back the pinkish-reddish one she had been given.
	”Uh...” The teen went back, and looked. “Yeah.”
	”Cool, can I get that and a bag of pop-rocks?” She asked.
	The teen set it down on the counter, and tossed the packet of candy on top of it. “Three-hudnred twenty tickets,” he told her.
	”Bam,” she said, handing up the voucher. “Keep the change.”
	The teen rolled his eyes, setting the voucher on a small table behind the counter, while the girl snatched her things, and walked off with her brother.

* * *

	The front door clacked shut.
	A moment later, her brother entered her room.
	”Mom and dad just leave?” She asked.
	”Yup,” her brother replied, hopping onto her bed and switching on his GameBoy Pocket.
	She turned back to her desk. “Sweet,” was all she said.
	Tahla’s new Squiggle-Wiggle Writer required a battery, and that reminded their parents it was a good time to go to the store and run a few other errands.
	The twins always liked when their parents left. Normally, it meant Jenea would come over and they would play; sometimes, even wind up in a three-way.
	But, recently their parents had been trying an experiment.
	During their usual errand-runs, which took only about an hour or so, they would leave their little boy and girl at home, alone. They always made sure Jenea was next door and aware, so that if the twins had any issues they could call.
	Their neighbor, or her brother, usually were.
	So, while they liked the longer nights out when Jenea would still babysit, they also reveled in being completely alone. It was new, and fresh, and of course they wound up taking advantage of it every time.
	”Ugh,” Tahla grumbled, the soft buzzing of the electric pen quieting when she turned it off.
	Her brother glanced up, but very quickly went back to his screen. “Need me to turn it down?” He asked, referring to the chippy melody of Koholint Island coming from the tiny holes of his handheld.
	”Nah, that doesn’t bother me,” she mumbled, gesturing that that wasn’t the issue. “I just can’t draw with this thing,” she remarked, holding up the pen. “It’s like trying to draw in the car. Who thought this would be a neat idea?”
	Telain saved his game and switched the handheld off. “How’s it work?” He asked, approaching his sister and looking over her shoulder.
	She turned it on, and a soft buzz hit their ears. “It just rattles around and you draw with it,” she explained, pressing the tip down to the paper. “Well, I say draw, more like barf all over the paper.”
	He looked at the paper to see her various attempts at drawing something, anything, but it just looked like a squiggly mess of lines on the paper. “Looks like a bunch of worms. Or snakes. Or spaghetti.”
	”It’s s’posta be a Stegosaurus.” She told him. “Glad I didn’t spend three-hundred of our own tickets on this stupid thing,” she grumbled. “It has no purpose. It had a purpose, but it’s dumb at it.”
	”Lemme see?” Her brother requested, holding up his palm.
	”Knock yourself out,” she said, exchanging the pen to him.
	He pushed down on the switch, and felt it rumble in his hand. He held it like a normal pen, and sort of got how his sister was frustrated by it. Didn’t seem like it was meant for any actual purpose other than squiggling up whatever you intended to do.
	But then, his mind drifted somewhere.
	He turned it off, and slipped the pen-tip out. “I think I know something we can use it for.”
	”Stirring Nestle Quick?” She joked.
	”Nope.” He replied with a grin, tapping it against his other palm.
	Her brow raised when she saw his grin.
	She knew that grin.
	”Take off your clothes,” he told her.
	With a quietly-excited smile, she stood up from her chair and, in the same motion, lifted her shirt up. Melding the strip into a stretch, she wriggled it up along her arms and dropped it behind her.
	She snared her brother’s chin when she caught him checking out her nipples. “You better be gettin’ in the Buffy Vampire, too,” she told him, stepping toward her bed. She undid the tie around her tail in her walk, and slipped off her gym shorts.
	Her butt was kept modest by a pair of camo-panties. Sometimes her brother made a dorky joke about not being able to find her privates when she wore them. She rolled over on the bed and looked at him, giving him an expectant flick of her nose.
	He tossed the pen upon the bed, and lifted his own shirt up. He dropped his shorts, but kept his sheath covered by the pair of dark-red briefs he wore. Though, with each step toward her he took, he felt his sister’s eyes watching for the subtle shifts of his equipment bundled up in the cotton.
	The bed gently creaked as Telain added his weight to it, crawling up to his sister. He took the thin elastic trim around her waist and tugged it down, finishing what she started.
	She let out a contented sigh when her spade was uncovered, half lidding her eyes. When her first ankle was loosed, she set the heel far aside, and flicked her other foot, sending the panties down to the carpet below.
	Her brother’s fingers touched her right away.
	The spade was like him: soft to touch, yet firm to gently squeeze. Her thighs and legs twitched and flinched as he worked his fingertips all around, warming her up. When his fingers were damp with her arousal, he glanced behind him, and retrieved the pen.
	She curled up to watch while her brother turned the pen so that the fat-side was pointed toward her. He slid the switch down, and the little hammer beneath the plastic cap began to spin.
	The soft buzz of its little motor came to their ears.
	The fingers that still touched her wedged between the puffy triangle of her spade, and spread it. Her knuckles curled; it always took a second to get used to being opened by him.
	Her eyes followed the fat-end of the pen as it neared between her legs—and then went cross when it made contact.
	”Ahhh—h’!”
	Telain eased it off when her whole body flinched and she took in a snipped gasp. Then, he relaxed with her, and blushed with her. He looked at her spade, and then back to her eyes; then, back to her spade again, and drew the pen to it.
	Their babysitter had taught his tongue how to find her tender spots long ago, and he knew them well. This was different, though. When his tongue went from one spot to the next, the previous spot went cold. But, the pen’s vibrations tickled her everywhere, so even when he went from the tip-top of her spade down to the bottom right, she could still feel the tingles reaching the tip-top.
	He pressed lightly, at first, but after a few passes of her weak-points, he pushed firmer, and braced the outside with his finger.
	She gripped the sheets, her toes curling. The added pressure and her brother’s finger kept the most intense vibrations focused on the spot. She tried to wince away out of instinct, her body squiggling and wiggling just like the pen; but this time, her brother didn’t give her a break.
	Moans and deep breaths turned to whimpers and shallow panting. She closed her eyes, muzzle ajar and tongue lolling, as the end of the pen slipped into her spade.
	She instinctively squeezed around the intruder, trying to steady it. But it just wouldn’t stop wriggling! Her hips squirmed, and she bucked a few times. She relaxed when it was pulled, going limp.
	Her forehead felt tingly, and her eyes saw static. Her spade still spasmed, feeling like the writer was still touching her. Her breathing softened, and the pleasure that drew her toward her climax ebbed.
	She was too numb to notice right away when fingertips touched her tailhole, spreading it. By the time she registered the touch, the next step was already underway.
	”Teh—Telahh-h-h-h!”
	Her tailhole clenched around the tapered tip of the pen as it slid in. The buzzing from the other end grew, until it wrestled with her ring, resisting her attempts to hold it still.
	She stared at her brother, wide-eyed, but then went half-lidded. The blush on her cheeks went to her chest, and she let out a soft moan as she relaxed, letting the vibrations wriggle inside her.
	”Ah-ah,” her brother admonished, resting his hand on her tummy above her spade and gently shaking her. When she looked at him, he started to remove his briefs. “Time to be a good puppy-girl,” he told her.
	She let out a sultry, low growl as she watched him pull his undies down and reveal his half-peeking pecker. She rolled over, setting on hands and knees, and lifting her tail up. She looked over her shoulder.
	Her brother’s hands rested on her rump, thumbs gently massaging. They rubbed in circles that traced along her downy, cream fur, toward the buzzing improvised butt-plug.
	He nudged his thumbs against her sphincter, capturing a fold of the soft black flesh, and pinned it against the pen.
	Her tailhole began to quiver from the extra bit of tingling and pressure.
	He let her relax for a moment, the act having brought him to full harden. His thumbs then went to spread her spade, his tip catching the drool that dribbled from it. He throbbed as it trickled down to his sheath.
	She began to whimper with need.
	Swapping a thumb for a forefinger, he kept her spread and used the freed hand to touch the buzzing head. He tugged it out a little, just enough to put tension against her squeezing ring, and that made her whimpers slip back into her throat.
	With her properly tense, he began to push into her spade. It was squeezing down in tandem with the squeezing of her tailhole, naturally resisting him. But her arousal and the press of his hips still forced him onwards, until his fuzzy pouch rested against the tip of her spade.
	Only then did he release the tension against her ring.
	She relaxed with a moan, stuffed in both holes. But, she was given only a moment to get used to the feelings, for again her brother gripped her tail to lift it up, and his fingers once again tickled around her tailhole and touched the pen.
	He tilted it downward, toward his penis. He giggled, throbbing. “I can feel it, now, too,” he told her.
	”Mmmmmfhhh...” She moaned into her pillow.
	”What was that?” He asked, moving the head up.
	She yipped, rising up with it, lest it overwhelm her. She let out soft, low whines, her arms and knees trembling as she tried to hold the pose.
	”I thought so,” he growled, easing the pen back to neutral.
	She relaxed.
	”What about this way?” He nudged it to the right.
	She yipped again, leaning that direction.
	”This way.” He went to the left.
	She whimpered, obeying.
	”Down, girl,” he commanded, pushing down on the topside of the pen. But as she tried, he lifted with his hips.
	”Nnngh-gh-ghg-hgh!” She squealed, twitching and shifting left, right, and up, when she was pinned between his cock and the vibrations in her holes.
	But nothing eased the pressure.
	She let out a moan, her holes squeezing rhythmically around her intruders.
	He let the pen back to neutral and stopped lifting with his hips, letting his sister go limp. He petted her from the small of her back to her rump as she recovered. “Still think this pen is dumb?”
	She let out a soft moan of pleasure in response.
	He chuckled, and traded petting for holding her tail again. “I think I like this purpose for it, more,” he told her, as he began pulling out.
	She braced herself, but then he wiggled the buzzing head about in her tailhole, and then started pushing back in.
	She clutched the sheets, one pupil going wide while the other shrank to a pea. She didn’t know what to do, when; the constant changes against her sphincter made it useless to try and resist, and her brother’s thrusting pushed every breath she tried to take out of her.
	The bell at the base of her tail jingled with every thrust. Her soft, warm spade fluttered around his cock, dribbling arousal that was now soaking his balls. They patted against her mound, swaying to and fro with his rutting.
	His knot began to form. Each draw added a slight sucking pop from her spade, a spurt of her nectar flowing out. He began twisting the head of the pen as well as jiggling it, coaxing his sister to twitch and swivel her hips, adding turbulence and keeping her from finding a steady purchase.
	Then, he pushed down once again toward his dick. His knot pressed against the puffy brim of her spade, and there was a soft pop as it slipped in.
	He closed his eyes as a burst of warmth surrounded his entire length, and then her passage wriggled and squirmed around him all up and down. He could feel the vibrations of the pen against his knot; they traveled down his tip, encouraging more of the thin, runny semen that spurted forth.
	Tahla felt like she was falling, the pleasure too much for her to handle. She bared down with both of her holes; her tailhole struggling to hold the vibrating pen still, her sapdehole struggling to draw her brother’s release out longer.
	But, eventually, she couldn’t hold on, and she went limp, despite how the vibrations still overwhelmed her. She let out a puff as her brother landed atop her, his arms sliding around her tummy in a hug. She grunted, trying to reach back to the vibrating that still kept her tailhole from rest. But, she was too weak, and her brother too heavy.
	She whimpered, feeling another spurt trickle into her womb from her brother’s knotted deed. She could do nothing about it. Until he was ready to release her, and pull the vibrating pen from her rump, she was trapped.
	She shivered with delight.