Juvenalas Penitatas
Lesson 13 – Taking Steps To Better Days

Isabelle may have been a completas, but being summoned to Mr Hachi's office still filled the white-furred fox cub with a sense of dread. “Relax, silly girl, you've done nothing wrong!” she scolded herself outside the door before knocking.
“Come in!” the teacher called and Isabelle obeyed. She couldn't help but notice the Fox Strap was hung in plain sight behind the older reptile's desk.
Mr Hachi's scaled lips split into a warm grin. “Good morning, Miss Holdenthorpe!”
The greeting threw Isabelle off-balance. “Nobody's called me 'Miss Holdentorpe since...”
“Since you became a penitatas?” Mr Hachi offered.
The little girl chuckled. “Yeah, that long.”
Mr Hachi's claw curved towards an empty chair. “Well you aren't a penitatas any longer, Miss Holdentorpe; the you're entitled to a little more respect than you're used to.
The girl's smile took a sheepish edge as she parked her furry tush upon the chair. “I think I prefer 'Isabelle', if you don't mind.”
The teacher accepted the correction with a slow nod. “Fine by me, but in this case I think it is Miss Holdentorpe I need. You see, this is about your little friend, Talek. After everything the lad's been through he's going to need a talking to. Not a dressing down, but a simple lesson in how the world works for penitatas. I think you understand.”
“All too well,” she sighed. “He has been out of sorts for a while now.”
“I'm afraid he might be in a spiral. Never easy to drag a Penny out of a spiral.”
“I'll help him however I can, of course!”
Hachi smiled at her once more. “Are you sure you're up for it? You might have to be firm with him.”
“I can be firm, Mr Hachi.”
“Alright then. Are you willing to go over to the Dafron residence after school?”
“Not a problem – providing my mother approves, of course!”
The lizard gave a soft snort of amusement. “I don't think that will be a problem.”

Any hope Talek had that staying home would be fun was dashed from the outset. Shon seemed determined to keep the boy busy, sore bottom or no; washing dishes by hand, carrying logs for the fire, and thoroughly scrubbing his little bathroom space were just some of the chores dumped on the sorry little boy. Rilka's return offered little relief either, for the instant she stepped through the door both children were ordered upstairs to their bedroom.
“Strip down, both of you,” Shon said in a firm, low tone. The two little lizards complied, casting worried glances at one another. “Snouts to the wall.”
The pair heard the door open and close, followed by both parents moving around the room. They heard ruffling, shuffling sounds from their wardrobe, the bed, and their little beanbag nook. Talek scrunched his eyes tight shut, fighting to stifle a frustrated little whimper. Mom and dad had never searched their room before!
“Okay, come to us,” Shon announced at last, and when the pair approached he gently took his green-scaled son by the shoulders. “Squat down for me,” he said.
Liki made Rilka mirror the act, so both rejuves faced one another. This gave each of them a clear idea what was coming by observing the opposite parent; both children gave a soft yelp as a lightly-lubed finger was slipped under their tail and probed their back passages. Liki then repeated the process with her other claw to inspect Rilka's cunny, leaving the little lady with a fiery blush on her snout. “Nothing unexpected there,” Liki announced. “Okay, you can both get dressed if you like.”
“What exactly did you think I was sneaking in up my butt?” Rilka asked with a pout.
Her mother's face snapped into a scowl. “You watch that tone, young madam! I've got plenty of soap for tongues and tail-holes!”
Rilka hung her head in submission, suitably chastised. Talek's displeasure was writ clearly on his face, but he kept his lips pressed tight shut. The cream-coloured girl flicked her head towards her green 'brother' and forced herself to grin. “Well, I guess one good thing comes out of this.”
“What's that?” he asked, noting by the cock of their heads that both parents were listening.
“I get to see dad stuff a finger up your butt on the regular!”
The boy forced a smile, despite his current funk. “Didn't think you were into butt stuff.”
“I don't like things in my backdoor!” Rilka chuckled. “But yours? Not gonna lie, Talcum, the idea of a cute boy going to town under your tail gets me all tingly!”
“Just make sure you keep that 'tingle' to your-” Shon paused as the muffled song of the doorbell played from downstairs. “Now who could that be?”
Left to their own devices, Rilka let her eyes flick down to Talek's crotch. “Come on, give me something to drool over!”
“I'm really not in the mood,” the boy protested, a claw curling to his well-punished rear.
“Fair enough. I'll just be stretched out on the bed, with my legs wiiiide apart...” she poked her tongue out and enacted her promise. She at least managed to send a tingle through the boy's crotch, but more importantly put a genuine smile on his face.
“Hey, you're not... mad at me, are you?”
“Why would I be?” Rilka asked, rocking up into a sitting posture to speak to Talek properly.
“Because I've made life worse for both of us. We get searched now, and they're probably-”
“Shhh!” Rilka gestured with a finger to her lips. “Talcum, you've had to share in my punishments loads of times. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've landed you in hot water more than the other way around.”
“Thanks, cream-cake.”
The girl burst into a fit of laughter. “Don't you call me that! It sounds weird!”
“But it's perfect for you! You're sweet and you like being full of cream!” The boy threw himself on top of Rilka, who burst into a fit of giggling at the unexpected assault. Neither 'fought' much, mostly because they knew better than to risk even a play-fight, but it instantly dissolved the tension.
“There's the stiffy I wanted!” The blushing girl cried, giving Talek's snout a cheeky lick.
“I hope you two aren't rough-housing!” Shon called from the doorway. “Or getting frisky!” he added upon seeing Talek's futile attempt to cover himself when the pair separated.
Talek's eyes darted from his father to the furry girl next to him. Isabelle was beaming ear to ear, her eyes deliberately turned upwards to give the pair an impression of modesty. The girl was dressed in a smart, brown, foreign-styled formal shirt and skirt. Shon invited her to enter the terrarium-style bedroom with a wave. “Rilka, these two need some privacy, so put your clothes on and come downstairs. Let us know if you need anything, Isabelle.”
“Thank you,” she nodded to her host, giving Rilka a polite nod as well as she hopped across the room, still pulling her socks on as she departed.
“It's nice to see you again Isabelle,” Talek said sheepishly, still in bare scale.
Her smile grew stale as Talek watched. “I'm here as 'Miss Holdentorpe' today, Talek.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I'm here as a citizen of Northrock, not as your ex-Penny friend. Do you mind if I sit down? I'd ask you to do the same but I guess you'd rather not.”
“No kidding,” the boy sighed. Puzzled by his friend's demeanour, he nevertheless dragged the chair over from his desk and put it next to the bed, which he lay on to spare his rear.
Once settled, Isabelle continued, “I've been brought up to speed on what happened. Being a 'C' I'm allowed to know more than our other friends. First and foremost, whatever you might think, there are a lot of people worried about you right now. Your mom and dad are probably furious, but that doesn't mean they don't care. I'd guess there are court-mandated measures in place to make your life harder, at least in the short term.”
“I found out about one of those already. Rilka and I get cavity-searches now!”
“Been there, done that,” Isabelle sighed. “You've been out of sorts for a while now, Talek. I don't imagine these new restrictions are doing much to improve your mood.”
“Obviously! Everyone kept telling me that things would get easier with time, but it's only ever gotten worse!”
Isabelle gave the boy a sympathetic glance. “I think you've got the wrong impression on what that meant, Talek. Sentences don't really 'get easier' until Soft Time, and even then you're still under the same restrictions as ever.”
“But I'm meant to be a Soft Timer!” the boy protested.
Isabelle shook her head. “You're a first-year Penny! That's always the hardest!”
“So now you're saying it does get easier, but you just told me it doesn't! Which is it?” Talek barked back.
To his surprise, Isabelle fixed him with a scowl. She spoke in a low, soft voice, but one with an under-tone of threat. “Talek, I told you that I'm here as a citizen of Northrock. That means you need to speak to me the same way you would your parents or a teacher. I'm here because Mr Hachi thought it'd be easier for you to hear this from me than him. But I'm reporting everything you say and do back to him and to your parents. Do you understand? If you raise your voice to me again your backside is getting spanked, blistered or not! Tell me you understand that.”
Talek turned his snout away, eyes creased in pain.
“Talek, I need to hear you say it,” Isabelle pressed.
“Yes! I understand!” he paused, seeing her frown hadn't shifted. “I'm sorry I yelled at you.”
Her featured softened. She rubbed the side of her muzzle anxiously, fluffy tail falling limp against the back of the chair. “I'm sorry if I've damaged our friendship, Talek. I just hope you'll come to understand that I'm only trying to help.”
The pair sat in silence for a spell before Isabelle rallied with a deep, centring breath. “Pay attention to me, please. This is important. The first year of any penitatas sentence is harsh for many reasons; there's a need to break you in, there's the 'newness' of all the punishments, but there's also the lack of trust. Parents and teachers don't know you well enough to judge when it's okay to give you a little leeway, and if in doubt they have to come down on the side of being too harsh than too soft. When you've got a proven record of behaviour things can start to change for the better. Do you understand what I'm saying?”
“I think so.”
“Good. But there's another, more important part to this: what really makes being a penitatas 'easier' is accepting your fate. When you learn to accept your spankings without fussing, the spankings get easier. When you don't talk back or throw tantrums you don't get the extra swats. When you learn to knuckle down and do your schoolwork, no matter how boring it is, you don't get taken to the front of the class and paddled. Being a 'Good Penny' doesn't mean you aren't getting spanked – it means you aren't getting spanked more than necessary!”
“That... then... it was never going to get easier at all!” Talek blurted out, his guts roiling as Isabelle's words burned inside his skull. The unfairness of it all was making him feel sick!
A soft caress on his claw snapped his attention back to Isabelle. “I know how you feel right now, Talek. I've been there myself.”
“Easy for you to say,” the boy mumbled, his face reddened with the effort of fighting his inner turmoil.
The girl chuckled at his dismissal. “I was a penitatas for a hundred years, Talek. You really think I've never had a temper-tantrum or twenty?” She noted the quiet attention her confession had earned her and grabbed it with both hands. “You remind me of how I was at the start of my second cycle. The first was awful, obviously, but the second... that was a special kind of cruel. You're lucky in a way; keep your snout clean and you'll never have to face that!”
“What do you mean?” the boy asked, finding a little composure.
A pained smile spread across Isabelle's foxy face as she recalled a distant childhood. “When I came to Northrock it wasn't a Penny Town – it was a sleepy little village on the coastline, and all us naughty children were kept up in the forest camp. We lived there; no parents, just Camp Guides to watch over us. You had to be a really bad kid to go to Camp Northrock, and I was as bad as they came! But I suffered through six years of the place, until my twelfth birthday rolled around at last. It was actually a fun day – we had a 'Cub Club' where all the penitatas were organised into teams, just like the school does with the Houses. I was in Club Sea Fox, naturally, and the Camp Guides in charge of us Foxes arranged a little party for me and my closest friends. I didn't actually have any friends until about two years into my sentence, but I eventually got pally with a couple of younger Pennys in my bunk room. Four of us were taken into a little side room and given a private party - a real party! There was cake, and music, and games that didn't involve getting spanked if you lost! Then the Guide looking after us gave me my presents. They were all basic stuff – shirts and skirts, shoes and socks, a bathing suit, stuff like that. All for a six year old.”
The girl's voice had grown sullen, as if the wounds were still fresh. “The next day I was taken to a rejuvenation clinic. When I stepped out of the machine and saw myself again, six years old for the third time in my life... it broke me. I bawled all the way back to Camp Northrock. I had been making progress, learning to behave a little better, but coming back like that felt as if... as if everything I'd suffered those six long years was pointless. It didn't matter if I tried to be good, because I'd just end up in the exact same place all over again. I started lashing out, and the Camp Guides lashed right back! I even...” she hung her head, unwilling to face the memory.
“You ran away, didn't you?”
Isabelle nodded. “Trust me, Talek; what Camp Northrock did-” the Aspatrian girl caught herself, biting off the end of the sentence with an audible clack of teeth. She huffed away the thought and continued, “You know first hand what the penalty is for that kind of mistake, and I know first hand what happens when you don't learn from it. I wouldn't wish that hell on anyone, not even my worst enemy and certainly not one of my best friends!”
Talek's snout dropped against the bed. “What... what do I have to do to get out of this?”
“There is no 'getting out', I'm afraid. The only way is forward. You have two options on how that happens: you can pout, fight, throw tantrums and tell your parents you hate them, in which case they'll drag you kicking and screaming through a world of hurt the likes you don't want to imagine... or you can accept your wrongdoings. That doesn't mean saying sorry, Talek. It means admitting to yourself you deserve to be a penitatas. It means accepting the blame for the crimes you committed, and for the mistakes you made since being sentenced. It means coming to terms with the fact you deserve to be punished, and that you need to be punished to become a better person. Trust me, you wouldn't have liked the Isabelle that was in Camp Northrock. She'd never have given you 'hugs' for a start.”
“Did you have to bring that up?” Talek whined.
“Sorry! I was trying to lighten the mood!” the girl chuckled. She gave the boy's paw another squeeze. “How about you take the advice of an old hand a minute? Close your eyes and think hard, as hard as you can, about what you did wrong. Really dig deep, find that little nugget of guilt, and when you find something you are truly sorry for... something you know you deserve to be spanked over... come downstairs with me.”
A look of fear swept over Talek's face. “You want me to ask for a spanking!?”
“Trust me. Please? I know it's the last thing you want, but I promise you it'll help in the long run!”

Despite all his doubts, Talek followed his friend's advice. Introspection wasn't easy, for focusing on his inner thoughts was like trying to find purchase on ice, his thoughts slipping off and away at the slightest contact. His snout scrunched into a grimace as he dug deep, huffs and whines escaping as he reached down and found one unhappy memory after another and grasped them, clinging on long enough to feel their pain all over again. Guilt, shame, anger, fear; the feelings he spent his whole life running from poured back. Memories from years ago mixed with more recent experiences, almost all painful and unwanted. He snapped his eyes open with a gasp, seeking an escape from himself. “I think... I'm ready,” he whimpered.
Taking Isabelle's paw once more, the frightened little lad was guided downstairs to his waiting father. Liki and Rilka were nowhere to be seen, but her skipping rope was missing from its usual spot by the door. “Did you two talk things through?” Shon asked from his seat.
Talek gave a timid little nod. “Yes... and there's something I need to say.”
“I'm all ears.”
The boy squeezed Isabelle's paw tight for support. “I'm really, really sorry for not opening up to you and mom sooner. All this time you've been trying to help me, but whenever you reached out I pushed you away.” The boy gingerly massaged his blistered rear and added, “I wouldn't be in so much trouble now if I'd have just listened to you. Instead I... I let Jalia convince me you couldn't be trusted... but you were reaching out to be before that, weren't you?”
Shon said nothing, but a fatherly smile crept into the corners of his snout. His paw softly tapped the cushion next to him, beckoning Talek closer. The boy's creasing eyes showed the idea of sitting down on even a padded chair did not appeal, though Shon took the hint and let the boy stand. “I'm glad you've finally seen reason, and realised where you went wrong.”
“I'm sorry,” Talek whimpered. “I mean it, I really do!”
“I can see that, but simply being sorry won't fix the mess you're in. You went about as far wrong as a boy can go; that's going to have consequences you'll have to live with for a long time yet.”
“I know. Dad... I...” the boy turned his snout towards Isabelle, who offered a subtle nod of encouragement. “I deserve to be spanked for what I did. Please?”
The whined little request caught Shon flat-footed. He studied the boy's pained expression for a time, as if trying to guess the punchline of what seemed an inscrutable joke. Yet there was enough sincerity in Talek's tone that realisation soon dawned. He gently guided Talek to lean over against the sofa before turning to Isabelle, “Would you go and fetch the tail strap for me? I believe it's in the bedroom.”
The soft words made Talek whimper. Soon enough, the fox girl was back with that hateful implement in paw, which was turned over without a word. “I'm sure you'd rather it be the underside of your tail than over those nasty blisters,” Shon said, noting his son's trembling.
“I-I guess,” Talek mumbled in reply, then yelped as his tail was pulled upwards ready for the strike.

The sharp snap of the thin bet against the underside of Talek's tail echoed through the living space. The nine-year-old lizard tensed, giving a sharp intake of breath as the shock of the belt coursed through him. Just as the surprise began to fade the belt struck again, drawing a loud, sharp cry of pain from the boy. The third made tears well up in his eyes, and the fourth had him bawling.
Claws clutching his snout, head buried against the seat beneath him, Talek lay and howled out his pain and anguish as his father brought the cruel strap against his tail base over and over, each snap seeming louder than the last as waves of deep, searing pain radiated through the flesh beneath the thin, sensitive scales of his tail. Each blow made his blistered rear ache as if in sympathy, for with every smack his hips and legs jiggled and twitched uncontrollably.
Even though he'd asked for the punishment, it took all of Talek's willpower not to beg for mercy. “I'm sorry!” he wailed, giving himself that out as he was forced to suffer through the long, hellish belting. He repeated his pleas until even that was too much, and all that was left for the boy to do was to cry until he ran out of tears.
By the time Shon ceased, the underside of Talek's tale was reddened from end to end, with uglier purpling down at the base where he'd applied the majority of his hardest smacks. He let go of the boy's tail, drawing a passionate yowl of anguish as the limb dropped down and flexed the most tenderised muscles, prompting Talek to raise his tail again sharply. In a soft voice he said, “Okay, Talek, just lie there and cry it out. I'll be with you in a minute.”
The sobbing child didn't catch whatever discussions took place behind him. He felt certain Liki and Rilka had come back in during his tail-strapping, but he wasn't sure until a few minutes later when his mother gently eased him upright. “I bet you need a nice, long cuddle after that, right?” she asked before flashing him a smile. “Do you want a cuddle from me, your dad, or our furry little guest?”
Talek glanced around the room, noting Isabelle's absence. He saw the corner of his father's lips curl up, and caught the subtle flick of his thick, heavy tail. “She thought you might prefer to cuddle on your bed than the couch.”
“I-I'd like that,” he whined, his jaw trembling so much he had to fight to form each syllable.
As the boy reached the stairs, Liki called out to him, “You do whatever Miss Holdenthorpe tells you to do while you're up there, understand?”
“Yes momma!” Talek blurted out, wincing at the unexpected scolding before heading upwards.

Isabelle was stood by the bed as promised, though when Talek caught sight of her through the transparent inner wall his footsteps faltered. The girl had undressed, waiting with coy patience in her snow-white fur for his arrival. She grinned at him and raised a finger, beckoning him over with slow curls. The boy crept forwards, sheepish despite the familiar surrounds. “How come you're naked?” he asked softly.
“I'm allowed to be naked if I want to,” she answered with a grin. “Besides, I figured the feeling of soft fur against your scale might feel nice. Come on, come get your cuddles.”
He accepted her open-armed embrace, resting his snout upon her shoulder and letting out a pained sigh as the fox-girl accepted him. As if sensing the subtle tingling this closeness caused, Isabelle whispered, “you can get hard if you want to. In fact, it might make you feel even better.”
“I don't want to get in trouble,” Talek whimpered back.
“You won't. Nothing wrong with a boy being stiff,” the girl assured him before pulling him forwards to the bed. She parked herself on its edge and leaned back, chuckling softly as Talek fell on top of her. “There we go! Isn't this nicer than standing?”
“I guess,” Talek said with a blush as Isabelle's soft, furry tail tickled the inside of his leg. His eyes went wide as an unexpected finger stroked the tip of his penis.
“What did your parents say before sending you up?” Isabelle asked as her right paw softly caressed the boy's hardening length.
“T-to do whatever you tell me to do!” the boy blurted out as he squirmed under the touch.
“Good. Then I'm telling you to get nice and hard for me. I know it's tricky with a sting under your tail, but make an effort.”
“Why are-” the question was silenced by a sudden, forceful kiss. The sensation surged through his lips, down his spine and straight into his crotch.
“Much better!” Isabelle sighed when their lips broke apart. “Now, stop leaning back. I want you pressed right up against me for a nice, close cuddle.” Her true intent was clear by how she spread her legs apart, her paw helping to steer his erection as Talek pressed his body against hers. A soft, hungry whimper slipped from the lizard boy's snout as his cock found its mark and slid inside.
“Keep still now,” the girl whispered. The warmth of her breath against his ear-slit sent shivers down Talek's spine. Isabelle's paws wrapped around his back and squeezed tight as she began to clench and grind, sending waves of pleasure through his hot, hungry cock. “That's it, good boy... just keep still and let Miss Holdenthorpe give you lots of cuddles.”
“A-are you sure this is okay?” the boy whimpered.
“I promise you it's fine. Just lie still, okay?”
The boy obeyed as best he could, but the blissful sensation of Isabelle's warm cunny flexing and squeezing made it difficult. More than anything he wanted to start humping, but the mere thought caused an anxious little knot to form in his stomach. Would he really get in trouble if he did? Isabelle clearly wanted to have sex with him, so why not? But he'd been told to keep still, and 'Miss Holdenthorpe' had to be obeyed...
As torments went, it was far preferable to being stuck in a corner. The boy closed his eyes and did his best to obey, resting atop the furry cub who writhed and squirmed under him in heavenly ways. Time lost all meaning as the waves of pleasure built, swelling to what he felt sure would be a climax, only to be left unfulfilled. Then, as her slow and teasing efforts continued, the lust would build again to an even greater height, and a new edge of desperation. He began to pant and whine like a feral dog, desperate for the release that Isabelle seemed to be forever denying him.
A soft puff of breath blew against his ear-slit as Isabelle placed her muzzle against his head. “Cum inside me right now, young man!” she barked as fierce and forceful as any parent.
The boy's whole body jerked in shock, and his involuntary buck of the hips was the tipping point. Any thought of keeping still was abandoned as he gave two more swift, forceful thrusts and blew his desperate load, filling the Aspatrian girl with Karrian seed. “Good boy,” she purred.

The pair lay together for several minutes more before Isabelle announced it was time for her to head home. She cleaned up in the Penny bathroom space, not minding Talek watching, nor showing any shyness when the rest of the family came to join them. “Thank you for having me over,” she said to Shon and Liki as she towelled herself dry. “I think this was a good thing for Talek.”
“I think so too,” Shon agreed, smirking all the while. “I just hope this improvement sticks once you leave. I'd be disappointed if his new good behaviour is contingent upon a cummy cuddle.”
Talek's face turned beetroot red at the comment, but Isabelle laughed it off. She turned to the boy and said in a mock-scold, “if he ever wants to have fun under my tail again he'd best be good as gold!”
“I will be,” the boy said in a soft, deliberate tone.
Once their guest had left, Talek was finally allowed to make himself decent. Liki insisted on helping, if only to give her opportunity to address the boy. “I'm proud of you for your little breakthrough, we all are,” she said while gently easing his pants into place. “But it's only fair to tell you this; your father and I are still hurting. You betrayed us, and it's going to take time for that wound to heal. We don't hate you, don't think that for a minute! Shon and I still care about you just as much as always... but we need time to heal, just as much as you do. I hope this little indulgence shows that we're trying our best to forgive and move on.”
“I... It does, mom,” the boy answered with an earnest nod.
His words earned him a smile. Offering her claw, Liki took the boy's own. “My little man must be hungry after such a busy afternoon, and you can spend some time on the sofa with us afterwards. Our cuddles might not be as fun as Isabelle's, but I hope you'll accept them all the same.” And just like that, Talek saw a glimmer of the 'easier time' he'd been looking for.