Lifty and Shifty were sleeping soundly without a care in the world. They had managed to survive another day without being thrown over Splendid’s knee. Just then, Shifty woke up. He looked around and noticed he was in an unfamiliar place. “What the…?” He stood up and realized he was in a crib and it was mostly dark except for a few nightlights around the room. He tried to escape but couldn’t figure out how to get out without getting hurt. He eventually gave up and decided to go back to sleep. He had a strange feeling but figured he was just dreaming. Soon, he managed to fall back asleep. After a while, Shifty woke up again and it was now daytime, but he was still in the crib. “Oh no,” He said. He saw Lifty sleeping in footie pajamas and sucking his thumb while hugging a raccoon plush. “Hey, dude, wake up.” He said, shaking Lifty awake. “N-no, five more minutes,” Lifty mumbled, rolling over. Shifty kept shaking Lifty to wake him up. “Dude, if you don’t get up, I’m gonna fucking bite your tail,” Shifty said, lightly smacking Lifty's cheek. Lifty grumbled and sat up. “What?” He looked around and shook his head to wake himself up. “What the hell? Where are we?” He asked. “I don’t know. But we’re in a crib and you’re… we’re wearing footie pajamas.” Shifty said, noticing his attire. “Yeah. Wait… Are we…” Lifty said, patting his butt. Shifty was confused so he patted his own butt and realized something. “We’re wearing diapers.” He said, feeling foolish. Suddenly, the door opened and a female fox entered the room. “Hello, boys.” She said in a sweet and cheerful voice. Her presence startled them a bit. “Who are you, lady?” Lifty asked. “My name is Irene, but you can call me Mama.” She said. “How about fuck no,” Shifty said. “I second that. Fuck that, dude,” Lifty added. Irene just shook her head and said, “I’m sorry that you feel that way. But it’s time to get up and greet the day.” She lowered the wall of the crib so Lifty and Shifty could get out. Once they were out, she scooped them up and carried them to the kitchen. She set them down each in a high chair. “Wait, this seems familiar,” Lifty said, which only earned him a dirty look from Shifty. “Keep that to yourself, dude,” He said. Irene went to the stove and grabbed two bottles for Lifty and Shifty. “Here you are. Do you guys need help with your milk?” She said. Lifty shook his head and grabbed a bottle. He didn’t drink from it, however, and just held it. “I’m not eating or drinking that. I don’t even know what it is,” Shifty said. “It’s baby formula, sweetie. It’s like milk for babies. Here, try it,” Irene said, holding the bottle out. Shifty rolled his eyes and took the bottle. “Lifty, you try it first,” He said. “Nuh uh, first come, first serve, dipshit. You’re older, so you go first,” Lifty said. “Dude, just fucking do it. Please?” Shifty asked. The two boys went back and forth for a few minutes while Irene, bless her heart, tried kindly telling them it was nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. “Boys, please don’t fight,” She said. Lifty was getting annoyed and had a funny feeling. He decided to try a sip of the milk. “How is it, sweetie? Is it good?” Irene asked, smiling warmly. Lifty enjoyed the taste of the milk so instead of answering Irene, he started to chug the milk. Shifty wasn’t very pleased with the sight but figured that if Lifty was chugging it like that, it wouldn’t be so bad. Shifty grabbed his bottle and started drinking the milk. He found the sweet, tangy taste of the milk very enjoyable. Soon, both of them finished their milk and were very happy with their full bellies. Irene was delighted to see both of them so happy. She gave them each a kiss on the head before they headed off to play. “Here’s your playroom, boys,” She said, showing them a room with colorful walls and toys and fun things everywhere. There was a tiny table with paper and crayons, pens, pencils, and other art supplies, a chest full of toys, some games, and everything to keep them happy and entertained. “Wow, is this all for us?” Lifty asked. “Of course, honey. Who else would it be for?” Irene asked, giggling. “All I ask is that you two don’t fight, clean up after yourselves, and if you need anything, just call for me.” Lifty and Shifty agreed. “Alrighty. Have fun,” She said, walking off. “Wow, she’s a really nice person.” Lifty said, heading to the toy box. “Yeah, she is. I mean, it’s always good to keep your guard up, but she seems legitimately nice.” Shifty said. Lifty got some plushies from the toy box and started making up fun scenarios with them, and Shifty decided to join him. They continued to play for a while until they got hungry again. “I want something to eat.” Lifty said. “Let’s call Irene and tell her we’re hungry.” Shifty said. He got up, walked over to the door, and shouted, “Irene? Irene?” Irene came over and knelt down. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Do you need something?” She asked. “Yeah, we’re hungry.” Shifty said. “Ah, okay. Well, it is almost lunchtime. How about sandwiches, apple slices, and juice? How does that sound?” She said. “Ooh, that sounds really good.” Shifty said. “Yeah, it does. Thank you, Irene.” Lifty said. “What kind of sandwiches and juice do you boys want?” Irene asked. “Can I have a ham and cheese sandwich with grape juice?” Shifty asked. “Sure. What about you, Lifty?” Irene asked. “I’d love a PB&J right about now. And grape juice does sound good.” Lifty said, rubbing his belly. Irene nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll go ahead and get it ready for you. Y’all can keep playing in the meantime.” before leaving to go prepare lunch. Lifty and Shifty waited for Irene to come back with the food. They then noticed another table with two small chairs. Soon, Irene came with their lunch and delivered it to them. “Here you are, boys. Eat up,” She said. “We will. Thank you, Mama.” They said. Irene was in shock. “I thought you didn’t want to call me Mama.” She said. “Well, you wanted us to, and you’re like a motherly figure to us, so we’ll call you Mama.” Shifty said. Lifty nodded. Irene felt like crying. “That’s… that’s absolutely wonderful.” She said. “Well… enjoy your lunch,” She walked back to wherever she was before, happy they called her Mama. Lifty and Shifty, meanwhile, sat at the table and ate. They were very happy with it. After they finished their food, they went back to playing. They played for a few minutes until Irene came to check their diapers. “I need to make sure you guys don’t have dirty diapers,” She said. “Who wants to go first?” She asked. Shifty shook his head, so Lifty volunteered. “I’ll go first,” He said, raising his paw. Irene smiled as her tail swished back and forth. “Alright. Stand up, please,” She said. Lifty stood up and walked over to her. “First, we need to get your PJs off, sweetie,” She said, undoing the velcro on the back and pulling it off his body. “Oh crap, so that’s what my diaper looks like,” He said, noticing the light blue diaper with red stripes on the sides. “You also have a red paw print on your butt.” Shifty added. “Oh yeah, I do.” Lifty said, looking at his rump. “I thought you’d like it,” Irene said. “Well, it’s definitely… interesting.” Lifty said, blushing. Irene pulled the waistband of his diaper back to look at his butt and saw that it was clean. “Alright, Lifty, you’re good,” She said, patting his little head. “Thank you, Mama Irene,” Lifty said, beaming. Irene helped put his footie pajamas back on and let him go. Lifty went back and sat down to continue playing. “Your turn, Shifty,” Irene said. Shifty shook his head. “I don’t want to,” He said. “C’mon, sweetie, it’ll only take a few seconds,” Irene asked. “I said I don’t want to,” Shifty said. “Please? I need to make sure you don’t have a stinky butt,” Irene said, giggling. Shifty rolled his eyes. “Fine, but quit saying stupid shit like that,” He said, standing up. He walked over to Irene and tried to stay calm as she took his footie pajamas off and checked his diaper, which was purple with green stripes. “Alrighty, you’re all clean as well,” She said, reaching to rub his cheek. Shifty was angry and, in one fell swoop, grabbed her paw and bit it. “OW,” Irene cried, pulling her paw back. Shifty immediately realized what he had done and regretted it. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, Mama. I didn’t… I was… I’m so sorry,” Shifty said. Irene was in pain but she wasn’t mad. She took a deep breath and calmly said, “Sweetie, I wasn’t trying to hurt you or scare you. Why did you bite me?” “I… I don’t know. I’m sorry,” Shifty said. Irene just sighed as she undid Shifty’s diaper again, exposing his bare bottom. Irene held Shifty against her arm and gave his baby bum 5 swats. *slap* *slap* *slap* *slap* *slap* It wasn’t much, but it was still enough for Shifty, who hugged Irene and tearfully apologized again. “I forgive you, sweetie. I’m sorry for doing that,” Irene said. “It’s fine, I deserved it,” Shifty said. “Don’t say that, Shifty. I understand where you’re coming from,” Irene said. Suddenly, she looked at the clock. “Oh dear, it’s naptime.” She said. “I’m alright with that. I’m k- *yawn* kinda sleepy anyway,” Lifty said. “Yeah, a nap sounds amazing right about now,” Shifty said. Irene smiled. “Wonderful. Let’s go.” She said, picking the raccoon tots up and carrying them to their crib. She set them down, gave them a plush to sleep with, covered them up, kissed their foreheads, and left. Lifty and Shifty quickly dozed off after that. Suddenly, everything was bright and they heard weird noises. “What the fuck?” They then realized they had some kind of devices on their heads, which were raised, revealing Sniffles standing there holding a clipboard. “Good to see you two again,” He said. The twins were very confused. “Wait, what happened?” Shifty asked. “Easy, you two have undergone a psych test. And the results, given your interaction with Irene, say that you two are a bit childish and in need of true motherly love,” Sniffles said, writing on his clipboard. “Wait, so Mama- I mean Irene wasn’t real?” Lifty asked. “Not at all, she was just an AI specifically designed to test you two by acting as a motherly figure. At least we now know how you two are on the inside,” Sniffles said. “Now that the test is over, you’re free to leave.” Lifty and Shifty looked at each other and shrugged. “Hey, is there any chance we could… maybe go back sometime?” Shifty asked. Sniffles smiled. “Why? So you can see Irene again? I must say, I had no idea you would enjoy her presence as much as you did. And I definitely didn’t expect her to spank you,” He said. Shifty rolled his eyes. “Whatever, that doesn’t answer my question.” He said. “Right. Well, I still have the data from when you went in the first time, so yes, you could potentially go back anytime, except right now because the machine needs to cool down before we can use it again,” Sniffles said. “Okay, that’s good to know,” Shifty said. “I miss her already,” Lifty said. “I know, but we’ll see her again soon. I don’t know how soon, but soon,” Shifty said. The raccoons thanked Sniffles and left to go home. “Even if we don’t have a real Mom, we still have Splendid, who could be like a Dad to us,” Lifty said. “True. He’s probably waiting for us with like a wooden spoon or the brush.” Shifty joked. The boys were a bit sad that Irene wasn’t real but were happy to know that they were able to see her again if they wanted. As soon as the machine cooled down. Life was good. Life was fun. Life was like the rising sun.
