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As much as I appreciate gushing, unconditional praise, I would also appreciate kind, patient, constructive criticism and suggestions to guide and improve my writing.
 
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Chapter 1
     It was a small waterfall that poured down the rock face, tall enough only to conceal a small cave behind that one could fit inside, if she didn’t mind getting wet.  A pond pooled below it, letting out through a stream that gently turned this way and that, snaking past where the trees let allowed guests in these woods to see.  It was a spot largely untouched by civilization, but the faintest of trails revealed that some knew of the retreat.
     Lightweight shoes sat in the shade as she danced; she much preferred the feel of the slightly wet grass on her bare feet as they stepped rhythmically, with purpose and repetition.  A slender frame did little to reveal the poise and dexterity of a girl, no longer a child but short of her looming maturity, praising the Lord with her own personal temple near that waterfall.  She adorned herself with a skirt of many cool colors suited to her movements, flaring and flashing about with blues and purples in complement of her dance.
In the cool of the day, she enjoyed an apple before replacing her shoes and walking back down the faint path she has traveled from.  Approaching a bridge, she was confronted by an impatient looking boy.  His face scowled, partially veiled by his unkempt hair.  “Parisa, you just about missed supper!  Again!”
     “I’m sorry.  I brought something to eat, so I’m okay!”
     “It’s not just about you having food, we’re supposed to be together!  To have time as family to talk and bond and whatever else.  And it’s Saturday!  We eat with the others on Saturday!  You know that!  Do you realize how upset mom and dad get when you’re out like this?”
     “I’m sorry, Leonard.  I’ll make it up to you.”
     “How?  By dancing or something?  Save it for someone who’d appreciate it, like Joshuel.  Or maybe he’d like to hear your secret…”
     Parisa looked annoyed.  “You wouldn’t!”
     “Maybe I would if it would keep you from worrying our parents.  There are snakes and stuff out there!”
     “Alright!  Alright!  I’ll make sure not to be out alone so much!”  And with that, she followed her younger brother over the bridge to a large building.
 
     Inside, she came to the table as a young man smiled at her, pulling out a seat.  He was not as much older than her as Reuben, but he was a tall and a solidly-built man with short, disciplined hair.  He appeared far different from her short, delicate body and long, untamed hair, save for being thrown into one massive ponytail, but she felt quite comfortable with him around.
After grace, the three families seated at the large table began a simple meal of soup and plenty of bread.  Besides the tall boy, Parisa sat with her parents and younger brother and sister.  Two other families sat across the table.  At the ends were two older men, one dressed cleanly like a religious figure and one quite a bit rougher looking.
The former spoke to the rough man.  “Br. Valdez, how have their martial arts come along this week?”
     “Reuben and Joshuel have progressed great as usual, but they’ve been butting heads a little lately.”  The tall boy with Parisa, and a young man across the table from him, both lowered their heads somewhat with shame.
     “Leonard has been slowly picking up some of the techniques, making good progress.”
     Parisa’s brother held his head up high and spoke.  “One day I’ll take over as head of the dojo!”
     Br. Valdez gave him a skeptical look.  “I don’t mean to hurt your self-esteem or anything, but you’ll probably never be as ruthless as Reuben or hit as hard as Joshuel.”  This time, Leonard looked down while the older boys smirked.
     The elder spoke again.  “Yes.  Reuben and Joshuel are like a dragon and a tiger.  Parisa, it’s true that they’ve been teaching you some, isn’t it?”
     Before she could speak, Leonard interrupted.  “She mostly plays with a long stick.  She must want to be a pole dancer.”
     Valdez looked displeased with him.  “Don’t make her embarrass you, Leo.  You’re not showing a good attitude, as a disciple of the Savior OR a martial artist.  Your belt is fixing to be white.”  The boy was silent the rest of the evening as the elder spoke.
     “Sister Laberrè, how is sewing coming along?”
     “Very nicely.  Leah is such a sweetie with helping Parisa and Tamar learn more advanced patterns.”  The woman motioned to her daughter, a shy looking woman with braided hair.
     Brother Valdez then asked the elder, “Are they learnin’ much, Anderson?”
     “Parisa’s just about set to graduate, Leonard and Mia are doing fine.  Luke and Jake struggle a little, but Leah sometimes tutors them.  Jenna is doing well.”
     “Parisa’s graduating?  Didn’t she have another year?”
     Elder Anderson smiled.  “She’s progressed quite nicely, she’ll be ready by beginning of Spring.”
     The elder then turned to Parisa’s father.  “Brother Pahlavi, how do things look in surrounding communities?”  He looked somewhat grim.
     “Whatever’s behind the propaganda against us is intensifying their efforts.  Tract after tract telling things that aren’t true or are missing context.  ‘Deseret cult losing children to burnt sacrifices.’  ‘priests consume man’s blood in gruesome ritual.’  It’s not only affecting how others respond to our message, but to us personally.”
     Elder Anderson closed his eyes for a moment or two, perhaps even a couple of minutes, before speaking again.  “Well…  I think I’ll have a solution for that tomorrow.  I’ll go over it during Sunday School.”
 
     Dinner continued without real surprise or devation.  With the stars shining clearly outside, the close knit people of Deseret prepared for sleep.  Parisa was visiting with Joshuel before going home to her bed, the two alone in his room.   It was a small room on the second floor, above the dojo.  “So you’re not leaving?  That’s what most of the older people have done.”
     “No, I like it here.  All I want is to keep training under Br. Valdez and learning about power from Elder Anderson.
     “Power?  You mean the Gospel?”
     “Yes, power.  He talks about Priesthood power, and authority from God.  If I had enough power, I could live out peacefully doing whatever I want indefinitely.  Hitting things and moving heavy things will only give me so much power.”
     “Hm…  I don’t know if I’m that interested in power, but the scriptures keep telling me I need to love not just other people, but everything.”  She was startled by loud, sudden snorting in the room next door.  The two chuckled some.
     “Even Br. Valdez’s snoring?”
     “I guess so, yeah.”
     “What about if you get hurt, or sick?”
     “Well, I don’t know…”
     After a moment of silence together, they stood up.
     “Parisa…  You’re going to be sixteen in a few weeks.”
     “Y-yeah…”  Both wanting to speak, neither speaking any further, they looked into each other.  Parisa felt her heart beating faster.  She began to feel wet in her groin.  She registered it only as it trickled down her leg some, prompting her to hide it by pressing her legs together.  The two broke it off before getting anymore heated, bidding good night as Parisa walked down the stairs and outside.  She left partly out of decency, but partly because she realized she had peed in her panties.  In the dark, she was stopped by a boy closer to her age.  “You were visiting Joshuel at night again?”
     “Oh!  Saul!  Yes, I was.  Why are you out here?”  Thankfully, he probably couldn’t see what she had done due to the dark.
     “Well…  We’re both gonna be sixteen soon, um…  Wi-will you marry me?”  She wasn’t surprised; Reuben’s younger brother had shown interest in her for as long as she could remember.  “I-I know you spend a lot of time with Joshuel, but, um, we’ve known each other for a long time and he just popped up one day.  So if, uh, you aren’t sure about him…”
     She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.  “Saul, you’ve been a good friend to me.  I’ll need to think about your offer, okay?”  He smiled a little and nodded, running back to his house.
 
     In her room, Parisa removed the dandelion-adorned barette and let down her hair, brushing it out before closing her door.  Quietly, she pulled out a bag from under her bed.  Inside was a package, resembling that of baby diapers.  Instead of a baby, however, they depicted a young teenage girl sleeping.  She pulled out one sized for her nearly-adolescent hips and set it open on the bed before pulling off her skirt, her wet maillot, wet leggings, and wet panties.  She laid on the diaper, securing it to herself with an expertise and efficiency suggesting years of experience, then quickly hid the remaining briefs under her bed.  Her secret, aforementioned by her brother:  She is nearly a sixteen year old bed-wetter.  An unsolved stain on her grace and strength and a dancer, as well as her image as a nubile young woman.  After finishing, she let her nightgown drape over her secret before going back out to clean her teeth.  As her parents beckoned, she came to pray together as a family, as they did every night.  In good spirits, they shuffled out of the room toward their own beds.
     Little Mia spoke out as they separated.
     “I don’t want to keep wearing diapers at night.  I’m not a baby!”
     Their mother answered sympathetically.  “Don’t worry Mia, you’ll grow out of it one day.”
     Parisa rolled her eyes.  “‘One day’?  You mean when I’m twenty-five or something?  At this rate I’m gonna diaper my first baby at night while my husband diapers me!”
     “I know, I know, just give it time.”
     As everyone went to bed, the mother and father sat together on their bed.  The father spoke up.  “So when are you going to tell them?”
     “Tell them what?”  She asked as she laid down on her back.
     Br. Pahlavi pulled out a package of diapers much like Parisa’s, and began to put one on his wife.  “If there is a ‘one day’, it hasn’t come for you yet.”
     “My mother, my sisters, me, my daughters…  What’s with the girls in my family?”  She asked to no one in particular.
 
     In another home, Saul was on the floor, hammering out pushups as Reid watched impatiently.  “You’re just going to keep yourself awake.  Give it up!  You can’t beat Joshuel.  Give Mia a few years, she looks a lot like Parisa did at her age.”
     “I…  Can’t…  Give… Up!”  Saul let himself lay face-down, breathing heavily.  “What does he have that I don’t, anyway?”
     “Well, he’s not even twenty but he’s the tallest guy here.  He’s probably going to squat four digits one day.  He isn’t awkward or overbearing like you are.”
     “Isn’t awkward?  Do you even remember what he was like?  What was it, two years now?  Three?  He was just there, sitting in the woods like an idiot.”
     “Yeah, he almost knocked out Br. Valdez.  Yohan had to do some weird exorcism and he was just fine.”
     “But he was weird!  Why does she like him?”
     “I know, Saul.  You feel like he isn’t ‘one of us’, right?  There’s something wrong with him, something different.  He just popped in and took your girl.”
     “You feel the same, don’t you?”  Reuben only pat his brother on the should before leaving him.
 
 
Chapter 2
     “Get up!”  Parisa jumped up in bed as Sis. Pahlavi called to her.  “We’re ready to go and you haven’t even gotten out of bed this whole time?!  Are you fifteen or are you five?”  The teen sprang into hurried action, throwing off her gown and stepping right into her Sunday dress.  It took her not even a whole minute to get her hair right.  The rest of her family was stepping out the door as she shoved some dry cereal into her mouth and drank it down with a cup of milk.  It was halfway through their short walk, after calming down some, that she realized she was still wearing her wet diaper under her dress.  She contemplated going back to change into panties, but decided not to upset her parents further.
Every Sunday, the community met inside a meetinghouse, within which was a chapel.  Parisa’s hair was down but neat, with only a sego lily tucked into the side.  She had traded her white one-piece and showy skirt for a dress, with lace along the bottom to circle her legs.  In fact, everyone was dressed with their best clothes-men and boys sporting button-up shirts with coats and long pants, while women and girls toted either bright dresses or conservative skirts.
Each family sat in a separate pew, while Joshuel sat with Br. Valdez and a man with long, blond hair tied together.  The service was straightforward; a hymn and a prayer as Elder Anderson presides.
     “We now have the opportunity, as we do each week on the Sabbath day, to partake of the sacrament in remembrance of our Lord and Savior.  We follow His example, and wish to be with Him and like Him one our worldly trials are over.”  After another hymn and prayer, the congregation took small morsels of bread and sips of water.
Although the focus of this sacrament is on the Savior’s life and teachings, Parisa’s main focus was on the cool, clammy garment bunched under her bottom and between her legs.  Instead of asking for forgiveness or help to love others, she was asking in her mind questions such as ‘Can anyone smell me?’, ‘How far forward can I bend before it’s seen?’, ‘I’m not the only teenage girl whose ever worn a diaper in church, am I?’, and ‘I didn’t pee when I woke up, I really need to go, and I can’t leave yet.  Will it leak if I just pee right now?’
     As the meeting ended, they left the chapel to different Sunday School classrooms.  The men and boys attended one, while the women and girls another.  As a bursting Parisa rounded the corner, Joshuel came from the other direction, and the two collided and apologized to one another.  Parisa, however, was now flat on her bottom, quickly pulling her legs together to prevent a show, completely soaking an already wet diaper, in church, in front of her boyfriend.  She wasn’t sure if it was her face or if she didn’t close her legs enough, but she must’ve revealed that something was up, because Joshuel asked her with concern, “Sorry again, is something wrong?”
     “Oh, uh…  N-no, I’m fine, sorry.”  She brushed down her dress, as if it weren’t already hanging down.
     “Hey, Elder Anderson said that he wants to see some of us after Church today.”
     “Okay.  Did he say what it was about?”
     “He’d only say that it was a good opportunity.”
 
     After another hour or so, Elder Anderson met with Parisa, Joshuel, Reuben, and Leah in his office.  Try as she might, Parisa could not avoid making the smallest “squorsh” noise as she sat down, though no one seemed to notice.
     “Well may youth, my fine youth, graduates of education, learners of skills, how is your day so far?”  There were merely nods, and one or two quiet answers of ‘good’.
     “Now, do you remember the discussion we had last night?  When it came to information going around about us that wasn’t true?  What do you propose we do?”
     After some silent thought, Leah spoke up.  “Shall we bake bread or cookies and take them to town?”
     Reuben joked next.  “We find who’s writing it and break his fingers!”
     The elder tilted his glasses up.  “I went to the Lord with this very question, and you know what He told me?  He says it’s time for younger, less experienced, less stubborn, more dedicated ‘missionaries’ to carry His Spirit to them.”
     Leah looked worried.  “What does that mean?”
     “It means that we’re going to prepare you to take the Gospel to Salem, to Alphus, and perhaps even more places.  This, of course, is entirely dependent on your willingness to serve the Lord.”  The four looked at one another.
     “I want you to think about it and pray about it this week.  This coming Sunday, I want you to fast before giving it a final thought.  If it seems like something you should do, come tell me.”
     Reuben spoke up, “So you’ve spent a lot of time helping to teach us and care for us.  Like, you’ve helped build things and grow food and stuff.  I get that.  We owe you.  But how can we trust you to just throw us out like this?”
     Anderson furrowed his brow in concern.  “Reuben, I’m not throwing your out.  Nothing like that.  For starters, remember that I said it is all up to you.  Furthermore, it’s not for me.  Things around here will only be more work if you leave!  This is to bring the blessings you’ve enjoyed to others in the world.  Reuben seemed to calm down as he continued.  “Not just to people who may investigate or join the Church, but to uplift other wards and branches.  So I want you to consider it for yourselves, without just trusting what I’m telling you.  Ask the Lord yourselves in prayer.  Fair?”    The four nodded.
 
     A little later in the day, Joshuel sat by a tree outside.  In a meditative pose, he held a stone in his open hands.  Leah wandered out toward him, a few large sticks in her arms.  “Joshuel?  Are you okay?”
     “I’m okay.”
     “That’s good.  What are you doing?”
     “Well…  In Sunday School, they talked about how God respects agency, and doesn’t force anyone to do anything.  I was also told that ‘the most persuasive thing in the world is love...’
     “Okay…”
     “…  So, I figure if I can’t force this rock to move with my mind or my will, then maybe I can persuade it to move by helping it feel like I love it.”
     “That’s so smart!...  Is it working?”
     “No, no it’s not.”  Joshuel stood up and dropped the rock.  “Are you gathering wood?  I’ll help.”
     Reuben approached them.  “Help?  You talk to rocks-no, you think to rocks, and expect them to move.  Thinking that you love sticks isn’t going to gather them up to burn.  I’ll help you out, Leah.”  Joshuel didn’t respond as the two walked further into the woods, following to help gather regardless.
     Leah looked about cautiously as they walked.
     “The path is overgrown…”
     “I don’t think anyone comes this way, anymore.”  The canopy was getting thicker than in more familiar parts of the forest, contributing to the darkness of twilight setting in.  The abundance of loose wood lying around was accompanied with an increasing uneasiness in the party.  They could hear the chattering and sneaking of animals, likely cautious of their visitors.  The three almost turned around when they found Parisa, looking off at nothing in particular.
     “Parisa?  Do you see something?”
     “I feel something…  Like, there’s something important near here.  But I also feel anxious…”  The boys became alert and put up their guard.  They met low, animalistic eyes nearby.  They stared at each other until Leah screamed.  Looking to the side, they saw two wolves rush in from the side, while the one they had been watching rushed out from under the brush.
     Parisa had her pole with her and Reuben drew a sword.  Leah took the longest stick she had been holding and held it up like a spear, though terrified.  Still empty-handed, Joshuel looked to Parisa.  “You feel confident with that?”
     “I-I think so, do you want it?”
     “No, keep it.”
     A wolf leaped at Leah.  Without thinking about it, Reuben carved down its body in one motion.  Another bit at him, but he held it at bay until Joshuel’s roundhouse knocked it back with an audible cracking sound.  Josh then darted over to Parisa while Leah rushed up and plunged her stick into the broken beast’s face repeatedly, as hard as she could.
     Parisa kept out of the last wolf’s range, but was having trouble injuring it or scaring it away.  She was able to put out its eyes, which make things easier for a moment.  With a brave leap, it pulled her staff down and pounced her, throwing her onto her back.  Immediately, Joshuel reached around the creature’s neck from behind and wrestled it off of her.  He held it in one place until Reuben’s blade plunged through its heart, ending the threat.
     Joshuel helped Parisa up while Reuben calmed Leah down.
     “Reuben, my leg is bleeding, my leg…”  Leah looked down to find where her leg was bleeding from, but found no blood.  She had merely wet herself during her fright and exertion.  Parisa dusted herself off while Reuben cleaned off his weapon.  Having had enough for one day, they hurried back to the village.
 
     At her house, Parisa couldn’t find any notable injuries on herself or her friends, and they sat at a table with some fruit.
     “There IS something there!  I could feel it!  Like something was calling for me, beckoning me to discover it!”
     Leah looked at her skeptically.  “Even so, it’s not safe to just wander out into the woods like that.”
     “Well, that’s where you all come in.  I need some bodyguards to help me figure it out.”
     Reuben laughed.  “What if we don’t?”
     “Then you’ll be letting a poor, delicate little girl at the mercy of cruel, loveless nature.”
The man rolled his eyes.  “Not even I can let that happen…”  He almost joked.  “But what’s our payment?”
     “Payment?”
     “Well, yeah.  Bodyguards don’t work for free.  What’s in it for us?”
     “Well…  Ah…  What do you charge?”
     “Two Senum, and that’s a discount.”
     “What??  I don’t have that!”  Joshuel reassured her.
     “I’ll do it for a dance.  A special one.”  Parisa began to blush some, with Reuben and Leah listening.
     Leah added, “I’ll help if you make me a sheet of brownies.”
     Reuben gave a sigh.  “…  Eight pence.  You’ve got to have that much.”
     Parisa looked at her friends and considered for a moment, twisting a bit of her hair around her finger.  After some thought, she put her hand out.  “Okay, we’re in.  Tomorrow morning?”  The others smiled and put their hands with hers, before they threw them up in a cheer.
Edited by SSJ5Cloufiroth (see edit history)
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  • 2 weeks later...

This has been really fun to read, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Thank you for sharing!

 

I really enjoyed the setup of uncertainty in the beginning with "threatening to reveal the secret", especially since it sets up a decent hook to lead off the story. I think it could possibly be played up a bit more and a tad earlier to really draw readers in, but it does exactly what it's meant to (got me hook, line and sinker). It does feel like some of the wetting scenes hit quickly and without much for buildup, which may or may not be what you're going for, but it paints a fun part of the MC.

I did get a bit jumbled with characters being introduced as quickly as they were, but that may just be my work-tired brain betraying me. I get the constant feeling of people having intermingled goals and ambitions, and I like the idea of tension and potential distrust/betrayal in these stories! Not sure if you plan on going any further forward with this, but I do look forward to more if you are!

 

Otherwise, I think it's well-written and shows off some good skill as a writer.

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Thank you for your feedback!

 

The character introductions are pretty heavy in the beginning.  It's clear enough to me because I've written them, but for someone reading for the first time, a dozen people in three minutes really just doesn't do.  I'll be sure to manage that in a later draft.

 

For the quick wetting...  There is at least one or two scenes I think needs some more attention and mental reflection.  Thank you for saying so.

 

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Chapter 3

     The sun was just beginning to shine through Parisa’s window. She was up out of bed earlier than normal, excited for their adventure. She did some warm-up stretches and recited simple dance moves. Rushing through the motions of getting ready, she realized she still had her soaked diaper on. She made her moves again, but more slowly and with focus. She considered her slight change in weight and how it impacted her motions, making them smoother and giving her a lower center of gravity-a boon to her many hip-lead motions. When she realized that she was dwelling on wearing a wet diaper with something other than immediate disgust, she took it off and threw it out. Afterwards, she was primed and ready. She took a small oat cookie from the counter, grabbed her pole, and met the day.

     She walked down to the dojo first, knowing that Joshuel would be there training first thing. She watched quietly through the window first. He took two cement jars, hoisted them up off the ground, and pressed them overhead before dropping them onto a soft mat on the floor. She watched him repeat the motion several times. “One of those jars looks like it weighs more than two wolves.”
After he sat to take a break, she walked in and sat with him. “Good morning! That looks very heavy.”
“It… Is…”
“Maybe this will help.” She handed the cookie she took to him, which he took with a smile.
“Thank you!” He could speak with more control now, and downed the cookie in one bite. “What’s gotten you up so early?”
“We need to go into the dark woods and see what’s there, remember?”
“You really still want to?”
“It isn’t just some curiosity. I have to do it. Something is waiting for me, or for someone, I don’t know. It’s the Holy Ghost pushing me.”
“If you say so, then I trust you. Let me finish up here first, though.” Satisfied, Parisa went to get Leah. Clucking could be heard as she got closer. She greeted the chickens as she walked by to the front door and knocked. A girl about ten or eleven let her in.
“Good morning, Tamar!” She didn’t really answer her, but led her in.
“Leah, your friend’s here!” Leah was sitting at a table, eating eggs with their parents. Parisa looked embarrassed.
“Oh, I’m sorry! You didn’t have to let me in if you’re still eating.” Leah took her plate to a nearby sink.
“Oh no, you’re okay. I’m just about ready.”

     The girls went to a set of partial walls on a foundation, down past where he lived. He was already waiting outside, with a curved sword strapped to his side. “Here Leah, this’ll help you out.” He handed her a pole with a blade fastened to the end. “I can teach you how to use it well later, for now all you have to do is poke dangerous things.”
They came back to Br. Valdez’s dojo.  Joshuel was outside, also wearing a sword. It was straight, forming a cross with its hilt. Armed and ready, the party walked down the road. Gradually the path narrowed, losing definition until fading into the surrounding forest substrate. Although somewhat spooky, they took the time to admire the shaded beauty often not found in the brighter, warmer areas of the woods in which they lived and often worked.
     The only opening in the treetops they could find rested above part of a lake, the sun’s light glistening off of its surface. Parisa knelt down by it, cupping her hands in the water to bring to her lips. Leah looked questioningly. “How do you know it’s safe? What if there’s something bad in the water?”
“I don’t know, but it looks so clear and feels cool in my throat. It feels good to drink!” They wandered about, looking for something but very much unsure of what, until approaching a mound. “Here! Look, everyone! There’s a big hole in the side, here. We can fit in here!”
Joshuel walked up to the hold. “You can fit through that just fine. I couldn’t get one shoulder through there.”
Reuben eyed it carefully. “Yeah, it might be a rough fit for people who actually weigh three digits.”
Parisa looked self-consciously at herself. “Well… I guess I’ll look and see what’s in there…” She crawled into the hole while her friends stayed watch outside. The hole led to a tunnel, angling down about twenty-five or thirty feet.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but the rocks in the dirt are scratching my chest.”
     Leah called down. “Stop bragging!” After taking a few steps back, Leah felt several tendrils forcefully grasp her, holding her arms to her sides. “YAAHHH!! HELP!” The boys looked only in time to see a massive spider latched onto Leah, holding her with its legs while its fangs injected venom into her. In only a second, they were almost next. Reuben drew his sword just quickly enough to sever a few of his spider’s legs and pull away, while Joshuel overpowered another by yanking his arms free, beating it like a bag with a flurry of punches before thrusting through with his own sword.
     Parisa began trying to crawl out, but couldn’t break free of a web trap that bound her wrists. She was unable to do ought but scream and wiggle as a spider in the tunnel crawled up, afflicting her with the same cursed kiss that Leah fell victim to. While the girls were succumbing to their envenomation, the boys came to their rescue. Reuben sliced Leah free, while Joshuel thrust his blade through into Parisa’s enemy, dexterously avoiding harm to her as it fell motionless. “Here, I’ll pull you out.”
     As Joshuel gently tugged her free, Parisa caught a glimpse in the corner of the small den at tunnel’s end. “Hey, there’s something big and shiny in there, like… Metal…” Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. “Joshuel, please let go. I… I’m…” Then, with Joshuel right behind her, pulling her legs, her stomach did a flip. Involuntarily, she pushed a load into her panties, and there was no doubt he could see her doing it. Her leotard held it firmly from shifting around, but did nothing to hide its presence.
With some effort, he pulled her out of the tunnel. “You saw something metal?”
She rested on her knees with her legs spread out to avoid smooshing her mess. “Yeah, it was kind of big. It looked kind of like a book.”
Leah looked sick and sat down. “A book made of metal?”
     “Yeah. I want to go get it, after I rest up for a moment…”
Reuben started walking down the way they came. “Maybe some water will help you out. Josh, come with me.” The girls waited while the boys went to fetch some of the water from the pond they passed.
Leah scooted closer to Parisa. “Umm… Did you, uh… Did you…”
“Um… If you mean what I think you mean, then yes.”
Leah looked only slightly relieved. “We have to get the boys to promise never to tell anyone.”


     It didn’t take long. After drinking water from the pond, both the girls started feeling much better. “See? That lake alone is a great treasure. I think it helps cure poisoning. Maybe it’ll work for sicknesses, too!” Parisa stood up, just slightly wobbly on her legs, compared to earlier when she couldn’t stand anymore. “Okay, I’m gonna grab that treasure down there.” Again, her friends watched while she slipped down the tunnel. Joshuel fixated his gaze between her legs, his heart beating faster than normal. Something about the poop-filled bulge under her skirt captivated him, though he was careful to stay behind the others so they wouldn’t notice the attention he gave it.
     In the den, she could crouch on her feet. It was just tall enough in the center for her to stand. The metal objects were indeed jars, thirteen of them. Each was about the size you would expect to store cookies in, but had some heft to them. She had to work to hoist them up out ofthe tunnel while the others reached down to catch them, and pushed them up.
    She crawled back out as Reuben handled some. “These are… These are made of gold! They’re pure gold, or pretty close!
    "Can we open them?  What's inside?". At her behest, Reuben opened one of the jars for her to reach into.  She pulled out a wide, wound-up animal skinny. She commented, unwrapping it, "A scroll?  Let's see...  What?  I can't read it.  I don't even know what this is written in!"
    "Let’s take them back and show Anderson.”
After very inconspicuously viewing up Leah’s dress, Joshuel spoke up. “We can let the girls, uh… Clean up, too…”
Their faces flushed, Parisa spoke on hers and Leah’s behalf. “Okay, we have to get something straight. Leah and I… Y-you can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”
Reuben crossed his arms. “I don’t know, this is pretty sweet leverage…”
Leah groaned. “What do you want?”
Parisa chimed in, “We can talk about it later. Let’s go home and change our panties, already!”


     The painting on the wall depicted a Shepherd, whose regal bearing contrasted with His humble position. Below it sat Elder Anderson with the four, the gold plates set on his desk before them. He thumbed through the contents thoughtfully. “These scratches and shapes are a language, but I’m afraid I can’t read it.”
Leah perked with interest. “What kind of language is it?
“It looks pictographic like Dalmascan, but it’s far from it. Many of the pictograms are altered or new, and from what little the resemblance, I can’t make out any syntax.”
“How can we find out what it says?”
Elder Anderson closed his eyes. “You know, I’m pretty sure Br. Yohan would have an answer, but I don’t know where he’s at right now. He was headed for town after church yesterday…”
Parisa volunteered. “We can go ask him about it. I need to get some things, anyway.”
Joshuel asked, “What kind of things”
Parisa looked away with embarrassment. “N-none of your business.”
Reuben followed up, “Make sure to keep what you owe me on hand.”
     Appearing to have jogged his own memory, the elder stood and retrieved something from a cabinet. “Here. You’ll have to camp out for a few days, so get a couple of rooms at an inn while you’re there. Remember that the girls-”
Joshuel finished his sentence. “-get a room and the boys get a room, don’t just shack with your prospective partner.”
The old man smiled. “I know you don’t understand yet, but life doesn’t always go how you plan.” Parisa and her friends went home to have lunch, and talked to their families about their plans through the rest of the day. With well wishes, they started their journey.

 

Chapter 4

     The path through the woods to town is more traveled and open than their previous destination. It only takes about forty or fifty minutes of walking for the forest to open up into a vast, grassy plain. Leah was in good spirits. “Goodbye for now, Honeybee woods, nurturing navel of our home!”
Leah squinted as she looked into the distance. “The bridge over the river should be 340° Northwest, between thirty and thirty-five miles.” With little else to do, they began walking.
     Reuben began to grow bored. “We’re probably just going to walk like this for the rest of the day and then camp out. Walk like this, the rest of the day, with nothing but grass to keep us company.”
The younger but taller man responded, “The plains between the river and Honeybee Wood are almost entirely uninhabited by people, with only a scarce farmer keeping to himself or a hunter to take advantage of game.”
Parisa didn’t mind the walk. Some of the flowers would bloom a little early in the year, inviting bees and butterflies to begin their work. She would see a wild horse here or there. She couldn’t break them in, but she enjoyed seeing them gallop and play.


     The sun had begun to set as the river had just appeared at the horizon. Joshuel dropped the two tents with his own bag of supplies, such as food and a bedroll. After gathering some wood, he and Reuben set the tents up as the others started a fire and began making dinner.
“Josh, things are getting pretty serious with you and Pari over there…”
Joshuel started to blush. “… Really?”
Reuben smirked, knowing he hit a soft spot. “You aren’t trying to hide it or anything, are you? Because you’re doing a terrible job of that.”
“… I like her dancing.”
     Reuben turned his face a little, staring at him with one eye. “You like her dancing? That’s it? Watching her ‘assets’ sway around?”
Joshuel shook his head. “It’s not just that. She loves doing it. She loves feeling her body move, she likes the sensations of everything around her. She cares for her body, like the temple for her spirit that it is.” Reuben’s expression shifted a little as he continued. “I’m kind of like that. The other girls are fine, they’re friendly and nice and everything, but Parisa really likes to do things together.”
The older companion appeared to think for a moment before speaking again. “Are you going to ask her to marry you on her birthday?” Joshuel only blushed and avoided his gaze. “Don’t look down like that, be proud of it! Saul doesn’t have a chance, and it’s not because you can punch his lights out thrice over.”
“I know. I don’t mean to upset your brother…”
     Reuben shook his head. “What do you care more about, his feelings or yours? Be honest with yourself and do what you’ve got to do. At least Pari’s in good hands. Besides, the only other girl your age is Leah, and she’s off-limits.” He chuckled. “Besides… Pari pooped her panties. That’s not a rare trait in girls, but I can’t say the others have done it at such a mature age.” Joshuel’s eyes darted. “I noticed how hard you stared at her in that tunnel, and you didn’t do it until she had a built-in cushion.” He didn’t know what to say, but Reuben patted his back. “Look, I don’t know where you came from, but it’s clear that you’re sure different, don’t sweat it. Pari’s different in her own ways, so you’ll get along just fine.”
“… Is it that uncommon? Leah did it, too.”
“Don’t you dwell on her little… Well, big accident… I said she’s off-limits.”
Away from the boys’ talk, the girls were having their own banter and Parisa prodded the food with a spatula. “When’s he going to ask?”
Leah bit her lower lip. “Who ask what?”
Parisa giggled. “Hasn’t Reuben asked you to marry him?”
“Y-yeah… My parents don’t want to let him until he builds a house for us to live in.”
“That’s why he keeps working on that? I thought it was just going to be some sort of nice shed for animals!”
Leah snorted with a small smile. “He wouldn’t make something so nice for animals.”
“No way, is that really the only thing in your way?” Leah only nodded. “I gotta tell Josh so we can help him get it done! I want to see your wedding!”
“Joshuel hasn’t even started on someplace for you two, you should figure that out before helping us…”
Parisa’s face flushed, but she couldn’t help but grin. “He hasn’t asked.”
“You know he’s going to. He’s probably just waiting for your birthday or something.”
“Well… He might plan on just taking over the dojo.”
“You know, talk like that used to make Reuben jealous, but starting that house seems to have given him something else to think about.”
“I can see how a guy wouldn’t want to admit someone else is stronger, or fights better, or stuff like that. But Joshuel’s different about it. Like, he doesn’t just fight at the dojo to do it, it’s like he’s pushing to get stronger and faster for its own sake.
“Its own sake…?”
“Yeah! Like, his body is a temple for his spirit. He wants the most of it that he possibly can.”
Her friend nodded. “Yeah… But for now, they both probably have the same thing on their minds…”
The four sat around the fire, eating potato pancakes. “We should get to town either late Wednesday, or early Thursday.” Later on, in the girls’ tent, Parisa laid in her sleeping bag as she pulled off her panties, bumping and rustling around as she tried to indiscreetly put on her diaper. Leah gave her a strange look, but didn’t ask.


     The sun had just started shining over the horizon. The party had risen early, taking in the morning light and eating well for the day ahead. Crossing the bridge over the river, they continued for another several hours, stopping for lunch and other short occasions. It was nearing dinner time, so they settled, and started again the next day. As dinner approached again, they had made it to Salem.
“I know this isn’t the biggest city around, but it’s so HUGE compared to Deseret!” Parisa threw her arms in the air and spun on her toes.
“Where do you suppose Yohan is?”
“The Salem branch building is up this road a ways and to the West.” As they walked, the busy passersby gave varied reactions. Some smiled and waved, others looked with suspicion.
When they entered, a clerk stood up from a couch near the foyer. He wore a dark suit and had a smile. “Brothers and sisters, it’s good to see you! You haven’t all four been here together since shortly after Joshuel appeared!” The girls gave him a hug, while the boys shook his hand. Reuben spoke.
“Br. Marsh, we’re looking for Yohan. Has he been around?”
“He was here on Monday, but I haven’t seen him since. If he comes back, I’ll let him know you’re in town and that you’re looking for him.” Joshuel looked puzzled.
“Monday? But he was in Deseret just the day before. He didn’t take a horse that I know of.”
     The others thought about it for a moment before Br. Marsh conceded, “That is very strange, isn’t it?” Is one of us mistaken?”
“I know he was at Deseret, I sat and spoke with him.”
“Well, I can confirm that he was here, in person, speaking with branch Bishop Rigdon… But we can worry about that later. What was your business with Yohan? Perhaps I can help?”
Reuben revealed, “We found something that seems like old records, but Elder Anderson can’t read the writing. He suggested we ask for Yohan’s help.”
Br. Marsh’s face lit up. “Old records, you say? You don’t have them with you, do you?”
Leah pulled one of the scrolls out of her satchel. “We found them in some golden jars in a cave.  The jars are too heavy, but we brought what was inside.”
Br. Marsh looked it over carefully, appearing to try his best at deciphering the sketches, as if he could read even a single character. “Here, the bishop is in. Let’s take them to him and see what he can make of them. He lead them down a hallway and opened an office door, peering in. “Bishop Rigdon, sorry to disturb you. I have something you’ll want to see.”

     As they all entered his office, Bishop Rigdon stood to welcome them. “Deseret! It’s good to see you! Please, get comfortable and tell me what brings you out here!” They recited their business while Br. Marsh handed the writings to him, which seemed to garner much curiosity from him.

    “…  So, you said you found these in golden jars in a tiny cave?”  With their affirmation, Bishop Rigdon sat back and thought about it for a while.  Eventually, he leaned back forward to speak.  “I’m worried…  That this is a forgery.”
    “A forgery?  Someone made it up?”
   Rigdon nodded.  “That’s right.  It’s no ancient record.  Someone gilted some kind of heavy metal, like probably lead, making it appear gold.  They then probably scratched in some symbols on this skin.  We’ve had a couple of instances of people around here trying to discredit our church.”
    Parisa looked suspicious.  “Discredit it?  Elder Anderson was talking about people being hostile…”
    “The “record” likely doesn’t even say anything, just random symbols on something to waste your time and effort.  Focus on the actual Word of God, and on following His example in doing good to others.”
    The four looked disappointed for a moment, before Joshuel waved.  “Well, thank you for your time, Bishop.”
    “You’re welcome here any time!  If you’re still in town over the weekend, come have services here!”
    The four walked out of the room.  The two older men watched carefully as they exited the front door.  “Rigdon, is it really a hoax?”
    The man slammed his hands on his desk, raising himself up from it.  “I don’t know.  The Lord’s been silent for weeks now.  Something is up, I just don’t know what.  Are we being led astray?  Is the Elder?  Have we sinned?  I feel like I’m going crazy!”
    Br. Marsh pondered, “Do you think we should move?”
    “I’ll contact President Baman, maybe the capitol can launch an investigation on this.  If this keeps up, it may escalate into violence.  We’ll prepare to go have a meeting with Elder Anderson and get his thoughts on an Exodus.”

     Joshuel shook his head as they walked back down the road, toward the inn. “A hoax? A fake? Who would put that someplace so dangerous and out of the way, then not tell anyone about it, in order to fool someone?”
Reuben insisted, “And the jars aren't some painted lead, I know they're actual gold. It’s too soft of a metal to be much else. It would be an expensive forgery."
Parisa shook her head. “It’s been a long walk. I’m going to go get some personal shopping done, then I’m going to the inn to relax.”
As Parisa walked into the small pharmacy, the man behind the counter smiled and greeted her. She offered him an embarrassed smile and small wave in return. “Will it be the usual, then?” She nodded approvingly before he pulled up a package. It was pink and teal, with a picture of a girl about Parisa’s age posing in a sundress. She took the package to investigate it, looking at the back. An illustration of the contents could be seen, a thick white diaper with six pink tapes on the sides. An absorbency diagram showed it to be the most absorbent product in the Depanty product line, with marketing quips such as ‘fit for a woman’s hips!”, and “redefine femininity!”
She pulled out a few copper pence and handed them to the cashier as he spoke further. “You know Parisa, Depanty is looking for models to advertise with. If you brought a picture of yourself showing one of these off, you could get a free pack and enter for a chance to show their incontinence panties and diapers. The pay is pretty nice!”
     Parisa was red as a tomato. “Th-thanks for letting me know, we’ll see…” Even if she wanted to, it would be a hard sell to convince her parents to take and develop such a picture. Her thought was cut off as the bell above the door rang. Joshuel walked into the store, causing Parisa to scream and throw the package over the counter. The man jumped, startled. “Parisa?! What’s wrong?”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!?”
Joshuel looked very confused. “I… I was going to get wraps for my hands… F-for boxing…”
With a couple of seconds to reassess herself, Parisa calmed right down, mortified at her reaction to him. “Yes! Of course! Listen, I’m really sorry I yelled at you like that.”
After Joshuel’s business was done, he left Parisa to the clerk again. “I take it that’s the boy you keep talking about? You know, he’s going to find out one way or another…”
“I know. I know! I’ll figure something out, a good way to tell him… Thank you again, Mr. Jay.”
Reuben stared into the sky as he walked down the path. Their place of stay was in sight, when a couple of children cautiously approached him. “Hey, you’re one of those guys from the woods, aren’cha?”
The man squat down to their level. “Yeah, what do you want?”
The girl next to the boy hunkered behind who seemed to be her big brother. “Did you come to hurt us?”
“What? Now why would I do a thing like that?”
The big brother spoke out. “That’s why you spend so much time practicing fighting’n stuff, so you can gut us if we don’t come to church!”
Reuben stood up straight, not even sure of how to respond. “I don’t know anyone who’s ever done something like that.”
The girl pointed behind him. “Look out! His friend’s coming to back him up, and he’s big and mean!”
Joshuel trotted curiously up as his friend looked quizzically to him.
“These kids think we’re here to beat them up for not going to church, or something like that.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If we forced someone to seek God, it doesn’t actually bless anyone.” He hunched down to look the children in the eyes. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. If you don’t want to go to church, it’d be better for you not to go than to go because you think we’d hurt you. You have to choose freely.” This time, the small children looked unsure of what to think as the older boys walked by.


     There was finally a rendezvous at the inn. They paid for two adjacent rooms upstairs, sitting together in one of them. Joshuel cleared his throat. “We’ve got a couple of matters now. First, Yohan’s travel. I wouldn’t care that much on its own, maybe he just had a horse or a rugged bicycle or something, whatever. But the second point is that Elder Anderson and Pres. Rigdon are giving us differing direction, and that’s unusual.”
Reuben chimed in, “Elder Anderson is pretty convinced that these plates are something real and important. I’d rather not admit it, but he’s always right. I trust him over this Rigdon guy.”
     Leah wasn’t as sure. “But what if he’s right? Elder Anderson is getting pretty old, and he doesn’t get to speak with a lot of other people like Pres. Rigdon does.
Parisa twirled her hair idly. “What should we do?” It was quiet for a time, until Joshuel knelt down. The others following suite, he led them in a prayer that they’d be able to find Yohan and sort this out. After they concluded, they sat back up on chairs and beds. Parisa placed a hand on her chest. “Guys, I don’t know how to explain my feeling, but it’s kind of like the one I had in the dark forest, near the plates. Like, I’m glowing inside or something, or when you feel comforted after being sad. I think it’s going to work out.”
     Reuben hopped up from the foot of a bed and walked over to his bag in the corner. “That’s well and good, glad we can tackle that tomorrow or something. So, girls…” He almost sang the word ‘girls’. “You don’t want everyone who knows and trusts you to hear that you both took big dumps in your panties, and me and Josh want some satisfaction as payment to keep it secret.”
     Joshuel raised his arm to draw attention. “Wait, are you planning something? I have nothing behind this. I really don’t mind just-”
Reuben wagged his finger. “Be quiet, Josh. You see, in the timeless struggle for dominance between men and women, an important blow was dealt against women that day, and I want to capitalize on it.” He pulled out a pack that Parisa recognized immediately. It was smaller than the ones she got, but had the same appearance. She almost breathed out her sentence, hardly able to produce sound.
“D-diapers??” She held her bottom reflexively, almost panicking as she thought to herself, ‘Does he know I wet the bed?’ ‘Did he see me in there buying some?’
During Parisa’s silent micro-meltdown, Leah sulked and looked at Reuben with puppy-dog eyes. “W-what’s your angle with this?”
“Let’s have an encore! Besides, Anderson said to pay for two rooms, but he didn’t say we couldn’t be together before bed. You two keep those on from now until we get up tomorrow, and virginity and chastity and all that is preserved.”
     Deciding that he probably doesn’t know about her secret, Parisa was able to calm down some. “I still don’t get it…”
“Look, the only thing stopping me and Leah is a house, and the only thing stopping you two is, like, a week. Nothing big, let’s just ‘enjoy each others’ company’.” Opening the bag, he threw a brief to Leah and to Parisa each, as well as a couple tiny bottles of talcum powder. “Now go put them on!”
Leah slid her panties off, keeping her dress down to cover herself. She laid on her back, opening the diaper and placing it under her. She felt humiliated, but she wasn’t one to argue. She also had to admit to herself that, well, Reuben wasn’t the only half of their pair that wanted some action, and this would let her experiment just a little bit.
Parisa walked to the bathroom. “I can’t put mine on without basically undressing, so…”
Reuben nodded. Sure, sure, but Josh’ll listen to make sure you don’t cheat and ‘go potty’ now. When you’re done, neither you nor Leah get to go into that room.” Joshuel and Parisa awkwardly looked at each other before walking over to the door. Before long, Leah stood up, smoothing her dress down over her diaper while Parisa stepped out. Reuben stared at her. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Prove it.”
     Parisa’s eyes darted nervously as she lifted her skirt. The bottom to her leotard stretched tightly around her diaper, covering most of it but not leaving what was underneath to the imagination. Leah looked at Joshuel with concern.
“Joshuel, are you okay? You look like you’re ready to shout.” He closed his eyes and consciously slowed his breathing, swallowing. Reuben laughed and pushed him toward Parisa. They stumbled together as he stood and caught her. They just stared at each other, red as cherries while his hands cupped around her padded posterior. In broad strokes, she really didn’t mind, in fact-she just wished she wasn’t wearing a diaper while he felt down there. His feelings on the matter were no mystery to her, however, as she felt them press together.
     Reuben interrupted by bringing everyone something to drink. “Relax! Just chill out and let’s do what we normally do. Don’t worry about the fact that our girlfriends are wearing diapers, or that they’re gonna go in them.” Slowly, awkwardly, Leah went to start making dinner in the kitchenette while Reuben laid back to rest.
Parisa led Joshuel into the other room for a moment and spoke quietly. “Joshuel, um… I-I couldn’t help but notice, you’re kind of enjoying this, aren’t you? Like, really enjoying this?”
Joshuel looked away, as if ashamed. “S-s-sorry, I…”
She reached up and tenderly held his chin. “If my wearing a diaper is making you really ‘happy’, you don’t have to feel ashamed or disgusted or anything.” Putting his hand around her bulgy bottom again, he bent down and kissed her deeply.
In the first room, Reuben stood close behind Leah as she prepared food. He would poke and prod her playfully as she did. He wasn’t so interested in her wearing a diaper the way his friend was, but he relished how dominating of a position this put him in. Leah’s passivity played into it perfectly.


     The sky outside was dark, save for the many stars adorning it and the pearlescent moon. Having spent the evening chatting and lightly holding one another, the girls stood and walked toward the adjacent room. Reuben stood and walked over. “Hold up, one more item of business.” He approached Leah and looked into her eyes affectionately. “You need your good-night kisses.” Without hesitation, he planted his lips onto Leah’s firmly, holding her so she couldn’t escape-though she didn’t struggle at all. Blushing, Parisa met Joshuel’s eyes. Kissing would be awkward, but so would not doing it. After they pecked lips, the door closed between them.

Edited by SSJ5Cloufiroth (see edit history)
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  • The title was changed to Initial draft. Ch.3-4. Updated June 01, 2022
  • 3 weeks later...

Chapter 5
    With the sun starting to glare through the windows, Reuben pulled the blankets and sheets off of the girls.  “Rise and shine!  Let’s take a look!”  Both girls moaned and kicked groggily, wiggling and flaunting their soaked diapers in front of the boys.  “Alright girls, remember I said encore.  As soon as both of you fill the backs out, you can take them off and we’ll take the fact that you both apparently keep peeing and pooping in your panties and diapers to our graves.
Leah muttered “You locked our bathroom…”
“Naturally.”  He answered, kissing her cheek and squeezing the swollen wet crotch of her brief.  He was, however, ‘kind’ enough to provide breakfast.

    Parisa was on the last bites of her cereal.  “Soh weh ahvtah poohp behfor weh cahn goh?”
Reuben shook his head.  “Don’t talk with your mouth full!  And yes, but you won’t have to wait long.”
Leah perked her head up, finishing some juice.  “What do you mean by that?”
He shrugged.  “I don’t want to wait too long, and I figure you don’t, either.  You’re sure putting up with a lot just to keep a couple of accidents a secret.”
The girls were silent for just a second.  “D-did you spike our breakfast??”
Reuben hid a smirk.  Joshuel, learning of this the same time the girls were, couldn’t help staring intently at them.  He almost daydreamed, imagining whatever he put in their food or drinks working in them, picturing the outcome.  Knowing what was coming, his body began reacting in terms of heart rate and blood flow.

    In another ten minutes or so, Leah stopped  packing her clothes.  Her face told it all as she waddled awkwardly toward the bathroom door for a moment.  She wouldn’t have made it if Reuben had let her, and some noisy farting was followed with a big wad pushing out the seat of her diaper.  Knowing it was coming, Parisa sat down on her legs, spreading her knees wide apart.  All eyes were now on her as she pooped.  Then again.  Then a third push, filling the back of her diaper.  The boys sent the girls to the other room to change and clean up, patting their bottoms as they left.

    The sun rose somewhat through the windows.  The lake, almost a stone’s throw off from the town, glistened in the light.  Children gathered buckets of water to take back to a water tower between the lake and city, as adults used pulleys to pull the water up to the top and dump it into the tower.  Across from the lake was another town about the size of Salem, with small boats traveling back and forth between the two.
The four had hardly stepped out the front door when the same tall man who sat beside Joshuel in church approached.
“Br. Yohan!  It’s you!”
“Yes!  I understand you wanted to ask about something?”
“Did Bishop Rigdon tell you?”
“No, I haven’t spoken with him since Monday.”
They looked curiously at one another, but quickly put it aside as Joshuel spake, “Sir, we found some papers…”
Yohan listened to their story with great interest, but without too much dedicated focus, as if paying attention to something else at the same time.  Leah pulled out the script to show him.  He appeared to glance over it for just a second or two.
“Oh, it’s record about ten tribes of people who came from a kingdom that was destroyed by its enemies.”
 Parisa eyed him strangely.  “That was quick, and you sound so casual about it.  You aren’t making this up, are you?”
 He smiled.  “Not at all, Sis. Pahlavi.  It would be amazing to read the rest of it the next time I’m around!”
“When are you going to come back to Deseret?”
“Oh, I’m busy busy busy, but I know a way you can translate those for yourselves.  You’ll need a certain stone, called an Urtumm.”
Reuben gave an impatient look.  “I don’t suppose you have any magical Urtumms in your pocket or something?”
“No, I sure don’t, sorry!  You’ll have to find one yourselves.  Don’t stress too much over it, they tend to appear to those who have a good use for them.”  Yohan then appeared a bit more concerned that before, looking around and leaning in toward the group.  “You ought to hurry home, though.  Your parents and leaders love you very much, and want you to both learn and choose what is right.”
Leah broke a short silence.  “Bishop Rigdon didn’t think there was anything to this.  Why is that?”
Yohan shrugged.  “Only He can see his thoughts.  Don’t be rough on him or anything.  The only one who listened properly to His voice all the time was the Savior Himself.”
It would be about three days before they’d get back home, but they felt bolstered by Yohan’s words.  They had plenty of food and water from town, and felt stronger for the journey back than they had on the way there.  The only little hiccup at first was during the first day back.  Under the lingering influence of their drugging, Parisa and Leah both pooped a little in their panties again, though were sure to keep it a secret from the boys.

  As Spring began to come into sway, more life could be seen and felt; small animals would wander about in curiosity, keeping a safe distance from the travelers as they watched them.  As watched as they were, Leah didn’t return the  concern, looking in an unfamiliar book as they walked.  Parisa took note of it.  “I haven’t seen that book before.  Did you get it in town?”
“Yes.  It’s some kind of book about doing magic, or something.  We have some stuff at home, like salt and quicksilver, that I can supposedly do stuff with if I apply my thoughts the right way.”
Parisa was slightly concerned.  “Are you sure you want to play with stuff like that?”
“It doesn’t say anything about calling spirits or devils or something, so it’s probably fine, right?”  She shrugged and didn’t bring it up again.  
    Their nights camping were no more quiet, with insects singing through much of the night.  Despite each other for company, they began to find the trek tedious by the time they reached Honeybee Wood again.
It was on approaching the forest outskirts that they encountered a wild beast, vaguely like a bull.  Its horns were wide and thick, and its body was matted over with tangled fur.  Leah observed, “An aurochs?  It looks like it’s in pain, and there’s no herd in sight…”
Its face betrayed a rage uncharacteristic for a mere animal as it took notice of them and charged.  With yelps and screams, they jumped out of the way as it clumsily turned for a second pass.  It charged toward Joshuel, who met it head-on with a jump-kick to its head.  Both of them were thrown backward, Joshuel kipping back onto his feet just in time to see the thick-coated bison about to smash into him.  Without time to do much else, he sunk into a firmly grounded stance, looked straight into the creature, and shouted with an almost unnatural force before being knocked back to the ground, kicked and trampled.
    “JOSH!!”  Parisa cried as she ran to him, Leah distracting the animal with a spear thrust into its shoulder.  It was enough to let Reuben leap onto its back from behind, blade in hand, and end its torment for good.
When Parisa reached him, he was still conscious.  In fact, he stood up.  “Hold on Joshuel, slow down!  Are you okay?  How are you standing?”
    He looked himself over carefully.  “I don’t know.”  He breathed slowly and continued, “I suddenly feel so tired, but I don’t seem to even be injured.  Nothing hurts.  I guess it worked…”  He trailed the end of his sentence off as he slumped back to the ground.
“Huh?  What worked?”
Reuben climbed off the beast’s body.  “You concentrate the energy in your body together and push it out around you.  With a lot of practice, you can protect yourself.”
Leah looked at him with surprise.  “What?  Really?  Is that something Br. Valdez taught?  Can you do that, too?”
    Reuben looked away from his male peer with annoyance.  “Yeah, well, sure.  I could probably do something like that, if I had to.”
Without prompting, Parisa ensured that Joshuel was looking at her, and began to dance.  Her hips swayed with enticement, flashing just a bit with her skirt, then built into a pattern of waving her whole body with vigor.  Leah commented as Joshuel stood up.
“Parisa, that…  I feel like I could walk another ten miles!”
He smiled.  “Yeah, I’m ready to go again.  How did you do that?”
She blushed and looked away slightly.  “I don’t know.  I’ve always loved dancing, and people usually feel good when they watch me.  That’s just how it is.”
“But like this?  I know watching you dance feels good, but I’ve never gone from ‘nothing’ to ‘ready for another fight’ before!”
She shrugged.  “I-I don’t know.  I just felt like I should do it, and I did.”

    Without dwelling too much further on it, they continued walking.  Leah kept looking back behind them.  “What do you think was wrong with that aurochs?”
“Beats me, maybe it was hungry or something.”
Leah shook her head.  “No, something wasn’t right about it.  It didn’t just look angry, it looked…  It looked like it was in pain, it looked like it hated us.  I wish…  I wish we could’ve understood what was the matter, so we didn’t have to kill it.”
Reuben teased, “If you want, you can go practice loving rocks like Josh did.  Then the next time we encounter a strangely murderous animal, you can talk to it about its feelings while it guts you.”
Leah gave Reuben a shove.  “Maybe I’ll gut you for being a jerk!”

    The trees almost seemed welcoming with their swaying songs and the smells of bark and sap.  They arrived home in the middle of the afternoon, checking in with their families and talking about everything that happened.  Well, almost everything.  As dinner approached, they went to see Elder Anderson.  He tipped his glasses above his welcoming face.  “So, did you meet Br. Yohan?  What did you learn?”  They told of their traveling to town, meeting the bishop and his words, meeting Yohan and his comments on translation and an Urtumm, and the aurochs outside the woods.  When they were finished, he rubbed his forehead thoughtfully.
“Well…  It sounds like it was a very helpful trip for you.  I’d love to find out what else is in this record!  Go ahead and take a rest.  We’ll resume our studies and training in the morning as normal, and I’ll come up with a plan on how to tackle these scrolls.”

 Parisa returned to her home, opening the front door to the familiar look of the living room.  She greeted her parents on a couch as she walked upstairs into her own room.  She relaxed on her bed, enjoying a cup of grape juice.  She wrote in a conspicuous pink book, pausing to think about her writing when she deemed necessary.  Mia opened her door and walked in.  “Pari, are you writing in a book?  You’re not supposed to write in books.”
 She hid a chuckle behind her book before answering.  “Mia, this is a diary.  It’s a special kind of book that you’re supposed to write in.”
 “What?  You’re supposed to write in it?  How can you read the words if you write on them?”
 “There aren’t any words until you write them!  You write down what kind of things you did since the last time you wrote.  I forgot to bring it with me, so I have some catching up to do.”
 Mia scrunched her nose.  “Why would you want to write about stuff you already did?  Are you afraid you’ll forget?”
 “Well…  Maybe.  Sometimes you forget things you did a long time ago, and that’s kind of sad.  Other times, if you have a bad day, writing about it feels kind of like you’re talking to someone about it, and that helps you feel better.”
 “Can I write in your diary?”  With an approving nod, Mia walked up and began scribbling down on a page.
HI.  THIS IS MIA.  MY FAVRIT FOOD IS APLS.
 Her big sister giggled a bit.  “Thanks, Mia.  Now go play.”

 Brother Valdez stood chewing out his disciple in a spacious room with a very different aesthetic flavor, featuring small ornaments and carvings of fabulous creatures and teachers from lost eras.  “You jumped?  And kicked it?”  Br. Valdez asked with disbelief as he placed his hands on Joshuel’s hip.
 “Yes, sir.  Ouch!”  With a crack, the older man set it back into proper position.
 “You jump-kicked a charging animal in the face??”
“Y-yes…”
“You’re stupid!  Joshuel, what were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t really, I guess.  It was coming at me, so I met it head on.  What else was I supposed to do?”
“Step to the side, jump over it, grab its horns, just about the only worse action you could’ve taken would have been to roll under it!  Look, boy, you’re strong.  You’re very strong, I acknowledge that, don’t get me wrong, but you can’t make that your go-to in a tough situation!  There are some opponents you can’t just pound into ‘head-on’ like that.  I used to be stupid.  I made all the stupid mistakes and learned from them so that my students don’t have to!  Why do you think my nose has no cartilage left?”

    He walked over and poured them each a drink from a tea kettle.  “You’ll never have the power you want from your body alone.  Remember, it is a temple to your spirit.  Fight smarter, not just harder.  The Holy Spirit won’t aid you if you put all your trust in your own flesh and abuse it.  The prophets of old didn’t move the sea or cast fire from heaven by punching and kicking things.”
“…  How did they do it?”
“With priesthood power.”
“But how did they actually do it?  We men hold that Priesthood, but we sure don’t move mountains or walk on water.  Elder Anderson has healed before, I remember that, but it’s only been once or twice.”
Br. Valdez stroked his shallow beard.  “Son, I don’t really have an answer for that.  Maybe we just aren’t righteous enough.  Maybe we don’t have enough faith, we don’t truly believe we can do it.  Maybe we can only work miracles when it suits the Lord’s will and timing.  Maybe we have to do everything we can ourselves first, trusting that He’ll cover the rest.”  He then placed his hands on his ward’s shoulders.  “You want a miracle?  You pulled off what you did to protect yourself.  That’s no normal technique.  It took me a lot longer to work it out than it took you to do it.”
Alone, in his bedroom, Elder Anderson knelt in prayer.  “Father…  Is this the start of something wondrous for Thy Church?  Perhaps with a new record, our young people will spread out, and we will no longer hide in the forest from persecution or oppression……”  He wrinkled his brow some.  “…  Father?  Please, answer me Lord.  It has been silent for too long.  Are we forsaken?”

Chapter 6
 Brother Valdez sat on the roof of his home.  His face was thoughtful as he gazed, almost lazily, into the dark trees.  ‘It’s eerie’ he thought to himself; ‘No owls, no crickets, no wolves.  I hear nothing.’  It remained this way for nearly another hour.

    It was shortly after the third watch started that rustling was heard.  ‘Footsteps.  More than a dozen of them, from the Southeast.’  They could be heard marching from behind the shadowy wall of trees, under the black sky.  He hopped down from his home, hollering out “Welcome to our home!  We hope you strangers in the night mean no harm!”  Almost as if it were a contingency, candlelight began glowing out the windows and doors opened.  Elder Anderson, Joshuel, Reuben, his father, Parisa’s father, and Leah’s father all stepped out as a small militia emerged from the void behind the trees.

    The elder stepped up in front of the others.  “My, you all look weary and well equipped.  Perhaps you’ve just escaped some sort of conflict?  Come lay peaceably with us for the night, and arise with a meal in the morning.”  He wasn’t sure who these people were or why they were here, but he felt no comfort, assurance, or guidance; he felt sick to his stomach.

    The strangers’ front man spoke up sternly, almost mechanically.  “It’s come to our attention that you have multiple objects comprising over 200 shekels of gold.  To prevent subversion of the Babylonian national currency and asset speculation, possession of such is prohibited by law.  The territory of Honeybee Wood is under the jurisdiction of Babylon.  Surrender the items to us.
    The elder frowned.  “Heavy gold objects?  We very recently discovered some artifacts.  Under the Historical Preservation Act, we would like to study them for a time before turning them in.”
Remaining dispassionate and firm, the soldier responded “The House recently passed resolution 6164, restricting the HPA to only approved state-run foundations.”
“…  Alright…  Well, let me to retrieve them.”  One of the soldiers in the back almost seemed disappointed, muttering something into a radio.

    After Elder Anderson went to the meetinghouse to bring out the golden containers, the soldiers opened them up to look inside.  “Where is all the parchment?”
Elder Anderson hid his surprise that they cared for the records previously inside of them, stating “These are the gold objects you requested.  What need have you of any papers or writings?”
The lead soldier was cold and avoided meaningful explanation.  “We’re here to retrieve everything discovered in relation to these artifacts.”

    As the dispute went on, Brother Valdez looked behind him.  “Hey!  You!”  He called to someone who had emerged from behind a tree, holding a rifle.  As Valdez rushed to him, a loud CRACK! erupted.
Though the aging man would have been an easy target running toward him, the shot whizzed clearly by him, striking one of the soldiers up front.  Everyone looked around chaotically as a soldier cried “They have a gun!  Lial’s down!”
    Valdez seized the assassin, who was already dead.  He quickly dropped her body and ran to the fray that had erupted.  Parisa was downstairs in her house with Leonard, Mia, and their mother.  She watched the soldiers open fire with their own guns, and her father fell yards away from their door.  Her heart felt as if it had stopped beating.  She wanted to throw up as she somehow staggered outside.  She didn’t care that she was going to be shot, too; she grabbed ‘daddy’ and rolled him to his back.  He reached for his daughter’s face, opening his mouth as though to speak.  He was only able to choke before lowering his arm for good.
She turned and shouted as a soldier ran to her doorstep, rushing inside.  
    CRACK CRACK!  CRACK! She flew onto her feet to do something, anything, as an assailant grabbed her by her hair.  A back kick took him by surprise, but another enemy grabbed struck her spine with a baton, and she fell.  “Hey, don’t shoot this one!  Maybe we can take her back with us for a good time!”
“A good time for us, but pro’lly not her!”

    They had had no chance whatsoever.  Those there couldn’t have said if it was seconds or minutes, but Parisa’s family was gone.  Reuben was being beat mercilessly as his family was murdered.  Leah’s father was shot, and her house was being raided.  No doubt that they were all to perish.  Parisa watched her love, and the hope for a continued family, break a soldier’s armor before being ripped down with gunfire.  After taking a couple down, Valdez finally hit the dirt.
    The soldiers in the meetinghouse walked out carrying the gold plates, without Anderson in sight.  Two soldiers grabbed Parisa’s arms, hauling her toward the trees.  “Wait a sec, guys!  I found another hottie!”  Called a laughing soldier as he dragged Leah out of her now-burning house.  In fact, every building was being set on fire.

    Then a scream.  The assailants froze as one of their own simply burst in front of them.  The girls wrung free and took some distance as she soldiers began firing their guns at a monster.  Parisa’s eyes widened, her mouth hung open.  “That’s Joshuel!”  She screamed.  Indeed, quickly glancing back, his body was no longer on the ground in the village.  He, or something like him, was literally tearing the soldiers apart with inhuman strength and speed.  His deft strikes broke through the helmets and armor of the soldiers, who could only fire back with their weapons  His skin appeared damaged beyond the bullet wounds, and his face was almost twisted with the same rage that witnessed previously in the animal, but intensified.
    The soldiers’ barrage was becoming too much for him, bringing him to his knees, until he shrieked to the sky.  It wasn’t only audible, Parisa could feel hatred.  A hatred that overwhelmed her, and she almost passed out.  From what she could gather, she wasn’t alone, as Leah fell with her and the soldiers dropped their weapons.  Reuben, coming to his senses somewhat, also felt that hatred.  Focusing on it, he rose to his feet and began limping toward the scene.
    Joshuel rose again, continuing his assault.  Fists, feet, elbows, shins…  The power behind his strikes almost came as much from outside him as they did from inside, as a puppet would move upon strings.  The final soldier’s last view was of his open palm, before a flash of light burned him away.  The only living people left around him were Parisa, Reuben, and Leah.  The only targets left to lash out against.  But the assault ended as quickly as it began when a hand was placed on his shoulder.  His face relaxed to exhibit its normal features before he fell as though asleep.  Standing by him, Yohan stared quietly at everything.  His grief was palpable as he wept with those left.  A man shrouded in dark clothing witnessed the events, hidden from all.  Before vanishing, he mused to himself ‘He was a success after all…  This is going to change the program tremendously!’

    No one could really say anything for a long time, as they carried Joshuel and set up a tent a mile or so away.  No one slept through the rest of the night.  Parisa could hardly even see around her.  ‘It’s a horrible nightmare.  This is something that happens in bad dreams, then you wake up.  Why won’t I wake up?  I’m stuck in a nightmare.  Wake up, Parisa!  Come on!  Wake up!’  She paid no mind to anything going on around her, and Yohan’s occasional words faded into the air around her.
    Before daybreak, Joshuel finally opened his eyes.  “W-waater.  Water.  Meat.”
After the past few agonizing hours hung seemingly motionless, the sound of his voice arose Parisa to action, who almost couldn’t breathe as she grabbed her water canteen and tipped it for him to drink from.  He lifted his hand to caress her face, but she could only see her father dying all over again.  “Daddy…”
    Yohan brought in some food he had cooked outside, arousing Reuben and Leah so that they could all eat.
“Children of Jacob, Deseret is over.”
Parisa looked up at Yohan.  “…  What do we do now?”
“Babylon is a mighty beast.  The woman must now flee into the wilderness.”
Leah stammered.  “What…  What if we went to Salem…  For help?  Like, could Bishop Rigdon or Br. Marsh…”
Yohan shook his head sadly.  “Bishop Rigdon is a friend, but they will not be safe with him for now.  The only branch left is in Dalmasca.  It’s possible you could travel there and find some form of asylum…”
Reuben spoke in a low growl.  “Run off to some other country…  And start again?  With who?”  He stood up, raising his voice.  “Mom and dad are gone.  Saul is gone.  Jenna is gone!”  Leah held Reuben’s hand, but he continued.  “And do what?  Pray?  Read our scriptures?  Practice punching and kicking and acrobat tricks that can be gunned down, anyway?”  With a tight fist, Reuben struck Yohan’s chin, knocking him to the floor.
    Yohan stood back up as though unharmed, looking sympathetic as Reuben continued.  “God is great, we’re spreading a marvelous work and a wonder, God will fight our battles if we’re faithful, well WHERE IS HE NOW?!”  He stormed out of the tent, but didn’t walk far.  “We were promised a land of freedom if we’d serve God, but the people supposed to be protecting that freedom just slaughtered us!”  He quickly began packing up what few things he had, no one watching him with more concern than Leah.
“W-wait, Reuben!  What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”  He was cold and curt in his response.
“….  Leaving?  Leaving where?”
“Anywhere.  I’ll make my own path somewhere.  No Church, no government, I’ll do what I choose.”
Joshuel sat up.  “Reuben, we need you now more than ever before.  None of us can make it alone.”
With bitterness, Reuben challenged “I don’t need you!  Everything was fine before you showed up, and everything stayed fine until now!  Everyone dies, then you become some kind of monster.  Where was that before?  And you lunged at us, ready to tear us up!  I don’t need you!”

   Parisa bit her lip as she watched everything play out.  As Reuben walked away, she eyed Leah looking back and forth.  Gently taking her arms, she pleaded “Leah…  Please don’t leave us, too.”
The taller woman focused on Parisa’s gaze, both of them crying.  “Parisa…  You understand, don’t you?”  Standing slowly, she followed after the adolescent, mustering all of her strength not to look back.
“A…  Monster?”  The man looked confused.  “What happened?”
Parisa sat back with him.  “You don’t remember?”
“I broke someone’s hard vest, then I was shot.  I think a few times.  Then, someone picked me up, but I couldn’t see.  Then I woke up here.”

    After a while longer, Joshuel was able to stand and walk.  The three walked back to what was left of Deseret.  There was truly no waking from the nightmare.  Parisa almost didn’t want to breathe to avoid the painful smells of burnt wood and dead bodies.  Much of it had been broken or burned down, but they dug through whatever debris seemed to offer even a hope of recovery.  
    Parisa pulled away pieces of timber and bricks, salvaging a couple of outfits, a toothbrush, some diapers she fit in her bag under her clothes, and her diary.  Joshuel didn’t have so much left, his house having been made more of wood than stone.  He did find his sword and pulled it out, the handle damaged but still functional.  There was also a tent with a few small tears.
Yohan brought the records to them.  “It would be a burden for you to carry these now, for risk of losing them.  I will keep them safe, and return them when the time is right.”
“You’re not going to come with us?”
“I’m sorry, sister…  I’m going to identify the source of the order for that nighttime raid and ensure any attempts to follow you are upset.  I will be in touch again soon.”  The two gave Yohan a hug as he left, then found themselves standing alone.  They looked about, as if they might find something comforting or valuable.  Everything was really gone.  Despair?  Hatred?  Fear?  Who to direct these feelings toward?  Parisa fell to her knees, overcome with nausea and anxiety.  Joshuel squat down quickly with her when she vomited, holding her hair out of the way.

    She recovered before long.  “Sorry, Josh…  I don’t even know what to say.”  He quietly scratched her back for a moment as she looked about.  Spotting a pear tree that survived, Parisa walked over to it.  She felt starving despite having no appetite at all, the familiar green fruit hanging in the tree beckoning to her.  Something comfortable, something she knew, something sweet, something to focus on, to taste and smell.  
    The leaves rustled, parting for her hand as she reached up to take the fruit, when a ‘HSSSS!’ startled her.  Jumping back with the pear in her hand, she felt the pain not in her arm, but her leg-she looked down as a brown adder had latched onto her thigh.  She screamed as Joshuel ran over, seeing the creature secreting more and more of its venom into her.   With one blade’s swipe, he bisected the creature, and Parisa dislodged its fangs as they continued pumping.
    She knew she should calm down, but her heart began beating rapidly, pumping the poison through her body with each beat.  She could hardly talk through her chattering teeth.  “J-J-Josh, w-w-what’s going to ha-ha-happen to me n-n-now…?”
“You’ll be just fine, you’ll be okay.  Let’s go to that lake near where the plates were.”  
    Knowing where it was, it was not a long walk.  She ate the pear as they did, crying quietly to herself.  She wanted to just lay down and die now, while fearing she may well do that soon.  As they got close enough to see it, however, a strange substance floated in the water.
Parisa wrinkled her nose.  “That doesn’t look or smell right…  What IS that?”
After stirring through the murky water as if to find it clear underneath some layer of sludge, Joshuel found only more unusable liquid.  He kicked a rock in frustration.  “But why?  Such an obvious, precision blessing ruined for precisely this moment!  Was it some animal?  Or people sabotaging it?”  He held her tightly for a moment as he thought about what to do.  “Okay, listen.  We can’t go to Salem because we’re probably being searched for.  Br. Valdez usually got his medicines out west.  I think if we go far enough, there’s a village that can help, too.”  She nodded, and the two began walking.

Chapter 7
It had probably been about twenty or thirty minutes. Or forty? It was hard to say. The trees out this direction were thankfully not so dark or thick as where they found the records, but the territory was growing less familiar as they continued. Parisa looked up to the man walking by her. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah. I should be asking you that.”
“You’re not usually one for a lot of words normally, but you’ve been kind of distant.” The truth was, walking was getting hard for her, but she wanted to take her mind off of it to keep going.
“… I’m just praying while we walk, so that we can get somewhere to take care of you.” It wasn’t much longer, of course, before Parisa’s legs stuttered. She fell to her bottom, panting and sweating a little as Joshuel approached her. “Here, climb onto my back.” He squatted down so that she could reach up over his shoulders, letting her legs hang on her arms.
“S-sorry…” Not long passed. She could hardly feel the urge, but she began peeing through her panties and down the back of Joshuel’s coat. She felt no ability at all to hold it back.
“P-Pari, are you…” He stopped and set her down gently, shaking off his tallit while watching her finish.
“I-I’m sorry Josh…” She muttered before her world became dark and quiet. Joshuel began looking through her bag for a change of clothes for her, when he uncovered the diapers. “What? Why does she have these?” He held one up, then turned to look at her. His arousal quickly built up as he muttered, “… Precision blessing, I guess…”

He pulled her wet clothes off, moving expediently due to circumstances but socially unprepared for the task. Removing her panties revealed a clean lack of hair. He lifted up her hips to slide the diaper underneath her, pulling the front up over her. He ignored his own throbbing desires as he taped the brief onto her, then pulled her clothes back on her after all, minus the panties. ‘Better make the most of these, don’t know when we can wash clothes again…’ He reasoned. He pulled her pack onto him, and resumed the walk.

 The last thing she could remember was being carried, but now she stood as though nothing were wrong. Joshuel had been replaced by an unfamiliar man, though well-built. His face was almost perfect, smiling kindly to her with no wrinkles, blemishes, scars, or other imperfections. An eagle, perched on his shoulder, eyed her carefully as he walked to her. “The serpent overcame you, woman. If you hearken to the man, he will crush the serpent’s head.” Before she could say anything, the eagle flew off over the trees. She watched the direction it traveled, hollering and chasing after it before her eyes opened.

 It was a dream. She laid next to Joshuel, stoking a fire and brushing her hair. “J-Josh, where are we?...”
 He looked to her voice, breaking into a smile. “You’re awake! We’re still in the forest. Are you hungry? How do you feel?”
 “Uhh… I’m thirsty.” He helped her sit up before giving her water to drink. In sitting, she felt something unusual outside of bedtime, feeling up her skirt to the groin to her maillot bulging out far more than normal. She was wearing a diaper, and it was wet.
 They both blushed when Joshuel caught was she was doing out of his peripheral vision. “S-so, you peed, remember? And, I, well, your clothes… And you had-”
 “L-let’s just agree not to ask each other questions.” They ate together, roasting some vegetables they had handy with some meat from a rabbit he had caught. After finishing with dinner, they crawled into the slightly torn tent Joshuel took from home. He began laying out a blanket for them, but she interrupted him as she gasped. Leaning back on her arms, she began filling her diaper in front of him. Her bowels spasmed repeatedly and involuntarily, pushing it all out without any feeling in the muscles to hold it back. Neither of them said a word as Joshuel came over to help her. She felt humiliated, but also couldn’t help feeling physically turned on as he got to wiping her up. Before long, she was in a clean, dry diaper. They laid close enough together to share a quilt, but kept some distance for whatever modesty they could preserve in their circumstance. She fell asleep quickly as Joshuel watched her. ‘If I’m being honest with myself… Carrying and caring for her like this feels pretty nice. I want her to get better, but I really like doing this.’

 Dawn came. She turned on her bedroll with severe nausea and a throbbing headache. She realized she hadn’t put on her normal nighttime wear and felt where she had laid. She didn’t find anything wet, however; she was ‘protected’, and thankfully so. Did Joshuel do this? Does he know about it, or did he go through her bag and figure it out? Her memory of yesterday returned as she felt not only the squishy front and middle, but the load sitting in back of it. She tended to it while Joshuel packed things up, and they began walking. She looked around after a short time, this place was familiar. It was from the dream! “Josh, wait, I know this place. I had a dream, and I saw an eagle fly that way.” She pointed in the direction, continuing “I chased after it, but then I woke up.”
 “Well, it’s as good of a lead as any.” He turned course to follow where she directed. They continued straight as well as they could, bearing the scrutiny of chipmunks, rabbits, and foxes unfamiliar with humans. The sun was reaching its apex in the sky when they heard a voice grow closer. It was a woman’s voice. She was talking… No, singing to herself. They could see a young woman picking something under a bush before Joshuel called out to her. She looked over at them startled, but stood up and waved. Her hair was straight and plain, with a headdress bearing three feathers on her left side. Her skirt appeared to be a cloth wrapped around her waist, with a small slit visible where the sides of that cloth overlapped.
“Hey! What are you doing carrying that girl on your back? You’d get tired, right? Well, I guess you wouldn’t get tired, your arms are like the width of my legs! Seriously! She’s probably just helping you train up your endurance or something, huh?”
“She was bit by an adder yesterday morning. She’s still very weak and is occasionally unconscious. We’re looking for a place called Lahonti. Do you know where that is?”
“An adder? Was it more of a brown color or a black color? Or did it have stripes? I bet it was brown if it was in the forest here, huh? Bring her on to my place, I can probably help.” She stepped around to get a look at Parisa. “Aww, she’s a cutie! She’s probably, what, fourteen?”
Parisa rolled her eyes. “I’m almost sixteen.”
“What? Almost sixteen? You’re such a dainty thing and your cheeks are just a little bit rounded. Poor girl! Snake bites suck, huh? Who’s this big guy carrying ya around? Your big brother or something?” Neither of them answered her, but she looked at their faces for just a moment before grinning. “Aaahhh!! I see. How cute! It’s like a giant and a fairy in love! Well come on, come on, follow me! Oh, I’m Felicia. How about you?” After the two introduced themselves, they followed her up a long, gentle hill.

There weren’t so many trees going up the hill, making something of a meadow. A few stumps could be seen where trees had been cut down. It was a short walk to a straw and wooden hut. Some lumber sat in a pile nearby, with some tools hanging under a short roof. Various scents came into perception, many assorted spices and tree barks but also some that were unrecognizable. There were only two trees near the house, the rest of the hill’s top was cleared out. Bees swarmed in one of the trees.
The space inside the hut was small and especially crowded with things that seemed to have no real place. Bags, boxes, a deer’s antlers, and lumber sat around without any apparent rime or reason. A man walked out of a room to the side, matching many of Felicia’s features except that he was male, with the body shape to go with it. He also wore a headdress, but with four feathers on his right. “Clear off the couch, Felix! I’ve got a patient!” He stood and pulled off a couple of knickknacks, watching the two strangers come in. Joshuel laid Parisa onto the couch while Felicia began examining her. She would have objected to Felicia’s feeling up the site of the bite, but she figured she’d rather strangers find out she’s wearing a diaper than possibly lose her life or leg.
“Hmm… There’s some swelling around here… And, yes definitely up here. I guess that’s why you’ve got this on, huh?” She asked, poking her padded crotch. “Felix, quit staring, that’s rude.”
“I’m not staring. Not like that’s my kind of lingerie, anyway.” Something about his claim seemed untrue, however, as his eyes inconspicuously remained locked between Parisa’s legs.
“If you’re not staring, then how do you know what she’s wearing?”
“It’s called peripheral vision dummy, you can see things you aren’t looking at. I can’t just blur out part of what I see.”
“Then just look the other way you jerk!” Clearing her through, she continued. “And you said she goes in and out of consciousness? We’ll need to administer something or she risks possible long-term effects including some combination of chronic fatigue, migraines, chronic nausea, susceptibility to heat stroke, chronic incontinence, loss of sexual function, loss of leg function or lower body paralysis, and wanting to curse God and die for her lot in life.”
Parisa perked up. “Do you believe in God?”
“Well, I like to think of a ‘Great Spirit’ that guides us, but other people tend to think of That as ‘God’. Sometimes I hear whispers, or get feelings that guide me… And sometimes I just fail miserably, or am just hearing voices because I’m crazy. Why, are you religious or something?”
Felix looked out the window from where they came. “Hey, do you come from that church way out on the East end of the woods? I’ve seen it before but never bothered visiting, don’t usually go out that direction. Neither of the two responded immediately. “What? I mean, I don’t care, I’m just curious.”
Sensing she didn’t want to talk about it, Joshuel answered for them. “We were. It was razed the other day.”

“Razed? Like… Oh. Oh, suck a duck. Sorry I brought it up, guys. Now I’m curious, but if you want to talk about it a different time, like, that’s totally fine. Are you the only ones left?”
“There are five of us, but three went in different directions.”
Felicia brought a grateful end to the topic. “Alright, we’ll need some bark from a Marah tree. You’ll need to go fetch some. Some clay from Jordan would be good but we can’t get it nearby… I have some clay of Jabbok, that’ll be just fine. Probably. Lastly-”
Felix cut her off. “What about Balsam of Gilead?”
“No, that’s for open wounds, not envenomation, duh…”
“I mean for the snake bite holes, genius, not the venom.”
“They’re two little closed puncture wounds, she’s not bleeding out, idiot! And I said don’t stare at her there!”
“Don’t call me an idiot, numb nuts!”
“I don’t have any nuts, you ape!”
Convinced at this point that she was doomed if she didn’t intervene, Parisa asked “What was the last thing we need?”
“What? Oh! Right right right! The last thing is some larkspur. It’s a flower with indigo-purple flowers that hangs down, and it’s poisonous as-is so don’t eat it or something stupid. And don’t mix it up with women’s bane, it’s a purple-purple flower that hangs down, and it’s also poisonous but I can’t process it and use it.”
Joshuel looked to his friend. “I’m going to go find the Marah bark and the larkspur, okay? I’ll be back before long.”
Felix nodded. “Good luck! We’ll be waiting for you.” He rolled his eyes as Felicia forcefully cleared her throat. “And I’d be glad to be your guide and helper, because Felish is too lazy to help you herself.”
“I, sir, have to stay here and help stabilize Ms. Parisa if she starts to go south.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Felix grabbed a large hunting bow and a quiver of arrows, hanging them over his shoulder before motioning to the other man. “Let’s be off!”
 The girls watched them close the door behind them, Felicia turning to her guest. “He’s so annoying, I don’t know why we hang together.”
 “You look alike, are you brother and sister or something?”
 “You guess it. You’re an astute cookie! Yes, we’re fraternal twins.” She went to a cabinet and began organizing and shifting things around.
“Are you a medicine woman of some kind who just lives out here with her brother?”
“Bingo again! He hunts, I gather, we make it by. You think I’d just get married, but men tend to think I’m too weird, or too mouthy, or kind of creepy.” She grabbed a small jar and brought it over. “Slide out of your leotard there for me, will ya?”
 “W-wh-what?”
 “You’re gonna get a rash, slide out of that so I can change you.” Parisa started blushing as Felicia pulled a diaper out of a bag.
 “W-why do you have that?”
 It was Felicia’s turn to blush a little. “You keep this a secret, okay? I experiment with different medicines, plants, and other treatments for things. Sometimes I mess up, sometimes I misidentify something, whatever. Once or twice, or thrice, in my years of study, I’ve… Well, I’ve had use for these, so I always keep a few handy. Now slide out!” Parisa did as she was told, while Felicia got to work on her. She un-taped the wet diaper and wiped her clean. She didn’t comment on Parisa’s lack of hair, so Parisa tried to decide whether she also stripped her hair or if she just didn’t care. After applying some powder from the jar, she taped the fresh diaper over Parisa, who gladly put her clothes back on.
 “Does… Does Felix know you have these? Or have worn them?”
 Felicia’s face grew serious, and she loomed in on Parisa. “Top. Secret.”
 “What is? That you’ve worn them, or whether or not he knows?”
 “Yes. Now, what’s your story?”
 “Me? Oh. Well… I wet the bed.”
 “What? At your age?” Parisa looked away shamefully. “Hey hey, that’s not a big deal. I wet the bed when I was little, too. I mean, until I was like nine, not almost sixteen, but still… I take it Joshy knows?”
 “After the snake bit me, I started to, well… You know… So, he found them in my bag and put one on me. He doesn’t know why I have them in the first place, or I don’t think he knows…”
 Felicia smiled. “Girls’ secret; we’re diaper prone.” The two laughed a little as she went back to playing at the cabinets and shelves.
 “But enough about me. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want, but… What exactly happened with your home?” Hesitantly, Parisa told her about the night in which they lost everything.

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Chapter 8

  Leah had no possession in life whatsoever beyond the clothes on her.  The suddenness and severity of the grief left her hollow inside, following after Reuben on nothing but some unseen urging or instinct.  For his part, he didn’t seem to mind her coming along.  He had made sure to slow down for her, at least.
 
  After probably half an hour, she finally spoke as they walked.  “Reuben…”  He didn’t seem to regard her, so she continued.  “Do you know where we’re going?”  When he remained silent, she prodded further.  “What do you want to do?”  When he continued not to speak, she softly placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him where he stood.  He turned and looked at her, crying.  It was probably the first time she’d ever seen him cry in many years.
“I want to kill every soldier in Babylon.  Then I want to kill God for letting this all happen!”  Tearing up herself, all she could think to do was hold onto him while they stood and cried.  Reuben brought his wits back about him, explaining “There’s a path through the Golan Mountains in the east.  We’ll go through there, then we’ll get to Corinth in the South.  I’ll kill for food.”
“Corinth is one hundred or so miles away.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“N-no, not really…”  In truth, she wanted them to go back and follow the others.  She knew that he would shoot the idea down.
“It shouldn’t take us a whole week if the mountains don’t slow us down too much.”
 
  It would be a day or two before they’d probably reach the mountains.  The woods didn’t extend too much farther, however.  The trees grew less frequent as they came out the East end, stopping that night near a small stream.  There were still forest animals around, but she noted a brown bear swiping for food downstream.  The cry of a bird of prey could be heard up high in the air.
 
  After clearing a spot to call camp, Reuben stuck a worm on a string and tried fishing while Leah wandered about, gathering berries from nearby.  ‘I’m glad Reuben had this little cook pot so I could hold these.  I’ll need to make more trips!’  When she turned, however, she came face to face with the bear they had spotted earlier.  She sputtered at first, dropping the pot as she jumped back.  “R-R-REU-REUBEN!  REUBEN!!”  Startled by her sudden movement and screaming, the bear took a step back himself before waving a paw at her and the pot on the ground.
 
  She was backed against a cliff about eleven or twelve feet high.  She thought about reaching for a sturdy stick on the ground, but she couldn’t move.  She knew she wanted to grab it and try to smack the bear in the face, but her body wouldn’t listen to her.  As the bear began an assault that would be quickly fatal, it bellowed and staggered back, its back legs no longer supporting its weight.  Leah stepped quickly around to see Reuben slide off the animal.  His hand was still holding his sword, pulling it out of the base of the bear’s spine.  With anger in his face, he darted around and began battering the creature’s face, unlike the clean or efficient cuts and thrusts he could have delivered to end it.  The bear yelled in pain, swiping at Reuben with its front paw, only fueling his rage.  The bear’s death came brutally, its life a sacrifice to Reuben’s catharsis.
 
  Grinning with a sense of satisfaction, Reuben went to check Leah out.  She had a scratch on her cheek and neck, but was otherwise unharmed.  Touching it gently, as if she were a flower petal, he turned and beat the fallen creature’s paw with a rock, fulfilling naught but probably satisfying his own anger.  He came back to clean the wound, noticing another on her leg.
His look of concern became one of bewilderment as he looked down.  “Leah, do you do this every time you’re threatened by some wild animal?”
Following his gaze downward, Leah realized she has wet herself thoroughly.  All she could mutter was “S-sorry…”
Reuben took her back to their site.  “Lay down.”  Slightly worried about where he was going with this, she did as she was told.  She watched him open up his bag, pulling out some cleansing alcohol, as well as one of the diapers from the other day.
“Wh-why do you even have that still?”
“It was just sitting in my bag from before, I never bothered taking it out.”
“I really d-don’t need this.”  She protested weakly as he began working on her and patching her up.
“That’s probably not the last time we’re going to be attacked by one of the wretched creatures in this wretched world.  I want to see if you can stop peeing yourself every time you’re attacked.”
“I don’t every time…”
“Let’s review, shall we?  Wolves?  Peed yourself.  Spiders?  Crapped yourself.”
“That was from the venom, not fear!”
“Cause is irrelevant, fact is you did it.  This bear?  Peed yourself.  That’s three out of three.”
“Well, I didn’t do it last night…”
“Good for you, that’s still three out of four.”  He finished taping it onto her.  She continued laying before him as he knelt, grinning down at her.  He leaned over her, brushing her lips before kissing her more deeply.  She couldn’t tell if her being in a diaper was turning him on, or if it simply wasn’t turning him off in the vulnerable position she was in.  “Yeah…  You’re pretty great, Leah.”  She couldn’t say she disapproved of the affection, even if she’d much rather go at it with panties on instead.
 
  They enjoyed plenty of bear meat for dinner, with wild berries on the side.  Having left the forest, the songs of owls was eerily absent.  The cries of wolves now competed with yipping coyotes.  Leah didn’t find the smell of the lake unpleasant, but she already missed the scent of evergreens.  “Reuben, this isn’t like the forest we lived in, or the open fields on the way to Salem.  This is…  Just different, I guess.”
“What about it?”
“It just…  It feels like we had to leave some beautiful garden, someplace familiar, someplace we called home, and now we’re out in this dreary, tired world.”
Reuben looked at her for a moment, thoughtfully.  “That’s awfully poetic of you.”
She scooted up closer to him.  “I guess I just feel…  Thoughtful.  I have a lot on my mind.”  ‘I have no grounding.  My home and family are gone, my God is nowhere to be heard, you’re all I have now.  I know you’re angry, but please don’t be crazy and torture living creatures.  You’re all I have, but I don’t feel like I can be honest with you.’
 
  When Leah woke up, Reuben was no longer beside her under the blanket.  In fact, the sun was pretty high in the sky.  What’s more, she has already paid her morning bathroom visit-in her diaper.  Her humiliating realization was interrupted when her friend approached.  “Good, you’re awake, sleepy-head.”  He came over with some kind of reed, or bamboo shaft.  It was surprisingly sturdy, and a small knife was affixed to one end.  “I need your help.  You can’t just shriek and cower when there’s danger, you need to help fight it off.  Keep the pointy end to danger, and you’ll be okay.”
She nodded.  “I’ll go practice with it on breakfast.  Or brunch, I guess.”  She began walking to the lake.
“That’a girl!”
She stopped, turning to speak again with a slight blush.  “Um, I have to change…”
“You can’t take the diaper off, you’ll weaken the adhesive to the tapes.  There are only a couple more, so leave that on.”
She blushed redder at his response.  “I already wet this one, though.”
“So go ahead and wet it some more when the need arises.”  Without a rebuttal, she continued to go try and spear a fish.
 
  It didn’t take long for them to reach the mountains, taking a rough path going up.  If this were a “path”, however, it was by nature’s coincidence and not any man’s activity.  Narrowing at points, it was a test of their dexterity and mettle as they made their way across, trying to keep track of their general direction.  When she wasn’t worried about falling over them, Leah took the opportunity to gaze out over the ledges.  Honeybee Wood was easy to see, but the trees were too thick to see through in many places.  She could just barely make out Jeru and Salem, on either side of the lake separating them.
“You like the view?”  Reuben teased, bringing her back to the here and now.
“It all seems so close, yet so far away.”
Further down the road, a massive bird flew in the air nearby, calling out.  Reuben looked up at it.  “A rukh?  You don’t see those very often.”  The bird was not interested in being recognized, but it was sure interested in something, calling out more.  Reuben simply met its calls with a “Shut up!”  They didn’t pay any further mind to the bird, going up a steep trail to what was almost a dead end.  There was another ledge very near it, but they’d have to jump across a gap of about four or five feet.  With a running start, Reuben cleared the gap deftly.  Leah just looked anxiously down at the bottom.  “You can do it!  I’ll catch you!”
 
  Her heart pounding faster, she started psyching herself up.  “All right Leah, you can do this, you’ve got this.  No problem.”  She started her run, stopping in shock as the rukh swooped down, grabbing the smaller Reuben by the shoulders and yanking him right down the side of the ledge.  “NOO!!”  She quickly scanned the rock wall for a point she could climb down at, when it turned to take a pass at her.  Gripping her makeshift spear, she jumped to the side and jabbed at it as it flew by, drawing some blood before losing her balance.  She was able to slide down a steep gradient, though it scuffed her up a little.
 
  Reuben was slowly trying to push himself up.  “Can’t move my arm…  It hurts…”  He spit some blood from his mouth, with more trailing from his forehead.  They could neither see nor hear the assailant any longer.  He pulled himself to his legs, but staggered over against some rocks and sat down.  “Too dizzy, can’t balance…”
“You’ll be okay Reuben, just take a rest!”  She was speaking fearfully as much as she was attempting to comfort him.  He started to lose consciousness.  She just held him helplessly and began to cry.  The horrible, freezing emptiness from just a couple of nights ago filled her being with a nearly paralyzing dread.  In reflexive desperation, she stammered out pleading words to some deity whom seemed entirely uninterested in the difficulties they faced, and so far as they knew, may not even exist.  She reasoned with herself, and with the world as a whole as though it were a thinking entity, that she couldn’t go on if she were alone.
“L-Leah, relax.”  Her eyes shot open as his slowly rose.  She helped him push himself up with his arms.
“Can you move your arm now?”
“Y-yeah…  It hurts a little, but I can move it.”  The bleeding stopped, so Leah cleaned his face up before they walked a little farther.  Finding a cave, they decided to hole up for the rest of the day.  After a few hours, however, it was as if nothing had happened at all.
 
Chapter 9
  For as clear as the area around the twins’ hut was, just a few acres away yielded an overcrowding of trees and other foliage.  Felix and Joshuel scraped some of the bark off of a few peculiar ones.   “Remember, just take a little off of any one tree.  Too much will hurt it…  But yeah, that’d be the roughest night of my life, for sure, Josh.”
“Parisa’s about the only thing I really have left.  I’ll punch a lion in the face if it’ll save her.”
“Yeah, totally understand that man.  We’ll get ya hooked up.  She’s sure a cutie, ‘be a shame to lose her.  The flowers we’ll need actually aren’t so far, just down this way.  Maybe a couple of acres.”
“You’ve seemed kind of interested in her.  Why do you live out here with your sister instead of looking for someone yourself?”
“Huh?  I don’t know.  My sister’s pretty smart, but she’s also pretty dumb.  I want to make sure she’s alright, I guess.  But man…  I could use me some booty.”
 
  The trees formed a small clearing with a bushes and shrubbery bearing colorful flowers of all sorts.  The sudden variety of smells as they came closer was almost overwhelming.  A little extra light penetrated the leafy rooftop overhead.  They began to jog toward them when Felix stopped suddenly, holding Joshuel back.  “Something’s not right.”  He carefully, slowly stepped forward, looking about and chucking an occasional stick or rock ahead.  His thoughts were uneasy.  ‘Come on, something’s watching us…  But what?  From where?’
Hearing a noise, he looked to his right just as a low branch to a large tree reaching down and grasped him by the leg, hoisting him from the ground.  “WHAT THE FEEEETCH!?”  Joshuel leaped at the branch, only to be swat hard into the ground by a different branch.  The two began to be whipped by several branches more.
 
  Withstanding the abuse, Joshuel stood and leaped again, kicking away a branch that came to stop him.  With a shout and some body weight, he ripped off the branch holding his new friend, and the two backed out of range to consider their options.  Felix managed to stammer out, “I’ve hunted these woods for years.  I’ve never once, in my life, seen a tree, that does anything like this.”  He pulled back an arrow, letting it loose at the target.  Sticking into the trunk, the tree seemed to twitch a little, but waved and reached toward them all the same.  It even began to uproot, trying to pull itself across the ground toward them.
 
  Something changed in Joshuel’s eyes, focused on the abomination.  He felt not only an anger toward the strange tree, but an indignation within himself.  ‘I worship God, and one of His creations is in my way to saving one of His daughters.  Whether He’s hedging my way or allowing the devil to do so doesn’t matter...’  He took a stance sideways to the oncoming danger, feeling much like he did when that beast charged at him before.  He sunk his focus into his gut, finding the same energy, or force, that he pulled out to protect himself.  This wasn’t out of self-preservation, however; this call hollered out of anger and determination.  With a shout, he threw his arm toward the tree, and for just long enough to blink, a flash of light seared through it.
 
  The tree reared back, wiggling furiously as several branches burned.  Not exactly sure how to kill a moving tree, Felix just watched as it fell over on its own, eventually ceasing to move.  The two made sure the fire burned out without losing control.
“Josh…  I went from meeting a new hot chick to getting beat up by a fetching tree, and then I saw you burn it down with your bare hands.  I was not ready for today.”
“Felix, she’s barely sixteen years old.”
 “……  Not ready for today.”
 
  Carefully passing by the fallen tree, they approached the flowers described by Felicia.  “Felix, these are it, right?”
Felix passed him on to a different spot.  “Not quite, it’s these ones.”
“Those are more of a purple color; these here are more of the indigo she described.”
“No, she said ‘indigo-purple’, those are too blue…  But these are too purple.  It’s probably those.” Felix concluded, pointing to a third batch.
“Let’s just grab some of them all and bring them back.”  Sharp eyes viewed the two from above.  With the bag full of flowers, it struck-an eagle swooped low and snatched the bag away.  Before it could fly far, Felix whipped an arrow after it, striking head-on.  “Josh, something wrong is going on.  I shouldn’t have to tell you that trees don’t move, and it’s strange that this raptor would’ve targeted something so uninteresting to birds.”
“That isn’t all.  This was a several days ago now, but there was an aurochs north of the forest.  It seemed so unusually angry and violent, we actually had to put it down to protect ourselves.”
“It must be some dark spirit in the woods.  Look at its face, it isn’t normal.”  They continued to speak as they walked back.  “I’m really curious about this.  You came from a church, so you believe in evil spirits and curses and stuff, don’t you?  I’m thinking there must be some kind of evil spirits that are coming to this forest now.  Maybe they influenced your friends to leave.  Maybe they even pushed the soldiers to start shooting!”
“I don’t know.  I guess spirits or ghosts or something could be behind it, but don’t they usually have a reason to go through this much trouble?  It doesn’t seem sensible that a bunch of spirits suddenly want to just kill everyone and drive them away from here.  I think there’s something else behind this.  Some kind of director.”
Felix appeared excited by the prospect.  “What if it’s a sorcerer or something?  Someone could’ve rediscovered magic, and is plotting to take over!”
“…  Do you really think so?”
“Pssh, no.  I just get too much time to think when I’m out alone, waiting for prey.”
 
  Joshuel felt light on his feet as they walked back.  It was a short distance compared to their walking lately, but he felt impatient with each step.  ‘Even if we’ve lost everything else, Parisa and I will still have each other.  We even met these kind people!  I wish I could just fly back right now!’  Without speaking a word, Joshuel broke into a sprint.  Felix called after him, certainly agile but lacking the sheer explosive force and height of his new friend.
“We’re back!”  The boys called, stepping inside.  “We have the ingredients!”  Joshuel consciously slowed his breathing down gradually, while Felix leaned against the door frame trying to catch his breath.
Felicia looked in their bag curiously.  “What?  What’s this mess of flowers in here, for?”
Joshuel admitted, “We couldn’t agree on which one was correct, so we grabbed a few different ones.”
“Don’t worry, no problem, just a big inconvenience for me to manually separate these petals and ensure that the wrong ones don’t mix in, that’s all.  Doing it quickly and washing my hands when I’m done so that I don’t start absorbing any poisons is also no big deal.  Except for these ones, these ones will make a nice tea.”
Felix rolled his eyes.  “You could wear gloves…”
“And risk crushing or creaking the petals?  You’re so dense!”
“Give us a break, we were almost killed by a tree!”
“Only an idiot would be ‘almost killed by a tree’, you know that?  What did it do, uproot and smack you around with its branches?”
Joshuel stepped toward the two.  “Actually, yes.  It was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“You too, Joshy?”
Parisa shook her head.  “That’s not something that Joshuel would make up.  They must be telling the truth…  Somehow...”
“…  Really?...  Well, let me get to work on this.”  They watched her work quickly.  She sorted the ingredients, making sure to keep her work area clean and organized.  There were so many little containers and bags of different things that tugged at Parisa’s curiosity, many of them even unlabeled.  
 
  When the antidote was ready, she brought it over to Parisa, who took a sip.  “This tastes very sweet.”
“That’s good, but hurry and get it down!”  Closing her eyes, she finished drinking the concoction and waited.  After about fifteen minutes, her nausea began to subside.  A little while longer and she didn’t feel so weak when standing or walking.  She even tried a short dance, which had all eyes on her.  Felix clapped at its conclusion.  “Wow, so you don’t just dress funny?  You’re an actual dancer?  That was pretty good!”
“Thanks…  I think?”
Felicia sipped her tea.  “Don’t listen to him, you were great!  And a testament to my efficacy as a physician.  Oh, but be mindful that with how long you were envenomed for, there’s a good chance you’ll have some kind of permanent after effects of some minor sort or another, but your life and general health are secured.”  Laughing with relief, she gave the twins hugs before jumping up to Joshuel for a kiss.  In the midst of her joy-as well as her boyfriend’s arms-she started to dribble urine before full-blown peeing, unable to hold it back.  “Pari, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh…  N-nothing…”  It became quiet enough that the three around her could all hear the hissing and bubbling noise coming from between her legs.
 
  Felicia set her empty cup down.  “I told you you’d probably have…  Um…  Longtermeffects…”  Blushing profusely, she stoop up and pulled her skirt open, watching her own panties fail to hold back a stream from between her own legs.  She let go of her skirt, letting it fall to the floor as she ran to look through a book.  “Crap, crap, crap, crap…  I got them mixed up again.”
Parisa became worried.  “M-mixed up?  A-again?”
“Oh don’t worry, your snake venom is under control, but…”  She walked over and pulled out one of the diapers she had put on Parisa earlier.  “…  We’re gonna have some ‘feminine issues’…”
Joshuel hid his own groin standing behind Parisa.  “Y-you mean you girls have to wear diapers?  For how long?”
“Overnight for sure, probably the rest of tomorrow…”  Felicia seemed to have no issues being watched as she slid off her wet panties, powdering and diapering herself before grabbing a different skirt to wrap around herself.  “…  Maybe the next day.”
“And you said “again”.  Has this happened before?”
Felicia let out a sigh.  “When you collect junk from outside and make medicines out of it, you’ve got to test it somehow, and sometimes I guess wrong.  So, yes, I admit that I’ve worn diapers before, even as an adult.”
Felix smiled widely as he walked over to her.  “She’s my baby sister, after all!”
“Yeah, yeah…”  Felicia seemed resigned to the situation, though deeply humiliated under the surface.
Joshuel couldn’t help asking “What is it specifically that caused this?”
“The purple-purple flowers are called womensbane.  They’re a peculiar weed whose only impact on boys and men is to taste bitter and feel itchy.  To women and girls, they’re very sweet, but will cause incontinence if ingested or even just handled for too long.”  Joshuel looked at Parisa.  His carnal mind began imagining him spiking her drink repeatedly in the future and enjoying the consequences, until his higher discipline squeezed the thought out and drove him outside.
Parisa followed him out, finding him seated quietly in a prayerful, meditative position.  “Joshuel, are you okay?”
He took a deep breath.  “I’m fine, but I need to get away a moment.”
“Is something bothering you?”
“Quite the opposite, I guess.  I mean…  I’ve never been very tempted by sex, but when that spider bit you back then, and you pooped your panties, something stirred in me.  Then that night in Salem, you and Leah both…  And now you’ve been in diapers for days.  Not only do you have to stay in them even longer, Felicia’s going to also.”
She wasn’t quite sure how to respond at first, so she just sat by him for a few minutes.  “You know, seeing you get so ‘into me’ …  Kind of excites me, too.  Even if it’s something silly like this.”  She pecked him before getting up and going back inside.
 
  The evening had continued on.  Felix and Parisa were preparing sleeping arrangements in one of the bedrooms.  Felix paused to watch Parisa moving about.  “You said your birthday is soon?”
“It’s on Fireday.”
“In just a week, then?”
Parisa looked slightly perplexed.  “No, this coming…  Wait, what even is it today?”
“It’s Fireday, Nisan 22nd.”
Parisa looked slightly disappointed.  “It’s today, then.  After this past weekend, it really wasn’t on my mind…”
Felix hopped up and held her shoulders.  “That won’t do!  The least anyone could do is make sure you have a fun birthday!  It’s a little late tonight, but we’ll think of something for tomorrow!”
She looked up at him.  “That’s very nice of you.  My first day as an adult…  I didn’t imagine I’d spend it in diapers.  It kind of works against the theme, doesn’t it?”
Felix let go and cocked his head thoughtfully.  “You’re only turning sixteen, right?”
Parisa began explaining matter-of-factly.  “Babylonian law dubs you an adult when you’re 20, but in our culture, we would begin grown-up responsibilities before then...”  She began to blush when she thought about what exactly she was telling him.  “So, I’m…  Well, I-I guess you could call me a child still, but socially it’d be normal for me to…  It probably seems stupid to you for some little girl to be explaining to you how she’s actually an ‘adult’.”
“N-not really…  I mean, that sounds like our own people, from way far back.  But never mind that, it’s your birthday!  How about…”
 
  Meanwhile, Joshuel sat in the room outside, reading an inornate book.  Felicia swayed up to him from around the back of the chair.
“What’cha reading?”
“It’s a scripture detailing a covenant that saints once made with God.  In return, He granted certain strengths to help them.”
Felicia took the book and set it aside before sitting in his lap.  “Feel this?”
“F-f-feel what?”
“By bottom, obviously.  I need a change.  Mind helping me out with that?”
“I’m sure you can take care of that yourself.”  Joshuel gently pushed her off of him and stood up.  “What is your angle?”
Felicia winked.  “Well, you seem to be a devout type who’s holding off on the whole thing, that’s fine.  I thought maybe you’d like the chance to ‘play’ a little.
“P-play?”
“You’re a nice guy and you’re very fit, you’re not the only one who’d enjoy it.  Having a hot guy change my wet, poopy diaper is embarrassing, but at least it involves him wiping me up ‘down there’.  Come on!”
Joshuel turned around, pausing before speaking to avoid stammering.  “It would feel good, yeah, but it’ll cause problems down the line.  You’re pretty and all, but I’m not going to do that to Parisa.”
“Hmm…  That’s disappointing.  It’s not like a little fun between us now stops you two from getting along.”  She sauntered out of the room, leaving him to his thoughts.  ‘I know!  It must be a test.  I’m being tested right before Pari and I can tie the knot, to see if I’ll be faithful.  That’s why this is going on, I bet.  It’s why suddenly all the girls in my life keep having accidents and getting put into diapers.  Being offered something you want and being unable to take it is probably what Hell is like.  But…  Isn’t she right?’
 
  With night underway, the four sat outside around a fire.  Following a good meal and some stories of their pasts, Felix spoke up.  “You know, in celebration of Parisa’s birthday, we ought to have her show us what she can do!  Josh says you’re a mesmerizing dancer.”
As if expecting it, she stood up and ensured a clear area around herself.  She held a long, light cloth in her hands, slowly raising it in front of herself as a veil.  She began hopping around sprightly, waving her veil about between her and her small audience as she’d stop, as if distracted by a flower here, or a tree there.
Her dance began slowing down.  Her faux distractions went away, and she would tease her face or her legs from behind the veil, before a jump.  With her legs wide apart, staring down at herself with an actress’ shock, she pulled her veil aside, as if revealing something.  She had in fact suddenly filled the back of her diaper, but she wasn’t letting that stop her dance or the event it was symbolizing.  Looking with fire at her onlookers, she cast the veil aside forcefully and picked her dance back up.  Her prancing movements had been replaced with beckoning arm motions, her skirt flaring about.  The dirty diaper made her crotch and especially her bottom more pronounced as they peeked repeatedly out from under her skirt, but she paid it no mind.  The white frills of the leg guards made a cute frame around the black material stretching over the main diaper area.
 
  At her conclusion, on her knees with her hands held before her chest in a pleading or a prayerful position, her friends clapped and hollered.  “Pari, how did you just go up there and do that the moment my dumb brother threw you under the bus?”
“Well, we’d talked about how it was my birthday, and he suggested I do something I enjoy.  It was something I was already working on for my birthday, and I almost missed the chance.”  No one mentioned the fact that she used a diaper during a dance meant to symbolize moving from girlhood into womanhood.  “I’ll call it ‘Eve’s Next Face’.”
Felix questioned, “‘Eve’s Next Face’?  Like evening?”
“Like the ‘three faces of Eve’.”  Parisa clarified, becoming slightly self-conscious.  “A woman has three aspects of her person; a child, a lover, and a mother.  I have all three of those feelings, but I guess I’m trying to emphasize a different one for a different time in my life.”
 

  The merriment of the evening concluded without further fanfare.  With her life likely saved (though not her continence for a short time) and new friends, Parisa felt ready to regain her bearings for the future.

Edited by SSJ5Cloufiroth (see edit history)
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