✅ Unusual Vacancy

Part 14 - The New Job

This chapter is dedicated to Kilian, who has returned to support me on Patreon after a break since last year. Thank you again for your support, and here's an extra chapter posted a day earlier than it would otherwise have been! If you'd like to support a specific story in future, please let me know which one you would be interested in, and I hope you enjoy it.

Amy held her breath, hoping she'd said the right thing. Auburn seemed like she really wanted to help her, and she could only hope that agreeing to a little embarrassment for a couple of days would save her from a greater humiliation in the coming weeks.

"If you want to get out of diapers, you'll need to show us what a big girl you are," Auburn's response gave Amy a new hope. "It'll be harder than usual, you know that. Getting used to changes in your body is hard enough on its own. So, if you go two days without an accident, you can come out of diapers. Now, if you really want to, we can see about adjusting your age after a couple of days. But that should be an achievement, something you have to work for. Okay? You have to ask for help and use the potty a few times so you know how proud you should feel at being able to go by yourself."

"Okay. So... does that mean if I'm only asking you for help a few times today, it'll take longer before I'm back to... I don't even know the words. Does it mean it'll be longer before I'm allowed to be more grown up?"

"Not so much. Asking for help every time would cut into your play time, like I said. So a couple of times each day should be enough to show us that you're trying. Of course, it's up to you. You could come and see us every time if you really want to, but I think that would be quite disruptive to your day, and wouldn't really help you to get comfortable in a child role."

"Okay. So once or twice a day, right? How will I know when I have to..."

"Don't worry about it." The fox was already tapping on her tablet, fingers dancing. From the few shapes Amy could see at this angle, she seemed to have a calculator app open as well as the implant override interface. "We can't really choose twice per day. But if I make a few slight adjustments here... Okay. So, to show us that you're willing to get into character as an older toddler, you need to come and see us whenever you need the bathroom. Understand? You have to ask for help, and somebody will help you to take your diaper off. And as long as you've been good you will be allowed some privacy to get yourself sorted and put on a new diaper. You'll need to come quickly when you feel the urge, and not get distracted with playing. But I've adjusted your neural responsiveness so that you'll get a little more time to enjoy yourself before you notice. We can adjust the relaxation stimulus on your pelvic floor as well. And..." this time her paws were drumming on the edge of the little screen, waiting for a response from the system rather than adjusting mysterious control. "Perfect! With these values, based on your capacity, general fitness, and behaviour profile, the system estimates that you will have around a thirteen percent chance of getting here to ask for help in the time you can hold it."

"Wait, what?" Amy blinked, and found herself mumbling again. Had she just slipped back into her childish headspace, and completely misunderstood what the adult was saying behind all the weird technical language?

"That's about twice a day, dear. You can come and find me, or any of the nurses, and we'll help you to use the potty by yourself. And when you don't notice that feeling in time, you still have your diaper. You won't need to worry about it at all, you can just keep on playing. Trust me, you're only a little one. There's no urgency to change you right away unless you particularly want to–"

"What? No! I thought you said I could go like a big– I mean, like an adult. I am an adult. I don't need somebody to help me use the potty and I don't want to be in diapers all week. Just unlock this thing so I can take them off, I promise I'll keep it on, and even use a little kids' potty if you insist. But I really don't need–"

"Listen, Amy. I don't want to be cruel, but the rules are there for a reason. If you want to use the bathroom like a big girl, you need to go through potty training first. You need to come to us when you want permission to take your diaper off. I'm just giving you a way to cut down how often that interrupts your play. Now, if you really want to reduce the embarrassment I can mask potty training for you, and make the memories inaccessible. Then you wouldn't even know what the potty is for, so there would be no shame in not using it. But..."

The words slowly wound down, because it seemed Amy was no longer listening. The lynx cub had been about to protest that putting her back in diapers was dumb, and that she was old enough in reality to manage her own bathroom visits even with a toddler-sized bladder getting in her way. But before the words came out she found her attention drawn back to the desperate pressure in her bladder, the need to pee that had barely been reduced by a small accident a few minutes before.

The pressure suddenly increased as she became aware of it, and then it was gone again. All she felt was relief, and a gentle warmth spreading around her little girl parts. It took a moment for her to realise that she was wetting herself again; her second accident in fifteen years, and also her second of the day. She couldn't very well protest about not needing diapers when she was already soaked.

Amy closed her eyes, and tried to imagine that this wasn't happening. She could tell herself it was all a dream, and it wouldn't be real for a moment. She would feel perfectly fine, except for the soaked diaper around her bum. Which, she realised, was nothing like as gross as she had expected. She'd felt pee-soaked clothes against her fur a few times before, and clammy moisture from spilled drinks more than a few times in her life. And every time, she had wanted to clean up as soon as possible. But this was a different sensation. She had seen a lot of ads recently for diapers, every time she played a game or watched a movie, as if the marketing companies had decided she was the right age for kids. And she knew that they always talked about an absorbent core locking moisture away from the child's body, but she had never really thought about how it would feel.

Not opening her eyes, still telling herself that she wasn't in such a humiliating situation, she reached one hand down to press against the front of her diaper through the shorts. She could imagine the moisture being sucked away by the padding. She could feel the heat on the outside as well, but it didn't feel wet, clammy, or anything else she might have expected. It was more like a warm compress enveloping her. Hot, yes. Soft and bulky, yes. The padding had swollen enough that she imagined she could feel the difference. But it wasn't gross, and she didn't feel like her fur was slick with her own pee.

Eventually she opened her eyes, and saw the nurse staring back with the faintest look of amusement.

"You seem surprised, dear. Is everything alright?"

"I... umm..." Amy babbled, feeling flustered. Could the adult tell? She had no idea. Surely it wouldn't be visible right away. So she would have to come out and say that she had wet herself so that she could get a diaper change. Otherwise she'd be running around in a wet diaper, a little ball of warmth wrapped around her bum, until an adult thought to check. That was too humiliating to think of, so she took a deep breath and spit out the words: "I think I... maybe... No, I'm fine. Nothing at all."

"Okay. You're still getting used to it, dear, so it's only natural to blush like a beetroot a little on your first day. If you start to get uncomfortable you can come in and ask for a change any time. We do actually ask employees of your age to make a note of how you feel about the comfort and utility of the diapers in different conditions. The manufacturers are one of our larger sponsors, as they're glad to have a firsthand account of how well their product performs in a real world situation. I'm assured they are all extremely comfortable, but I understand if you would rather get used to wearing them before you make comparisons. Now, are you happy with the programme we selected, and the possible embarrassment of trying to graduate to a higher age band? Or would you like to be too small to feel it?"

"I umm..." Amy didn't know if she should be embarrassed, or scared, or excited. But she knew there was nothing she could do about it now, and it honestly didn't feel so bad. "I'll try to be a big girl," she mumbled with a little giggle, wondering how well she could do. Determined to do her best, and coming to realise that this challenge would be more of a game than a humiliating torment, she turned and ran outside to play with her new friends.