Melody grimaced as she got off of the bus at Camp Spanksalot. This was the first time she'd been allowed to go off to a 'real' camp, instead of just day camp, and she was very excited. Unfortunately, her bottom was still a little sore, having only been treated with nano-lotion a scant three hours earlier, just before she'd gotten dressed to meet the bus in the school parking lot.
While her Gold Star had dramatically reduced Melody's 'special day punishments', she was still a Hard-Time Penitatas, and had been thoroughly punished the previous day, for the Fourth of July. Of course, the other little girls on the hoverbus had all still been MUCH more uncomfortable, haveing been punished even more severely than Melody. With the seat belts strictly limiting the amount of squirming and wiggling possible, her fellow children had had to sit quietly on their sore bottoms and endure the long flight.
The bus had stopped at several towns to pick up Penitatas girls going to the camp. Camp Spanksalot was restricted to Hard-time Penitatas girls only, and such girls who were actually allowed to go to the camp were fairly rare--since the minimum age was ten. So there would be no murderers or other violent felons there--mostly only people, like Melody, convicted of property crimes; violent felons rarely got sentences that ever let them get as old as ten!! In fact, the camp itself was quite small-only thirty-six girls, who would be supervised by six full-fime counselors.
Melody glanced down in pride at her neat khaki uniform. The cute shorts and blouse, with her kerchief neatly twisted and held by its clasp. And the first-class badge on her breast--next to her Gold Star, of course.
Melody had joined the Sentient Scouts of the Galaxy as soon as she turned ten and was eligible; she hadn't been a member as a Kindern (a fact which Johnny Devine seemed to think was partially responsible for her current predicament), and Johnny had been quite adamant about her joining as soon as possible. Hard-time Penitatas were not allowed to join the Cub Scouts, since that organization was mostly about having fun. (Johnny had joined right after his seventh birthday, of course). Full Scouting, however, was about good citizenship, and honor, and doing the Right Thing, and was held to be a good influence for little hard-timers who were ever old enough.
But, while hard-timers WERE allowed to go to Scout Camp, the camps they attended were strictly segregated from other Scout facilities, and unlike those facilities, were also segregated by sex. Melody might have several friends in her troop who were both boys and hard-timers-- but *they* would be attending Camp Sorebottom across the lake from the girl's camp.
You see, spankings and other Penitatas punishments would NOT be appropriate at a patrol meeting, or especially at a troop or council meeting (since many of the scouts attending these larger meetings would be Kindern--one of the very few places Penitatas and Kindern were ever allowed to interact). But Penitatas were supposed to get spanked once a day, so at camp...
With a sigh, Melody picked up her duffel bag and carried it over to the table marked "A-L" in order to get her cabin assignment.
The cabin was quite nice--mostly. Made of wooden logs, it held six bunks allong the walls, and a door leading to a modern bathroom was in the center of the back wall. Each bunk had a footlocker, and Melody picked one and started to put her stuff away.
NOT nice were the CornerStools placed warningly in the two corners on ether side of the bathroom door. Although they actually weren't 'real' CornerStools; they looked more like they'd been made right there in camp. (They had been).
"Hey, you!! Who told you to take that bunk. Maybe *I* want it!!"
Melody, startled, turned around to see an older girl, maybe eleven, standing in the door. The Life Scout badge on her shirt showed that she had advanced further in Scouting than the smaller Melody--which would, normally, have given her the right to put the younger girl into one of the 'less desireable' bunks--nearer the door (where a badly- made bed or forgotten panties could be seen from the doorway)-- and further from the bathroom.
But as Melody turned around, the older girl spotted her Gold Star, and froze. Her jaw dropped a bit, and a look of pure admiration and envy appeared. "Wow. A Gold Star. I-I've never even SEEN one." Melody remained silent, but nodded slightly towards the bunk. "Yeah, I guess you're right." The girl grinned, her white teeth sharply contrasting with her dark brown face. "A Good Citizenship Award trumps being a Life Scout any day. I'm Susan Jackson, and welcome to Camp Spanksalot. And they do--spank a lot, that is!!"
"Hi, Susan. I'm Melody Johnson; yeah, I know--but Penitatas get spanked whereever or whatever. Ah--I should tell you--"
"Hello girls." A young man, maybe nineteen or twenty (somebody from the twentieth century would have guessed him to be sixteen or seventeen, due to the Fujkawa treatment) came into the cabin. The silver 'C's of a Completas graced his hands--to the girl's dismay. Nobody knew how to spank quite like a former Penitatas!! "Just the two of you so far?? Oh, you must be Melody!! Congratulations on your Gold Star, kid! We'll talk about that in a minute. Oh, here are the others--come on in, kids, and sort yourself out onto the bunks by your rank--only Melody gets the number one bunk, even though she's just first class-- look at her chest or hands if you need to know why!!"
The other children nervously entered the room. To Melody's shocked delight, two of them weren't human!!
Melody was aware that the Sentient Scouts had, centuries ago, changed their name as they grew into an interstellar, interracial organization for children. Even as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts had long-ago merged into just Scouting, so had several similar organizations among the Rigellians, Drakonians and others joined Human Scouting to form the Sentient Scouts of the Galaxy.
One of the children entering the room was a Drakonian girl. Melody assumed she was around the same age as the rest of them, but the reptile was, of course, much larger. The girl was already pushing two meters--close to six feet, human measure!! Hmm, that might be quite a competitive asset for the cabin...
But when Melody saw the OTHER young lady, in her neat Scout uniform, she knew that, at least in any land-based competition, they cabin had a sure winner. Though she was rather startled to see a Jalaxian Penitatas; after all, the race of fellow interstellar travellers had only been met thirty years ago...there were very few of them on Earth, and those should, mostly, have diplomatic immunity...
Melody suddenly realized that there was a serious problem; She couldn't understand Jalaxian!! She'd never even tried to learn!
"Don worriezz. I know not many humans speak Jalaxxian yet!!" Melody started. She hadn't heard that Jalaxians were telepathic!!
White fangs gleamed against cream-colored fur as the alien girl smiled at Melody. "No, I can not hear your thinks. I smell your shock, see your face. Many humans have same thought, but unlike Drakonians, we can speak your sayings."
The alien girl sat down on the bunk next to Mel's--Susan had taken the one across the way, and the badge of a Star Scout graced the khaki blouse of the Jalaxian--good for one of the middle bunks! She placed one fur-covered hand on Melody's knee. The retractible claws, Melody noted, had been removed and inhibited from re-growing. She looked into the vertically-slit pupils of her cabinmate's cat-like face. "My name is Sharnilla; most humans just call me Sharney. It looks like we be enjoying camp togeter..."
Melody smiled. "I guess so. I'm Melody...."
The Jalaxians evolved from felines, even as humans evolved from apes. And their world's 1.2 gravities made them, on average, faster and stronger than most humans. And their agility was, to be frank, cat-like.
According to the experts, their intelligence was very slightly lower than human, but Melody thought that that was just human envy or jealousy.
But now their cabin monitor, who would be, for all intents and purposes, their surrogate parent for the next two weeks, was standing in front of the cabin door and "Harumphing" for silence.
"O.K., kids, my name is Steve, and I'll be riding herd on you six for the next couple of weeks. And yes, I'm a guy. For those of you who haven't been here before, while we've segregated you KIDS into boy-and-girl camps, to cut down on any mischief, the counsellors are both male and female, in both camps. And you girls were unlucky enough to get me--the head counsellor." The young man grinned at them sympathetically. "Which means it'll usually be MY hand and paddle warming your little fannies once every day. IF you behave yourselves, that is. Or at least MOST of your little fannies. Melody, please stand up..."
Melody obeyed, blushing at being singled out. "Girls, this is Melody Johnson. She's ten years old, in her first cycle as a Penitatas. She is serving three cycles of six-to-twelve for embezzlement. And yes, that IS a Good Citizenship Award. You can ask Melody about how that happened later, but I need to tell ALL of you what it means for her in camp. And what it means is that HER bottom won't be kept anywhere NEAR as hot and sore as the rest of you. In fact, if she *really* behaves herself, I'll only be spanking her bare bottom TWICE during the whole camp!! THAT'S what little Penitatas who earn a GOLD STAR get!!"
Now every eye in the cabin was focused on a blushing Melody. But she was used to it by now--being singled out for greatly-reduced bottom pain. But she still often felt like she was cheating, somehow. Getting off TOO easy.
Not that she ever complained about it!!
"We also have two non-terrestrials in this cabin. And yes, they are in this cabin because of Melody--they're the only extraterrestrials in camp this term. Samantha, please stand up." That was the Drakonian. "Sam's story is unusual for a Drakonian. She is a gambler, and joined in on an attempt to cheat the Golden Star Casino on Station Five. She got caught, of course, and is in her second of six cycles from seven-to-twelve. She was here last year, and is eleven years old."
"Sharnilla, stand up. I know few, if any of you have ever met a Jalaxian. Sharnillia's story is even stranger. Her husband is one of the trade attache's in the Jalaxian embassy. Apparantly they are having marital troubles, and Sharnillia tried to 'set up' her husband so that it APPEARED he'd taken a bribe. Apparantly she thought he'd been cheating on her, and wanted revenge. Jalaxians are a bit hot-tempered, as you might have heard." There were a few chuckles.
"As it turned out, the guy WASN'T really cheating on her; there were some really secret trade negotiations going on, really hush-hush stuff, and *that* was why he was sneaking out at night, not to see the Ambassador's neice, like Sharnillia thought." Sharnillia's tail curved meekly around her hips as she looked at her feet--showing extreme embarassment. "But by the time Sharney found out, it was too late. To her credit, she confessed the whole thing, but it was quite a little scandal. Of course, she COULD have claimed diplomatic immunity and just gone home--but it seems she really DOES love her husband, and doesn't want to lose OR leave him, so she waived immunity--and got a single cycle, starting at ten. But as a HARD-TIMER, and staying that way until she's fourteen!! So she's getting her little bottom spanked just like the rest of you!! She was only rejuved a month ago, though, so you might give her a little help in getting used to it all."
"An when Draxarni take me back, after I grow back up, he promise to spank me even more!! I was really, REALLY *STUPID* and deserf it!!" Again Sharney showed her fangs in a big grin. "But on other hand, he get nice young 'trophy wife' to play with..."
"Please don't interrupt Sharney!! Now, Susan Jackson is eleven, in her third cycle, eight cycles seven-to-twelve for burglary. Laura Miller is ten, in her second cycle, of seven cycles seven-to-eleven, for spamming. Ming Nguyen is also ten, in her first cycle of twelve for slicing--seven-to-eleven." The young man stepped over to a straight- backed chair next to the cabin door. "Now, Sharney, since you haven't learned yet not to be quiet and pay attention, you can just come up here and let me show ALL of you kids what you can expect if you don't behave yourselves--including you, Melody!!"
Sharney's eyes got wide, but the child immediately stood up and went over to the young man, who was seating himself on the chair. Steve also unsnapped the holster at his side and removed his paddle.
The paddle was about the same size as Melody's Very Own Spanking Paddle, but was rectangular instead of oval. Melody winced as she saw her new friend's shorts being lowered. The back of the shorts had been slit, with a button at the top fastening the slit together. Sharney's long tail came out through the slit. But a quick twist unfastened the button, so that the alien child's shorts could come down. Her white cotton panties had been similarly equipped, only with a Velcro tab. Which would make it even easier for Steve to unfasten and lower the modest garment.
Sharney was quite small--even shorter than Melody. Jalaxians averaged shorter and slighter than humans, and a girl like Sharney would only be about five feet tall even when fully grown. Now the slender feline was under four feet tall. This made it easy for Steve to gently lower the child across his knees. Then he gently unfastened and lowered Sharney's panties right down to her knees. "Tail high, honey," he gently reminded the girl. And the now-sobbing alien obeyed, flipping her tail up and over her shoulder, where she firmly grasped it to keep it up and out of the way.
With her tail up, Sharney's bare bottom was remarkably human-looking. Her buttocks were somewhat slimmer than a human girl's, with less subcutaneous fatty padding. This was more than made up for, however, by the twin globe's covering of soft, downy fur.
As Steve began to spank Sharney's bare bottom with his hand, the sound did NOT ring out. Instead, the other children heard a soft "Whop-Whop- Whop" as his hand smacked into the fur-covered hams. This made sense, Melody realized, as the fur completely prevented the loud clapping sound made by a human hand impacting a human bottom.
The spanking was clearly effective, however, as Sharney was soon wiggling and squirming around on Steve's lap. Indeed, her cat-like flexible spine let her squirm and twist even more than a human girl.
And instead of human howls, Sharney squalled like a cat who's tail has been stepped on...
Then Steve picked up his paddle, and began Sharney's REAL lesson. And the twisting, wiggling, squalling little girl redoubled her efforts to convey just HOW SORRY she was...
Finally Sharney's spanking ended. And Steve sent the cat-girl to the corner next to Melody's bed--to place her sore bottom onto a CornerStool for the rest of his introduction.
Which fortunately didn't take long, just a long description of all the camp rules. Then the six girls were lined up and marched off to the mess hall for lunch...
In front of the mess hall was a nasty-looking structure. A low, round roof was set on a thick post, over hanging a bunch of walls.
"All right, kids, stop here. This structure is known as 'the Corners'. As you can see, there is a central round post, about a 40 cm. thick, which has six one-meter walls sticking out of it at even intervals. Let's take a look...as you can see, this is NOT a normal corner. Nevertheless, if one of you kids gets sent to the corner, during the day, here is where you are to go. The corners of the cabin will normally only be used at night, when you are in your jammies. Since the walls are at 60 degrees instead of ninety, I think you'll find these corners even MORE isolating than the usual kind. Now, do you see this timer, on the wall? Here is where you will enter whatever 'corner-time' a counsellor has sentenced you to. Laura, enter just one minute... thanks. Now, you see the string of little lights on the center pole? Yes, the ten lights running vertically up the post, at around head- height. Now, Laura, go stand in the corner--right. Now, pick one of the lights and put your nose on it. Note that all the other lights go out..." BLAAAAP! BLAAAAP! A warning horn made all of the children jump! It stopped after just two blasts, but all the kids shiverred in shock. "And THAT'S what happens, kids, if you take your little noses OFF of the sensor before the timer tells you too!! Sorry, Laura, I should've warned you. If the alarm goes off during your *real* corner-time punishment, you will IMMEDIATELY be given a good, sound bare-bottomed spanking from the first counsellor who gets here. And your corner-time punishment will start all over, and may well be increased. So once you put your nose on the sensor, KEEP IT THERE!!"
"Now, Laura, see that rectangular seat? The one hinged to the center post...yes, fold it down, please...Now, kids, you can see that this seat has been carved to resemble a CornerStool. I have to tell you, kids, these seats have ALWAYS been cut like this--long before CornerStool rediscovered the idea. If you are sent to SIT in the corner, I'm afraid you have to fold down the stool and sit on it before putting your nose onto the sensor. And all the other rules still apply... And yes, from the position of the seat--show them, Laura...you can see that you'll HAVE to lean forward a bit to put your nose in place-- which, yes, WILL insure that your probably-well-spanked bottom has ALL your weight on it--right on the little bumps of the bench. Don't worry, though--we'll only send you to SIT in the corner on a well-spanked bottom if you've been NAUGHTY...now, let's go eat!! Oh, there's the pool, kids, and the lake is past those trees..."
Melody was thoroughly enjoying camp. She ran up out of the lake with her 'buddy', Sharney. Somewhat to Mel's surprise, and delight, the alien girl showed none of an Earth cat's disdain for the water. Instead, like a tiger, she revelled in it, and swam more like a fish than a cat. Her short fur repelled the water easily and dried surprisingly quickly, when rubbed vigorously with a towel. Though brushing it out afterwards took a while!!
Melody had also been amused to discover that Jalaxian fur-brushes doubled for disciplinary duty the same as human hairbrushes. And Sharney's brush, for that reason, was as wide and flat-backed as Melody's own. The bristles were slightly different, though--shorter and much stiffer, designed for her short fur.
As Melody slid down a tree trunk, to rest a bit on the small beach, she thought about the past few days. She really HAD been enjoying herself. As the sound of some kid getting a good, sound spanking came to her ears, and she idly looked around for them, she realized that, secretly, she'd even been enjoying all the spankings she was seeing.
Especially since she wasn't sharing in them.
The first evening Steve had taken each child (except Mel) across his knee for a good spanking. This had been a bit of an ordeal for Sharney, folowing her earlier spanking that day. Though this was only a hand-spanking. Samantha had gotten it with a dragon-paddle, the first one Melody had seen. (There weren't any Drakonian Penitatas in Assville). The Dragon Paddle had been of thick, hard wood--and had been liberally studded with 1 cm. steel studs, each sticking out into a moderately sharp point. While this would have been a hideous implement of torture, used on a Human child, when Steve thoroughly applied the paddle to the base of Sam's tail, her reactions made it clear that it was no worse than a good dose of her Mommy's teeth! Steve had been breathing hard when he'd finished; clearly, it was quite a work-out for a Human to discipline a Drakonian.
A couple of days later, Mel had watched Steve paddle Sam and her partner, Susan, out by the lake--for actual naughtiness. When the lifeguard had rung the bell, and called out 'BUDDIES', the two girls had been unable to join hands and lift them over their head before the second 'BONG' five seconds later--despite Sam's inhumanly fast speed in the water (which had saved their tails a couple of times before!!). This clearly proved them in violation of the Buddy Rules, and both girls were ordered out of the lake for a punishment paddling. (Melody and Sharney's hands had clasped and lifted instantly. The Jalaxian girl and Melody always kept carefully in arms reach of each other, more because they *liked* each other than because it was required. And on the few occassions they'd slipped up, their combined aquatic skills (and Sharney's ability to locate Melody by scent) had always allowed them to rejoin within the time limit).
Steve had soon had Susan howling over his knees, her black bottom bouncing, her swimsuit twisting between her knees, as his paddle spanked her bare bottom thoroughly.
But it was Samantha's spanking that Melody stood up in the water to watch. If the awful Dragon Paddle was only considered the equivalent of a HAND spanking, how would Steve administer a punishment paddling?
She found out, as Steve lifted Sam's tail, burying her snout in the sand and leaving the large child helpless. Holding her tail up with his left arm, he raised the Dragon Paddle--and brought it down on her bottom.
Not on her tail, but across her slender hips.
Where her scales were thinner and the skin far more sensitive than the underside of her tail.
And where a Drakonian parent's teeth couldn't properly chomp--where a Drakonian kid WASN'T used to getting spanked.
The tactic was clearly effective, as Samantha's foghorn howls and little jumping kicks proved!! After the paddling, both girls were sent off for a half-hour in the Corners to contemplate the need to obey all the safety rules.
Melody grinned in rememberence. Of course, sooner or later she WAS gonna get spanked. Once sometime this week, once the next week, and of course, she'd get a paddling at the final campfire the last Friday before they left Saturday morning. ALL the kids would get a paddling--and all the kids would GIVE a paddling, too.
Melody was already preparing her paddle, in their crafts class. She'd been given a rough plank of pine, about 2 cm. thick, already cut into the correct paddle-shape. Melody had to sand it smooth, then paint one side of it, then lacquer it. She'd have to amooth and wrap the handle with pseudoleather, too. She'd been working diligently every crafts period; SHE'D realized that the more she sanded the paddle, the thinner it would be--and the less it would sting and burn her bare bottom on Paddle Night. This WAS one case of hard work being its own reward!!
Melody had asked Susan about this custom; on Paddle Night, as the girls assembled, each would take a small, egg-shaped device from a bin. Once assembled, each girl would be called forward to stand before her peers, where she would stand, holding her paddle over her head for everybody to see. A bowl would be passed around, and each girl would solemnly deposit either a pink, red, or maroon bead. A pink bead was a vote for a 'mild' paddling--fifteen swats. A red bead was a vote for a 'moderate' paddling--thirty swats. And a maroon bead was a vote for a 'severe' paddling--fifty swats. Each counselor would then vote--with TWO beads. The bowl would be emptied into a counter--which would report which beating was to be administered.
One of the counselors would trigger the egg programmed for that girl--which would light up. The girl who had chosen that egg would step forward and apply the number of swats decided upon to the bottom of the poor victim. Theoretically, she could paddle her fellow Scout over her shorts or panties--but virtually always the paddlings were on the bare behind.
Scouts are supposed to be honest, so Melody had high hopes for a 'mild' paddling--unless she really screwed up, of course! She worried, however, that *some* of her fellow scouts might vote for a more serious paddling, on the grounds that she'd gotten spanked so much LESS than the others.
But Melody had a plan--and a secret weapon: her paddle. She smiled as she thought about the design she'd come up with.
She was gonna paint the 'business end' of her paddle with a large yellow star--mixed as close to gold as she could get it. She'd paint it over-large--as if the points were off of the paddle--but make it recognizeable. And in the 'gold star' she'd paint a bare, red bottom-- one of the 'approved' motifs. With more gold stars blazing up off of it, of course!!
And for her 'motto': 'A Lesson Learned.'
All of it a subtle reminder that she was getting spanked less because she'd *earned* the right to get spanked less, not for just some lucky chance. She thought it would work. She *HOPED* it would work, anyway...
"Excuse me, Melody."
"Huh? Oh! Steve! I'm sorry, is swim time over?"
"No. Sorry to interrupt your woolgathering, Melody." Steve took her arm and lifted her to her feet, and began to lead Melody over to one of the straight-backed chairs lining the beach for the convenience of the counsellors.
Realizing what was about to happen, Melody began to sniffle a bit. "I'm sorry! Wh-what did I do wrong, sir! I don't know!"
"Nothing, Melody. Gold star or no Gold star, you are STILL a hard time Penitatas, right?"
"Ah--yessir."
"And, even if you aren't getting your little heiney smacked every DAY, like the other girls, you're STILL supposed to 'get it' once a WEEK, right Melody?"
Tears were now streaming down Melody's face as she realized the truth. "Th-that's right, sir." Darn! She'd *hoped* she'd get it in the *cabin*, when it happened. But, of course, Steve WOULD do it on the beach, where all the girls could see.
"And now is the time." Steve sat down on the chair, and began to pull Melody's slender body across his muscular knees.
Melody began to cry as Steve's experienced palm began to spank her tender bottom through her Official Sentient Scouts Swimming Suit (for Human Females).
Her DAMP suit. Steve spanked on, as Melody squirmed and began to bawl. In one way, her reduced punishment load had hurt her: her bottom was MUCH more tender and sensitive to spankings these days. She might not get spanked *as often*, but that seemed to ineviteably make each lesson she *did* get twice as effective.
Though, over all, Melody thought she'd take the fewer spankings.
Once Melody was bawling and squirming like a naughty six-year-old, Steve paused and helped the crying girl to her feet. And Melody's sobs increased as she looked around and realized that *EVERYBODY* was watching her get spanked!!
Of course. They all got to see each other get spanked every day or so. This was their first chance--of only three!!--to watch Melody get it, (assuming she continued to behave herself, of course).
So they all watched, grinning, as Steve untied the neck strap of Melody's suit. (She'd just HAD to have the official suit, even though it wasn't required. Melody was PROUD of being a Sentient Scout. She just wished that the official suit wasn't a one-piece...) Steve pulled the dark blue fabric over Melody's non-existent breasts, and continued pulling the bathing suit down to Melody's ankles.
Only then did he turn her slender form back over his knees, her bright pink, well-spanked bare bottom up high, for the rest of her weekly spanking.
And now Melody really began to cry as Steve's hard hand began to bounce off of her firm, tender rump. And her bare bottom quickly turned from hot pink to an even hotter rose red as Steve planted spank after well- placed, hard spank onto Melody's tender tail.
Finally it ended--after a spanking that was a good bit longer and harder than most of the daily spankings Mel had seen. Of course, for her it was a *weeky* spanking...
"Now, Melody, since this *should* be the ONLY spanking I give you this week--why don't we follow it up with a little corner time?? No, leave your suit there, honey--run up to the Corners and program yourself for a nice ten-minute corner time, kid..."
Melody blanched--most kids didn't get corner time with their daily spankings!! But of course, they DID--SOMETIMES. So...
Of course, even as the thoughts ran through her head, Melody was trotting towards the Corners. (The path was paved, and of course breakable glass bottles and so forth were a thing of the distant past. Melody's bare feet were safe enough). Once there she found an empty 'slot'. (At least she didn't have to stand around and WAIT before doing her corner time!!) She keyed in ten minutes, as ordered, picked a lit spot at the right height--and planted her nose on it.
Melody relaxed by the fire. One of the counselors had taken up a guitar, and all the girls were getting ready for an evening singalong.
Sharney sat down next to Melody. And Mel thought about what Sharney had told her about that day. About how the Jalaxians had come to Earth to set up diplomatic relations, so soon after first contact...
The Jalaxians had an odd cultural activity. In all its forms, it had a thousand names, but the first name was D'jetar. D'jetar was of central importance to Jalaxian culture. Almost all Jalaxians could do it to one degree or another. It was the center of many Jalaxian's lives, those who pursued it as professionals.
It was, supposedly, D'jetar that drove the Jalaxians out into the stars, nine hundred years before, looking for others to share the joy the custom brought them.
In that, they failed.
They met many different sentient species, but none practiced D'jetar. D'jetar consisted of two intertwined parts. Some races practiced one, or the other, but none combined the two into D'jetar.
They tried to teach others, and some learned. But it wasn't the same. They learned because they were exosociologists, or anthopologists. They mastered the art, but they took no joy from it. It was all far too intellectual. D'jetar was meant to be *lived!!*
And the Jalaxians suspected that most of the alien races they encountered thought the whole thing was sort of silly.
So they stopped asking. Pulled back. Oh, they still practised D'jetar. Proudly. It was their heritage. It *was* joy.
But they no longer sought out others.
The rate of their exploration slowed, inevitably, as the sphere of Jalaxian-explored space grew wider and wider. Unevenly, of course, as the scattered and scarce star-faring alien species were discovered, and contact carefully made.
Then one day, a Jalaxian explorer, out on the very fringe of Jalaxian- explored space, detected an unknown starship on their long-range scanners.
By this time, first contact procedures were routine. The vessel was signalled, and a near-by uninhabited planet (which happened to have an atmosphere breatheable by both races) was chosen, and the first- contact specialists of both races began making the first slow, careful attempts to understand each other.
Weeks pass.
The crew of the Commonwealth Explorer ship Armstrong were ready to celebrate. After five weeks of hard work, another successful first contact had been completed.
Of course, since they were at the outer edge of Human-explored space, and the Jalaxian homeworld (NOT called Jalaxia. Do we call our world 'Hume'??) lay even farther from their temporary camp than Earth.
So the Jalaxians weren't likely to be of any importance to Earth any time soon. Although they were certainly an attractive race--if you liked cats. Still, as both races expanded, it would be good to understand each other.
And there had been no unfortunate incidents, nobody had gotten hurt, the planet had a truly *gorgeous* beach--and so the Captain had authorized a beach party to celebrate.
The Jalaxians had not been invited, of course--nor had they expected to. After all, who knew what bizarre cultural behaviors one race might find disgusting in the other, outside of the strictly controlled environment of First Contact. Such things were better left to the specialized Second and Third contact teams.
Levarrniss was curious about the light he'd detected on the planet's surface. He turned the ship's largest telescope onto it and looked.
There was a large bonfire on the beach. The Humans they'd met were gathered around it. They seemed to be having some sort of celebration. It almost looked like...
Shock made his fur stand on end, his tail quiverred. That almost looked like **D'jetar** of some sort!!!
His whiskers quiverred. He knew the rules and regulations; as soon as he'd seen that he was spying on the Humans, he should have aborted the scans. There was too much chance of a misunderstanding at this point.
But he just COULDN'T take the chance, not after 900 Jalaxian years of lost hope!!
So he sent down a probe to make sure.
The world was shocked by the arrival of the Jalaxian vessel in the Confederation of Humanity. More shocked when it reported that it had the duly appointed Ambassador to the Confederation on board.
First contact with the Jalaxians had only happened two years before. Second contact hadn't even been *arranged*.
And why had the Jalaxians come all the way *here*?? There were *dozens* of races closer to their homeworld--many still unexplored by Earth-- with whom they had no formal relations--only the most tentative contacts. Why skip past all of those to reach Earth???
And why in the world had the Jalaxians requested a formal reception for their ambassador?
And so the whole world was watching in wonder as the Jalaxian ambassador arrived at the Presidential Palace in Geneva. They knew what Jalaxians looked like, of course. They weren't all that unusual; at least two other felinoid races were known. Why were they here??
World speculation increased as the Jalaxian ambassador left his hover-limo and approached the gates of the palace. Instead of native Jalaxian dress, he was wearing full formal Earth costume--top hat and tails!! (Three, in his case--counting his own).
As the cameras quietly looked on, Earth's dignitaries and the bored representatives of her allies gathered in the Palace's largest hall for the customary formal ball following the reception. Suddenly, the ambassador stood up and crossed the floor over to the Confederation President. A sly cat-grin was on his face as he gracefully bowed before her, and made his request.
We humans of Earth have an odd cultural activity. It isn't really all that important, except to those who practise it professionally. Although most humans love one or another form of it, and many do it themselves--some well, others not so well.
It was considered an odd fact that this activity seemed unique to Earth. Drakonians didn't do it. Nor did Rigellians. Nor did any of the other races we'd encountered as we explored the space around our home star. Some people found this disappointing. And the activity lost quite a bit of its previous popularity.
Not that we were *ashamed* of it or anything. Still, we felt that all our neighbors found the whole thing kind of silly. So it was relegated to backwater communities, and sank into semi-obscurity.
Oh, there were still professionals, still those to whom it was their life. But fewer than in its ancient heyday.
It had a thousand names.
But the first of these was---
---DANCE!!---
And as the Jalaxian ambassador swept the Commonwealth President into the first figures of that first waltz, the people of Earth looked on in shock--the same shock the Jalaxian populace had felt two years before, looking at the poor-quality holorecording of the Armstong's crew dancing and cavorting to loud music on that far away beach.
And the people of Earth knew, KNEW, what the Jalaxians had come to teach them.
That from that moment forward...
Neither race would ever again dance...alone.
As her fellow campers sang the ancient verses of "Blowin' in the Wind", Melody and Sharney demonstrated the Jalaxian folk-dance that Sharney had taught Mel the previous day.
And later, as hot dogs (which Sharney *LOVED*) and marshmallows (which she *HATED*) were being munched on, they talked about some of their mutual discoveries.
"I tell you, Mel, that danzz...the Huzzle...you teach me. That a great D'jetar!! Wonderful energy!! But you say it not done now??"
"No, I learned about it studying the twentieth century. It was really only popular for a few years, when the music called 'Disco' was popular. When the music fell out of favor, so did the dance."
"That iz too bad." Sharney shook her head. "That danzz would be really great to Siskast'ney music."
"So? Just because we don't do it doesn't mean *you* can't. Maybe you'll spark a revival and bring Disco back! But I'm still not sure about just what is and isn't D'jetar. Are you sure martial arts don't..."
"No. We find some races that do martial arts. We do those too--but not D'jetar. D'jetar requires movement *and* music. It is Danzz. But there will be many arguments. You have danzzez that have only drumz for music. We never think of this!!! Is this D'jetar?? Can D'jetar have only the beat for music and still be D'jetar??"
"Hmmm. I wonder what your people would think about Hula."
"Hula?? Is form of danzz?"
"Huh? Yes. But it is quite different. There is no foot movement, and the leg and hip movement, while...attractive, is a simple repitition. Or at least that's what I've read. Most of the dance is in the arms and hands. And THAT actually tells a story--the hand and arm movements actually form a stylized sign language, and each dance tells a story..."
Sharney stares at Melody in shock. "Where! Where this danzz done?"
"Huh? Oh, in the Hawaiian Islands, out in the Pacific. At least I think there are still Hula dancers who remember the old ways; we've lost so much over the centuries..."
Sharney looked for a moment like she was about to leap to her feet, to go charging off towards Hawaii at that moment.
Then, with a shudder, she sat back down on the grass. Almost crying!"
"I cannot go. I am a child. Melody, this is the worst of punizment. to be little girl again. You tell me of danzz that tells story. That has entire *language* of danzz to tell story. I want to go see; I want to learn this danzz. But I cannot. I am child and must stay at home and be taken care of. I am not responzibe; I have *proven* I am not responzible. So I must call husband, tell him about the Hoo-la. HE will go to Ha-Wha-ee and learn this danzz. While I stay at home as punizment. That is worst. Worse than even the thap'nas, the spank-ings. They only hurt my bottomz.!!"
"I know, I know!! Yes, it IS awful to be a little girl, to have to ask permission before doing ANYTHING--and as a Penitatas, having that permission denied, as likely as not. But we both EARNED our punishments, right?? And the only way through is to just grin and bear it..."
Sharney winced (Melody was getting quite good at reading the Jalaxian's expressions). "Sharney bareing it all too often. But agree--we deservz it. (sssss). What this song they starting???"
Paddle Night!! Melody, like all the kids, was on tenderhooks throughout the day. Who would get picked to paddle her? Just how hard a paddling would it be?
Melody had, mostly, had a wonderful time at camp. She'd earned FIVE merit badges for her sash, and would probably become a Star Scout at her next Council.
And Melody had impressed her counselors, too. First of all, her behavior had been exemplary. She hadn't earned ONE SINGLE SPANKING during the entire two weeks of camp!! Not ONE. She'd only gotten two spankings; the first one by the lake, and a bedtime paddling from Steve last Tuesday--another 'weekly' spanking.
And even more impressive was her leadership. Melody took an active role in directing her fellow Scouts. When one of them needed help, she jumped in and got the job done--whether she was asked to or not.
Soon, she was the Scout her fellow campers were coming to when they needed advice, or comfort, or just companionship.
Oddly enough, when Melody had been a REAL kid, a Kindern, she hadn't been that way at all. She'd been a very quiet, bookish kid, with very few friends. Painfully shy, she'd often dispaired of *ever* finding anybody who liked her for herself.
But the current Melody amazed and astonished her counselors every day.
If Mel had known about the counselors puzzlement, and had wanted to, she could have told them the reason. She'd learnt discipline, confidence, friendship, and leadership from an expert.
Johnny Devine.
Oddly enough, Melody probably owed her un-spanked bottom more to Johnny's lessons in discipline, (which had nothing to do with spanking), than to her trips over Josh and Mary's laps through the years.
On the other hand, would Mel have been ready to LISTEN to those lessons WITHOUT those hard spankings hanging over her bottom--providing such an excellent motivation? She'd never know.
Finally the time had come. Melody picked up her paddle and followed the other girls to the campfire. Thirty-six girls filed past the large basket. Each took a high-tech egg and three bags of beads.
The girls sat down on the logs surrounding the circle. Another nasty question running through their heads was: who would go first--and who would go LAST!!
First was terrible, because you'd have to spend the rest of the campfire--at least three hours--sitting on a rough log on your well- paddled bottom--a bottom covered, or uncovered, in whatever manner your spanker had paddled it.
But last, or even later, could be worse. Early in the cycle, any girl voted a moderate or serious paddling was all too likely to vote similar paddlings onto the bottoms of those girls following her. Which meant, of course, that those early girls tended to be voted milder spankings than the later girls. But once more and more girls had gotten their paddlings--and were therefore immune to the future vengeance of their fellow Scouts--then they would tend to vote for more severe paddlings than their unpaddled fellows.
All of this made more problematical by the fact that all ballots were secret...including those of the six counsellors--whose votes counted DOUBLE, totalling a full FOURTH of the votes...
Many girls secretly hoped to fall in the middle...
"First Paddling" called Steve, the senior counsellor. "Janet Hsing."
The asian-hispanic girl from Cabin 2 stepped forward. She held her paddle up over her head.
It was decorated with the traditional Bear and Deer, not particularly well done, with the 'For the Cute Little Deer with the Bear Behind" legend. Three holes had been drilled through the paddle--indicating that Janet had earned three punishment spankings during the past two weeks at camp. One of the holes had been drilled right through the Deer's glowing rump, spoiling the effect of the design--and Hsing clearly hadn't even TRIED to correct it afterwards.
Melody frowned. Three EARNED spankings was quite a lot--especially for a Scout at camp. Scouts were *supposed* to set an example. Reluctantly, as the bowl was carried past her, Melody tossed in a red bead--voting for a Moderate paddling of thirty swats, rather than a Mild paddling of only fifteen. The bowl was emptied into the counter. "Mild TWENTY. Moderate, TWENTY-THREE. Serious, FIVE. Janet, prepare for THIRTY good, hard swats from your fellow Scout..." Jean, at the control console, pressed the button next to Janet's name. Laura jumped as her 'egg' began to beep, while flashing a bright red. She stepped forward and held it up. "Laura Miller!! Laura, how do you think Janet deserves to be paddled?"
After hesitating a moment, Laura said "Over the trestle, sir--on her bare bottom!!"
Melody nodded at that. For a Moderate paddling, it would almost HAVE to be bare. But it was up to the Scout...if it was her best friend, or if she REALLY felt that the larger spanking was not deserved, she COULD give it to the victim over her shorts.
But, especially if she hadn't gotten her OWN paddling yet, she'd be better advised to at least apply her paddle to the girl's panties.
Janet bent over the trestle--basically a saw-horse with a padded top-- and Laura tugged down her shorts and panties. Then she took up the paddle Janet had prepared and drew it back...
Melody nodded--the paddle was well over a centimeter thick; Janet had been lazy, and hadn't spent as much time sanding the paddle down as she should.
Melody had gone to bed with sore shoulders more than once--but HER pine paddle was just a little over a half centimeter thick. It would certainly burn and sting, but not NEARLY as much as...
"WHAP!!" Janet began to regret her laziness as her paddle began to SMACK into her upturned bare bottom.
She was crying by the fifth swat.
And by the time the thirtieth spank had exploded across her pale hams, Janet was bawling. Her rear end was a dark, angry red--and the paddle's thickness, and the punishing holes in it, had done their work. Nasty little blisters had started popping up on Janet's bare bottom--a bare bottom that would shortly be planted onto the rough bark of a log. Where it would stay, tormenting the eleven-year-old, until Paddle Night ended. (Except for one, all-too-brief respite, while Janet paddled one of the other Scouts...)
And so it went. Melody watched as Samantha howled her way through her paddling--she'd had the additional awful task of hammering in four steel studs to turn her paddle into a proper Dragon Paddle--one for each punishment spanking, of course. Her spanker was one of the older girls from Cabin 4; Melody thought she was twelve...
Melody was the sixth girl to stand forward. She held her paddle high and turned in place, showing all her fellow scouts her handiwork.
The bare bottom was a little skewed; Melody just hadn't been able to get it *quite* right. But the overall effect was just what she'd been looking for--a picture of a well spanked bottom, the lesson ALREADY LEARNED...
"Mild. FORTY-TWO! Moderate: SIX. Severe: NONE!!" Melody almost did a double-take. She DID stare at a grinning Steve. None?? And only SIX for a Moderate?? Surely SOME of her fellow Penitatas had resented her lack of spankings...hadn't they??
But now her spanker had been selected and was stepping forward. It was Samantha!!! Melody blanched. Even if her paddling was only fifteen swats--Sam was a Drakonian!! Still, Melody remined herself, Drakonians weren't really STRONGER than humans...just bigger!
"Hrmph. I say Melody bend over for her spanks. And spanks are to be on, on. On Panties. Yes, On Panties."
Again, Melody was surprised. She actually thought that Sam had almost said 'Shorts' but in the end just hadn't dared. (Even though her own tail had already been chewed, so to speak.)
Still, it was her turn, so; Melody bent over and touched her toes after the Drakonian took her paddle from her. She felt cool, scaled fingers slipping her shorts down to her knees. "Oh, I get it!" she said. "You put Gold Stars on paddle to remind me you have Gold Star!" The Drakonian girl leveled the paddle onto Melody's rump, taking careful aim. "But I would have remembered it, anyway..." WHAP!!
Melody jumped at the sting of the first swat across her thin cotton panties. Hey! Sam wasn't spanking at ALL hard!! This would be SPLAT! Melody winced. Well, not exactly EASY!...
By the time the fifteenth, and final, swat had landed across Melody's panty-clad rump, she was sniffling and sobbing, tears running down her face. But she'd taken all fifteen swats without either standing up or falling over!! And, while she was crying, she certainly wasn't bawling like SOME of her fellow Scouts!!
To be fair, though, most of those scouts had gotten much harder swats. With thicker paddles (few of the kids had Melody's preserverence in sanding down their paddles). And most of those paddles had at least one or two holes drilled through them...
Then it was Sharney's turn. Melody winced; Wednesday night, AFTER they had been put to bed, Sharney had slipped out into the woods. And gotten caught.
And it wasn't the first time.
To her credit, while she HAD been hunting, she hadn't actually tried to kill anything. Just track a few rabbits down and have some harmless fun with them...
But it wasn't really Scout-like, and it was DEFINITELY against the rules--and it was a repeat offense. Sharney had gotten a THOROUGH paddling from Steve--and had spent *all Wednesday morning* in the Corners. SITTING.
And so her paddle had SIX one centimeter holes in it...surrounding the TWO centimeter hole she'd gotten for that night's little adventure!!
Sharney was just too mischeivous for her own good!!
And for some reason, she still didn't seem too worried about it...
When the votes were counted..."Mild: TWO. Moderate: FIFTEEN Severe: THIRTY_ONE!! Sharney, I am disappointed in you. You DESERVE a good paddling from...ah! Susan!"
The black girl stepped forward and took Sharney's paddle from her. At least Melody had talked Sharney into properly sanding down her paddle; it wasn't much thicker than Melody's. Though, she had to admit, Sharney's high-g muscles had made that less of a chore for the alien feline...
"Sir, I think Sharney DESERVES to be FASTENED across the trestle for her paddling...on the BARE BOTTOM, sir!!"
"Very Well, Susan." replied Steve. And shortly Sharney was bent over the trestle, suffering the indignity of being tied into place. (Which was essentially declaring her too big a baby to take her paddling like a big girl...) Susan pulled down Sharney's shorts and underwear (only fumbling briefly with the velcro). To Sharney's horror, one of the counselors took a firm grip of her tail and pulled it up and over her back, baring her bottom for punishment...
"One moment, Susan."
"Sir?"
"You asked for Sharney's bottom to be bare."
Susan looked puzzled. "Ah...isn't it, sir?"
"No, It isn't. It's all covered with fur."
Susan gaped.
Melody jerked. It was true!! Sharney's fur DID give her bottom a significant amount of padding! Not enough to spare her ALL of the pain of a good spanking, but plenty enough to keep the blister-holes of her paddle from doing much of anything...
No WONDER the alien had been so casual about her behavior!! And no wonder she found her normal childhood restrictions to be more of a punishment than her spankings! But Jalaxian's spanked their own kids-- Sharney had mentioned that to Mel...
Sharney wasn't being blase now!! She was wiggling and squirming against her bonds, yelling out "NOOOO"--and "HISSSSSS" as two of the counsellors approached her.
They were carrying depillators!! Melody blushed with embarassment at what her friend would have to endure.
Not her spanking; Sharney had earned EVERY SWAT of what was about to happen to her bottom.
But Jalaxians are born without fur. It starts to grow in about half-way through their first year.
But un-evenly. And their bottoms and rumps were the last portions of their body to grow fur. (This was evolutionary. Since it was important to keep children clean, Jalaxians didn't grow fur over their excretory orifices until they were old enough to toilet-train). At about four or five--and Melody suddenly realized that, for Jalaxians, spankings really WERE a SMALL child's punishment--for FURLESS bottoms!!
And what the councellors were about to do was, culturally, the equivalent of putting a ten-year-old into *diapers*.
Sharney squealed as her fur dissolved under the rays of the depillators. Soon her bottom and upper thighs were as pink and pale as any little girls' there. And Sharney started sobbing over the padded rail.
Sobs that turned to squalls of horrified pain as her paddle bit into her now-completely-unpadded rump. Right into the tenderest parts of her little hams, where Jalaxians, like humans, sit down.
Melody winced in sympathy for her friend--though she realized that, in the long run, this was something Sharney really reserved and needed--as awful and painful as it was now!!
Spank after awful spank splatted into Sharney's bare nates. No more soft Whop Whop this time!! The spanks rang out as clearly and sharply as with any of the Human children.
And long before the thirtieth spank, Sharney's bare, shaved bottom began showing the unmistakeable signs of imminent blisters.
Blisters that were well established long before the fiftieth, and final, hard spank impacted Sharney's bare bottom.
The counsellors untied Sharney's bonds, and helped the limp girl to her feet. Poor Sharney just couldn't walk, and they had to help her over to her seat.
Sharney's sobs again escaleted into a cat-like squawl as her blistered bottom planted itself onto the rough wooden log!! It almost looked like the child would leap off of her seat...but finally Sharney bowed her head into her hands and just continued to cry...
Melody was in tears, too, in sympathy for her friend. She reached around Sharney and hugged her, and then petted her back, stroking her soft fur, trying to comfort her friend.
Only to be called away a few moments later, as it was her turn to apply a spanking--fifteen swats to Barby Willis. Since Barby had the only other un-holed paddle in camp, Melody had an easy descision. Her own seat out of jeopardy, she had Barby bend over for fifteen FAST swats across the seat of her official Sentient Scouts Uniform Shorts.
Two more scouts met their dooms--and Paddle Night was over.
Late that night Melody knelt next to Sharney's bunk and tried to comfort the alien girl. She knew that Sharney wouldn't be able to sleep--her bottom was still much too sore. And Sharney wouldn't be given any nano-lotion until after reveille tomorrow. Which meant that her bottom would be on fire for the entire bus ride home.
And depillators inhibited the regrowth of hair--and, she assumed, fur. So Sharney's fur would take two or three weeks to grow back.
During which time, her parents would discover just how much more effective her spankings were on her unfurred behind. Sharney had better start REALLY behaving herself--or she might just find her bottom shaved for the rest of her sentence!!
But for now, Melody just knelt beside her new friend's bed and petted her. Finally, even through her sobs and tears, Melody felt her friend begin to purr, and knew that Sharney was, at last, feeling a little better.
The next day, camp was over, and all the girls had to board their buses for home...