It was a nice sunny time in a town, where humanoid animals live in peace and harmony, especially a green anaconda with only a pair of arms and no legs. His name was Slither Scale. He was wearing a mauve tie and gray bowler hat. He works as a schoolteacher in an 1890s styled schoolhouse. It was so small, but it holds a couple of children. Inside the schoolhouse, there will be murmurs of children, lessons told, lunch to eat, and at times, should a child misbehave, Slither Scale would place them on the naughty chair and slap a dunce cap on their head. "It may be humiliating for you," he would say to a punished child, "but you will remember this lesson and thank me for it, when I say it: spare the rod and spoil the child." He is very strict towards children, but he is also wise just the same.
But the children weren't the only ones Slither Scale had taught. Among them was a teenage gryphon wearing a red shirt and a diaper. He has brown feathers and fur, and gray feathers on his head, with an orange beak and talons. He just sat quietly in his seat, and would listen to Slither Scale's lectures. And when school was out, the gryphon would follow Slither Scale to his house, for you see, Slither Scale became the gryphon's guardian when the gryphon was a chick. Oh, and the gryphon's name was Feathers, a name Slither Scale gave to him.
One day, when school was out for the summer, Feathers was doing some house cleaning. Slither Scale had been lecturing him on responsibilities when he became a teenager, but nonetheless supports his well-being. Feathers had dusted a bookshelf, and had coughed and sneezed from the dust. He went inside the chimney to clean it, but then he coughed and sneezed, as he fell and hit the floor.
"Feathers!" Slither Scale said as he slithered in, and he put his hands on his sides. "What did I say about cleaning the chimney from the inside?"
Feathers sneezed from the dust and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but I thought it'll be easier if I just..."
"I'm not asking for excuses. When I asked you to clean the chimney, you do it outside, not in this house." He coughed from a bit of dust, and waved his hand. "And once you do that," he sternly pointed at the carpet covered in soot, "take this carpet outside and clean it. I don't care how long it takes, since you stained it with soot."
Feathers' ears droop as he saw the carpet. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." He rolled up the carpet and took it outside.
"And make sure you wash those windows..." he looked at a window. "No, they're already washed this morning. Never mind, carry on."
Feathers went outside and swept the chimney with a broom. He was all dirty from earlier, but he then managed to clean the chimney. And then he proceeded to wash the carpet with soap and water, using a brush to scrub the soot off, and after a rinse, he hung the carpet on the wire, with clothespins.
"Very good, Feathers," said Slither Scale.
"Thank you, sir," Feathers said.
"Now, I think it would be best you go get cleaned up."
"But sir, that trail I left in your house...!"
"It's okay, just focus on getting washed, Feathers."
Feathers blinked and then nodded. "Yes, sir."
Later, Feathers had taken his shirt and diaper off and hopped in the tub. The water was hot, but he was used to it after some time, and he scrubbed his whole body with soap and water, while Slither Scale had his shirt washed with a washboard, before he hang it to dry. After a while, Feathers hopped out of the tub and shook himself dry, before grabbing a diaper and taping it on his bottom.
"Good as new," Feathers said, patting his diaper butt.
He then walked into his caretaker's house to get back to work. He grabbed a broom and cleaned up his footprints he had left from the chimney's soot, and scrubbed the residue with soap and water. He felt tired and decided to catch a break, as Slither Scale would strictly allow it only for thirty minutes, according to the rules. He went to his caretaker's room and approached his bed that was at a corner, and Slither Scale's bed was nearby, which he was not allowed to sleep in. He went to his own bed and laid on it, sighing. He was resting for a couple of minutes, when he woke up and noticed a small box. He approached the box after getting up, and he opened it. Inside it were eggshell shards, as he sniffed them, and he flinched when a photo fell out. He bent down to carefully pick it up, and his eyes widen when he saw a picture of himself as a chick, with the eggshells. His ears droop when he put two and two together, from the photo to the eggshell shards, and he sat down. He then whimpered and buried his face in his arms, sobbing.
The door opened, and Slither Scale came in with his pocket watch. "Thirty minutes are up, Feathers. Time to..." He noticed Feathers crying, as he slithered to him. "Feathers? What's the matter?" He then realized the moment he saw the box of the eggshell pieces, and the photo, and he sighed.
Feathers sniffled as he turned to Slither Scale. "S-sir... Sir, I... I can explain...!" He said between sobs.
Slither Scale held out his hand. "No, Feathers. I'm the one who can explain. I knew this day would come." He gestured to Feathers. "Come with me."
Feathers sniffled as he got up and followed Slither Scale out of the bedroom and into the living room, and they sat at the table as Slither Scale poured the tea into the cups, from his teapot, as he gave a cup to Feathers.
"I understand you have questions, why you're here and stuff," Slither Scale said.
"Y-yes, sir," Feathers said, sipping his tea.
"Very well." He cleared his throat. "It all started that snowy day. I was hiking in the mountain after school, looking for some sightseeing and stuff. I then heard a cracking sound, and I thought the mountain was cracking, until I saw your egg shaking a lot. That egg bursted apart, and there you were. You were that baby chick when I saw you. I couldn't leave you out in the cold, since the mountaintop is snowy, so I took you with me. You were easy at first, but then you've had frequent accidents, wetting my carpet and whatnot. It was then I realized upon taking you to a doctor that you became incontinent, and I gave you diapers. I do not know what had happened to your parents, or where you came from. All I know was that I had to raise you in my care. When you got older, I took you to my school to educate you, teach you right from wrong, and yes, I have been strict to you and my students, but I am very wise to support your well-being, especially with how you've done your best."
"I really tried back then," Feathers said. "I felt you wanted me, or the students, to be perfect. I often wished I was perfect to make you proud."
"Feathers, being perfect is not about grades or anything. Being perfect comes from inside you, and that's the truth. And ever since you've grown to be a fine gryphon, still happy to wear your diapers, doing your chores and your homework, I knew I did the right thing raising you, as your caretaker."
Feathers' ears droop. "Then... I'm just a creature who... Slither, are you telling me it's okay to be me?"
Slither Scale chuckled. "Of course, Feathers. I raised you to be you. You're more than just a gryphon stuck in diapers. You're... well, you're like a son I never had, and I'm very proud of you. I would be more than happy to be there for you, whenever you're in trouble or in need of help... my boy."
Feathers beamed at this, and he hugged Slither Scale. Slither Scale flinched at this, but he smiled warmly and hugged back, their eyes closed.
"Thank you, Slither. You mean a lot to me," Feathers said. "You're like a father I ever wanted. Thank you."
Slither Scale just hugged Feathers and patted him on the back, knowing full well he was very proud to raise a gryphon like him.
