Alejandra and Renata walked back towards the stall Renata was working at. As they approached charity saw a variety of little pellets. They had boxes of various types from Preematech and Generitech. Along with a few store made options that Renata and her family would make themselves.
The pellets Renata and her family made required special machines. The pellets they made contained enough nutrients for a little to eat healthy but they were not as nutrient rich as generitech or preematech offerings which underwent special company secret processes. however, the pellets Renata’s family made were also cheaper. As they had a shop with a pellet production facility in the back.
Charity noticed the booth was much nicer then the others. It was a proper setup with a counter and a display setup with their home made offerings front and center with the Generitech and Preematech offerings more towards the back. A banner ran across the front of the booth that said Perez Little Supple Co. with the slogan nourishing littles, nurturing trust.
Alejandra set Charity down on the counter. Almost immediately Charity recognized this wasn’t a normal countertop. She could feel heat coming up from the counter. Normally she felt cold or chilly on most counters and surfaces but this one seemed to be designed with littles in mind. Where the intent was littles would be set down here.
Renata’s words landed on Charity’s ears like velvet wrapped around iron, gentle, musical, but with that thick Mexican accent curling around each syllable so there was no mistaking who was in control here.
“Alright, sweetheart, let’s have you try out some pellets, a ver cómo te va…”
Charity’s stomach knotted so hard she thought she might gag. She could feel Alejandra’s palm shift slightly behind her back, steadying her on the counter like a doll that might tip over if left alone for a second.
She swallowed, tiny throat bobbing inside the snug collar. She should protest, remind them she wasn’t some pet they could hand-feed scraps to. But the look in Renata’s eyes, warm but unyielding, and the quiet possessive weight of Alejandra’s hand on her spine made the words shrivel in her mouth.
So instead, her lips parted, and her voice came out soft, with that polite formality she’d once used to impress governors and CEOs:
“…Yes, Miss Renata.”
The words stung her tongue like acid, but she forced them out anyway. Her eyes flicked sideways, searching Alejandra’s face for approval, a reflex she hated more than the tiny pellet Renata now plucked from the pouch.
Renata cooed at her compliance, like praising a puppy for sitting on command.
“Muy bien, mi amor. Open up…”
Charity’s cheeks burned as she parted her lips, eyes squeezing shut just before Renata’s gentle fingers brushed her mouth And just beyond her collar, the little ID tag gave a quiet, traitorous jingle, telling anyone listening who she really belonged to.
Charity had seen the little pellets before. Back then, they’d caught her eye in the novelty aisle at the upscale grocery she and Kira used to swing through on lazy Sundays. Tiny, pastel-colored cylinders in a sleek, sterile jar labeled Nutrient Balance™ for Littles. She’d bought a jar just to satisfy a passing curiosity, one of those small, wicked indulgences the rich could afford.
She remembered sitting in her walk-in closet, legs crossed on the plush carpet, popping one onto her tongue. It had felt brittle, almost chalky, a bland nothing that dissolved into a thin paste with a bitter aftertaste that clung to the back of her throat until she spat it into a tissue. She’d laughed about it afterward, bragging to Kira about how she could never survive on such “pet chow.” A moment of cheap amusement. Forgettable.
She’d never imagined she’d stand here now, no, sit here now, perched in the warm cradle of Alejandra’s palm like a well behaved housecat, while Renata, who smelled faintly of fabric softener and the peppermint gum she always chewed, pinched her jaw open with gentle but undeniable force.
Charity’s mouth trembled open against her will. The pellet was pressed to her tongue, a different brand, maybe, but unmistakably the same humiliating shape. She wanted to spit it back at them both. Her whole chest burned with the old righteous fury that had once made even grown men stammer apologies. She wanted to scream: I am not an animal. I will not eat this.
But her tongue betrayed her. She bit down once, expecting the same dry crumble, but the pellet softened immediately, slick against her gums. And then, the taste. It wasn’t flat or foul like before. It bloomed, bright and weirdly savory, with a sweetness she couldn’t name. She caught a faint echo of roasted nuts, something creamy, then a tang like fruit she hadn’t tasted in years. She hated how her little mouth flooded with saliva, how her throat fluttered to swallow before her brain caught up.
Charity’s hands curled into fists in Alejandra’s palm. Her heartbeat roared in her ears. Stop chewing. Spit it out. Spit it out now.
But her jaw worked on its own, delicate new muscles built by the virus flexing smoothly, designed for this. Her body knew what it needed. The dry ache behind her ribs, hunger she’d been ignoring in her stubborn pride, eased instantly. Her stomach seemed to reach for it like a starving thing. She heard herself whimper, a tiny, treacherous sound.
Somewhere above her, Renata’s voice cut through her shame, syrup-sweet and knowing:
“There we go, chiquita. So much better when you don’t fight, yes? Good nutrient balance. Good for your tiny bones.”
Alejandra’s laugh rumbled beneath her feet, no, beneath her whole tiny being. Charity flinched at the sound, then felt Alejandra’s thumb rub a mockingly affectionate circle between her shoulder blades. Like she was praising a puppy for doing her trick.
Charity swallowed the last grainy bit. She wanted to gag, to spit what was left onto Alejandra’s jeans just to remind herself she still had claws somewhere. But the pellet was gone, her stomach warm and grateful despite the acid burn in her throat.
For a flicker of a moment, she could see her reflection in Alejandra’s phone screen as Renata typed something into her digital feeding log, a tiny shape, hunched and trembling in a brown hand far too big to resist. Her eyes were wet. She clenched her jaw, but the tears still gathered, unstoppable.
She’d mocked these pellets once. She’d thought it so pathetic that a “little” could be so easy to tame. Now, the truth hissed in the back of her mind, ugly and undeniable:
They are made for you now. You are made for them.
Her stomach purred in gratitude, her mind spat in rage, and somewhere between the two, the last splinter of who she’d been flickered like a dying match.
this is kind of one of those instances when we as the readers are hearing peoples voices via charity’s pov. like I’m sure Al is loving how embarrassing and everything this is for Charity, but the others like Renata probably are being genuinely kind and Charity is still so upset about the situation that she can’t see it
That is a major factor. It is charity’s pov of things so things are tinged with her view. Where people who are genuinely being nice may not seem that way to her as she is in her own emotions
What did she eat ? What those pellets made with to make her spat it ?
I think it’s more the fact that she needs to eat them that caused the reaction. cause she’s been eating normal food her whole life and now needs to eat those pellets. it’s like if you or I had been eating a lot of savory food and various meats and fruits just to be forced to eat oatmeal with vitamin powder sprinkled in and being told that is our food for the rest of our lives haha
Yes 100%
When charity forgets how to be a sweet doll is when she loses herself and sense of power. she needs to play on the giants emotions like her mom taught her at the fancy balls
1.1) “Along with a few store made options that Renata and her family would make themselves.” I love the idea of homemade pellets.
1.2) “The pellets Renata and her family made required special machines” ok, so not home made, damn.
2) “A banner ran across the front of the booth that said Perez Little Supple Co. with the slogan nourishing littles, nurturing trust.” Gonna assume Peres is Renata’s family name, I like that slogan, not sure I trust it though.
3) “Normally she felt cold or chilly on most counters and surfaces but this one seemed to be designed with littles in mind. Where the intent was littles would be set down here.” Little stores having furniture like this, even in lower income areas, makes sense.
4) “Alright, sweetheart, let’s have you try out some pellets, a ver cómo te va…” Try before you buy is a good police.
5) “ she wasn’t some pet they could hand-feed scraps to” not scraps, this is food made specially for people like her
6) “Her eyes flicked sideways, searching Alejandra’s face for approval, a reflex she hated” interesting that she now wants Al’s approval.
7) “Charity’s cheeks burned as she parted her lips, eyes squeezing shut just before Renata’s gentle fingers brushed her mouth” wasn’t expecting literal hand feeding.
8) “She’d bought a jar just to satisfy a passing curiosity, one of those small, wicked indulgences the rich could afford” humans sampling pellets makes sense, though in Charity’s case, she seems to have been preparing herself.
9) “It wasn’t flat or foul like before. It bloomed, bright and weirdly savory, with a sweetness she couldn’t name. She caught a faint echo of roasted nuts, something creamy, then a tang like fruit she hadn’t tasted in years” makes sense her enhanced sense of taste would like it more now.
10) “There we go, chiquita. So much better when you don’t fight, yes? Good nutrient balance. Good for your tiny bones.” Sounds like Renata’s dealt with stubborn diners before.
11) “She’d mocked these pellets once. She’d thought it so pathetic that a “little” could be so easy to tame.” damn it, Charity, have you no concept of foresight?
12) “Her stomach purred in gratitude, her mind spat in rage, and somewhere between the two, the last splinter of who she’d been flickered like a dying match” oh, I think there are more splinters somewhere.
1.2) maybe they could be made at home but the machines help make them better and in higher output.
1.2) Possibly. I just love the idea of someone baking cookies or something, then finishing off with a batch of pellets for their Littles.
just like a little part of the family lol.
1.1) Well they run a family run business so its homemade in the respect that its not manufcatured for mass distribution at global scale like Preematech and Generitech offerings.. But its not like you are just making pellets like someone bakes cupcaks.
1.2) not homemade how you were thinking as it is a process to do. That does require some machines to do at any kind of scale. Its not unike most baking where you may need some equipment or baking tools that are specific to what you are doing.
2) Perez is Renata’s last name. i mean its a local family run business. They are just running a business trying to keep a roof over there head doing the best they can.
3) They are in the business of littles with a name like Little Supply co. So it does seem logical they would invest some money in comfort of littles.
4) It shows confidence in the product that they are trying to sell. If they are letting little sample the pellets.
5) To charity anything that isn’t people food is scraps apparently.
6) Well she did just put a collar on her an parade her aronud a market. I’m sure that would have some effect on ones psysche.
7) Renata is a pro. She is used to handling littles and feeding. Lots of hours in the family store.
8) Probably a little both. Curious but also what would it be like if i had to eat those. I know i’d be curious.
9) yeah, plus since these are more homemade variety i figured having htem taste a bit better by default but not be as healthy would be a fair trade off. Althoguh boht preematech and generitech do have pellets that taste good to littles. These would taste more natural i feel like. Kind of like if you get veggies and fruits from a farmers market it tastes a bit better.
10) Probably a few day. I can see most littles being skeptical at firsts.
11) lol, she likes making sure you can’t quite fully root for her.
12) you are probably right.
When someone take dog or cat in airport they get them there own passports are the same thing haben to tinys to ?
Littles are added to their Guardian’s passport.
100% correct