This wasn't happening. It couldn't be.

Even with her face being firmly planted into the expansive, cotton-covered sole above her as it gently but firmly ground into her, Ashley still wanted to deny it. Even as that black canopy, slightly damp and reeking of the day's activities imprinted her with its scent, she wanted to deny it. And even as it lifted - ever so slightly, and just for a moment - before once again pressing down onto her, unphased by her raised hands, every fiber of her being wanted to deny what was happening.

Because her sister didn't do things like this. Melody didn't do this. Mellie didn't.

Her big sister has never used her size to her advantage when dealing with her. She had never asserted even an ounce of her strength. Never acted like Ashley was below her, never picked on her, never...never....

Never dominated her like she was currently doing. Never showed her exactly how weak she was. How inferior.

As the foot lifted once again, Ashley saw her chance. Rolling sideways as quick as she could, she hoped to clear the width of that oppressive appendage, maybe take off under the couch before Melody once again forced her body in the ground, before she could realize what had happened. Ashley almost wanted to cheer as she rolled over onto her stomach and beyond the shadow of that meaty pendulum. Now she just had to-

"To your left," a voice - Claire's - informed, and Ashley cried out in anguish as Melody's foot immediately found her, pressing onto her back and once more compressing her against the carpet. Much like with her previous position, Ashley found herself unable to move as the foot steadily ground into her once again. Not enough to truly hurt, a small mercy allowed to her perhaps, but enough to make moving an impossibility. Enough to make her breaths fast and short, forcing her to continually take in that acrid aroma.

Once more the foot lifted, and Ashley's eyes widened as she watched that ominous shadow leave her, passing over to the left. Was...was that it? It hadn't been ten minutes, Ashley knew that much. Had her sister had a change of heart?

Ashley smiled. Of course she had. Melody couldn't do this to her, not to her precious sister, no matter how tough she talked. Her Mellie didn't treat her like this, and obviously she had realized that herself. The immense foot then thudded to the ground to her left, a black wall resting just a few feet away. Ashley's smile widened. Any moment now, she would be scooped up from his degrading position by her Mellie's soft, familiar hands. She'd be brought back up, on even level with her sister once again, and into an apologetic embrace. Her sister would apologize for what she did, tell her it was a mistake, that she would never do this again. She'd understand that she was simply having fun with little Jack, that she would never have hurt him on purpose. Ashley began to calm down, comforted by those thoughts. That's right, any second now, and she'd be away from all of th-

And then that foot began to slide, towards and directly into her. Ashley yelped as that oncoming black wall pushed into her, forcefully rolling her once more onto her back. For just a moment, she was able to look around once more. Her eyes immediately sought her sister, eager for any sign of recognition, of rescue. All that greeted her was the last sight she had seen before being overcome by that dreadful foot: Melody's knees far above her, and nothing else.

Her sister wasn't even looking at her. Wasn't even attempting to.

"Mellie?" she called out desperately. Maybe she was just..just composing herself. That had to be it, surely? She must have been crying over what she had done, and just...couldn't look at her. Not ye-

The foot was back. Blotting out the sky as it had first done, encompassing her vision as it once more lowered down upon her.

"Mellie, stop!" she cried, but there was no answer. No recognition of her plea. It simply continued to lower, and it was then that Ashley noticed that it was not her sister's sole coming to meet her this time.

It was her big toe, it's form masked but recognizable, it's length almost a match for Ashley's own prone form.

"Mellie, no! Ple-"

Her pitiful cry was interrupted, again, as the digit landed atop her, as it mashed into and smothered her underneath it's cotton-covered girth. As with her experience with the sole, Melody appeared to be showing a modicum of restraint - the pressure was uncomfortable, but not enough to hurt her despite how easily she could. But as the digit rubbed into her, forcing her face into the fabric, she realized that Melody's lesson had no need for pain.

She simply needed to dominate her. Completely. Utterly. It was why she had switched from her sole to a single toe: She didn't need her sole, this toe was enough to impose her will upon her. It was enough to strip her of the illusion of equality with her sibling. To show her that she was nothing compared to her sibling, that Melody could ultimately do whatever she pleased with her, and that there was nothing she could do to stop her.

And she had no idea why. Why was her sister doing this to her? She had said that Ashley had things she needed to understand, but she understood nothing.

"Mellie!" Ashley cried as the toe lifted somewhat. She could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes. She didn't like this. She didn't like this Mellie. The Mellie that picked her up without asking, who got angry at her, who did...who did this. She wanted the old one back. "Mellie, please stop!"

********

Melody wanted to cry. She wanted to stop this. But she couldn't. She had to make sure her sister understood everything about what she had done, and that started with the act itself. She needed to see for herself some of what she had put that poor boy through, and that was Melody's role in this. Claire and Jenna had their own lessons to impart, but it started with her. Her sister couldn't do something like this again. Not with how the laws worked. There would be no pity from the system if this happened again, but that was ultimately a minor concern. No, there was one thing Melody feared even more. One thing she never wanted her sister to experience herself.

Sighing, shuddering, Melody lifted her foot and pivoted it to the right. Instinctually remembering her sister's position, she lowered the stretch of her toes down onto her before gently curling them around her small form, lifting her into their embrace. Melody couldn't resist - she gave her precious little sister an affectionate squeeze, though she could tell from the resulting cry that Ashley had not taken it as such. God, she did want to cry, but she had to keep her control for the time being.

Another sigh, and she returned her foot to its more natural, outward facing direction. She gingerly released her little sibling, allowing her to fall softly to the carpet once more and now positioned perpendicularly to her. One more reposition, and the range of her toes now rested across Ashley's length, her big toe now covering her chest. She was sick of rubbing her foot in Ashley's face. Curling her toes once more in an embrace, she delivered another affectionate hug to Ashley's squirming body before sending her to the floor once more. Five more seconds, and another pulse. Five seconds, another. This would do for now. Her 10 minutes had to be almost up, then she could-

"Mellie!" that pitiful voice cried once more, and Melody cringed, just as she had done at every shout of her name. Still, though, she kept up her steady pulses. She wished she could fast forward through this, through all of this. She wished she had never seen that report, had never-

"Mellie, why won't you look at me?"

Melody wanted to wretch at that. At everything about that. She wanted to look at her sister, to let her see her face but...no, she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do it, to look at her pitiful form. Her resolve would disintegrate the moment she did, she knew that much.

"Mellie, please just...just look at me!"

Melody whimpered softly. Ashley was clearly sobbing now, and Melody wanted to join her.

The feeling of her hand being touched caught her attention then, and a quick look revealed it being embraced tightly by another. Looking to her left, she couldn't help but give its owner a small smile. Claire briefly met her gaze, returning her smile with one of her own before once more casting her eyes down upon Ashley as the crying girl again cried out for the blessing of a simple gaze. That smile melted into a pitying frown, a frown that had accompanied Claire's vigilant, pitying gaze from the moment Melody had first placed her foot upon her sister.

Briefly, Melody allowed her gaze to wander over to Jenna. Seeing that her friend was pushing herself into the back of the recliner, her eyes shut tightly and her face impassive, Melody allowed her own smile to continue for just a moment. She was thankful for that.

"Claire, please help!" Ashley cried from below. Melody's eyes widened a bit, her smile disappeared. Had Ashley noticed Claire's pitying gaze. Had she...had she given up on Melody?

Shifting her gaze back to Claire, she whimpered once more as her friend turned away from both her and the smaller girl. A sharp sob from under her toes followed.

"Jenna! Jenna help!"

Melody had to suppress a sob of her own. Her sister really was getting desperate now, if she was seeking help from the girl she had seemed the most afraid of. Jenna promptly turned her face to the left, making it clear there would be no intervention from her.

So Melody continued on, delivering a regular, soft scrunch of her toes. Cringing at every call of a name, wanting to match every sob with one of her own, until finally Claire uttered the most merciful of words.

"Time."