Adventures in Athame

Chapter 9
Book 2: Chapter 2

Chapter Description: Ryan has a sleep over with his new friends.

Ryan had attended his new re-education school in the plush world of Athame for a few days now, and had made a few friends. There was Oliver, the young plush skunk, Mina the young calico cat plush, and Toby the older tiger plush. Though Ryan had regressed to five-years-old on the outside, on the inside he was only a bit more mature. He knew he used to be older and bigger, and had more mature interests. This made him a little hesitant to play at first, but after a few days it had become more fun and easier to get into. Plus it's not like he was the only victim of the monsters. Every single student there had been drained of knowledge and age. It was actually difficult to tell how old a person actually was based on how they appeared.

Being the only human in this world of living plush people made him a target of the monsters that threatened the inhabitants, draining them of their knowledge, age, and experiences. His knowledge and experience was much more rare than any of the other inhabitants, and thus it was a new and more attractive source for them to latch onto. This made some of the other people in town afraid that they would be attacked if they were around him.

The day pretty much went as normal and Ryan was playing on the jungle gym with Oliver and Mina. He was showing off a bit for them, hanging by his legs. His scarf drooped down and touched the dirt, and his blue school shirt fell down around his head, revealing the waist band of his diaper peeking out from under the dark blue shorts he wore. This made the others giggle, though a lot of them were in the same boat. Not everyone had lost their potty training, but those that did were still shy about having to wear diapers. Ryan blushed and pulled himself back up, then dropped down onto his blue slippered feet.

“Hehe, that was great!” said Oliver.

“Yeah, you're really good at that.” said Mina. “I can't hold on as good.”

“I trained with my friend Kuma!” said Ryan proudly. “He helps me with fighting and magic!”

“Oooh, that's so cool!” said Oliver.

“I wish I could do magic.” said Mina.

“Big deal.” said a grumpy voice. It was Jamie, the older dark blue teddy bear plush with a tan muzzle and paws. He had a shiny blue nose and a familiar diaper bulge under his school shorts. “What good is all that when the monsters can just take it away? Just look at you. You know magic but now you're little and wearing diapers. How useful can it be?” He towered over Ryan, being about as tall as a twelve-year-old.

“You're just jealous!” said Oliver. He wasn't as tall as Jamie, being only a bit taller than Ryan, but he knew about Jamie's bullying ways.

“Yeah, go bother someone else Jamie.” said Mina. She was about the size of a ten-year-old human girl, and often had to defend the smaller students.

“You can't tell me what to do!” shouted Jamie. He took a few steps toward Ryan, looking down at him. “You just attract more monsters. You should stop coming here.”

Ryan looked up, feeling scared at the looming bear plush. He wondered how a plush animal could ever be so scary, but since he was very large and Ryan was very small, it made him take a few steps back. He was told my Linda never to use his magic against another person, and to not show off his skills unless it was necessary. The bully bear's voice was that of a twelve-year-old, but also squeaking with the sound of oncoming puberty.

“You're not special!” shouted Jamie. “You're just a monster magnet!” He lifted his paw up as if he were going to strike Ryan.

Ryan cringed, and felt his diaper grow warm. He had wet himself out of fear, a far cry from the big boy he had been while fighting off monsters. Just then, things were interrupted.

“Cut it out!” shouted Toby, the tiger plush. He wasn't as large as Jamie, being the size of a ten-year-old, but he wasn't afraid. He knew about Jamie's bullying ways and decided to put a stop to this assault. “Get away from him!” He ran in and shoved Jamie back, making him fall to his diapered bottom in the dirt.

“Ugh, Toby!” shouted Jamie. “Wanna fight?! I'll fight you!”

“No fighting!” shouted Linda, the adult red panda plush wearing a gray teacher's skirt. “Jamie! How many times do you need to be told? No picking on the other students! Looks like you'll have detention again today.”

“What?! No fair!” shouted Jamie. He may have been as big as a twelve-year-old, but his education and maturity were that of a six-year-old. He stomped and pitched a fit on the school playground.

“Th-thanks Toby.” said Ryan. “I don't like him.”

“You're welcome Ryan.” said Tony, hugging Ryan. “I gotta protect my friends.”

“I'm glad you're my friend.” said Ryan. After a round of diaper changes and more education, it was time to go.

“Don't forget about that sleep over at my house!” shouted Oliver. “We'll all be there!”

“I won't!” shouted Ryan as he walked away from school with Linda.

“I'm so glad you made friends who are willing to stand up to that bully.” said Linda, holding Ryan's hand. “I bet you'll have lots of fun at the sleep over.”

“Uh huh.” said Ryan with a bit of a smile. “Oliver wears diapers too, so it won't be so bad if I wear them.”

“Yes that's right.” said Linda. “I'll make sure to pack you some extras and some spare clothes just in case.”

Ryan blushed and nodded, knowing he would need them. These plush people were his friends, but they were new friends. He hadn't known them long, and was a bit nervous about spending a whole day and night with them.

“You did well today.” said Linda as they walked inside her home. “You held back from using magic against that bully. With your skills, you could have easily dealt with him.”

“But it would have hurt him.” said Ryan. “I don't wanna hurt people.”

“That's a good attitude to have.” said Linda. “You make me proud. You deserve the reward of this sleep over with your new friends.”

Ryan nodded and smiled. He talked with Kuma about his day, as he usually did, then had dinner and a bath before bed. In the morning Linda fed him breakfast and got him dressed in some denim shortalls and a blue shirt with his trademark red scarf. However, Kuma was nowhere to be found.

“Where is Kuma?” asked Ryan.

“He's gone to see Hedwig about getting something special.” said Linda.

“I should have gone with him.” said Ryan. “I wanna see Hedwig again!”

“You can go visit him later sweety.” said Linda. “Right now you have a sleep over to attend. It's going to be so much fun!”

“Yeah.” said Ryan. He missed traveling around with Kuma and the days he spent practicing with Hedwig. He hadn't seen him in nearly a year now. “I just miss him.”

“Aww, I know.” said Linda. “He misses you too. Soon though, I promise.” She walked with Ryan to Oliver's house, which was down the street, not too far from where she lived. Oliver's house was much like hers, being made of stone and wood. It had a nice large front and back yard and even a circular above-ground pool in back.

Ryan walked up with Linda and knocked on the door. A tall female skunk plush in a purple dress answered the door.

“Oh hello!” she said. “I'm Estelle, Oliver's mom. Please, come in.”

“Hello Estelle!” said Linda. “I'm Linda, Ryan's mo..um, caregiver and teacher.”

“Oh yes, I've heard so much about little Ryan.” said Estelle. She looked down at the boy and ruffled his brown hair.

Ryan blushed but smiled behind his scarf as it covered his mouth. “H-hello Miss Estelle.” he said shyly.

“Such a shy little one.” she said. “Much like my Oliver was when he was first regressed.”

“Yes, it's never easy for those regressed to adjust.” said Linda. “It is always good for them to have friends.”

“I couldn't agree more.” said Estelle. “Come, let's talk while the others get to know each other. Ryan, your friends are down the hall and to the left.”

Ryan nodded and walked down the long hallway, his diaper crinkling a little. He heard his friends talking and carefully peeked in. He saw Oliver, Mina, and Toby all sitting and talking in what appeared to be Oliver's bedroom. It had a small bed with purple sheets as well as a few toys and a toy box. Everyone sat on the multi-colored carpet in the middle of the room. One step in and the floor creaked under him.

Oliver turned to see his new friend Ryan standing there. “Ryan!” he shouted, getting up and running over to him. “Glad you could make it!”

“Ryan!” shouted Mina and Tony together. “Welcome!”

Ryan smiled and walked in. “H-hey guys!” he said. “What's up?”

“We're just talking about old times.” said Toby.

“Oh yeah, I don't think we've told Ryan the story about how we got regressed.” said Mina.

“Then let's tell him!” said Oliver, hoping over and sitting down, patting a spot beside him. “Have a seat!”

Ryan sat down next to Oliver and listened to their tale. As it turns out, they were each in training with each other and had gone out on their first actual quest to slay some monsters and get back a sacred jewel. However, they were overwhelmed and each ended up younger and less knowledgeable. Ryan already knew that Oliver used to be twelve, but it turned out the others were thirteen. Now Oliver looked to be about six while Mina and Toby appeared to be around ten. However, their overall education and maturity had regressed to that of five-year-olds. It had been a year since their regression, so they had progressed by that much. When Ryan told them he used to be seventeen they were taken aback. He had been older than them, but was now younger in a sense. Then a familiar but pungent odor began to fill the room.

Mina covered her nose. “Uh oh.” she said. “Someone needs a change.”

Ryan and Oliver blushed. They were the only ones in the room wearing diapers. Then Oliver stood up.

“It's me.” said Oliver. “Heh, sorry guys.”

“Heh, it's okay.” said Mina. “We know that you and Ryan can't help it. Go on and get changed.”

Oliver left the room and Ryan was left with Mina and Toby.

“So, Oliver told us you're human?” asked Toby. “What's all that about?”

“Oh um, yeah.” said Ryan. He felt very small in the presence of the other two. “I kinda came from another world. A world with people like me in it, but no magic and no monsters. We have toys that look like you though. They're called plushies.”

“Plushies?” asked Mina. “It's a cute name!”

“Strange though.” said Toby. “Toys? We have toys here, but none look like you.”

“Yeah, it's weird.” said Ryan. “But we have a lot of other things. Like cars, boats, airplanes, tall buildings, movies, cartoons, and comic books!”

“Airplanes?” asked Mina.

“What are movies, cartoons, and comic books?” asked Oliver, coming back into the room after being changed and now smelling much better.

“Oh, airplanes are things that let you fly through the air!” said Ryan. “Movies are..um, kinda like pictures that move! So are cartoons, but they're more like moving art. Comic books are pictures that tell a story.”

“Oh, kind of like our bedtime stories.” said Toby. “Sounds cool!”

“Yeah, kinda, but more exciting!” said Ryan. “Maybe we can make some!”

“Oooh, yeah!” said Mina. “How do we do that?”

“With paper and crayons!” said Ryan.

“Good idea!” said Oliver. He went and got out some blank pieces of paper as well as several boxes of crayons. “What should it be about?”

“It can be about us!” said Toby. “Lets draw each other.”

“I like that idea!” said Mina.

Ryan smiled and began drawing himself and his new friends having adventures together. They drew and colored for a while, then put their drawings together to make a little book. It was clear that the others had more talent at drawing than he did, but Ryan was still happy to have his work in the same book with theirs. Then it was lunch time. Estelle led them all to the kitchen where Ryan and Oliver sat in booster seats while the others sat in regular chairs. Ryan didn't see Linda anywhere, and guessed she had left. He felt a bit nervous without her around.

“I hope you all enjoy your lunch!” said Estelle. She served them all sandwiches with some snack chips. To Ryan, it tasted like a ham and cheese sandwich and salty potato chips. It was good though, and he ate happily with is friends. He saw that Oliver was given a sippy cup just like him, and didn't feel so bad drinking from his own now. Although the others got to drink from regular cups, they didn't bat an eye at the two who drank from sippy cups.

“Thank you Miss Estelle.” said Ryan after he was done eating.

“You're welcome dear.” said Estelle, patting him on the head. “I saw the little book you all put together. I must say it's very nice!”

“Glad you like it mom!” said Oliver.

“It's a comic book!” said Mina.

“Yeah, we all wanted to make one.” said Toby. “Like the ones in Ryan's world.”

“Your world certainly sounds different.” said Estelle. “Linda and I were discussing it earlier. Don't worry, she'll be back to pick you up tomorrow.”

“O-okay.” said Ryan. He guessed she must have noticed how he seemed more nervous.

“It sounds like a fun world!” said Oliver.

“I wish we could visit it.” said Mina.

“Yeah, there are no monsters that steal your age and knowledge there.” said Toby.

“It's not all fun though.” said Ryan. “There are mean people and lots of fighting and arguing about what is best for the people. There's pollution, sick people, homeless, and other bad stuff.”

“Too bad everyone can't be friends.” said Oliver.

“Yeah, being friends is the best!” said Mina.

“But then you have bad ones like Jamie.” said Toby. “He's not a good friend.”

“Maybe you just need to talk to him about it.” said Estelle. “It's better to talk things out than let violence run your life.”

“He's no fun to talk to.” said Mina.

“Still, it couldn't hurt to try sometime.” said Estelle. “Now, you all go on and play while I clean things up. Then you can all go swimming!”

“Yay!” they all cheered. Ryan and the others went out into the back yard to play on Oliver's swing set. Toby helped push Ryan and Mina helped push Oliver as they had lots of fun. To any outside observer, it looked like regular kids playing together and giggling. For once, Ryan wasn't concerned about training, learning, nor fighting. He was just focused on having fun with his new friends, and they were happily enjoying his company.

Later on it was time to swim. Both Ryan and Oliver needed diaper changes anyway, so they went to get changed while Mina and Toby used the bathroom and got dressed in swim wear. Ryan and Oliver were put in little blue swim diapers that had pictures of fish on them. Mina wore a one piece pink swim suit and Toby wore some blue and orange swim trunks.

Oliver climbed up the ladder and hopped in. “Yahoo!” he shouted, splashing a wave of water around.

Mina and Toby joined in, hopping in from the top of the ladder as well. They were tall enough to touch the bottom of the pool without much issue.

Ryan climbed up the ladder, but was a bit afraid. It was kind of high up and it had been a while since he went swimming. He wasn't sure if he still knew how. Slowly, he lowered one foot into the cold water, then another.

“Come on Ryan!” said Oliver. “It's fun!”

“O-okay!” said Ryan. “It's cold!” He slowly lowered himself into the water, feeling the cold wetness rise up his body and to his chest. When he stepped off the ladder though, he struggled and flailed in the water, nearly sinking to the bottom.

“Ryan!” shouted Toby, and quickly rescued Ryan, lifting him back up to the ladder. “You okay?”

Ryan gasped and coughed a little, then nodded. “Uh huh...” he said. “Guess I forgot how to swim.” He blushed and looked at his friends in the pool.

“That's okay!” said Oliver. “I forgot too at first, but mommy got me something to help.” He went to get them from the house, and brought out some small yellow inflatable objects that fit around Ryan's arms.

Ryan recognized them as floaties. They were inflatable arm tubes for little ones who didn't know how to swim. At least with these he was able to stay above water and he kicked his legs, swimming around.

“Hehe, there you go!” said Oliver. “Don't worry, I can teach you how to swim! Just do like this!” He tried showing Ryan how to swim, but it was a difficult thing for him to teach, having only recently relearned it himself.

Ryan tried to imitate Oliver, but it was difficult. Luckily the floaties allowed him to play with the others regardless, and they played and splashed around in the pool having lots of fun. He noticed that the water didn't make his plush friends soaked or heavy. It simply made their outsides slightly wet.

After a while of playing in the pool, it was time to get out and get dried off. Ryan and Oliver got re-diapered and dressed back in their clothes while the others got dried off and redressed as well. The four decided to play a game of tag next, running around the house, burning up lots of youthful energy.

Next it was time for dinner, and Estelle had made spaghetti for everyone. Ryan was a bit embarrassed because his eating skills had diminished, but that was made less of an issue when he saw how messily Oliver ate. Clearly he had been regressed more than his two friends, but they were always helping him recover as best they could. Now all three of them were helping Ryan in their own ways.

Soon it was time for bed and each got dressed in their night time outfits. Much to Ryan's surprise, Toby and Mina both wore Goodnites to bed. He and Oliver both wore night time diapers of course, but he didn't know Mina and Toby needed protection too.

“H-hey.” he said shyly. “You two need those at night too? I used to wear them, but then I lost even more potty training.” He blushed as he was helped into his night time pajamas by Estelle. They were soft blue footed pajamas with a snap crotch.

“Oh these?” asked Toby. “Yeah, heh, our potty training took a hit too.” He wore a pair of orange pajama bottoms over his Goodnites and an orange top with his name embroidered on it.

Mina blushed a little and nodded. “Yeah, we had to wear them during the day for a while too.” she said.

Oliver was dressed in a bulky night time diaper that had some moons and stars on it, but they seemed a bit thicker than Ryan's. He also wore a pair of footed sleepers, but his were purple and had room for his tail to stick out.

“W-what kind do you guys wear?” asked Ryan, sitting down with a slight crinkle. He had actually grown to enjoy the soft comfy feeling of the diapers he wore, and even how they felt when wet.

“There are a lot of different kinds.” said Oliver. “Of course there are ones meant for actual babies and toddlers who aren't the victims of regression.”

“Yeah, but there are also ones meant specifically for those like us.” said Mina. “To help maintain a little dignity.”

“I wear ones called Rebounds.” said Toby. “They have a nice fit and hold a lot.”

“I wear those too.” said Mina. “Only ones meant for girls of course.”

“I like the Cloud Poofs.” said Oliver. “They're kinda babyish, but they hold a lot and are super comfy!”

“Mine are kinda comfy too.” said Ryan. He wiggled a little, crinkling slightly. “Do you all...like them?”

They each looked around at each other and then back at Ryan.

“Sometimes I do.” said Mina. “They sure are better than waking up to a wet bed! But I do miss my panties.”

“They are nice and comfy.” said Toby. “I guess I sort of do like them. I kind of get a little jealous when you two get changed since I have to get up and go to the potty.” He blushed and laughed.

“I know I like mine!” said Oliver. “I like when mommy changes me. It makes me feel all warm and cozy on the inside, and the diapers make me feel safe.

Ryan smiled a little, blushing. “M-me too.” he said. “When Miss Linda changes me, I feel like a baby, but in a good way. The safe and loved kind of way. Diapers are embarrassing when I hafta be around others, but when at home sometimes I just wear my diaper and scarf and pretend to be a super hero.”

“I do that too!” said Oliver giggling. “We can all be diapered super heroes!” He stood up and held up a toy sword.

“Yeah, we are the diaper troop!” said Toby, holding up a toy axe.

Mina giggled and held up a toy magic wand. “Diaper power!” she shouted.

Ryan stood up with a toy sword. “Diaper friends!” he shouted and giggled. Soon they were all romping and playing around Oliver's room with their toy weapons, but they were getting tired. They became worn out from all the fun they had that day, and soon it was time for bed.

Estelle came in and tucked everyone in. She brought in a large inflatable mattress and pumped it up. Instead of sleeping in his bed, Oliver decided to sleep with everyone on the inflatable mattress. Together they all snuggled together with their new human friend and fell asleep.

Ryan felt so safe, warm, happy, and content as he was snuggled by his soft plush friends. He felt very small compared to them, but no longer nervous or afraid at all. His thumb found its way into his mouth again and he began to suckle and snuggle Oliver's tail, all curled up in his bulky crinkly diaper.

The next morning everyone awoke to the smell of dirty diapers. Indeed, everyone needed a change, but none were embarrassed. They even continued to chat with each other while Estelle helped them all change and get dressed. Then, after breakfast, the friends said their good byes to one another as they each went home. As much fun as he had, Ryan was still happy to see Linda show up to pick him up.

“Did you have fun sweety?” asked Linda, giving him a hug.

“I sure did!” said Ryan happily. “I can't wait to do it again! They're lots of fun!”

“I'm so glad to hear it!” said Linda. She listened to Ryan recount the events of the sleep over as they walked home, smiling and happy to know he had made such good friends.

Meanwhile, Kuma was still off on his own quest. He had met with Hedwig to get information about a precious and rare magical amulet that could save parts of someone's memories and abilities, then restore them if lost. It was highly sought after, and difficult to get, but Kuma was determined to do this for his little human friend.

To be continued...