Baby Bear

Demoting Himself

One thing now. Five things later. About a million other things to do afterward, in the days that follow. Captain Barnacles sighed. He loved his job, and he loved his life on the Octopod. Usually he was content. But, he'd been feeling overworked lately.

Of course, he knew what had started this. One flimsy shark attack, [and four days unconscious in the Sick Bay] and it was like he couldn't do simple everyday stuff anymore. Every day stuff like filling out papers, and checking things over. 

It had been two months since the shark tried to have his 'company' for lunch. He was better than this, he knew it. Why was he constantly worried?

Every time something happened, even if it was normal, he'd start worrying. It started out as just simple, general worries, like 'what if the window isn't strong enough?' 'What if someone get hurt?" But, after a while, they had started to grow. He was worried about his performance as a captain, and what the others thought of him. He was worried about their safety and his own. He could barely sleep at night but to fear.

And these thoughts had been doing strange things to him. He started wondering; was he really a good captain? This was not the expected behavior. And if the others found out, they'd be so disappointed. He didn't want to disappoint them, nor did he wants them judging him. He couldn't come off like a scaredy-cat.

The biggest problem was his work. He never had time to clear his head, and he couldn't slack on it.  But these days, it felt like there was so much. He just wanted a break, some comfort, to get some of his courage back...what was wrong with him?

"CAPTAIN!" He jumped a little, and turned to Kwazii. "I've been saying that for four minutes now." The cat deadpanned. Barnacles mentally lectured himself. It was starting to show.

"Are you alright?" Kwazii asked. He'd noticed very small changes in the captain's behavior. Small, but still strange. When Barnacles didn't answer, Kwazii tired a different approach. "Maybe you shouldn't come with."

"Where?" Kwazii looked at him like he'd sprouted a second head. "To the cliffs? I just reminded you we were going out to explore." Barnacles just shrugged. Kwazii's brows furrowed, but he took that as a yes. "Okay, I'll just go tell the others."

"I had some errands to run anyway." Barnacles found himself saying. It just popped out. Something inside him was urging him in that direction.

Kwazii nodded. "Alright, I'll tell'em you're busy." He hopped into an Octoshute, and disappeared. Barnacles pondered his behavior. Somehow, this felt like just the thing he needed. He could go up, get some fresh air, and be back before anyone else and clear his head. He didn't know he was about to take the path down a journey that would change his life for the better.

He opened the Octohatch for them, and waited ten minutes. When he was sure they were gone, he hopped into the Gup D, and traveled to some nearby land. Hopping out, and having nowhere he needed to be, he wandered around, and got some fresh air. He felt suddenly better. Maybe he'd been cooped up inside the Octopod for too long. He stopped by a bookstore and got a couple of novels,  and sat in the park for a while, watching children play. He felt that same urge well up in his chest again, this time mixed with something else, something that reminded him strangely of envy.

He went back to walking, wondering if he should go back to the Octopod, when he passed a colorful store that got his attention. The urge cropped up inside him, stronger than before, and sending thoughts to his head, thoughts to go in and get something. This would've been normal...had it not been a baby store.

'I must be going mad,' the bear thought to himself, wandering around, and eying the supplies, the urge cropping up and driving him nuts. All his thoughts jumbled together, making his head feel somewhat foggy.

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to earth. "Can I help you, sir?" a friendly young woman asked. She was wearing a white apron with the store logo on it, and her name tag read Fatima. Barnacles opened his mouth, closed it, pushed his thoughts away, and tried again. "What makes you think..." she cut him off. "When a customer stares at the onesies for ten minutes, I assume he had a question." Barnacles blushed. He hadn't realized he'd been standing there looking like a space cadet. What was even weirder was the sentence that shot out of his mind, and into the air before he could stop it. "I was wondering whether you had them in bigger sizes."

"Name a size." Barnacles froze, not sure what to say. The urge was back in his chest, growing even stronger now that he was so close to achieving whatever it was the urge wanted. He didn't understand why he was looking for these things in hopes of using them himself.

But Fatima just smiled, and gestured for him to follow her. She led him to the back of the store, through a door with a sign that read 'must have employee consent to enter' and into a room that looked even more colorful than the first. Other than that, it looked exactly the same...except for the fact that everything was huge. One wall held a bunch of shelves, each one labeled with a different kind of baby clothing; onesies, sleepers, etc. another wall held bookshelves filled with brightly colored story books, and books aimed specifically at Littles. And the third wall was nothing but diapers.

Barnacles stared, as Fatima smiled fondly at him. "First time?" He could do nothing but nod. "Let's set you up with the basics." She led him to a stool, wear she had him stand, and got his measurements. After that, she listed the clothing sizes and diapers sizes he'd need. Barnacles felt like he was going on autopilot, not even thinking about what was happening. The urge inside him was building up. He was so close...

Fatima assisted him as he chose clothes; a couple of onesies, some PJ's and some t-shirts. He found a package of diapers with ocean critters on them, and a book that explained things to first-time Littles. When he left the store, he felt lighter than air, excited to go back to the Octopod, and hoping no one was there, so he could try this stuff out.

Back at the Octopod, he set up his stuff in his room, carefully hanging curtains on the window for privacy, and putting his thing away in places where they wouldn't be easily found. He sat on his bed and thought; why had he bought baby items in his size? Why did he want to try them so bad.

A thought ran through his head; 'you won't cause them any more trouble as a cub. No more expectations, no more worries, so what if they judge?' Even so, he'd keep it under the wraps.

He took off his pants, sat down, and laid his backside on the diaper. He opened the bottle of baby powder, and sprinkled some of it on his lower half, shivering at the touch. Then, he wrapped it around his waist, secured it and stood up, enjoying the feel of the soft, thick diaper caressing his thighs.

The rest was much easier. He slipped himself into a onesie, ice blue with the words 'polar bear hugs' written on it in white, along with a polar bear cub wearing a diaper, bonnet, and spreading its paws open for a hug. He smiled at that. He proceeded to replace his boots with blue booties, and wore a pacifier on a clip around his neck. He decided to skip the mittens...he might not be able to take all this off when he was finished.

Barnacles sat on his bed, and enjoyed his new clothes. They felt comfy-cozy, and gave him a strange feeling of safety. It was almost as if he were a cub again.

'Almost...' that word rang in his head, and he subconsciously put his pacifier in. Suckling it cutely, he laid on his bed, and read one of his new books. It wasn't long until he felt that familir urge...

He didn't want to get up, and risk the Vegimals seeing him like that. A voice in his head chanted 'do it! It's what little cubs do! No one will care if you make a little mess.' he took a deep breath, and let it all flow into his diaper, smiling as he felt warm liquid trickle against the cottony padding.

He may have demoted himself, but he'd never felt happier.