Compared to Ringo’s mature mind, Skeebe was starting to enjoy having his formerly big brother as he was now. After the two swapped ages, Skeebe had been taking everything in stride. The clothes, the respectful way people treated him, even the new adult knowledge that had been flowing into his mind. Ringo on the other hand was acting like a stubborn mule, dragged kicking and screaming into his second hatchlinghood. He hated being talked down to, how his toddler body kept betraying his adult mind. He was desperate to cling to any sign of maturity, even if it was as simple as still being able to wear underwear.
But the longer he was like this; his mind had begun filling itself with more innocent knowledge. Like Skeebe, he still had the memories and mind of his former age, but they were being pushed aside by thoughts of playtime, naps and stuffed animals. He was no longer acting like a grumpy adult trapped in an immature body, but rather exactly what he looked like; An innocent, playful and wide-eyed hatchling.
As the two made their way through the mall, towards the food court, Ringo had been looking around at the huge world around him in amazement. His amplified toddler senses made, what was once just another shopping mall, into a world full of wonder, people and bright lights. He was giggling, cooing and wagging at every person and store he passed, making sure to wave to them as they passed by.
Skeebe couldn’t help but giggle at his now little brother, especially since he knew why Ringo was so excited to greet everyone. He remembered that their mum had once told Skeebe about a funny little thing that Ringo used to do as a little one. Nobody knew why, but until he was eight years old, the little dragingo was always happy to say hello to anyone who passed him by. But as soon he had to keep a conversation with someone standing in front of him, he immediately became incredibly shy and introverted. The silly, little quirk of his always made his family laugh, to the point that they would sometimes put him in that situation for a little entertainment at young Ringo’s expense.
Skeebe gently bounced Ringo in his arms, hoping to get the cub’s attention. “Little bro? Check it out”, he said, pointing to the large food court in front of them.
Ringo turned his attention away from the big furs passing him by, facing the same direction as Skeebe. His eyes went wide in astonishment as he took in the large eating area. Bright, neon signs lit up the room, almost hurting his young eyes. Smells of fries, freshly cooked meat, steamed vegetables and baking bread filled his nostrils, making his little belly rumble in hunger once more. Clinging to Skeebe’s neck, he began to bounce excitedly in the fox’s arms as he went into sensory overload. “WHOAAAAA!” he exclaimed, giggling and practically wagging his crinkling butt off.
Skeebe yipped for a moment, clutching the squirming cub tightly in his paws, making sure his brother didn’t fall out of his grip. The fox chuckled at his brother’s immature excitement, giving Ringo’s headfur a playful nuzzle between his almost non-existent horns. “What do you feel like little buddy? You want something with a toy in it?”
Ringo’s ears perked up, whipping his head to look at Skeebe’s. “Toy? I want a toy!”
The cub’s eyes lit up with excitement, it had been many years since he was given a toy with his meals. His cubbish mind immediately blocked everything other option for food out. He began to feel like if he didn’t get something fun to play with during his lunch, it would be a pointless one.
Skeebe held his excited brother tightly again. “Alright, alright, calm down you little monster.” Skeebe chuckled as he made his way into the crowd of seated furs, all of whom were enjoying their various meals. As the two passed by one table, Skeebe noticed one particular fur, a wolf, enjoying a strange brown drink from a tall mug. The smell of the drink was enticing, slowing the fox a little as he walked towards one of the small restaurants. It was a sharp, bitter smell; something very familiar to his adult senses, yet very new to his original, younger self.
“Wait…I know that smell! That’s that ‘coffee’ stuff that all the older furs drink!” Skeebe thought to himself, his adult mind filling in the information for him. He began to grin as an idea came to him, his immature mind peeking out for a moment to help him show off that now he was the big brother. But that would have to wait for now, he needed to attend to Ringo’s hunger first.
Skeebe looked around at the many restaurant options in front of him, bringing his attention to the bright yellow “R” of McRonalds. When he was still a cub, it was always a treat for Skeebe to be taken there, especially when he was given a smiley meal; they always had the best toys inside. It slipped his mind as he walked towards the restaurant that Ringo worked for the same company when he was grown, the same people that kept Ringo busy, tired and unable to play with Skeebe. But right now, Skeebe’s mind was racing with all the new foods he could try now that he had a bigger stomach to work with.
As they walked up to the front counter, a large koala bear smiled and greeted them. “G’day guys! What can I get you both today?” the koala chirped. The bear was almost a head taller than Skeebe, broad-shouldered and trim-cut, most likely from playing many a Rugby match. Skeebe was taken aback for a moment, the Koala’s friendly smile and happy greeting didn’t match his large, rough body at all.
“Oh! Umm, hi!” Skeebe responded, his words finally managing to stumble out. “Sorry, give me a second to have a look. I already know what this little one is after,” motioning to Ringo by bouncing the cub in his arms.
Ringo looked around at the front counter for a moment, something felt quite strange to him. The sounds of the machines, the smell of the food, even the uniforms the staff was wearing felt strangely familiar. He scrunched his little face in deep thought, wondering why his surroundings felt so strange; why he felt like something very important wasn’t right.
Finally, it clicked in his head. “I work at a store like this!” he realised, his adult mind snapping back into awareness. He couldn’t be a little hatchling if he remembered having a job. “Oh god! Was I acting like a hatchling before?!” He thought, eyes wide open in shock, noticing how he was clutching Pandy in his arm, nuking on his pacifier.
Unfortunately, before Ringo could recall anything else, he was being held up in front of the large koala by Skeebe.
“Go on little one, tell the nice man what you want to eat,” Skeebe said, bouncing Ringo in his arms and taking his pacifier out so that he could be heard clearly.
Ringo couldn’t respond; his immature emotions came flooding back in just as quickly as they had left. He yelped, hiding his face behind Pandy, his muzzle pressed into Skeebe’s chest while he turned bright red. As he did when he was little, he had gone happy and sociable to a scared and shy little hatchling the moment he was forced to talk to the huge stranger.
Skeebe yipped as Ringo clung to his chest, but soon chuckled and stroked his brother’s headfur reassuringly. “I’m sorry” he smiled to the koala, “he gets a little shy around strangers.”
Ringo whimpered quietly as he clutched to his brother. He felt so immature being unable to even hold a conversation with a stranger he’d only have to talk to for a few seconds.
The koala laughed and smiled warmly to the two. “It’s fine, trust me I get a lot of little ones like that all the time.”
“Come on Ringo, he’s not going to hurt you. I promise,” Skeebe said sweetly to the cub, gently bouncing him again.
The cub turned his head a little towards the koala bear. He face was still red with a scared, unsure look on his face. All he could mumble out was a soft and quiet “Hewwo”. The koala continued smiling; now waving at the young one in Skeebe’s arms.
Seeing as Ringo wasn’t going to be talking anytime soon with the cashier, Skeebe popped his brother’s pacifier back in place. He could feel Ringo’s paws loosen their grip on his chest as the nuking of the pacifier calmed the hatchling down. He cuddled his brother tightly, letting him stay safe and snuggled up to give him some comfort while he gave their orders.
“Let’s see, I’ll get a large royal burger meal and the little guy will have a cheeseburger smiley meal with a chocolate milkshake.”
The koala nodded, tapping at the screen in front of him while Skeebe dictated their orders to him. Skeebe felt a little tug on his shirt collar, looking down to find Ringo whimpering again and stretching his neck up to his big brother’s ear to whisper.
“I wan’ a royal meal too…smiley meals are for little babies,” Ringo quietly whined, not wanting the big koala to hear his immature begging.
Skeebe sighed a little, realising his brother had switched back to its grumpy old self. “Well that was fun while it lasted,” he chuckled to himself. It didn’t bother him very much however, considering that at least now it would be more fun for the fox to flaunt his new adult status.
“Well you certainly look like a little baby, bro,” Skeebe said, raising his voice so that it was loud enough for the koala cashier to hear. “You’re itty bitty tummy can’t eat that much food. And you want that super neato toy don’t you?”
Ringo turned his head a little towards the koala again, seeing the large creature close to laughing his head off as he went off to get their food. He felt instantly embarrassed and emasculated, being treated like a child to the point of comedy. Ringo’s cubbish emotions went into overdrive as he could feel his eyes welling with tears. He buried his face into his brother’s chest and whined quietly, keeping his plush friend to him as close as he could for some form of safety.
Ringo blocked out the world around him for a moment as he wallowed in his immature self-pity. He only noticed that Skeebe was carrying him away from the restaurant when he smelt the warm food in the fox’s paws. His ears perked up slowly as he sniffed the air, his tail wagging again at the prospect of food. It seemed that while food usually cheered Ringo up as an adult, the simple smell of it was enough to snap him out of his funk as a cub.
The two made their way back through the crowded food court, somehow managing to spot a free table to eat at. Once Skeebe set their drinks and food bags down, he plopped Ringo and Pandy down onto a seat, seeing a problem almost immediately; at his new age, Ringo was so small could barely see over the table, let alone reach any of the food without having to stand in his seat. The fox couldn’t help but smile as his brother tried in vain to pull the chair in, the cub’s pudgy, bare legs kicking weakly over the seat’s edge. He was close to bursting into laughter as Ringo began to strain his arms in frustration, making grabby paws at the food.
Skeebe looked around the food court for some kind of assistance, spotting a communal high chair next to the bins. The mall must have supplied them in case people went shopping with their young cubs. “Up we go little buddy,” Skeebe chirped, lifting a confused Ringo and his plush back out of the seat. “Let’s get you a seat appropriate for someone your age.”
Skeebe left the food on the table, knowing he wouldn’t take long he decided there was no need to worry about it. Cradling Ringo in one arm, he quickly dashed to the high chair, lifting it up with his spare arm and carrying it back to their table. At this point, Ringo was too hungry to protest against using equipment necessary for a cub. Even if he wanted to, he saw for himself that he was too little to eat at a table without making a mess or hurting himself.
Once his brother had unfolded the high chair and set Ringo down in it, however, he found himself having no problems with using it at all. Besides the added bonus of getting a table all to himself, the chair made it so that Ringo was now high enough to be eye-level with Skeebe. At least like this he could pretend like he was grown up again and having a lunch with his brother, man-to-man. The illusion fractured a little once his food was given to him though; a small pack of fries, a tiny, childish cup filled with chocolate milkshake, a cheeseburger and a Dragon Ranger’s toy. He tried to tug and pull at the toy’s plastic bag to open it, a task easily hindered by his stubby, weak paws. “Oh well,” he thought, “at least it’s the blue one.”
Ringo looked up for a moment to see that Skeebe was already digging into his food, savouring every last morsel of his adult meal. It felt strange that he was watching his former younger brother simply eat his food rather than play with it. What was even stranger was that Ringo felt a growing want to do it to his own food. His cubbish mind was coaxing him to play at every spare moment he could find, especially since the toy that came with his meal wasn’t accessible for now. He tried with all his little might to fight off the urge as he unwrapped his burger. The more he tried to go against his cubbish instincts, the worse they became; until finally they were far too strong for him to ignore.
Without even thinking, he lifted the top of his cheeseburger and grabbed a handful of his fries. He giggled as he stuffed them on top of the burger’s meat before placing the bun back on top. Smiling proudly at his creation, he picked up the fry-stuffed burger and took his first chomp. Ringo’s eyes opened in surprise as the burger exploded with flavour in his maw. His very young senses were amplifying his taste buds and making a once familiar food taste completely brand new again. Grinning wide, Ringo began to wolf down his food as fast as he could; barely taking a break between each mouthful to get a slurp of his delicious milkshake.
“Ahem?”
Ringo’s ears perked, bringing his attention back to the source of the noise: Skeebe. The fox sat in front of him, grinning ear to ear while he slurped on his soft drink.
“Having fun there, little one?” the fox chuckled.
The cub’s ears went flat with embarrassment; he could feel the warmth of his cheeks turning red again. It was starting to annoy Ringo just how easy it was to do that in his younger state. But he had been caught in the middle of his cub mind dragging him into his own little world so he could play innocently.
“N-no…” Ringo managed to mumble out as he looked down at his paws, fiddling with them shyly.
Skeebe pulled Ringo’s phone from his pocket, snapping a photo of the embarrassed little toddler before showing it to his brother.
“I don’t know. It looks like you were before you got all blushy, ‘little brother’. Your messy maw doesn’t help your case either, by the way.” Skeebe said, close to giggling as he watched his brother’s reaction to the photo.
Ringo almost couldn’t believe his eyes. He had forgotten just how much his new attire made him look like any shy little cub. It was when he looked closer at the photo that he began to worry. The picture showed Ringo with a big mess of sauce and shake on his maw then entire time he had been eating. He couldn’t believe he went so long without noticing how grubby he was. The cub began to look for something to clean himself up with before anyone else noticed.
Before he could finish his search, however, a folded napkin was brought up to Ringo’s maw, scrubbing and wiping it clean. Realizing Skeebe was trying to clean him up, Ringo started to squirm and pull his maw away from his brother’s paw. It was bad enough that Skeebe had brought Ringo’s messy state to his attention, but it felt like another demotion from maturity to have his little brother cleaning him like a fussy parent.
Skeebe huffed a little in annoyance as Ringo squirmed about. For someone who said he didn’t like being a baby, he sure as hell was acting like one. He knew the cub wouldn’t stop unless Skeebe had some leverage to offer; something mature that he could easily fool his brother with. Looking around the food court for a moment, he spotted a small coffee shop in the corner, conveniently next to the mall exit. He smirked before turning his attentions back to Ringo. It was the perfect way to show off his maturity like he had planned earlier.
“Now stop acting like a baby, Ringo,” he cooed sweetly. “If you let me finish cleaning you up I’ll take you to that coffee shop over there.” He motioned to the small neon sign that flashed ‘Bean There, Done That’, chuckling and shaking his head as he noticed the pathetic pun.
Ringo’s body suddenly bolted straight up. “Coffee?! Y-you weawwy mean I’, bwo?” almost bouncing out of his chair with excitement. Drinking coffee was the last activity from Ringo’s former life that he held dear. Surely if he was seen holding a coffee cup as Skeebe carried him around, people would realise he wasn’t the silly little cub he appeared to be.
Exactly like Skeebe wanted, Ringo changed his attitude almost immediately as he pushed his face into the napkin cleaning him up. Once Skeebe was satisfied, he picked up Ringo and Pandy and cuddled the two over his shoulder as before. He made sure to keep a tight grip on the enthusiastic little cub so he wouldn’t hurt himself, a task which was getting harder and harder as Skeebe came closer to the coffee shop.
Once inside, Skeebe lowered his brother onto the floor, holding Ringo’s tiny paw tight. The cub let out a little giggle as his wagging tail made his thick padding crinkle, happy to be walking on his own two paws again after being carried around for so long. With Pandy tucked under his arm, his enthusiasm took over again as he dashed ahead of Skeebe, tugging at his paw as hard as he could to make the fox move faster.
Skeebe was finding it hard to contain his laughter now. His unsuspecting “little” brother looked so silly as he tried in vain to tug him along. His diaper made his little stride into a waddle as his chubby legs worked around the thick padding. What was making it harder to stop him from laughing, however, was the fact now it appeared as though Ringo’s two minds were starting to meld together. His adult needs and wants were still in control, but his enthusiasm and energy to achieve them were coming from his younger side. He really was a little hatchling now.
“Bwwwwwwoooooo!” Ringo whined, tugging on Skeebe’s paw again.
“Hmm? What’s up, little guy?” Skeebe said, kneeling down as close as he could to his brother’s height.
Ringo smiled a little. It was a nice change from being spoken down to like a cub. With Skeebe now face-to-face with him, he was starting to feel like a big ki-…adult again.
“Do ya tink yew couwd get my dwink for me…I’m too widdaw an’ it’d wook kinda wiewd if I was gettin’ coffee if I wook wike a baby.”
Skeebe smiled and ruffled Ringo’s fluffy, short head fur. It was still adorable to hear his brother talk like an adult while he had the voice and lisp of a baby. Even more so when he realised that Ringo was coming up with little plans so nothing would stop him from drinking coffee.
“Sounds like a plan!” Skeebe winked, walking him over to the large cake cabinet to take their orders. With Ringo on the floor, Skeebe was able to avoid having another awkward moment like what happened with the Koala from earlier. Even better, Ringo was so distracted looking at all the yummy cakes and treats behind the cabinet in front of him that he couldn’t hear what drink Skeebe was getting him.
He didn’t even notice Skeebe take the baby bottle out of his bag and hand it over to the barrista.
With very little customers to serve, the drinks were ready in no time. Pulling Ringo away from the cakes, Skeebe made his way over to the counter. He could feel Ringo bouncing excitedly against his paw as he paid for the drinks, the loud crinkling of a tail wagging inside of a diaper echoed around the shop.
Ringo looked up towards the counter, his face beaming as his mind raced with thoughts of what kind of coffee would he get to indulge in. He loved lattes as an adult, but considering his current age; maybe Skeebe ordered him something sweet and chocolaty like a mocha? He decided that he’d help his brother as best he could by giving Skeebe his paw back, toddling behind his brother and holding onto his big, fluffy tail.
“Ah, thanks little bro!” Skeebe said as he grabbed their drinks and brought them into Ringo’s view. His smile turned into a look of absolute horror the moment he saw the baby bottle in his brother’s paw, filled to the top with warm milk. Before he could make any kind of protest, Skeebe had set the drinks down on a nearby table and lifted Ringo back up into the air, sitting down in a large booth and plopping the hatchling on his lap.
“What da heww didja just owdah for me?!” Ringo yelped, staring at the baby bottle in front of him before turning to glare up at his brother. “Yew said yaw ewe gonna get a coffee fow me!”
“If I remember right, I didn’t actually say I was going to get you any coffee, baby bro.” Skeebe smirked down at the cub in his lap, blowing into his coffee cup to cool it down. “I just said I would take you to the coffee shop. I never said I’d buy you a coffee and you sure as heck didn’t tell me that you wanted one.“
“B-but, I’m an aduwt an’ yew da baby! Yew gotta do what I say! I’m awwowed ta dwink whatevah I want, and I wanna have coffee!” Ringo growled back, close to throwing a tantrum as he tried to assert his former adult status. He became more and more frustrated as he noticed Skeebe wasn’t even flinching, making him look to everyone else like a spoiled little brat with an active imagination.
“A) Even if I did let you, your body is far too young to handle caffeine now. You’d be bouncing around and far too uncontrollable. And B) you said yourself that you looked too little to order a coffee on your own. So I had to make it look good and get you a drink that’s suitable for a baby,” Skeebe smugly chortled, patting his brother’s head as he took his first sip of coffee.
Ringo’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe how easily he had just been duped. Even worse, it was by someone who, until the events of today, hadn’t even started potty training yet. The cub quickly spun his head back around to the bottle sitting in front of him, too embaressed and humiliated to even look his brother in the eye. With nothing in his power left to do about his situation, he simply glared at the immature drink in front of him, hoping it would magically change into something that he could drink proudly as an adult.
As he watched Ringo give him the silent treatment, Skeebe sat back and enjoyed his first taste of adulthood. At first, the coffee tasted quite bitter to Skeebe, making him wince a little. At first, he couldn’t quite grasp why adults enjoyed drinking the stuff so often, yet he strangely found himself taking another sip, followed by another, then another. With each mouthful, his adult tastebuds made each sip taste even better than the last, making him down the entire cup without even realising it. “Strange…” he thought, “It tastes so familiar now that I think about it.”
Setting his empty cup back down on the table, he brought his attention back to the grumpy little cub in his lap. Even though it was for much different reasons, Skeebe had been in Ringo’s shoes many times before. He knew that after all the events of today; Ringo had become very tired and very cranky, especially the former after Skeebe’s little prank. “Heh, I think I’d better get this little one home and into bed,” he thought, smiling down at his little brother.
“You haven’t touched your bottle, bro. What’s wrong?” Skeebe asked sweetly, stroking the cub’s head softly.
“I dun wan’ I’…” Ringo replied, mumbling grumpily.
“Well I’m sorry, little bro. I can’t take it back and I did pay for it. So unless you want to waste money like that, you’re gonna have to drink it.”
Ringo growled a little, crossing his arms and snuggling Pandy to his chest. “Make me!”
“Heh, you shouldn’t have said that, little mister!” Skeebe said as he grabbed Ringo under his armpits, laying the cub on his back across his lap and picked up the bottle from the table.
Ringo looked up at his brother, completely stunned and confused at the quick change of position. As he saw the fox bring its nipple cap closer and closer to his maw, Ringo quickly turned his head away and clamped his lips shut, making sure Skeebe had no room for entry. The cub looked up at Skeebe, proudly smiling at the thought that he had outwitted his brother’s plan. Although he was curious as to why Skeebe didn’t seem to care, or even why he was looking at Ringo with such a mischievous grin.
Suddenly, Ringo felt Skeebe’s paw lift up his t-shirt and slip onto his belly, wriggling his fingers all over the cub’s pudgy little tummy. A wave of ticklish feeling covered Ringo as he began to squirm about, trying to escape the wiggling paw on his tummy. He tried with all the energy he could muster to keep his maw shut, but soon the tickling became just too much for his sensitive little body to handle. His lips quivered, tears built up in his eyes and then finally, he erupted into the biggest fit of laughter he had ever experienced. His arms and legs flailed and kicked wildly as his body lost control of itself. Even the warm feeling trickling into the front of his diaper as his bladder couldn’t stop him from laughing. Skeebe had his brother right where he wanted him.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-mmmmphhh?!”
The sound of laughter was soon muffled as Skeebe popped the nipple of the baby bottle into Ringo’s maw. Skeebe could still hear little giggles coming from behind the plastic nipple, but the look on Ringo’s face was anything but cheerful. Suddenly, the bottle began to move and wiggle as Ringo’s cubbish instincts took over once again; nuking on the bottle as if it was second nature to him. Ringo watched on, horrified to have his body rip control away from him once more. His tongue and lips began squeezing and working at the plastic nipple to squeeze the warm milk inside the bottle.
Ringo’s paws immediately shot up to the bottle, trying to tug and pry it away from himself. The pacifier was one thing, but now having himself fed a bottle by his baby brother was just too much. His tiny paws pulled with all their might, but he found the full bottle far too heavy for his small, chubby arms. It didn’t help that his maw was now suckling at the nipple at full force, finally getting a squirt of the warm fluid onto his tongue.
He started to squirm and wriggle around in a fuss; he wanted to hide from what felt like a million judging eyes, all on him. His cheeks flushed red as he felt more warm milk squirt onto his tongue and down his throat. He felt like everyone was staring at him; the big strong dragon now reduced to a weak little hatchling in a diaper. What made it all even worse was that he felt like he was starting to enjoy it all.
All Ringo could feel anymore was warmth. He could feel the warmth from the “baba” filling his tummy, the warmth from his plush red panda friend resting on his chest, along with the warmth from his newly wet, soft padding between his legs that he found himself enjoying quite a lot. But most importantly; he could feel the warmth of his brother holding him tight to his soft fur. He felt like he was actually being cared for, for the first time in a very long time. Skeebe could have left Ringo behind to enjoy his new form and age, but he didn’t. He was always with Ringo, making sure he was safe and happy, even if it did come at the cost of Ringo’s dignity on more than a few occasions.
Ringo looked up at his brother, smiling as big as he could around the plastic nipple in his maw. The squirming stopped. The fussing stopped. All that was left was the quiet, rhythmic nuking of the bottle and a smiling, little baby. Ringo could feel his eyes getting heavy as the bottle came close to empty; its contents now inside the full, baby boy. Ringo wanted to thank his little brother for giving him an amazing day off, one of the best he ever had. But he didn’t need to.
Skeebe smiled warmly down at his baby brother, watching his little eyes slowly flutter until they shut tight. As the cub saw one last glimpse of the fox’s smiling face; he knew Skeebe felt the exact same way.
