Tales of Regression

Chapter 7
Younger By The Day

Chapter Description: Another commission for my friend, where he gets younger day by day and must find a way to stop it before it's too late. Nothing all too special, but it is what it is.

July 2023:

Day One (Thursday):

The slight morning breeze and summer sun slipping through my exposed fur as I take a morning walk feels amazing. The park is fairly quiet from where I enter as I listen to my current favorite song; my beaver tail slapping on the sidewalk to the beat of the track and a beaming smile on my face. As I get further in I start to hear the sounds of water rushing from the splash pad a fair ways away and hidden from my view behind a small hill. Within a few more seconds the splash pad comes into view as I continue on the sidewalk and look over towards the pad. I can see plenty of little wolf pups playing in the water as their parents watch. It really does look like the little ones are having a ball as it's cool enough to enjoy the morning.

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen the splash pad this busy this early in the morning.” Either way I shrug my shoulders and continue on my walk around the park on this beautiful morning. A bunch of children using a splash pad is nothing to stop me from enjoying my walk, especially since I love to see how lively places get during the summer. As I make my way around the park it starts to get a bit hotter and I start to get a bit thirsty. The only water fountain I trust is is near the splash pad so I make my way over to it. As I come close to the fountain an adult wolf comes closer to me and stops me for a moment.

“Would you mind not using the splash pad right now?” She sounds pretty sincere and nice with her question as I take out an earbud to hear what she has to say.

“Not a problem, ma'am. I was just heading over to this water fountain before I leave the park.”

“That’s fine. Just stay clear of the pad if you could.” I’m a bit confused but think I understand. A strange adult around a bunch of young children isn’t always a great image unless you’re a female teacher and I’m not either. It also doesn’t help that I'm dressed in nineties style punk attire this morning. As she turns around I just shrug and walk in a roundabout way around the pad and to the water fountain. Once I get a drink of water I start to feel refreshed but as I finish I feel a splash of ice cold feeling water on my back. My back stiffens immediately as my body jolts from bending over to straight in a matter of milliseconds. I quickly turn around to see a young brown wolf pup with an empty plastic water bottle in his paws. I’m rather annoyed but getting angry at such a young kid- especially of his age- doesn’t make for a good image.

“I’m so sorry.” Another mother comes speed walking over with a towel as she grabs her pups’ paw.

“It’s not a big deal. Children will be children after all. Eh, and I’m fine without drying off. It’s starting to warm up where I got splashed.”

“I insist. It’s the least I could do. Jackson, say you’re sorry to this nice young beaver.” The pups snout points down to the ground as he replies in a soft tone, his little tail wrapped around his legs.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I guess I should dry off. Thanks for letting me borrow this towel, ma’am.” I take the towel from her and start to dry off the back of my shirt as best as I can. She takes it back as I finish and get ready to head off back home. The rest of my day goes by like normal except that I can’t get the experience I had with that pup splashing me outta my head. I don’t know why but something about that pup felt a bit off; as though he intentionally splashed me as if to get me to help with something. By the time I'm falling asleep in the middle of the night I resolve that it's just a kid being himself and not actually having any malicious intent in what he did.

Day Two:

As I awake I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. It feels like I have the slightly more energy I had back in my senior year of highschool, about a half decade ago. It’s not a huge difference but just barely enough for me to notice. Especially since I usually don’t ever really feel like getting up in the morning since I hate mornings. Rather than freak out, I decide to hurry into the restroom near my bedroom and check the mirror.

“Huh, it must be my imagination.” Everything looks pretty alright with my body. I certainly don’t look any different and am definitely still my beaver self. My tail is still mostly prosthetic, so I know I'm probably just imagining things. I must have read some of my favorite age regression stories off of the AR Archive last night and had some major dreams of regression.

"Oh well, might as well go for another morning walk since yesterday was actually pretty good." I'm not normally into walks early in the morning since I'm not usually one who easily gets up. As I grab my phone and wired earbuds I notice something that feels off on my lock screen. "Huh? I could have sworn today was supposed to be Friday? Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about the date." I shrug it off as i turn my music on and head out on my way. The park is only three blocks away, so I can easily walk to it. As I get near the splash pad I notice a bunch of wolf pups playing in the water, their parents keeping watch over them. I pay no mind to them as I walk, my tail slapping to the beat of the music.

"I better get a drink before I go." I'm only half way around the park, but I'd rather stay hydrated than pass out from heatstroke. That's one of the last things I need right now, especially since it would temporarily ruin my summer experience. "To the fountain I go!" I don't trust the old stone fountain by the jungle gym, so the only other option is the fountain by the splash pad.

"Would you mind not using the splash pad right now?" A female adult wolf asks me that as I come closer to the pad.

"Uh huh. I was just going to get a drink from the fountain here, anyways. I had no plans of getting soaked this early in the morning."

"That's fine. Just..." I get a familiar sense of deja vu as she finishes her sentence, as though I've heard those exact words before. Something doesn't feel right mentally as I get a drink. I'm snapped out of it by hearing a splashing sound and crinkling of a plastic water bottle from nearby.

"I'm so sorry." The same wolf mother from before comes over as I notice a wolf pup holding a crinkled, label-less plastic water bottle in his paw. She grabs his free paw, a towel in her other paw.

"I don't really see what happened, but I'm sure it isn't a problem."

"My son splashed your tail. The least I can do is offer you a towel to dry it off. Danny, say your sorry to the nice beaver." The pup lowers his snout to the ground before speaking in a soft tone, his little tail wrapped around his legs.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Most of my tail is prosthetic anyways, so it's not like I could feel the splash of water. My tail will dry off by the time I get home, so I'll pass on the towel. A little water never hurt it." I shrug my shoulders and go on my merry way as I make sure to get any excess water off my tail. I didn't wanna bring it up, but I swear this happened to me before, except I got soaked on my back and not my tail. I try not to think about it as I walk and just let my mind flow with my music as one of my all time favorite movie soundtrack pieces comes on.

"Alright! Such a good song!" As I'm at the edge of the park, about to leave, I suddenly feel a small splash of water hit my lower back. It causes me to freeze in place for a moment with how chillingly cold it is. I turn around angerly to not find anyone nearby. "Must have been one of those damn brats that did that! Can't their parents keep a better eye on them for fuck sake?" I sigh as I know I shouldn't curse when a child might be around, but this is so not cool. My back barely feels dry by the time I make it back home.

"Oh well, I shouldn't let something minor like that ruin my day..." Throughout the day I keep recalling that feeling of deja vu as I keep playing back what happened at the splash pad in my head. Something about it definitely feels weird, as in a deja vu kinda weird. Like I should be remembering something that I'm constantly forgetting. It drives me a little bit crazy but I try my hardest to hide that anything's up from my family since I don't wanna worry them over me.

Day Three:

As I awake I feel really refreshed. I feel as though I fell asleep extra early last night. As I stretch it almost feels as though something on my backside has that same staticy pins and needles feel as when my arms and legs try to move while asleep. I pay that no attention as I get up to head to the restroom. I shift my weight a bit differently as my backside definitely feels off. It almost feels as though there's a slightly different weight distribution than I recall. I think nothing of it as I close the restroom door. As I turn around and flip the light switch I notice a strange face looking me in the mirror. Not strange as in foreign but, strange as in a younger looking red and purple beaver with the same lightly burned pastel green colored eyes staring back. My clothes look a lot more plain than normal, too. I start to freak out internally a little as I realize that's my reflection.

"Okay, something is clearly up. I look younger... And I most definitely sound younger, like I'm fifteen again." That leads me to try and look at my tail and failing before having to partially wrap it around my body. "Yeah, I'm definitely younger because this is my tail before the accident. God, what the hell happened that made me become younger?" As I try to replay what happened yesterday in my mind it feels like a fog rolls over my memory. I'm not sure whether this is the usual foggy feeling or if it's something else, making it much harder on me.

"I need to find a way to stop this. Surely Hazel will know what to do. I need to contact her right away." After finishing up quickly in the restroom I hurry back to my room and grab my phone. Once inside I go to my contacts only to find a lot of missing numbers/people.

"Great. My contacts have been erased. Think, Zach, think. What's Ulrich or Adlers number?" After a few minutes I'm pretty sure I recall Ulrichs number and speedily text him as fast as my thumbs can type on the digital keyboard.

[Ace] Ulrich I need your help. Getting younger. What's Hazels number?

After what feels like an eternity and a half I get a reply back.

[Ulrich] Who is this? I don't know anyone with this number, unless you are borrowing someone elses phone.

[Ace] It's me Zach. I really need Hazels number because I am getting regressed by the day and need her help.

Yet again I wait for what feels like a painstakingly long time before getting a reply.

[Ulrich] I don't know anyone with the name Zach and I've been told Hazel doesn't know anyone by that name either. If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny. Also, if you really do need her help, why don't you look her up online like most people would?

"Even Ulrich doesn't remember me anymore. This is bad. I have to hurry over to Hazels house before it's too late. God, what's her address?" Rather than try and figure it out, I just perform some quick online searches and find it. "Okay, now I just need some bus money, which I should have hidden away. After scrounging up the right amount I hastily shove on my shoes and head out. Thank goodness for my bad habit of not switching into pajamas at night. Before I make it to the front door I am stopped by my mom calling out to me.

"You're up all bright and early." I don't turn around as I respond.

"Yeah. I'm heading off on a walk, so I'll be back later."

"Don't be gone too long. It's going to get hot in a little bit." I half ignore that comment as I walk out the front and hurry down the stairs. Thank goodness the apartment units aren't part of a large skyscraper and actually lead outside.

"I have to focus and hurry." Luckily the nearest bus stop isn't too far from here. As I make my way over I input the address into my map app and set it for bus route directions. Right before I get to the stop I see the bus come around the corner, so i got pretty lucky. After paying and getting a transfer pass I take a seat in the far back and let the map app guide me. After about an hour of riding, the single transfer wait time included, I reach my stop. It's about a block away, so I hurry over. I see her car in the driveway, so I know she should be in.

"I hope she doesn't just shoo me away, like Ulrich did." I make sure to knock loudly as I come up to her front door, nervous about how she's going to react.

"Just one minute, dear." God, her accented voice is music to my ears right about now. Eventually I start to hear her footsteps and the door opening. Rather than how she's normally just barely taller than me, she's a good maybe three inches taller than me now. "How may I help you, sugar?"

"Before I begin, I want you to keep an open mind." She looks at me, puzzled for a second before agreeing.

"Alright, I don't know how strange this will be for you, but I am regressing day by day and it seems like some people are forgetting me since I've regressed to before I met them."

"Is it physical or mental regression because that can tell me a lot, honey."

"So far it seems to mostly just be physical but, I'm not sure if it'll turn mental or not later."

"Sure. Before I blindly believe you, though, I would like to know, how do you know me? I just wanna make sure I am not just wildly believin' a stranger lookin' to harm me."

"Through Ulrich and Adler. Last December, you and Adler invited Zach and I to that cabin in the woods where you gave us what we thought were just gag presents of diapers but it turned out in the end we would need them since the drinks you gave us made us regress. Something about our parents wanting their babies back for Christmas was the reason, you told us afterwards."

"Hmm, I cannot say I remember invitin' a beaver, but I suppose you could not have known about that if you were not there. If you really were there, then what drinks did I offer to help you both warm up?"

"It was..." I have to take a brief moment to think of the answer. "Peppermint patties with peppermint vodka since you were out of schnapps. Sorry, things are a little foggy in my head right now."

"That's fine, sugar. I believe you now, so come on in and meet me in the kitchen." She gestures for me to come in, so I do and follow her to the kitchen. I end up taking a seat at the table as she heads out into the garage. She's probably just getting some things to help cure me.

"Thank God she didn't just shoo me away, or worse." After a short while of just twiddling my thumbs she comes in with a lot of things.

"I'll have to make this quick, honey, on account of Adler comin' over here soon. May I have one of yer hands please, sugar?" I oblige and let her see my right hand. She picks up a little needle looking thing and holds my hand down, palm up, on the table before pricking one finger. "I need a tiny amount of blood so I can see what's goin' on." She rolls my hand and lets some drop into a small container.

"How long will this take?"

"As long as it needs to, sugar. If you really did, or do, know me, then you should know I am usually thorough with my work." She's got a point there. I kinda just sit back nervously as I let her work her magic with all these different jars filled with liquids and solids. "Hmmm, it seems you are getting younger by the day. I even think I recognize the product type used. An industry competitor of mine makes something that I think could work as a cure. I'll call him up and see about getting an antidote for you, sugar." I sigh a sigh of relief as this might all be over by the end of the day. "If we cannot make it today, I'll give you a special mixture to drink tonight so you can remember today and so that we can hopefully find a solution tomorrow." Out of the blue I jump a bit as I hear a semi loud knock on the door.

"That must be Adler. I'll quickly make up that mixture and give you my number in a moment. Do be a darling and send me a message when you get back home, honey. Better yet, just message me your address and I'll drop the cure off so you don't have to come over here. I doubt your parents let you drive and don't want to drive all the way over here late at night, especially since they probably don't even realize anything is going on." She leaves for a moment to answer the door and from where I am seeing I watch her give Adler a friendly hug before they both come in, along with Ulrich.

"Ulrich dear, I had an urgent case I had to take care of who is getting younger day by day. If I paid you some gas money, would you mind taking him home in a little bit?"

"Oh, sure thing. Speaking of which, I got some text messages earlier from someone asking for your number. He claimed to know you. Have you gotten any strange messages."

"If this is the same person I'm treatin', I can assure you that he needs my help. I heard it in his voice that he was not lying about knowin' us." I feel a little anxious as they speak, so I don't get up, my stomach in knots. "I have to get back to my work for a moment, so why don't you stick around? I'll only be another couple minutes." She comes back in and gets straight back to work. "I convinced Ulrich to take you home and hopefully by tonight we'll have a cure."

"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm not sure anyone else would believe me if I told them what was happening to me."

"Not a problem, sugar. Just remember, if we get you a cure, I am going to have to charge you for my service since I do not work for free, usually." I was expecting this. Hopefully it won't be too expensive since I don't have too much cash. "Since you seem to be a friend of mine, I will charge you two hundred dollars and my friend might charge extra himself." God I hope when this is all over they don't remember this and I don't have to pay.

"I'll make sure I don't forget." After a couple minutes she hands me a little plastic container and a torn sheet of paper with her number on it along with a couple weird words on it.

"In case we don't get a cure, just ingest the mixture in this container. Also, come back the next day and tell me the word on here, so we don't have to go through this whole thin' again, honey."

"Again, thanks a lot." I get up as Ulrich comes in.

"We're done here, so you can take him." It feels weird now that Ulrich is now more than a half foot taller than me, rather than being a good four inches taller.

"Gotcha. Alright, let's head out. Hazel, you don't need to pay me for gas money." I follow Ulrich out and into his car. This feels real weird since he doesn't even remember me. "So, how exactly did we meet?"

"On an online forum on TOR, but since I have been regressing, well, it seems like we never sent messages to each other."

"Meeting someone I met on TOR, huh? Didn't think that would be something I would do. Now, where do you live?" I quickly put the address into my map app so I can give directions while we chat.

"You sure are taking this well enough, on account of I could be lying."

"I can hear it in your voice that you aren't lying. Plus, if you do actually know me, you'd know that I trust Hazel and her judgment."

"Yeah. I can't wait until they make the cure. I don't know if you've ever gone through physical regression without the mental portion kicking in, but it's not fun waking up to find yourself younger and knowing nobody will believe you."

"You're right I wouldn't understand. I've always been lucky enough to only experience both together." The rest of the way home I feel at ease just chatting with him. Hopefully they'll have a cure made by tonight. Once back home I go about the rest of my day as normal as I can make it, waiting for a reply from Hazel that she's done it again. By night she hasn't replied, so I ingest the mixture and try and memorize the words on the torn paper before dozing off.

Day Four:

"Damn it. I have to get over to Hazels as fast as I can." As I head into the restroom I am greeted to a twelve year old version of myself, puberty having left my body, my voice better suiting an angelic boys choir than I'd like. Hell, my fur is lighter coloured. It's close to becoming those same pastel colours I grew up seeing. "I don't have time to check out my body now. I have a mission." After finishing up in the restroom I hurry up and get ready. Luckily I still have money I can use to catch the bus. Also, I am lucky my mom isn't out in the living room when I leave. Instead of the phone I did have, it's now one meant for kids. It's a bit embarrassing, but I don't care since I'll need it for when Hazel texts me about the cure. On the way to her house I find a way to install a messaging app my parents shouldn't be able to snoop in on and see who I'm messaging.

"Okay, just have to tell her the words and what's going on." As I reach her front door I knock and wait for her to open up. I quickly explain what's going on and tell her the words she wrote for me yesterday.

"Do come on in then, sugar. To tell you the truth, I have never had a situation like this occur." I follow her back into the kitchen and sit, again hoping she can fix this. "I have heard a story about this happening with one of my papa's friends once. He told me that nobody would believe she was regressin' and gettin' younger. Though he chose to believe her and she ended up marryin' him. Now, you hold still and I will be right back." She leaves the room as I patiently wait, anxious about what will happen if she doesn't end up making the cure and I regress to be too young to get over here on my own. Before Hazel comes back in I get a quick text message from my mom.

[Mom] Where are you?

[Ace] I'm at the park. I'll be home in a while. I just need some time to myself.

"I hope she buys that and doesn't come looking for me." Almost immediately I get a quick response.

[Mom] Alright. Just be safe and come home in one piece.

"Okay, honey, let's get to work." As I set my phone down I see Hazel closing the door to the garage with her foot paws. "May I have one of yer hands, sugar?" Again, I oblige as she gets a small blood sample by pricking my finger. "I will be sure to contact my papa right away to see if he remembers how he cured my mom all those years ago. Surely he will know what to do since he's been in the age regression business longer than I have." As she takes out her phone I hear a semi loud knock on the front door. "That must be Adler. I'll let them know what is going on."

"Okay." As I sit and wait I feel pretty nervous as the idea that I might not be cured keeps running through my brain. It's especially scary since I don't know how far this regression will go nor whether or not I will end up back in diapers. Also whether or not any mental regression will occur after another cycle or two of this. I'm not sure I can handle a couple more cycles of this since I'm already losing my mind, figuratively of course. Despite loving to read age regression stories, I am not a huge fan of it actually happening to me.

"I am going to call my papa real quick and put him on speaker." Hazel comes back in, pulling out her phone. The call comes through almost immediately.

"What's up, pumpkin? Next week I'm going to be volunteering at the church if you wanna come by and help at the food bank we're holding." You can tell he's calling from inside a moving vehicle by the sounds of wind being picked up by the microphone.

"Sure thin', but I have an important question for you, papa."

"What do you need?"

"Do you remember when mom was regressin' and nobody believed her?"

"Sure I do. Is something happening to a friend of yours, or at least someone claiming to be a friend?"

"Yeah. I think I know what the product is too: Bright Rose Fourteen water."

"Do they really have a fourteenth version of that old product out? I haven't heard of that since the seventh version was released when you were just born. If this fourteenth version is anything like the seventh, you will need to prepare in advance because the antidote needs a day to ferment. I'm sorry I couldn't be much help, pumpkin." I feel saddened by his words that there is nothing Hazel can do.

"That's quite alright on my end. Maybe not my friends end, though. Bye-bye papa."

"Bye pumpkin, darling."

"Well, I'm sorry there is nothing I can do." I feel shattered knowing I cannot do anything about this whatsoever besides let it slide. Same as yesterday, Ulrich drives me back, except this time I stay quiet the whole ride back in the back. I go about the rest of my day in despair and loathing when behind closed doors to help myself try and cope with the fact there's nothing I can do.

Day Five:

"I better get used to being a little kid again because it's going to be a long, long time before I am even close to being an adult." As I sulk into the restroom I am greeted to seven year old me with my pastel red and purple fur and my pastel green eyes. Hell, I'm less than a foot taller than the restroom counter, my eyes are barely above the counter, and there's a dumb plastic kiddy step stool in the corner for my short ass to be able to use the sink and reach the counter. After quickly using the restroom I slide over the stool to wash my hands and as I turn on the water a thought pops up in my mind.

"Wait a minute! Those wolf pups must have been regressing as well! They might have been trying to get my attention! I gotta get to the park and hope they're still there." I feel utterly embarrassed as I switch out of my pajamas and into what I consider the least offensive to my adult mind clothes I can find. My option for shoes ain't great, but that doesn't matter as I put on a pair of brown velcro sandals. As I start heading towards the front door I make sure to watch out for my brother who's still living with us and my mom. I find neither as I exit out the front door.

"Good! Now I have to hurry." I hope I can find them so I can get some answers from one of the mothers- assuming they'd even give me an antidote- or that one of the wolf pups knows what to do. Just getting over to the park in this body feels like such a struggle, especially since I'm a few years younger than when I had to have a heart valve replaced. "Damn I really take that mechanical valve and my energy as an adult for granted." I had to stop plenty of times just to make it here and I still have a little ways more to go before I'm even at the splash pad. Being winded from a couple block walk as a kid is kinda embarrassing if you ask me,

"Sigh, I better get going before I completely run out of energy." I struggle my way over and thankfully along the way I see the wolves at the splash pad. The wolf pups looks less like children and a lot more like toddlers and babies.
"Where's your mommy little beaver?" One of the wolf mothers asks as I come closer.

"She's in the car." I quickly lie instinctively. "I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Did your mommy say you could walk here alone?" I nod as I pretend like I really need to go and she lets me go past as I enter the restroom since it's close to the splash pad. Inside I get into a blind spot and take a moment to think about what I am going to tell them. My thoughts are stopped by the sound of a flushing in one of the stalls and a pair of tiny feel plopping onto the ground.

"The soap dispenser." I hear a cherubic squeaky voice whisper that as the stall opens and out comes a wolf pup shorter than me. He looks at me as though he knows what's going on, a sense of clarity in his gaze.

"Thanks, I guess." I don't fully understand what he means, but I decide in a moment of rashness that maybe the soap is the cure. I have absolutely no other leads, so this is the best I've got. Reaching it isn't too difficult and it comes out in powder form into the palm of my left paw. As strange as it sounds, I don't bother washing it off since I doubt soap will do anything when I wash my hands in this situation, so I just swallow it. "Ugh, it tastes terrible." After a minute I feel no changes, so I think I've wasted my time and ruined my taste buds for a little while. In defeat and to try and wash out that powdered soap taste I decide to get a drink from the water fountain. As I do, I begin to feel all strange and tingly inside. My body starts to feel like it's rapidly cooling as well and my head spins like crazy and throbs in major pain. My eyes start to close as I start to fall over.

Day Six (Thursday):

"Ugh, I feel like I got no sleep." As I stretch and groan in bed I wonder how young I am today. I pay no attention to anything out of sleepiness until I reach the restroom. In the mirror I notice I am back to my nearly mid-twenties self in my reflection. "Yes! I'm back to normal!" I silently scream in joy knowing that I'm finally back to normal. "Thank god I'm back. The only thing I'll miss about that experience is having better hearing. I better call Hazel and let her know what's going on!" As I hurry back into my room I snatch my phone from my bed and immediately call her. It takes a moment before the calls goes through. "Hazel, you will not believe what I went through these past few days!"

"Huh? Can you call me back later, sugar? It's not even six A.M. yet." She hangs up as I must have accidentally waken her up. As I check the time I see it's only five forty-seven A.M. and decide it's best not to wake anyone else up.

"I really do have that wolf pup to thank. Maybe I should go and talk to those mothers about what they're doing to their pups as a way to help them. Eh, on second thought, maybe not. I really do not wanna go through that again. Growing up once is enough for me..."