The Adventures of Ozzie Astaroth

Chapter 4
Chapter 4

Chapter Description: Ozzie continues to deal with the embarrassments of infancy while Luna takes care of him and the two discover the identity of the evil witch.

Ozzie slept and dreamed. This time it was relatively peaceful. In this dream he was a real baby being taken care of by Luna. He cooed and giggled up at her as she held him in her arms.

“Mommy loves her baby boy.” she said, rocking him gently.

“Mommy?” Ozzie thought curiously. “Is she my mommy?” His baby mind had taken over in the dream, and he could only think words. His baby body wiggled and kicked as he was rocked. He watched as Luna pulled out a baby bottle and held it up to him. He latched on instinctively and began to suckle hungrily. Inside, he was trying to fight it, but his body reacted on its own.

“That's mommy's good baby.” Luna cooed to him. “Drink it all up.”

“N-no!” he thought. “Not a baby!” But his body betrayed him by smiling and drinking down the formula. When he was done, he was placed on Luna's shoulder while she patted his back. He let out a very loud burp.

“Oh, excuse you!” Luna said with a chuckle. “You're just such an adorable baby. Yes you are!” She cuddled him close and patted his diapered rear.

Ozzie cursed on the inside, but giggled on the outside. “No!” he thought. “This isn't right!” He kept trying to resist, but his body continued to act on its own. Eventually he gave in and just sort of watched the scene play out.

Luna continued to play with him, bouncing him on her knee, and tickling his feet. She was clearly enjoying herself. “Oooh, yes, my baby is so cute!” she said again.

Ozzie looked up and saw Luna's smiling face. He didn't want to upset her. He enjoyed seeing her smile, and felt safe in her arms. “This isn't so bad.” he thought. “I have no responsibilities and have a loving mother who takes care of my every need. Is this what all babies feel?” He pondered his situation since he had no memories of being a baby the first time. His earliest memory was of being around 5 years old and playing in a field. He could remember his mom and dad. Both long gone now, but were loving parents, and often too busy to be with him. Instead, a designated caregiver was assigned to him who acted mostly as a teacher than a loving parent. In a sense, he didn't really have a traditional childhood the first time. "Maybe I should just enjoy this." He relaxed his mind a little, and his body played with a rattle, giggling and having a good time. Then his body suddenly strained in automatic response to something. He let out a small grunt, then giggled.

“Uh oh, did baby make a stinky?” Luna teased. She checked his diaper and nodded. “Yep, lets get that bottom cleaned!”

Ozzie just sighed on the inside. “Not again.” he thought. “Babies sure do poop a lot.” He wasn't even aware that he had to go. He just went with the flow, as there was nothing else he could do. Being able to think while this was going on gave him some perspective. Luna really was treating him like a good mother would. She kept him fed, cleaned, and entertained. He looked up at her smiling face as she changed his diaper and felt a bond. Her gentle cleaning conveyed a sense of motherly love. After all, it takes a lot of love to be willing to clean and change someone's poopy diaper. When being changed, he was always laid bare, completely vulnerable and helpless. Yet he could feel the love and tenderness coming from her. It was a very nice feeling to be loved like this. He let his mind go fully and felt the babyish bliss surround him. He cooed and smiled, loving his mommy. He even loved his bottles and his diapers. He loved being her baby.

Just when he was getting used to this feeling, he heard a voice. It was an angry voice calling out for him over and over. It sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. Then, just as suddenly, he woke up, still in his crib. Ozzie looked around, still unsure if he was dreaming or not. Luna had left her bed, so he turned to the horn by his bed. “Um, Wuna?” he said in his very babyish voice. “I awake now.”

Luna heard this from downstairs and came on up. “Good morning Ozzie!” she greeted him. “Did you sleep well?” She walked over to him and picked him up, secretly checking his diaper.

“Yah, I did.” he said, letting out a little yawn. “Had baby dweams.” He blushed, not realizing he was being checked like an infant.

“Well, you ARE a baby.” Luna joked, carrying him over to the changing table. “I guess baby dreams come with it.” She smiled and began changing his diaper.

Ozzie rubbed his eyes, not complaining about being changed. As far as he was concerned, it was beyond his ability to control right now, and he did enjoy it a little. “I guess you been up a while?” he asked.

“Yeah, I have to get up early so I can setup shop and also make breakfast for us.” Luna said, lifting his legs and cleaning him.

“I hope I not a burden.” Ozzie blushed. He didn't want to hinder her daily life too much, but he guessed it was unavoidable.

“No, not at all.” Luna reassured, powdering and rediapering him. “I told you I was okay with doing this for you, and I meant it. So don't worry.” She washed her hands and picked him up. “You just keep being a good baby for me and we'll call it even, okay?” she teased.

Ozzie blushed and pretended to pout. “Oh, otay.” he mumbled. “I be good.” He cracked a smile, thinking of the dream he had. He was taken downstairs and put in his high chair.

“I made you some eggs and grits for breakfast.” Luna said, sitting in front of him and tying a bib onto him. “I hope you like it.” She tried feeding him some.

He opened his mouth and ate a spoon full. It was very tasty. “Mmm, its good!” he said, wanting more. Breakfast was always his favorite meal of the day.

“Good!” Luna smiled. “I'm glad you like my cooking.” She continued to feed him and also eat some herself. She placed a bottle of fruit juice within reach of him.

Ozzie grabbed the bottle and drank every now and then. This felt nice, having breakfast with her. He felt at peace as his tummy filled.

Once he was done, Luna cleaned his face and placed him over her shoulder, patting his back until he burped. She then took him upstairs and dressed him in his baby-sized robes and even some tiny blue socks. “There.” she said. “You look like any other adorable baby.”

Ozzie looked at himself in the mirror. “Othew dan da haiw.” he said. He had to admit, the baby in the mirror did look cute.

“Oh, I have one more thing to complete the look.” she said, pulling out a pacifier. It was a typical baby pacifier, with a white mouth guard, but it also had a bulb on the front. This was typical for babies in this world. This type of pacifier would light up if the baby had magic power within them, so it was a way to gauge if and when those powers were starting to develop and just how powerful they were.

“No way!” Ozzie blushed, refusing. “Ish bad enough dat I gotta weaw a diapee and baby stuff, but a pacifiew? Nu uh!” He fussed, but saw the look on her face. She looked disappointed.

“Oh, okay.” she said, sounding defeated. “If you think that's best.”

“Ooooh, fine.” he relented. “I twy it out.”

Luna smiled and offered it to him. “Good!” she said happily. “I was hoping you would. This should help us see what your magic level is.”

Ozzie put the pacifier in his mouth and began to suck on it. It was just like the bottle nipple. Soon he developed a rhythm, and the pacifier lit up with a bright blue color.

“Oh look, blue!” she said. “That's typical for a baby boy. It sure is bright!” It soon turned green though, as well as yellow, white, red, purple, and all sorts of colors. “That's amazing! I doubt any other baby has ever displayed such magic before. It must be from that demon and our mixing of magic. You should try and keep it toned down while we're out though. We don't want too much attention.”

Ozzie nodded and concentrated. Soon the glow of the pacifier faded back to a dim blue.

“Good boy!” she said, ruffling his hair. “Now we can go to the library.” She picked him up, and grabbed a bag on her way out. It was basically a diaper bag, but also had a few other things in it just in case.

Ozzie blushed at being called a good boy, but somewhere inside him it felt good to be praised. He sucked on his pacifier as they walked around the town. He got a few looks, but none lingered too long. He noticed other babies being held by their mothers or fathers, sucking on their blinking pacifiers. It never really occurred to him that this was such a common sight before. At least he felt better about blending in.

“Here we are.” Luna said, entering the library. The scent of old paper and ink filled the air. She carried Ozzie around, looking at all the books. “I guess we should start on the history of witches in this town.” She looked through the history section until she found one that covered the years the witch was there. She took the book and looked for more. She found a few on witches in general as well as summon stones, and went to check out.

The librarian at the counter was a gray haired lady wearing glasses. She looked at Luna and at Ozzie. “Aww, such a cute baby.” she said to her. “All cute babies get a sucker!” She offered Ozzie a choice of green, blue, and red suckers.

Ozzie reached out and picked the red one, smiling behind his pacifier.

“What do we say?” Luna said to Ozzie.

He blushed a bit and mumbled behind his pacifier. “F-fank you.”

“So polite!” said the librarian. “You must be a good mother to him.” She checked out the books.

Luna blushed this time. “Oh I'm, uh...” she said. “I mean, thanks! I do my best!” The rest went without incident and they both left for home.

Ozzie took the pacifier out of his mouth and replaced it with the sucker. It tasted like cherries. He smiled as he sucked on it and leaned against Luna.

Luna smiled and held him close with one arm while holding the books with the other. Once home, she sat down on the floor with Ozzie and spread the books out in front of them. “Now, lets see what we can find.” she said as she began reading. When Ozzie reached for a book, she stopped him. “Ah! Wait, lets wash those sticky fingers first mister.”

Ozzie looked at her and at his hands. He didn't notice that the sucker had made them sticky. He had just been chastised like a child.

Luna took him over to the sink and washed his hands. “There we go, all nice and clean.” She was definitely seeing him more as a child than an adult. Then she sat him back down next to her on the floor and they both read through the books. Luna lasted longer than Ozzie of course. She noticed him dozing off every so often and finally said something. “I think its nap time for you.”

Ozzie looked up sleepily and rubbed his eyes. “No, I can keep going.” he said, but then yawned. He knew she was right.

“You're likely to miss important details if you're sleepy.” she said. “You'll do better after some rest.” With that, she picked him up and carried him to his crib for a nap. “Do you need anything?”

“N-no, I'm good.” he said sleepily. “Fank you.” Although, he secretly wanted his pacifier for some reason. He soon fell fast asleep anyway.

“You're welcome.” Luna said quietly, leaving the bedroom and going back to reading and running her shop. She made some interesting discoveries, as there were numerous negative encounters with the witch. There was also some helpful info on witches in general. While there are good ones, most are known for their evil behaviors. Many feasted on the life force of the living. Some would suck the magic power from anyone they could in order to increase their own powers. The difference between the good and bad witches was how much they let the dark powers affect them. Some managed to fight off the temptations and only used magic that require dark sacrifices. These typically deemed themselves to be 'wiccans' and tried to distance themselves from the witch label, often with little success.

Meanwhile, as Ozzie slept, he had the same nightmare of the witch chasing him. He heard her say she was coming for him and Luna. This shocked him since she had never spoken clearly before. Her voice was creaky and old, but all he could see of her was a shadowy form with red eyes. The illustrations of scary witches in the books he read came to life. Suddenly, she disappeared, and a new voice could be heard. It was that same angry voice calling to him. He could almost tell who it was when he suddenly woke up. He called to Luna who came to him. Of course, he needed another diaper change, but after that she brought him downstairs and told him about what she had found.

“According to this, that witch is a serious threat.” Luna said, holding Ozzie in her lap. “Her name was, or is, Devzla. She would promise people eternal youth, then steal their magic and kill them. What got her caught is when she started stealing children away. She somehow found a way to transfer their youth into herself, but this would result in the children dying. Many went missing, and one day the runaway child of a royal was caught in her trap. Fortunately, this child had a charm that their parents used to track them, and they found the witch, but it was too late for the child. Enraged, the parents hit her with everything they had, and with the help of the villagers, they drove her out. She was too powerful for them to kill, but they did manage to wound her greatly. This claims she died, since no one ever saw her again, but it sure sounds like her. At the very least, it could be her or someone related to her. Whomever it is, they're pure evil.”

Ozzie nodded, taking it all in. "She comin' for us in my dweams." he warned.

"She must be tracking you." Luna said. "However, she must be very far away or very weak if she can only reach into your mind when you sleep. So we have time."

Ozzie sighed. He was glad Luna had found more information. All he had to go on was her voice. He had no idea what she actually looked like, and there were only vague descriptions in the books. “So wha can we do?” he asked.

“Well, I found some enchantments we can use that will hide us from her.” Luna said. “I know how to enchant jewelry and other things, so I can make us things that will make her unable to find us. The sooner we do this the better.” She laid out some bracelets in front of Ozzie. “Which one do you like best?”

Ozzie looked them all over, and eventually decided to go with a silver bracelet with a jade stone in it. “Dat one wooks nice.” he said.

“Good choice!” Luna said. “I'll get to work on the enchantments right away. In the meantime, you can practice some more magic. Okay?”

Ozzie nodded, and the two set about their own tasks. The very real threat of the witch haunted his mind.