"...yeah, I know I said that, but something came up! What? Oh, I...have to babysit."
Leah blinked as the world suddenly shifts: one moment she's on her feet, the next she's on the floor. Leah grumbles to herself as she attempts to stand up with the wall as support, and discovering even that doesn't work; her arms suddenly feel incredibly erratic and hard to control. After several failed attempts, Leah growls as she stares at her best friend. It wasn't Tonya's fault, but it didn't make it any less frustrating.
"Yeah yeah, it's a long term thing, can't avoid it. Sorry. What? Don't feel bad, I like being a baby sitter! Babies are cute!...Yes, even changing poopy diapers. Look, babies do baby things, they can't help it!"
Again, Leah felt her mind shift and fog, rolling onto her back as her thumb occupied her mouth. Tonya remind blissfully ignorant as Leah was reduced further and further into a baby. She quickly replaced it with the pacifier attached to her onesie, but found herself having a rather difficult time getting back to her feet (and hands). After a full 30 seconds of effort, she made her way back onto her hands and knees, half tempted to shout out angrily if she didn't think baby babble would come out. After a moment of thought, Leah decided to move away from the room: though Leah knew she could get Tonya's attention one way or another, she figured it best to just leave her friend alone while having a phone call. Besides, for all of Leah's wants to keep her mobility, she never did experience what it's like without it; she might as well spend the time, knowing how long Tonya's phone calls can last.
Crawling through the halls was already quite the experience, just from being low to the ground. Knowing that things she takes for granted are now out of reach made her feel all the smaller, like an actual baby. Speaking of which, she noticed that lucidity from earlier was gone, leaving just a tingly fog behind. Once again, she found a strange comfort in her sudden loss of potty awareness; if she needed to go poopy, she'd have no idea until Tonya found her again. Maybe it was due to the triggers, but Leah found herself giggling at the thought. The fact that she could be rendered so helpless she can't even walk should terrify her, yet the thought that Tonya will be there to help take care of her assuages those fears.
After a frustrating number of minutes crawling slowly through the halls, she finally made it to the one place she could access: the nursery. The door was still slightly ajar from them moving the crib, so Leah easily made her way inside. The space was made for babies, and the padded floors gave instant relief to Leah's knees. So far, she's not been dissuaded from her earlier thoughts: crawling sucks, and losing her mobility severely limits her. However, the once small nursery now feels enormous; at least if she is stuck crawling, this place isn't the worst place to be.
Leah crawls around for a while, exploring the various toys and areas with a fresh perspective. Eventually, Leah heard Tonya calling in the hall, and responded as best she could with her tied tongue. Tonya came running in with a look of panic that immediately faded as she saw Leah crawling there. Then it erupted into panic again.
"Oh no! Uh, be a big girl!" She shouted, needing to shout it a few more times before Leah felt her dexterity return. That, and aware of how stinky her diaper was. The sudden awareness caused the stench to be overwhelming, making the teen grab her nose. From how lukewarm and clammy the diaper feels, it wasn't even a recent accident. Did she really poop herself without any awareness? The idea shouldn't embarrassed her tremendously, yet she felt a weird sense of excitement at the prospect of being so helpless.
"I was worried there. Shoot, did you over hear my call?" Tonya asked. Leah stands with a hand on her butt, still reeling at her surprise accident. Going from a hapless baby to severe discomfort was far more jarring than it was before.
"Yeah, but decided to not bother you while on the phone. Crawled over here to burn time."
"Damnit, right when I thought I was alone. I'm sorry Leah."
"It's fine, really. Right now, I just want a change and to sleep."
Tonya nodded but still looked a little guilty. Think back on all the help her friend has given her, Leah found that unacceptable.
"Hey, we're in a strange situation and dealing with it the best we can. You did nothing wrong, Tonya. Honestly, if ever a time to be cursed into being a baby, I'm glad it's with you."
Tonya's lips raised ever so slightly at the edges.
"You mean that?"
Leah nodded enthusiastically. Tonya's face finally melted into a blooming smile that warmed Leah's heart.
"Thanks, baby."
There was a split second before Tonya's eyes widened, and Leah found herself on the floor again. Her head spun as the random assortment of triggers enacted by 'baby' enacted, all while Tonya looked genuinely baffled at herself.
"Wh-why did I say that?" Her attention turned back to Leah, "I'm so sorry, I don't- it just slipped out! Uh, be a-"
"Wait!"
Tonya froze as Leah raised a hand as best she could. With her mind settled, it also brought with it something else: relief. The discomfort of her dirty diaper before now vanished.
"Jus 'tange me wike dis. It makes my diapee wess 'tinky."
"Are you sure? That was a total accid- I mean, I didn't mean to do that."
Leah nodded her head enthusiastically once more; while she's also a little baffled by Tonya's strange tongue slip, she's thankful for it all the same.
Still looking a little disturbed herself, Tonya approached Leah and picked her up. As Tonya cradled her, Leah let herself cuddle into her chest; in Tonya's embrace, Leah felt warm and protected, and all the stress of her hypnotic problem faded away. Tonya carried her to her room and deposited Leah onto the changing table, eliciting the slightest of whines when she had to separate Leah. The change was quick, but it felt incredibly strange to Tonya; with Leah hypnotized, it felt much more like changing a baby than ever before, as the younger teen sleepily sucked her pacifier. Tonya almost had to remind herself that this wasn't a toddler despite knowing this was her teenage best friend. This came with the perk of being significantly less awkward than earlier changes, but still made Tonya uneasy for reasons she couldn't explain.
"Alright, change is done. Want me to reverse it now?" Tonya asked in a whisper, not wanting to startle the sleepy baby Leah currently was. Leah, almost fully drowned in sleep, gave it as much thought as she could. She felt comfortable at the moment, so there's really no need. She grunts 'uh-uh' behind her pacifier. Tonya frowns.
"Are you sure? We don't know if there's any consequences of falling asleep like this." Tonya explained, but knew it was pointless; Leah was dead to the world. Still, the baby teen responded with a subtle nod, affirming she response. Tonya SHOULD just reverse it, given that Leah wasn't of sound mind. Still...something stayed her hand. If Leah wanted to sleep like a baby, then it should be fine right? Even upon the thought of unknown consequences, Tonya felt a strange tug in her mind to not interfere. Gently, she picked the girl up and deposited her into the crib before tucking her in. Leah immediately curled up and fell asleep.
The sight was so sweet, Tonya almost almost got teary-eyed.
"Good night, baby." She whispered. A part of her panicked at once again letting the word slip. It was almost an instinct, like what else could she call the girl in front of her anything other than a baby? Leah was asleep though, so Tonya only hoped that the trigger would have no effect. Returning to her bed, she shut off the lights and fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow after such a long stressful day.
In the morning...