Holy heck, 10 chapters!!! I'm so happy with this one and I can't wait for you to read it! ^^  Omi is an amazing author and by far the bestest of lil dipaer needing plushies! Thank you so much!!! Enjoy the story!

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Nephyr hugged his stuffed bird close as he sat on the couch, pacifier in his beak, while he watched some early afternoon cartoons. He had just finished eating lunch—a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some chips and a bottle of apple juice, the latter of which was already swiftly making its way through him. There was no doubt that he’d be putting the puffy padding in between his legs to good use soon, just like the several that had been there before it. While the thought of it made him squirm a little, it wasn’t quite enough to make him blush. He was almost comfortable with this sort of routine by now.

Something, however, seemed to be amiss. Where was Evie and Natalie? The black-feathered peregrine falcon tried to peer over the counter and into the kitchen, trying to see if the girls were still cleaning up after lunch. They were nowhere to be found, however. Evie was his temporary caretaker, in charge of looking after him while he endured his assigned punishment. She was an older red-tailed hawk with chocolatey brown eyes and a very kind, patient demeanor. Natalie, on the other wing, was a gorgeous golden eagle who was about his age, who had been assigned to Evie as assistant caretaker for extra credit on a school project—or so she claimed. He was still a little skeptical about the circumstances of her arriving here. But he didn’t want to question her or accuse her of lying, seeing as they were rather close friends; all the more reason for him to be embarrassed of her fussing over him like an overzealous babysitter.

Where on earth were the two of them?

Holding Mordecai the Second against his chest, Nephyr rocked forward to stand up on his talons, his thick diaper loudly crinkling like an absorbent alarm system underneath the colorful alphabet onesie he wore. Taking slightly wide, waddling steps that only resulted in more rustling, he set off towards the hallway to look for his two superiors. He swiveled his head back and forth, trying to pick up any sound of movement from up ahead. It didn’t take long before he heard some chatter coming from beyond one of the closed doors—the one that led to the nursery room, which was his bedroom for the time being, though Evie had made it clear that only the bathroom and her own room were off limits while he was staying here. He went to turn the door handle...then, remembering his manners, knocked on the door with a curled wing.

“Come in, sweetheart!” came Evie’s voice from within, smoother and a little less peppy than Natalie’s speech patterns. Nephyr opened the door and pushed his way inside of the nursery, tilting his head at what he saw within. His crush, Natalie, seemed to be busy with searching for a new outfit for him to wear, as she was rummaging through the closet and had already laid out a few articles of clothing on the beanbag chair next to her. Evie, meanwhile, was getting a diaper bag situated, ensuring it was packed full of wipes, powder, some other baby needs and necessities, and, of course, plenty of fresh, folded diapers. “So sorry to disappear on you like that, sweetheart! Natalie and I were just having a little chat is all~”

“I-It’s okay,” Nephyr replied, kneading the soft floor underfoot with his talons as he took the pacifier out of his mouth. “W-what about? If it’s o-okay for me to ask.”

The two avian females exchanged a swift glance, suggesting that there might’ve been much more to their conversation than what Evie promptly informed him of. “Well, we had the idea to take a little trip out for a while! It’s such a pretty day outside, and it would be a shame to spend it cooped up indoors.”

The falcon furrowed his brow, eyeing both of the other birds warily. “A t-trip? To w-where, exactly?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not to anywhere boring or dumb, like a makeup or jewelry store,” Natalie told him with a chuckle, holding up a pink maid’s dress that she considered for a few seconds too long before hanging it back up in the closet. “We wouldn’t want you to feel left out, after all! So, I brought up the idea of going to a park, and madam Evie said that she knows of a nice and quiet one not too far from here. It’s close enough to walk to, so it’ll be some good exercise!”

“H-how quiet is it, exactly?” Nephyr inquired, still kneading the ground with his sharp talons. He certainly wasn’t quite as eager as they were to leave the safety of Evie’s house, where no one but the two of them could see his childish treatment taking place.

“Quiet enough,” Evie stated bluntly, her tone just sharp enough to suggest that the decision had already been made, and that she wouldn’t be backing down. Clearing her throat, she continued in a gentler voice, “Like I said, it’s such a pretty day outside—cool, not too warm, and hardly a cloud in the sky. Besides, I'm sure some fresh air would do you some good, wouldn’t it~?”

Clicking his beak a few times, the falcon slowly nodded, knowing that arguing would be pointless—and perhaps greatly increase the chances of him leaving the house dressed like a sissy maid. He took a breath, trying to calm his nerves. “Y-yes, mama. I-I guess that it could h-help to, um...I-I dunno. Do something, I-I guess.”

“That’s the spirit, Neph! Well, mostly,” giggled Natalie, beckoning him over. “Come here, let’s choose something a bit more suited for outdoor wear for you. We don’t want to ruin your adorable little onesie—especially since we still need to finish that little alphabet quiz we had going, earlier!”

“Oh, r-right,” Nephyr stammered, waddling over to the eagle and handing his pacifier off to Evie midway, who added it to the diaper bag. He definitely didn’t want to go out in public looking like a hatchling on top of feeling like one...that, and the onesie was pretty cute, and it’d be a shame to tear the delicate garment on a stray branch or something similar.

“I was thinking these,” Natalie declared, holding up a pair of overalls that looked like they’d just about fit him. “Aren’t they adorable? There’s a pattern of cute bumblebees all over the tummy and legs, and look!” She turned it around so that he could look at the back of it. In addition to the zipper, there was...“It has a few snaps just like your onesie, so it doesn’t have to come all the way off when you need a new diaper! We’d just have to find a good shirt to match it...but what do you think, Neph? How are you with warm temperatures? It’s not awfully warm out there, but it might be a bit too warm for these.”

The falcon rubbed the back of his head, processing his friend’s sudden ramble. It was a bit endearing how enthusiastic that she was about the denim garment—of course, she probably only felt this way because it was him who’d be wearing it. Granted, it wasn't the most babyish thing that he could be forced into wearing—weren't overalls commonly worn by farmers and field workers? He licked the rim of his beak. “Well...th-they are kinda...c-cute, I guess...b-but I'm not the greatest when it comes t-to warm temperatures, yeah.”

“Not a problem!” she assured him, setting the overalls down and not looking offended or disappointed at all. “I figured that might be the case. Well, then, I think we should just stick to a t-shirt and shorts then, yeah? Take a gander!” She set a few more articles of clothing aside—she'd really chosen quite a few options for him—so all that remained were four different tees.

Nephyr took a step closer to analyze his choices. One was a plain light green with some darker trim; that one was out, no doubt about it. The second was a pastel blue with a big logo for a well-known baby diaper brand, “Pawpers”. That one was definitely out, too, on account of its severe lack of subtlety. The third one was...no less subtle than the second, colored a dark red and having a logo of the same size plastered on the chest. This logo, however, was for a television show by the name of “Top Wing”, something that he'd watched an episode of with Evie the other day, and a few on his own just earlier that morning. It was a show that he was quickly becoming enamored with; it was simple and easy to keep up with, being a kids' show and all, and it made him feel...small, in a safe and secure sort of way. In fact, he'd worn a t-shirt just like this one rather recently, albeit in blue rather than red. He pointed at the shirt, not realizing for several moments that he hadn't even bothered to take a look at what his fourth option had been. “D-dat one, please, N-Nat.”

“I had a feeling that you'd go for the one that had your favorite show ever on it~” teased Natalie playfully, putting the other t-shirts in the “rejects” pile. Before he had time to protest that it was only a show that he’d dabbled in and wasn’t his favorite to watch—at least, not yet, maybe—she continued talking. “As for shorts, what say you to a pair of khakis? They aren’t terribly glamourous, but they’re probably the most comfortable option for wearing around outside. Plus, they have plenty of pockets just in case you find some treasures while we’re out walking around, like some loose change or a pretty rock~”

Nephyr rubbed his wing as he nodded, trying to stop his ceaseless kneading of the carpet. All that the golden eagle had to do to make him flustered was to just...talk. That was all it took. He felt so vulnerable around her, but in a good way...it was quite an odd feeling, being around his longtime friend and crush while being dressed like an oversized hatchling, and having her being more than eager to go along with it. “Y-yes p-please, Nat. Th-that sounds like a g-good plan.”

“Fantastic! Go ahead and take that onesie off, then, babycakes. Gotta see if you’ve put that little diapie of yours to use yet!” She winked, turning to hang the unchosen clothes back up in the closet, but kept casting expectant glances over her shoulder at him, waiting for him to do as she’d asked him.

Trying not to physically curl up into a tight ball at being called that favored nickname of hers, Nehpyr handed Mordecai to his elder caretaker for safekeeping before giving the snaps of his onesie a few tugs. He’d struggled trying to fasten them on his own, especially over the bulk of his diaper, but undoing them was a quick and easy task. His diaper was still dry, but he knew that neither of the girls would settle for a verbal answer without a close inspection; besides, he had to change out of the garment either way, so there was no point in raising a fuss over it. He pulled his wings free from the sleeves, slid them down the sides of his body, gripped the bottom of the onesie, and tugged it free up and over his head. This left him in nothing but the clean, dry diaper that he’d been taped up in shortly after the accident he’d had during breakfast; it was embarrassingly pink, decorated with fairies, unicorns, and castles along the waistband, and wetness indicators in the form of ribbons and bows. It had, of course, been handpicked for him by Natalie, herself.

He suddenly felt the back of the waistband being pulled on, a blush quickly rising to his face as he realized Evie was peering into the rear of his diaper. Even though he had nothing to hide, few things made him squirm quite as much as receiving these periodic diaper checks. “All clean in back,” she announced to Natalie.

“Looks like we’ve got a desert in the front, too,” replied the eagle, as she finished hanging the clothes up and placed a wing on the front of his padding. “Seems like someone’s trying to prove that he’s a big hatchling who doesn’t need his pampies! Teehee~”

“That’d be a first,” twittered Evie, taking a final inventory check on her diaper bag. “I received a potty chart from his assigned retraining officer—that is, his preschool teacher—Miss Garland, and, well...it’s not terribly flattering! Quite a few fresh diapers over the span of a handful of hours.” She winked at him as his friend attempted to hide a giggling fit.

Nephyr opened and closed his beak, clicking it several times, trying to think up a retort on the spot and failing as usual. Natalie didn’t even give him time enough to say something as simple as “am not” as, scooping up his chosen Top Wing shirt, she scrunched it up and pulled it on over his head. Barely fighting off the urge to pout, the falcon raised his arms and pushed them through the short sleeves of the t-shirt. It was a little large on him, giving the impression that he was, well, a small bird trying to fit into something that was too big for him. At least it helped to cover up most of his diaper—not that he was planning on losing the pair of shorts that Natalie helped him step into next. The shirt covered part of the nappy’s bulging imprint, at least.

“I’d say we’re all set,” declared Evie, hoisting the diaper bag onto her shoulder and handing Nephyr’s plush toy back to him. He grabbed it and reflexively held it close to his chest again. “I’ll just grab some sippy cups and water bottles from the fridge on the way out, along with some granola bars and trail mix. I don’t think we’ll be out for a terribly long time, but it never hurts to be prepared! Are the pair of you ready to go?”

“Ready as ever!” Natalie confirmed, draping a wing around her friend in a quick, casual hug. “How about you, rustlebutt?”

“Myehhh,” Nephyr made the sound to counter her playful teasing before sharing a brief giggle with her. “Y-yeah, I think I-I'm set.”

“Let’s head out, then, troupe! Forward...march!” chirped the hawk, swishing her tail feathers as she about faced and led the way out of the nursery room and towards the front of the house. Still chuckling to one another, Natalie and Nephyr followed suit. This wouldn’t be so bad—a walk around a park would be a nice way to get his mind off of things for a little while, and just enjoy the beauty of nature and the companionship of his friends...turned caretakers. Assuming he could ignore the rustling of the garment between his legs and the sight of the hulking diaper bag on Evie’s shoulder, it’d be a very refreshing stroll.



As the two girls had stated earlier, the weather outside was wonderfully pleasant. The pristine, bright blue sky was dotted with harmless, wispy white clouds that were few and far between, and the blinding sun’s heat was more than bearable. In fact, Nephyr probably would’ve been fine in the overalls after all, but it was too late to regret that now—they were several minutes’ time away from his senior caretaker’s house. They had opted to take a well-kept but seldom-used side path through a sparse woods rather than the sidewalk along the nearby road, which was quite busy for a residential area. Nephyr was relieved to be safe from the prying eyes of passersby, even though it meant that the other two birds had ample more opportunities to tease him and remind him of his ongoing conundrum. From far more checks than were necessary for the short time they’d been walking, to taking turns coming up with embarrassing nicknames for him—leaky hatchie, waddle birb, and poofer pants, to name just a few—and even to them individually giving his crinkly rump a swift swat and leaving him to determine which of them it had been!

Needless to say, it wasn’t as relaxing of a hike as the falcon had thought it was going to be. But it could’ve been much, much worse. He could’ve been wearing a maid’s outfit with nothing to hide his girly undergarments.

He was learning to take the small victories wherever he could get them.

“Hey, check out that old sign,” Natalie spoke up, walking over some crunchy fallen leaves to approach a rectangular sign made of stone set into the ground. It was painted green, with gold lettering and an arrow pointing ahead on it.

“L-looks like it’s been there for ages,” Nephyr agreed, glad to shift the focus off of him and his spongy underwear. “It’s all w-worn down from the weather. Ooh, w-watch those cobwebs, Nat.”

“It’s been here ever since I started using this little pathway, yeah,” Evie agreed, reading the lettering upon it aloud. “‘Birchwood Park.’ Such a weird sign. It only tells you one thing, and there are at least two more direct routes to take to get to the park.”

“It’s doing its best, don’t judge!” chuckled Natalie, patting the top of the sign as though rewarding a display of good behavior. “This’ll be our sign now, right, Neph?”

The falcon shrugged, then stammered, “Er...r-right, sure, I-I suppose. Um, d-does that mean we’re getting close to the park, m-mama?”

“We sure are,” confirmed his escort. “We’ll be able to see it as soon as we get around that little hill up ahead.”

Nephyr nodded as the trio continued along on their journey, after some water bottles had been distributed amongst them. Even if it wasn’t terribly warm out, it was never a bad idea to make sure to stay hydrated. As he drank a few sips of the water, though, it did draw his attention towards his lower abdomen; though he’d been dry at the last real diaper check before he’d left the house, he had a feeling that the next one would likely be different. Hopefully, he’d be able to slip away for a few seconds just so that he could relieve himself—urinating while walking wasn’t particularly fun, since it always seemed like it would make his diapers leak.

“You aren’t having trouble drinking from your water bottle, sweetie, are you?” asked Evie.

Nephyr blinked. The question had been quite out of the blue; he’d drained half of the water in a matter of moments. “Um...n-no...why d-do you ask?”

“Well, I just figured you’d have grown used to drinking from baby bottles, sippy cups, and from the tap over these last few days~”

The falcon’s eyes went wide as, not missing a beat, Natalie asked for some clarification. “From the tap? What could that possibly mean~?”

“Precisely what you think, dear Nat,” the hawk answered, grinning coyly. “It took a bit of convincing, but little Neph felt oh, so comfortable nursing on his mama last night~”

Nephyr’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as he covered his face with a wing, his beak clicking as he tried to come up with some sort of defense against his caretaker’s words. What could he say, though? He had drank from her breast, and it had made him feel wonderfully relaxed...the fact that Natalie knew this now made him want to hide behind the nearest tree. “I-I...I j-just...”

“Aw, he’s getting all shy again,” giggled Natalie, who draped a wing around his shoulder. “Don’t worry, birdie; I think it’s cute! A little unusual, sure, but still cute! You’re really just a big baby, aren’t ya~?”

“A-am not!” huffed the falcon, trying to hurry along the path so they could arrive at their destination just a little sooner...but he didn’t have the heart to shrug the eagle’s wing off of his shoulder. The other two birds chirped and chuckled as they continued along, setting the pace for him. Thankfully, they soon rounded the bend up ahead, and the park came into the falcon’s view. His tail feathers drooped. When Evie had proposed the idea, he’d been picturing a walking trail, perhaps around a lake, with some picnic benches and chairs scattered about here and there—essentially, he’d assumed that they were going to a walking park, especially since the name was as boring as “Birchwood Park”.

He almost felt foolish for not considering the possibility of it being a kiddie park, complete with swings and slides and even a jungle gym, Granted, it fit thematically with all that he’d been put through more than a simple walking path did...once again, he’d allowed himself to suspend his disbelief and remain hopeful about his situation. And, once again, his expectations had been greatly subverted.

Nephyr received another quick pat to his rump, delivered by Evie. “Go on, sweetie pie, have some fun! Natalie and I will be sitting on that bench right over there, okay? Come and see us if you need a snack, some water, a fresh diaper...you know the drill!”

“Or a push on the swingset!” added Natalie, brushing his nose with a wingtip before taking his diaper bag from the other caretaker. She went to claim the indicated bench while Nephyr held Evie behind for a few moments.

“I-I can’t go over there...!” whined the falcon, gesturing towards the playground and keeping his voice lower than the two girls had. “I-it’s for...b-babies...”

“But you are—”

“I know, I-I know, ‘I am a b-baby',” he interrupted, flinching after the words had come out of his mouth. He had only meant to finish Evie’s sentence for her, but the fact that he’d called himself a baby...he cleared his throat, brushing off his accidental—and totally unsubstantial—admittance. “B-but that playground s-stuff is literally f-for babies. I’ll b-break it if I try to play w-with any of it, because it’s n-not made for adults.”

Evie looked as though she was trying very hard to fight back a smile, something quite unusual for her. She placed a wing on his shoulder, trying to gently coax him over to the park. “First impressions can be deceiving sometimes, little hatchie. Take a closer look...what do you see?”

Nephyr furrowed his brow, but played along with his supervisor, having another look at the playground equipment. Brightly colored plastic slides, a spongy floor that appeared to be a blue rubber of some kind, multiple swingsets of the “panel” and “underwear” variety, a whole lot of reds and blues and yellows and greens...and of course, a handful of kids running around, hooting and hollering to each other as they had the time of their lives, while their parents watched from the sidelines...

He blinked. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Everything on the playground looked so...big. At least, a lot bigger than he remembered such a place to be when he was a younger hatchling. In fact, even the kids running looked to be rather...

The falcon blinked again. They weren’t kids. They were adults.

He stared disbelievingly at his caretaker, who couldn’t fight back a soft giggle at his realization. “That’s right! This park is owned by the very adult daycare facility that you and I hail from. We have frequent trips here for the babies who behave well enough for it, and as you can see, it’s far enough from prying eyes that other people don’t stumble upon it very often. Surprise! Go on, go play and make some friends! Don’t be shy!”

Nephyr, as usual, wasn’t allowed enough time to come up with a reply as Evie sauntered off to join his friend at the bench, where they soon struck a conversation with the kitsune sitting next to them—another caretaker, it seemed. Puffing out his cheek, his talons pulled up little clumps of grass and dirt as he stared at the playground some more. The “kids” were all having so much fun, and it seemed like they very much wanted to be here; chances were that they were among the group of individuals who’d chosen to stay at the adult nursery by choice, rather than the ones who were being punished and rehabilitated.

Taking a deep breath, he took a moment to muster up some scraps of courage. He did want to try and have some fun, to go and play around with the other adult babies, even if that wasn’t what he’d originally been planning on doing when he’d left Evie’s house just a little while ago. There was no point in sulking on the sidelines. He got the feeling that this was a group of kids who’d happily allow him to join their inner circle, perhaps even encourage it, so that they had another friend to play with. It was a childish way of looking at things, perhaps, but Nephyr saw few things here that weren’t childish.

Shaking the dirt off his talons, he walked over to the nearest swingset. There was someone sitting on one of the swings, already—by himself, perhaps taking a breather from the company of others, as he didn’t seem like he was having any less fun than the rest of them. Nephyr would take the swing next to them, try to strike up a conversation, and gauge the other people playing before making his next move. He felt that it was a solid plan, at the very least, and he knew that there was no turning back now as he crossed the threshold onto the playground, his claws now pricking at that synthetic rubber rather than grass. Clearing his throat as he approached the leopard already occupying one of the swings, he spoke, “H-hello. May I sit next t-to you?”

The leopard’s paws—covered by tennis shoes as they weren’t as resilient as the falcon’s talons—dug against the ground to slow himself to nearly a stop on the swing. His silvery eyes lit up with recognition as he looked at his avian visitor. “Oh, hey! It’s you! Nephyr, right?”

Nephyr blinked, tilting his head. “U-um...yeah...who...?”

The feline giggled, his long, slender tail swishing with amusement. “It’s me! Roger! From the nursery, remember? You and Jamie went to eat din din together, and you never returned...” He put a hand on his forehead dramatically, leaning backwards in the swing almost enough to fall off of it. Roger was wearing an outfit similar to Nephyr’s own; an orange t-shirt with black pawprints all over it, and a pair of jeans shorts through which the outline of a diaper was bulging. “I know, you went to bed early that day. But hey, it’s cool to see you again! Oh, and yeah, take a seat if you’d like to! My swingset is your swingset.”

“I-it’s nice to see you a-again, too,” Nephyr replied cordially, lowering his rump into the swing next to his feline friend. Perhaps “friend” was a bit of a stretch, seeing as they’d only played with one another for a short time...but there was no need to be concerned with such semantics for now. He started moving his legs back and forth, working on building up some momentum on the swing, though he didn’t want to go too fast and make it difficult to talk to Roger.

“Hey, you weren’t with the rest of the playground group today,” the leopard observed, also starting to slowly rock back and forth on the swing. “In fact, Jamie and I haven't seen you at all lately. Where’ve ya been?”

“Oh, ma—I mean, m-miss Evie let me s-stay at her place for the weekend,” Nephyr informed him. “S-since I’m not totally...warmed up t-to all this b-baby stuff quite yet. S-she's letting me t-take it slow, and—”

“I’m here! I’m here! I heard you say my name!” squealed a third voice, accompanied by running pawsteps. “Were you calling me or talking about me? I can’t ever tell because of how sensitive my ears are on a playground like this—oh wow, it’s Nephyr! Hi! I almost didn’t recognize you not wearing that pretty pink uniform dress. It’s so good to see you!”

The falcon chirped as a silver-furred wolf slid to a stop in front of the swings, standing a few paces away so that either of the boys didn’t accidentally kick her as they swung on the creaky swings. She was wearing a short, light pink dress that failed to hide her padding completely, with matching socks and shoes. Her wildly wagging tail, though covered with pink bows, was what made Nephyr recall her name. “H-hey, Jamie. N-nice to see you, too.”

Roger huffed softly, his tail just long enough for the soft, brown tip of it to give Nephyr’s thigh a swat. “Oh, sure, you remembered who Jamie was.”

Wincing, the bird tried to think of a response that didn’t paint himself in a negative light, but Jamie spoke before he did. “It’s only because he’s a bird and not a wolf like me; anyone else could smell you from a mile away and go, ‘yup, that’s Roger alright!’”

“Humph! You don’t smell like flowers and perfume all the time either, ya know!” Roger retorted, sticking his tongue out at his friend. “How many stinky diapers did you make yesterday? Six?”

“Seven, actually,” answered Jamie, puffing her chest out as though proud of the statement. “And two more earlier this morning!”

Nephyr found that he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling softly. It was such an odd thing to talk about with the amount of pride that the wolf clearly felt about it. The brief scare from Roger’s earlier statement had already worn off, and the bird felt quite relaxed in the others’ presence. They were quite different from him in both their mannerisms and interests, but it wasn’t off-putting to him at all. “W-well, I see you two a-are just as silly as you w-were the other day.”

“As always!” giggled Jamie, taking a seat in another swing, causing Nephyr to be the middle member of the trio. “So, Nephyr! I can see miss Evie from here, looks like she’s talking to Willow. Who’s that other bird sitting with her? She’s looking this way. Is she a hawk, too?”

Nephyr shook his head, curling his talons as he tried not to lock eyes with Natalie, who he could tell was smiling even from across the playground. “S-she’s a golden eagle, a-and her name is N-Natalie. She’s a f-friend of mine, and she’s, um...h-helping miss Evie t-take care of me.”

“How sweet!” Jamie yipped, her tail continuing to wag away. “But I thought you weren’t an adult baby like us. I didn’t think you’d have friends who were.”

The falcon blinked, confused. “O-oh, um, n-no, she’s not. A-and neither am I. S-she's, er, only helping Evie so she can g-get extra credit f-for school, or something like that.”

The wolf’s blue eyes narrowed curiously, still staring at Natalie. “Hmm...are you sure about that? She looks like she could totally be an adult baby.”

“You think that about everyone,” Roger meowed, speaking up again. “Quit confusing poor Nephy, silly puppy.”

“I guess you’re right,” she yapped, looking towards her playmates as she dropped the matter, starting to swing higher and faster than either of them. “But wouldn’t it be cool if everyone was a big baby like us, Rogie? Then we could play with everyone!...Well, no offense, Nephyr. You’re still a fun birdie, even if you’re not a big baby, too.”

“N-none taken,” he assured her, gripping the chains of the swing as he rocked back and forth. He still couldn’t shake the Freudian slip he’d had earlier, when he’d accidentally called himself exactly what the canine was saying he wasn’t—a big baby. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was hard not to...he cleared his throat as he bent his knees inward. Speaking of not wanting to think about things, he was starting to really need to go to the bathroom. “S-so, um...h-how are things at the, uh, nursery?” It was a silly question, but he wanted attention to be taken off of him for just a few moments...

“Fun as always!” Jamie answered, still swinging higher and faster than either of the other two, panting softly as she kicked her legs back and forth. “Rogie and I have been trying to make at least one new friend every day. We’ve even gotten a few of the grumpies on our side now—that's, uh, what we call the ones who’ve been sent there like you, Neph. It doesn’t mean that you’re grumpy, though!”

Nephyr nodded, the toes of his talons curling slightly as he forced his body to relax momentarily, just enough to allow himself to start wetting his diaper. He kept slowly rocking back and forth on the swing to hide his reflexive shiver as the yellow stream started, soaking his padding and quickly turning it warm and squishy. It was...rather distracting, and it was difficult to swing while he was relieving himself. Thankfully, Roger picked up where his friend had left off, ensuring that the bird didn’t have to try speaking as well.

“Oh yeah, a few of the grumpies are actually super cool, once they drop that big ol’ tough guy or girl façade,” he said, nodding sagely. “Well, not all of em, obviously. I’ve been overhearing some of the caretakers talking about something in the works, where they’re gonna be dividing the facility into two parts—one where the grumpies will stay, and one where the rest of us will be.”

“Ooh, I hear miss Scarlet talking about that,” yipped Jamie, the pair of them completely unaware that their shy friend was in the middle of having an accident in his diaper. Perfect. “The, uh...less grumpy grumpies will be able to stay with the non-grumpies, but only if they stay on their bestest behavior. I can’t imagine that the domain of the grumpies will be a very fun place.”

Nephyr bit back a sigh as he finished wetting himself, covering the sound by clearing his throat quickly. “S-sounds interesting. I-I guess it’d be for the b-best, since I can’t imagine th-that you, er, non-grumpies have a lot of fun with th-the misbehaving ones around.”

“It can definitely take away from the moment, yeah,” Roger agreed. “But hey, don’t judge a book by its cover, ya know? Not all of them grumpies are bad. Anyway! Wanna go and get your diaper changed, Neph?”

The falcon tweeted loudly, covering his beak with a wing as the sudden sound turned a few heads from some of the other playing babies. They quickly returned to what they’d been doing, though, and Nephyr stared at the leopard seated next to him with wide eyes. “H-how did you know...?”

“It was pretty obvious, Neph,” Jamie answered for him, skidding to a halt on the swing, panting gently. “You were making all sorts of funny faces while Rogie and I were talking!”

“Mm-hmm, it’s pretty easy to spot when you’re someone like us—that is, a couple of big babies,” Roger added, his ears flicking with amusement. “Don’t worry, though. Others wouldn’t notice it, since they don’t know what to look for...if that makes sense.”

“I-I guess it does,” Nephyr confirmed sheepishly, wringing his wings together. He thought that he’d been being quite sneaky, taking a leak in his pants without either of the two adult babies noticing. Alas, his diaper was soaked, and it was the current topic of conversation.

“Hey, don’tcha worry your cute lil tail feathers, Nephy,” barked Jamie, hopping off of the swing and stepping in front of him. She quickly lifted her skirt for a handful of seconds, just long enough to show that the white and pink diaper she had underneath appeared no less soaked than his own. “I could go for a change, too. And I'd wager that Rogie needs one, too—he always waits for someone else to need a fresh pair of pamps before admitting that he does, too.”

“Guilty as charged,” confirmed the leopard, hopping off the swing as well, stretching his arms above his head. “On both accounts, that is. Come on, let’s head over to our caretakers, yeah?”

“Um...a-alright...” Nephyr stammered shyly, a bit slower in relinquishing his seat, but he was soon following his friends to where the caretakers were sitting with one another. In addition to Evie and Natalie, there looked to be three chaperones for the trip, none of whom the falcon recognized from his brief time at the nursery. He furrowed his brow as he swiveled his head left and right, not seeing a place of privacy anywhere on or near the playground. “I-is there, like...a b-bathroom or something w-where they’ll take us to c-change us?”

“There’s a bathroom way over there, but it just has a yucky potty and sink inside,” Jamie answered him, pointing in its general direction. “No changing table or anything in there. Hi miss Carrie, miss Willow, and mister Connor! Oh, and miss Evie and miss...Natalie, right? Hi! We need new diapers, please!” she yipped loudly, as if bent on announcing their sogginess to the world. Her exuberance made Nephyr want to shrink in on himself, but at least she was drawing the attention to herself...well, most of it.

“I’ve got dibs on Nephy!” declared Natalie, eagerly unzipping the diaper bag that sat between her and Evie. Her reaction warranted a giggle that rolled through the small crowd...and a meaningful nudge and wink delivered to Nephyr by his leopard companion. It all made him feel even smaller, and he turned his gaze downward, not saying a word as his cheeks burned with shyness.

Evie stood up from her bench, checking each of the babies before her back to back—and removing their pants privileges in the process, ensuring that all could see their soaked undergarments—to make sure that they were all telling the truth and did, in fact, need to be changed. As so often happened, it felt to Nephyr as though a dozen eyes were boring into him, examining this strange, seemingly competent adult bird wearing a drenched diaper around his waist—an exceptionally girly one, at that! Thankfully, he was able to shrug off the feeling a bit quicker than usual; the only ones here were adult babies and caretakers who were more than used to seeing such a sight. “Alright, then, Natalie and I will take care of two of these soggy tushes. Who wants the third?”

“I believe it’s my turn,” spoke Connor, a middle-aged, brown furred coyote, as he retrieved the needed changing supplies from one of the caretaker’s shared backpacks. “I’ll take care of little Roger, there.” He nodded at the leopard, whose tail swished eagerly. They must’ve been acquainted with one another.

“Which leaves me with baby Jamie,” cooed Evie, giving the wolfess a gentle kiss on the forehead, eliciting a giddy laugh from the canine. Nephyr was a little surprised to feel a pang of jealousy while watching his...rather, the caretaker, share her affection like that. It was a silly thing to be envious of; after all, he wasn’t the only one that she was supposed to watch over. She was just...doing him a little favor by letting him stay at her place for the weekend, giving him some time to get accustomed to this ordeal of his. It’d be back to the grindstone tomorrow. “Mind setting up that changing mat, madame Willow?”

“Certainly, Evie,” purred the kitsune, who had already grabbed up what appeared to be a small, bright blue rug, which she spread out on a patch of grass that wasn’t as tall as the rest.

Nephyr’s heart started pounding as the triad of toddlers received their next order from the red-tailed hawk. “Alright, little ones, down on the changing mat so we can take care of you all at once~!”

“A-at once...?” whimpered the falcon, gulping and holding his ground as the other two adults took their places on the mat, leaving a space in between them for Nephye to lie down. There was just enough room for all three of them to lie comfortably...though they’d be rubbing arms with one another...while they got changed...together...

He jumped as he felt Evie’s wing rest on his shoulder. “Is there a problem, Neph?”

Nephyr shivered, knowing that he’d become the center of attention for both babies and surrounding caretakers. Fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, he managed to mumble out, “I-isn’t...th-there...s-somewhere a little m-more...private f-for this?”

Connor seemed to sense the falcon’s unease—not that it was difficult to discern—and stepped to his aid. “Perhaps we could take it easy on him, let him get changed separately?”

“I’ve been taking it easy on him so far this weekend,” replied Evie, her voice still motherly, but taking on a firm tone. “And that’s okay, because that was the purpose of you staying with me, Neph. But the fact of the matter is that this is something you’ll have to get used to. We can’t always whisk you off to a private place whenever you need a fresh diaper, at least not in the nursery, where there’s always lots of stuff that needs to be done. The sooner you get used to community changes, the better.”

“Yeah, and we’re your friends, Neph,” barked Jamie as she lied on the changing mat. “You won’t get much of an easier first time than this, I think. Just remember, it’s not weird until you decide it is.” She stuck out her tongue, her lips curling upwards in a smile.

Nephyr, despite his pounding heart and racing nerves, managed a soft chuckle at the wolfess’s words. It was true; if he could steel himself and accept what was happening, it would go by smoothly and without incident. And, like he’d been telling himself—with Evie also trying to hammer the point home—this entire rehabilitation ordeal would go much smoother if he tried to enjoy it, or at worst, turned a blind eye to his embarrassment. Easier said than done, to be sure, but this could be a good step in the right direction. He cleared his throat, eager for the attention to be diverted from him, and said, “I-I guess you’re right. I-I'll be good.”

“I know you will,” Evie cooed to him gently and, without warning, pushed his pacifier into his beak. He curled his talons, surprised and embarrassed by the binky’s sudden appearance, but suckled on it obediently while fighting the urge to yank it out. “Go on, then, lie down with your kitty and puppy friends~!”

Nephyr did as she asked, taking his place in between the two adult babies and lying down on his back, staring up at the bright blue sky above. He felt a hand wrap around his right wing; turning his head, he saw Roger smiling at him encouragingly. The falcon managed to return the smile behind his pacifier.

“Alright, then, let’s get the three of you cleaned up and back to playtime ASAP,” Connor said, setting a fresh diaper with a tropical pattern down next to Roger’s waist. Jamie was due to receive the same style of padding, since it was from the same diaper bag as Roger’s was. Nephyr, however, wasn’t so lucky, as he saw when Natalie showed him a clean diaper that matched the one he wore: pink, and decorated with castles, unicorns, bows, and ribbons.

Jamie giggled, quick to point out this fact to him. “Well, even if you aren’t wearing that pretty dress, at least you still have your pretty undies~!”

The falcon huffed, scowling at her behind his binky. She, however, retaliated by giving him a cheeky lick on his beak. Was that...how wolves flirted? Or was she just being playfully affectionate? Whatever the case, his attention was soon diverted to other matters as Natalie began ripping the tapes of his soggy diaper free. The noise was added to by both Evie and Connor as they, too, undid the diapers of their respective charges.

Then came the part that Nephyr had been dreading most. As he stared straight up at the sky, a rush of cool, fresh air upon his nethers indicated that his wet padding had been pulled open, laid flat to expose his privates for any who cared to look; Natalie, Evie, Connor, the two babies next to him, and anyone else on the playground who might happen to accidentally look over while they were in the middle of being changed. Roger must’ve sensed Nephyr’s sudden increase in anxiety, given away by the bird’s quickened breathing and anxious squirming, as he was quick to squeeze the falcon’s wing a little tighter. The falcon glanced at him—making sure to keep eyes above his waist level—and gave him another appreciative smile. Likewise, Nephyr felt Jamie scoot her upper body a little closer towards him, the wolfess resting the side of her head against his shoulder. Their touches were gentle and calming, their companionship making the bird feel very safe...even as their crotches and butts were wiped in relative unison.

“See, Neph?” giggled Natalie, giving his exposed belly a gentle pat, his shirt having been rolled up for an easier changing experience. “Things always go by a bit better when you have friends to do it with you~”

Nephyr grunted softly as his legs were lifted up, allowing his crush to clean the urine from his backside. The same happened to both Roger and Jamie not too long afterwards. This may not have been as bad as he was expecting, but it was still embarrassing...at least he was going to get through it without having a proper fit.

It didn’t take long for the three caretakers to finish tending to their triplets; even Natalie, with her minimal experience with changing adult diapers, was able to keep pace with the two veterans and had Nephyr powdered and diapered just seconds after the other two. The three rolled-up, soggy undergarments were gathered up by Connor, who stored them in a disposable bag that was then put inside a backpack, as there were no trash cans to be found at this secret, secluded park. Evie and Natalie helped the three freshly diapered adults to their feet, and Willow swooped in to gather up the changing mat once again.

“Thanks for changing us!” both Jamie and Roger barked and mewled in unison, respectively.

Nephyr blinked, a bit slower on the draw. “Er...y-yeah, thanks f-for the change.”

“You’re very welcome, sweethearts,” cooed Evie, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead. Again, Nephyr felt a little jealous that she distributed one to each of them, but it was mitigated by the fact that she gave one to him, too. “We’re all finished here; if you don’t need some water or anything, go and run along~!”

Jamie and Roger both squealed excitedly as they began to run back towards the swings, but paused as they noticed Nephyr hanging back. The falcon was watching as Connor gathered up both of the nursery-goers’ legwear and stowed them away, while Natalie likewise stored Nephyr’s khaki pants in his diaper bag. He opened his beak, about to request that he have them back...but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He knew what the answer would be. However, he didn’t feel frustration or discontent at knowing that the decision had been made without his slightest bit of influence. He simply felt...acceptance. It was something he had to get used to, like Evie said. So, he might as well start now.

Turning back towards the playground, Nephyr hurried to catch up to his similarly pantsless friends. “H-hey, I bet I can g-go the highest on the swings!”

To Be Continued