A Bath

“But you have to take a bath Sammy! It’s been 3 weeks!”, but Sammy didn’t care, he was filthy and he liked being that way and he had found the perfect hiding spot in his house to hide from his parents. Ever since he had turned 12 years old his parents had nagged him to shower daily, but he was the persistent type and always found a way around it. Smelling bad didn’t bother him, being dirty didn’t bother him, he had always hated baths and showers, and remembered the many battles he had with his parents when he was a kid over taking them. The other kids sometimes called him a skunk or said that he

“stinks like a skunk”, but it never bothered him. He was one determined kid, and even if it meant ridicule he could do whatever he wanted. His parents had heard that the other kids sometimes called him a skunk, and while when they talked to their parents they discouraged it they knew that the other kids had a point.

His parents tried to explain to him how unhealthy it was to go so long without bathing and how the other kids would respect him more if he finally started to bathe. But nothing they said had any effect on him. One day out of desperation his mother said

“Sammy, I know the other kids call you a skunk, well if you don’t bathe soon your going to end up becoming one for real. You don’t want that do you?”. Sammy could only look at her like she was crazy, his parents had tried some odd things to get him to shower, but to say

“you’ll end up becoming a skunk if you don’t” took the cake. Looking at her as if she was crazy he responded with

“Common Mom, I’m not a little kid anymore, I know that things like that don’t really happen”. Simply responding with a

“Well okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you” his mother walked away.

Getting into bed, Sammy went to sleep.

When he awoke the next day, he felt a bit odd. He couldn’t quite “put his finer on it” but something wasn’t quite ‘right’. Looking in the mirror, his reflection looked a bit odd. He appeared to have lost a few of the inches that he had gained in a previous

“growth sprit”, and he looked a bit younger, about how he looked at this time last year. Looking closely at his arms there was a fine coating of black hair on them which became white at his wrists. And his finger nails seemed a bit pointer then normal. Wondering if the changes were happening elsewhere on his body he took his clothes off and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, which happened to be a full length mirror. His legs also had the thin coating of hair. It was mostly black, but turned white at his ankles and was white in his inner thighs. His face still seemed to look normal, so he just put on jeans and a long sleeved shirt and put his hands in his pockets when he wasn’t using them, figuring that he could cover the changes with clothes. He wasn’t sure what to think about what was going on, his mothers words

“you’ll end up becoming a skunk if you don’t” echoed though his mind, but he brushed them off.

The day at school went pretty much as normal, although he did feel a bit itchy. Considering what was going on, he wasn’t bothered as much by the taunts of his classmates. Somehow they just didn’t seem as bad.

Getting home, the itchiness had subsided. After saying hi to everyone he went upstairs to his room to see if anything more had happened during the day. It hadn’t.

“Maybe this was all just some weird puberty thing that will wear off in a day of two” he though and went downstairs for supper. That evening he had the same fight as usual with his parents about taking a bath, and despite the changes that had occurred in his body and the suspicion that his mothers words were coming true he still decided not to.

Again he went to bed and to sleep.

The next morning when he woke up, he felt strange again. Again looking in the mirror, it was clear that the changes had continued. The hair on his body, while before just a light covering was now much thicker. He could barley see his skin under it. It’s texture was much softer then human hair, it was almost like fur. Speaking of human hair, the hair on his head, his human hair appeared to be falling out and being replaced by white hair. The white hair replacing it, was not quite as soft as the hair on his body, but was still soft compared to the hair on his head. The changes had now spread to his face. He had a fairly thick coating of hair over much of it. Its color was white around his eyes, mouth and nose. His nose and mouth were to grow together, as if they were forming into a muzzle. His ears were a bit smaller and seemed to have moved up his head slightly. Again he seemed to have lost several inches in height. It was hard to tell with the fur, but he definitely looked younger, maybe around 8 years old. Despite the fact that his changes were much more pronounced, he actually seemed somewhat calmer then he had felt yesterday. Again his mothers words “you’ll end up becoming a skunk if you don’t” echoed though his head, but this time it was almost as if he was hoping it were true.

Most of his clothes were a fair bit too big now, so he snuck into his younger brother’s room (who was 8 years old) and ‘borrowed’ a pair of his pants a short sleeve shirt and some underwear. Getting dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror he had to admit that he did look cute , almost like a cartoon skunk, but not quite. He heard his mothers call up from downstairs,

“Sammy are you up? Your going to be late for school” made him wonder how his parents were going to take this.

“Only one way to find out” , whoa 'my voice sounds a lot higher pitched' he thought as he made his way downstairs.

He had expected his parents to panic upon seeing what looked like a huge skunk walking around the house but instead their reaction was totally unexpected.

“Good morning Sammy, I see you're doing well.”. Doing well? DOING well? Maybe they didn’t notice that I’m now furry and have lost about 6 inches over the past 2 nights, he thought.

“Mom, I have fur” he said to her.

“I know. Don’t you remember what I told you;

“you’ll end up becoming a skunk if…”

“Yes, I remember” he said, cutting her off mid sentence.

“Well, that’s what happening, until you take a bath your going to become more and more of a skunk”.

“By why am I getting younger?”.

“I figured that it would be fun, not wanting to take a bath is something most little kids do, so your becoming one as well”. Strangely the idea of being a little kid again actually seemed appealing to him. That combined with the idea of becoming an anthropomorphic skunk made him almost happy. He didn’t want his mom to catch on, so he acted as if he was unhappy with the changes.

“But mom! This isn’t fair to do this to me” he said.

“Mother knows best, you may find it unfair now, but once you’ve bathed and changed back you’ll see why it was a good solution. Now off to school”.

School was certainly interesting that day, his mom had called the teacher ahead so she knew what to expect. His students didn’t even know who he was, though he was a new student or Sam’s brother posing as Sam and wearing a costume. They all wanted to feel his fur, all commented on how real it felt. It was fun for him as it was like playing make believe, he could enjoy the new feelings having fur gave him while at the same time not arousing suspicion from his class mates.

That day recess was much more fun for him that normal, he found himself enjoy simply running around and play much more then he had in years. Mostly he played with the 8 year old students. They too were fascinated by the sight of him, some believed he was ‘real’ while others though he was just a fancy costume.

He skipped home from school (something he had not done in several years), and spent most of the evening watching cartoons (something else he hadn’t of done in years, before he had been starting to watch Prime time TV shows with his parents). Again that evening he chose not to bathe, despite his parents asking him to several times and trying to convince him.

Again, he went to bed and fell asleep.

Waking up the next day, there were more changes. Almost excitedly, he rushed to the mirror to see what had happened overnight. This time, his fur was fully grown in, it was impossible to see any skin under it. At the end of each finger and toe he had a short claw. Looking at his back, he had a 2 stripes running down it, which merged at his neck. He also had a stripe running down his forehead. His nose and mouth were fully merged and his nose, while still having the skin of a human, the shape of the nostrils was that of a skunk. Just over his rear end he had a small stump, which was the beginning of a tail. His height had again decreased, he was now nearly a foot shorter then he had been as a human. His facial features made him look about 6 years old, and his voice’s pitch indicated the same. He found himself wanting to play rather then go to school, and felt much more energetic. But what was he going to wear? All of his clothes would be far too big now, and even his 8 year old bother’s were too big. His fur kept him very warm so he didn’t have any reason to wear clothes, other then for modesty purposes. He found himself not being that bothered by the idea of not wearing anything, but at the same time knew others wouldn’t take kindly to it. Putting on a pair of his underwear and one of his shirts, which covered almost his entire body he went downstairs.

“Good morning Sammy, you're looking good this morning. How do you feel?”, his mother asked.

“I feel great mommy!” he responded, sounding just like a 6 year old.

“So are you ready to take a bath yet?” she asked. His response while what she expected, concerned her

“Ewww , baths are gross, I don’t wana bath, I wana play. Can I stay home from school today mommy?” . He was genuinely enjoying this, he really felt like acting just like a little kid, his memories were intact as was his intelligence, but stuff he knew seemed boring and all he wanted to do was to run and play.

“Okay honey, you can stay home, but I hope you’ll consider taking a bath tonight” running into the living room with a great big smile on his face Sammy sat in front of the TV and started to watch TV.

The rest of the day consisted mostly of playing and running around just like a little kid. His mother started to wonder if this was a good idea or not, but once the spell had started, it couldn’t be stopped. In a way in was like old times, which brought back fun memories. And she had to admit he looked absolutely adorable like this and was it was enjoyable hugging him with all that fur, he felt so warm and soft. The smell was rather unpleasant, but once she convinced him to take a bath, that problem would be solved.

Sammy went to bed early that night, having tired himself out with all the running around and playing during the day. Again, he fell asleep, wondering what the next day would bring.

When he awoke the next day he had his answer. Quickly heading for the mirror, he saw the changes. He seemed to be about the same height and age but his skunk features has been busy developing. His muzzle was fully formed, and his tail had been growing like crazy overnight. It was now a full length skunk tail. It was slightly longer then his height, and when he held it up (a position he found comfortable) the top of it was slightly above his head. His feet had also changed, he now only had 3 toes on each foot, and each toe was a bit wider then his normal human toes. He had a full head of white hair on the top of his head, and his eyes were now blue. It would seem that he also had the glands of a skunk, as he had a musky odor.

“I’m going to have to learn how to control that” he said to himself. He found that he also felt much softer in general. There was no sign he had ever been a human, and he looked just like a cartoon skunk kid, a very cute kid at that.

“Hi, mom!” he said as he sat at the breakfast table, something a bit more challenging then normal due to his large tail. With some maneuvering, he was able to get it through the hole in the back of the chair. His 8 year old brother, while a bit nervous at his appearance wanted to pet his tail to see what it felt like, something which Sammy didn’t mind. His sister, (who was 21) walked over to him and picked him up and gave him a huge hug.

“You sooo cute like this” she said as she hugged him really tight. It was then that Sammy became aware of his heightened senses, he could smell meals that had been prepared in the kitchen from days before. He could even tell what brand of shampoo his sister had used in the shower the night before, and for that matter his brother and mother. It was something of an experience. It would seem that his sense of taste has also been enhanced as food that tasted bland before now tasted incredible.

Seeing Sammy enjoying himself and his brother and sister enjoying him, his mother tried to remind them that this was not meant to be a good thing. But they didn’t let that bother them at all.

Sammy spend most of the day outside, taking in the scents that his new senses allowed him. It was fall, and starting to get cool. Normally he would have to wear several layers, but with his fur he was able to get away with wearing nothing but underwear, which was the only thing that would now fit him. He finally convinced his mother to take him to the forest close to their house, where he spent several hours playing and digging in the dirt. Much to his mothers disdain he found himself eating some bugs, which while before would have been disgusting to him, were now very tasty. There was a small open field in the forest and he spend a few minutes running though it, first taking off his underwear. He couldn’t remember the last time it felt so food running around naked, well naked was not the right word to use, as with all his fur he was more then comfortable.

Finally as dinner time approached, he was starting to tire and they went home.

He again fell asleep early that evening, again refusing to take a bath. This time, instead of sleeping like a human, he slept all curled up in a ball like an animal. It felt very nice and warm.

Waking up the next day, he felt great, at first he thought his changes had completed, but he was wrong. He was now even smaller, and he looked about 4. His voice now sounded like a toddlers, and he felt like one. This time his mother was standing by his bedroom door , waiting for him. She told him that the spell was complete. Excited he asked

“I get stay like this?” talking just like a toddler. She told him that

“The spell changes you more and more every day until you end up like this. Once it’s run its course it can’t be reversed”. Overjoyed to hear this news, he responded with

“cool!”.

“There is one catch though. You cant resist taking a bath now my little stinker!” ,

“oh oh” he responded and tried to bolt past her. But being just a toddler, he couldn’t outrun her anymore. Picking him up, she gave him a great big hug and said

“Don’t worry, you get to stay like this, even if you take a bath”. His mother often had a way with words and a way of conniving him to do something, and much like a normal 4 year he found himself content to be with her, even if that meant taking a bath.

“Okay mommy I take bath” he said, finding it fun talking like that again.

He had forgotten what it was like to sit in the water and play. With all that fur it took a lot longer for him to bathe, but it didn’t bother him at all, in fact it made it even more enjoyable. Instead of trying to convince him to take a bath, it was now difficult to convince him to get out of the bath.

Getting out of the bath, his fur dripping wet, he took off, running right under his mother’s legs, he ran though the house naked and dripping water all over the place.

Shaking her head, but in an enjoyable way, his mother gave chase, eventually catching up with him, wrapping him in a towel and giving him a great big hug.

Finally she had convinced him to take a bath.