{"sf1_id":642320,"sf2_id":"k1VgWP0e","title":"North Star","author":"Jennie","words":2621,"posted_at":"2014-01-03T12:42:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Babyfur","Bear","Diapers","Goldilocks","Magic","No-Yiff","Transformation","escape","fairy tale"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/642320-north-star","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/k1VgWP0e","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/39/ec/39ec2c6f-cd9f-4fc8-a5d5-2ea75f33d486","description":"#2 of Stories\n\nThis is a story I wrote in 1997-1998. It's been on my personal website and still is, but here it is too.\nThe way this story got written was very strange, nothing like any other story I've ever written before or since. It jumped into my head in a process that was like a vivid waking dream. I was thinking about what would happen if Goldilocks was the baby bear, and bang, the pieces all kind of fell together.\nAs I recall I didn't intend to write this as a furry story -- I had only the vaguest idea what furries were at the time. Obviously it's based on a fairy tale in which there were already anthropomorphic animals, which we've been telling stories about for a long time, as we know.\nWarning: This story contains diaper use and implied and threatened violence.\nP.S.: Just in case you didn't get the references -- and you might have, because there are some really clever people out there -- the North Star is (currently) Polaris, in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. The main character, Ursula, has a name that also means \"Little Bear.\" The brightest stars in Ursa Minor form an asterism (an \"unofficial\" constellation) called the Little Dipper, with Polaris at the end of the Dipper's handle. The two stars at the other end of the Little Dipper are often called the Guardians of the Pole. Their names are Kochab and Pherkad, and I would have given Mama and Papa Bear those names in this story, except that they don't sound like very good names for bears to me.","content":"North Star\n\nby LilJennie\n\nI had to keep moving. He could be right behind me. But I also didn't want to\n\nfind myself unknowingly going in circles. I found a clearing and looked up,\n\nsighting the Little Dipper. I was still headed north. Good.\n\nReentering the woods, I struggled through trackless terrain. I thought to\n\nmyself as I broke branches and disturbed the carpet of dead leaves that I was\n\ncertainly leaving a trail that anyone skilled in woodcraft could follow. It was\n\na good thing that he was not such a person. But he could easily hire such a\n\nperson, or employ hounds, or hire someone with magic. No, I could not stop to\n\nrest.\n\nI had been running for two days, without stopping to eat or rest. There had\n\nbeen mountain streams to drink from, but I knew nothing about the fruits and\n\nberries I had seen growing among the forest's trees and shrubs. Although I was\n\nrunning from his control, I had no wish to die, and if I ate something\n\npoisonous that did not kill me, he would certainly find me and bring me\n\nback. Oh, he would certainly hire the best doctors money could buy to care for\n\nme. But he would also certainly buy the best locks and gates money could buy to\n\nkeep his Ursula from leaving him again.\n\nIt was certainly well past midnight when I found the cottage; the quarter moon\n\nhad set long before. It was not in a clearing; the tiny house was set right\n\namong the trees. I could not be sure that it was not a hallucination brought on\n\nby exhaustion and hunger, but the presence of some sort of dwelling promised\n\nfood, rest, and perhaps help. I had run north because I knew it would be less\n\nlikely for him to find help. A man generally has no trouble convincing people\n\nto help him find his runaway wife. It is a pity that this rule does not extend\n\nto runaway husbands. But where there are no people, there are no people to help\n\nhim. However, there were also no people to help me.\n\nWhich brought me back to the cottage in the woods. Who lived here? I knew of no\n\nhuman towns this far north; that was why I had run this way. Why had I run at\n\nall? I remembered only looking out the window of our house, his house, and\n\nseeing the North Star glittering; suddenly I had simply known I could\n\nescape. But to what? Until now I had had no plan save to run. Could there be\n\nApes this far north? I knew we traded with the ape-folk, but they lived to the\n\nsouth, generally. Everyone was warned from childhood about the wolf-folk of the\n\nwoods, but I had seen and heard no one since I entered the forest. The house\n\nseemed too large for the reclusive forest-dwelling peoples such as the\n\nseldom-seen Badgers or Squirrels. Who could live here?\n\nI only thought about this for a moment before knocking on the door. Whoever it\n\nwas, there was a chance that they would help me, and that was better than the\n\ncertainty of starvation or recapture if I ignored this gift from the heavens.\n\nI knocked again. There was light in the windows, but it appeared that no one\n\nwas home. Should I go inside? I tried the door, which opened easily. But\n\nwhoever lived here would certainly be less likely to help me if I failed to\n\nrespect their property.\n\nI thought I heard something behind me, a rustle in the branches, far off to the\n\nsouth. Could he have found me already? Or could it be the residents of this\n\ncottage? I slipped inside, closed the door, and found a small window from which\n\nI could covertly watch the forest to the south. I stayed there for a long\n\ntime. Nothing moved. Perhaps it had merely been the wind, or some far-off\n\nanimal going about its nightly business.\n\nI turned to look at the house's interior and found that I was in a kitchen. It\n\nwas small and cozy. And modern: there was some sort of gas stove, and a small\n\nrefrigerator powered by I knew not what. The ceiling light was on; it was an\n\nelectric light bulb. Whoever lived here, they must be human-sized, since the\n\ntable and chairs were about the right height. There was a cross-stitched\n\nsampler on the wall, reading, \"Welcome, Friends.\" And there was something on\n\nthe table ....\n\nIt was a bowl, full of something that looked like oatmeal, gruel, or\n\nporridge. And it was warm. There was a wooden spoon beside the bowl. The chair\n\nwas pulled out. I was so hungry that it smelled like the most sumptuous feast\n\nin the world - but was it meant for me? Had the inhabitants of this cottage\n\nheard or seen me coming? Could it be that perhaps they wished to help me, but\n\ndid not want to become involved directly? Thus rationalizing my actions, I sat\n\ndown and ate. It was wonderful, even if it was gruel; perhaps it was all they\n\nhad. \"I don't know if you can hear me,\" I said to the empty cottage, \"but thank\n\nyou.\"\n\nWas the cottage empty? I looked through the doorways. There was a den, a\n\nbedroom and a simple bathroom. In the den or living room were chairs,\n\nbookshelves, a sofa, a nice throw rug ... the sofa looked inviting. I felt so\n\ntired. It wasn't long before I sat down; not long after that I lay down, and\n\nnot long after that I was asleep.\n\nWhen I woke up I felt better than I had felt in a long time, although I could\n\ntell my bladder was full. Sunlight streamed through the windows, but\n\nremembering the orientation of the house I realized that it was the sunlight of\n\nlate afternoon. I had slept through most of the day. I was stunned by the\n\nthought that I'd lost many hours of my lead; if he was following, he could now\n\nbe much closer. On the other hand, he would also have to stop for meals and\n\nsleep; I'd never known him to go without. But then, I'd never escaped for so\n\nlong before ....\n\nI rubbed my eyes and shouted with surprise. There was hair on my hands. Yes,\n\nthere'd been hair on them before, but this was a fine, reddish-brown coat of\n\nfur, about as long as that on a plush toy. It was about the same color as my\n\nhair ... I felt, and although there was still hair on my head, it seemed that\n\nthis new fur was all over my body, even my face. I was frightened. It also\n\nseemed that I was shorter than I had been; I remembered that when I had lain\n\ndown to sleep my legs had extended past the end of the sofa, but when I had\n\nawakened they had not.\n\n\"What is going on?\" I asked nobody. How and why would I have grown fur and\n\nbecome smaller overnight? \"Magic,\" I said. \"Got to get out of here.\" It must be\n\nsomething about the cottage ... or the porridge I had eaten.\n\nI had my hand on the doorknob and was about to run sprinting into the woods\n\nfurther north when I imagined I faintly heard a chillingly familiar voice\n\ncalling, \"Ursulaaaaa ...\"\n\nI stiffened. He had found me! Panicked, I peered out a window as I had before\n\nand saw nothing, but then I heard it again - \"Urrrsulaaaaa...\"\n\nThat was when I wet my pants. I felt the urine running down the legs of my\n\ntattered slacks, puddling on the floor. I'd been this scared before - he'd\n\nscared me this badly before - but I'd never done this. Perhaps it was because I\n\nhad more to lose this time. But I emptied my bladder into my pants like a\n\nlittle kid, and it seemed like I couldn't stop it, or didn't want to.\n\nThen the door opened, and there they stood. Two huge bears - no; they were\n\nBears, for they wore clothing and walked upright. There were only rumors about\n\nthe existence of the bear-folk; no one had ever seen them, or even photographed\n\nthem. It was always said that, if they existed, they were the most reclusive of\n\nall. But here they were, and here I was; I had stumbled upon one of their\n\ndwellings in the deep northern forest.\n\n\"I'm - I'm sorry,\" I began. My mouth felt funny.\n\n\"Don't worry, little one,\" said the one wearing the dress and apron. The other\n\none, who wore a red and black plaid flannel shirt and dark-colored pants,\n\ndisappeared into another room and came back with some white towels. \"We've been\n\nwatching over you, and we'll take care of you.\"\n\nBefore I could say anything she had picked me up as if I weighed nothing, and\n\nthe male Bear had begun cleaning up the floor where I had stood. His fur was\n\nshiny and dark brown, almost black, and hers was a beautiful deep reddish\n\nbrown. She carried me into the bedroom and set me down on what I thought was a\n\ndresser, except it had a soft pad on top. She took my sopping pants off me, and\n\nI noticed two things: the fur on my legs was darker and longer than it had\n\nbeen, and my pants were much too long for me. But before I could explore this\n\nfurther, she also removed my torn shirt and bra.\n\nNow, I've never been particularly large in the breast area, but I could now see\n\nthat I had become completely flat. And everywhere was that long, thick,\n\nreddish-brown hair. When I got a chance I felt my face. More hair, but ... I\n\nhad a snout. My nose and mouth stuck way out in front of my face. No wonder\n\ntalking had felt strange. \"What's happening to me?\" I asked, panicked.\n\n\"There, there,\" said the Bear, \"everything's going to be all right.\" I felt\n\noddly comforted; her voice was so gentle. But then she picked up a few squares\n\nof gauzy cloth from a drawer underneath me and pinned them on around my groin,\n\nand I realized that I had just been diapered.\n\n\"A diaper?\" I asked. \"What's going on?\"\n\nShe slipped a pair of plastic pants over the diaper and explained, \"We've been\n\nwatching you ever since you started fleeing from Humanity. We made sure no harm\n\ncame to you. And we made sure that the male following you didn't catch you. But\n\nhe will be here soon, and you must have known that you would have to confront\n\nhim sooner or later. We will help you.\"\n\n\"Thank you, but why am I turning into a baby Bear?\" I asked.\n\nShe smiled what must have been a Bear smile. \"It is what you wanted. To be\n\ntaken care of, in freedom. You will be free to grow up as you wish, far from\n\nhim and his friends, or to return to him and the world of the human-folk. But\n\nfirst you must confront him and choose.\" She slipped a pink, lacy dress on over\n\nmy head, deftly maneuvering my arms into the sleeves. Her claws were huge, but\n\nthey were also smooth and didn't hurt.\n\nShe was right. To be taken care of was what I had wanted. For as long as I\n\ncould remember I had longed for someone to care for me. Even as I had made a\n\ncareer for myself the longing was there. Then I met him. He seemed so wonderful\n\nat first. I told him of my one desire, and he showed me that he could fulfill\n\nit. He was wealthy and powerful and could afford every luxury. Whatever he\n\nwanted, he bought. Including, I later began to realize, a wife.\n\n\"But I don't want to confront him like this!\" I shouted. The dress' skirts were\n\nnowhere near long enough to cover my diaper.\n\n\"It is the only way,\" she said. \"He must know that you are lost to him.\"\n\nShe lifted me again and carried me back toward the front door. I heard a\n\nfamiliar voice saying, \"The beacon says her clothes must be in there, at\n\nleast.\"\n\nThe male Bear stood in the doorway and said, \"She is inside, but she is no\n\nlonger yours.\"\n\nThen I saw him, behind the male Bear, trying to see around the cottage's\n\nimmovable watchman. He had a gun, a pistol, in one hand, and an electronic\n\ndevice of some sort in the other. \"Ursula?\" he asked. \"Is that you?\"\n\nPerhaps I still resembled my human self, but at this particular time I was glad\n\nof my new face, for it helped disguise the fear I felt. The female Bear set me\n\ndown on the floor again, but I trembled and could not move. I felt helpless\n\nbefore him, for I was tiny, and wearing diapers.\n\n\"Here she is,\" said the female Bear. \"Ursula, you are free to choose. You may\n\ngo to him, or stay with us. Either way, we promise no harm will come to\n\nyou. You already know how to make the choice.\"\n\n\"Come on, honey,\" he said. \"I don't know what kind of magic they've used on\n\nyou, but if you come back to me I'll take care of you so well you'll never want\n\nto take a vacation again.\" So that was how he had rationalized my escape. He\n\ncould not accept that I would ever want to leave him permanently; he had\n\ntreated me so well in the gilded prison he had built for me.\n\nI looked at the Bears. They looked at me, silently.\n\nAnd then I felt a heaviness, a fullness, in the pit of my stomach.\n\nI'd peed all over their floor earlier, but now I was a toddler - a toddler\n\nBear, to be sure, or a toddler almost-Bear, but still a toddler, and I was in\n\ndiapers. They weren't angry before, and I felt certain they wouldn't be now.\n\nThe mess came out into my diapers, hot and soft. Suddenly I fell to the floor\n\nweak-kneed, and my diapers seemed too loose for me. \"Mama,\" I said, holding out\n\nmy arms toward the kindly female Bear. She smiled again and picked me up,\n\ncradling me in her warm, furry arms.\n\n\"She is no longer yours,\" repeated the male Bear.\n\nHe dropped his electronic tracker, letting it fall to the forest floor, and\n\npointed his gun at the male Bear with both hands. \"You've brainwashed her!\" he\n\nshouted. \"Give her back now, or I shoot!\"\n\n\"Leave now,\" said the Bear. \"This is your final warning.\"\n\n\"She's mine!\" I saw his finger moving on the trigger.\n\n\\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\*\n\n\"Would Baby Bear like some more porridge?\" asked Mama. \"She would? OK, here it\n\ncomes!\" She dipped the tiny spoon into the bowl and slipped it into my\n\nmouth. Someday I'll feel like growing up, but for now I enjoy being little. I\n\nlove Mama and Papa Bear, and they love me. The world of the Bears is isolated,\n\nbut their magic is powerful, and they have commerce with certain other\n\nanimal-folk. I am sure I will enjoy my new life in it.\n\nOutside the window I could see a crow, busily lining its nest with shiny\n\nobjects it had stolen, hoping to attract a mate. Through the dense trees I\n\ncould just barely see the North Star, glittering brightly.\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Stories","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/640266-regressive-tendencies-the-beginning-chapter-1.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/652733-regressive-tendencies-the-beginning-chapter-2.json"}}