[Halloween 2024 Special]
Generally SFW with a questionable segment.

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On the morning of Halloween day, my parents and I were surprised when a truck showed up with a huge package. Heaving the giant package into the living room and propping it upright against the wall, the delivery man got my father to sign a form before hastily departing, driving away as though he was running from whatever in the package. Scratching our heads in confusion, we decided to unwrap the mysterious bulky package to see what it was. After some struggling with tearing off the plastic wrapping and tape, it revealed a giant kangaroo plushie with thick fur, each hair maybe one or two inches long. I gasped and instinctually hugged it.

Backing away from the plushie, I wanted to inspect it further. It was crafted from mostly fuzzy fabric and had beady glass eyes, appearing lifelike enough to freak me out on a spooky day such as today. The pouch was uncannily big enough for a child like me to pop in, lined with reddish silky fabric like a plushie sleeping bag. However, I did not dare to slip my body in even though I generally loved the stuffed kangaroo. Since I loved it that much, my parents brought it up to my room and set it around my bed’s headboard, in a position where it could “watch” me while I sleep and chase away nightmares.

At night, while my parents were giving out candy, I headed to my bedroom to hit the hay early. I was never quite a costume wearer and was opposed to going outside on Halloween night because I was shy. Giving the kangaroo a good night hug, I was ready to sleep. As I slid under my blankets in my cotton pajamas, I locked eyes with the kangaroo plushie who was staring back at me with a cordial, stitched grin. It was like the plushie was a mother tucking me into bed, but also haunting in a way. I pulled my blankets up to my nose in trepidation and shut my eyes to hopefully sleep quickly.

Shortly after, I felt something soft and warm brush against my forehead. My eyes popped wide open instantly to see the plush face of the kangaroo an inch away from me, nuzzling me affectionately. Before I screamed, it covered my mouth with its plush paw, letting me breathe in an unknown yet pleasant floral scent from its fabric. “Shh! You don’t want to alert your parents about a special magical kangaroo plushie, would you?” She cooed. I shook my head in response. “Good. Climb into my pouch!”

Raising an eyebrow, I asked out of curiosity, “Why your pouch of all places?”

“C’mon, it's Halloween! I wanna bring you outside to have fun! My pouch is the best kind of transport you can have tonight!” She insisted, ruffling my hair. “But what about…” My question was cut off by an answer.

“I’ll make sure you’re in costume once you step in! Oh right! Before you do, my name’s Pouchie!”

“I’m Lucas!”

“Careful now!”
Pouchie knelt down a little to lower her pouch below the height of my waist, letting me enter with ease. As I slipped both my legs in, my body suddenly plunged into the pouch as if I stepped on a trapdoor, falling through a long tunnel and ending up in a dim, cushiony space. Above me was the sliver of light from the hole I had entered from. Before I could climb to exit the pouch, the hole closed, leaving me in a pitch-black environment.

(*Content warning: This section of the story has some parallels to a real kangaroo’s pouch biology. You may skip this section if you’re uncomfortable.)

Pushing my way through the dark, it was like I was thrown into a forest of fur. Every surface was covered in clusters of silky hairs, and sent tingles around my body whenever my bare skin brushed against them. Without my sight, the other senses were heightened. Soon, a sweet, pungent scent wafted through the air. Crawling around blindly on the fuzzy carpet-like surface, my nose collided with something rubbery. It was a cone-shaped inflated protrusion before me that smelled like caramel and was as squishy as a vinyl inflatable.

My thoughts were suddenly filled with visions of enjoying the protrusion like a lollipop. Leaning my lips onto the rubbery cone as though I was instinctively obligated, it tasted exactly like caramel. However, before I could retreat my mouth from it, my body was shoved forward from Pouchie’s sudden hop upward. The cone pushed deeper into my mouth, inflating and preventing me from removing it as though it was a pacifier. “MMMPH!” I cried aloud, but it turned muffled. As I panicked and frantically tried to pull my face away, warm, fragrant milk splashed into my mouth and down my throat to soothe me. It became increasingly hard for me to remain awake and I passed out, my mouth still linked to the protrusion for a constant supply of nutrition.

(*Content warning end.)

Inside the pouch, my pajama top and bottom fused together the more I was fed, transforming the two pieces of fabric to a fleecy single-piece clothing. The soft, fuzzy material expanded down my hands and feet, enveloping them in thin mittens and socks. On top, a kangaroo hood with two ears flipped onto my head, leaving my face untouched. Around the back of the suit, a plush kangaroo tail extended from the tailbone area and filled up with soft cotton stuffing. When I finally stirred from my little nap, my upper body from my waist was stuck at the rim of the silky pouch. I stared groggily at my fleece-covered arms dangling in front of me, feeling something warm hugging my head. “Ooh! My Joey’s finally awake!”

“Wh-what joey?” I asked, my mind still hazy from waking up.

“You silly!” Pouchie lifted me from her pouch and held me in the air in front of my bedroom mirror. In my reflection, I could see that I was dressed in a full-body kangaroo costume with a thickened plush tail. She turned my body around for the full presentation, showing me that there were no zippers or buttons, so I could not just remove it without her help. While I admired the costume I was fitted in, Pouchie turned to the side, gazing at the full moon outside my window. It was still nighttime.

“Time for us to go on a Halloween tour around your neighborhood!” She exclaimed, dropping me back in the pouch, the red silky material snapping around my waist again. I struggled to push myself out with my legs, but she reassured, “Don’t worry, my joey! You need not exit the pouch. I know what you want.” The kangaroo plushie provided me with a brown, velvety bag to contain my candies.

“Wait, if you exit my room with me, my parents would know you’re alive!” I pointed out.

“Fear not!” She said, sending a beam toward an empty corner and creating a portal. She hopped with me riding in her pouch, taking me through the portal. We appeared on a street on the other end of my neighborhood, far from my house. “Alrighty then! Let’s visit all your neighbors!”

I sighed, covering my face with my fleecy mittens and blushed in embarrassment. Hopping from house to house, Pouchie magically made me scream, “Trick or Treat!” Most parents would smile and deposit candies into my velvet bag without holding back. Some parents even commented, “That’s a creative pair of costumes! Is that your Mom in the kangaroo suit?” I lifted my head and stared at Pouchie’s face, and she gave me a wink in response, hoping for me to make things up. “Yup! That’s my Mom!” The other children were jealous that I did not need to walk around, carried in a pouch by a “kangaroo-suited parent” who acted the part, too.

However, one of the neighbors could recognize me through my costume, and I hid my reddened face in my mittens again. With a casual exchange of greetings, we bid our goodbyes for the night and split-off toward other houses for more candy plundering. After nearly an hour, we had finished visiting every house in the neighborhood except mine, just across the road from our current position. I was tired, but strangely did not seem to sweat one bit while Trick-or-Treating. As I yawned, Pouchie caressed my forehead and whispered to me, “Time for bed, Lucas, my little Joey!”

Hopping into the air vertically, Pouchie teleported herself and I back into my bedroom without having to enter my front door where my parents were. The kangaroo plushie took my bag of candies and left it on my nightstand, lifting me out of the pouch to place me on the bed. She tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead, standing beside me silently to let me sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I thought it was all a dream until… I turned to see the all-too-familiar velvet bag of candies beside me. Peeling off my blankets, I was still dressed in the joey outfit, but a zipper had materialized on the front so that I could undress myself from it. Sitting up on the edge of bed, I embraced Pouchie and uttered the words, “Thank you for a wonderful Halloween experience, Pouchie!” The kangaroo plushie did not hug back, but a wide grin was visible.