It’s not every night you see a ragdoll walking down the street. But then again, not every night is Halloween.

As Annie made her way along the sidewalk, with the light of a full moon over head illuminating the houses on either side of the road in a silver gleam and the sound of costumed kids running all around her in the night, she couldn’t help but smile. The feeling of Halloween seemed to fill the air around her, and she loved it. Annie has always adored the holiday; from Trick-or-Treating as a kid to wild parties now that she was in college, Halloween never failed to be one of the most fun nights of the year for her, and with a little luck, this year wasn’t about to be the exception.

Currently, Annie was making her way to a costume party, and she was sure to dress for the occasion: From head to toe, the short-statured girl was dressed like a cute old-fashioned rag doll, a “Raggedy Annie” as she called herself, quite proud of her not so subtle wordplay. She couldn’t be bothered with any of that though, because frankly she looked adorable: starting at her feet, Annie adorned two Mary Jane flats which clicked against the sidewalk as she continued on her path. Thankfully they were more comfortable than they looked, though additionally her feet were given some extra padding from the plush, red and white striped ‘thigh-high’ socks that comfortably wrapped around her legs all the way from her toes to well past her knees. Where the socks ended, a series of white frills began, leading up to a short blue dress with red polka dots held closely around the girl’s waist by a small white apron.

From there, the rest of the dress had a plush appearance as if Annie really was a rag doll, with slight padding around her chest and two small poofed up balls at each of her shoulders. There, two braided ponytails led up to a red yarn wig atop the doll’s head, the braids bouncing slightly with each new step she took. Finally, to complete the costume, Annie had done her make-up to perfectly reflect what a rag doll would look like if it was bit more realistic and lifesized: at her cheeks there were two red circles of blush, with the occasional painted-on freckle to complete the look, along with some candy red lipstick to match with her hair and dress and some accents around her eyes to giver that big-eyed, dollish appearance. With a smirk as she looked over her costume once more, Annie couldn’t help but think that if she lay still enough with a smile on her face, she’d easily pass off as a real rag toy. “Who knows,” she mused, “Maybe I’ll find someone who wants to play with me!”

At that, her mind turned not to hitting on guys at the party, but instead to the friend she was supposed to meet there. “Imani…” she found herself saying under her breath, her slowly smile shifting into a slight pout at the thought. In reality, there was a reason behind Annie’s doll costume this year, and it certainly wasn’t for picking up guys; it was for her.

Imani had been Annie’s best friend for years. She could still remember a time where the two would spend Halloweens together, just the two of them, exploring the night and Trick-or-Treating until one by one the houses went dark. Even then, they’d always take their time getting home, not wanting the night to end and spending as much time with each other as possible. All throughout growing up, the two had always been close in a way Annie just didn’t feel with other people, and she loved it. But when the two went off to college, a certain divide seemed to start to grow between the two of them; they were still close friends, no doubt there, but Annie couldn’t help but feel that even when it was just the two of them together, Imani was still distracted by a thousand little things, her hectic lifestyle and workload constantly pulling her in countless directions away from the carefree childhood friend she knew. She missed her friend, so Annie hatched a plan; she’d surprise her friend with the perfect costume to help snap her out of her funk: a doll.

One thing about Imani was that ever since the two were little, she had a huge affinity for dolls, a trait that Annie teased her about endlessly even to this day. When they were kids, her bed always seemed to be lined with all sorts of plush dolls, and as they got older, Imani eventually got into BJD’s and figurines as well, more than a few of them decorating her work desk back at her apartment. “I don’t know, I know it’s weird but… I just like them… Now shut up about it!” she could remember Imani telling her with a nervous laugh that Annie found adorable. Deep down though, Annie could see the way she looked at some of her favorite dolls: if only for a second, Annie would see the same girl she knew from all those years ago, carefree and with a lot of love in those eyes as she looked over the doll. If she was being honest, Annie was even a bit jealous of the toys every so often, but she’d be too embarrassed to ever tell Imani that.

So, taking her friend’s rather sweet interest in toys to heart, Annie decided that this year for Halloween she’d be Imani’s new Dolly; if literally being the thing Imani loved most in this world didn't snap her out of this daze she'd been in, Annie didn't know what would. At that, the rag doll sighed, but as she did, an interesting thought popped into her head. If only for a second, Annie could help but imagine what it would be like to really be Imani’s doll, going as far as to imagine what it would be like to be nestled on her lap on Imani’s bed, her ‘owner’ puppeting and playing with her without a care in the world. With her eyes going a bit wide at the image, the blush on the doll’s face became very real for a moment, Annie quick to shake it off. “Nope, no. None of that, Annie…well...not unless Imani wants to, but I – nope, no,” she found herself saying to herself, her braids flailing from side to side as she shook her head at her own thought. Trying to convince herself to drop it, she eventually stopped short, her pace slowing on the sidewalk as her gaze drifted up over to a winding driveway with a house at the top. There, the noises and lights of an ongoing party could be felt a mile away, and without a doubt Annie knew she was at the right place, the party Imani was already likely at. “Well, here goes nothing,” the rag doll said to herself, taking one more deep breath to try to leave the intrusive thoughts behind her as she made her way up to the house party.

---

It's a unique feeling, walking into a party alone. There’s an initial rush to the senses, a certain energy in the air, and a heightened awareness if only to try to pick out someone you know from the crowd of strangers. Halloween always seemed to alleviate this tension though, the sea of costumed characters that filled the house in front of her somehow appearing both anonymous and welcoming at the same time. That was half of the fun of the holiday after all, giving Annie a bit of reassurance. With a meek grin, the rag doll stood up on her tiptoes if only to gather her bearings before making her way into the active crowd.

As she made her way away from the front door and into the shifting sea of masks and costumes, Annie was admittedly already enjoying the vibe of the party around her. Everywhere she looked people seemed to be having a great time, either dancing or playing party games or even just chatting over a drink, all in an array of wild costumes: There was a gorilla playing beer pong against a fairy, sci-fi characters doing shots with girls in what looked like anime costumes, even a girl in a jester outfit apparently doing party tricks. Annie couldn’t help but smirk at the display, continuing her journey deeper into the party, until eventually she found herself in the kitchen towards the back of the house. As was consistent with the rest of the party, the kitchen was decorated from floor to ceiling, with orange lights giving the room an almost other worldly glow, fake cobwebs along the cabinets, and to top it all off, a large witch’s cauldron in the center of the room filled with ‘witch’s brew’ jungle juice and some dry ice fog rolling over its sides. Annie was impressed, but her eyes didn’t linger on the decorations for long. There, towards the back corner near a bar area, was Imani.

Her friend was dressed from in a leopard costume, though Imani loved Halloween too much to simply opt for the basic cat ears and tail. Instead, she adorned a plush looking, close fitting, leopard-print leotard stretching from her ankles all the way up to her chest, where the low-cut of the outfit admittedly left very little to the imagination and unveiled the girl’s naturally dark, smooth skin. She wore similarly matching furry boots, along with a pair of paw-shaped mittens hanging from each of her wrists and a long, and a swaying tail going from her butt to her knees. Finally, she had a pair of fuzzy cat ears poking out of her wavy black hair, with appropriately fitting cat-eye make up and whiskers on her face.

For a moment, Annie stood there and admired her friend. She was always impressed with Imani’s costumes each year, but this year’s costume choice was especially… 'wow', showing off her athletic build as well as her long legs, which stood her almost a foot over Annie's head. The doll almost felt hesitant to approach her friend, but a second later she saw as Imani glanced her way. For a moment, the leopardess simply saw a girl in a rag doll costume, a notably sweet look appearing on her face as she looked over the ‘stranger.’ A second later though, the two locked eyes, Imani’s gaze going wide as she realized who the Raggedy Ann doll was. Almost dropping her drink in excitement, Imani bolted over to Annie, with the friends she was just with looking to the display with a laugh before returning to their conversation.

Before Annie could even manage to get out a “Hello,” she felt as her friend all but picked her up in a bear hug, the doll’s response quickly going from surprise to bliss as she realized that this meant it was a safe bet that Imani really did love her costume.

As the cat-girl eventually settled down, Imani released Annie before holding her at arm’s length, looking over her costume one more time before her gaze landed on Annie’s blue eyes. “Annie! You. Look. Adorable. I love it I love it!” Imani said, not holding back for a second before pulling her friend into another hug. Already, it was pretty evident that Imani was already a few drinks in, her slightly tipsy demeanor only amplifying her excited reaching to Annie’s costume. Though she loved the feeling of Imani’s arms wrapped around her, Annie eventually scooched her friend back to arm’s length, giggling at the excitable response she incited. “Ok, ok, down girl. Calm down kitty,” Annie joked, Imani quick to join her in laughing before composing herself. “Fiiine, I’m calm… ,” Imani started to reply, regaining her composure, but only for a second before becoming excited once more. “But Annie! You look so cute! Where did you get the idea for such an adorable a dolly costume?!”

Blushing a bit once more, Annie, ran a hand along one of her red yarn-hair braids, her eyes darting to the floor to avoid the excitable gaze of Imani’s big brown eyes. “Well, I don’t know, I kind of… welllll- “ Before Annie could finish her thought, the two heard a voice from over Imani’s shoulder speak up over the noise of the part. “Hey Imani, it’s finally our turn for beer pong! The other teams already waiting; You coming or what?” Glancing in the direction, of the voice, Imani’s expression turned to a slight pout, looking between the pong table at the far end of the other room and her friend before shouting back “Just a second!” Turning to Annie, Imani’s eyes had a genuinely apologetic look to them, the leopard loosening her grasp on the doll’s plush frame before speaking up. “Ugh, that is the worst possible timing. I’m sorry, we’ve been waiting for our game for like an hour! It will be quick though!! I will be right back though, is that ok?”

Looking to the pleading look in her friend’s eyes and the frankly adorable pout on her lips, Annie hesitated for a second before responding with a nod. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t it be ok? No worries, Imani.” She said, a masked tone of disappointment in her voice. At that, Imani shot up, giving her friend one more big hug before making her way back into the party to the pong table. “Thanks Annie; for now, get a drink, talk to people, and whatever you do, keep on looking adorable! I’ll be back for my new doll soon!” At that, the leopardess disappeared. For a second, Annie felt a bit sad, even a little abandoned even if that sounded silly, but a second later she blinked as she processed her friend’s words. ‘Did, did she call me her new doll?’ Lingering on those words, feeling a mix of sadness and hope, Annie stood alone in the kitchen for a moment, but a moment later she heard a new voice with a slight accent chime in from behind her. “Oof, that was a bit rough, wasn’t it?”

Snapping herself out of her daze, Annie turned around to follow the direction of the voice, were there was a girl in the corner she hadn’t noticed before. The stranger was dressed as a genie, covered in thin veils of translucent maroon cloth covering her waist, shoulders, and from the nose down to her chin where a coy smile sat. Beyond the occasional golden wrist band and a few matching hair pieces in her straight, solid black hair, the girl was only really covered up by a few strips of solid cloth around her waist and check, leaving her stomach and the bulk of her legs covered only by the see-through cloth that wisped around her.

Glancing around as if to make sure she wasn’t talking to anyone else, Annie eventually responded with a meek “Huh? Wait, what was rough?”

At that the genie let out a warm laugh, a bit more inviting than Annie originally anticipated. Dropping her face cover and looking over Annie before approaching, the genie girl spoke up again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that haha. I just saw your face after your friend left and it did not look happy. But I mean who can blame you; what’s sadder than when a girl leaving her doll all alone?” A bit embarrassed that the girl was watching that exchange, Annie responded with a bit of a nervous laugh. “Oh, wow, you saw that? And what? Nooo, no she’s not my owner or anything like that.” With a coy tone, a raised eye brown, and taking a sip from her drink, the genie replied quickly. “Never said she was, darling.” At that, Annie was already blushing again, but before she could really even respond the genie girl let out that same, warm laugh that set her at ease, Annie giving herself a break and chuckling along with the girl before she heard her speak up again. “The name’s Laura by the way. And you, you my friend seem like you need a drink.”

---

Before long, Annie found herself with a rather strong drink in her hand (no wonder Imani was already notably tipsy) with Laura all but escorting her back into the party where the two talked and people watched. She wasn’t expecting to strike up a conversation with a stranger so easily, but after a few minutes had passed and a few sips of her witch’s brew later, the pair were chatting as if they were old friends. Even if the two were just propped up against a wall, drinking and joking about other party-goers costumes as they passed by, Annie was quick to start enjoying herself, though she did often find herself glancing over to the beer pong table over on the other far side of the party, if only to steal a peak at her friend and gauge when her game might be over.

Noticing this, Laura was quick to give Annie a playful elbow in her plush shoulder, snapping the doll out of her daze. “So, what’s that all about then, huh? You have a crush on her or something?” At this point, Annie had been blushing so many times throughout the night that she practically didn’t need her make up anymore, but this time between getting a drink or two in her and Laura’s bold comment, she was practically bright red. Turning to her new friend, Annie immediately shot back, though admittedly her defense was better in her head. “What? That’s crazy, you’re crazy. No! Imani is my best friend, it’s just that, well, I did this whole costume for her and I wish she had more time to enjoy it…”

With her ears perking up at that last remark, Laura turned to face Annie slowly with a wry smile on her face. “Oh really? Riiight, right; So you don’t like her, but you dressed up as your friend's very own doll because…?” In response, Annie thought things over for a minute before deciding to just come clean, being quick to tell Laura about her and her friend’s history, Imani’s love for dolls, all with a level of openness you can only really tell a stranger after a few drinks. “But it’s not like I like her or anything! I just… I just…” Annie said towards the end of her story, Laura stepping in to finish her sentence for her. “You just want to be your friend’s doll because that way she’ll spend more time with you and you want to make her happy more than anything. But you don't like her or anything, you just want her to hold you and play with you obviously. Does that sound about right?”

The genie spoke concisely with a sarcastic tone to her voice, a tone a now tipsy Annie must not have picked up on. “Right!” She responded with a grin, the two cracking up if only a little at Annie’s less than convincing demeanor. “What ever you say, ‘lover-doll.’ I won’t tell your owner about your crush if you don’t. And speaking of-“ With Laura stopping short, Annie cocked her head slightly to the side as if waiting for her to finish her thought, but a second later she heard Imani’s voice ring out from right beside them. “Hey guys! What are you talking about?”

Imani had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the leopardess apparently a bit more tipsy each time she popped up. Annie practically jumped, only being kept on the ground by her taller friend playfully resting an arm on her shoulder as Laura stifled a laugh with a sip from her drink. “Oh, nothing really! Just, umm… anyway this is Laura! Shes, uh, a genie.” Annie responded to her friend, who smirked at the rag toy’s nervous tone before looking to the genie-girl. “Well then, hey Laura, I’m Imani! I see you’ve met my doll,” she started, playing with Annie’s yarn hair as she did. “I have! And your dolly here has told me a lot about you too!” Laura shot back with an equally coy tone, the two laughing a bit as Annie stood between them with a nervous laugh of her own. Without skipping a beat, Imani continued. “Oh has she now?" She started, giving Annie a playful nudge before continuing. "Aaanyway, me and some friends were about to do a round of shots, you two want in?” Before Annie could even respond, she felt as Imani wrapped her hand around hers, giving her friend a playful tug before directing her to the kitchen. “That was a rhetorical question! Come one!”

At that, Annie followed her owner hand-in-hand back to the kitchen, Laura following in tow enjoying the show play out in front of her. Before long, Annie found herself in a sizable group of some of Imani’s other friends and a shot was placed in her hands. With one last reassuring glance from Laura, Annie did the shot with the group, grimacing as the burning in the back of her throat settled down. Already feeling the shot go to her head, Annie felt as Imani placed another cup of jungle juice in her hand and lifted her chin up to face her. “Good work! Now come on, I have some lost time with my doll I need to catch up on!” With her heart singing once more at the remark, Annie spent the next hour feeling as if she really was just a favorite rag doll being carried around the party by her owner. For what was really the first time, Annie saw first hand just how frantic Imani’s life could be, where even at a party, the leopardess seemed to constantly be doing a dozen directions at once. Be it either needing to help settle a drunken debate between friends on one end of the party, or being tagged in for a drinking game on the other, or even just needing to take a few second here and there to say hi to acquaintances who seemed to constantly roll into the party, Annie was exhausted just watching her friend, though each time she felt Imani’s hand wrap around hers to lead her somewhere knew, her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

After a while, things did seem to cool down if only a little. It was now after midnight at this point, technically November 1st, with Imani and Annie eventually finding a quiet corner of the party and plopping down on a vacant couch. Almost instinctually, Annie’s head seemed to roll over onto Imani’s shoulder with Imani doing the same onto the top of Annie’s plush, yarn covered head. The pair was exhausted from their sprint, and they were both more than a bit tipsy at this point having had a couple more drinks in the last hour, the two of them laughing at seemingly nothing as they finally relaxed. “Well aren’t you two adorable,” they heard a voice chime in from not too far off, the drunken pair looking up from their stupor to see Laura, joining them and sitting down on a chair beside the couch. Without missing a beat, Imani responded with a quick giggle at the comment and a sip of her drink, as if she needed more alcohol in her system. “We really are adorable, aren't we? I mean just look at Annie,” she continued, propping up the rag doll on her lap for a second and drunkenly puppeting her arms to Annie's surprise. “She’s adorable! Don’t you just want to scoop her up and bring her home? Annie really is the best for doing all this for me.” At this point, Laura couldn't help but be impressed how the two had gone from subtle hints of a crush to the two actively flirting besides her, watching as Annie was played on the lap of her 'owner.' The rag doll didn't even seem as embarrassed as she would have been before, simply playing along and enjoying the feeling of her Imani toy with her. Annie even let herself go limp over Imani's forearms as she stopped playing with her, only breaking character as she felt the leopardess pull her back into a hug with the two giggling once more. Before Annie could even chime in with her own remark though, Laura shot back with an all to familiar coy tone in her voice. “Yeah, Annie was telling me about that before, how her doll costume was for you. Why is that if you don’t mind me asking? It’s interesting; What do you like about dolls?”

Thinking for a moment, Imani paused while looking up at seemingly nothing, thinking of the right way to explain things before looking to Annie on her lap with a soft grin and back to Laura. “Well, I’ve always loved dolls growing up, but as I got older I guess I learned to really appreciate them in a different way I guess? If that doesn’t sound too crazy,” she paused with a nervous laugh before continuing. “I guess, well I guess I always feel like I’m running around doing other something for other people; it seems like everything might just fall apart if I’m not always there to keep things together. But when I get back to my room at the end of the day, and I can finally relax, it’s kind of, well, comforting to come home to my little doll collection. I can pick one of them up off my desk shelf and toy with them, or cuddle up to one of my plushies in bed after a long day, even just talk to them if I need someone to listen, and for once, it feels like I have someone who’s there just for me to enjoy, not the other way around like it always is, even if they’re just a toy and it’s all pretend.”

For a moment, the words hung in the air. Annie had seen the way Imani had looked at some of her dolls in the past and wished she would look at her like that sometimes, but she never knew her friends collection was anything more than a silly pastime of hers. Before things could get awkward, Imani chimed in with a new tone of levity. “Or maybe I just think they’re cute haha, I don’t know! I mean look at Annie here, at how damn cute she is,” Imani continued, playfully roughhousing the doll on her lap for a second to make Annie giggle as well. “I mean come on, don’t you just wish you could take her home with you? I sure do.”

Again, the group laughed, but once again, Laura’s ears seemed to attentively perk up at that last remark. As the pair settled down, Laura smoothly interjected a reply, as if she was waiting for her chance to say this. “That’s your wish, huh? Well you know, I am a genie; granting wishes is kind of my thing.”

At that, the girls on the couch looked to each other with a laugh before looking back to Laura, Imani pulling Annie a bit closer on her lap with her arms around her. “You’re a genie? I thought you were a belly dancer or something,” the three of them giggling a bit more before settling down. "Nope! Close, but it's true. Hell, I even granted a wish on the way to this party earlier!" the genie replied, looking between the possible lovebirds on the couch.

Annie, quite enjoying her spot on her owner’s lap, decided to go along with things, a mix of playfulness and drunkenness in her voice. “Ok, ok. So, Ms. Genie, we can wish for anything then?” With a tight grin and a nod, Laura responded. “Of course, you just gotta be careful what you wish for! That’s the only rule.” It seemed that the girls on the couch weren’t taking Laura’s remarks seriously in the slightest, Annie writing it of as just her new friend being wry, and yet Annie did instinctually find herself thinking about what her wish would be. It didn’t take long to figure out what she wanted as her wish, something she was already close to where she sat, but before she could speak up, she felt Imani’s arms around her tighten once more, the rag doll internally loving the hug as she heard her friend’s wish: “Well, I don’t know about you, but I wish I could keep this Annie Doll here for more than just Halloween!”

Raising an eyebrow at the wish, Laura shrugged jokingly as is to say ‘if you say so,’ before holding out her arms, crossing her forearms at arm’s length, and nodding in confirmation. “Whatever you say, Leopard-girl. Poof, your wish has been granted.” At that, Imani looked up and around the room, as if expecting some kind of magical effects or cloud of otherworldly smoke to surround the two. After a moment of relative silence, Imani spoke up. “Did…well did it work?” Leaning back in her chair, Laura smirked. “Of course it did; That Raggedy Annie Doll is yours now as long as you want.”

Even if it was just pretend, Imani reacted in a predictably drunken and giddy manner, nuzzling up to her doll who could hardly hide how much she was enjoying the affection. The display was cut short though, as a light appeared from on the couch and the rumble of a phone vibrating pulled Imani’s attention away from Annie. With the leopardess looking down at the text she had received, Annie silently let out a melodramatic ‘noooOoooo’ as she felt Imani’s hand loosen her grip on her, letting the rag doll sink back down off her lap onto the couch. “Welp, back to work I guess. Sussie is sick in the upstairs bathroom right now, and apparently I need to go help her out.” Imani spoke with a sigh, finishing the rest of her drink as she got up from the couch, Annie with a slight pout on her face and reaching back out for her owner. Glancing between the two of them, Imani continued. “I’m sure neither of you want to deal with a sick drunk girl, so you guys stay here. I'm, well, I'm gonna need a shot before all this, so I’ll do that and be back as soon as I can be.”

At that, Imani disappeared back into the party to head upstairs, leaving the genie looking to the once again sad rag doll on the couch next to her. “Soooo... her running off to ‘fix everything’ is a regular thing with you two, isn’t it?” With a halfcocked frown, Annie replied meekly. “Yeah, I guess it is…” For a second, there was a moment of silence between the two, Laura taking a sip from her drink before chiming in again. “Well, dolly, you still have your wish if you want me to grant it.” Right away, Annie couldn’t help but chuckle at the remark through her mopey demeanor. “Ok, if you say so…” she responded, thinking for another moment before responding. “I wish Imani wasn’t always too busy for me. I wish I could be that ‘someone’ who’s there just for her. I wish… well I wish Imani really could keep me…” She was probably a bit drunk to admit all that out loud, but Laura didn’t seem to judge. If anything she looked to the sad rag doll with a reassuring smile. “You know, it’s usually one wish per customer, but for you doll, I’ll make an exception.” Going through her motions, Laura shot Annie a wink as she finished. “Wish granted.”

For another second, Annie responded similar to Imani, waiting for something to happen. Instead, nothing changed, the quiet corner of the party remaining as still as ever, and even if she didn’t really expect anything to, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. After a minute or so had passed, Annie heard as Laura spoke up once more. “You know, doll, you should go follow your owner," She heard Laura start, Annie looking to her and listening as she continued. “If she really is so stressed and busy all the time, then maybe she really does need a doll there for her to make it better. You make her happy, that much is obvious. I mean, ew, it's kind of gross how cute you two are together." At that, the two paused to laugh before the genie finished her thought. "Plus, let's be honest, you really did mean your wish, didn't you? You should go tell all that to your owner, not me. Besides, I never played with dolls growing up anyway, go be with a girl who will treat a doll right." Looking to Laura as she shot her a wink, Annie nodded as she got up; she wasn't sure if it was  the genie's speech or the booze kicking in, but she really did want to tell Imani how she felt. “Thanks Laura,” Annie half whispered, giving her friend a smile before heading off into the party to find her owner. With a triumphant look and one final swig of her drink before letting the cup fall to the ground, Laura smirked. “Just doing my job.”

---

Making her way back into the party, things seemed as lively as ever. Despite the late hour, things were still going strong, the rag doll making her way through the crowds before eventually finding the stairs. Looking up the staircase, it seemed like another world up there. In contrast to the flashing party lights, decorations, and blaring music, the upstairs was basked in a low, warm light, a relative silence coming from the space before her. Making her way up the stairs slowly, the music behind her became more and more muffled as she reached the top. Stepping onto the second floor, she found herself in a long hall, with bedrooms to the one side of her and a longer space reaching out into the back of the house. Glancing down the far end of the hallway, she could see a single light peaking out from behind a door, and a second later, the knob of the door turned.

"Just call me if you need any more help, ok Suss?" There, Annie could see as Imani stepped out of the bathroom doorway with a big yawn, arching her back as if she really was a cat and stretching her arms up into the air. Seeing this, Annie felt a familiar nervousness return to her, a light feeling in her chest as she felt like she should turn back. Instead, she remembered Laura's words and powered forward, beginning her way down the hall towards her friend. Slow to approach Imani, she didn't seem to notice the doll as she finished seemingly another drink, Annie coming within a few feet of the cat girl. "Hey... Imani?" Annie spoke up, watching as her friend turned her head to face here.

As Imani looked over the rag doll though, something seemed different about the girl who's lap just a few minutes ago Annie was sitting atop of. There was an initial look of unfamiliarity in her friend's brown eyes, soon giving way to a look of excitement and affection not too different from when Imani had seen Annie's costume for the first time. With a surprising amount of allure in the dark skinned girl's voice, Annie listened as her friend spoke up. "Hello, beautiful. What's a doll like yourself doing wandering off all alone like this? Are you looking for your owner?"

At first, Annie was a bit confused about this shift in tone, cocking her head a bit to the side as she processed her friend's words. 'Did Imani really get that much more drunk between then and now? Or maybe' Annie thought, her expression turning from one of confusion to a mischievous grin. 'Or maybe this is just Imani's way of flirting...' At that, Annie smirked, pursing her lips slightly and putting on a playful tone of voice as she decided to play along with her friend. 'Well, you're my owner, Imani, maybe I was just being a good dolly and came to find you.'

All at once, Annie's expression went from coy to blushing once more in surprise as she watched Imani slowly close the gap between them, lifting Annie's chin to look up at her, posing her playfully, and even toying with one of the doll's yarn braids. "I'm not so sure about that, cutie. I think I'd remember owning a doll like you. Not to say I wouldn't mind being your owner though; I can already think of a nice spot on my bed where you'd fit perfectly." Listening to those words an feeling her owner's touch as she continued to examine the doll closely, Annie's heart was soaring, her the mental image of Imani playing with her on her bed rushing back to her mind.

Annie wanted more than anything for Imani to lean in and kiss her in that moment, but as she anticipated what she had been hoping for for some time, she felt something uniquely different in its place: instead of kissing Annie as she examined her closely, the rag doll felt as Imani picked her up from the floor with ease, her soft hands lifting Annie by her under arms until her feet hovered well above the ground.

Looking down at her dangling frame before looking back to her friend, who  was still examining her with a look of affection and intrigue, Annie spoke up. "Wow, Imani... I knew you were the athletic type, but when did you get so strong?" The rag doll kicked her feet back and forth through the open air a little bit as Imani still held her up with apparent ease. Giggling at the remark, Imani just as easily pulled the rag doll into a bear bug, Annie losing herself in the warm comfort of her embrace if only for a second. "I'm not thaaat strong Dolly, you just don't weigh that much!" Imani started, lifting the doll back from the hug and jostling her slightly from side to side playfully for emphasis, taking her time to lightheartedly tease the doll with a squeeze. "I mean you are filled with stuffing after all, not exactly heavy stuff."

At that, the two both laughed at the remark, though after a moment or so, Annie was quick to reply to Imani's remark. "I mean still! You must be pretty strong to lift me, I'm not really a doll after all." Now, Imani seemed to be the confused one, turning her head a bit to the right as she held Annie back out at arms length and looked into the toy's eyes. "What? Don't be a silly toy, of course you're a real doll!"

Before Annie could even get a chance to reply, the girl felt as she was pressed to Imani's chest and tucked under her forearms to be carried with ease as the leopardess all but skipped to one of the vacant bedrooms towards the end of the hall. Without a second thought, the girl and her doll entered a girl's room, apparently the bedroom of one of the house's owners, Imani sitting on the foot of the bed and placing Annie on her lap. 'How is she moving me around so easily...?' Annie found herself thinking, but she didn't get much time to think things over before she felt Imani's hand guide her chin to face her. Blushing at what she saw, Imani's face was only a few inches away from hers, the dim lighting of the hallway reflecting off the two big brown eyes that looked into hers now. "So, silly toy, what makes you think you're not really a doll then?" She heard Imani ask, her warm gaze unwavering as Annie thought of an answer. "Of course I'm not really a doll, Imani. It's just fun to play pretend, but I'm your friend." Rolling her eyes playfully, Imani reached out and wrapped one hand around the small of Annie's back, with the other starting at her poofed out shoulder and gliding down her exposed arm. "Well then, dolly, what do you call this?"

Looking down to see where her friend was tracing her finger along her arm, Annie could see a line going all the way from a circle at her wrist up to past where her skin was visible at her shoulder. "Last time I checked, real girl's don't have stiches going down their arms." Annie, looking closely at the lines that had apparently appeared out of nowhere. "What, what the hell? I don't remember drawing those on for the costume," Annie remarked, Imani chuckling before continuing. "And I don't think real girl's have adorable red yarn braids for hair." Sticking her tongue out at Annie, she gave one of the doll's braids a tug, but instead of the wig coming loose, Annie felt as her head was pulled down for a second. "What the..." she mumbled, quickly reaching up to feel the wig a top her head, but no matter how much she looked, she couldn't find the seam between the yarn and her real hair. Finally, Imani taking the doll's hands down from her hair calmly and redirecting the doll to focus on her, the leopardess spoke up one last time. "And, well, aside from you being waaay too beautiful to be real, real girl's don't have big, soft cloth lips and heads filled with cotton." At that, Annie felt as Imani hugged her tighter than ever, resting her forehead on hers as the cat-girl's lips came inches from her doll's. The feeling was intoxicating, Annie wanting nothing more in the world than for Imani to kiss her deeply right there, but something pulled her out of her euphoric daze. Her arms and her chest, squeezed tightly by the taller girl's arms around her, squished as if she really was just a stuffed animal. Focusing on the feeling, Annie could feel as her plush body contorted to her owner's grasp, and within the warmth of the hug, she could feel her... stuffing, actual plush stuffing in her chest.

Feeling this all to clearly for it to be in her head, everything was all of a sudden too much for Annie, going from strange and alluring to causing her to panic. All at once, the rag doll broke lose form her owner's grasp, standing up on wobbly legs and making her way to the door. She didn't know what was happening, and as much as she wanted to be in Imani's arms right now, she knew she needed out. "Dolly? What's wrong?" She could hear Imani speak up from the bed behind her, her friend looking to her with a confused and disappointed look that the doll she had found was leaving so soon. Disregarding her friend, Annie did her best to dart to the stairs, where she clumsily made her way back downstairs on her still wobbly legs.

As Annie found herself back in the crowds of the party, she felt beyond flustered. 'Did someone slip something in my drink?' she wondered through clouded thoughts, overwhelmed by the bizarre, warm feeling all over her body. Annie could see the occasional head in the crowd to give her an odd look, but she could hardly be bothered at this point. She just wanted to get out of this now nightmarish dreamstate she found herself in, and aimlessly she started to make her way through the party in search for a door. Between the doll's flustered state, legs that felt more and more like they were merely stuffing and cloth, and Annie's already short stature making it impossible to navigate the crowd clearly, the rag doll seemed to stumble aimlessly through the party in hopes of finding the door. In no time though, the doll was as lost as ever, and with one misplaced step, she felt herself fall forward. The drop felt like it lasted forever, but instead of hitting the floor, the doll felt herself fall into the arms of a stranger. Feeling defeated, Annie only looked up as she heard a familiar voice come from just above her. "I was wondering when I was going to see you again, dollface."

It was Laura, looking to Annie with a warm grin. Without another word, Annie felt as Laura picked her up, folded her over her forearms, and carried her with ease back to the quiet sideroom from before, the genie plopping down on the couch with the rag doll beside her before looking over her curiously. "I guess that magic worked better than I thought! My guess was that that wish was going to turn you into Imani's ideal girlfriend, not a literal doll, although maybe Imani's idea girlfriend is a doll then," Laura spoke with a chuckle. Annie looked up to the genie, her expression turning from one of defeat to surprise and hurt. "Wait, so this is because of you? You did this too me!?" Annie asked frantically, motioning to her progressively more plush body, her skin even beginning to resemble a soft, smooth skin-tone cloth now. "Welllll, technically you did this to yourself! I told you I was a genie, I just do wishes. You did the rest!"

Hearing those words come out of who she thought was her new friends mouth, Annie looked to her with disbelief. "No, no that's just a costume, you're not really a genie!" She spoke, Laura laughing at the comment before releasing her support of Annie, letting the rag doll flop to the side onto her lap without Laura's hand support her. "Right, just like you're not really a doll, right?"

Sprawled out on Laura's lap, Annie struggled to get up on her own, her stuffed limbs feeling weaker by the second. Instead, she felt as Laura lifted her by the back of her shirt, sitting her up and posing the doll to face her. Looking to the defeated expression on Annie's face, Laura couldn't help but feel bad for the toy. "There she is, there's that gloomy rag doll again. Cheer up, toy; what are you sad about? This is what you wanted, isn't it? To be Imani's dolly?" Quick to shoot back with emotion in her voice, Annie replied. "No! Well, I don't know! I never thought this was going to happen!"

With a compassionate look on her face, Laura pulled the lifesized rag doll into a hug, the warmth of the embrace setting the doll more at ease than she'd like to admit as the genie spoke up once more. "And is this so bad? Have you even given the whole 'being Imani's doll' thing a try before you decided you hated it? Think about what made you make this wish in the first place, toy." At that, Laura's words seemed to cut through her daze, leaving just the doll with her unfettered thoughts as she was held by the genie. She remembered how much fun it was to be played with on Imani's lap before, how amazing it felt to be held close and almost kissed by her owner, she even found herself enjoying the soft comfort of Laura's hand's around her. Feeling finally at ease, the doll felt her body sag into Laura's for support, listening as the genie spoke to the doll directly one last time. "Just give it a shot, Annie. You'll turn back as soon as your owner needs you to, and not a second sooner. Just enjoy it for now, not as if you have a say in the matter. Speaking of..." At that, Annie felt as her frame fell limply to the couch for a moment as Laura stood up, speaking up much louder in a new direction this time as she lifted Annie effortlessly by one of her arms, the rest of the rag doll dangling aimlessly as the genie spoke up. "Hey, Imani! There you are; Did you lose this?"

From her position, half sagging on the floor with Laura holding up one of her wrists, Annie heard Imani before she saw her, the leopardess letting out an excited noise before scooping the rag doll up into a massive bear hug from behind once more. "Dolly! Laura, thank you! Where did you find her?" Feeling the last of her mobility leave her now that she was back in her owner's arms, Annie was held out at arms length once more by Imani, who lifted the doll into the air and looked into her eyes. Now, Annie's expression no longer held the sadness it did just seconds before, with her lips now in a still, soft smile of a doll, her blue eyes unwavering even though her plush heart was pounding a mile a minute as she looked into her owner's loving gaze and felt her grasp squeeze her plush sides. "I just found her lying around down here! You really should be more careful with your toys, Imani."

With a slight huff, Imani pulled Annie back into a hug and let the doll droop over her forearms as she responded to the genie. "My doll? Hmpf, I wish... a doll this amazing has to belong to someone else at this party, right? She's not just mine because I found her..." With a coy look between the silly expression on the rag doll's face and Imani's, Laura responded without hesitation, making up a story as she went along. "Yeah, I think I saw someone leave her back here a while back, but they left the party a few hours ago, so they must have just left here here." She started with a shrug, before leaning in and jokingly whispering the rest to Imani. "So, if I were you, I'd hold her tight. You wouldn't want some drunk college guy coming across a doll that cute, would you?"

Letting out a silent 'eep' at the thought of some random guy finding her new dollified form and taking her home like this, Annie felt as Imani defensively pulled her doll back into a bear hug, holding Annie's chest to her own as she covered the rag doll's body with her arms. "No! Not Dolly!" Imani let out expressively, still quite drunk by the sounds of it. Laura laughed for a moment before responding nonchalantly. "Annie, her name is Annie, your Raggedy Ann doll."

At that, Imani's expression went from protective slowly back to a contented grin, turning to look at the doll in her arms with a loving smirk, their faces only a few inches apart once more. "Annie... my Raggedy Annie doll... I like the sound of that." With those words, it was official, and both owner and toy knew it even if no words were being exchanged between them. Annie was now Imani's property, her new favorite dolly, and despite all the anxiety and confusion that plagued her only minutes before, the rag toy could only feel the love coming from her owner's gaze, a feeling that washed everything else away.

Looking between the two, giving them a moment, Laura spoke up one last time with a stretch. "See? I told you you two were adorable together. On that note, it's getting late, and this genie needs to get back to her lamp. I'm sure I'll see more of you two someday soon though." Shooting a wink at Annie, who inanimately stared back, Laura waved goodbye before starting to make her way out of the party, Imani playfully puppeting Annie's arm to wave goodbye as well. "Those two are going to be just fine," Laura found herself saying with a grin, eventually walking out into the brisk September night alone and leaving the lovers and the party behind her. Imani watched her new friend go, she sighed, before excitedly looking to her new rag doll, Annie sagging in her grasp and looking as cute as ever. "Well, Doll- I mean Annie. It's getting late, but I don't want to go home just yet. Want to enjoy the rest of the party with me and then head to your new home? I promise I'll hold you close the whole time, ok?" Playfully, Imani jostled Annie back and forth to make the rag doll nod yes, her yarn hair bouncing with each movement. Seeing the confirmation that she had just puppeted the doll to do, she tucked Annie back in her grasp and kissed her on the back of her yarn head. "Good girl, now come on!"

---

The rest of the night felt like a dream to Annie, and not just in the sense of the otherworldly circumstances she found herself in. Imani stood true to her promise, hugging the newly mage rag doll tightly for the rest of the night and never letting go, a feeling that Annie had wished for for a long time. Sure, it was a bit odd for Imani to be carrying around a life sized stuffed doll at a Halloween party, but she couldn't care less. Even if she wasn't thoroughly drunk by this point, she had her new doll and she couldn't be happier, and she wasn't going to risk losing her it it means the pair did get a few odd looks. Upon some of her friend's asking about her new toy, Imani didn't shy away from showing off her new dolly, Annie admittedly feeling a mix of embarrassment and underlying joy at how proud her owner was to show her off. One by one, her friend's wrote off her new plaything as 'just Drunk Imani acting all crazy again,' and soon enough it almost seemed normal for their friend to have acquired a new plushy toy. One of her friends even suggested that Annie was just part of her costume, a "RagDoll Cat," as they said, pairing Imani's big cat costume with her newly found rag doll. Happy enough with the unintentional wordplay, Imani accepted it as fact and just passed off Annie as part of her outfit.

From there, Annie watched from her new perspective in Imani's arms as her owner talked with friends and played a few more party games, though the whole time she could feel just how attentive and protective Imani was of her new toy, loving the feeling of her tightening her grasp on her new toy every so often if only to affirm she was still there and safe. Imani even used Annie as a prop at a few points, playfully dancing with the toy more than a few times. Before long though, the party began to winddown; even Halloween has to end sometime, and with more and more people leaving the party, Imani eventually said goodbye to her friends as well before making her way into the night with her Annie doll. After all, she was more than eager to get home with her new toy. Annie initially was afraid how her cloth and stuffing would fair in the cold Fall air, but as Imani made her way out onto the sidewalk and began her track back to her apartment, she held her doll closer than ever under her fuzzy jacket, with just the doll's cloth head poking out beside Imani's, keeping them both warm as she drunkenly talked Annie's cloth ear off. The rag doll didn't mind though; after all, just being there to listen to her owner was part of the job.

Before long, the pair found themselves at Imani's front door, the leopardess struggling with her keys in one hand as she held up her doll with the other. Before long though, Annie felt as Imani pushed the door open and stepped inside, the doll's anticipation rising as Imani plopped her down in a chair by the door. "Welcome to your new home, pet," she teased, kicking off her boots beside her. Without a moment of hesitation, Imani began to strip, a sight that would have made Annie blush bright red if the doll could still do that. Leaving her costume in a pile on the floor and letting her hair down, Imani's eyes eventually landed back on her new doll as a grin crept over her face. Despite it being almost 3 AM now, Imani was as excited as ever, scooping up Annie into a close hug and looking into her new doll's eyes for a few moments, overjoyed to finally have her all to herself.

A second later though, Annie watched as Imani's expression shifted from a loving look to an excited one, almost skipping with her new toy's limbs flailing in her arms as she made her way to her bedroom. With a quick flick of the lights and a running jump onto the bed, Annie felt herself landing in a pile there with her owner a top her, her weight squishing her between the plush of the comforter and the warmth of Imani's now mostly naked body. She didn't feel any pain though, actually enjoying the feeling of being pressed to the bed before she felt her owner scoop her up, placing her in her lap.

They were now on Imani's bed, and though Annie had been in this room countless times before, she couldn't help but see it in a new feeling of awe now that she was one of Imani's dolls, not just her friend. "How do you like the look of your new home, Annie?" She heard Imani whisper. Looking to her owner with her titled gaze and permanent smile, Annie could see that Imani was still well within the afterglow of a long night of drinking, though she was more focused on the alluring look she gave her. For a second, Imani silently puppeted her new toy on her lap, the same feelings of her mental image from earlier in the night rushing back to her but ten fold now that it was a reality, feeling every warm touch of her owner's hands and loving every second of it. Before long though, Raggedy Annie felt as her owner rotated her doll to face her, posing Annie to straddle her on the bed with their faces inches apart once more. Speaking in a low, seductive, and still noticeably tipsy tone, Imani whispered into Annie's ear. "You know doll, back when you were still moving on your own..." she paused, lifting the doll's arm by the wrist before letting it fall back to her lap if only to confirm she really was just an inanimate toy now. "When you were still moving on your own I could tell just how much you wanted to kiss me." At that, the rag doll's plush heart couldn't take it any longer. All she wanted was to lean in an kiss Imani herself, but Annie was just a toy now, she couldn't move without her owner there to puppet her. All the rag doll could do was silently beg her owner for one thing: 'Play with me.' Even if not a word was actually said between the two, Imani seemed to have heard her doll loud and clear, flicking off the lights and pressing Annie to the bed before pinning her, Imani's nose brushing up against her toy's. "Whatever you wish, Annie."

---

The morning of November first was never an easy one for most college kids. Given the shear volume of what she had drank the night before, Imani was no exception, a notable pounding in her head as the almost midday sunlight reached her eyes. Slowly coming to, Imani grunted, bearing her face in one of her pillows as she half hid under the covers. "Ugh, and I was just having the best dream, too..." At that, she felt herself instinctually cuddle something that was already in her arms, pulling the form close to her chest before nuzzling up to its... hair?

"Wait... Wait, what the fuck?" Imani mumbled, still half-asleep but very much so confused as to what was in bed with her. Confused, she quickly started running her hands along the plush object; it didn't feel like one of her stuffed animals despite certainly feeling as soft as one, but as her hand ran along its form, she could distinctly feel the curves of a waist, a soft shoulder, a... breast?"

With that, her eyes shoot open in a second, Imani sat up in her bed all at once, looking to the figure in bed beside her. 'Did I bring someone home last night??' she thought, the night before being a steady blur after a certain point. Ripping the sheets from the bed, Imani's confusion gave way to surprise: There, laying in the bed beside her where she was just being spooned a moment ago, was a lifesized rag doll.

Giving the doll a hesitant poke to make sure she wasn't real, she could only feel the soft give of plush as her finger reached the doll's plush shoulder. The doll was almost naked save for a few undergarments, as was Imani, the girl looking to a blue spotted dress cast aside onto the floor that must have belonged to the doll. Though she was still confused, at this point she was interested in learning more about this mystery toy more than anything, lifting the doll up from her sleeping position and sitting her up across from her.

At that, Imani's eyes went wide. '...wow,' is all that came to her lips as she looked over the doll sitting beside her in the bed, Imani biting her lip as she looked over every inch of the life sized stuffed toy. The doll's body was made amazingly made, and looked amazing to boot, almost perfectly resembling that of a real girl's with detailed stitching giving the doll's cloth body a soft and inviting form. Admittedly spending a little too long eyeing up the doll's curves, Imani's gaze then landed on the doll's face, which looked back to her with a pair of adorable blue eyes and bright red lips pulled into a dollish expression, with a head of yarn hair draping down over her shoulders in twin braids.

Seeing all this, Imani was a mix of amazed and intrigued, pulling the lightweight doll onto her lap to get a better look. Racking her brain to remember if she had gotten the doll at the party sometime the night before, Imani found herself speaking to the toy as if she expected an answer. "Where did you come from, beautiful?" the dark-skinned girl started, cocking her head a little to the side to line up her gaze with the doll's who simply looked back at her cutely. The doll sat there on Imani's lap inanimate, Imani chuckling to herself before continuing. "Strong silent type then? I can dig that," she joked to the toy, running her hands freely across the doll's soft body until one of her hands felt something at the rag toy's waist. Peaking her interest, Imani looked down to see a small tag sticking out from one of the doll's seams, reading the words on the tag aloud. "This Annie Doll is the property of: Imani," with Imani's named filled in where a blank once was.

Looking between the tag, her name, and the doll's still expression, Imani smiled. "So, Annie... not only did I find you last night, but you're also officially my property...?" Pausing for a second, Imani ran a hand up Annie's bare back to her yarn hair, where she puppeted the toy to nod yes. Smirking at the display, Imani spoke up again. "Well, at least I didn't just steal you or something... even if I did, I don't think I could give you back at this point." Imani had to admit, she had no clue where the toy on her bed had come from, let alone how she had apparently become her owner, but as she looked into the doll's eyes, something just felt... perfectly right. She had never told anyone this, but she always had wished to own a doll like the one sitting on her own lap, though she never expected to just wake up with one, let alone such a beautiful toy, in bed next to her.

"Well then, Annie," Imani started, closing the distance between the doll's body on her lap and her own. "I kind of have no idea where you came from... I probably won you off someone in a drinking game or something... yeah that sounds about right. But regardless of where I got you, I-" Stopping short, Imani looked over the doll in front of her as if to affirm her words. "I think I really want to keep you... do you wanna be my new favorite toy?" Looking into the doll's eyes once more, the toy was as silent as ever, but somehow Imani could almost hear Annie yelling 'yes!' to her question. Satisfied with simply accepting the doll as her own and choking up her mysterious origins to a night of drinking, Imani pulled her new Annie Doll into a hug on her lap, surprised and cooing softly as how amazing it felt to have a lifesized doll of her own held close in her arms. 'Wow,' Imani heard herself thing, losing herself in the embrace of her toy for only a second. 'I could get used to this.'

 Loosening up her hug, Imani brought back the doll's gaze to face her again, holding the doll's chin so her face was inches from her own. The more she looked at the doll, the more affectionate she felt for her. It was more than just admiring an aesthetic toy at that point; from the back of her mind, out of seemingly nowhere, she felt like she remembered loving the plush girl on her lap despite having just met her, or rather acquired her. All of a sudden, a strange passion came over her, Imani looking between her new plaything's blue eyed gaze, her body, and her lips. She wasn't sure where these feelings had come from, but as she tightened her grip on the doll's yarn hair, she found herself puppeting the doll's lips towards her own.

A fraction of a second before their lips met though, a loud buzzing could be heard from her night stand. With a sigh and rolling her eyes, Imani loosened her grip of the doll and let her fall from her lap into a pile against the backboard of the bed, skootching over to the edge of the bed to pick up her phone, the source of the noise. Looking at the small screen, it was clear Imani had already received dozens of notifications over the course of the morning as she slept in, busy as always as she scrolled through them quickly before sighing again. A second later though, Imani felt a unique feeling washing over her from seemingly no where. "You know what, who cares." At that, she let the phone slip from her fingers, bouncing softly off the carpeted floor. "It's a Sunday, I need a lazy day to myself," she continued before a smirk crept onto her face, looking to the rag doll she had left in a pile on the bed behind her. "Well, not all by myself I suppose."

Scooping the doll up, looking over her intently for a moment before getting up with Annie still in her arms, Imani half skipped out of her bedroom with her new favorite toy pressed to her chest. "Come on, Dolly. Your owner needs some coffee. And after that? Well, I think you've earned some cuddles for being such a good toy already." Kissing the side of the doll's neck as she entered the kitchen, Imani went through her whole morning routine without ever setting the doll back down, as if she really was some little girl's favorite rag doll. The whole time, Imani talked to Annie as if she was meeting her for the first time, even giving her a little tour of her apartment and introducing her to the other toys in her room. Before long though, the pair found themselves back in Imani's bedroom with some coffee and her laptop in each hand, Annie tucked under one of her arms and her face against her owner's chest.

Playfully tossing Annie onto the bed and watching as her frame sprawled out against the pillows along the backboard, Imani smirked as she stripped off what little clothes she had left, making a point to tease and eye up the doll as she did. Soon, Imani had dressed herself in some lazy day pj's, scooping Annie up and playing with her on the floor for a few minutes before dressing her back in her plush dress, jumping back into bed with her new doll when Imani was satisfied with her outfit. Pulling herself under the covers with Annie posed as if she was cuddling up against her owner, Imani nuzzled up to her toy, completely comfortable as is she had owned Annie for years instead of having just found her in her bed that morning. Flipping on a show on her laptop and taking a sip of her coffee, Imani let out a content sigh as she pulled her toy a little closer.

"I needed this," she spoke genuinely and softly. It felt like this was the first time in forever that she had really relaxed for a morning, finding herself looking less at her laptop screen and more at the Annie Doll beside her. Lifting the doll's chin up one last time to face her, Imani resting her other hand on Annie's plush side, Imani whispered into her ear. "I guess I needed you, too." Kissing the doll deeply, Imani fell into a giddy pile in the bed with Annie held tightly to her chest, not even watching the show she had put on as she began to play with her new favorite toy.

'I needed this too, owner,' Annie found herself thinking. She hadn't been able to move her cloth-and-stuffing body an inch on her own since the night before, but she couldn't care about that any longer. With every new touch, each new kiss, even just hearing Imani giggle playfully as she explored her new doll, Annie melted, her owner's body heat coursing through her stuffing as if it was her own. She was Imani's doll, the one thing that could help her relax on days like this, the plush girl who would be there for just for her when she needed, just like she wished, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

To be continued...?