Strange Friends

Thank you. The first of two complementary stories, which look at how a 'normal' day goes for the two when not in each other's company. Vore is here. As always, critique and comment as you like.

Strange Friends Shorts

Calimn's Day: Tourist Hunting

Calimn was thinking over how she should approach the group of people relaxing on the shore. She kept very low in the water, only the top of her head exposed, eyes halfway under, vision split between the surface and the depths. It let her keep her meal in sight without being very visible herself. She considered the morsels.

There were five of them, all dressed in bright colors, wearing short-sleeved shirts of various neon colors, shorts the color of sand, sunglasses. There were two neko men, a human man, and two neko females. Three of them were wearing sunglasses, one of the neko girls wearing a yellow bikini.

One neko man and the fully clothed cat-girl were sitting close, leaned against each other, as they fished, probably mates. The neko woman in the swimsuit was lying out on a fluffy red towel, sunbathing, already starting to bronze in the jungle sunshine. The other two were sitting back in a pair of odd cloth-and-metal chairs, sipping from cans of something. They all appeared to be quite calm and content.

Calimn smiled to herself. These were her favorite type of prey: tourists. Whether they came by accident through a warp or on purpose through a proper portal, they were fun to play with and eat. Hopelessly optimistic, oblivious to danger, and simple to trick into believing that she was harmless, they could be toyed with for quite some time before they caught on, if they did at all.

Often even the tourist-types were nervous of her simply for her size, so she would have to be a tad cautious in her initial approach. Usually she used her staple "shy, peaceful giant" to fool her prey, but these little snacks . . . a casual, friendly attitude would work best. She put a cheery look on her face, then rose a bit more in the water and swam forward, head fully visible.

The neko couple who had been fishing stood immediately, reeling in their lines. The other three just stayed sitting but brought their attention to her, the cat-girl sunning herself propping herself up on her elbows. None ran or screamed.

"Hey." she greeted, staying in the shallows with only her head out of the river, so as not to scare them.

"Yo. Sorry about fishing in your stretch of the river, miss. Didn't mean anything by it." the neko man who had a fishing rod in one hand apologized.

Calimn blinked. Even for tourists, they seemed quite nonchalant about being in proximity with someone a hundred times their size. They probably came from a whiplash portal, then, and from a world where giant sentients were common and, by their lack of fear, non-predatory.

She had heard of worlds where predators and prey lived without the predators eating the smaller creatures, but she really couldn't imagine NOT surviving off of humans and the like. It was surely rather unhealthy. Humanoids were good for you, in addition to tasting delicious. Even if it was weird, in this case it helped her immensely. She could REALLY mess with them now.

"No problem at all. You can fish all you like."

"That's real nice of ya, . . ." said the lone human among them, a heavy accent coloring his words.

"Oh, forgot about that, sorry. Calimn."

"Thatsa odd name, but 'ey, it's real pretty."

The neko man sitting next to him spoke next.

"You'll have to forgive Ennet for his accent and bluntness, miss. He's from up around Ledrin. You know how people are up there." he said, a "what-can-you-do" shrug to his words.

"Ledrin? Never heard of that place. Is it out west?"

The whole group raised a collective eyebrow at that announcement, the sunbathing neko sitting up all the way and removing her sunglasses to reveal bright pumpkin-colored eyes. It was her that spoke.

"Wait a minute. We're on the Xalthin River, in the Xalthin jungle reserve, right? This is the Xalthi-"

"Of course we are, Serrin! The Xalthin is the only place that has trees this huge, and a river this wide." the other cat-girl interrupted, a confident nod of her head.

"Hold up, there, then why is there a mermaid in the river? I thought they stayed out in the ocean. What if we got warped or something? I read about freak portals that pop up out of nowhere and randomly send you somewhere. Uh, Calimn, was it? Are we on the Xalthin River?" asked the neko man still sitting.

Calimn had to think fast. They were getting nervous, and nervous wasn't what she wanted. She needed to reassure them, calm them down. Time for some improvisation.

"Oh, yes, you're very definitely on the Xalthin. I"m sorry if I made you anxious, but I've lived in this river all my life and I'm a bit ignorant on many things."

The explanation worked, the group visibly relaxing. She started to climb out of the water, but paused at the sudden change in expressions. The girls looked surprised, the males looked surprised AND enamored. There was a moment of startled silence, and then it broke as the human whistled.

" 'ot damn, I didn' know Xalthin had nude beaches."

The neko woman who had been fishing elbowed her mate, who hurriedly stopped staring and looked off to one side. Calimn curled her tail under herself and sat on the riverbed, her whole torso now exposed, her tail underwater. Well, they seemed to come from somewhere where the giant races wore clothes. This would help keep the males from running, at least.

"Oh, we don't. I just feel more comfortable like this. Sorry if it's bothering you."

"No way! Ya gotta real great body!" the human man assured.

The neko girls shot him a disapproving look, but the cat-man sitting beside him just laughed. Calimn blushed a little. Quite an audacious morsel, this one. An idea hit her a moment later. The mermaid smiled, excited. It was time to eat, the playing mostly done, but this joke was too good to pass up.

"Oh, I forgot to offer you anything. You want a sandwich?" asked the neko man in the chair, tapping a large white box sitting between the two seats.

Calimn wanted to burst into laughter at that. Her food was offering to feed her! It was hilarious, ironic to the point of ridiculousness. She bit her lip to hold in her mirth, and waited until the inner pressure had eased up before responding.

"No, thank you. I'll have lunch a little later, and I wouldn't want to bother you."

"Oh, that's fine. I guess one of our sub-sandwiches wouldn't be much at your size, at that. I'd offer you a beer, but that would be less than a thimbleful for you. Damn, sorry about that. I'm Arrick, by the way." he introduced, holding out a hand.

Calimn leaned in and extended one finger, which the neko shook as best he could. He nodded to his companions, telling her their names.

"Well, Ennet is the one you've been complimented by, I'm Arrick, as I said, Serrin is the girl lying out in the bikini, and the lovebirds over there are Jinnan and Wellen. Jinnan's the guy, in case you can't tell." he listed, the last sentence given a joking tone.

The neko fisherman gained a look of good-humored offense.

"Hey, it's not MY fault I have a girl's name. My parents thought they were going to give Allin a sister." he chuckled.

This was perfect. Now a jocular atmosphere had been established, just the kind of mood to initiate her plan.

"So, you think I'm nice-looking, Ennet?"

"Yeah, if ya don' mind me saying so."

"That's sweet of you. Care if I give you a quick kiss?" she giggled, giving a joking wink and putting a jesting tone to her question.

Serrin rolled her eyes, but the others seemed to appreciate the humor and snickered. The human got up so swiftly he knocked over his chair, face red. Rather amusing that he could say something like "you have a nice body" without any hesitation, but he was blushing at the thought of her kissing him.

"Well, if ya wan' ta! I mean, eh . . . yeah."

Calimn picked him up, very gently, and let him stand on the palm of her hand as she lifted him up to her face. She struggled to keep from laughing at it all. She also struggled to keep her hunger down; her appetite had been thoroughly whetted by this game, and now it was time to finish up.

" 'ot damn, I've never gotten kissed by a giant gal. The big folk mostly stay in their parts of the country, where things is sized for 'em, so . . . yeah."

"Well, first time for everything, right?"

She leaned in, kissed the top of his tiny head, and then . . .

. . . sucked him into her mouth.

She would have to be quick now that she had given herself away, no time to taste the human. She swallowed hurriedly, and swiftly snatched up the neko couple in one hand. It was then that total pandemonium broke out.

"HOLY HELL, SHE ATE HIM!" screamed Arrick, jumping up from his chair, face filled with disbelief and panic.

The neko couple began shrieking and struggling in her hand, Arrick and Serrin trying to run. Calimn was too close, though, and she had an enormous reach. She didn't even have to move, just plucking them both up with her free hand. Now she had all four nekos squirming in her grip.

"Now then. Who should I eat first . . ." she wondered aloud, surveying the treats in her hand.

Her prey now caught, she listened to their shouting. It was a bit difficult to catch, with them all yelling over each other, but she could pick out pieces of it.

"What has possessed you to d-" Arrick was shouting.

"Oh please, please, please, please, plea-" Wellen kept repeating.

"Let go of me, you psychopa-" Jinnan screeched, struggling.

"Help us, somebody help u-" Serrin screamed.

Calimn decided to talk to them as a last bit of fun. She could feel the human thrashing around inside her, tickling, so she wasn't quite as hungry anymore. She would see what they had to say before polishing them off. It was always interesting to converse with captured food.

Or would be, if she could get them to stop yelling over one another.

"Hold up, hold up, one at a time, please! Could you all go one at a time?"

They quieted at this, their fighting slowing and screams reduced to terrified whimpers and sobs. Arrick was the first to gather himself and speak out.

"Miss, Miss, what have you DONE?! You just ATE Ennet!"

"Yes, I did."

"What in the world is wrong with you! That's murder, you maniac!" Jinnan snapped at her.

"No, it's called 'having a snack'."

"You just killed someone, you murdering bi-"

Calimn flicked the neko into her mouth with a thumb, cutting off his insult. Obviously she wasn't going to hear anything intelligent out of him. She tasted for a moment, letting the flavor soak into her palate, and swallowed. Not bad, but his taste was lacking something, a bit on the salty side, not quite the right balance of flavor.

"NO! Jinnan, no, please, no!" his mate screamed, crying and struggling harder.

Calimn shook her head at the wailing, then raised the neko higher up.

"Don't cry. I'll eat you right now so you can go together. Is that okay?"

The cat-girl was sobbing hard, tears running down her face and dripping off her chin, but she nodded. The mermaid didn't taste the neko woman at all, gulping her down immediately. Let it never be said that she was needlessly cruel to her prey. She liked to tease, but keeping people she caught apart that were family or lovers was where she drew the line.

"Now, where was I? Oh, right. Who wants to go next? Any volunteers?"

Arrick, once again, managed to speak up over Serrin's yelling.

"Calimn, why are you doing this!? This is insanity!"

"This is eating. Perfectly natural. As to why, it's because I'm hungry, and you happen to be nice and tasty."

"I can't accep- SERRIN, SHUT UP! I'm trying to save our skins, so just SHUT UP!"

The screeching neko girl finally quieted, reduced to tearful whimperings.

He took a deep breath, then spoke as calmly as he could, voice trembling only slightly.

"I can't accept that. People are NOT food. I don't know how someone like you slipped the net of the Asatif International Protectorate Squad, bu-"

"That's because this isn't wherever you're from. Asatif, was it? This is a place called Felarya. And here, EVERYBODY is a man-eater. If it can fit you down it's throat, it'll do so. That's how things work here. Sorry, but that's how it is." she offered, giving a shrug.

"You can't believe that. There's no way you can believe that, no matter where this is. This is . . . this is completely immoral."

"I could argue with you all day about this, but I have a friend to meet with later, so . . ."

Before he could react, shout, anything, she popped Serrin into her maw and rolled the neko around in her mouth. He roared at her to stop, but the mermaid just kept tasting the cat-girl, humming, a pleased smile on her face. After a minute, she swallowed.

"Ahhh . . . she was better than Jinnan. Not quite as good as a tasty human, but rather nice on the whole."

Arrick finally lost his cool, and started screaming. Calimn turned her head away, annoyed with his yelling and disappointed that he couldn't hold a calm, intelligent conversation with her. It always came down to screaming like a lunatic and insults.

"What kind of monster are you!? This is not how a civilized, sentient being should act! This is wrong! Wrong in every possible way imaginable! This is unnatural, YOU are unnatural! This is-"

"THIS is the most natural thing in the world. I am hungry. I need food. You are small, delicious, and good for me. Therefore, I eat you. Look, I am trying to be nice about this, believe me, I am, but I'm still going to eat you. Now, could you PLEASE stop insulting me?"

"You horrible . . ."

"Okay, really. If you were awful-tasting, or bad for my health, or I was full, or something, I wouldn't eat you. It's not like I'm out to wreak havoc or anything. I eat because I have to. Now, I am done talking. I'm going to be as nice as I can and let you pick how to go down. Fast or slow?"

He hesitated, but at last he responded.

"Fast. I don't want this to . . ."

"Be drawn out, I know. Okay, down the hatch."

She kept her word, and dropped him straight down her throat. Once she had gotten the last morsel down, she sighed. She swam back upstream slowly, letting her meal digest. She didn't want Swiftlit to hear them squealing when she met up with him.

He accepted her diet, but she still tried her best to refrain from eating humans and the like in front of him. She hated to upset him. She perked up when she reached her favorite spot and discovered Swiftlit sitting on the bank of the river.

"Hi, Calimn. How was your day?"

She smiled.

"Oh, the usual. Just the regular day."


Well, there it is. Calimn during a normal day, hunting. I'll have Swiftlit's day up soon.

Felarya is Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated.

"She liked to tease, but keeping people she caught apart that were family or lovers was where she drew the line." Interesting morals she has there. But then, in Felarya, it actually makes sense.

Poor oblivious tourists... I can also understand Calimn's disappointment at them no longer wanting to talk, but then she should learn to complete her conversations before she starts eating.

Well that's gotta be unluckiest day for those 5. I dont think I could offer much more if cought in that situation even if I can be coldhearted at times.

Interesting. Can't wait to see Swiftlit's day. I gotta say though, eating so many humans can't be healthy. Some people are living biohazards.

Yes, being a tourist in Felarya rarely goes well. Here is Swiftlit's part of the two stories. No proper vore, but dialogue referencing it.Comments and constructive criticisms are welcome.

Strange Friends Shorts

Swiftlit's Day: Run for Your Life

Swiftlit popped his head up out of his burrow, the moss plug sitting on his head like a fuzzy green hat, and rotated three hundred and sixty degrees. Nothing seemed to be around, just massive trees and undergrowth. He climbed up out of the hole and patted the plug back into place carefully, glancing around constantly as he did so.

He finished replacing the makeshift camouflage, the rose into a semi-crouch. He needed to get something to eat, something to drink, and see if there was anything lying around the forest that he could use. Occasionally he would find strange objects abandoned in the jungle, left behind by people who had come through, but usually they were incomprehensible to him and useless.

He kept low as he crept through the Miragia Forest, careful not to make any noise or move too fast. Either action could get him randomly attacked. He was glad this was the Miragia Forest and not a different area; Calimn had told him that this forest was unstable, and most of the bigger predators stayed away from it.

It was lucky that he had landed here, and that he seemed to wreck dimensional instabilities when he touched them. With that main danger of vortexes void for him, all he had to do was avoid the animals and carnivorous plants that dotted the jungle. He was in a constant state of high-alert when outside his home and away from Calimn, and that caution was a major part of what kept him from being digested in some predator's belly.

He slipped through the brush, searching for edible vegetation or water while keeping an eye out for any movement. He had a peculiar tie of motion and danger stuck in his head; if it moved, his brain automatically barked out a warning of dire peril. The only things that could get close to him without him noticing were either invisible and inaudible or extraordinarily stealthy.

He stayed in a crouch, moving in that manner to keep himself mostly hidden in the underbrush and reduce his chances of being seen. He could stay out of trouble if he made sure not to make much noi-

His foot brushed something, and he squealed as a man's voice suddenly shouted from right under his feet.

"Argh, I'm hit!"

He took a flying leap of ten feet and scrambled twenty feet up a tree before he slowed down and looked to where the voice had come from. His heart was pounding, straining his chest, as he stared at what he had nearly stepped on. It was a tiny man, dressed in rough, homespun clothes.

Swiftlit stayed up in the tree, not willing to come down and approach the minuscule being. The man was smaller than he was, by a lot, but he was still frightened. He had no idea what the man could do, or what he wanted. For all he knew, this tiny thing could be a predator. He had already run into a fairy, and they could change size at will. Being small didn't make him any less of a threat.

The tomthumb pushed himself back up from the ground, unharmed, and yelled at the boy in the tree.

"Watch where you're going, kid! You almost stepped on me!"

Swiftlit recoiled at the shout, scrabbling at the bark of the tree and climbing higher. Now the miniature human was mad, and that scared him immensely. Who knew what he would do if angered? Swiftlit didn't want to find out, that was for sure.

"Get down from there!"

Swiftlit shook his head furiously.

"N-n-no, y-you might e-eat me!"

The tomthumb gained a look of astonished incredulity. He was silent for a few minutes, then burst out laughing.

"What in the world are you TALKING about? How could I possibly eat you? I would worry more about you eating me. Now get down from there."

The boy squeezed the tree he was clinging to harder, heart speeding up. It was a trick. It had to be. If he got close to this thumbling, he would be devoured. The tiny being would grow, like a fairy, or shrink him down to the size of a gnat, and make a meal of him. He was sure of it.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry about k-kicking you! J-just l-leave me alone and g-g-go away!" he squeaked.

The tomthumb shook his head at the paranoia in this human, then started to walk off.

"Alright. You've obviously lost your head living out here, so I'll leave you be."

Swiftlit waited until the little humanoid was completely out of sight before sliding back down the trunk of his escape route and darted away. He had to get out of this area, and fast; a predator might have heard the sound of their conversation and been drawn to it. Shouting here in the jungle was like ringing a dinner bell for anything in hearing.

He moved as quickly as he could without exposing himself by sound or sight, keeping low to the ground and hurrying along. He made sure to turn in a circle now and again, always with his eyes and ears open for the least sign of trouble.

Trouble was obviously keeping ITS eyes and ears open for the least sign of HIM, because it decided to jump him. Namely, in the form of a giant naga.

He was just turning back around from one of his quick surroundings checks when a pair of immense yellow eyes, slitted like a serpent's, opened up in the foliage only a few meters in front of him. They were set in a slim, exotic face, high cheekbones, pale skin, long, tapered ears after the manner of elves. A soft nose, full lips, and FANGS.

A set of long fangs were protruding from her closed mouth, and though it was only the tips of them, there was nearly a foot of gleaming white exposed. The points were so fine he imagined he wouldn't even feel it if they pierced him through, at least not at first. He had to get awa-

He couldn't move. It wasn't her mouth that did it to him, made him unable to run, but her eyes. The twin orbs simply pulled him in and drowned him, killed his brain's connection to his muscles, rooting him to the spot. They turned into whirlpools of gold and ink, rendered him immobile. His mind was still running, but his body wasn't going anywhere.

The naga raised herself up, brushing off the brush she had hidden herself with and showing her full size to him. She was gigantic, probably eighty feet tall and with a poison-green tail nearly three times that. She was wearing jewelry, gold hoops in her ears, rings, and even nipple and navel piercings, all sized for a giant. Her hair, too, was green . . . and scaly. Her hair wasn't hair at all, but a mass of python-sized snakes that were all moving and hissing and looking around with cold eyes the same color as their hostess'.

He had seen only two other nagas* in his life, an experience he had barely gotten away from alive, and neither had looked like this one. She was more serpentine, movements more fluid, and mesmerizing. Even if she wasn't looking into his eyes anymore, he couldn't break the hypnosis; every motion had a slightly rhythmic cant to it, and the combined effect of it kept his feet nailed to the ground and his body as rigid as a board.

"Well, well, well, aren't we in trouble? You aren't much more than a mouthful, but I suppose you'll do." she smirked, a lazy smile spreading beneath her half-lidded eyes.

Then she leaned over him and opened her mouth. He trembled, looking up into her maw, and saw her tongue hanging over him, human but with the first two feet of it split, forked into two prongs like a serpent's. Fear exploded through him, and it was enough to shatter his hypnosis.

He ran for his life.

The naga hissed with displeasure as he dashed around her hand and sprinted away as fast as he could manage. She didn't seem to be interested in chasing him, however, and simply slithered off in a different direction. I guess she's lazy, Swiftlit thought, but he didn't want to take any chances with it. He kept going at a decent speed, stopping twice to drink at a stream that ran through the Miragia Forest.

He was not quite to the Jewel River, on his way to meet up with Calimn, when he came across a patch of berries. He slid to a stop to examine them. They appeared to be purple, about the size of his thumbnail, and growing on low bushes with dark lavender-colored leaves. He peered at them, wondering if they were poisonous or edible. He plucked one, squeezed it gently, and looked at the bush more closely.

Well, something had been eating them, so they were proba-

The sound of a trumpet blaring right behind him made him spin around and leap backwards at the same time, trying to avoid whatever was after him. It was some kind of lizard, no taller than his knee and a little over a meter long, with brown scales and some bizarre kind of frill on its short neck. It honked at him again, making that curious brassy noise.

He kept backing up, flapping his hands at the creature in an attempt to shoo it away or at least quieten it. It didn't seem to be aggressive, but it might attack, and even if it didn't, that loud cry would attract everything close by. The reptile ignored his placating gestures and continued to bark out that bugling noise.

"Shhhh, shhh, shush, you're going to call in a-"

"Predator?" purred a smooth, hypnotic, and very familiar voice from behind him.

He didn't even have to turn around to know that the gorgon naga he had just gotten away from was looming over him. The troublemaking bugle lizard scuttled off at the sight of the massive serpent-woman. He didn't look back at her, remembering that mesmerizing power of hers, and dug his heels into the soil. She caught the motion.

"Don't try to run. Chasing isn't my area of expertise, but I'm far larger than you and I can see just what you're going to do. I am a diviner, so I can see a little into the future. Last time you surprised me, breaking that hypnosis, but now I've got you."

He just continued to dig his feet into the dirt, making little starting blocks for him to push off of when he took off. His heart was racing, adrenaline pulsing through him. If she was telling the truth, he would have to kick straight into top gear to get away.

"You should be honored that you will feed me. I am a high-priestess and oracle, much venerated in my own world. Or I was. Now, hold still."

That was his cue to run.

Her hand slammed down in front of him, but he wove around it, avoiding the second grab she aimed at him. She knew where he was going to go, that much was sure, but she wasn't as good a hunter as that blonde naga he had met several weeks ago. He slipped past her snatching hands and shot away, rapidly gaining speed. Again, she didn't chase him, staying behind and grumbling to herself.

Swiftlit ran all the way to the Jewel River, skidding to a halt once he spotted Calimn. She was lying out in her usual spot, and smiled when she saw him. Swiftlit sighed with relief at the sight of her. At least he was safe from predators while he was with her.

"You have a good day?" she asked congenially.

"Yeah, just like every day."


Swiftlit's half of the day stories. Most of it spent running for his life and being beset by misfortune at every turn. I really am mean to that kid

Felarya is Karbo's

*Reference to Crisis and Anna - Crisis and Anna are also Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated.

haha funny to see the difference beteen their 'typical" day

I found that gorgon intriguing. Predicting the short future ? that's as close at it comes to a threat to Swiftlit I think :p
Great job

I do like the sound of the gorgon, I like how it used some strategy there.

All in all it's easy to see who lives with the most stress. I wonder seeing as swiftlit hates the water would that make him a hydra phobic?

Indeed. He's pretty much everything-phobic. Predators, fast movement, water, people, being eaten. Lots of stress from lots of places.

MrNobody13 wrote:

Indeed. He's pretty much everything-phobic. Predators, fast movement, water, people, being eaten. Lots of stress from lots of places.

Can't help but pity that young lad. I'll give him a game boy or something to help put his mind of the constant threats to his sanity.

Love it. Write some more for those two sometimes.

Another short piece, in which another speed-bump appears in the two's relationship. When a pred has a small friend, there's always the problem of introducing them to their larger friends. There is vore, so avoid if you find it offensive. Critiques are welcome.

Strange Friends shorts

Intersection of Friends

"Hey Swiftlit?"

The boy looked over at the mermaid from his seat on her shoulder, curious at her tone. Her voice had a hesitant cadence to it, maybe even a bit embarrassed. That was odd; Calimn was rarely shy about speaking over anything. Something was on her mind.

"Umn?"

She turned her head slightly, glancing at him for a moment before looking away agin and blushing a little. She paused a moment before continuing.

"Do you think . . . I . . . agh, I'll say it! Do you think I've been eating too many humanoids?"

Swiftlit really didn't know what to say to that. He knew she ate small sentients, and he didn't particularly like it, but he had accepted that part of her. He still couldn't watch her swallow someone, and was grateful that she mostly ate while he wasn't around. A few times he had shown up while she was in the middle of a meal, and she had hurried the process courteously in each case.

It made him queasy, but he could let it go. The subject was a little touchy, which was probably why Caimn was acting uneasy about asking the question.

"Uh . . . I . . . really don't know? Do you think you've been . . . e-eating too many?"

* * * * *

Calimn lifted her tiny friend gently off her shoulder, holding him in her hand and lowering him until he was even with her stomach. She pinched her midriff, showing him how she got a small bit of her belly in between her thumb and curled forefinger.

"See?"

"What?"

Calimn sighed. Swiftlit was a great friend, even if he was a nervous, jittery little guy, but on many points he was completely oblivious.

"I think I'm getting a teeny bit heavier. I mean, humans are kind of fattening, and I've been eating them quite a bit lately. I don't know why, but there were a lot of ships this month. Maybe I should start on a diet, you think? Less humanoids, more fish? What do you say?"

"Eeeeh . . . I don't really think you've gained weight. A diet is kind of your own decision. You look fine to me."

She smiled. He might be oblivious on occasion, but he was quite a sweet kid. In both manners of speaking. She gave him a quick lick that made him protest with a squeak of surprise, but she cut the taste short as a familiar sound reached her ears. She brightened immediately; she would recognize that stream of babble and swearwords anywhere. Jab was here.

"Ah! Q-quick, put m-me down s-s-so I can h-hide! S-someone B-B-BIG is c-c-coming!" Swiftlit squealed, trying to wriggle out of her grip and drop to the ground.

She patted his head, attempting to reassure him. His squirming tickled, but he couldn't push himself out of her gentle grasp.

"Whoa, whoa, cool down. It's just Jab. She's a harpy, but even if she talks rather oddly she's very nice. I'll intr-"

Calimn paused. How did you go about introducing someone to a friend that they would usually see as food? The implications crashed down on the mermaid's head like a brick. Her jaw dropped as she started to sweat. Jab was pleasant, but what if the harpy considered her weird for this? She suddenly got an image of Jab giving her a incredulous look, with a raised eyebrow.

"You're such a interesting person and I'm honored to know you."

"Oh dang, how am I going to do this?!" Calimn wondered.

"Do what?" Jab asked, landing right behind her.

* * * * *

Swiftlit suddenly found the whole world upside-down as Calimn turned to the massive harpy and hid him behind her back. She was sitting up on her tail to talk to the newcomer, him hanging halfway out of her fist, shirt up around his armpits and the blood beginning to rush to his head. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but at least he was out of the harpy's line of si-

"Hey, what's that you've got behind your back, fish-face?"

His heart performed a 10-point gymnastic move in his chest. This could be bad. Calimn was friends with this giant, apparently, and would protect him, but he was worried for her. He might not get eaten, but he didn't want her to get into an argument and maybe even a fight with her friend over him.

"Um. Guess."

"Hah, you and your pathetic little baby games. I'll bite, but only because I feel sorry for you, you whiny minnow. Is it . . . a . . . jewel? I bet it's a jewel, since you live on the Jewel River and all that. Is it? A jewel, I mean. Is it?"

"Nope."

"Hmmmm . . . a fish?"

"No"

"A . . . NEKO!? You got me a neko, didn't you, you disgusting little slimeball worm! I bet you couldn't even catch it on your own! It'll be a scrawny, unworthy snack, but I'll eat it anyway! Oh, you *&^%ing jerkface bucket of chum!"

Swiftlit couldn't figure out what in the world this giant bird-woman was talking about. She was using all these horrible derogatory terms, and that one he couldn't even decipher, but her tone was excited and happy. Was she angry, or not?

"No, it's not a neko."

"Is it a human?"

"Eh . . . okay, you got me."

The world turned into a blur as Swiftlit was brought back out from behind Calimn's back. He paled at the sight of Jab. She wasn't that large in comparison to the mermaid, no more than fifty feet tall, but she was plenty large enough to swallow him if she wanted. She had sparrow-brown feathers, a slim figure, and heavily freckled skin. He gulped, afraid of how she would react to him.

* * * * *

"Heh, you going to eat the little midge or stare at him and starve like the idiot you are?" she asked Calimn with a smile.

Calimn hesitated. If she said no, Jab would ask to eat him, and that would be quite awkward for everybody. If she said yes, she would have to actually eat him right here, and that would be rather awkward, as well. She decided on the second.

"Yeah, I am."

"Wait a min-!" Swiftlit began, but she tossed him into her mouth and quickly swallowed him.

She had obviously surprised him, because he thrashed quite hard on his way down, tickling the inside of her throat and her stomach walls once he slid all the way into her belly. She took a deep breath and swallowed it, shutting down her digestion as she did so. She would have to cough him up later, once Jab was gone. She would keep him a secret for a bit longer, until she could figure out how to explain it properly to her harpy friend.

"So anyway, I decided to pop into this grimy stretch of river you call home to see what worthless endeavors you were up to. What'cha been wasting your useless life on these days? You're such a helpless minnow, I bet you can't ev-"

The conversation, or rather, Jab's monologue, went on for nearly an hour. Calimn had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and not just from Jab's hilarious stories. Swiftlit hadn't had the time to ready himself for being eaten, and now he was ricocheting around in her tummy. It felt wonderful, an internal massage that tickled immensely. Jab took note of it.

"Whoo, that puny maggot must be really fighting for you to grin like that. You're keeping your digestion off to enjoy it, aren't you?"

"Mmhm." Calimn hummed in admittance, rubbing her midriff with a pleased smile.

"Well, wouldn't want to ruin your snacktime. See you, fish-face." Jab finished, flapping off in a blast of wind.

Calimn waved as she left, then patted her stomach, lying down. She would let Swiftlit out in a bit. He felt pretty good in her belly right now. She waited until his struggles had died down before spitting him back up. He emerged dripping saliva and jittery. She gave him a mischievous, cat-like smile.

"Were you comfy?"

His eye twitched.

"I hate you forever."

Calimn burst out laughing.


Calimn decides to put off telling Jab about Swiftlit, and scares the daylights out of him with her method of doing so.

Felarya is Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated.

That's cool kinda sweet in a way like.

Disturbingly, that was quite sweet. :p

I can understand Calimn's decision. Telling a friend that you've befriended food might be a little awkward.

But... Damn it, Swiflit, when Calimn asks you whether she should eat fewer people, you say YES!

French snack wrote:

Disturbingly, that was quite sweet. :p

I can understand Calimn's decision. Telling a friend that you've befriended food might be a little awkward.

But... Damn it, Swiflit, when Calimn asks you whether she should eat fewer people, you say YES!

Well would you say that to a giantess that holds your life in there hands? XP

That was cute in a sort of way XD
I'm really fond of those two characters ^_^
I'm curious of the day where she will have no choices but introduce him to Jab. I can see fun and akwardness coming

"I hate you forever." SO. FUCKING. PERFECT. I love that line. I laughed so much. Again, PERFECT!

Thank you guys. Another story, just a kind of ethereal one I thought up while watching the moon.

Strange Friends Shorts

Goblin Moons

Calimn flicked her tail, shooting under the ship she had spotted and making sure to go deep into the river to avoid detection by the night watchmen pacing the decks cautiously. She didn't want to deal with people yelling and running all over the place, possibly even shooting at her, tonight. She was hunting a school of exovole fry, trying to keep up with the darting evasions of the fish. She was trying hard to limit herself on eating humanoids, and tonight was a good one to start.

It was a good night for chasing what you wanted, twin moons full and bright in the sky. The lunar light was nearly as bright as sunshine, casting a silvery sheen over Felarya that teased the eyes with shifting shadows and muted colors. It was a perfect night for predators. The moons were inspiring, making the heart race with the urge to hunt for whatever one might desire, be it food or love or some other passion.

Even prey felt that pull, urging them with the soft seduction of a beautiful night to come out of hiding and enjoy the bright, peculiar new world that had been formed. It was not a sleeping sort of night, but one in which staying awake and searching for excitement was practically mandatory. It made everything one did seem magical, increasing sensation and thought.

For some the moonlit night was Dionysian, incensing sensuality and instinct, a night for parties and feasting and excitement. The fey in particular felt it in this manner, gathering together and celebrating, dancing and singing and cavorting in the silvery brightness. Predators and prey alike gave in to the urge and found their friends and acquaintances and even total strangers to have a chaotic, happy time with.

For those not so inclined, it was soothing. It was a warm night, with breezes and slow, calm winds that carried heat in just the right amount. Some sat out under the moons, alone or with companions, gazing up at the twin coins of soft silver floating high in the star-sprinkled sky. Even Swiftlit felt it, coming out of his burrow and climbing a tree to watch the lunar revolution, fears eased to nothing for this one magic night.

The sounds of the night were different as well. Instead of nighttime scufflings and cries of creatures being hunted or hunting, the whole forest was filled to the brim with the noises of joyous conversation and music and laughter. It was a fantastical night, where it seemed like nothing at all could go wrong and anything could happen, the world turned on its head and logic thrown out the window.

It seemed like no one had any troubles this particular evening, not even prey creatures. The giant predators became caught up in the hunt and captured them, only to play with them and often as not let them go. It was a lucky night for many, escaping being eaten when they should have been digesting in a stomach, and though not all evaded being consumed, a great deal more than usual were spared.

It was just that kind of night.

Barriers fell apart, species and diet no longer mattered, alignment disregarded under the influence of those bizarre disks of pale light. Predators mixed with prey, a few even invited to join parties going on, people that were usually enemies able to let go of their quarrels and celebrate together. It was one of the strangest nights Felarya had ever seen, full of excitement and calm, everything skewed from normal. It was as if the whole world had become drunk.

* * * * *

Calimn popped up beside the ship she had passed, and was surprised when the crew greeted her with laughs and red faces, all of them muddled with wine. It was an easy meal, but she had decided to eat healthier until she slimmed down some. The lunar glow made it easy to resist, somehow, and she had already eaten two small exovoles already.

"Hahaha, wanna drink?" chuckled one man, patting her arm and winding up sliding down it to snore on the deck's boards.

Calimn hesitated. She had never had any alcohol before, and wasn't sure if she would like it. The inhibition faded quickly under the light of the double moons, and she wound up drinking ten barrels, one after the other. It wasn't long before her head was fuzzy, her mood lighthearted. She sang for the sailors, voice lovely and pitch-perfect even if she couldn't remember the words to the song and she was drunk enough that she probably couldn't swim in a straight line.

"Ya know, lady predators is kinda sexy-like. Nobody wanna to admi' i', cause i's sorta bad to ge' turned on by a girl tha' ea's people, bu' they are. Like, I seen a few up close an' go' lucky to survife, and I'm like, 'HOT!' bu' I don' wanna say nothin' cause i' be kinda awkwar', ya know?" one man explained, leaning on her raised index finger for support and hiccuping.

"Yeah, I can see tha'. Cool. You should ask a big girls ou', ge' maaaarried." Calimn giggled.

"Awww, no way. I' get all eated up. An' di' you know, a frien' of mine has a chel-cha-bah, a chillytaur girlfrien'? A BIG chillytaur! She's a veggatarian, though."

"Really?! You're joking!" Calimn exclaimed, incredulous.

"No, I'm no'! Sheriously, she's, like, for'y fee' tall! Oh, you know wha'? I jus' no'iced chillytaur soun's like 'chilitaur'. A taur with a chilidog lower half, hahahaha!" he laughed.

Calimn knew from raiding merchant ships with exotic foods what a chilidog was, and nearly laughed herself sick at the image of a chilotaur with one for a lower half, hotdogs sticking out of her hair for a pair of antennae.

She finished the interaction asleep and draped over the vessel, the crew passed out all over the decks around her, the boat sitting low in the water with her weight. She would wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow and slide back into the river while the people on board were still knocked out, rather embarrassed that she had gotten intoxicated.

* * * * *

Swiftlit had his own flip-side interaction.

"Well, aint'cha a sweetie, keeping a big, nasty troll like me company." the huge ogre beamed at him.

She was sitting next to him up in the tree he had climbed to watch the moons from. A humaniod the size of a truck, she was some twenty feet tall, with gray-green skin, short horns, a mouthful of fangs, floppy asses' ears, and a long, flexible tail that had a puff of reddish fur at the end. Her hair was the same dull brick as the fur on her arms and at the tip of her tail, eyes an unusual shade of bubble-gum pink.

He should have been terrified.

He wasn't, though, completely calm. Those moons were so soothing, he just couldn't get anything more than vaguely nervous. It was a wonderful respite from the usual run of things. The troll, too, did not seem the least bit interested in harming or eating him, a rather cheery sort on the whole. She was just grinning, leaned back against the trunk of the tree and staring up at the twin orbs of cream with him.

"Ahhh, this is a nice night, eh?"

"Mmn." he agreed.

"This doesn't seem to be Alteana, but I'm not worried. Trolls are the biggest, toughest folks around, besides the dragons and giants. I'm not much for fighting, really. I was always the cuddly one in the family. Hugs and stuff. Sad that people always ran away when they saw me."

Swiftlit started thinking. He had always run from predators without regard to whether they wanted to eat him or not. He had encountered a large slug girl once, and dashed away even though she had asked him to wait in a pleading voice. Maybe he should have stayed and listened to her. He might have hurt her feelings. Perhaps he should try to understand how the predators felt about being shunned.

This moonlight was really warping his thoughts.

"Oh, here there are plenty of things bigger than you. Some are five times your size, maybe even bigger that I don't know about. You should be careful."

"Awww, you're a cute little bugger, arent'cha?" she cooed, hugging him.

He let her do so, practically anesthetized by this nighttime air, the soft silver glow everywhere, and the sight of the moons. She was warm through the rough cloth shirt she was wearing, and he could feel her heart thudding powerfully in her chest. Between that and the sleepy pull of the lunar influence, he dozed off.

Things were crazy tonight.

The troll, when she realized the boy was asleep, climbed down out of the tree. She herself felt quite energized by the moonlight, excited. This was the lunar peculiarity of her own world, the goblin moons that made people act very strangely when they were full. She put him down on the ground, patting his head, and wandered off to run through this new place and explore, eyes glowing in the twilight.

Swiftlit jerked awake the next morning, and found himself lying out in the open. He vaguely recalled sitting up in a tree to watch the moonrise, but not a thing besides that. He had been out of his head that night, and it was lucky he hadn't been eaten by something while locked in that peculiar mellow state. Now things had righted themselves and he was absolutely in a panic at being out of his hole the entire night.

* * * * *

People woke up, some with headaches, some not, and got up. Nobody really knew what had happened during that chaotic night, no real memories except for hazy recollections of silvery light everywhere and a flash-image of the moons pulsing with soft brilliance that turned everyone crazy.

All in all, though, it had been a perfect night.


Well, just a weird story that I wanted to write. I've never had alcohol or anything like that, so I don't know what it's like, but I tried my best. I was thinking of one of those old fairytales while writing this, where the full moon gets all the mythological creatures hyped and they party, ect. Critiques and comments welcome.

Felarya is Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated.

That made a pleasant, calming change. I like the description of the night's feel. A little touch of magic.

Calimn's conversation with the sailors was fun, too. An inebriated Calimn teasing humans and telling them they should marry giant predators when they're attracted... I can't say I blame the sailors, with their alcohol-lowered inhibitions, for admitting the attraction!

That was pleasantly peaceful read. captured serenity in a bottle there.

Ohhh I really loved this one a lot
Very nice job at describing the sense of wonder of peacefulness of that night !
And great idea here, I'm really liking that idea of a silver, peaceful night, occuring once in a while ^__^

Thank you.

Another story, in which Swiftlit is repeatedly nommed. Why? Calimn just thinks it's funny. And she's dieting, which makes her weak against the temptation of it. Just a lot of comedy.

Strange Friends Shorts

Dentistry, Among Other Things.

"I'm telling you, there's something stuck back in there."

Calimn was lying on her stomach, at her usual spot, tail flipped over her back to shade her head. They had gotten an unusually bright, hot sun today, and while she liked the warmth of it there was the fact that it was making her dry out faster. It was a bit irritating, having to splash herself every five minutes to keep from frying in the heat.

She let her tail down into the gleaming river behind herself, scooping up a swimming-pool's worth of water with her fin and dousing herself with the cool liquid. It was absolute bliss, the chill water running down her head and back in tickling rivulets. The tiny human standing a few meters from her appreciated the deluge a lot less, squealing and dodging around to avoid the water missiles that rained down from her tailfin.

He somehow managed to avoid getting wet in the abrupt downpour, a surprising feat of agility. His reflexes had improved quite a lot since he had first met her. She mostly attributed it to living in a perilous jungle full of dimensional instabilities, giant man-eating predators, carnivorous and poisonous plants, and just about every other hazard you could imagine. Still, she liked to think she had contributed to his increased control of his rapid movements, mostly by attempting to catch and eat him on a regular basis.

He gave her a decidedly unflattering look and protested against having bucket-sized droplets of water dropped on his head.

* * * * *

"Calimn, a little warning would be nice. You know I'm scared of w-w-water." he complained.

"Oh, you're scared of everything." she laughed.

"I am not!"

"Are too. Name ONE thing you're not afraid of."

"Heights."

"Name another."

" . . . "

"Eeeeexactly. You really need to relax and not get so nervous about every teeny tiny little thing, Swiftlit. Freaking out all the time does nothing but make you tired. Although it IS rather cute when you start darting around in a panic. It's kind of funny."

"I run around scared half to death in a forest full of monsters every day. I have a panic attack every time you swallow me by surprise. Is that cute?"

"Only absolutely adorable!" she joked, cracking a big grin.

He smiled back. Even though he was frightened by the world around him, Calimn was the rock-steady foundation that kept him relatively sane in this deathtrap of a jungle. Her vitality was infectious, and it was hard to resist her cheery smile. Resisting her tongue was even harder, as he learned a second later.

She flicked it out playfully, ensnaring his arm in an instant. He probably could have avoided it, but he was okay (mostly) with her catching him in such a manner. It caused a flash of instinctive fear, but he could deal with it. As long as he stayed outside her mou-

She opened up to shown him the full extent of her maw, the sight making him tense up for a moment.

"You aren't planning on-"

* * * * *

She didn't give him a verbal answer, but instead let her tongue do the talking. Technically, it usually did the talking in verbal exchanges, but . . . well, whatever. She sent a ripple down the muscle, the wave moving along it getting larger and larger until it reached the end. Swiftlit was catapulted right into her waiting mouth, bouncing once on the soft pink trampoline of her palate.

He gave a squeak, startled by the suddenness of it, and tried to jump back out. His peculiar flavor, tingling almost to the point of being fizzy, was too good to resist, however. She blocked him from leaving her mouth a dozen times, agile tongue always intercepting and pushing him back. It was rather fun, and him trying to wrestle her tongue out of the way made her chuckle.

"C-Calimn, jeez! I'm getting s-soaked in here! At least give me a chance!" he squeaked, still making a futile effort to push past her palate.

She relaxed her tongue, and, as he had been straining against the muscle and suddenly lost the resistance, Swiftlit tumbled right out of her mouth. He certainly wasn't soaked, but neither was he completely dry. She had sucked most of the saliva out of her mouth, making it damp rather than outright wet as a courtesy for her little friend, but her mouth had begun watering again when she had been playing with him on her tongue.

He tried to wipe himself off, with limited success.

"Now I'm all heavy. I can barely hit a jog like this. Why do I always end up soaked in spit when I come to see you?"

" 'Cause you're tasty. Ah, I forgot about the thing I was telling you! Look, there's something stuck in my back teeth."

"You told me. Just pick it out."

"Uh-uh, it won't come out like that. I tried already. I want you to hop in there quick and dig it out with the harpoon."

Swiftlit carried the metal fishing spear around with him occasionally, not often, but once in a while. He didn't use it a weapon, of course, given his cowardly nature, but mostly to retrieve fruit that was out of reach on slender branches to slight to take even his meager weight. As it so happened, he had it on him today. He had left it stuck in the ground a few feet away from his seat on a massive tree root.

"Uuuummmmm . . . is there another option? Please say there is."

Weeeell, she COULD use the harpoon he had pulled out of her throat on their first meeting as a toothpick, herself. What would be the fun in that, though? It would be far more interesting if Swiftlit became an impromptu dentist. Plus, he tasted delicious. Sampling his flavor so often was a big part of how she could be on a reduced-humans,ect. diet.

She still ate one now and again, and once had a "guilty pleasure" moment where she had finished off a six-man crew in one sitting, but overall her diet was going quite well. She had slimmed down a little in the three weeks since starting off, and felt quite proud of herself for it. Once she was finished with the plan, she could level off her eating of humanoids and adjust her meals to balance everything out nicely.

Of course, it made it rather hard to fight the urge to eat Swiftlit.

She licked her lips at that, and, unable to resist either the taste or teasing, wrapped her long tongue around his ankle. His face fell.

"Not agai-"

She pulled him in with a swift tug, sucked him up all the way to his chest.

"Wait, I didn't get the s-spear!" he protested, trying to push himself out with his arms.

" 'rue. Sorry, you're jus' so good I can' resis' " she mumbled around him.

She released the boy after a moment, at which point he trudged (being heavy with saliva and REALLY soaked now, at least from the sternum on down) over to pull the harpoon from the ground and wipe it off carefully with his shirt. Once all the dirt was off the spike that had been in the soil, he took a deep breath and turned to face her open mouth.

* * * * *

Swiftlit forced himself to step onto her extended tongue, feet sinking into the plush carpet a bit.

She pulled her tongue back in, him on it, and kept her mouth open to allow him to see and stand up properly. Now, facing the tunnel of her throat, all he could see was pink all around him, and the white crowns of her molars. He realized he was hyperventilating, and tried to calm himself. This was Calimn, his friend, and she wouldn't eat him for real. He slowed his pounding heart, and stepped forward to examine the seams between her back teeth.

He poked around gently with the harpoon, looking around for anything that might be caught in between her teeth. Her tongue shuddered under him as she giggled at his prodding, making it hard to keep his feet, but he managed to stay upright. There didn't seem to be anythin-

"C-Calimn, don't you dare s-s-swallow m-!"

"TUMMY HUGS!"

* * * * *

Calimn jounced the boy on her tongue a few times, then tilted her head back and swallowed. A small squirming bulge slid down her throat, accompanied by a squeal of "Why do I have to trust you so much?!". She giggled as he kicked at her insides, but it stilled after a bit, once he had calmed down some.

She shut down her digestion for him, took a few swallows of air, and patted her belly. After a moment, she teased something around in her mouth for a moment, tongue fiddling with the object. A second later she spat out the harpoon.

"Ahhhh, nothing like a little midday snack, huh?"

"Sometimes . . . I really wonder how I'm not insane with you around." came the response.



Comedy, and vore. Just a bit of silliness between the two. Comments are welcome.

Felarya is Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated.

Are you machine writing more than one story at once and updating both in so many hours. >_<

Nice chapter btw

If you're asking if I use a machine to double up on my stories, nope, I hand-type all my stories and do them one at a time as I finish them. I just happen to have ungodly amounts of time, the ability to sit for hours at a time typing, and loads of ideas.

And thank you.

hehe sweet and cute chapter XD
mhh I wonder if you would be ok if I added that idea about the silver moon in the wiki ?

Of course you can add it.

A rather odd off-on-a-tangent story. Remember the gorgon naga from the earlier piece?

Vore Warning

Strange Friends Shorts

Lythra's Troubles

The slug-girl just couldn't seem to move.

She had been slowly strolling through the ruins of Ur-Sagol, looking around for someone to talk to. She didn't like to be all alone, and she hadn't, as of yet, met anyone who might be friends with her. She wouldn't have even minded a human-sized companion, since she didn't eat people. They always ran away though, like the human in the Miragia Forest she had spotted a few days ago. It was very sad that the little folk were scared of her.

She had been thinking over that, a bit upset about being shunned by the tiny sentients, when the gorgon had shown up.

Lythra stared her down, focusing her hypnotic force onto the woman. It took eye contact and quite a bit of concentration to put her initial freezing effect on even small creatures, and this hybrid was of the giant persuasion, nearly seventy feet tall. Bigger things were harder to hypnotize, mainly because the added awe factor of her great size was much reduced. Still, she managed.

Once she had the slug-girl under the power of her gaze, she slithered closer with a sigh. It was very tough, for her, living in this strange new world. It was mostly jungle, as far as she had seen, and everything ate everything else here, an endless cycle of consumption. She didn't have a problem with that, really, but it was very much not her cup of tea in terms of attitude.

She preferred to relax, take long naps during the heat of the day, and not have to get up to eat. It was mostly her upbringing, growing up in a palace and being fed. It was a far cry from that leisurely life in this "Felarya" place. You had to hunt everything down yourself, or you starved.

She wasn't used to it, having arrived here while fleeing from her world after the destruction of the castle by a rival kingdom, and she wasn't much of a hunter. Her slight thinness attested to that. She had mostly lived her month being here without starving as of yet because of her huge size and hypnotic ability, able to catch prey now and again. Yes, very tough indeed, living here.

She stroked her hair as the mass of serpents hissed and writhed at the presence of the slug-girl, calming the poison-green snakes with her petting. They were a part of why she had survived as well, because they made a racket when something caught their eyes, of which there were many. It helped to keep from being attacked by larger creatures, and helped in catching prey trying to sneak by unnoticed.

She slid up to the slug-girl, who was frozen, eyes locked on the massive naga's body. Lythra's every movement was slow and slightly rhythmic, holding hypnotic charm. It was weak, but more than enough to keep a being she had already given a good dose of her eyes from running off. And she very much didn't want this woman running off.

"What do . . . want?" the slug-girl asked voice rather slurred through her hypnosis.

"Well, what's your name?"

"Squig . . . gle."

The gorgon raised an eyebrow. What kind of name was that? The other woman caught the nuance of her look and managed to push out some more words in explanation. It was obviously a great effort.

"Mom . . . or Dad? Not . . . sure which . . . silly."

Not sure which parent? That didn't make much sense, but it didn't really matter. It answered the question; one of her parents had been 'silly' and given her a rather odd name. The naga certainly pitied the slug-girl. She didn't know WHAT she would do with a name like 'Squiggle'.

"Why . . . can't . . . I move? Why . . . do this? . . . I talk . . . without . . . you do . . . ing this to . . . me."

"Ah, it's a bad habit of mine to hypnotize anybody I meet."

"Oh . . . can . . . let me go?"

"Afraid I can't. I'm in dire need of nutrition."

The other giant's eyes grew wide, and she actually managed to respond rather normally, though still unable to move.

"No! I'm too big for you to eat anyway! I . . . I taste terrible! Please don't tear me apart and-"

"Who said anything about tearing you apart? I can pop my jaws out of place, and you're somewhat smaller than me. You'll go down whole just fine."

Squiggle tried to break the paralysis jamming the signals of her brain to her body, but even with fear rushing through her she couldn't do anything at all. She knew nagas could dislocate their jaws to eat large prey, but she hadn't thought one would just EAT another giant humanoid in this way. She was terrified by the fact that she was going to get digested, alive, inside this gorgon.

She could only watch, helpless and immobile, as the naga opened her mouth, wider and wider, working her jaw back and forth as she did so until there was a loud crack. Her lower jaw fell open, wider than should have been possible, and she rose up on her powerful coils to place her mouth over the slug-girl's head.

Squiggle gave a sharp squeal as the naga pushed down, letting her weight do the work of shoving her prey farther and farther down her throat. The slug-girl was struggling now, hypnosis broken, but she knew it was too late. She was crying, wriggling desperately to try and back out of consumption, as the gorgon wrapped her heavy tail around her human middle, trapping her arms and starting to push her even farther in.

It was horribly cramped, hot and pitch-black, and slick. She was completely surrounded from the waist up by the naga's digestive system, her hips in the gorgon's mouth while her head was clear to the human stomach and still going down, towards the serpent half of the belly. She couldn't move or even struggle, pressed from all sides by the tight walls of Lythra's insides.

She was nearly in up to her tauric half when the flesh encasing her shuddered. Suddenly she was rapidly sliding backwards, back out. A few seconds and she was out, gasping for breath, heart pounding, and slimy with gastric fluids. The naga had let her go, uncoiling her tail from around her, and was gagging, turning aside to spit a dozen times in a row.

"Uuuugh! That slime . . . that was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted in my life! Absolutely foul!"

Squiggle saw her chance to escape and immediately slithered away as fast as she could. Which wasn't very fast, considering she was a slug-girl, but she liked to think she made a land-speed record for a gastropod that had nearly been eaten. Lythra, for her part, ignored the retreating would-be prey, too busy trying to wipe the bitter, gummy slime off her tongue. It had been fine up until she had gotten to the slug part. Of course, she couldn't get a break here in Felarya.

No matter what, she always wound up with the short end of the stick. She had been driven from her old home by soldiers, lost her easy way of life, now had to constantly hunt to avoid starving, failed miserably at it much of the time. Even her ability to see a minute or two into the future didn't help all that much, unable to completely balance her poor technique. Not only that, this was the second time in a week she had lost prey due to not looking ahead like she should have, first that ludicrously fast human boy, now this unappetizing slug-girl.

Well, fate might try to beat her down, but she would show luck who was boss!

She spat one last time, then straightened her spine resolutely. Normally lazy, she got incensed whenever she seemed to have a lot of bad luck. She was a diviner, and challenging fortune was what she did best. She slithered off in a huff, searching with an out-of-character vigor for new prey.



A look at Lythra, the giant gorgon naga from earlier on. Just wanted to write about her for some reason, so here we are.

Felarya is Karbo's

Named characters are mine unless otherwise stated