Thicker: Chapter Six

Story by Amethyst Mare on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#6 of Thicker

Gehart's weight keeps going up and up and the stag is frustrated. It's a good thing that he has an ever-loving buck on which to take out his frustrations, his submissive partner wanting every inch of his girth AND his length in more ways than one.

Yet the plot thickens as he uncovers something more, another clue as to why he just can't shed those pounds, his belly expanding more and more every day...


This is a story that I have really been looking forward to sharing with everyone and I really hope you'll get as much from it as I did in writing it! Here, Gehart, a stag with a round to his gut, finds it more and more difficult to lose weight despite his diet. Is he cursed? Curses aren't real, surely not, but sometimes there is no other explanation for the horror of all that is happening to him as his partner, Khen, lusts for him all the more as he bulges out and out and out, gaining so much weight so quickly that he is no longer recognisable...

This is inspired by and an erotic parody, of course, of Thinner, commissioned by the lovely Khendar over on Furaffinity who has been an absolute pleasure to work with throughout the entire process. You should definitely go follow them to see what their characters get up to in the future!

Let me know what you think as we go through! This is an 80,000 word novel and has nineteen chapters in total. Each chapter will be posted up on a Friday until completion. I hope you very much enjoy it!


This story has been available for early reading one to two months ago on SubscribeStar and Patreon (SubscribeStar contains extreme content while Patreon does not)! Please check the tiers on the following links if you would like to support!

Patreon (no extreme content): https://www.patreon.com/arianmabe

SubscribeStar (includes extreme content): https://subscribestar.adult/arian-mabe

My erotic eBooks are available on Kindle and Smashwords worldwide also!

Kindle (Alis Mitsy):https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GLWQZFP

Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ArianMabe

As always, I am open for commissions starting at 30 GBP per 1,000 words - please e-mail arianmabe[at]gmail.com for more information or see my profile!

Story © Amethyst Mare / Arian Mabe

Characters © respective owners


Thicker

Chapter Six


579

He couldn't weigh himself that particular day, the weather picking up ever so slightly into a more blustery spring, although the area was still very much prone to a cold snap or too. He kept his clothes bulkier, which only exasperated his mass and size, but at least made him feel like he wasn't putting himself on show out in public, unduly drawing attention to his weight. He still felt eyes on him as he walked down the street but the right kind of eyes came from his partner who hungrily looked him up and down even as he walked through the bedroom to the en-suite bathroom, his belly proudly leading the way. Although it was not a large bathroom, it was big enough still for him, though Gehart wondered if he would need to use the family bathroom down the hall if he couldn't get his weight under control.

The scales taunted him and he turned away, the steam of the shower filling the room swiftly, a hiss of falling water soothing, at least, to a frazzled mind. Last time he'd stepped on them they hadn't even displayed a number. All they had said was "thicker".

Of course.

_ _

That time, he'd picked up the scales and shaken them, clenching his jaws, trying to get them to work. He even said to himself that he must need a trip to the opticians to see about new glasses if he was seeing things like that but, alas, there was nothing he could do to wipe the word away. He stepped on and off, trying to get the digital display to read something else, anything else, but it must have ultimately have been a cruel, ill-timed joke by the manufacturer, something that someone had put in as an error code of sorts. That was the best he could come up with, at least, and the scale had been shoved into a corner of the bathroom where, if he was careful, he only had to glance at it.

Still... It was there. Watching, waiting, taunting.

He couldn't avoid the mirror though, the love handles more than just that but rolls of fat on top of fat, spilling out over the bone of his hips. He didn't have much of a shape anymore unless someone was counting "round" to be a shape, his cheeks fat and chubby as if he was still holding on to an awful lot of baby fat. His tail could barely twitch anymore and doing anything took far too much energy as he tried his best to put his back to the mirror, the bedroom door easing open as another body joined him in the small, steamy space.

"You still look great," Khen murmured, sliding his paw across Gehart's belly, though he didn't have the strength to pull the much larger fur to him. "Better than ever before..."

The words slipped from his lips with a guilty twinge, for even he knew how unhealthy it had to be, despite what the doctors kept saying, for Gehart to be at such a weight. He loved him dearly but neither did he want his partner to feel as if he was at all unappealing, especially when he was anything but to Khen. The buck groaned softly as he joined him for a shower, neither of them needing any words as they shared kisses under the hot flow of water, water mingling with the moistness of their mouths.

Yet kisses were the least of it as Khen did all he could to show the big stag just how much he adored his body, the soft, slicked-down fur better highlighting how large he was than ever. His paws roamed and roamed, taking in every curve and swathe of Gehart's body, not leaving anything to chance in the realm of his imagination. He needed to feel it all, to lock it into his mind so that it could never again be forgotten, groaning even as he kissed the back of the larger stag's neck, his bulk not leaving much room at all in the shower for Khen.

That didn't matter. That didn't matter one bit. Squashed up against Gehart's rolling bulk, Khen murmured to him, so very softly, just how much he loved him, how fantastic he looked, though his words were not as eloquently elaborate as he may have liked them to be. He could barely think, barely breathe, the steam of the shower infiltrating his nostrils as he heaved and grunted, the hardness of his shaft making itself known as it pressed urgently into Gehart's thigh. But the moment was not for him as Gehart allowed him to massage and rub his shoulders, working a thick lather of fur soap into every last inch of his bodies, hardly able to feel his lover's muscles through the thickening layer of fat. Could it really be all that bad if his lover was just a little bit thicker than he used to be?

Of course, Gehart was much thicker than he had been ever in Khen's recollection but even he did not have the strength to resist the advances of a horny buck, his head up and tilted as he huffed and grunted, grinding his hips back at Khen even though he was the dominant one. It was something about being the top, however, that meant that he could take the lead from any position and he knew just how the smaller buck loved the grind of his arse up against him, teasing and pushing, forcing him back against the cool tiles of the opposite wall of the shower. He could control Khen, pushing him down, from even that position, the buck dropping to his knees and burying his muzzle against the fleshy expanse of his rear.

Even Gehart had to smirk, rolling his hips, lust rising. His shaft was slow to throb up full and hard with blood but an erection was the least of his concerns as he all but relished in the attention. He grunted deep in the back of his throat but any sounds that he may have made were washed out by the roar of the shower, pounding down on him, a smooth caress that heralded the approach of something more as his need grew ever more stringent, potent to the extreme. Khen's paws swept over his backside, squeezing and digging into his flesh, even though he really didn't have time for such things before work. Maybe he did say that or maybe he didn't but, well, fuck it. He could be late for once!

They squeezed together, Khen rubbing down his legs, easing away tensions that Gehart had not even known were present there in the thickening stumps. They bent less easily then but that was by the by as Khen kissed up them, nuzzling his rump, teasing up even under his tail with a flirtatious lick that surely delivered a mouthful of sweet-smelling soap into his muzzle. Whether or not he had accidentally done something a little bit silly, however, was not going to stop the buck at all as he worked his way back up, taking care of all of the hard to reach spots, treating his lover as nothing less than a king.

His arms beckoned in the same treatment, Khen's paws working down his chest, teasing and massaging, soothing away trouble. There was nothing else for Gehart than to let him roll and work over the fleshy pads, uncaring of what had been the onslaught of them, only adoring them. There was a light in Khen's eyes as he finally grasped Gehart's hard member, wrapping his paw around as much as he could as it was rendered slippery with both soap and water, although the latter was to be swiftly washed away.

"You don't even know how hot you are..."

Gehart's heart leapt but he was in no position to complain as Khen stroked him softly, pumping the length of his cock with one paw even as the other slipped around to tease up under his tail. A tail could be a highly erogenous zone on a fur and he ran his fingers tenaciously through the short hair, Gehart's grunt and strangled moan, trying to hide, even then, just how much he liked it, the most beautiful music to Khen's ears that could ever have presented itself to him.

Khen didn't let him get off just yet though - oh no. He had more of his lover to make sure was sparkly clean first! He nuzzled up under Gehart's moobs, adoring them as he had every other part of the stag's body, licking and teasing, using his paws and his lips to ensure that there was not a trace of sweat left behind - not that he would have been able to taste it on his lips anyway from the hot fall of water. His underarms too were not so musky as Khen may have liked but that was not going to stop him from using his muzzle and lips (fingers had ticklish connotations for any kinky play there, sadly so) to kiss and lick and nuzzle away the last of the soap, using his muzzle as a sponge with which he could clean off his entire partner.

There was a lot of stag for Khen to work over and he finished on his face, kissing and nuzzling, even teasingly using his fingers to stroke out the soap from Gehart's short beard. Gehart could not hold back a contented sigh, even then, as he was completely and utterly pampered, forgetting about work, though there was only one expected end as the buck slid down and down and down, back down the entire length of his huge body, dominating the shower cubicle without even trying to.

Khen's paws closed around his member and found him as hard as he'd ever been, playing at washing him for a bit in long, sweeping strokes that weren't fooling anyone. Gehart's eyes locked with Khen's as the buck's flickered up, though any notion of stopping and getting on to work had been swept well and truly from both of their minds. Let work wait... Khen suckled wantonly on the tip of Gehart's cock and the stag moaned openly, though there was still a lingering tint of guilt at the look in Khen's eyes, the buck so very desperately trying to look up at him and keep his eyes fixed there. Of course, there was conflict but it should not have been present there, Khen's cock hard and throbbing as he lusted for Gehart, even if the stag could not be said to be at his healthiest. It was a dilemma, sadly, that Gehart was not able to help with...

At least, not unless he swept such thoughts completely from the buck's mind, a smirk on Gehart's lips, cheeky and sly as the bulge of his gut bore down. There was work still to be gotten to, as much as he wanted to say, "screw it", and Gehart rolled his hips, fat rolls jiggling, as he speared into the buck's mouth. There was not much room in the shower to move but that barely mattered to him as he grinned down at his buck, the lad that he loved so much. He made it hard to think, hard to worry, and that was just the way that they should be, living in the moment without worrying what could or what might have been. Where had the sense in such a thing as that ever been, after all?

No, they had to be with each other and lust for it, moans and groans rising as he thrust into Khen's muzzle, aware of the urgency. But Gehart could not last as long as he wanted to doing such a thing and he had to keep going, had to keep pushing, breath catching in his throat. Dragging Khen up forcefully by an antler, though his lips only left Gehart's cock with a great manner of unwillingness, Gehart grunted and yanked, kissing him only briefly, for his lust was too great in that moment for anything more. The tangling of tongues would have to come at another time as he groaned passionately and turned his buck about so that he had access to his buttocks and tail hole.

The needy hole puckered and tensed as if the buck was already anticipating the push of his dick, Gehart heaving and panting, head rolling back as he presented the tip of his cock to that tight hole. Yet Khen was more than well practised at taking him all and they didn't even need any lube if they went slow; that guys needed a finger or two to "prepare themselves" was merely a myth. Rough and dry, of course, would so very rarely be pleasurable for anyone but Khen's body was hot and ready and so very willing to soften and yield around the aching length of the prick intent on driving up into him with lustful intent.

Gehart pushed his body weight over his deer, pinning him to the wall, his belly spilling out over Khen's back, weighing him down. Even if his lover's paws had not been slammed into the tiles on either side of his head, there was nowhere for Khen to go as he moaned, forced submissively to bear the penetrating encroach of that cock, burrowing deeper and deeper. All the while came with it a sense of urgency, pushing on and on, the sudden stretch making the buck gasp and push back, intent on the rise of pleasure as much as Gehart was. With Gehart pushing him so dominantly into the wall, there was any space at all left for his own erection, bobbing and drooling, just a little, helplessly, although any pre-cum that he did drip, of course, was swiftly washed away by the pouring fall of water.

More. They needed it all but, oh, it was the "more" that thrummed up so desperately through both of their bodies, muscles tense and contracting, eager for it all. Resting his weight on his paws so as not to put his full body weight on Khen, Gehart leaned heavily into the wall, barely able to keep himself upright as his feet slipped on the shower floor, water streaming over his head and his back.

"You wanted this..."

His growl rolled out like the rising swell of his belly, echoing oddly around the small cubicle, though it only seemed all the smaller due to the bulk of his body taking up so much of it. The tightness of the buck's anal passage was too much for him to resist, however, as he ground and thrust, one arm dropping down around Khen's midsection to draw him back up against him with every thrust. He had to go deep, all the way in, or else there was no point in it, of course not. Gehart would have smiled if his mouth was not hanging open in the pursuit of breath, gulping and heaving as the exertion took its toll on him and yet unwilling entirely to stop for a break.

He had to do it all, had to go through everything - not just for his pleasure but for Khen's too. Grinding in deep, he fucked him hard as he opened up around him, pounding in harder and faster, using the weight of his body to fuel his thrusts, letting him use a little less energy, which was, at least, a good thing in that regard. He had to keep going, thrusting and pumping, Khen's tail hole closing and pulsing around his cock as if, even then, the cute little buck boy was trying to drag him in deeper. But he couldn't just stay deep if he wanted to get off too, groaning deep in the back of his throat and powering in hard and fast as Khen's moans rose, filling the cubicle.

"Oh, fuck!"

Swearing was good. That meant that the buck was close to losing it, losing control, and Gehart was in such a heightened state of lust that he didn't know how much longer he could hold out. His paw closed around the buck's cock and he pumped him furiously, though there was no way at all he could possibly expect himself to keep time with the strokes of his cock powering through that frantically clenching tail hole, pulling and dragging at him. There was nothing else for either of them, nothing else in the whole wide world, but one another in the heat of that moment, the shower too hot for comfort as their skin prickled and seared beneath a coat of fur.

They didn't care. Khen thrust into Gehart's paw with as much furtive energy as he had to give and Gehart shuddered in a groan of his own, surprised even then to feel Khen's belly pushing against his still rapidly stroking paw. Just the hump and grind of their bodies alone was enough to push it very lightly against his paw, though there would be so much more to come with that tempting belly-bulge.

It was the desperate clench and release, almost as if the buck was doing it deliberately, that got Gehart off in double-time, however, the stud-stag letting out a bellow of pleasure that would surely have disturbed the neighbours if they shared a wall with anyone, pumping furiously and filling the buck with all that he had to give. And, as he had noticed of late, that was a lot, so very much, his cock twitching and spurting even within the tight confines of Khen's tail hole, the buck's passage pushing down around him with eager need. Yet it was not claustrophobic to have his meat shoved up in there as it had been the case for his body in so many places lately too, Gehart huffing and grunting as his nuts ached, churning with the need to spill and keep spilling his lust and love into that eagerly grinding little buck.

The boy wouldn't know what hit him.

More and more flowed out, filling the buck, though his stomach could not help but sag down against Gehart's paw as so much was forced up into him. It didn't seem to matter anymore whether Gehart dumped his creamy filling down Khen's throat or up into his anal passage: either bloated out his belly massively, stoking the fire of Khen's need all the more. The force of his orgasm pushing up inside the buck seemed to push out Khen's too, his stomach filling up and up, gurgling and churning, as the buck bleated plaintively.

He couldn't stop himself, couldn't help himself, grunting and groaning, his smaller antlers knocking against the tiled wall as he ground back and back, trying to get even more of Gehart's dick up inside him than there was already. There was no inch of the length left for Gehart to give, however, Khen's cock twitching and throbbing within the hold of Gehart's paw, spending his load out to be wasted, pouring down the wall. It would not be poured down a willing throat right there and then but his seed pumped forth, trickling down the wall as Gehart took every last drop of pleasure that he possibly could from his sweet, loving buck.

He was a lucky stag indeed to have a guy like Khen in his life. And he felt that even more strongly as Khen's stomach churned and pushed urgently against his paw, so large and so full that Gehart could hardly believe that it had all come from him, his seed and his cock. The more Khen's stomach filled up, the more he seemed to cum too, his orgasm rolling on and on, lasting so very much longer than usual, lust rising, pumping up to the forefront of his mind where he had to pay it the due attention, just like his buck, that they truly deserved.

Khen's seed splattered to the shower floor, a satisfying sound that could even be heard over the normal, softening fall of water hitting the smooth floor, Gehart grunting and rolling his hips, just to coax out a drop more pleasure. He had learned long ago that there was always a bit more to give and a bit more to yearn after, moaning and whimpering, his nose turned back as the stag's gut rolled and heaved against his lover. Khen didn't mind that but he was more than a little trapped where he was, unable to voice any opinion at all as he gasped and rasped for breath, eyes half-lidded and antlers bumping the wall as he tried to duck his head.

"Ah... Oh..."

But no other more sensitive words were going to slip from his lips at such a moment in the afterglow, his cock softening and dropping to his thigh lightly while Gehart eased his cock from him. It took the larger stag longer to grow soft again than it used to but he was not about to mind that one bit as some of his seed splattered out of the buck's slightly gaping hole, trickling down his thighs and spattering the floor lightly. It was swiftly washed away by the shower but they needed to shower off again, huffing softly and grunting, Gehart's head swimming lightly but pleasantly, feeling like he'd well and truly won the lottery. If he'd needed a good start to the day, even if he'd be late to work, Khen had most certainly gone above and beyond to give it to him.

"Come on, buck," he said with a smirk. "Let's get you all cleaned up."

Of course, that had to be quick and they efficiently washed off, though there were a few somewhat lingering kisses shared there - they couldn't be completely chaste! Such passions had to be shared where they were allowed and modern life was so busy sometimes that they greedily took all the time that they could for each other.

Nevertheless, Gehart could not have said that he was not tired from what they'd done, even though he would have done it all over again if he'd been offered the chance.

"Yes, hun, I am okay."

Gehart smiled as he ducked out the door, leaving Khen behind him in a pair of sweat pants, a cup of coffee clasped by the handle in one paw.

"Are you sure?"

Khen was so worried about him and it was sweet that he was, though Gehart only had one last kiss to spare him as he left in another new set of clothes (Khen wanted to make sure he was comfortable at his new size, even if he'd have to lose it eventually) that fitted him perfectly. Work still beckoned as much as their lips lingered together.

"It'll be fine, public transport isn't that bad! It could even be an experience!"

His joke was not all that convincing but he had to get going if he was going to get there on time, rushing to the bus stop at as much of a brisk clip as he could without breaking into a jog. If he wasn't at the gym, to hell with jogging and the death machine of the treadmill! Besides, he didn't want to sweat on his new suit, the fabric finely tailored and even managing to make him look just a little bit slimmer, or maybe that was his imagination, what he wanted to see.

The bus stop, at least, meant that he didn't have to either wait around or puff for too long before the bus pulled up, although he didn't have the space to stand inside the shelter with anyone else there. He felt quite as if he would have taken up all of the available room in there if he'd squeezed himself in, although that did mean that he was forced to stand out in the sleet with an umbrella, almost comically, held above his head. It didn't do all that much to keep the sleet off him but at least managed to keep his hair and his head dry, the cold wet slipping down as he flinched and hoped that spring was just around the corner. His stomach gurgled, wetter than any other part of him with the persistent sleet, though there was nothing he could do to get under shelter with the sidelong looks his belly was getting. When was winter going to end? He was tired of slipping on ice and there were fresh shoots in the flower beds already that didn't deserve to be frostbitten. The weather was a tricky devil indeed at the end of it all, though there was nothing that anyone could do about that.

The bus itself, however, proved troublesome as he heaved himself up the steps, the bus tilting and rocking as his weight adjusted itself on the steps, forcing its passengers on one side to cling to the handrails. Gehart cringed and fumbled with his coins (he didn't, of course, have a bus pass), paying his fare as quickly as possible, even though every second dragged out as if he was working and pushing his way through a thick sea of molasses.

Thick.

_ _

Gehart flinched, hustling down the bus at a stumbling, lumbering gait, searching for a free seat. Others averted their eyes from his, bags blocking seats that could have been his.

Thicker.

Gehart swallowed a growl of frustration that could have come out in a more intense way than intended, forcing it down, back where it belonged. His thick girth had to be forcibly squeezed down the centre aisle of the bus, though not even that space was wide enough for him as he turned side-on, edging his way down as his rotund girth pushed into other furs. He tried to be as discreet as possible, mumbling his apologies, wet umbrella trailing behind, but there wasn't much at all any fur could do in that sort of situation, causing an obstruction wherever he went simply because he was such an obstruction.

A hefty weight tended to do that to a fur.

Still, he had to sit somewhere even as the bus lurched and rocked into motion, rolling on its way even though he had not yet found anywhere to sit. The bus driver didn't care that much about the comfort of his passengers and Gehart stumbled into the seats right at the back of the bus, taking up at least three as he huffed and spread out his legs, stomach resting heavily on his thighs. Shaking out his umbrella, he spattered the floor with raindrops that, in a way, reminded him of the drops of thick semen trickling down the wall of the shower from his lover's shaft.

That, at least, was a better memory, even though people around and he smiled faintly, leaning back as he spread himself out comfortably. It was good to have a little space to sit down, knees apart, a paw dangling between them just because that seemed like the natural place for it to go. He groaned softly, relaxing back, head slipping against the headrest, although the roll of his stomach bulged out against his belt in such a position, regardless of how well his new clothes fitted him. Still, he didn't want to risk straining them and sat up a little taller just to seat himself more formally, twisting his head back and forth to work out the kinks and stiffness in the muscles at the base of his neck.

It was embarrassing though just how his weight frustrated those around him. He took up so many seats that there wasn't even any way for other passengers to sit around him but standing up was worse as he tried to belatedly squeeze himself into as small a gap as possible. He didn't even fit into the space between the seats and the backs of the ones in front of him, which was bad enough, but those boarding were forced to stand and sway awkwardly, some even without something to hang onto, which was rough in itself. If he'd been a more normal, slim size, everyone could have fit normally but, as it was, his stomach gurgled as he awkwardly looked away, trying to make himself seem as small and unnoticeable as possible. At his size, of course, that was a mean feat to accomplish and not one that he would have ever have been able to do.

He was more than just a little relieved to get off the bus and head into work, the little grey and brown goat boasting a larger beard than normal. He lifted his head proudly, horns tilted at a jaunty angle, though Gehart was too wound up to say anything to him straight off the bat that was more than a grunt to acknowledge his presence.

At least the rain had stopped. His stomach gurgled and churned obnoxiously and he flinched away from it, even though the sound was coming from inside him. Perhaps that was what made it worse.

"Hi!" Todd chirped, too cheery for Gehart's liking, as the much larger stag turned away with a frown on his muzzle. "How was your weekend? Mine was fantastic! Are those new clothes? Looking fancy!"

He couldn't have chosen a worse thing to comment on. Gehart flinched, glancing at the goal even as his stomach roiled and churned, anger boiling up. Even though it should never have been directed at Todd (anger was only a punishment that one gave themselves, after all), the words spilt forth before he had the chance to pull them back.

"Yes! They are!"

He snarled, lips pulling back from his teeth, although he could not be all that fearsome as a deer. The words were coming whether he liked it or not, regardless of whether Todd meant what he'd said in the way that Gehart had taken it or not, a rollercoaster screaming towards a drop from which there was no return, a figurative balloon about to pop.

"Yeah, well, how did you grow a beard like that so fast?" Gehart shot back, snapping even though he didn't intend to. "Did you forget to shave or something?"

Far from being offended, however, the goat smiled and stroked his beard proudly, the wobbling goatee curling back and forth lightly at the tip as if he could style it just as he pleased already.

"Oh, this old thing?" He grinned and faced Gehart head-on, completely unfazed. "It's been growing like crazy - look at it! Isn't it wonderful?"

It should not have been such a big thing for a goat to be able to grow a beard but, well, Gehart had never seen him with more than a scruffy little thing that was always a little on the ragged side. His frown deepened and he shook his head, cooling off swiftly even though it seemed as if apologising for his misdemeanour would have drawn more attention to things than if he just allowed things to more naturally move on.

Todd talked about how strange it was that he was suddenly able to grow more of a beard, stroking it all the while, as they made their way up to their floor of the building, although they worked in different departments. It was so thick, he said, so lustrous, and it had all come so easily that none of it made sense. But did it have to make sense that he was looking so fine, after all that? The goat was so pleased with himself, genuinely so, that Gehart could not help but smile back at him, his mood lightening a little bit all over again.

It was easier to smile around Todd and that was not entirely a bad thing or a good thing, but somewhere in-between. It was okay.

And yet there was something more to it, something to the memory that that beard brought up that he clawed at, dredging up over his morning cup of coffee (strong, in the absence of sugar on his diet). What was it though? What danced on the edges of his mind, taunting him with the notion that it could be there or it could not be there, something that he was meant to remember, something that he was meat to know?

Thicker...

_ _

No, not that.

Something worse. Something that may have confirmed just why his guts gurgled, even though it should never, not even the once, have made any sense at all.

It had not just been him, of course, back at the taco truck, the fast-food stop that he had only frequented the once. Once had been enough for him and it had never crossed his path again since as the others and he went about their daily lives, letting the world around them warm up (kind of) into spring. The winter had been cold with a harsh snap of wind and the taco had warmed his belly even on that late-night outing, though no one, not even Gehart, could have ever have imagined or anticipated all that could have ensued from that one, fateful night.

It hadn't only been him there. He thought of Todd, the goat with the beard, his muzzle thickening up with fluff and fur in all the right places. There had been another word then, when they had been standing there together and, strangely enough, that word had been something very familiar to him after seeing Todd again.

Beard.

_ _

The taco lady had said, "beard". It shouldn't have meant a goddamn thing to him but, then again, neither should "thicker" have meant anything - and what had that proved to him? Things weren't right but he couldn't say they were wrong either, his head pounding and swimming, a headache starting behind his temples. The stag pressed his fingers to them, hating how his fat bulged over the edges of his office chair, the strongest one that they had on-site even though it was nowhere near large enough for him still. He wondered what sort of slim but heavy furs they had had in mind when the chair had been designed. Maybe he didn't even want to know.

Beard... Beard. Beard.

What did it mean? What did any of it mean? There was only one fur who had the answer to that and, well, the answer to the question was unlikely to be one that he was going to like even though, truly, he needed to know. Gehart needed to know more than anything else in the world why his life was becoming more and more difficult, his gut ballooning, weight increasing, and there Todd was boasting the most fabulous beard of his life like it was no big deal at all.

Things weren't right.

Things very weren't right.

His stomach rumbled, churning and bloating, tight with...something.

I need to find the taco truck.

_ _

And, for once, Gehart wasn't hungry at all.