Ulterior Motives
An eagle gets treated to an all you can eat buffet by his friend who knows full well he can't control himself around food. He gets real fat.
Crickets chirped in the warm, breezy summer evening. The moon and stars illuminating the parking lot along with the bright, neon red "Buffet" sign that hung over the doors to the restaurant. Clayton pushed the car door open, enjoying the warm breeze ruffling his feathers. His friend, a slim, gray rat dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a well worn faded gray t-shirt followed close behind. He hadn't stopped grinning at him since they left for the restaurant, which as they approached the entrance to the buffet started to weight heavier on the eagle's mind.
"What's got you so chipper? We're just going out to eat dinner." Clayton remarked as he opened the door for the rat.
"Oh, nothin'. I'm just excited for you to try the food is all, this place is one of my favorites." He said, grinning all the way through.
Clayton shrugged, following close behind as the enticing aroma of frying foods and rich sauces filled senses.
The place was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The expanse of the place seemed to stretch on and on, and on both ends, impressive spreads of food were on display, waiting to be taken by the crowds that filled the tables. The walls were wooden, giving it an almost log-cabin appearance. A sharply dressed fox stood behind a cash register, cheerfully greeting the two of them as they stepped in.
"Welcome! Table for two?" He asked.
Ed nodded, pushing the Eagle's wing back down as he started to reach for his wallet.
"I got it. My treat, remember?" The rat teased, handing his card to the fox.
Clayton shrugged "Fine, but you're getting me a steak too."
"You know that's not included on the buffet, right?" Ed said with an annoyed flick of his tail as they walked towards their booth.
"Yep, but you're my friend, riight?"
Ed feigned annoyance, but he was still smiling the entire walk to their table.
Clayton made a mental note of their booth before going to grab a plate right away. The side of the restaurant they sat in seemed to be quieter than the other side, but he didn't mind. It meant less of a line every time he went back up for food. He looked over the baskets of fried chicken, shrimp, and other fried treats as he began to load his plate up. Once he got back to the table, Ed was already sat there with a plate of spaghetti, lazilly twirling his fork through the noodles as Clayton settled into his chair.
The amount of food loaded onto Clayton's plate dwarfed Ed's, something the rat immediately commented on.
"Loading up already? You sure you got room for more after that?" He said before finally chomping down a bite of his spaghetti.
The pudgy eagle felt a little flushed at the remark, but he shrugged it off as he dug into the chicken. Crisp, crackly skin and juicy chicken. He actually couldn't remember the last time he'd had a fried chicken leg this good. The savory, salty taste of the meat and breading only fueled his hunger as he tore the meat from the bone, cleaning his first chicken leg in only a few seconds.
Ed sat there, innocently eating away at the meager plate he had while sneaking glances at the way the eagle seemed to just tear apart his food.
He knew he couldn't control himself around this much food, and he did feel guilty for what would eventually become of the bird but... Watching the pudgy bird clean an entire plate of chicken and shrimp in under a minute and eagerly stand up for more overrode that guilt. Clayton's second plate was a little more balanced. This time a thick piece of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a bit of mac n' cheese were crammed onto the plate. Maybe it was how hungry he was, but he couldn't remember the last time food had tasted so intensely tasty to him. Even though he felt he should've felt at least somewhat filled up from his first plate, he felt like he still had an empty stomach.
He wasted no time in devouring the meatloaf, taking one huge bite, then another to finish the piece off. The savory beef melted in his mouth and gave way to the sweet sauce brushed on the top. Ed had returned a few moments later; not that the fat bird had noticed he'd gotten up. As he sat back down, he watched as the mountain of mashed potatoes Clayton somehow managed to balance on his plate disappeared into the ever hungry beak of his. He could hear approving grunts as he kept eating, and watched on as he dug his spoon into the mac n' cheese.
It was obvious the mac n' cheese was mass produced, but Clayton didn't care. They were creamy, cheesy, and thick. He could make out cheddar and a few other cheese's as he ate, barely noticing his gut was starting to press into the table as he ate. This time when he got up, it was a bit of a struggle, but his eyes were already set on the next section of the buffet he wanted to sample.
Ed watched as the eagle wobbled back, his belly jiggling and bouncing with each step. This time, his plate looked like a sample platter from a bakery. It looked like he'd picked out two of every confection they had there. Cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and a bowl of ice cream on the side.
"Mmaybe I shouldn't have dessert after all actually, I mean... My gut's looking pretty stuffed." Clayton said, starting to push his plate away before Ed gently slid it back.
"Nonsense! You look plenty hungry to me. What's one plate of dessert gonna do?"
Clayton didn't need much convincing, it turned out.
He reached for the cookies first, appreciating the gentle warmth they radiated into his wing as he brought it to his beak. A soft, chewy, cookie with chocolate chips that left streaks of chocolate on his beak. He sighed as he stuffed the other half of the cookie into his beak, chewing thoughtfully as he enjoyed the soft, almost doughy cookie. He started to feel more pressure against his gut, but paid no attention to it as he bit into one of the fudge brownies. They were dense and intensely chocolatey, taking a good bit of chewing to get through, but every second was fudgy, chocolatey bliss. His concerns about how much heavier he felt melted away as easily as the chocolate melted in his mouth, his mind only thinking about how sweet the frosting on the cupcakes would taste.
The pink and blue icing was delicately swirled on top of the cakes, each sporting a wrap matching their icing. He unwrapped the first, managing to take about half of the cake out in a single bite. The cake was fluffy and light while the buttercream icing was rich, smooth and very, very sweet. Finally, he got to his ice cream. He'd eaten everything so fast it'd barely melted. Compared to everything else he ate, the vanilla ice cream was plain, but every bit as delicious. The light, sweet vanilla bean flavor was a nice break from how rich the other desserts had been. After he finished, he leaned back in his seat, finally feeling totally full before he realized the buttons of his shirt looked about ready to pop off.
"I'm... gonna need some help, Ed." He said with red cheeks as the rat chuckled at him.
"Sure, but you're sure you don't have enough room for that steak you said you were getting?" He teased as he pulled the overstuffed eagle out of his chair.
"Whatever, I'm too tired to argue... You'll drive?" He said with a yawn.
"Sure, tubby." Ed said, leading the bird to his car.
No sooner had they gotten into his car had Clayton unbuttoned his shirt, letting his stuffed, flabby gut spill free from his shirt and finally relieve the pressure he'd been feeling all evening.
"I'm glad you liked the place, maybe we can go again next week?" Ed said, pulling out of the parking lot.
He was met with soft, chirping snores from the stuffed eagle.
"I'll take that as a yes."