The Tastiest Noms - for Zay
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4272747
Quote:
The Tastiest Noms
I've been told that the sweetest meals are the ones you work for the most, so naturally I knew I was in for one of the best treats in my life due to the fact it had been days since I last had a real meal. For three days I'd been eating little more than nuts and berries, drinking only water. As a gryphon, these small snacks did little to sustain me; my body was meant for eating meat.
Fish, beef, pork, poultry, anything goes, I'm versatile in how I eat, but there's nothing quite like live prey. I can cook my food, I can char it and simmer it in it's own juices like a human, and I admit that's very tasty, but it doesn't have the same appeal as something struggling on its way down.
Even thinking about it was heavenly! I would swallow them slowly, letting them thrash around and resist me, every movement rubbing against my tongue giving me another taste. It's a pleasant sensation that lasts longer than just ripping and swallowing, like others of my kind.
But it seems not to matter how hungry I am, the longer I wait, the hungrier I get. The hungrier I get, the weaker I become, this is why I've been eating nothing but nuts and berries for three days, I lack the energy to hunt.
So there I was, stalking through the dense forest as I feel...no...hear my belly grumble, a moan from deep in my gut reiterating my need for food. As if I needed a steady reminder.
With my hunger catching up to me, the days seemed to last longer. I would be slinking quietly through the forest underbrush, trying to pick up scents and sounds of a meal for hours on end, but in three days, the only saving grace was the sound of a waterfall crashing into a lake. With any luck, there would be fish in that lake.
Yum, fish! I always loved fish.
I bounded off towards the sound of the crashing waterfall; emerging from the underbrush, I stepped onto a massive boulder that was raised a few meters off the water's surface, and looked down into the calm, crystal-clear lake. I could see there was in fact a small school of fish swimming just below the surface.
I clicked my beak happily as I readied myself on my haunches, wiggling my hips and raising my tail as I hunkered down, aiming myself at the water before pouncing beak-first after the fish, making a great splash that scared away all the fishes, a single tail brushing over my nares as the last one got away.
I gnashed wildly for something, anything; blinded by the bubbles that I'd created, I caught nothing. I gave up trying only a few seconds later, I knew anything that was edible was long gone by now. Slowly, I raised my head out of the water, my ears drooping against my skull as the water dripped down my feathers.
"Hmph." I huffed, blowing bubbles that trickled up around my beak.
Gently and slowly, to conserve energy, I doggy-paddled my way back to the shore, spreading my wings to keep afloat as I got back to the massive boulder I dove from. I used my claws to dig into the little crevices in the rock and make my way back up to the top of the rock so I could shake off, something that proved to be very efficient with my feathery torso, but not so easy with my furred hindquarters and tail.
After getting dry, I slumped my haunches down on the rock, my wings splayed in defeat. 'Why can't I get a break' I wondered to myself.
Just then, I heard a snap in the bushes nearby. Instantly I raised my head and perked my ears, training my senses to its presence, whatever it was.
I could hear it, more rustling, more twigs snapping and the sound of a small figure stumbling about in the underbrush.
I licked my beak, and then clicked in anticipation. Something told me this was it. A meal, finally! And whatever it was, it was clumsy and loud, meaning it was easier to track and hunt!
Quietly, with my body pressed as low to the ground as I could, I snuck towards the treeline, the gentle rustling pointing me to my meal. I couldn't help but lick my beak in anticipation again, a wet slopping sound splashing around my fleshy maw. I could feel the drool moistening up my fleshy beak-hinge.
I jumped up and clamped onto a tree trunk just above the thick layer of underbrush, wrapping my arms and wings around it for stability. I was trying to get the upper hand so I could get the drop on whatever was skulking around.
I kept my ears perked, alert to the slightest noise, so when he moved in the bushes, rustling up the vegetation, I could jump.
It only took a moment before I heard another twig snap, and it was very close, so I jumped to a nearby tree, rebounded off it's trunk, and pounced on it, forepaws outstretched, claws readied.
I crashed through the brush, my paws slamming into something warm, my claws digging into warm fur as I rolled and got back to my feet, using my wings to re-align myself. I felt something small, something furred struggling against my grip.
"Lemme go! Lemme go! Somebody help me!" It wailed at me as it flailed wildly.
I didn't respond, I just gripped him harder and slammed him down on the ground, pinning him. I didn't want this small creature escaping.
I could see he was tiny, but he wasn't like anythingI'd seen before. He had a body like an anthro, but with digitigrade legs and the tail of a canine. His fur was a gentle gray with darker gray stripes wrapping around his body from the spine and around his legs and arms.
Not only that, but his arms had what looked like stumped, batlike wings. They weren't fully formed, maybe a foot or two long, and only from the wrist to the elbow. More like fins than wings, to be honest.
His head was half canine, and half-bat, with a stubby, batlike nose. He also had ears that looked like a perfect blend of dog and bat, with fur on the outside and rounded mounds of flesh on the inside.
He was cute, but also an enigma. I couldn't tell what he was, but I could tell this was a rare meal that was going to be very enjoyable. He was just a bit larger than my head, so he was the perfect size for me. Perhaps 3-4 feet tall.
"Uuurgh!" he grunted as he tried to pull my forepaw off his chest, failing miserably. I just put down more pressure, forcing out a squeak. "Nuurrrgh ... Lemme go!" he shrieked in a truly terrified voice. He must have thought I was sentient, but I couldn't let him know I was intelligent.
I answered by running my long snakelike tongue over the small grooves in my beak that served as teeth, a small gob of saliva trickling down the fleshy hinge of my mouth, glistening in the sunlight before dripping onto his chest.
His eyes widened and his thrashing stopped as he realized just what I had in mind for him, then he started back up again, flailing wildly. He punched my forepaw and kicked up chunks of dirt. "Nnnnonono! No! Don't eat me! Don't..don't Eat me! Help me! Somebody! Anybody!"
I leaned in close to him, inhaling heavily, taking as much of his scent as I could. I could smell the fear on him, it was the mix of sweat forming in his fur, and the added warmth of a heart that was beating many times faster than it should. The bloodflow made him smell sweet to me, a scent that truly tickled my senses as it permeated my nares.
But what of his taste?
Curious, I opened my beak and gave him a lick, right up his chest and neck, my beak pressing him to the ground as I did it, some saliva moistening his fur. He tasted sweet, but also a little bitter, like a well-marinated steak.
"Oh no!" he cried, a single tear forming in the corner of his eye. "Nooo!" he held up his arms to ward my beak off him, but it did nothing, I was far too large and far too powerful for him, it only gave me something else to sample.
I lashed my long, thin, forked tongue out and wrapped it around his forearm, curling around the bones and flesh of his pseudo-wing, pulsating and constricting it. The taste was all I'd dreamed, sweet but salty, a little bitter, too, but that was okay!
I shuddered with delight as I pulled my tongue back, letting it uncoil from the small creature's arm, my taste buds dragging slowly along every inch of it before disappearing back into my mouth. The wing membrane was a bit saltier, almost like a jerky, but far juicier and meatier than proper jerky.
The small creature had stopped pleading, now he was just holding back tears. Not sobbing, but you could tell the poor guy had relinquished himself to my unsatisfied appetite.
I kept a paw on his chest as I lay down on him, pressing my chest on his legs so he couldn't get away, despite his struggles. He would press down on my plumed chest, trying to get me off him, but his spirit had waned, he knew. I knew he knew, and his fear made him taste even better.
I didn't say a word to him, I could speak like he could, but if he saw me as an equal, a sentient, he would try bargaining with me.
There's nothing worse than when your food tries to strike a deal. It's like they don't understand the laws of nature. Eat or be eaten. I was a gryphon, not a human or anthro, I was not bound by their laws or morals. Besides, I was alone with this half-canine, half-bat creature. Nobody would ever know.
And he was so tasty! Every little struggle felt good against my feathers, and every little lick was better than the last, as his fear was growing, his adrenaline flowing rapidly causing his heartbeat to increase.
I've heard that it's not nice to play with your food, and that it's considered inhumane to tease them before gobbling them down. I say that whoever said that clearly hasn't tried it. I was having too much fun poking, licking, and sucking on my little meal.
The cute beast tried punching me in the face to ward me off, but my reflexes were better, so I snapped back, opened my beak, and caught his fist in my fleshy maw, sucking on it gently.
My beak was hard, and sharp, so I was careful to not press down too much on his flesh. I made sure the hooked tip was off to the side of his limb. I knew that if I made him bleed, I'd end up just eating him without having any fun, and he'd die before I could swallow him.
He tried pulling away, but I didn't let him go, instead I wrapped my tongue around his arm and pulled him in deeper, sucking as I did so, enjoying every little flavour. I was enjoying myself so much I could feel the edges of my beak curling up in a smile, my eyes half-relaxing themselves in pleasure.
I could feel ounces of saliva dripping from my maw down his arm, mucking up his fur as his wing-bones pressed out against the flesh of my maw. I could feel them tickling around inside me; that made me very happy.
After I'd gotten a good enough sample, I let him go, his arm falling with a thick splat on the dirt below, all of his fur matted with my spit.
The poor guy started to whimper a bit, completely giving up hope. If I were human, then this would have been where I relent and let the guy go, too overcome with my own guilt to continue teasing him, but my belly was controlling me now, he tasted too good, and I was too hungry to let a delectable morsel like him go!
Suddenly, I heard another snap in the woods! Was it a friend of his? Was it an enemy of mine, here to steal my meal?
I looked around, ears perked up once again, waiting to hear another sound, but nothing, just the gentle buzz of insects in the distance. Not even a the chirping of birds could be heard.
It wasn't safe here, not any longer. Nervous, I reached down and roughly grabbed the small creature's arm in my beak and tossed him up as I stood on all fours, catching him with ease, my beak wrapped around his midsection. I could feel his arms and legs dangling on either side of my neck as I looked around nervously.
His protests had diminished greatly, but he wasn't dead, I could feel his very rapid heartbeat pressed against my sensitive mouth-flesh. That warm body pressed against my tongue-sheathe was a dream in and of itself, even though he was constantly trying to push on my beak and get free.
Honestly, his struggling just made me hungrier.
Quickly, I dashed out of the forest and back to the lake with the rock walls, careful to keep my wings tucked close into my body. I didn't want any snags; I made enough noise as it was. At least out in the clearing around the lake, if anyone came for me, I'd be able to see them, maybe gobble down my prey before they came and stole it!
Trotting along happily, my claws made a gentle click with every bound along the small rock surface that surrounded this area of the lake. I could see in the distance that there were no cliffs on the other side, but as I continued looking around, I could see a small cave to my right, not fifty meters away. The untrained eye couldn't see it, as the entrance was covered in vines, but my avian vision could see it with ease.
I couldn't tell how deep this cave was, but I was sure I could get into it, its entrance was large enough for me to go in with ease, but I definitely couldn't spread my wings.
Quick to dash to safety, I galloped over to the cave entrance and brushed the vines to the side with my head, my prey grasping futilely at them, trying to get some leverage to escape my beak. I didn't want that, so I applied a bit more pressure on him.
He let out a gentle squeak and let go of the vines, so I loosened up a bit, to show him I had him in my control, but didn't want to hurt him. He gave up again, hanging limp in my mouth.
Once I got into the cave, I saw it couldn't have been more than 30 meters deep, and it opened up wide enough that I would have no issues rolling around and playing with my prey.
Once I was inside the cave all the way, I tossed the small creature down, and pressed my paw against him before he could scamper off; I gave him another bout of feverish licks, each one slapping my tongue along his chest and face, getting slobber all over him like an eclectic painter, my tongue the brush, his body my canvas, and my very viscous saliva the paints.
He held his arms up and tried to fend me off, but his spirit really wasn't into it. You could tell.
With my paw on his chest still, I took one last look to the mouth of the cave to make sure I wasn't followed before returning to my meal to give him another slow, savoury lick across his muzzle, tickling his nose.
I could feel and taste his warm breath with every exhalation on my tongue, and it was a truly wonderful sensation for both of my senses.
On a temporary high from the sudden intense wave of pleasure, I pecked in quickly, wrapping my beak around his entire head, sucking gently as I bobbed my head back and forth, sucking on him a bit before pressing forward and engulfing just a little more of his neck and body.
Caught up in the moment, I released my grip from his chest and tossed my head back, lifting my prey up high in the air, his feet and tail almost touching the cave roof, gravity and my slick saliva easing him down my throat as I cocked my head back and forth, slowly sucking him back into my gullet.
My meal, however, saw it as an opportunity to escape! He gripped the flesh around the hinges of my beak and pushed backwards, releasing most of his body from my fleshy maw, the weight of his legs helping him to slide out.
I could have clamped down, but I didn't want to kill him, I wanted him alive, I wanted to feel him squirm.
Escaping my maw, he fell onto the ground many feet below him, landing in a heap of his own limbs with the splat of my saliva making the cave floor too slippery to stand. As he got up, I could see strands of it from the wet spot on the ground to his upper torso, and it just made me hungrier.
He quickly made a break for it, his gentle pawpads making a nice flip-flop-splat sound as he ran to the cave exit, but he was slow.
Before he could reach the cave entrance, I pounced forward, grabbing him with my front paws and rolling onto my back, holding him up above me with one paw on either side of his torso.
With a second helping of vigor, I could feel him tense up and try to pry my fingers off him. He had surprising strength, I won't lie. For such a small beast, his final burst of adrenaline really had an impact!
"Dammit, let me go!" He yelled. "You can't eat me, I'm a citizen dammit!" He let out a roar of anger, but to me, it was little more than a helpless mew. I think he knew I was intelligent, or he wouldn't have tried to appeal to my sensibilities.
I contemplated just not responding, letting him wonder, but his time was almost up, I had nothing to lose. "Oh, little creature, stop struggling." I said, with a soft coo. "This life, it may be over for you, but I promise it's not as bad as you think, you'll live another, long, healthy life."
His eyes went blank and his ears drooped as I spoke my first words to him. His body loosened up and he stopped prying at my hands which held him in place. "You...you speak! I knew it!" He exclaimed, then added, "If you're intelligent, why do you eat me?! I don't want to die; I'm not just some squirrel!"
I licked the rim of my beak, then clicked in contemplation, ears perked up, debating on having a pleasant discussion before swallowing him down.
"Don't...don't bargain with me. I hate it when my meals try to appeal to me, just don't bother, that's why I don't talk. Trust me, being swallowed alive isn't nearly as bad as it sounds." I assured him, not that he understood what I meant, and his heart was racing far too quickly to truly comprehend my intentions.
He tried to say something, but I didn't let a word get out, I just stuffed him in my mouth headfirst to muffle his protests. I could hear the vibrations of his voice pressed against the soft mounds of flesh on the inside of my beak.
I pressed my paw against his rump and pushed him down my gullet, everything up to his hips disappearing past my fleshy beak-hinge, only his tail and legs stuck out. I could feel his paws and wings tickling at my throat as he slid down, trying to grab onto something, but it was futile. The pressure of his limbs flailing around inside created a series of bulges in my neck, and it felt so good!
I contemplated swallowing him whole right then and there, just reach in and push, once his hips were past the hard part of my beak, all that it would take is a few quick swallows and my muscles would tighten around him, gravity and the lubrication of my saliva doing the rest.
I would feel his fur tickle at my gullet as he slid down into my belly, and then he would sit heavily inside me, filling me nicely. I just had to push then swallow.
But no, not yet.
My long serpentine tongue emerged from it's sheathe on my lower beak and slowly pushed it's way around his waist, constricting him as I got a sample of every flavour he had to offer. My tongue, naturally sensitive, was mucking up his fur and tightening its grip around him.
I let go of his bottom and grabbed his leg, ever so slowly pulling him out of my gullet, my tongue wrapping around and sampling every inch of his body from the waist up as it dragged backwards over his body.
Slowly, as the last bits of his head and arms slurped out of my maw, I got a last taste as my tongue dragged along his fur and part-wings, reversing the grain of his bodyfur and making all his fur tousled, made messier by the fact he was deliciously covered in goo.
He coughed and sputtered, gasping for air the moment he was released from my eager mouth. I licked my beak once again, cleaning up any saliva that may have been dripping and making a mess.
My meal, however, didn't have that option. His entire body from the waist up was covered in my juices, and there was nothing he could do. His fur was a mess, he was wet and messy from the waist up, and his body had gone limp, save the heaving of his chest as he struggled to breathe.
I giggled and rubbed some of my spit into his fur as I dangled him above me, his arms swinging gently, almost touching my chest. He wasn't struggling anymore, just hanging weakly by his leg, his body heaving gently as he started to sob.
That moment, that one fleeting moment, was the only time I felt even a tinge of remorse. I knew right then that it was time to get it over with.
I opened my beak wide and dropped him in, his arms almost diving in. He landed on my bottom beak, the small winglike appendages on his forearms tickling my flesh as they slid into my gullet.
His legs dangled over either side of my hooked beak, not struggling, but not cooperating either, so I decided to give him a hand. I reached up and once again pushed him back into my throat until his arms and head were entirely enveloped in my flesh.
I lifted my head up to the sky and cocked it back a few times; gripping onto his body and releasing in a jerky motion to suck him back a bit.
I could feel his body slowly stretch my gullet as gravity did its job. I would swallow intermittedly, my throat muscles palpitating his upper body and slowly sucking him back. I could feel every inch of his fur tickling me from within as his body slowly slid down to my belly.
I tickled him once again with my tongue, getting that last taste before his hips breached my beak, allowing my muscles to pull him in quickly now that his widest part was past the thinnest obstacle.
It was only a few gulps before the last of his legs disappeared into me, sliding down my throat, a faint form of his body showing all the way down my neck as I closed my beak, cutting off any hope of escape. I reached up and rubbed my neck downward as I gulped happily, helping push the nearly lifeless form into my belly.
As my meal reached my base of my neck, I felt him suddenly spasm; his air had run out and he was twitching in his final moments. This didn't help him at all, as it pushed him in deeper. With a satisfying final gulp, my muscles pushed him from my oesophagus to my stomach, clearing my passageways and allowing me to breathe easily once again. The thick obstruction no longer wedged in my throat.
I took a deep breath as I felt the lump settle in my belly, filling me instantly. It was the most wonderful feeling to be full and satisfied again, especially when he twitched or spasmed around, making me feel even fuller. The sensation of his limbs pressing against my flesh was a true treat.
With a groan, I leaned over from my back to my side, getting comfortable. I was going to leave, but the cave was so damn inviting, and the rumbling in my stomach was gone. Everyone knew that you digested a meal best when you slept, and so I did, the last words that crossed my mind before I dozed off were, It's true, the meal you work for truly is the most rewarding.
I licked my beak one last time, clicking it as I lay my head down on the cavern floor.
* * *
I stayed in that cave for days as the bulge slowly disappeared and my energy returned. I didn't want human hunters to come after me. Like a snake, I needed my rest to truly enjoy my meal or I'd be forced to spit it back up.
The cave was peaceful, but after about a week, right before I'd decided I wanted to go back to society, perhaps meet up with some old friends, I got an odd urge to lay an egg. I may not have had a firm gender, but after a particularly hearty meal, I always laid a massive egg about a meter long and oval, about two thirds that wide.
I nursed that egg, I know something was inside it, something special. It only took a day or so for it to hatch.
As I stood there, listening to the gentle scratching on the inside, I tapped on it with my beak, weakening it enough that the young offspring inside could crack it open.
As I watched, the cutest little bat-like nose popped out...