Bigger is Better
It was a scorching hot summer's day in the middle of August, and Dation was making the most of it. He was set up on a beach, lying on a lounge chair right where the sun's beams shone the brightest. He rolled over onto his large belly and settled so that the fur on his back shone in the light, just enough so that the skin underneath got the perfect amount of heat.
Dation was 600 pounds of black wolf. He carried his weight proudly. Everywhere he went, other furs would stop to stare admirably at his size. His eyes were now closed. His tail wagged lazily as his lounge chair sank steadily into the sand, barely able to support him. He had the beach to himself, and he enjoyed the relative silence. The only sound was the lapping of the waves on the shoreline, coming in and retreating, never stopping, never changing.
Dation heard footsteps. It was a public beach, so he wasn't concerned. This area was more enclosed and private than the main beach, which was only a few minutes away, but maybe, like him, this newcomer enjoyed the peace and quiet. He ignored the soft treading sounds in the sand. But then they stopped right in front of him, and Dation groaned inwardly. He raised his head and squinted in the sunlight, ready to tell whoever was here to go somewhere else. It was a big beach. But when his eyes adjusted, he saw a raccoon looking at him and sporting a huge grin. He sighed.
"Hey, what's your name?" the raccoon asked enthusiastically.
He was covered head to toe with blue fur. His hand paws and feet had a darker shade of blue covering them, as well as the tips of his ears, the point of his chin, and the characteristically raccoon stripe that wrapped around his eyes. The hair on top of his head was red, and so was a tuft of hair on his chest. Spotted pants covered his legs. Dation took note of his belly, which was large, though not as large as his own.
"Dation," he said after a moment. "My name is Dation."
"That's a great name! My name's Marikoe!" Marikoe held out a hand.
Dation grunted and shifted so that he could shake the raccoon's hand. "Uh, listen. Do you mind maybe going somewhere else? I'm sunbathing here."
"It's a nice day, isn't it?" Marikoe said cheerily, ignoring Dation's request. "Perfect amount of heat. I mean, it must be perfect for someone like you, right, Dat? You mind if I call you Dat? I mean, that sleek, black fur . . . the sun must be great for it!"
"Yeah. . . . It is. That's how I keep my fur healthy."
"And that belly! That must have taken so much work!"
"You're right. Most of my friends just inflate themselves with air. But I keep to a steady diet and eat all the right things. You need to eat food with bulk, y'now?" Dation was starting to warm up to the guy now.
"Hey, you mind if I touch it?"
"Go ahead! I love to see fans of my work. Let me just roll over . . . there. Look at that!" Dation said proudly.
"Wow. It's beautiful," Marikoe said breathlessly. "And so squishy!" He placed a paw on top of it.
Marikoe started to rub the belly and Dation grunted with approval. "Yeah, like I was saying, you need the perfect diet. I mean, inflation is fine every once in a while, but you need to do it with the right stuff. Like frosting! I remember this one time I found a frosting machine and it was great. I took a hose and connected it to the machine. Then I put the other end of the hose in my mouth, and . . . hey, what are you doing?"
Marikoe looked up from Dation's belly, which he'd been steadily licking. He looked like a pup caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar, and his blue cheeks blushed red. "Nothing," he said innocently. "I mean, keep going! I want to hear the rest of the story! C'mon, Dat, tell me!"
Dation was a bit put out by the raccoon's strange behavior, but he continued. "Well, I put the nozzle in my mouth and then I turned the machine on. It was great! So much frosting just flowed right into my mouth, and it filled me right up. But I just couldn't stop! So the machine kept running, and I just kept getting stuffed with more and more frosting . . . I swear, I was probably the biggest I've ever been that day. Now you, you're on your way. With just a little more work you can make your belly a bit bigger, and then - you're doing it again!"
Marikoe looked up at him, now serious. "Why don't you just relax, Dat? There's no problem here."
Dation was caught off guard by Marikoe's response. He said slowly, "You know how I was saying earlier that I wanted to be alone? I think maybe you should go now."
"Go? But Dat, I don't want to go! I'm having so much fun right here!"
"And stop calling me Dat," he said irritably. "It's getting annoying."
"But I just want to learn to be as big as you! Bigger even. How do you think I could do that?"
"Well," Dation said hesitantly. "I don't know. It takes a lot of work and dedication. I mean, I don't think you have it in you."
"Maybe I should start now," Marikoe said mischievously.
"What do you mean?"
Marikoe hopped on top of him and caught Dation in the face, hard, with his tail. Dation lay dazed, and Marikoe began licking the wolf again.
"What are you . . . doing?" Stars shone in Dation's eyes.
"Well," Marikoe said casually. "You pass on the taste test. You've been out here all day, roasting and seasoning yourself right up! I'll bet with all that bulk you won't even have the energy to fight back, hehe."
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Dation groaned. He looked at the Marikoe. There was something hungry in the raccoon's grin.
"The way to get big," Marikoe said slowly, "is to eat something with a lot of bulk, right? And look how bulky you are!" Dation squirmed. "What's the matter, Dat? I thought that's what you said!"
Dation squirmed harder as he realized what Marikoe was saying. "You . . . want to eat me? But you can't! I'm - I'm too big!"
"Well, you like big bellies, I big bellies . . . it's a win-win, am I right?"
Dation struggled to find something to say in response, but Marikoe opened his maw wide and stuffed Dation's head inside. Dation began to whimper. "Don't worry!" Marikoe assured him as his tongue slurped at the fat wolf's face. "You're going to a better place! My tummy!" He patted his gut and Dation punched weakly with his paws. Marikoe just laughed and pinned the arms together tightly before swallowing them. They wouldn't do much damage from the inside. Dation seemed to realize this, because he stopped struggling so hard, and the sound of whimpering grew louder. Marikoe stopped at the massive stomach and considered it before proceeding.
Inside, Dation was drawn further and further into the raccoon's throat. The tight passage seemed to expand just enough with his shape to allow him to slide through. The journey was dark and wet. He would come to a halt, and then proceed a little further as the raccoon worked on his belly. Even now, Dation couldn't help but to feel a little pride for how big his belly was. It was making the job of being eaten very difficult. But after a few minutes, his belly was completely inside the raccoon, and he felt himself start to pick up speed. Dation yelped and kicked his legs wildly.
This did nothing to stop Marikoe from pulling them and the tail down easily. With a mighty gulp, he sent the wolf to his stomach. He let out a huge belch and then sighed and poked his now-wriggling belly. He rubbed it and the commotion died down a bit. Marikoe smirked and looked around the beach. He was the only one here now.
He made his way to the water and sat down on the sand, putting his footpaws into the water. He could feel his meal moving about, still trying to escape. But he relaxed, because he knew this was impossible. He eyed his belly appreciatively. With all of Dation inside him, he was certainly the biggest now. It really was as great as he'd said.