Alric awoke with a start as he felt himself moving, the pit of his stomach dropping out in sudden fear. Sudden panic gripped the groggy Hyur as he tried and failed to move, trapped in a giant’s iron grip. The hood from his rebel jacket had fallen over his face, adding to the disorienting discomfort by blinding the young man.
Within seconds however, a series of things clicked with him.
He was still in Zori’s grasp.
The giant Miqo’te hand was moving him.
There was more light in the room, giving him a clear view of the massive woman’s face once he’d whipped his head around enough to dislodge the blinding hood. Black and honey-brown disheveled hair framing it naturally. Something was wrong with her features though, and for a moment, Alric was confused. Then, it’d dawn on the shrunken Hyur what it was.
Her lips, closed before, were now starting to stir.
He was moving closer towards them, right as they were parting - until her mouth was wide open.
Due to the light, he was able to get a good look at the inside of her mouth.
Subtle shifts in that gigantic tongue of hers. Slowly wiggling about in the wake of her stirring. Strands of saliva were seen, stretching between her lower and upper teeth. Some were as thick as diremite webbing. One strand giving way, in the wake of her powerful tongue that was slithering about within. Cutting through it with ease.
Her pearly white teeth, each the size of small boulders were well taken care of, with that tongue of hers pushing into the bottom front row of them. Her rather sharp canines on display, and further in he could see the dark abyss that was her throat. The young man stared at it in awe as he felt something awaken inside of him for a brief second. Something that completely obliterated the fact she was his long time friend for a brief moment.
She was so massive, he knew she could swallow him without a single problem. The thought alone giving birth to that primal fear. Yet, it was only for a brief moment.
Then, she yawned.
He had been further away when she had done it last night. Now he was getting a front row seat. The rumbling sound emitting from her was enough to make every bone in his body rattle and set his ears to ringing fiercely. Gods but she was being loud. The hoodie half covering his head blew back with ease. The sudden gale sent his hair whipping about in a wild manner, as was his clothing. His stomach and lower half were still between her fingers, as they tighten their grip on him mid-yawn. Unable to escape.
He brought an arm up in reflex as he was hit full force by the Miqo’tes breath. The scent of cocoa and peppermint hitting him full force. His eyes watered slightly at the humid winds whipping at him, forcing one eye closed and the other to narrow he struggled to see what was going on.
What were mere seconds to the sleeping Miqo’te, felt like minutes to the tiny red haired youth as he remained within the titan-like grip of his childhood friend.
And as rapidly as it began, it was over.
Her mouth closed once more with a loud series of smacks. Massive lips rubbing against one another. With how close he was, it was slowly dawning on him that he was roughly the same size of either of her lips. He knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that his size was changing, though he didn’t understand when and why--
That train of thought came to a screeching halt however, as he noted something very out of place.
Her messy hair that was once covering both eyes had shifted. And beyond that. . . One of those startlingly blue eyes was open. . .and it focused right on him.
It was the only eye he could see, the other still covered by a curtain of ebony and honey bangs. Her eye was just barely open, and as it peered down at him Alric found himself gripping the index finger wrapped around himself. Completely at a loss of what to do. He simply stared back at the uncovered eye of hers, waiting to see what came next.
It wasn’t until a few long seconds had passed that the young man took note of something unusual in her gaze, a certain glassy, glazed over look to her eye. It was the look of someone not quite awake, unfocused on anything and everything.
Zori was sleeping with her eyes open still.
It wasn’t the first time he’d come across this strange habit of hers, sleeping with her eyes partly open, just visible to the world. But seeing it from this angle was an entirely new experience.
The Hyur’s heart thudded in his chest, hard enough that he feared it would wake her for a brief moment. It was uncanny, staring up at the comforting face of his best friend, that glassy unfocused eye peering sightlessly down at him. He knew he was safe with her, as always, but something about the situation made his skin crawl.
Alric knew Zori had always been a somewhat restless sleeper. Fidgeting and moving about. She had even kicked him a few times. Waking up soon after to a rather disgruntled Alric staring at her.
This morning was no different, ever restless, the Miqo’te tightened her grip on the shrunken man, drawing a gasp of surprise. His teeth clenched, as he stared up at her unseeing eye. It wasn’t painful yet, but it reminded him of when he’d first been at the mercy of her monstrously soft toes. He could see a small smile on her slumbering face, a sight that was soon blocked out by her rising thumb.
His world suddenly became a flesh colored prison as the descending digit smashed him down further into her clenched hand, kneading and worrying him roughly in her smooth palm as if he was a stress toy.
Zori’s thumb was pressing down against the top of his head. Her index and middle finger rubbing across his upper body.
He could feel his already shredded jacket getting further mangled, and he could hear nothing; save for the muffled sound of her breathing against her closed fist. Along with the rasp of skin on skin, unnaturally loud to the man, as her fingers shifted both against themselves and him.
At times, he felt his head forced one way or another. The nail on her thumb lazily pressing down against his head and shoulders. His tattered jacket tore even further, rent under the edge of her nail as she manhandled him. It scratched against the front of his chest, making Alric wince. A sudden fear gripped the man with how rough she was getting. But by some grace of the twelve her nail didn’t pierce his skin.
A grunt would emit from him, flustered by what was becoming of his clothing. As her fingers parted for a brief moment, he’d shift and struggle out of his once favored jacket, tossing the tattered garment aside. He was starting to heat up, and the jacket no longer provided much worth after what Zori had done to it anyway. It left him with only his tattered black shirt, which almost certainly wasn’t long for this world either with the abuse it had taken recently.
His sun-kissed jailhouse moved and began to shift, dislodging the remains of the jacket from where he’d tossed it. And as he felt his face pressed up against the webbing of her inner fingers, he watched with a pang of dismay as it slipped between two of her fingers and out of sight.
The Hyur’s head and shoulders poked through her fingers, pushing out from between her middle and ring finger and at once being greeted by a blast of hot air as he found out where he’d been delivered
While he’d been sequestered away, she had shifted onto her back with her hand held close to her lips. Her lips were so close he could reach out and touch them if he tried to. Parted just enough, he could feel her warm breath across his face, a hurricane gale that once again forced him to shutter his eyes against it.
Her thumb slipped further down, fingers loosening as it rubbed against his side now. Her skin and nail digging right into his side, hip, and upper thigh. An uneasy shiver streaked down his spine at the treatment, and he felt his body beginning to bend as her thumb kept toying with him. Alric started to open his mouth, before spotting something else.
His wine red rebel coat, in tatters, rested against her upper lip. He’d watch as she exhaled, the jacket being blown up and passed her hand.
The poor looking scrap of cloth dancing like a leaf caught in a strong breeze. She inhaled once more. . .and he’d watch as his jacket was sucked back down. Right between her lips to catch against her front teeth. The light in the room gave him a clear view of what was happening.
For only a second, it’d be stuck against her two front teeth. Whipped about like a tattered flag standing bravely against a maelstrom, clinging in determined resistance against the battering winds against it. He could hear it flapping sharply about, part of it hanging over the edge of her teeth. Barely spared of the dark abyss that awaited below.
Then, it’d fall the rest of the way in as she ceased her breathing, lips rubbing against each other. The jacket cut off from his view as the plush lips closed briefly.
Soon, they’d part and he’d see it resting on the surface of her tongue. Adhered there by saliva. He could see a few strands, stretching between the large tongue and the roof of her mouth. In a few short moments, it was already coated in the woman’s saliva. Ruined beyond repair at this point.
Her fingers kept toying with him, rubbing against his body. He felt her pinkie and the finger next to it rubbing his legs. His feet sticking out slightly from the bottom of her hand. Head and shoulders sticking out from the middle and ring finger. His body was bent at an angle, which was uncomfortable to say the least, particularly as the fingers pressured and toyed with him.
Then, that pink tongue of hers moved, the tip rolling up and inward. Alric found himself unable to look away, as he could see her -tasting- it. Rolling it lazily about within her maw. Another blast of hot air tore at him, bringing to mind a frightening thought.
He had previously likened her size to that of a mountain, huge and unavoidable. Breathtaking to look upon. But If she was a mountain, then the yawning entrance beneath him was doubtless a cave. Boulder sized teeth framing a craggy entrance to mines and tunnels deep within her heart. Only. . .this cave was moist, fleshy, and horribly ALIVE. Past that cavernous entrance lay darkness, and he was suddenly very unsure about what was about to happen.
Of course, what came next only served to deepen that sudden stab of concern.
The jacket was being formed into a ball. Sliding down her tongue, towards her throat. Right as it was on the back of her tongue, her teeth closed, causing him to flinch back in reflex. Her lips parted slightly revealing Boulder sized teeth grinding together as her jaw tensed.
His blood froze over, a sudden pit forming in his stomach. The audible sound of the titan-sized woman gulping was clearly heard in the stillness of the room. Loud and clear. His eyes at once darted down to what he could see of her throat. There, a clearly formed lump just under her tensed jaw, sliding further down towards her collar bone.
And then it was gone. Her teeth and lips parting more than before, as he stared into her maw once more.
“Ahhhh. . . .” It was the sound the Miqo’te made when finished with a meal. A pleased sound. Zori’s slightly parted lips maintained that sleepy smile, her breath washing over him once more in a pleased exhalation.
His jacket was missing, but he knew what had happened. He had seen her practically inhale food before. It made the man question if there was nothing she couldn’t devour when hungry enough.
He didn’t want to find out the answer he decided, as he felt himself being pushed further between her fingers. Her thumb had angled itself, where it was now forcing him further between her fingers. More and more of him was dangling free now, with the entirety of his upper torso exposed. Unfortunately, it placed him in a precarious position. Below him, a yawning chasm lay at the end of what felt like an endless drop.
“Woah, woah. . .Zori. . .Zori, wake up!” He’d call out to her, peering frantically at that half open eye and trying desperately to attract her unfocused gaze. But still the giant slumbered, unaware of the peril she was unwittingly putting her friend in. He scrabbled frantically at her hands, seeking purchase in the creases of her knuckles and finding none. Little by little, ilm by ilm, he slowly slipped closer and closer to tumbling down into the Miqo’tes open, waiting maw.
Casting his eyes about wildly, the man’s eyes could help but be drawn down towards the void that lay at the end of his inevitable gall. Even in his plight, some calm and rational part of his mind noted the buildup of saliva, the sudden eager moistness that awaited him. No doubt a physical reflex brought on by swallowing his jacket.
“ZORI!” The red hair man shouted, yet there was no response - save for her breath washing over him and her tongue moving about far below. Almost as if preparing for him. “Dammit!” Alric cursed, trying to think of something. Doing his hardest -not- to look inside her mouth. Rows of teeth that could grind him to a pulp. The rough surface of a tongue that would easily have it’s way with him. And of course the void that lay beyond.
Twisting his body, he’d reach up as far he could, gripping the finger above him and attempting to slip his hands in the crease between her fingers. Little by little, his lower half was pushed through by her thumb. Then, suddenly, he felt his legs swing out free and unsupported. . .and held on tight.
With both his arms wrapped tightly around her middle finger, he clung on for dear life. Her fingers parted slightly; her fist loosening without her grip on him. Each time she drew breath he felt the vacuum of air screaming past him, threatening to drag him down with it. Threatening to rip him from his grip and plunge him down into darkness.
He needed a plan, and he needed one fast. With Zori blissfully unaware, and his life literally hanging in the balance, his only hope was some quick thinking, a prayer to the twelve, and perhaps just a bit of luck.
Alric struggled to weather through each inhale, counting the seconds in his head. He was trying to time her breathing, trusting in it to help save himself. As the seconds dragged by like days, the struggling man felt himself begin to slip, one arm losing its grip entirely.. Another gasping curse escaped him as he held on for dear life. One arm still wrapped around her middle finger.
Clenching his teeth, the man knew he had a window approaching, and that he had to act. It was now or never.
As her inhale tapered off, he braced his feet against her hand and launched himself up and out into space. His stomach roiled inside of him as he hung there for a moment, nothing to grab onto or reach for, while below him lay her waiting maw. A sudden spike of fear shot through him like a physical shock, panic flooding his system as he began to fear he’d mistimed his movement.
Then Zori's breath washed over him in a powerful exhale, a welcoming wind that buffeted and tore at his descent. His momentum was halted, and then reversed as he rode out the sudden updraft, spinning skyward and entirely out of control.
His world became a spinning riot of imagery. His best friend, asleep in the golden rays of the morning sun, a wink of blue visible just under her half closed lid. The simple room they had rented, with it’s earthy colors, stone floors, and curtains slightly parted to reveal dawn’s rays to penetrate the gloom. Wooden beams and ceiling timbers. And so on and so forth as he windmilled his arms and legs, freefalling in an uncontrolled tumble.
Flailing his limbs about madly, he searched and prayed for something to grab onto or break his fall. Something. Anything.
His eyes fell on a sudden landscape of bronze, as his descent ended in an abrupt impact.
THUMP!
He had landed somewhere on her body, that was easy enough to tell. The Miqo’tes skin was warm and pliant beneath him. His head spun as he fought to orient himself, struggling to piece together where he had landed. It took a long moment, but his wits began to slowly return to him, and he was able to take stock of his location.
The top of Zori’s shirt was not too far away from him, while her throat was behind him. He had landed right below her collar bone. Safe and sound, if not a little winded and worse for the wear. Though even that was subsiding.
“. . .ahhh-haaa. . .ahaha. . .” Alric felt his face stretch into a wild, uncontrolled grin. Reaching a hand up, he brushed a shock of his dishevelled bangs out of his face. He was trembling all over, as it dawned on him that he had escaped a rather cruel fate. Bringing his hand forward, he’d stare at it. It was shaking like mad.
There had been fear, but. . .also excitement? No doubt thanks to that odd trait that many adventurers seemed to share, a thirst for danger and a marked lack of anything like common sense or survival instincts. Zori had certainly noted it in him, teasing him about his apparent love of danger, despite the fact that she could often be seen right there alongside him, laughing fit to burst and grinning like mad.
Adrenaline surged through his veins as he replayed what had just happened in his minds eye. It had been just as fiercely invigorating as any fight against bandit or beast. Maybe even MORE invigorating.
It took a long while for the adrenaline to cease and calm, leaving the drained man to simply flop back against the warm flesh beneath him, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. Now that the danger had passed, he was left once again in the relative calm. His only companion, the slow swell and fall of the woman’s chest beneath him, and the rumbling murmur of her heartbeat beneath that. The steady, audible thrum of it a soothing song to him after the stark fear he’d recently experienced.
And somewhere further along, accompanying the calming sounds of his companion. The man would almost swear there was a faint gurgle somewhere near the woman’s abdomen.
For now however, the man just focused on the ceiling, trying to push any thought of that sound to the back of his mind. Right now, he was thankful for being alive. Avoiding the same fate that was once his favorite jacket. . .
The shrunken Hyur gave a laugh every now and then. Unheard by the slumping landmass that was the most trusted person in his life. Taking the moment to enjoy the fact he had gotten through yet another ordeal. Mourning the loss of his favorite jacket, made of shell leather, as he did. Planning his next steps could wait a while.