Zori and Alric Short Story by ZoriStory

Alric’s laughter didn’t stop for a long while. The man had nearly been consumed by his best friend, but now he was alright. Still, like any close call he’d had when adventuring - he started to giggle. An odd trait of his that Zori said made him seem a bit ‘touched’ as it were. For him, he wasn’t quite sure how to express himself after being in mortal peril. Yet, every time he survived some harrowing experience and he knew the danger was past. . .he found himself laughing lightly to himself. An odd smile on his features.

 He’d lay flat on his back, arms and legs spread apart, wishing to catch his breath before plotting his next move.

Soon, a great rumbling was both heard and felt as Zori shifted in her sleep, the hand that was close to where he lay moving by itself. He could hear her lips lightly smacking themselves against the other. No doubt from the lingering taste of his jacket, whose fate he was glad he didn’t share.

He watched as her hand shifted, moving skyward. She was moving it away from her chest, and off towards the side - letting it hang over the bed. The bed creaked and groaned once more, though the titan sized Miqo’te didn’t stir much further than that.

 Alric paused when noting where her hand was. Arm stretched out off the side of the bed, her hand landing with a thump against the small dresser next to the bed. Palm faced towards the ceiling, fingers curled. Her arm extended out from herself, akin to a massive fallen oak tree - acting as a bridge from the bed to the area he wanted to get to.

He felt his stomach rumble once more, looking out towards the apples resting in the bowl. Close by her finger tips.

  After a sharp inhale, he’d brace his palms beside his head, before he pressed upward sharply. Flipping himself up and into a standing position and landing on his feet. He was so small that Zori didn’t even stir from her slumber at the movement..

 He had lost a few items alongside his jacket, but had enough to feel at ease with. The crystal attached to his belt being a prime one, given his size and the trouble he had gotten into.

 Little time was wasted lingering where he was, unsure of how long her arm would remain the way it was. The red haired youth turned, and started the trek across the massive form of his best friend. The bronze colored ground shifted with each breath the Miqo’te took as Alric made his way across his companions upper chest. He’d pause, however, when coming to the strap of her tank top.

The strap had bunched up around her shoulder, no doubt from her nocturnal stirrings and the way her shirt had gotten pushed up to just below her ample bosom. He could see, just below the ruffled fabric of her shirt, what basically amounted to a small crawl space between Zori’s warm flesh and her clothing. His very own secret tunnel, He could just fit into it on his hands and knees from the look of it. . . or he could simply walk across the strap.

A thought occurred to him, as the Hyur debated if he should or not.

Well, why not? Can’t hurt to have a little fun. . .

With a glance towards her slumbering face up north, the man dropped down onto his hands and knees. . .crawling forward to slip under the massive black strap of her tank top. He found the space warm and inviting, and larger than he’d expected, with his head only just brushing the soft cloth stretching above him.

He chuckled to himself as he moved, getting swept up in a wave of nostalgia for her and Zori’s younger days. All the times the two had found those tiny little spaces that children seemed attracted to. Forts and secret passages, places that were theirs and theirs alone. Down inside his secret passage, it was dark and dim, the cloth muffling the noise of the woman that had become his world in such a short time.

Though as he progressed further and further, something felt. . .off. Part of the man was certain that he should be coming out the other side of his little “tunnel”, but oddly enough the passage seemed as far now as it had been just a moment ago.

It suddenly dawned on the shrunken man what was going on. Freezing up rather suddenly, as he gazed about the underside of the dark fabric. The crawl space seemed longer. The reason why struck him like a thunderbolt.

His head wasn’t even close to touching the underside anymore.

For a long time, he’d remain there, on his hands and knees and wondering when it had happened. His size had shifted once more without him noticing, but this time he was smaller than ever. A wave of fear gripped the man, his arms trembling as his gaze swept from the exit ahead of him to his entrance behind.

He was half way through.

Mustering up his courage,He’d slowly move to lift himself up. He paused briefly, still on his knees but now upright. He still didn’t feel the fabric. All he could hear for a moment, was his own heart and breathing. It was slow and steady, but he felt like his heart was beating harder than before. His lips parted, and he took a shaky breath. . .pressing off Zori’s body. . .and moving to stand.

His head was just shy of touching the under part of his childhood friends strap.

The small crawl space had suddenly transformed into a sizable mine shaft around him. His own breathing seemed to fall flat in the space around him, muffled by the cloth canvas. At times, when Zori took a breath, he’d notice his even tinier form get closer to the ceiling of fabric above. Then she’d exhale, and it’d seem to pull upward and away from him. He was small enough enough to count the individual threads stretching above his head if he strained his eyes in the dimness.

Everything seemed to be in greater detail, even if it was a little dark where he was.

He felt himself picking up the pace, as the exit came closer. All around him, Zori’s breathing could be heard, an audible rumble beneath his feet. Not entirely unlike the sound of the ground shifting during a landslide. A part of him wanted to remain where he was, and stay ‘safe’. That adventurer side of him, however, wanted to press onward. Driven by equal parts curiosity and hunger.

Then, he arrived at the end of the tunnel. Alrics eyes narrowed as the sudden light overwhelmed him, forcing him to pause as the sudden illumination hammered into him. He held a hand up in front of his face as he shuffled further past the exit and felt the faint brushing of fabric over head again. . .

Lowering his shaking arm as his vision cleared, he took a deep steadying breath. His heart was pounding in his chest after his ordeal, and for a moment it was all that he could hear.

As his pulse slowed and he started to calm, he swept his gaze around himself. Noting that despite his sudden panic before, everything looked the same as when he had first crawled under the strap. He turned to glance behind himself, noting the bunched up strap he had just crawled through was the same size as before he entered it.

. . .am I losing it? Did I shrink then grow? I--I. . .

He could still hear the light breathing of the landscape that was his best friend up north of him, steady and serene and still blissfully asleep. Unaware of what had just transpired. He suddenly felt light headed, gripping his own wrist in an attempt to stop himself from shaking. Once his breathing was fully under control again, Alric started to walk again, shooting a distrusting glance back at the strap he’d just emerged from.

His eyes travelled past the strap, to the smooth expanse of flesh that lay beyond; Zori’s throat. He could remember the lump he’d seen when she’d swallowed his favorite jacket, and he wondered briefly what had become of the poor mass of shell Leather. With a slight shake of his head, Alrics walk became a jog as he turned his eyes away from her. Better not to think about it.

Then, he was on her shoulder - her arms extended before him to his goal. The back of her hand rested on the wooden surface on the other side; where the bowl of apples were. Fingers curled just slightly, where he noted her index finger was resting just against the bowl. Perfect.

He felt her flesh yield beneath his feet as he trekked across her arm, acting like a drawbridge from the bed to the bedside table. Zori worked out, but she still had a softness to her. It honestly felt rather nice--

“Mmmm. . .”

The ground became suddenly unstable beneath him, forcing Alric to his knees. His friend shifted in her sleep, as indicated by the soft rustling of cloth and flesh in the distance behind him. Her outstretched hand turned to the side, dragging itself off the desk. . .

The upper arm Alric was precariously clinging to turned as well, which caused him to tumble across it. He saw his world suddenly invert itself as he desperately fumbled for something to grasp onto. There was nothing he could hold onto however, and as her arm turned further. . . He finally toppled over, losing his balance entirely.

Alrics' world became a terrifying blur of movement and momentum as he fell freely from his perch, the wind screaming past him in a disorienting maelstrom. Up became down as he lost all sense of direction, and he screamed in stark terror as he plummeted in an uncontrolled free fall. Brief glimpses of the wooden bed, the stone ground. . . and then a stark black well opening up beneath him, like a hungry fish breaking through the waves to devour him.

His vision darkened as vertigo overtook him for a brief moment. And he was sure he was going to pass out before he hit the ground. And then a darkness enveloped him that had absolutely nothing to do with his own lightheadedness. The air changed, and the light seemed to stretch above him as the pit swallowed him whole.

THUMP!

He felt the air knocked out of him as solid ground rushed up to meet him. Pain flared through him sharply, bringing him back to full awareness and driving the sudden vertigo away. His arm was sore and throbbing, having taken the brunt of his landing. . .yet it wasn’t broken. By some miracle, he seemed largely intact. Sore, yes. But nothing seemed broken or dislocated. Was the fall not as bad as he thought? Maybe he was just that durable?

Spots danced in his vision as he looked around himself, taking stock of his situation. Alric couldn’t hear Zori anymore, and he felt it was safe to say that his fall had put some distance between himself and her. Drawing in a ragged breath, he’d find the air was more. . .stale. Humid. The ground he was laying on was soft, not as much as the bed, but softer than the wooden floor would be. Something wasn’t right.

 The ability to breath normally soon returned, and with it vanished the dancing spots in his vision. Those emerald colored eyes gazed about the area, trying to figure out where he. . .was. . .oh. . .no.

“A--am I. . .really in her. . .” Alric could hear his own voice, as it echoed faintly about the massive cavern-like place he had landed. Though his mind was at once figuring out where he was. It wasn’t a cave. . .

He had fallen into one of Zori’s gigantic boots. Right where her heel would normally be. And judging by the shaft of light that stretched out far above his head, he had the sinking feeling that he had shrunk in his free fall, down to the size he’d been before.

 With a resigned sigh, the man set about looking for a way out, noticing as he did so that the inside of the boot was well worn and smooth.. He could just make out the imprint of where her foot rested normally, and in that imprint, on the floor near to him was what was once a number. Though it was now an indecipherable smear, worn away by ages of use and the constant friction of an active woman’s heel.

He rubbed distractedly at the arm he’d landed on, the pain still present but slowly ebbing away. He couldn’t see any way out of this leather mineshaft, no matter how hard he puzzled or thought on it.

Then, he heard the massive form of Zori shifting high above on the bed. The bed creaked and groaned, as she woke up at long last. The Miqo’te’s form loomed into view as she moved to sit up in bed. . .before she turned to the side and brought her legs over the edge.

He shot a brief glance at her face, taking in the tired, detached expression on her face. A view that was soon blocked out by the bottom of her foot. He watched as her toes wiggled right above the opening of the boot. Outside the boots leathery confines, he heard a sudden thump and a scuffle. Something moved around just outside of his prison, though he couldn’t see what. And then the light pierced down into the darkness again as Zori moved her foot, allowing him to once again take in her tired, half asleep features.

After a few seconds, it clicked with him what she was doing - as her gaze turned towards the boot he was in. For a moment, she appeared to be looking right at him. . .but he knew she couldn’t see him. He had frozen up, watching and waiting for what he knew must come next, hoping that he was mistaken. For a time, what seemed an eternity to the small man, she’d just stare down at the boot. . .

Then her foot hovered into view once again, blotting out the light and plunging him into an even deeper darkness.

Without pause, it started to descend into the boot itself. Her toes curled against the ball of her foot as it worked its way into her boot. Just as she had done with the other boot outside of the one Alric was in. He’d see faint rays of light as the foot shifted its way into the boot, the scraping sound of her skin against the inside of it heard loud and clear.

Then it dawned on him where he was, just where he had frozen. Forcing his body into movement and ripping his eyes away from those descending digits, Alric moved. Slowly at first, and then with urgency as it finally registered the danger he was in if he lingered.

Alric heard her toes grind against the supple leather insole, and turned his head back to look despite himself. There, where he’d been standing, was nothing but a wall of flesh grating down and wriggling it’s way further into the leather cavern. Her middle toe rasped across that faded and smeared number, and for some ludicrous reason it occurred to him that he’d have been trapped under that toe in particular, had he not surged into motion.

Still, he kept running as the ground started to tremble - a series of tremors rolling underfoot as her boot tried to accept the giant’s foot inside itself. Zori’s foot shifted from side to side, and Alric lost his footing and fell to the ground. His body flung from side to side within the dark, and slightly damp cave floor. The closer he got to the toe section, the more he’d feel the ground under him yield.

Trying to make sense of where he was, he’d hear the bottom of her toes scraping across the inside of her boot. His head whipped towards the direction it was coming from, and he’d notice five sun-kissed toes wiggling about. To him, it almost looked as if they were seeking him out, pursuing him in the shadowed interior of the toe.

With no time to get up and run - He found his body moving on its own. Alric rolled to the side, trapped only halfway down the length of the boot. The last of the light vanished as her foot blocked it out, with the last thing he could see being her pinkie toe coming straight at him.

Then, he was in complete darkness as her toes crashed down on him. He felt something collide with him, knocking him prone as pressure crushed in on him from every direction. He was being moved against his will, even as he’d grapple onto something. He assumed it was her toe. So massive and large, he couldn’t even fit his arms half way around it!

Then, just as everything seemed to increase in pressure. . .the shifting ceased.

It was dark. The toe section of the boot was more damp. The air had become even more stale. The pervasive scent of her musk was the only thing he could smell, growing stronger by the moment. He could feel the heat that emitted from her foot, even as he heard some scratching outside.

He wagered she was tying her boots up, unaware she was sealing her childhood friend within. Trapped inside it, with nothing but a Miqo'tes foot to keep him company within.

He felt her toes shift as he fumbled about to find his crystal. And before long, with a little bit of coaxing, the crystal flared to light and illuminated Alrics surroundings.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but once they did it’d dawn on him where he was. Right between her pinkie toe and the one next to it. Caught between them, with his lower legs partly trapped under her pinkie toe. A toe that was the same size as he was, if not maybe just a bit bigger.

They’d cease their movement, as Zori stopped moving for now. Giving Alric a chance to try and think. . .something easier said than done, as already he felt the air become more humid. The scent from her foot doubled, and then tripled. As did the heat in the small area..

This was entirely unlike his last experience with her foot. When she had been freshly showered and he had been considerably bigger. This was so much worse. Whether it was because his size had changed, or just because he was in a much more stifling environment, he had no idea.

Her toes gently shifted within her boot, as they lifted partly and came crashing back down around him. He felt a sudden increase in pressure against his legs, her toe seeming to ‘sense’ him. He felt her toes scrunch up around him, wrapping him up in a vice-like embrace.

“Gah--dammit! Zori! I’m in here!” It’d avail him not, hearing his own voice in return as it bounced about within the chamber of the large boot he was trapped in. Her toes moved once more, and he felt himself dragged even further under the thick pad of her toe. Finally they stopped moving, resting roughly against his legs and stomach. His hands pressed against it, but with no chance of moving it or gaining her attention.

Even still, Alric pounded his fists against the large digit. To his dismay, it didn’t gain any attention from her. . .but it at least caused her pinkie toe to move again. As it lifted off him, he felt the boot tipping in the direction where her pinkie toe was. He’d find himself sliding across the lightly moist insole of the boot, with her entire pinkie toe hanging above him.

No, no, no--

Then, it brought itself down with more force than before. His entire vision was filled by the underside of her toe as it started toying with him once more. It shifted from side to side, grinding him lightly between it and the insole below. He was at her mercy entirely, the crystal giving just enough light for him to have an idea of where he was.

Right under the arch of her pinkie toe, he felt the digit grow and stretch out even further around him. No. . . It wasn’t growing. He was shrinking. Again.

He felt his body fit perfectly under the small arch of her pinkie toe, gripped tightly between it and the ball of her foot. He had become imprisoned in the sun-kissed flesh, and he found himself going light headed - her musky scent washing over him; more potent than before. As he gasped for air, he felt his world shift as she moved, and without warning found his face pressed up against her flesh.

His lips parted as he gasped for air, the slightly salty taste of sweat and skin flooding his mouth immediately. Enveloped in the musky scent of his best friend's foot and boot, he started seeing stars.

Still unaware of him, her toes treated him like a stress toy. Each squeeze and subtle flex was more brutal than the last. He felt as if his very bones were creaking, another series of crackles heard along his spine as she popped it once more. Though, it seemed to only encourage her to keep playing with the red haired man. Her toe released its grip on him before it began anew. His entire body was assaulted by both it and her scent. His form buckling under the weight of that thick pad of hers.

Then, they squeezed harder than before - and he felt more pressure and weight on him than ever before. Zori was moving to stand up. He knew if he had been under any other toe, such as her largest one, that his fate could have been worse. Even if she didn’t unknowingly pop him right then and there,  he felt as if that would be better than this!

He just hoped Zori tried to search for him soon enough, and release him from her rather eager toes. In this case, her smallest one; which had become a towering behemoth in comparison to him.

 Meanwhile, Zori had found herself still half dead to the world after waking up, and had groggily put on her boots. Scrunching her toes a few times after she did, unaware of the torture she was putting her most fond companion through. With a yawn and a smack of her lips, Zor’s mind turned to breakfast and something to drink. Causing her to stand and stretch, not knowing Alric was about to come along with her for the trip. . .