Hi there everybody. I'm back... Sort of... Actually, not really.

You see, I've been working on a summer job for the last five weeks and Internet access has been scarce. However, thanks to my kind neighbor, i've been able to keep up with FA and finish up some projects I still had on hold. This is one of them.

This is an extremely delayed trade with  caleblloyd that I finally managed to conclude. It has been one of my most ambitious projects, certainly the most complex of them, and it has a lot of me in it. No spoilers, but it allowed me to have a great excuse to finally explore my sona and develop him, his past, and his personality.

So a foxy explorer, ambitious for fame and greatness, finds himself trapped alone in some ancient Mexican ruins. The question is... Is he really alone?

There is s set of images that go along with the story and soon I'll be opening a journal in case you have any question about my sona, my past and the story's plot in general.

So enjoy!

__________________OF TRAPS AND FREEDOM__________________
by Dragontzin

He had been warned.

He had been warned, not once, not twice, not even thrice. Everybody had warned him. Yet, here he was, the brave and fierce fox explorer, ready for adventure. The sun wasn’t even out yet and the jungle was still quiet. Unusually quiet from our hero’s perspective, but it might be just the excitement of venturing the unknown.

The ruins had been discovered just a few days ago, after locals agreed to show them to the group of explorers. They had been hard to convince, and much of their rations and equipment had ended up being gifts of trust for the natives. Now, the crew was low in resources, but they couldn’t just leave all the progress they had achieved just because they were getting mildly hungry. No, they were so close to their goal.

A loud grumble brought Caleb back from to reality. He was starved, but nothing compared to the desire of unveiling the past and –with some luck– the treasures that were kept inside the ancient ruins. And if that had been enough to keep him going a whole week, a couple of hours would surely do.

The fox cautiously scurried through the narrow path, surrounded by trees, vines and all kinds of vegetation. He couldn’t believe yet that the chief had granted permission to his crew and to himself to go and explore the pyramid. He was all too eager to explore, so his own crew had to persuade him to visit the pyramid the next morning, since the sun was already casting long shadows, and they wouldn’t make it to the ruins before dawn. Still the villagers told them the way that lead to the ruins; how foolish of them. Today was the big day! Today Caleb was going to begin his life as a famous explorer, visiting the most remote and unknown regions of the globe, along with his heroes, having the most exciting and unbelievable stories to tell... and he was not going to wait until noon to become a star! He was sick and tired of the climate and the lack of adventure and the mighty hunger he had been suffering for the last month, so a lame excuse like safety and some fictional stories about spirits and stuff would not be an obstacle between him and his ultimate dream.

The path kept going deeper and deeper into the jungle, and at times it was completely lost in between the trunks and the huge roots of the trees, that created a maze. Luckily, Caleb was a skilled explorer, and quickly noticed that there were some stone figurines that signaled the way. Or at least that was what he had noticed along the way, and his suspicions were confirmed after several kilometers and deep into the jungle where suddenly the trees stopped growing, and right in the middle of a clearing, covered by grasses and bushes, there was a stone construction. To any person, the construction would pass as a plain pile of stones, but for Caleb it was clear that once it was a great and mighty Pyramid of an unknown and long forgotten god.

The stone construction stood there, mighty and covered in sparse vegetation, some shrubs growing right from the creases on the walls, and grasses that made up the floor of each of the stories of the pyramid. Apparently, the only entrance was located at the very top of the ruins, where the stones were arranged in a way that they reminded pillars surrounding a clear doorway to the interior of an ancient temple or shrine of sorts.

The fox arrived panting to the top of the construction. Being on a forced diet really dwindled your stamina, the fox thought. But that was too little of an obstacle to keep the explorer from stepping into the pyramid. He grabbed a small and sturdy branch laying nearby, probably from one of the trees growing in between the cracks of the stone, and using his survival skills and knowledge, turned it into an improvised torch, which would be perfect for finding his way inside the stone construction. Sure it wasn't nearly as effective as a flashlight, but he couldn't risk being discovered back at camp looking for supplies on his own. Besides, the torch made him look even more adventurous and fearless of any peril he might encounter.

Fearless, he repeated in his own head. Fearless. Fearless. Fearless. Again and again, the words echoed in his mind the same way his steps echoed in the deep alleys of the pyramid. He took his first steps into the unknown world hidden by years upon years of silence and mystery, ready to be unveiled by him and none other: the Fearless Caleb! The fox then disappeared from an early morning jungle into the dark and humid hallway, leaving behind the sound of birds beginning to rise into the skies and the few droplets of morning dew that moistened the vegetation, slowly making his way covered by the limited light casted by his improvised torch that barely could detail the contours and silhouettes of some eroded stones, partly covered by a thick bed of moss that hid runes, runes that warned him all the way, though in a long forgotten language.

Don't look at me that way! What can I say? He had been warned.
__________________________________________________________________________

In all his excitement, he lost track of the time he had spent inside the construction. He barely remembered why he had entered in the first place. But sure he was happy. Anyone could tell. He had that kid-before-Christmas look in his face. Everything was fascinating. The walls, the murals, the tools, the ceremonial vases, the statues, the cloths, the pottery... In the fox's eyes, every little object told a story, and right now he was immerse in one of the most fantastic novels he had ever seen. And it was all for him to enjoy.

He raised his torch once again, verifying its length and the fire on its tip, before optimistically deciding that he still had plenty of time before he had to find his way out of the stone construction. He continued walking checking the floor tiles for any hidden trap-triggers and other potential dangers he so often watched and learned from explorer movies when he was younger, but so far, he had encountered none. Perhaps they were just inventions for spicing up the plot in films and not an actual thing... What a disappointment! Regardless, he still checked loose floor tiles and made his way around with caution. He wouldn't like to end up stuck at the temple after all!

The deeper he explored into the ancient ruins the most interesting the murals and the paintings became, depicting scenes not only from everyday life, but also from rituals and ancient celebrations, and they just got clearer and clearer, since humidity and erosion had not yet arrived this far deep into the pyramid. Caleb was no expert in ancient mesoamerican anthropology, those were the nerdy guys back at camp, but he did have some general knowledge on the customs and traditions of these cultures. He knew for instance that the ancient civilization was characterized for being theocratic and polytheistic, with a number of different deities each dedicated to one of the aspects of everyday life. He could remember some of the most important ones, for sure, but each time a temple was discovered the list of different gods grew bigger and bigger. There was of course, Huchilopoztli, the war god and of course the main god for the aztec culture, and Tlaloc, the rain god, and there was another one... The god of culture and arts: the feathered snake. What was its name again? He had it in the very tip of his tongue. It was something with Q, for sure. Que... something.

"Come on fox, think. Think for god sake!"

The explorer tossed away any sense of caution and slammed his fist against one of the seemingly unremarkable walls of the construction, only to yelp back and see how the stone bricks, one by one, disappeared into the wall, as if they fell back, but without making a single noise, revealing a hidden passage.

Caleb, mute and astonished at the sudden revelation could only marvel at the discovery. The gap in the stone was barely wide enough to let a anyone into the hidden chamber; the explorer, eager to see and unveil new mysteries immediately crawled into it. The space was completely different compared to the rest of the pyramid. Instead of plain stone bricks, the walls were made up of carved solid rock with a single yet majestically detailed bas-relief covering the entire room. The spacious chamber was square shaped with a ceiling that rested well above the entrance, since it wasn't lit by the torch; the floor, made up of individual tiles, in between which some herbs and mosses sprouted from the crevices in between them. High up in the wall, about 15 or 20 meters from the ground level, right across the entrance was a small square-shaped window, from which a small sliver of light came in coming from the rising sun, which was not enough to illuminate the chamber. Thankfully, Caleb's torch was still fully and bright enough to cover the whole room in a warm light, which only accentuated even more the mystique atmosphere. The fox raised his torch to light up the opposite face of the chamber, where the most impressive part of the carving could be appreciated. There it was. There was no doubt this was the very core of the temple and the ultimate religious center of the ruins: the altar to the great and powerful feathered snake: Quetzalcoatl.

That was its name! A smug smile appeared across his face as he walked towards the carved wall, almost tripping with a pile of random derbies, probably chipped stones, some pottery and religious ornaments. He made a mental note to come back and check on them for some valuable jewelry later. Right now he had to see the majestic stone representation of the god. The snake-like being slithered from the bottom and towards the ceiling of the chamber, describing a tight undulating motion that covered most of the wall, only leaving space for more ancient runes and other carved details, most likely with an unknown religious meaning. It was certainly a sight to behold.

The fox turned around, and yelped at yet another surprise. Right in front of him, at a mere couple of inches from his own snout, there was a bare skull smiling devilishly at him.

He had never believed in spirits, nor had he seen any in all of his explorations, but there it was. There was no denying it... Or was it all a product of his excited imagination? How could he be sure?

"¡Hola! ¿Estás perdido?" The skull said, still with the toothy grin on his face —err skull. Then he said to himself. "Tal vez no habla español... Umm... Hello there!"

The fox looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Eyes wide as dishes and completely tense from head to toe. He didn't dare to move even though the spirit was uncomfortably close to his face.

After all, the boney figure was a ghost...

Or so it seemed at least. How do I know? Well that's simple. I was the boney figure.

"W-Who are y-you?" The fox mumbled in fear.

"That's a good question... Maybe I should ask the same, don't you think?" I retreated a bit so that I could see him completely. Yeah, he would do just fine. "But let's cut to the chase and go right to what we want. You know. The important questions. After all, you are the one who is not from around here, wouldn't you agree?" I went around the frightened explorer to assess my next decision. It was now or never, Tzin, now or never, and you have nothing to lose. "So tell me, are you hungry? I bet you are! You look like you could use some meat on those bones!" (Look who's speaking!) I said trying my best to hide the devilish smile I had all across my face, without a significant success. "I'll tell you what. How about we make a deal: I'll prepare a meal for you to enjoy, and before you go back, you will help me out of this temple. It's been a while since I last saw the outside world, you see. What do you say?" I said floating right in front of the fox offering my open claw.

A loud gurgle flooded the chamber and echoed in the walls and the tall ceiling. The explorer was not only hungry, but completely starved! Things just kept getting better and better.

"So what do you say, my adventurous friend? No explorer can be such with an empty stomach!" I knew his gut was all in, the question was if he was going to pay attention to his appetite. Nevertheless, I was not going to accept a 'no' for an answer.

"S-Sure! It's a deal!" The fox closed the deal and shook my claw with his paw, smiling at the idea of filling his belly with a meal. Oh! If he only knew...

"That 's what I wanted to hear, amigo!" The rush of joy that I felt product of the hope of finally getting to see the world after decades was barely a match to the heat that enveloped each and everyone of my bones, as new flesh coated my spirit form. Green scales covering my entire body with a cream-colored underbelly and a plain stripe of lighter green separating the two areas. Finally, a colorful set of feathers spurted out of my skull, yellow orange and red, replacing the feather-work crown I had worn the last god-knows-how-many years. The sensation of power and magic was absolutely exhilarating. I could almost taste the excitement.

Talking about tasting...

Now, provided with the ancient magic emanating from the ruins themselves, I was ready to begin the feast of a lifetime. Grabbing a couple of big bowls of pottery from those piled up towards the walls, I filled them with a quick snack, just to warm up, with some of my favorites: a full three pounds of fried tortilla triangles covered in a healthy dose of melted cheese, along with just as many beans, everything topped up with jalapeños and diced tomato... Those were true nachos.

Hungry as the fox was, he quickly grabbed the bowls I offered him, and forgetting about any value the half-a-century-old pieces of pottery could have had, he raised them over his head and poured its contents directly into his mouth, tossing any sense of care and manners out of the window. The fried tortilla strips jumped and danced in the air filling the chamber with a gentle and echoing rattle before they, themselves, started their own expedition to explore the explorer's depths. Gulp after gulp, the bountiful appetizer was reduced to simple stains of cheese in the bowls and a prolonged burp coming from my savior's maw.

"You surely need something to wash all that cheese down your throat! Here, let this humble spirit aid you, mister." I refilled the bowls with some more nachos for the fox to keep on glutting with his same hungry pace. It seemed like the fox barely realized he finished up both bowls in under a couple of minutes and now was eagerly waiting some more. Filling the fox was sure going to be a real challenge! A challenge that I was, of course, honored to assume.

After another couple of bowls of equal size and even thicker composition, I decided to give some variety to the fox's meal, as I kept the appetizers coming, as a warmup for the actual feast. This was yet another warning at which the fox remained oblivious. Talking about oblivious, after the first entrée, his clothes sure weren't as baggy as they were when he came into the temple. His vest was already open, in order to allow air to freshen up his torso in the hot humid weather, making it look like it fit even looser around the originally rail-thin fox. Now however, if he were to button it up, he would find that the once simple act of wrapping it around his midsection would not be all that easy, mostly due to the slight paunch forming right over his now constraining belt. Foxy, oh foxy when are you gonna learn that if you keep eating so much it is all gonna go right to your gut! The evil grin appeared once again across my face. A grand offering for the temple's god: barely started.

Moments later, a continuous list of appetizers were eagerly consumed by the fox, everything from half a dozen plain quesadillas to almost a liter of frijoles charros (beans stewed up with sausage, jalapeños, chorizo and some other spices/condiments). The fox ate anything and everything he was offered, not even asking what it was. And I couldn't be any happier to comply into the greed and endless appetite of the explorer fox.

The question was: was it really endless?

Don't let that worried expression fool you, he is halfway done digesting the appetizers and in no time he will be just as ravenous as before! Belly-rubs and a bit of magic may have aided the process, I won't deny it, but my hero sure doesn't mind indulging and treating himself after such an important discovery, am I right? After all, the main course —courses, mind you— can only get better than the appetizers! And what a better way to open this second round of the feast than with the epitome of Mexican food: the taco. Or even better a whole array of any thinkable taco in existence! Plates upon plates of delicious tortilla filled glory with their tantalizing smell impregnating every crevice and corner of the room. With cheese, without it, with coriander and diced onion, or hot sauce, drenched in lime juice and guacamole, marinated and accompanied with pineapple pieces, with sliced tomato or chipotle... Endless combinations that just kept being stuffed, not completely in a voluntary manner, by the already-more-than-chubby fox.

"Come on, don't tell me you are full! Please! This is barely enough to show you how grateful I am that you came to rescue my poor soul." I said hiding my evil smirk behind an innocent lip-trembling expression. It worked.

"URRRPP!! Okay! Just a couple... No more!"

"What's that? The walls kept echoing only that last word. More you say? Alright coming right up!" That's how I managed to turn the 'couple' into a couple dozen, and then some! "I can't take the risk of letting my only chance to escape this prison to faint of starvation on our way out! Now let me help you get more comfortable. You appear to be in pain!" I said slipping my claw in between his softening round belly and the leather belt that remained tightly buckled yet in the verge of bursting. And so it did. Even before I pulled or applied any force whatsoever, the contraption simply blew off, and the adipose-saturated abdomen of our truly brave fox sagged forward, futilely contained by his fingerless glove-clad furry paw. The sudden snap of the belt didn't went unnoticed by the fox, who appeared more and more fearsome about being fed by the draconic spirit. The explorer took advantage of the wardrobe malfunction to stop the flow of food and face the ghost-like being directly. His experience told him that in order to come out of this mess on his own, he would have to play rough.

"WAIT!" The vulpine shouted, making the specter flinch and turn to face him. "There is something that is just wrong about this all. You aren't a god, am I right? Because if you were, you would have no reason to escape this place? You are an impostor and this is just a setup! You don't even look like a feathered snake..."

"Okay! Okay! Calm down! Now, let me explain this all. I'll tell you nothing but the truth, but you'll have to promise that you'll do anything; ANYTHING I need to get out of this place."

"But..."

"PROMISE!"

"Alright! You win... I promise! Jeez!"

I took a deep breath —even though ghosts don't need to breathe— and started my narration. "You see, it was a long time ago. A really, really long time ago: with an actual Mexican dragon: a true feathered snake, the great Quetzatli. The last impersonator of the mighty god Quetzalcoatl. You see, I've heard you say that ancient cultures were theocratic, or governed by gods, because their activities revolved around keeping gods happy. But the thing is that is only half of the story. Truth is that the gods we make the offerings for are not just mindsets or inventions, they are real!"

"What do you...?" The fox interrupted.

"Silence! I'll get to that in a moment!" I exclaimed, annoyed, and snapped my jaw right in front of The explorer's snout. "As I said, gods are real, they are mortals who when elected, chosen, or designed, they acquire not only royal and sacred duties but also mystical powers that allow them to govern and rule to their best extent. They become gods so long as the people believe in them. So as I said, the great Quetzatli was chosen to be the god of culture and arts, the god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake. And he assumed his role and for many years he ruled the aztec territories with justice and generosity. But one day, another god, the god of war Huichilopoztli, envious of the tributes the snake god was being given because of his success as a kind leader of the aztec territories, he tricked the god. He plotted a plan where he magically disguised himself as the feathered snake and ordered the chiefs to gather a feast to celebrate Quetzatli's success. But the evil god requested too much food, leaving many hungry, but still happy to contribute. Long story short, in the end, Quetzatli was left with two choices, either he sinned by wasting the time and effort of the people who worked to offer such a great feast, or he sinned of being a glutton and eating the food that would otherwise feed those in need. He chose the latter, not wanting to see their people working in vain, and the story goes that he ate so much that he was never the same slim snake he once was; but the shame he felt after failing to be an example of life for the towns across his domains was far too much to simply forget, and instead decided that he was no longer qualified to rule, and left the throne and exiled himself. He promised he would come back when the people, but more importantly himself, had learned the lesson and left towards east. For all we know he has never come back."

"I'm sorry... I don't see how that story relates with you or with anything, for that matter... That is just part of the ancient mythology, isn't it? Just another fairy tale."

"Well, perhaps that's because that is just half of the story." I said laying back in the air as if reclining on a couch, and placing my claws in my distended belly... Wait... Is this supposed to happen? Huh... Never mind, I'll deal with it later. "Turns out that if you start going east from here you will, eventually arrive to the Old World, you know, Europe. Quetzatli did so, and managed to make his way across the Atlantic. Little did he know that he had just jumped out of the pan and into the oven, since back in the day, during good ole sixteenth century, the most popular hobby of both knights and soldiers was chasing out and slaying... You guessed it! Dragons. And to anybody with a metal helmet and little to no knowledge about American species, Quetzatli was a dragon as good as any other. And he was chased. He was injured and he was forced to disappear even further into the anonymity and into the terrain of fantasy. Until one day, across the woods of Wild Eastern Europe he found another survivor. Another dragon. Or rather, a beautiful dragoness. Not entirely antropomorphic yet completely civilized, they got along really well, despite their physical appearances and distinct origins. It was pure love at first sight..."

"When did this turn from being a mythic story to a romantic comedy... Come on!"

"¡Cállate! ¡Silencio! ¡Silencio! SILENCE!! Interrupt me one more time and you will pay the consequences! And believe me, you don't want to do it!" He said having enough of his annoying interruptions, he stretched out for a clay dish from nearby and filled it with some delicious looking enchiladas, throwing them to the fox and stuffing half of one of the sauce-drenched chicken-filled slightly fried tortillas into the mouth of the inpatient explorer. "All right, lets speed up things... Where was I? Oh right! They met, they liked each other and they decided to live together. They even did so much as have a child. But the situation was getting harder and harder around the globe for the last remaining dragons, even as the Middle Age came to a gradual end. Besides raising a child sure put them to the test. But they succeeded and formed a family in some remote village of some remote place in the old world. They told the little creature about faraway lands and untold adventures. Time passed, the little dragon grew bigger and more eager for knowledge, knowledge that was no longer available within the limited possibilities of his town. But their parents refused to have any contact with the outside world, fearsome about how society might respond to the reptilian family. The constant reluctance from his parents just helped to feed the young's dreams of one day visiting those far away lands that his father talked so much about. And one day, it was just too much, his thirst for knowledge was far too strong and guided by a stubborn and childish dream, the small dragon left on a long and dangerous trip back west, undoing the path his father had made in an attempt to keep him and his family safe. And so, after some years of struggling to live alone, he managed to arrive to the New World: America. He had little experience but lots of useful knowledge, and the energy to be part of adventurous expeditions, much like you, nosey fox." I said looking as the explorer ate the last of his enchiladas and slurped down he spicy, yet not-hot-enough-to-burn sauce, down his gullet. "Once, he was researching by himself and found this particular temple. He stepped in, but in the moment his claws touched the stone floors, the door shut and some sort of stored magic was released up onto him. He has been trapped in here ever since, loosing his physical form and just remaining in an ethereal plane of existence... His name, Dragontzin, son of Quetzatli, the feathered snake, trapped in here five centuries ago, unable to escape... And hopefully free thanks to you."

The fox tossed his plate aside and patted his bloated midsection, trying to adjust his vest as well as he could, only achieving to pop and tighten some seams here and there. Admittedly, he now saw the green draconic phantom from a new perspective, but still...

"There are some things that I don't fully understand yet."

"Go ahead, ask away."

"First: why would the temple trap you and nobody else? Did you ever try to escape from it?"

"Are you kidding me? I try to exit this goddamn pyramid every time I can. It has almost become my hobby. But I just cant. Now about why it chose me, according to the runes in the murals, this temple has built to honor my father. When the tribe was being chased down by the conquering spaniards, they wanted to at least preserve the place so that if he ever came back, he would be received in a place where he could ultimately stay, and possess enough magic to satisfy himself. That was in theory... However the temple didn't contemplate what would happen if the former god had a child and he stumbled upon the very temple his father was worshiped in. Somehow the temple identified me as my father, but only partially, so it provided me with the power and magic, allowing me to be immortal yet not entirely alive."

"Sounds fair enough... Umm, second: why do you have to feed me? I think I've had enough, yet you keep pushing more food down my throat. I mean, yeah, I am also happy that you will finally be free, but you don't have to bloat me up to the size of a whale!"

The evil grin made its way back to my face. "Well, you see... According to the murals and the runes in this pyramid, there is no abortion program for the welcoming of a god —whether or not you actually are a god—, but there is a way you can channel the magic and grant a single wish: any wish, and turns out it involves a 'grand sacrifice'. Don't take it the wrong way, but when you came in you weren't even close to half grand enough. Butdon't worry; a bit of magical food should do the trick... And speaking of food, you are still pretty much under the limits of a worthy offering." And before the fox could even so much as stutter a reply, a gigantic burrito was crammed into his maw. "No more questions, I presume?" I posed rhetorically pushing the thick tortilla tube further into his greedy mouth.

The feast continued with thirds, as I stuffed the fox with plenty of delicious meals. Burritos were followed by doughy tamales, only to be proceeded by some chiles rellenos. The flow of food kept going, as I was completely concentrated in not loosing the rhythm and filling up my innocent foxy before it was too late...

But before I knew it, while preparing yet another batch of thick sour cream coated sopes, I had ran out of main course ideas and I was only left with my favorite part: dessert. Time was running out and the sun was already projecting low upon the chamber wall, filling it with a reddish hue. I was really impressed that the fox had managed to eat non-stop —sure, aided with some magic— but still continuously, up until now. One could tell he was full though. He was reduced, or rather augmented, into a pile of rolls, stacked one on top of another, stretching his clothes beyond their utmost limits and opening gaps and tears all far and wide... yet mostly wide. He was at this point as wide as he was tall and he still needed to eat dessert, of course. No vulpine explorer would go hungry under my watch! The only pieces of clothing that still clung to his obese body were his overtaxed boxers and his ripped-open gloves, only held together by some leather straps. But not for long.

"Please! I beg of you! Stop! Make it stop! I can't eat another bite!" The explorer whimpered making his double chin jiggle and squeeze against the tire of fat that hid his neck now permanently. A mighty burp escaped from his depths. Quaking the entire room.

"Come on, honorable guest! You wouldn't like me to force you to indulge even more, now would you? So be a good fox and eat some more? Come on! How much can a small dessert hurt?" I chuckled. There was no way he would ever loose all the weight anyway, so why not indulge some more?

So dessert was served. And he sure enjoyed it despite having eaten enough food to feed an army, and then some. Sweet, sugary, deep-fried churros, thick sour cream soaked strawberries, traditional ice cream of a variety of flavors, doughy cream filled and chocolate covered pastries among others were both willingly and unwillingly devoured by the explorer finally leaving him grounded and unable to eat even the smallest of crumbs.

Now that's what I call a worthy offering.

Time had come. I felt it. The sun shone through the window up high on the wall, a sudden gust of wind reached into the chamber and ruffled both the fox's fur and my feathers. In the distance, a loud thunder stroke a tree. Yeah, gods like drama. A lot. I looked down at my body, which unbeknown to me, had bloated up and filled just like my offering's. Now sporting a large round midsection sagging over my waist. I tried to find an explanation for the sudden bloating, but. I was interrupted by a flash of light that encased me and forced my eyes to close instinctively. My body shifted and changed, actual flesh consolidated over my arms and my torso while I developed a pair of legs and a tail. I had a tail! My eyes were no longer plain glowing yellow orbs but real eyes with brown irises and thin slits for pupils. The warm light that surrounded me gradually faded, leaving me standing on the cold stone ground. The diversity of sensations were almost too many to handle, but the greatest input was a strong tugging forward. Not used to what standing felt like after five hundred years of floating around freely, I failed to realize that the tugging came from the gravitational pull from the ground towards my ample belly... So strong indeed that it made me stumble forward and come crashing with all my immensity against the floor and, in consequence toppling the young fox as well. And just as soon as I sprawled across the chamber tiles, it struck me: "in order to complete the petition, the wisher will inevitably and irreversibly acquire the offering's most notorious trait". Runes never lie.

I rolled over in order to evaluate my new mortal form, sitting back against the wall of soft vulpine blubber. My body was not that different than his though, if anything a tad smaller. A round soft squishy belly in the center of it all, filling not only my lap but a whole sphere with a diameter of over two feet in front of me, crowned with an equally soft chest, so heavy at it made it difficult to take in deep breaths in the warm air inside the chamber. My arms laid stranded to my sides, sinking slightly into the belly of the now-too-fat-to-be-an-explorer fox. Behind the wall of flab that jutted forward from my abdomen, I knew there were somewhere underneath it all, a couple of meaty thunder thighs, as well as some jiggly calves ending in claws, even though I could not see them past my gut. I knew it because despite being swollen with fat, I could still wiggle my toes. It was a pleasurable experience to be really alive again, and about the fat, well... I think I could get used to it... I poked one of my love handles feeling it sink in the soft flesh: real flesh. Skin and bones —and fat too, lots of it. It was me who finally broke the silence after my transformation.

"I think I might have gone a bit too far..."

"No kidding?" The fox replied in a clearly sarcastic and unamused tone.

Perhaps the explorer had been warned, but ultimately, I had been warned about 500 years earlier. Yes, I had been warned.

The only thing left to do was to wait for some rescue... And wish they brought food with them.

I promise this time, I won't fatten them up.