"No, no no- Stop it!"

Lumi swung down to a crouch, arms wrapped as tightly as she could manage around her shoulders. Her grip was so tense, she could feel her muscles straining painfully from elbow to shoulder. But it wasn't helping.

"Please, don't do this; let me stay in control. I don't want to- don't wanna..."

Clenching her eyes shut, the Sneasel dared not look out and watch the frigid white landscape vanishing beneath her toes. Not at the arctic clouds unleashing endless waves of invisibly tiny snowflakes onto her pelt, easily sneaking through her fur and clothing to assault her skin with ice. And especially not at the terrifyingly close darkness above her head, pulling nearer and nearer and nearer and nearer and-

"STOP IT!"

Her hands clutched her head, massive claws lancing through her cap and ruffling her hair as she tried to beat some focus into herself. She had to fight back, had to win here, had to get under control!

"P-Please... I'm begging you, s-stop it..."

Crystalline chunks of frozen ice spread out from her eyelids as her tears froze on contact with her cold, cold skin. At this point, she felt like she was even colder than the air around her, her own plummeting temperature eating away at her last vestiges of self-control.

"Stooooooop..."

A rising lurch in her stomach told her in no uncertain terms that the battle was over. It felt sort of like the planet beneath her was jumping away from her own paws, pressing away in an attempt to escape from the relentlessly growing girl whose toes were covering entire continents from border to border.

Lumi couldn't beg herself to stop growing any more. All she could do was sob in fear and misery.


The once-steady spread of cold over her body was replaced by a blast of total absence of heat. The void of space clutched at her every limb, reaching into her and yanking away every last iota of warmth and comfort and hope and dispersing them across blackness. All that was left was an infinite expanse of lifeless chill, so unimaginably cold that Lumi knew she would never, ever, ever be able to control her growth agai-I've got you!

Lumi grabbed the voice with all the strength she could wrangle from her exhausted muscles. She buried her head in their body, curled her legs up and against their thighs, shivered helplessly against their powerful arms. "Help me! Please! Please!" ... And, to her absolute shock, she stopped growing.

There, there, little Lumimyrsky. There, there. I've got you. You're safe. Both you, and everyone around you. There's no need to be afraid any more...

"B-But I... H-How... I didn't mean to!"

Strong fingers slid through the Sneasel's hair and over her shoulders, working away the swiftly-built tension they'd gathered during her attempts to hug her own body into submission. A massive tuft of fluffy fur- it reminded her a bit of those incredibly thick Piloswine blankets some of her friends owned, but where those were rough and coarse, this was fine and plush- curled around her entire body, warm and cozy strands too numerous to count almost seeming to weave their way into a blanket around her. I know, Little Lumi. Don't worry. I'm very proud of you for trying so hard to help, even knowing the danger. You truly are a wonderful young woman. This wasn't your fault. There's no way you could have known just how cold that blizzard truly was...

"'L-Little Lumi?'" In spite of herself, the Sneasel managed a weak chuckle, although it was broken with a few final sobs and a terrified crackle in her voice. "I... I outgrew my entire planet... I'm too big to ever even live on my own w-world ag-ag-agai-ahhhhh..." She shook her head in the woman's belly fur as she broke into tears once more, trying not to think about her family, her friends, her fellow villagers, all of them never to be anything but unseen specks to her from now on...

I'll help you, Lumimyrsky. I'll make sure you get back to normal. You'll be back with everyone you care about soon. I promise you. Again, the woman's hands slid across Lumi's body, drawing out the pain and worry and replacing it with a soothing heat that spread across her dark fur.

"B-But... How?" For the first time since she'd realized she had lost control of her growth, Lumi's eyes slowly peeked open. Black fur greeted her gaze, framed by a warm-hued orange and stripes of the same shiny black, with huge sprawling fields of soft yellow forming vast tufts. "Who... What are you?"

My name is Karin, my dear Lumi, the woman said, her soothing voice coming just as much from the void around the duo as it was from her muzzle. I'm here to help you. I just couldn't stand to see you hurting like this. I thought you might want some help-

"Thank you!" Lumi pulled the fluffy canine even closer, reinvigorated by this chance to rest. "I-I don't know what I'd have done, I-I just couldn't stop, couldn't-"

There, there, you're safe now, don't worry! Karin patted her on the back once more. We'll get everything sorted out soon enough, back to normal and good as new. But for now, just relax. Let yourself calm down and recover. You'd been through a lot, little Lumimyrsky, and your body and mind both need a chance to catch up.

"I... I... Th-Thank you." Focusing on easing her grip, slowing her breathing, wiping away her tears, Lumi slowly relaxed and looked out at the dark and empty space around herself. Now that she wasn't growing uncontrollably... It did actually look sort of pretty, out here. And the earth was so small, so cute... Almost like a little snowglobe floating before her.

Take as long as you need. It's no trouble at all, honest. I'll be with you until you're back home, safe and sound.

"O-Okay. I... I guess I do need a few minutes to- Wait- NO! Oh no, Miss Karin!" Lumi snapped upright, eyes wide and heart racing.

What is it, Lumi?!

"Th-That hiker! The one I set out to rescue! He's still stuck down there in the mountains, I-I need to get small again so I can-"

With a gentle laughter that penetrated deep into Lumi's heart, Karin leaned down and nuzzled the girl's head. Lumimyrsky, dear angel, you're so wonderful! You really never can stop thinking about others, can you? I'm so very proud of you! But you don't need to worry. I've already made sure they got home safely.

"O-Oh. Uh, thank you again," Lumi mumbled with an embarrassed blush. "Given everything else you've done so far, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised..."

It's all right! Karin giggled, wrapping her enormous cushy tail around Lumi and snuggling her closer than ever. Really, I should be thanking you! It's such an honor and a privilege for me to help a beautifully kind young woman like yourself. You'd make a wonderful goddess.

"Thank you! ... I think?" Lumi shrugged, and let herself settle comfortably against Karin's fluffy form. "Do you mind if... Y'know... We just rest here for a bit? Watch the stars and planets and not think about anything bad or scary?"

Resting her muzzle on Lumi's head affectionately, Karin confirmed, take as long as you like, Lumi dear. Take as long as you like.

Story by  VDO

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This is an absolutely wonderful picture by the extremely talented RaikaDeLaNoche. It was a joint commission by myself and VDO containing Lumimyrsky and Karin. Lumi is a guardian who protects her Svalbardian village of Frystökebyen. She has a condition where she can freely change her height, but when exposed to extremely cold temperatures she finds it increasingly harder to NOT grow - as such, she has a fear of growing so big that she will hit a "point of no return", completely unable to stop herself from growing endlessly.

Unfortunately it seems that she's just hit that point while trying to save a lost hiker - fortunately there's someone who specialises in warmth waiting for her.

Raika did an outstanding job with this, both characters and their expressions look amazing, and the way that Lumi is clinging onto Karin is just adorable.

Also much credit to VDO for the writeup for this one. He did a great job with capturing Lumi's fear of growth in the most adorable way!


Karin belongs to  VDO

Drawn by  RaikaDeLaNoche in May 2014

You can view the original by clicking here

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This art was drawn by another artist. If you're looking for my art, check out stampy.