Deep within the marshes of Larbordale, Lexal struggles toward a remote knoll with the intent of securing a valuable emerald. He knows he'll need to face some form of challenge, but he has no inclination as to what it might be. After forging through the Lowlands for hours on end, he's greeted with a villainous leopard. Theo offers a simple challenge for the intrepid explorer: consume one little reed bass and he'll hand over the gem. The only catch is a slight size adjustment, one that makes the simple little reed bass far more filling and fattening than he could imagine.

Story/Theo©

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Lowland Lard
Featuring: Lexal and Theo
By: hdalby33

Lexal yawned after the long day’s exploring, stretching the kinks from his striped back and gently creasing his light leather-ware. The tall, muscled fish had been out and about for several hours in the lowlands of Larbordale, trekking through clutches of reed and marshland. The Lowlands were not known for their abundance of treasures, but rather a rare few that were only attainable through longer, arduous journeys.

He was headed for a remote island in the sea of mud and grass, a knoll crowned with three large trees. It was only a kilometer or so off now, set against a gorgeous horizon of crimson and orange. Sloshing forward, the intrepid explorer shook the clog of mud forming around his clawed feet and forged onward, getting lost in the drone of the mud-mites and reed crickets spread over the soft green land.

When he finally breached the welcoming shores of the island, Lexal felt as though he were about to pass out. He scrambled up a stout bank covered in dead leaves and more mud, fighting the soreness in his muscular arms and thighs. With his intent set upon cresting the little hump of earth and reed, Lexal failed to notice the figure leaned up under the shadow of one of the trees. Spattered in mud and cloudy fur, Theo seemed to blend with the trunk and it was only his yellow eyes that shone through the camouflage. And they were staring directly at the struggling shark.

With a final grunt, the well-built explorer flopped atop the knoll like a beached whale, draping himself over the thick fingers of roots and panting. He still hadn’t noticed the cat, whose tail flicked placidly on the rim of the tree’s shadows. A large platter woven from bark and reed rested against Theo’s thigh. It held a small reed bass, colored deep green with a white belly and black spots. The scent of the fish was what caught Lexal’s attention, snapping his pointed snout towards the leopard so quickly, Theo thought he would pull a muscle.

The shark jumped at the sight of the feline, before sheepishly rubbing his neck for seeming startled. “H-hey there Theo. Long time, no see…”

“Mmmm, long time indeed.” The cloud leopard sat forward, wrapping his arms around his knees, “I see you still smell the food first, then the threat.”

Lexal narrowed his black and blue eyes, “Hey! I can’t help my instincts!” He rubbed his iron-hard middle, “Plus it’s a long trek out here, and there’s the marshlands and…”

“And you’re a glutton,” Theo yawned.

The explorer flushed and began to clamber to his feet. “You know, from what I heard from Tyrex, you weren’t so light on your feet recently either.”

A hard light settled on the feline’s features. “That bears no importance now.” He motioned to the bass where it gleamed wetly like a soft emerald, “As to why you’re here…now there is something of interest. If you want this trip to be worth your while, you’ll need to embrace that predatory appetite of yours and consume this fish.”

Lexal almost choked on laughter. The reed bass was a sliver over one foot in length, no wider around than his wrist, and freshwater sushi to boot. Theo let him chortle for a couple moments longer, the cat’s maniacal grin never wavering. Lexal began to soften his snorts and giggles, his leather hoodie flexing against his abs rhythmically.

“Hehe…heh…there’s a catch isn’t there?”

“Yep!”

The shark groaned, eyeing the little fish again. Now his curiosity had been piqued. He would’ve scarfed down the reed bass even if it offered nothing more than a respite from the hunger gnawing at his belly. Only the devious leopard hovering over it stopped him. “Soooo…what’s the catch?”

Theo grinned wide and produced a crystalline disk from the air. It glittered with small ruins, refracting multicolored beams around the dark brown knoll. Spinning it on one claw, Theo pointed to the shark. “You’ll see.”

A flash of light filled Lexal’s vision and the world went dark. The next time he awoke, he was entrenched in a leather cavern.

He shoved his muscular shoulder against the dark walls, trying to figure out where he was. The wall of the cavern rustled softly, shifting aside to expose some light. A beam of light pierced a large hole in the ceiling of the chamber, before a large yellow eye filled it. Instantly Lexal knew what’d happened. “You shrank me?” he demanded in a squeaky voice.

“Yes, a little shrunken shark. Much more manageable this way.” Theo reached in with a massive silver paw and wrapped it around Lexal’s broad waist, before pulling him into the light. The shark was relieved to discover his soft brown pants had been spared. “And quite adorable, I must say.” The leopard gave his sides a squeeze, making Lexal squeak involuntarily. “Veerrry adorable.”

“Hey!” Lexal wriggled, his tail thrashing and his powerful torso flexing as he struggled. Theo only squeezed tighter, getting another squeak.

“Come now, you’re experienced enough to know that does no good.” The cat chided. Lexal folded his arms and huffed. “Good, little fish. Now,” Theo turned to the platter, “About that reed bass.”

Lexal eyed the fish. It seemed massive now, almost as long as he was tall and thick around as his muscular waist. Gently, Theo dropped the mini-adventurer on the damp grass next to the platter. The roots seemed to rise up on all sides to Lexal, as though he’d been plunged into a wooden canyon. Clambering over the roots athletically, Lexal vaulted clear over the platter, swung around Theo’s leg, and curled into a graceful flip before landing in a roll on a smooth stone.

Theo cocked an eyebrow, impressed. “Well done little shark, but let us see how graceful you are once this adorable little belly,” he ran his claws over Lexal’s chiseled white chest, “Is heavy with fish.”

The shark flushed and pushed the intruder away, his inch-thick tail swishing angrily. “Stop that, you butt! I’ll eat the damned fish!” He stalked over to the bass, ignoring Theo’s chuckles, and eyed the fish. It looked like the ultimate sushi, speckled with emerald scales and a soft white underbelly not unlike his own. Lexal was almost pleased when his own ripped abdomen gurgled hungrily. That would make it far easier.

Lexal felt a soft prod in his exposed back. Turning swiftly, the bare-chested shark looked up to the lithe leopard who was draping himself among the roots as only a cat could. Theo plopped his chin in his paw and extended his luxuriously fluffed tail around the shark’s waist, tickling the shark’s beefy body. “Once you’ve finished, the item you seek shall be delivered.”

The shark shivered from the fuzzy embrace, as if he were being hugged by a warm breeze. “And you expect me to trust you? As a mini-shark?”

Theo feigned offense, adopting a hurt look. “Well of course. My only intent is to see your little waistline swell. I might play with you a bit, get another squeak or two out of you…” he tightened his tail, receiving a small ‘eep’ from the tiny explorer who turned bright red and glared huffishly back at him, “…But once that’s done, there’s no sense in not releasing you.”

“Uh huh,” Lexal felt the leopard’s tail spin him around toward the fish.

“Now dig in, little shark. I want to see you swell.”

With no other option Lexal stepped forward, placed his paws and teeth on the gleaming scales of the reed bass, and tore a large, bloodless chunk from it. Theo watched idly, spinning his crystal disk in one paw and tapping the roots under him with the other.

The fish was wonderfully refreshing, with a slight metallic tang from it mixed with a wonderful gamey freshness that could only come from marshland fare. It was soft white meat, easy to chew and the thin bones were nothing for the shark’s powerful jaws. His bare hide gleamed in the lowlight, arms and shoulder muscles rippling like eels under his skin where the flexed to dig more and more of the luscious meat from the fat bass.

Theo watched for the first signs of roundness, searching where the muscle packed around Lexal’s waist began to mellow out into handsome layers of padding. Very gently, the clouded cat drew his claws along Lexal’s waist, purring audibly as they sunk into a steadily widening belly.

Shuddering again as the feline’s needle-sharp claws ever so softly pricked his sensitive skin, Lexal crammed another pawful of the succulent meat into his maw. His belly took the brunt of the force. With no hoodie to hold his belly back, it had already begun to bulge and sag gently against his waist, pushing past the serrated muscle of his midriff and forming a pillowy appearance.

Soon that pillowy appearance was fluffed up with lard as the meat lining the reed bass diminished in rapid succession. Lexal was caught in the crosshairs of bliss and uncertainty as he gorged himself, feeling his waist sag heavy with fish and his legs thicken with pudge. He was shocked to find his arms suffer the same fate in such quick fashion, the intricate curves of his biceps becoming one cylindrical curve of shark blubber.

Panting, he forged on, cramming more and more of the tender meat down his powerful neck as it worked overtime. Theo murred as he drew his claws softly around Lexal’s chest, where his pecs had long since submerged under a sea of soft pearl pudge. He rolled it tenderly, gripping Lexal’s engorged form like a toy and feeling the shark’s sides squish gently in his grasp. He couldn’t help a soft ‘awww’ trail from his muzzle as the shark squeaked and hiccupped from an interruption in his intake.

Lexal flushed a vibrant red, and responded by filling his cheeks to the brim with fish and glaring sternly at the cat. That only garnered another enamored sigh from the sleek feline who softened their grip on his blubbery midriff and went about easing the mounting tension in the shark’s marshmallow of a belly.

Lexal panted softly, his belly swollen nicely and draped level with his knees. His arms and sides quivered with the faintest movement, jiggling against Theo’s roaming digits and forming rolls whenever he bent. The stitching of his pants was understandably strained, stretching like a second skin against his rubbery thighs. An impish poke on Theo’s part generated a surprised yelp from the bloated shark when the cat jostled his globular rear.

The heat returned to the mini-shark’s rounded cheeks as he realized just how tightly packed the seat of his pants were. They seemed painted on, squeezing his thick tail relentlessly where it swished and drooped faintly from the blubber weighing it down. Scooping another pawful of fish from the reed bass, he almost failed to notice just how heavy he’d become.

Theo’s paws sunk softly into his belly, rolling it as the shark munched and scritching the rubbery mass with a blissful attentiveness. He’d all but lost his muscular definition, with a ponderous jacket of flab swamping every surface of his body, but strength still remained. Lexal found himself struggling to hold himself upright as his groaning gut pulled heavily toward the ground, yearning to give into gravity. Finally he was forced to succumb, propped up only by Theo’s paw.

With a hearty jiggle, the shark plopped on his knees, his stomach splaying across the cool stone like a melting snowball. He began to inch toward the remainder of the fish, there was still about a third left to go, but Theo simply pushed it closer to him instead.

“I love that moment when one grows to heavy to stand. It means they’re dedicated,” he softly pinched Lexal’s back flab, the white stripes curved like bows along his spine with gentle rolls forming their strings. “Or perhaps the little shark is a glutton,” he added with a giggle as Lexal chowed down, sending his sides bulging laboriously.

Between cheek-swelling mouthfuls the small supple shark grumbled, but he could scarcely deny the claims as his belly practically supported the rest of his heavy frame. He felt as though he’d been strapped to a waterbed, or perhaps a water balloon for the sake of scale. With each minute, the bulging explorer was pulled further and further forward as he gorged on the rich fish.

Theo continuously assuaged and rubbed the little doughball’s sides, alleviating the taut internal pressures and encouraging the pent up calories in Lexal’s belly to layer out his limbs and face. Soon Lexal’s powerful neck merged with his broad chest, collared by a couple of soft chins and flanked by two cheeks as overripe as fresh grapes. Each bite began to crawl down his throat as the stuffed shark teetered on a belly the size of a softball. He was approaching the end of his labor, packed to the gills with bass and extensively layered in rubbery flab. Only Theo’s paw resting along his curved back kept him from rolling over, the strips now thick white bands that seemed to clutch furtively to the dramatic swell of his bulk.

With one final grunt, Lexal stuffed the last of the bass into his maw and swallowed, leaving only a skeletal frame in his wake. Sighing squeakily, the big-bellied shark flopped against his gut, wincing as Theo gently kneaded the succulent flab. “Lovely, little shark. Excellent work.” He lifted the bloated little fish up and cradled him like an overripe melon, before applying another tactical squeeze to Lexal’s swollen sides. A satisfying squeak followed by a light burp followed, while the dazed shark moaned from fullness. He felt as if he were going to burst.

“Now,” Theo hummed, rubbing his captive’s white tummy, “You’re prize.” He continued squeezing and kneading the shark’s engorged gut, treating him like a warm stress ball.

Lexal looked around faintly at the mention of a prize, trying not to purr as Theo’s thumb pressed into his layered bulk and push the pillowy flesh around. “W-here..?” he managed weakly.

“Where is it?” Theo echoed, “Right here.” He presented a small stargazer emerald to the explorer, resting it on the shark’s cushiony chest where it balanced and bobbed precariously. “I suppose I should return you to your usual hulking size,” Theo nuzzled the shark’s belly, making Lexal wince slightly, “But you’re so exceedingly cute at this size. So perhaps not quuuiiite yet.”

The shark turned dark red with rage, suddenly energized by anger. “Oh no you little butt, we had a de-eak!” Theo squeezed his sides, flashing his trademark smirk. Lexal covered his snout, glaring daggers at the insipid leopard.

“You’re in no position to make demands,” the leopard continued to knead the plushy of a fish, gripping and fondling Lexal’s heavy white belly in practiced motions. “One should never bare their belly when trying to be dominant.” He patted the shark’s dome of a middle, dancing one claw down along the rich rolls of Lexal’s side, “Especially a belly of this caliber.”

Lexal folded his arms and huffed, trying not to enjoy the treatment. “Butthead.”

Theo continued to indulge in the shark’s supple form, occasionally squeezing and squeaking the fish and reveling in the growls and glare he received.

For his part, Lexal derived as much pleasure as he could from being handled like a living plush toy, but his patience was thinning with each squeak he involuntarily uttered. As the lean cat rolled his lard swamped sides about, he wasn’t sure if he was uttering a growl or a purr. He figure it was both, as Theo’s paws eased his heavily rounded form to the softness of marshmallow fluff but also treated him as a corpulent kewpie doll.

Finally Lexal seemed to have absorbed the entirety of the leopard’s stress, as the feline gently set him down on the roots once more and produced the crystal disk. “That was nice,” Theo leaned down to pick up the emerald amid the roots and set it next to the heavy shark. “You make a marvelous stress ball.”

Lexal’s black scleral gaze was piercing, “And you’re a big dope. Now change me back!”

The cat chuckled again, appreciating the attitude from the adipose-filled fish, but did as he was bid. A flash of light sliced across Lexal’s vision and the world went black.

When he awoke, Theo was gone. “Figures,” the shark grumbled, struggling to sit upright. “Of course the furball would get a head start.” Panting with effort, the explorer realized it was far tougher to sit up than previously. He then noticed his belly still retained some of its former pudge. Perhaps not the body-beaching proportions of his previous size, but enough for it to roll over his thighs and jiggle at the faintest touch.

The stargazer shone dully in the damp reed, a beautiful gem the diameter of his pinky. Shifting his weight with a groan, Lexal slowly stood and cracked his back, causing his pillowy middle to roll and sag against his spine. After slipping the emerald into his pouch, Lexal struggled into his hoodie once more, welcoming the tight fit as it snugged against his thickened waist.

Mud and reeds spread as far as he could see, laying out the treacherous way back to Larbordale. Lexal did his best to focus on the positive. He’d attained what he’d set out for, and the pudge swaddled to his waist was an unexpected bonus. He simply needed to ensure he didn’t run into a certain pair of companions along the way or else the teasing fallout would make him a hermit in the swamp forever. And he wasn’t keen on surviving by reed bass.